HABITS – VICES
Your inability to break a habit,- causes a pinch and when you are deeply pained by something, the pain will rid you of that habit. If you are pained by your shortcomings, then you are a sadhak- a seeker. Pain takes you out of addiction.
If you cannot eliminate vices, magnify them. Worry, pride, anger, lust, grief – give them a bigger dimension and a different direction. What is the point of getting angry about small events? Be angry about the infinite, about Brahma. If you cannot get rid of pride, take pride in owning the Divine. If you are bothered by greed, be greedy for satsang. If cravings gnaw at you, crave the truth. If jealously haunts you, be jealous about seva. Be averse to aversions. Attach yourself to the guru. Get intoxicated with the Divine.
Joy is love for what is.
Sorrow is love for what is not.
Rishikesh, India
April 3, 1997
DESIRES
Desires for sensory pleasure are electric in nature and these desires get neutralized as they move towards the object of your senses.
If, by your skill, you could move your desires deeper within you towards the centre of your existence, another dimension of everlasting pleasure, thrill, bliss and undying love will be yours. Lust, greed, power and jealousy are powerful because they are nothing but energy and you are the source of it – the pure electricity. Dedication and devotion maintain the purity of your electricity, moving you upward.
When you realize you yourself are the electricity of pleasure, your cravings subside and serenity dawns. Also, remembering that you will die makes you alive now, and frees you from cravings and aversions.
The wise ones are always careful not to get their minds entangled and dizzy.
Milano, Italy
January 7, 1998