Instead of applying the intellect for
ourselves, we apply the intellect for others.
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In the guru-disciple relationship
there is acceptance, faith and surrender: one is undergoing training, one is ‘in-
tuition’. This ability to move from intellect to intuition is considered to be a quality
of the highest type of aspirant, because while letting go of family and possessions is not considered so difficult, letting go of that ‘I-ness’ is considered to be one of the
toughest and rarest abilities.
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self-control, spirit of inquiry, contentment and good company.
The wise seeker should diligently cultivate the friendship of these, or at least one of them.
When the mind is at peace, pure, tranquil, free from delusion or hallucination,
untangled and free from cravings, it does not long for anything nor does it reject
anything. This is self-control or conquest of mind.
He who even while hearing, touching, seeing, smelling and tasting what is regarded
as pleasant and unpleasant, is neither elated nor depressed — he is self-controlled.
He who looks upon all beings with equal vision, having brought under control the
sensations of pleasure and pain, is self-controlled. He who though living amongst
all is unaffected by them, neither feels elated nor hates, even as one is during sleep
— he is self-controlled
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Inquiry (the second gate-keeper to liberation) should be undertaken by an
intelligence that has been purified by a close study of the scripture, and this inquiry should be unbroken. By such inquiry the intelligence becomes keen and is able to realize the supreme; hence inquiry alone is the best remedy for the long-lasting illness known as samsara
The spirit of inquiry protects one from the calamities that befall the unthinking fool. When the mind has been rendered dull by the absence of inquiry, even the cool rays of the moon turn into deadly weapons, and the childish
imagination throws up a goblin in every dark spot. Hence, the non-inquiring fool is really a storehouse of sorrow. It is the absence of inquiry that gives rise to
actions that are harmful to oneself and to others, and to numerous psychosomatic
illnesses. Therefore, one should avoid the company of such unthinking people.
They in whom the spirit of inquiry is ever awake illumine the world, enlighten all
who come into contact with them, dispel the ghosts created by an ignorant mind,
and realize the falsity of sense-pleasures and their objects.
in the light of inquiry there is realization of the eternal and unchanging reality; this is the supreme.
The eye of spiritual inquiry does not lose its sight even in the midst of all activities;
he who does not have this eye is indeed to be pitied. It is better to be born as a frog
in the mud, a worm in dung, a snake in a hole, but not be one without this eye.
What is inquiry? To inquire thus: “Who am I? How has this evil of samsara (repetitive
history) come into being?” is true inquiry. Knowledge of truth arises from such
inquiry; from such knowledge there follows tranquillity in oneself; and then there arises the supreme peace that passeth understanding and the ending of all sorrow.
(Vicara or inquiry is not reasoning nor analysis: it is directly looking into
oneself.)
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What is contentment? To renounce all craving for what is not obtained unsought
and to be satisfied with what comes unsought, without being elated or depressed
even by them — this is contentment. As long as one is not satisfied in the self, he
will be subjected to sorrow. With the rise of contentment the purity of one’s heart
blooms. The contented man who possesses nothing owns the world.
Satsanga (company of wise, holy and enlightened persons) is yet another gate-
keeper to liberation. Satsanga enlarges one’s intelligence, destroys one’s ignorance
and one’s psychological distress. Whatever be the cost, however difficult it may be,
whatever obstacles may stand in its way, satsanga should never be neglected.
of religious rites.