Spirituality in daily life

Sadguru Sri Sharavana Baba spent a week in Bangalore in March 2013.

He was invited to several households and delivered discourses at several public functions. His advice was practical. It was aimed at exploring ways and means to integrate spirituality into daily life.

He said:  "Act consciously and perform all acts by knowing God and seeking His permission. When you follow this advice, the resultant success is the real success. What is important is inner peace and success, not outer materialistic gains."

"Worship temples by experiencing the Grace contained in them. When we follow rites and rituals perfectly, we are recipient to its blessings. It is those blessings that ultimately cause us to experience peace. Blessings are absolutely essential. They matter above everything else."

The body we occupy is also a blessing that is given to us by our parents. The body symbolizes the mother.  The soul symbolizes the father. So we should treat the body as mother and worship it. The body is actually a temple. The body and mind represent the union of Shiva and Shakti."

"Our parents are the cause of our birth.  The Guru is the one who helps us live a positive life. The primal teacher is the mind or conscience. Remembering the Guru at all times is of prime importance. We should not begin any auspicious activity without remembering the Guru."

"Competency should be achieved through learning. Only then our acts will begin to glow. Learning is continuous. It continues even after death. Always worship Guru in your mind. Know that truth should be firmly identified with Guru."

"We should overcome evil qualities present in us and acquire virtues. Evil will always follow us. We should struggle to overcome those evils and advance towards virtues. We should uphold Dharma irrespective of the consequences and ignore what the world may say in this respect. We should identify the pure by identifying ourselves. Weneed  virtues and nothing else."

"Virtue comes to us once we start discarding the garbage in us. Strive to become virtuous by propagating the message of dharma amongst our fellow beings. We become virtuous by speaking less and doing more.

Strive to become yogis. Our society is currently in dire need of peace. This can be done by inculcating spiritual awareness among our children. This is the need of the hour. "Teach the younger generation to recite prayers. Our children should be rich in virtues. Only then their life will become meaningful.

Help all who propagate Dharma even if it means sacrifice. Serve all. God achieves his mission only through the unconditional co-operation of his devotees. No one can destroy faith that is ardent and strong. Preserve that faith throughout your life."