- Mental Penance
True mental penance is to deny the mind what it wants.
You must feel miserable for a time, otherwise you are cheating yourself.
But there it can become very tricky.
If you become happy that you are miserable, it is then not mental penance but boosting the ego.
- Christian Trinity
Father - Iswara.
Son - "I' (Jiva)
Holy Ghost - Atman in which the Jiva realises His identity with Brahman.
Hence "I and my Father are one" and "He who sees the Son has seen the Father."
This can be translated as "Aham (son), Atma (Holy Ghost), Brahma (Father) - or the Son is one with the Father through the Holy Ghost.
- Life
Life is an art.
Spiritual life or Sadhana is still greater art.
Every stroke of the brush matters very much - we should carefully plan it and do every action after great thought.
Thought, word and deed must be delicate and purposeful.
- Where is the Time Saved?
A clear example of mislaid (or waylaid) intention is the aeroplane.
Everyone tells us that modern means of trans port saves our time and increases our leisure.
But have you noticed anyone walking leisurely to or at the airport to enjoy the saved time?
On the contrary, people rush to and airport - why did they save the time?
The only time they have to take it easy is in a traffic jam - but if only you know the speed with which their nerves and brain cells vibrate!
- Routine
When intelligently practised, routine spiritual practices help us greatly. They become like rivers of spiritual light.
We are not same any two days!
And hence the Sadhana assumes fresher significance every day.
On the contrary, if we give up Sadhana altogether, looking for something spectacular, our spiritual personality becomes stagnant.
And, like a stagnant pool of water, it does not stay in the same condition but soon becomes dirty and filthy.
Life cannot be stagnant.
Even spiritual practices can become monotonous, boring, and therefore unspiritual.
So be vigilant and try to feel the presence of God in everything you do.