Pleasure is satisfaction derived from the things and persons outside us. Happiness is satisfaction derived from the core of deepest being inside us. Because we get our pleasures through the five senses, they are more exciting and are sharper, more vivid, than the diffused self-induced thoughts and feelings which bring us happiness. In short, pleasure is of the body whereas something quite immaterial and impalpable is the source of our happiness. This is not to say that all pleasures are to be ascetically rejected, but that whereas we are helplessly dependent for them on some object or some person, we are dependent only on ourselves for happiness.

The Peace within You > The Search for Happiness > The heart of joy

#34962D – 15.24.1.75

BN – ZZ – K1

"Sadness does not befit a sage" is the reminder of an ancient Confucian text. "He is a man inwardly free of sorrow and care. He should be like the sun at midday—illuminating and gladdening everyone. This is not given to every human—only one whose will is directed to 'The Great' is able to it. For the attribute of 'The Great' is joyousness."

The Peace within You > The Search for Happiness > Philosophic happiness

#34964D – 15.24.1.35

BN – ZZ – K1

It is not that the years pass by unregarded, nor that he is dead to human feelings, but that at this centre of his being to which he now has access, there is utter calm, a high indifference to agitations which compels him to treat them with serene dignity. He is a dweller in two worlds more or less at the same time.

The Peace within You > Be Calm > The qualities of calm

#34965D – 15.24.2.145

BN – ZZZ – K1

Gautama's assertion that "life is suffering" may be matched with Socrates' assertion that "life is terrible." But both Indian and Greek sage referred solely to life in the ego. Is it quite fair to stress the misery of human existence without pointing to its mystery? For that is just as much there, even if attention is seldom turned toward it. Man, in order to complete and fulfil himself, will and must rise to life in the Overself with the ego put into place, belittled and broken.

The Peace within You > The Search for Happiness > The limitations of life

#34966D – 15.24.1.30

A241129 – ZZZ – DK1

There is a silence born of ignorance and another born of knowledge—mystical knowledge. The right interpretation comes only through the intuitive faculty—not through the intellect.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > Seek the Deeper Stillness

#34967D – 15.24.4.20

BN – ZZ – K1

This stillness is the godlike part of every human being. In failing to look for it, he fails to make the most of his possibilities. If, looking, he misses it on the way, this happens because it is a vacuity: there is simply nothing there! That means no things, not even mental things, that is, thoughts.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > Seek the Deeper Stillness

#34968D – 15.24.4.4

BN – Z – DK1

The spirit (Brahman) is NOT the stillness, but is found by humans who are in the precondition of stillness. The latter is their human reaction to Brahman's presence coming into their field of awareness.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > Seek the Deeper Stillness

#34969D – 15.24.4.5

BN – X – K1

The Stillness is both an Understanding, an Insight of the mind, and an Experience of the being. The whole movement or vibration comes to a stop.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The still centre within

#34970D – 15.24.4.172

BN – Z – K1

It is not easy to translate this sacred silence into comprehensible meaning, to describe a content where there is no form, to ascend from a region as deep as Atlantis is sunk today and speak openly in familiar, intelligible language; but I must try.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The Great Silence

#34971D – 15.24.4.195

BA13 – ZZZ – DK1

As his centre moves to a profounder depth of being, peace of mind becomes increasingly a constant companion. This in turn influences the way in which he handles his share of the world's activities. Impatience and stupidity recede, wrath at malignity is disciplined; discouragement under adversity is controlled and stress under pressures relaxed.

The Peace within You > Be Calm > The qualities of calm

#34972D – 15.24.2.98

BN – ZZ – DK1

Truth lies hidden in silence. Reveal it—and falsehood will creep in, withering the golden image. Communication by speech or paper was not necessary.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The Great Silence

#34973D – 15.24.4.205

BN – X – K1

Whatever the trouble be which distresses anyone—be it physical or mental, personal or public, worldly or spiritual—there is one sure refuge to which one can always turn and return. If he has learnt the art of being still, he can carry his trouble to the mind’s outer threshold and leave it there, passing himself into its innermost recess of utter serenity and carefree tranquility. This is not a cowardly escapism or a foolish self-deception, although with the un-philosophical mystic it could be and often is. For when he emerges from the inner silence and picks up his trouble again, he will pick up also the strength to endure it bravely and the wisdom to deal with it rightly. This will always be the case if his approach is through philosophical mysticism, which makes inspired action and not inspired dreaming its goal. Furthermore, his contact with the inner Mind will set mysterious forces working on his behalf to solve the problem quite independently of his conscious effort and knowledge.

