The coming of Jesus at Bethlehem brought joy to the world and to every human heart. May His coming this Christmas bring to each one of us that peace and joy that He desires to give.

“This body is pre-thought, pre-planned.” Before we are born into this world we plan our bodies. We decide what kind of body we want. But we do not remember this; we have forgotten. We also decide where to be born; it is our plan, nobody else’s. The same holds true for the kind of life we want to live. When we travel, we decide where to go. When we go on a trip, we arrange many things. Similarly, when we travel to earth we arrange and prepare our bodies, our families, what kind of life we will have; it was all our doing. That is why it is said, ittham prakalpite dehe: “In this body that was preplanned by you.” Thus, we need not be unhappy with our bodies. Why? We receive what we wanted. We receive the body we desired. If we want to experience freedom we have to cherish this desire in us. Ittham prakalpite dehe: “This body is our thought, our creation.”

The world can only change from within.

We should take heart from our own experience and performance. In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many.

The difficulty for most of us in the modern world is that the old-fashioned idea of God has become incredible or implausible.

Realize that your world is only a reflection of yourself and stop finding fault with the reflection. Attend to yourself, set yourself right; mentally and emotionally. The physical self will follow automatically.

Do you see yourself as a victim of the world, or do you see yourself as the world?

Everybody does the same mistake: refusing the means, but wanting the ends. You want peace and harmony in the world, but refuse to have them in yourself.

Through our karma we made some plans and acquired a body. We arrived in this world decorated with beautiful ornaments. What are the ornaments? It is said, anadi vasana malah: “You have a garland, a necklace, made of desires without beginning.” Vasana means “desires” and anadi means “without beginning”; thus, we have a beautiful necklace of desires without beginning as well as endless ambition. But this garland is not new. Anadimeans that from time immemorial we have been carrying the vasanas, the desires, life after life.

With your own inner change, you can change your attitude for the entire world.

The magnetic needle always points to the north, and hence it is that sailing vessel does not lose her direction. So long as the heart of man is directed towards God, he cannot be lost in the ocean of worldliness.

Actually, it is not necessary to renounce the objects of the world, because a human being does not actually own or possess anything. Therefore it is not necessary to renounce anything—but the sense of possessiveness should be renounced.

When we transcend ourselves, we do not compete with others. We do not compete with the rest of the world, but at every moment we compete with ourselves.

The power that dominates cannot solve world problems. The power that loves can solve world problems.

There is an absolute reality, this world is an appearance of that reality, and you are that absolute reality.

Peace is our inner wealth. This inner wealth we can bring to the fore only when we expect nothing from the outer world and everything from the Supreme Pilot within us, at God's Choice Hour.

Come in, my dear, from that harsh world that has rained elements of stone upon your tender face. Every soul should receive a toast from us for bravery!

If you restore balance in your own self, you will be contributing immensely to the healing of the world.

One of the marvels of the world: The sight of a soul sitting in prison with the key in its hand.

Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.

Every man should view himself as equally balanced: half good and half evil. Likewise, he should see the entire world as half good and half evil.... With a single good deed he will tip the scales for himself, and for the entire world, to the side of good.

In your world everything must have a beginning and an end. If it does not, you call it eternal. In my view, there is no such thing as beginning and end - these are all related to time. Timeless being is entirely in the now. Being and not-being alternate and their reality is momentary. The immutable Reality lies beyond space and time.

The material and the spiritual are but two parts of one universe and one truth. By overstressing one part or the other, man fails to achieve the balance necessary for harmonious development... Practice the art of living in this world without losing your inner peace of mind. Follow the path of balance to reach the inner wondrous garden of Self-Realization.