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Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Sri Abhinava VidyatirthaSri Bharati Tirtha

Do not be proud of wealth, people (relations and friends), and youth. All these aresnatched by Time in the blink of an eye. Giving up this illusory world, know and attainthe Supreme.[ Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada]

Daylight and darkness dusk and dawn, winter and springtime come and go. Timeplays and life ebbs away. But the current of desire never leaves. [ Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada]

An object continues to be dear as long as one derives pleasure from it and it isdetested for the duration that it causes pain. The same object cannot be always likedor disliked. Sometimes, that which is not dear may become dear. Moreover, thatwhich was loveable can turn unpleasant. The Atma, towards which affection neverwanes, is always the most beloved. [ Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada]

Modern man’s condition is pitiable. His craze for sensual pleasures and worldlysuccess is increasing day by day. He toils restlessly to acquire more and moreworldly possessions and comforts. Due to western influence and a craze for materialpossessions, most people have no faith in God or guru or religion or our sacredscriptures. There is growing neglect of Dharma. Virtues are on the decline. Vices areon the rise. Faith is going down rapidly. All our present endeavors must be directedtowards restoration and maintenance of faith in God and in our scriptures. What weneed today is a spiritual revival. The primary cause of all our misery and suffering is

the culpable neglect of dharmic conduct. If only people regain their faith in God, guruand the Vedas and perform the duties as taught by the Vedas and the guru they willall be freed from misery and will be happy. [Jagadguru Sri ChandrashekharaBharati Mahaswamigal]

It is no doubt a painful experience and a physical loss to have an abscess (or tumor)operated upon and the poisonous matter taken out. But such an operation isnecessary, and in the ultimate result, very beneficial, if we want to secure strengthand health for the rest of the body. Similarly, the strength and health of a society, asmuch as of a body, does not depend upon its size or the number of its component



parts but upon its vitality and its freedom from weakness or disease. A society canremain strong and healthy only if the weak, unhealthy and poisonous elements aretaken out of it. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

In today’s materialistic world, most people have no regard for any religion or God; thefew that profess such regard have only a formal sense of allegiance to their religion,

which will disappear in no time, if it conflicts with their personal, selfish interests.Very, very few people are true seekers of God. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Our country suffers at present not for want of religious institutions but for want of people who are prepared to conform to its rules. Waste not your time in trying tocreate more spiritual institutions. Instead of trying to change the world, changeyourself. If each individual reforms himself, society will automatically get reformed.

[Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

A government is responsible not only for the secular and material interests of itscitizens but also for their spiritual welfare. It would be failing in its duty if it confinesits attention only to the former and neglects the latter altogether. [Jagadguru Sri

Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Wealth and happiness are not related to each other as cause and effect. An attemptto secure happiness by securing wealth is as futile as it is absurd. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

A thing has value only to the one who wants it. Worldly success and wealth counttherefore only with those who want them. If you do not want them, you certainly donot care how wealthy or successful another person is. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Take money and worldly success when it comes and use it. Do not anticipate or

hanker after wealth and worldly success. This is the right attitude. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Suppose you have 20 articles in your room, every one of which is likely to distractyou by its very sight? Which is the more practical method, to prepare cases forenveloping every one of them or to shut your eyes? Obviously the latter is easier.Similarly, it is impossible for you to regulate, modify, annihilate or create at yourpleasure the infinite things of the universe which are likely to disturb you. But youcan regulate your own mind so that it gradually ceases to be disturbed by the objectsof the world. And this is the aim of spirituality - to regulate the mind so that it ispeaceful and happy in all circumstances. [Jagadguru Sri ChandrashekharaBharati Mahaswamigal]

Once man allows his inherent peace, born of contentment, to be disturbed andmakes room in his heart for greed and desires, a host of evils come on. All evils insociety are due to the demon of desire. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