The Peace within You > Practise Detachment > Timelessness

#34974D – 15.24.3.278

ME_01 – Z – K1

Truth may be written or spoken, preached or printed, but its most lasting expression and communication is transmitted through the deepest silence to the deepest nature in human being.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The Great Silence

#34975D – 15.24.4.220

BSG_4 – ZZZ – DK1

The reason why this silent, inward, and pictureless initiation in the stillness is so much more powerful ultimately, is that it reaches the man himself, whereas all other kinds reach only his instruments or vehicles or bodies.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The Great Silence

#34976D – 15.24.4.219

BN – Z – K1

When he temporarily achieves this lofty condition, he ceases to think, for his mind becomes inarticulate with heavenly peace.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The still centre within

#34978D – 15.24.4.173

BN – X – K1

However dark or blundering the past, however miserable the tangle one has made of one's life, this unutterable peace blots it all out. Within that seraphic embrace error cannot be known, misery cannot be felt, sin cannot be remembered. A great cleansing comes over the heart and mind.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The still centre within

#34979D – 15.24.4.102

BN – ZZ – DK1

To complain that you get no answer, no result from going into the silence indicates two things: first, that you do not go far enough into it to reach the intuitive level; second, that you do not wait long enough for it to affect you.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The still centre within

#34980D – 15.24.4.124

BN – Z – DK1

The effort should be to find inward stillness through a loving search within the heart's depths for what may be called "the soul," what I have called "the Overself." This is not the soul thought of by a judge when he passes the sentence of death and asks the Lord to have mercy on the condemned man's soul. It is the Holy Ghost of Christian faith, the diviner part of man which dwells in eternity. The nearer we get to it in our striving, the greater will be the mental peace we shall feel. It can be found and felt even whilst thoughts continue to move through the mind, although they will necessarily be thoughts of a most elevated nature for the baser ones could not obtain entry during this mood.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The still centre within

#34981D – 15.24.4.174

BN – ZZ – DEK1

In this deep stillness wherein every trace of the personal self dissolves, there is the true crucifixion of the ego. This is the real meaning of the crucifixion, as it was undergone in the ancient Mystery Temple initiations and as it was undergone by Jesus. The death implied is mental, not physical.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > Seek the Deeper Stillness

#34982D – 15.24.4.39

B_11 – ZZ – DK1

He who attains this beautiful serenity is absolved from the misery of frustrated desires, is healed of the wounds of bitter memories, is liberated from the burden of earthly struggles. He has created a secret, invulnerable centre within himself, a garden of the spirit which neither the world's hurts nor the world's joys can touch. He has found a transcendental singleness of mind.

The Peace within You > Be Calm > The qualities of calm

#34983D – 15.24.2.97

BN – ZZ – DEK1

Only he is able to think his own thought, uninfluenced by others, who has trained himself to enter the Stillness, where alone he is able to transcend all thought.

The Peace within You > Practise Detachment > Practise Detachment

#34984D – 15.24.3.6

BN – Z – DK1

A man may fall into the sin of vanity because of the facility with which he is able to work up the devotional feelings or excite the spiritually rapturous ones. But those who enter into the Void because they are able to enter into the innermost part of themselves, cannot fall into this sin. They are detached not only from the emotions but also from themselves. This is why they live in so great and so constant a peace.

The Peace within You > Practise Detachment > True asceticism

#34985D – 15.24.3.187

BN – Z – K1

The truth which leads a man to liberation from all illusions and enslavements is perceived in the innermost depths of his being, where he is shut off from all other men. The man who has attained to its knowledge finds himself in an exalted solitude. He is not likely to find his way out of it to the extent, and for the purpose, of enlightening his fellow men who are accustomed to, and quite at home in, their darkness unless some other propulsive force of compassion arises within him and causes him to do so.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > The Great Silence

#34986D – 15.24.4.196

BN – ZZZ – K1

It is not enough to achieve peace of mind. He must penetrate the Real still farther and achieve joy of heart.

The Peace within You > The Search for Happiness > The heart of joy

#34987D – 15.24.1.112

BN – Z – K1

If you investigate the matter deeply enough and widely enough, you will find that happiness eludes nearly all men despite the fact that they are forever seeking it. The fortunate and successful few are those who have stopped seeking with the ego alone and allow the search to be directed inwardly by the higher self. They alone can find a happiness unblemished by defects or deficiencies, a Supreme Good which is not a further source of pain and sorrow but an endless source of satisfaction and peace.

