Contemplation: February 25,
2019: Bad Habits
Bad Habits
Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.
Purity
A powerful, yet often misunderstood, aim of spiritual study is
purity.
Purity of the soul means to return to its original divine qualities.
The soul has become so polluted with less than divine qualities, it can
hardly enjoy being alive. Purifying the soul puts the higher self back
in charge - useless and negative thoughts are removed and annoying
habits finish. A pure soul cannot be touched by sorrow; indeed the
power of purity is such, it serves to remove the sorrow of the whole
world. Purity restores happiness - even bliss. All you need to do, in
order to re-establish your purity, is want it. But you need to want it
intensely, to the exclusion of everything else. The one thought, "I
must become completely pure". sparks a fire of love between you and
God. This fire melts away all the pollution, and your purity becomes
such a power that it frees you from all battles for ever.
Purity of the soul means to return to its original divine qualities.
The soul has become so polluted with less than divine qualities, it can
hardly enjoy being alive. Purifying the soul puts the higher self back
in charge - useless and negative thoughts are removed and annoying
habits finish. A pure soul cannot be touched by sorrow; indeed the
power of purity is such, it serves to remove the sorrow of the whole
world. Purity restores happiness - even bliss. All you need to do, in
order to re-establish your purity, is want it. But you need to want it
intensely, to the exclusion of everything else. The one thought, "I
must become completely pure". sparks a fire of love between you and
God. This fire melts away all the pollution, and your purity becomes
such a power that it frees you from all battles for ever.
Soul Power Over
Role Power
Every act that we are involved in throughout the day is made possible or real by two entities - role and soul working in conjunction with each other. Although, it is a spiritual fact that the soul is the master and makes the role function, without the soul the role cannot function; while playing any role in our day-to-day life we tend to forget this fact and our entire focus falls on the role that is to be played, forgetting that by doing that, we bring down the probability of success of that role in our personal or professional life. Focusing positively on the soul and its components while playing the role fills the role with soul power and focusing on the role and its components while playing the role fills the role with something you could call role power. We need to create a balance between the role and the soul and a balance in using both role and soul power to bring about the success of the role, the role could be of any type. Even a project that you have to work on in the office which is going to last for a month is an example of a temporary role you have to play. There are many other examples of roles - getting your child's homework done, preparing food for the entire family, doing charity work at the club together, taking part in an extracurricular activity in school or college, etc.
Any such or other role will consist of some or all of these components - various tasks, interaction with people or relationships, mediums like wealth and other objects, time, knowledge of everything connected with the role including the components that make up the role, etc. All these components are physical in nature and make up the role. The power that these components possess makes up what we call role power. Now, what happens is that as soon as we step into the role each day or on a particular day, obviously our aim is to bring about success of the role, but to achieve that, our entire focus falls on using the power of the role, neglecting the immense potential that soul power possesses. We spend our day and night in streamlining the role components for the well being of the role, not realizing that this purpose could be more easily achieved, if the focus is more on using soul power, obviously without neglecting role power (without which the purpose cannot be achieved).
In tomorrow's message, we shall explain the various components that make up soul power.
Soul Sustenance
What Is Karma Yoga?
Karma Yoga implies two things:
• yoga (meditation) by which the karmas are elevated and purified;
• those karmas by which the remembrance of the Supreme Being (God) is maintained and strengthened.
The loveful remembrance of the Supreme, is not just a "sitting" matter. If we approach meditation from this angle (as only a sitting practice), any real change in practical life takes a very long time. We should not only use meditation to improve our actions but also modify our actions to improve our meditation. In this way, theory and practice should be simultaneous. As the soul takes virtues and powers from the Supreme Soul, it gives to the world, thus increasing the capacity to take and give.
In the sitting meditation, be it five minutes or two hours, the soul dives deeply into itself and establishes an unbroken mental link with the Supreme. When the sitting finishes and the soul has to go back into the world of action and responsibility, the link need not be forgotten. The hands can be involved with the work and the mind can still be with the Supreme Soul.
Karma Yoga implies two things:
• yoga (meditation) by which the karmas are elevated and purified;
• those karmas by which the remembrance of the Supreme Being (God) is maintained and strengthened.
The loveful remembrance of the Supreme, is not just a "sitting" matter. If we approach meditation from this angle (as only a sitting practice), any real change in practical life takes a very long time. We should not only use meditation to improve our actions but also modify our actions to improve our meditation. In this way, theory and practice should be simultaneous. As the soul takes virtues and powers from the Supreme Soul, it gives to the world, thus increasing the capacity to take and give.
In the sitting meditation, be it five minutes or two hours, the soul dives deeply into itself and establishes an unbroken mental link with the Supreme. When the sitting finishes and the soul has to go back into the world of action and responsibility, the link need not be forgotten. The hands can be involved with the work and the mind can still be with the Supreme Soul.
Message for the day
The one who is powerful finds one or the other means to finish waste.
Expression: Life brings lots of situations which naturally bring about waste thoughts. But the one who is powerful searches for ways and means to finish this waste. Such a person is like a skilled player who is waiting for an opportunity to give his best. So each situation is used as a means to use of all the resources in the right way. Even if there is one method that doesn't work, there is always a search for a new method to bring about the right solution.
Experience: When I am able to remain powerful even in the most difficult situation, I am able to recognize the powers that are within me and use them for overcoming that situation. I am never afraid of difficult situations, nor do I wish for life to be smooth without difficulties. Instead, I use each problem as a challenge to bring out the best from within me. So with each challenging situation, I find myself becoming more and more powerful.
In Spiritual Service,
Brahma Kumaris