When you know that you have an enemy to encounter, you arm yourself to meet him.It is always preferable to meet the foe in an open field of battle; it is very difficult tofight the foe that is by your side and masquerading as a friend. It is easier to fight atiger openly attacking you than to fight a poison which, unknown to you, has entered



your blood and is sapping your life slowly but unfailingly. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

In the name of progress and economic growth we have grown weaker and weaker.Western thought and influence are corrupting us. The slow poison of un-Hinduthought and manners has entered our blood; and the most pitiable part of it is that

we do not and would not realize that it is poison. [Jagadguru Sri ChandrashekharaBharati Mahaswamigal]

If we do not succeed in the first few attempts, it means that in the past we haveexercised our free will just in opposite direction. So our present effort must beproportionate to that past activity to eliminate its effects. Thus the obstacles whichwe face in life are just the gauge by which we have to guide our present activities.


Worldly comforts and pleasures are not the means of happiness. Today we have inabundance all the requisites of comfort and happiness, far more than our ancestorshad. Yet we are not better off than before. Even though, the means of happiness(worldly possessions) have increased manifold over the last century, our happiness

has not increased. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

All worldly possessions must be left behind when you die. Friends and relatives comeas far as the burning ground and return home from there. The only things whichaccompany the departing soul are dharma (good deeds) and adharma (evil deeds).

The former is a help and the latter a hindrance. You must therefore in this birthaccumulate as much of dharma as you can and at the same time minimize adharmaas far as possible. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Worldly life is at best only a means of livelihood. There are higher objects in life thanmere living, and only by turning to religion can you secure such objects. Do notignore your spiritual welfare, in the interests of mere living. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

If you do not succeed even after your best effort, do not despair, for fate being aproduct of your free will can never be stronger than free Will. Your failure only meansthat your present exercise of free will is not sufficient to counteract the result of the

past exercise of it. But if you keep on trying you are bound to succeed. [JagadguruSri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Start with boundless hope with the presumption that nothing is impossible for you. If you work with earnestness and persist in your efforts, you can accomplish anything.


Conversions from one religion to another are neither advisable nor desirable. The

religion in which a man is born is the best fitted for his spiritual up lift ment. The Lordknows which religion is best for us and gives us birth in a country, climate, time andfaith for which we are best suited.


No matter how good an artist is, we cannot paint a picture on vacant air, though hemay possess the finest paints and brushes. He requires a stable background, be itcanvas or a wall. Similarly a seeker should apply his God given gifts on the stablebackground of his God chosen faith. So a Hindu should try to become a better Hindu,



a Muslim a better Muslim, a Buddhist a better Buddhist and a Christian a betterChristian. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Who are we to sit in judgment over other religious teachers and religions? Waste notyour precious life in judging others. Use it to regulate your life and purify yourself.


There must be perfect equality - each man to his religion - unmolested by anybodyand every facility guaranteed to him to practice his own religious pursuit.


Do not be disheartened by the spiritual darkness over-running the world. When thesun sets and the darkness of night envelop the land, we do not stop our work sayingthat the sun has set. Do we not light a lamp and get on with our normal activitieswith the aid of that lamp? If we feel that there is urgency, do we not walk milestogether during the darkest of nights guided by the flickering light of a torch? If youfeel earnestly and keenly the urgency for escaping from the cycle of birth and death,you will ignore the spiritual gloom prevailing in the land and seek out a guiding torchwhich will dispel the gloom for you. Such a guiding torch is the Guru, your spiritualmaster, who is waiting to help you.


Does fire refuse to scorch a person who touches it without knowing that it will scorchor who refuses to accept its power to scorch? Similarly, if you go against God’s lawsyou are bound to suffer.


Prevention is better than cure. It is easier to be always clean and pure than to dipyour hands in dirt and filth and impurities and then wash them off. Similarly, it isadvisable to be spiritual from the very start than to get entangled in worldly life andmaya and then try to free yourself from it.