The Peace within You > The Search for Happiness > The heart of joy

#34988D – 15.24.1.74

BN – ZZZ – DK1

If the mind can reach a state where it is free from its own ideas, projections, and wishes, it can reach true happiness.

The Peace within You > The Search for Happiness > The heart of joy

#34989D – 15.24.1.77

BN – ZZ – DK1

That beautiful state wherein the mind recognizes itself for what it is, wherein all activity is stilled except that of awareness alone, and even then it is an awareness without an object—this is the heart of the experience.

The Peace within You > Seek the Deeper Stillness > Seek the Deeper Stillness

#34990D – 15.24.4.6

BN – X – DK1

This is that ultimate solitude to which all human beings are destined.

#34991

BN – ZZ – K1

When, however, the content of this concept is subjected to critical analysis, we discover some disturbing facts. What mystic is or ever has been omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent? Such are the distinguishing characteristics of God. Yet how many mystics have asserted they were identical with God! Is it not an insult to common sense to make such an assertion? Yet every "paramahamsa" in India still makes it!

#34992

BN – X – K1

It is legitimate to say that something godlike is within me, but it is quite illegitimate to say, “I am God.” For the fragrance of a flower is after all not the same as the flower itself.

#34993 – 1.25.0.16

UR_3.2 – Z – DK1

THE SAINT: has successfully carried out ascetic disciplines and purificatory regimes for devotional purposes. > >THE PROPHET: has listened for God's voice, heard and communicated God's message of prediction, warning, or counsel. > >THE MYSTIC: has intimately experienced God's presence while inwardly rapt in contemplation or has seen a vision of God's cosmogony while concentrated in meditation. > >THE SAGE: has attained the same results as all these three, has added a knowledge of infinite and eternal reality thereto, and has brought the whole into balanced union. > >THE PHILOSOPHER: is a sage who has also engaged in the spiritual education of others.

#34994

BN – Z – K1

It would be a mistake to believe that these two forces, although so very different from each other, are fighting each other. This is not so. They are to be regarded as complementary to one another. They are like positive and negative poles in electricity, and they must exist together or die together. They are inseparable, but the need between them is correct balance, or equilbrium.

World-Idea > Polarities, Complementaries, Dualities of The Universe > Opposites constitute universe

#34995D – 16.26.3.57

BN – X – K1

Neither the senses nor the intellect can tell us anything about the intrinsic nature of this Infinite Mind. Nevertheless we are not left in total ignorance about it. From its manifestation, the cosmos, we may catch a hint of its Intelligence. From its emanation, the soul, we may catch more than a hint of its Beneficence. More than, I say, because the emanation may be felt within us as our very being whereas the manifestation is outside us and is apart.

The Alone > Our Relation To the Absolute > Reality reveals itself through Overself

#34996D – 16.28.2.97

BN – Z – DK1

If you feel that the principles touched on in these pages are true, then remember that the greatest homage you can pay to Truth is to use it. Spiritual peace is given as a prize to those who wisely aspire, and who will work untiringly for the realization of their aspiration.

#34997 – 1.1.0.2

BN – ZZZ – DMK

Whatever he says or suggests to his disciples is said or suggested with a view to their ultimate good. Therefore he may sometimes recommend a course of action which brings immediate pain or self-denial or self-discipline.

Overview of the Quest > Student-Teacher > Qualifications, duties of a teacher

#34998 – 2.1.6.478

BN – ZZZ – K

I have written down what I have learned and discovered over the many years of my life; if these ideas are helpful to you, you are welcome to them—but do not make the mistake of calling me a guru. We must all learn to think for ourselves in the end, so these words, this philosophy, can only be a guide to your own work.

DEB

BA13 – ZZZ – K

The evil that appears when the events are seen for the first time, perhaps disappears when they are seen for the second time. This is because, in the ordering of Universal Life, there is an ultimate correctness. What happens today in the world, or what will happen tomorrow, will not occur outside of divine knowledge and, therefore, will not escape the power of divine laws.

DEB

B_16 – ZZZ – K

Find the god in your own heart and you will understand by direct intuition what the great inspired beings of all time -true teachers, mystics, philosophers, prophets and messengers- have been trying to tell you by the tortuous method of using words.

