Mind and Spiritual progress

BHAGAWAN :

Mind binds man, and the same mind liberates him. Mind is constituted of sankalpa and vikalpa -desire and disposition. Desire shapes and governs disposition. Desire is of two kinds -the noble and the base. The base desires are lust and greed. Noble desires direct us towards enlightenment and emancipation. Base desires contaminate and cloud the understanding. Sadhana is easy for the aspirant who is endowed with noble desires. Calmness is the basis of spiritual progress. Plunge the purified mind into the Heart. Thenthe work is over. This is the essence of all spiritual discipline!

God's Grace and More Conversations.

Once a devotee sought Bhagavans' blessings on the ground that all his efforts to abide at the source of the mind had proved futile.

When Bhagavan asked, "What is the obstruction?".

He answered " It is my deep-rooted tendencies. I need your grace"

Bhagawan replied "Your repeated effort is bound to erase them. All sadhana is meant for this purpose only." He further observed, "Keep up your practice. There is no need to remind God about his business which is to keep an eye always on our welfare. The mistake one is prone to make is to abandon effort under the mistaken impression that God's grace is absent. But one should not slacken, for God's grace is bound to operate at the ripe time".

A devotee who was an advocate had a limited clientèle and wanted to shift his practice to another place in expectation of better luck. He sought Bhagavans's opinion about it.

Bhagawan replied softly " Is that so? why don't you consult an astrologer about it?".

Another devotee complained " I am unable to have peace of mind. I am planning to go to the Himalayas in search of it".

Bhagawan said " You travelled 250 miles from Madhurai and come here. how much mental quietness have you got? Multiply it by the distance from here to the Himalayas to measure the happiness you would get by going there".