Gems from Swami Vivekananda-14:

There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point, that is the secret.

From my Spiritual Diary-48:

· It is only after the practice of intense tapas that men are freed of guile and stinginess. God vision comes to them who are free from crookedness and cunning. But in the name of simplicity, man should not become a simpleton. It is good to be a devotee, but to be a dullard. Know what is right and do what is good. (Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa).

· Neither this person nor that person is the cause of anything; at the root of all is God. Everything has emerged from him. Never forget him, “from whom has streamed forth this eternal activity”…. Don’t pay much attention to external causes; rather, practice to see everything within. “Your lover is in yourself, and your enemy too is within you.” (A Hindi saying). “He himself is his friend, and he himself is his enemy(Gita VI.5)”. (Swami Turiyananda).

· Tapasya sharpens the mind, followed by longing. Then one can understand that this rare human body is perishable. Then one begins to long to finish it quickly. If this life is wasted, one cannot be sure when one will again be born in a human body. So one takes to it in right earnest. And giving up food and sleep, tries for it. One says to oneself with firm determination, “I shall get up only after THE GOLD HAS BEEN MELTED…. THE WATER HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE FIELD – only then shall I bathe and eat – such a FIRM RESOLVE one makes. Thakur (Sri Ramakrishna) used to say: “I would lie down in the Panchavati night and day unconscious. Sometimes a snake would crawl over me and I would not take notice.” (“M” - Mahendra Nath Gupta).

· Don’t eat too much, and give up this craze for outer cleanliness. People with a craze do not attain Knowledge. Follow conventions only as much as necessary. Don’t go to excess. (Sri Ramakrishna).

Gems from Swami Vivekananda-13:

Teach yourselves, teach everyone, his real nature; call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.

Gems from Swami Vivekananda-12:

Great convictions are the mothers of great deeds. Behind every great work there is this tremendous power of conviction. The world is shaped and moved by men and women of conviction.

How To-20: "How to become a Mahatma (Great Soul):"

How to become a Mahatma (Great Soul):

1. Prayer
2. Meditation
3. Repetition of God’s name
4. Exercise
5. Eating in Moderation
6. Eating nutritious and easily digestible food
7. Total avoidance of Fast Food and Junk Food
8. Drinking a minimum of 2 litres of water
9. Minimum six hours sleep
10. Avoidance of Over-indulgence in anything
11. Getting up before 6 a.m.
12. Reading uplifting and elevating literature
13. Avoidance of Stimulants and Spicy Food
14. Fasting for one full day every month
15. Including plenty of juicy fruits and vegetables and reducing
cooked food to the barest minimum
16. Company of the Pure-minded and Holy (‘Satsang’)
17. Observing Silence at least for an hour every day
18. Regular Walk in the morning and evening
19. Healthy Hobby
20. Social Service
21. Doing one’s duty sincerely and devotedly
22. Consciously blocking harmful thoughts from entering
one’s mind
23. Truthfulness in Thought, Word and Deed
24. Non-violence in Thought, Word and Deed
25. Non-covetousness
26. Non-possessiveness
27. Universal Love
28. Simple Living and High Thinking
29. Selfless Life and Selfless Service

From my Spiritual Diary-47:

… in this universe, the Divine manifests, expresses Himself as Knowledge in the mind, as Love in the Heart, as Power in our Life-impulses, and as Beauty in the Physical. And what is beauty? Beauty is a perfect condensation, a perfect coordination of everything that is involved. (M.P.Pandit)

If only you are awake, you can see the hand of God everywhere.
(M.P.Pandit).

This body has been given to us by God and we have no right to punish it by refusing to clothe it elegantly, feed it fully. We are asked to look upon the body as a temple of God. We have to treat as sacred, keep it pure, well-decorated. (M.P.Pandit)

Once you recognize that there is joy in life, suffering changes its complexion.(M.P.Pandit)

Nobody wants to die, nobody wants to leave this world; even the poorest man, even the man who suffers the most, does not want to die, because deep within him there is the joy of life. If you can total up all the suffering and all the happiness in this world, happiness will be found to be more, that is why there is a will to live. Nobody wants to end his life. This is the secret of life; there is joy hidden in life, and all our education, our culture, our religion must awaken this sense of joy, sense of happiness, sense of beauty in each one of us and to the extent we serve this ideal, we serve not only humanity, but also God. (M.P.Pandit)

What we are, what we think we are, is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind our surface mind, behind the thoughts and the emotions and helpless actions that we perform from morning till evening, there is a great belt of consciousness of which we are not aware. And still it is the impulses from these regions that influence us. (M.P.Pandit).