Know that as soon as you come into this world, the quota of pleasure and pain to beenjoyed by you in this life has already been determined and it is not within yourpower, or anybody else’s, to add to or take away from that allotment. [JagadguruSri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

It is a waste of time and energy to quarrel about the nature of God. The feet of Godare not visible to you, why do you waste your precious life speculating and wranglingabout the nature of God’s face?


When we see a nail on the wall we cannot see what exact length of the nail isembedded in the wall (How much effort is required to pull out the nail depends onhow deeply the nail is embedded in the wall.) We do not desist from the attempt to

pull out the nail simply because we happen to be ignorant of the length of the nail inthe wall or of the number and intensity of the strokes which drove it in. Rather wepersist and persevere in pulling it out. If we do not succeed in the first few attempts,we increase the number and the intensity of our present efforts to pull it out. The nailin the wall represents the obstacles which arise in our present life due to the wronguse of our free will in the past. Just as we persevere to pull out the nail from the wall,we should make persistent efforts to counteract the ill effects of our past actions. Weare bound to pull out the nail sooner or later. Similarly, we are bound to overcome all



the obstacles which we face in our life, if we try hard enough. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

The only way a religion can be safeguarded is by strengthening the hands of thosewho are entrusted with the duty of seeing that the followers of a particular faithproperly perform their functions.


It is the duty of parents to safeguard the spiritual interests of their child. As theparents have to feed a child which cannot feed itself, so have they to look after itsspiritual interests also till it is able to take care of them. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Make the best use of the opportunities available to you now, for there is noguarantee that you may have the same opportunities and facilities in the births tocome. Do not delay till tomorrow what can be done today. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Moksha can be attained by all. Never for a moment think yourself incompetent orincapable of attaining moksha. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

The scriptures, which alone are our guides in religious matters, are above everyoneand no one on earth has absolutely any right or justification to interfere with them onany account.


The Vedas are beginning-less. They are the revelations of God himself. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

The scriptures have been written for your own good. Their aim is to guide you so thatyou can be free from pain and suffering, restlessness and unhappiness, and enjoyeverlasting peace and bliss. By following their commands you stand only to gain andnot lose. Why then do you persist in disobeying the scriptures? [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

Tendencies develop, regardless of the characteristic of the action performed. Hence,he who wishes to lead a proper life will do well to avoid evil deeds and to repeatedlyperform virtuous deeds.


The nature of the object of worship necessarily depends upon the nature of theworshipper (i.e. spiritual competency). [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]Guidance can never be the same for all. Countless are the varieties of temperament,training, environment, hereditary and pre-natal tendencies and so on. So it is

impossible to expect any single stereotyped system of conduct to suit all beings. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

In spite of the knowledge that telling a lie is sinful, many people persist in it. Whenpeople sin, knowing that what they do is sinful, what is the point of teaching themthat many other acts of theirs are also sinful. Such a teaching is not going to makeany difference to their conduct. Now they err in ignorance; after being taught theywill err deliberately. That will be all the difference perhaps. The fault lies with us.What can any guru do when we have no desire to reform ourselves?




To suffer the result of sin, only the capacity to suffer is required; and this capacity,namely, the sense of pain and pleasure, is present in the baby, even when it is in thewomb. A child cannot distinguish between right and wrong. So until it acquires thiscapacity, it incurs no sin. If a child commits no sin, why do so many children

experience pain and suffering? The reason is simple. Children suffer for the sinfulacts done by them as adults in previous births. [Jagadguru Sri ChandrashekharaBharati Mahaswamigal]

We have the ability to learn. Materials for knowledge are available to us. Teachersare available for teaching us. Yet man willingly prefers to live in the darkness of ignorance. Within man exists an ocean of bliss. Yet he willingly prefers to live a lifefull of misery, pain and suffering. This is the tragedy of human life.


