Teachings
LOVE AND COMPASSION
1. “I tell you one thing — if you want peace, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own.”
N319 & TN199
2. “To err is human. One must not take that into account. It is harmful for oneself. One gets into the habit of finding fault. … Do not look for faults in others, or your own eyes will become faulty.”
C306
3. “I can no longer find fault in anyone, my son. … Formerly people’s faults appeared to my eyes also. Then with tears I prayed to the Master, ‘Master, I can no longer bear finding fault.’ Then only this defect left me. Even if you commit so much as a little fault after doing a thousand good to somebody, he will be at once offended. People only look for faults. One should look for merits as well.”
C348
4. “I cannot see others’ faults. I am simply not made that way. There are enough people always ready to criticize others. Surely the world will not come to an end if I refrain from doing so.”
Cl8 & N225
5. “Man finds faults in others after bringing down his own mind to that level. Does anything ever happen to another if you enumerate his faults? It only injures you. This has been my attitude. Hence I cannot see anybody’s faults. If a man does a trifle for me, I try to remember him even for that. To see the faults of others! One should never do it. I never do so. Forgiveness is Tapasya.”
C115 & TN322
6. “Everyone has to be accommodating. The Master used to say ‘sha, sha, sa’.1 Forbear everything. He is there to judge.”
G334
7. “One shouldn’t lose oneself so much in sputtering. If one sees the worst of everything, one feels pain. X — has got into such a habit of speaking out the truth that she no longer cares about what others will think. I,on the other hand, still care. One should never indulge in unpleasant truths.”
C93-94
8. “One must live carefully. Every action produces its results. It is not good to use harsh words towards others or be responsible for their suffering.”
TN297
9. “Should anyone ever utter a thing that hurts another’s feelings? An unpleasant truth, though true, must not be uttered. For that grows into a habit. By indulging in rude words one’s nature becomes rude. One’s sensitivity is lost if one has no control over one’s speech. And once a man casts all consideration for others to the winds, he stops at nothing. The Master would say, ‘If you have to ask a lame man how he became lame, then you have to speak thus: “How did your leg come to such a condition?” ‘ ”
C367 & TN370
10. “If one is without kindness, how can one be called a human being?”
N 128
11.“Let me tell you how to love all equally. Do not demand anything of those you love. Ifyou make demands, some will give you more and some less. In that case you will love more those who give you more and less those who give you less. Thus your love will not be the same for all. You will not be able to love all impartially.”
N129
12. When the head of an ashrama requested the Mother to tell the workers under him to obey him implicitly in all matters, she firmly rejected his request and explained to him gently, “The boys have become Sadhus to call on God and make their lives blessed. They are doing their best for the ashrama, and will always do so. They are now of age, and have had their mind and intelligence fully developed. So discriminating between good and bad, and what is to their advantage or otherwise, if they want to lead an independent life, you are not to be an impediment in their path. And even if you obstruct them, nobody can live always subservient to another at the cost of his own convenience. If you find any difficulty in getting your work done, it is you who have to explain it to them tactfully. They have always been obedient to you and they will still remain so. Love can achieve anything. You can never make one obey you by force or by adopting a roundabout way.”
S1980; 243
13. The cat, following its own nature, often stole food and the Mother would remark, “To steal is its dharma. Who is there always to feed it lovingly?” One day a monastic attendant treated the cat roughly and dashed it against the earth. The Mother looked very sad. She said to the monk, “Scold the cat, but do not beat it. Please feed it regularly and see that it does not go to any other house to steal food. … Do not beat the cat. I dwell inside the cat too.”
N164
14. “My son, work to remove the sufferings of the world.”
C314
15. “The purpose of one’s life is fulfilled only when one is able to give joy to another.”
S1980;486
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