Gems from Swami Vivekananda-11:

We need to have three things -

The Heart to Feel,
The Brain to Conceive and
The Hand to Work.

How To-19: "How to Live a Life of Celibacy"

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Whether you are entering the priesthood or doing it for personal reasons, remaining celibate can be a difficult thing to do. With these instructions and support from those around you (and perhaps a guide from above), you can lead a celibate life.

Steps

1. Make sure this is something you are very serious about. It can be a great thing if you are doing it for the right reasons.
   
2. Find a friend or mentor that has gone through this period in life and ask questions about his or her reason for making their choice.
   
3. Avoid listening to others' feelings about your decision, if they do not agree with yours. It is your choice and yours alone. Instead, talk to friends and people that will not judge you, or this choice you have made.
   
4. Get involved in different hobbies; better not to be around many [people of the attractive gender] for a while if this can be avoided. You could become involved with some spiritual activities.
   
5. Try to find people who you think will understand you and your choices. Tell them you need some moral support.
   
6. Avoid temptation. Do not put yourself in situations that might lead to sexual activity, such as close quarters with someone of the attractive sex.
   
7. It is a fact that after a certain amount of time, and if you do not remind yourself of what you are missing, you will stop feeling strong urges.
   
8. Continue to keep anything about romance or relationships away from your vision. Make a list of all you have wanted to do. You do not have a mate holding you back, so take that trip or write that novel.
   
9. Doing things alone will help you to grow and challenge yourself on why you wanted to be celibate in the first place.
   
10. If religion is a part of your decision to be celibate, read the Bible or other religious book for guidance and strength. Turn to your Priest or religious community in times of weakness and need.
    
11. Celibacy can be practiced within a relationship, if both are in agreement.
    
12. You can then both be each other's strength, and learn something together such as an instrument which will keep the mind busy.
    
13. The joy of learning will help to occupy your mind. It will also tire you out and make you sleep well.
    
14. Celibacy is said to be a great way to improve mental powers and concentration.
    

Tips

• Stay healthy and fit. Exercise with your partner, friends or alone.
  
• Exercise takes time and concentration. It makes you feel great afterward.
  
• Just because you are not dating, does not mean you should not look good.
  
• Continue to look after yourself with grooming and well matched clothes and you will feel good.
  

Warnings

• Do not risk any innocent cuddles or hugs, until you have become adapted to celibacy.
  
• Be confident about who you are, so that your will power can prevail. Your choice will be tested - either by yourself or by another - and you will need to be courageous to resist temptation.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Stay a Virgin
  
• How to Become a Catholic Priest
  
• How to Discuss Sex With Your Child
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Live a Life of Celibacy. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

From My Spiritual Diary-46 :

‘God is the Head of this house. The unseen guest at every meal. The silent listener to every conversation’ (Written at the entrance of Mr PAC Ramasamy Raja).

‘Assuming a human body, the Incarnation falls a victim to disease, grief, hunger, thirst and all such things, like ordinary mortals. Rama wept for Sita. “Brahman weeps, entrapped in the snare of the five elements!”.

“It is said in the Purana that God, in His Incarnation as the Sow (Varaha Avatar), lived happily with His young ones even after the destruction of Hiranyaksha. (According to Hindu mythology, God incarnated Himself as a sow in order to save the world from the iniquities of the demon, Hiranyaksha). As the Sow, He nursed them and forgot all about His abode in heaven. At last, Siva killed the sow-body with his trident, and God, laughing aloud went to His own abode.” (Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa).

