Before you speak

Before you speak, ask yourself:
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?
Is it true?
Does it improve upon the silence?

Sai Nath of Shirdi, (c1838 - 1918)

New Year

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

G. K. Chesterton

This universe is one

We have to believe in the totality, in the universality. This universe is one. God has not made them separate. All religions are one; coming from the same Source. So we believe in every religion, we follow every religion; and the whole concept of nations is also mythical. The whole world was made one, with lots of rivers, mountains, and sea.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (1991)

It is in you

Jesus said:
I say to you, as for what you seek after and you enquire about, look, it is in you!

Dialogue of the Savior 16

When the heart is purified

When the heart is purified with sincerity
Then even enemies become friends..
Tigers may come near but will never attack one.
Poison offered to such a one will turn into nectar,
Any harm directed towards him will result into good,
Harsh words will sound polite.
Any pain afflicted will become the source of happiness.
The flames of fire will turn cool.
For God All Merciful is pleased.
If one's heart is full of compassion,
If one loves others more than oneself,
God will look upon such a one with an eye of mercy
And bless his heart with His presence.

Saint Tukaram (1608-1660)

Tagore on Forgiveness

Go not to the temple to put flowers on the feet of God
But
First Fill your own house with Fragrance of Love
Go not to the temple to light candles on the altar of god
But
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart.
Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer
But
First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen.
Go Not to the temple to pray on your bended knees
But
First bend down to lift someone who is downtroddden
Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins
But
First forgive those who have sinned against you

Listen, O Soul

Listen, O soul, to my advice.
Do not become a den for foxes and snakes,
nor a hole for serpents and asps,
nor a lair for lions,
nor a shelter for vipers.
When these things happen to you,
O soul, what will you do?
For these are the Powers of the Adversary.
You were a temple.
You made yourself a tomb.
Stop being a tomb, and become a temple again,
so that uprightness and divinity may remain in you.
Light the light within you.
Do not put it out.

(from the Teachings of Silvanus, a Gnostic Christian text in the Nag Hammadi Libary)