DEB

BSG_4 – ZZZ – K

I do not seek to spread any new or foreign doctrine. I do not want disciples. I do not want people to depend on any person or organization. I would like, instead, to help people discover the master and guide in the depths of their Being.

DEB

BA13 – ZZZ – K

All methods and techniques—and of course, all human beings who propound them—are merely instruments to help those who study this philosophy to obtain a methodless, technique-free, teacherless state.

DEB

BSG_1 – ZZZ – K

All methods and techniques—and of course, all human beings who propound them—are merely instruments to help those who study this philosophy to obtain a methodless, technique-free, teacherless state.

DEB

UR_6 – ZZZ – K

The spiritual emptiness of our times and the poverty of our present inner resources are expressed quite clearly in the chaos, in the misery we see around us and in the desolate servitude we render to ignoble ideals and unworthy people.

DHIMAL

BN – ZZZ – K

From EPICTETUS: "We write beautiful maxims; but are we well imbued with them, and are we putting them into practice?"

EPICTETO

UR_6 – ZZZ – K

From MADAME GUYON: "It is not the quantity that is read, but the way of reading, which gives us benefit."

GUYON

UR_6 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Grace is always there. You just need to surrender to it. It is your Self itself. It is not something that can be acquired from outside of you. If it is external, it is useless. In the end, all that is needed is to know that its existence is in you. You are never out of its reach."

RAMANA

BSG_5 – ZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Grace is always there. You just need to surrender to it. It is your Self itself. It is not something that can be acquired from outside of you. If it is external, it is useless. In the end, all that is needed is to know that its existence is in you. You are never out of its reach."

RAMANA

UR_3.2 – ZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "One should remain as a witness to whatever happens, adopting the attitude, "Let whatever strange things that happens happen, let us see!" This should be one's practice. Nothing happens by accident in the divine scheme of things."

RAMANA

BA21 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "One should remain as a witness to whatever happens, adopting the attitude, "Let whatever strange things that happens happen, let us see!" This should be one's practice. Nothing happens by accident in the divine scheme of things."

RAMANA

BSG_4 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Let what comes come. Let what goes go. Find out what remains."

RAMANA

UR_4map – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "The 'Ordainer' [Nature, God] controls the destiny of souls according to their past actions, their 'prarabdha karma'. What is destined not to happen, will not happen, even if you try with all you might. What is meant to happen, will happen, whatever you do to prevent it. This is certain. Therefore, it is better to understand it, to remain silent."

RAMANA

BA21 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. The Sun is simply bright. It does not correct anyone. Because it shines, the whole world is full of light. Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world."

RAMANA

BSG_4 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Time is just an idea. There is only Reality. Whatever you think it is, that's what it feels like".

RAMANA

BSG_4 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Realization is not acquisition of anything new nor is it a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage."

RAMANA

UR_4map – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "There is neither past nor future. There is only the present. Yesterday was the present to you when you experienced it, and tomorrow will be also the present when you experience it. Therefore, experience takes place only in the present, and beyond experience nothing exists."

RAMANA

UR_4map – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "There is no Truth. There is only the truth within each moment."

RAMANA

UR_1 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Do not meditate, be! Do not think that you are, be! Don’t think about being, you are!"

RAMANA

UR_1 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Only humility destroys the dominance of the ego."

RAMANA

UR_4map – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "Only what happens now, in the Eternal Present, is the Real."

RAMANA

BSG_4 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "All that is required to realize the Self is 'to Be Still'."

RAMANA

BSG_4 – ZZZ – K

From RAMANA MAHARSHI: "A Sage helps all humanity without it knowing."

RAMANA

UR_4map – ZZZ – K

As I look back into the pictures of past history and see His figure file past me, bearing the high dignity of the apostolic mark upon His brow, I receive renewed comfort and assurance. We are not left quite alone; God still sends companions for our stumbling feet and apostles of the Infinite for our groping minds.

TIR

A241224 – ZZ – K

The coming of Jesus was a benediction to the world. He instructed and inspired men. He taught them the deepest Secret of life and urged them to take to the divine path. He exemplified in His own everyday existence a holiness that casts our common life in the shade.

TIR

A241224 – ZZ – K

From SWAMI VIVEKANANDA: "Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of Knowledge is to take the essential. Take it and try to live by it."

VIVEKANANDA

UR_6 – ZZZ – K