“Akrura came to Vrindavan to take Krishna and Balarama to Mathura. When they mounted the chariot, the gopis clung to the wheels. They would not let the chariot move.” Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna sang, assuming the attitude of Akrura: “Hold not, hold not the chariot’s wheels! Is the wheels that make it move? The Mover of its wheels is Krishna, By whose will the worlds are moved…” Sri Ramakrishna then said: “Is it the wheels that make it move?’ ‘By whose will the worlds are moved; The driver moves the chariot at his Master’s bidding. I feel deeply touched by these lines”.

In the Bhagavatam, Sri Krishna says: “I have proclaimed three kinds of yoga for the spiritual enlightenment of human beings. These are Jnana Yoga (Path of Knowledge), Karma Yoga (Path of Action), and Bhakti Yoga (Path of Devotion). There is no other way besides these three. The path of knowledge is for those who are disgusted with work, and as a result, have renounced it. The path of action is for those who have desires and are therefore not yet disgusted with work and its fruits. The path of devotion is very effective for that person who by some good fortune has develop faith in my divine life and message, but has neither extreme renunciation nor excessive attachment for the world. (Swami Turiyananda).

“Life has a meaning, our birth has a meaning; that meaning is to realize in ourselves, in each one of us, something of God, to express in our daily life something that is associated with God, knowledge, kindness, benevolence, purity and happiness. (M.P.Pandit).

How To-18: "How to Spiritually Cleanse Your Home of Psychic Disturbances"

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Often there are situations within houses that make it difficult for us live in them peacefully. There are a variety of reasons for this. Some believe that houses can retain a sort of photo recording or image of other people that have lived in them in the past. This can sometimes cause upsetting disturbances to the present occupiers. These are not true ‘hauntings’, but simply a sort of photo image that is left on the very fabric of the building itself. A simple cleansing will sometimes clear this in the same way that any videotape can be wiped and re-recorded upon. Others are true hauntings where someone has passed over, either in the house, or are in some way associated with it, or the place where it is built, and are unable to find rest or to move on into the Light.

Steps

1. Gather your ingredients.
   
2. Gently pour the water into the salt, adding a prayer or invocation. An example of a Universalist prayer: "May the blending the elements of pure salt to preserve the sanctity and pure water cleanse this space, in the Name of ........." (here add your own prayer or finish the invocation to whichever deity you have belief in). Do this in a sacred and meaningful way, in the knowledge that you are creating a powerful medicine to cleanse and heal your home.
   
3. Take the water and either using your fingers or a little brush, sprinkle the holy water around the walls of every room every door and every window. Make sure that everywhere has been treated.
   
4. Pour the remaining salt/water mixture in a line in front of any doors leading in and out of the building. As you do so be sure to recite the names of all who live in the house and all those whom you wish to pass freely in and out, including all pets that need to go in and out. This allows them to move with ease across the boundaries that you are setting up.
   
5. Go back into the house, and in each room light a small white candle and some incense. Leave both to burn out to the end.
   
6. Put a bunch of fresh flowers into the main room of the house.
   

Tips

• Always cleanse with fresh flowers and scented oils or incense after a dispute in the house.
  
• If you do sense something that is very disruptive or frightening to you in some way, then it's better to bring in someone who is skilled in the way of exorcism, because this is what will need to be performed. This is also often the case where a house has been built on an ancient burial site, where the spirits are disturbed and displeased.
  
• If a stronger cleansing solution is warranted, a mixture of egg yolk and urine from each member of the household(including pets) can be used in place of the salt/water mixture. Mix one yolk per member of the house. Do not discard any of the mixture be sure to use the entire batch.
  

Warnings

• Some spirits in your home you may not want removed. For example, it has been shown in some scenarios that lingering spirits actually CLEANSE water as it enters a residence, by feeding on toxins in the water supply as they enter the home. This was shown by one particular example where a family died only AFTER a ghost was removed. Be sure to know what effects the spirit(s) is/are having in your environment before taking any action.
  

Things You'll Need

• Small nightlights or white candles (enough for every room)
  
• Incense
  
• Charged water and salt mixture (separate bowls with a small amount of water in one and plain salt in the other)
  
• Prayer or ritual
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Tell if Your House Is Haunted
  
• How to Read Auras (for Teens)
  
• How to Conduct a Paranormal Investigation
  

Sources and Citations

• http://www.crystalgreen.co.uk/
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Spiritually Cleanse Your Home of Psychic Disturbances. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.