It is not possible for most of us to sit vacant-minded (i.e. free from all thoughts). Ourmind is restless like a monkey. It is imperative that we give some useful work to ourmind; or else it will lead us astray. The least harmful work that we can give our mindis to think, not of the exciting things which disturb our equilibrium or excite ourpassions, but to think about abstract things, like the nature of God, the origin of theuniverse and such other things. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

If you make a mistake be prepared to face the consequences. There is no justificationfor throwing the blame on others. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

If you choose to avoid a present inconvenience and risk a greater inconvenience inthe future, it is purely an act of your volition and you must be prepared to face theconsequences.


Ordinarily speaking, we say that we are happy when we get the thing we are longingfor. At the time when we desire something, our mind is in a state of unrest; but whenwe get that thing, the state of unrest is replaced by a sense of peace. Similarly, wesay we are happy when we get rid of a thing which we loathed. At the time when weloathe something, our mind is restless; but when we get rid of that thing, our mindbecomes calm. Therefore, happiness follows when a preceding state of unrest isended. Happiness is identical with the feeling of rest or peace. Only he who knowsmental peace experiences true happiness.And to still the mind (i.e. remove all thoughts) is the aim of all spiritual practices.


The health which is not preceded by a sickness is more natural, perfect andpermanent than the one which comes into being on the cessation of a sickness.

Similarly, the happiness which is not preceded by a mental disturbance will be morenatural, perfect and enduring than the one which follows a mental disturbance.


The number of things in the world that awaken desire is infinite. If a man gets aparticular thing, the mental unrest caused by the longing for that thing may cease;but it will be replaced by restlessness caused by desire for another object. Thisprocess will go on forever as there is no end to desire. Similarly, the number of thingsthat are undesirable is also infinite. If you get rid of a particular undesirable object,



no doubt you get mental peace for the moment; but the next moment you willbecome restless because another thing will start troubling you. This process will goon indefinitely as the things which give us trouble in the world are countless. If,therefore, we seek to remove our mental unrest by trying to secure all the thingswhich the mind asks for or to get rid of all the things which disturb it, our search forpeace will be an endless one and true everlasting peace and happiness will never be

attained by us. [Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal]

You are responsible for what you are today. You are responsible for your pain andsuffering and misery. You cannot escape your responsibility by blaming fate, for fateis of your own making, or by blaming God, for he is but the divine dispenser of fruitsin accordance with the merits of your actions. You have none to blame but yourself for your present state of affairs.


Fate places no obstacles in our path. All obstacles are of our own making and it iswithin our competence to overcome them. [Jagadguru Sri ChandrashekharaBharati Mahaswamigal]

The greatest impediment to Bhakti is the ego, which repeatedly asserts itself andprevents self-surrender. Thus a man can truly surrender himself to Ishvara only if heannihilates his ego. Repeatedly thinking of Ishvara and practicing spiritual disciplineprecisely in the manner indicated by the Guru go a long way in effacing the ego and

engendering devotion. [Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal]

When praying to Ishvara it is best not to ask for anything. Asking Ishvara for worldlythings is not a good practice at all. Ishvara knows what is best and one should leaveeverything to him. One should love Ishvara purely for the sake of love. By keepingthe company of sages one develops pure devotion. Everything which one does shouldbe completely dedicated to Ishvara. One should act for His sake and offer the fruits of all actions to Him. [Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal]

The need for mind control is quite obvious. Only he who has control over his mindcan be successful in worldly pursuits and be happy. Such being the case what needbe said about the need for mind control in the case of spiritual aspirants? To study, towork and even to play well the mind must be concentrated on the task in hand andthis is possible only if one has control over the mind.

[Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal]

By God’s grace, we have obtained a human birth, the power of discrimination andsomeone to teach us about the ultimate, truth. If we still remain lazy, we will bewasting a marvelous opportunity.


It is ridiculous to suppose that Prarabdha can be more powerful than one’s will. Thereason for this is that Prarabdha itself is a creature of one’s will. What one performedguided by one’s will in the previous births, is what is now appearing as fate. Whatone has brought about due to exercise of one’s will in the previous births cancertainly be overcome by exercise of will power in the present birth, provided onemakes adequate effort. [Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal]

There is no reason whatsoever to despair about one’s spiritual progress. If one triesstrong enough, one will certainly make much progress. After all, Prarabdha has been



compared by Brahma to seed. Not only the seed determines what one gets out of thefield but also by the effort that one makes to till the land. By proper maturing and thelike the situation can be very much improved. It is meaningless if a man just sitsquiet and expects fate to lead him on in the spiritual path.


Care should be taken by spiritual aspirants to keep the body healthy. This does notmean that undue attention should be paid to die body but its health must not beneglected. It is not good to sleep excessively or to sleep too little. For healthy youngpeople about six or seven hours of sleep is enough. Going to bed between 10 and10.30 p.m. and getting up between 4.30 a.m. and 5 a.m. is a very good practice.


The light of a lamp falls on its surroundings. One may study Sastras in that light.While another may, paying no attention to it, spend time sleeping. Similarly greatsouls are always showering their grace. Each one can derive benefit depending onone’s mentality. If one takes a big vessel to a pond, one can bring a large quantity of water, just because it is said that a small vessel can hold little water, it does notmean that the vessel itself is the limit for the capacity of the pond.


The source of bliss is not something external but is one’s own true nature, the Atma.Not realizing this, the man devoid of discrimination seeks happiness in externalobjects. It is because of the mistaken feeling that happiness can be got from thingsexternal that the mind goes outward.


People are often devoid of dispassion. The reason for this is the lack of discrimination. Dispassion may dawn due to some calamity but that dispassion isonly temporary. Only that dispassion that results from discrimination is lasting. Theimportance of burning dispassion can never be over-emphasized. It would not bewrong to say that much of the trouble which people encounter in controlling the mindis due to want of Vairagyam. [Jagadguru Sri Abhinava VidyatirthaMahaswamigal]

Sri Krishna describes desire, anger and greed as the triple gates of hell. These areman’s worst enemies and one must never succumb to them. Desire can be overcomeby dispassion. Anger is a result of frustration of desire. Thus by conquering desirescompletely one can conquer anger. An attempt must be made to control greed byimpressing upon the mind that in reality everything belongs to Ishvara alone and thatone is but an instrument in the hands of Ishvara.[Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal]

Tendencies develop, regardless of the characteristic of the action performed. Hence,he who wishes to lead a proper life will do well to avoid evil deeds and to repeatedlyperform virtuous deeds.


An ideal disciple will indeed act as per the Guru’s instructions and not give place tothoughts as “Is it possible for me to do as he says? Shall I try something else?” If wefollow our Guru’s instructions, it does not mean that we are unintelligent. It onlyimplies that we have surrendered for our own good to a power superior to us.




The best disciple directly understands what his Guru desires him to do even withoutthe preceptor actually telling him anything. By devotion to the preceptor one attainsthe highest. If one has devotion to one’s preceptor like Ekalavya who attainedmagnificent proficiency in archery by virtue of his faith in Dronacharya even withoutthe latter actually teaching him anything, one need not have any fear regardingone’s spiritual progress. [Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal]

When tendencies nurtured in the previous birth are the same as those in the presentbirth then obstacles to a course of action are negligible. On the other hand when pastand present trends are at variance the course of action is decided by the one which ismore powerful. If one tries hard enough, one can certainly overcome the pasttendencies. How hard one must try cannot be determined before hand. Only whenobstacles are encountered one must try harder and harder till one succeeds.


It is a great blunder not to make proper use of the body and mind that has beengiven to us by God.

[Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal]

Instead of using the tongue for speaking futile issues, use it to chant the names of God. God shall then guide you along the right and beneficial path. [Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal]No man is omniscient. Hence man should not have the ego that he knows all. It is egothat leads man astray and drives him to commit sins. [Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal]

To err is human. Accepting one’s error and correcting oneself is a mark of nobility.Humility is the primary path to achieving nobility. [Jagadguru Sri Bharati TirthaMahaswamigal]

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