Swami on discrimination, destiny & science

A post for the 5th chakra on what swami says about discrimination as well as destiny and choice/free will (taken from Digest & A Compendium of His Teachings)

JOY = Jesus (God) first, Others next, Yourself last (merry X-mas!)

BUT KNOW WHEN TO USE

Discrimination (conscience vs conceit) vs Being Too Nice (taken advantage of vs hypocricy)

Love Many = "Love All Serve All" = Innocent until proven Guilty on the outside

Trust Few = "Always Be Careful" (ABC) = Guilty until proven Innocent on the inside

Hurt None (including oneself!) = "Help Ever Hurt Never" = Discrimination to know the difference!

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

= the idea of discrimination being essential to wisdom whether dealing with people or destiny

SWAMI QUOTES ON:-

DISCRIMINATION

Quote 1: Discrimination says eat the good side and discard the bad. There is another force in you through which God works, and that is discrimination. That force must be used to put aside wrong action. The power of discrimination knows what is right and what is wrong. The wrong desire is God overshadowed by Maya, whereas discrimination is God not overshadowed by Maya.

Quote 2: Man is endowed with the special instrument of discrimination, of judgement, of analysis and synthesis, that among all animals he alone possesses. He has to developthis and utilise it to the best purposes. Through this faculty he can realise the Immanent Divinity.

Quote 3: It is necessary to derive wisdom from experience but it is equally essential to develop the faculty of discrimination which enables us to employ it for the well being of the country. Education is one thing and discrimination is quite another. Discrimination is the faculty that enables us to distinguish good from bad and confers upon us the ability to decide how much importance is to be given to various aspects in a given situation. Discrimination is a component of wisdom. Without discrimination one cannot pursue the right path. It is a mark of sagacity to display discrimination in all actions.

Quote 4. You should lead your life within limits. Not only that, but we should have discrimination..... you should have the appropriate behaviour of a human being. Having been on the spiritual path, you should have sacredness and and develop discrimination in all your habits".

Quote 5. Buddhi has the power of discrimination. Discrimination os of two types: individual and fundamental discrimination. IN fundamental discrimination, it is universal - like the prayer "Loka Samastu Sukino Bhavantu" - May all the worlds be happy" Individual discrimination is only individually inclined; he thinks only of my body, my friend, my... etc" Individual discrimination is wrong. Fundamental discrimination is Truth. Individual discrimination is selfish. So go along the path of fundamental discrimination".

DESTINY & FATE

Quote 6. Manava (man) has to become Madhava (God) that is his destiny, the plan and purpose of his being armed, as no other animal is, with the sword of Viveka (discrimination). Man is the only animal that can picture a previous existence and existences in a series, with impression accumulating from one to the other. What you see and feel in a dream has some basis on what you have been and felt in the waking state; so too, what you see and feel in the present life has, as its basis, what you have seen and felt in previous lives. You can win the Grace of the Lord only by dharma. Dharma induces the spirit of self-surrender and develops it.

Quote 7. The sport of destiny is full of contradictions and absurdities; they are unpredictable as the wayward sport of children.

Be bold. Do not grieve over the past; such grief is useless. Strange things do happen when times are not propitious and circumstances so conspire. Of what benefit is it to lay the fault on someone? No one should be found fault with. It is one's destiny to live on with his load of sorrow. his cannot be avoided; it must be endured.

Quote 8. No one is competent to determine where a certain thing should take place. Life may end in a town, in water, or in a forest. Each one's life will end in the place, the manner and the time prescribed for him. this is inescapable. this sis according to the operation of Nature's Law based in the pairs of opposites in life... whatever has to happen, how, at what time and in what manner, has been predetermined and the mere fact that I am nearby will not serve to alter them.... Only when the cause, the time and the necessary action are in fruitful combination will the event happen"

FREE WILL & CHOICE

Quote 9. "Understand that there is no free will for individuals. They are constrained by various limitations. God alone has total free will. All others are bound in one way of another. Whatever one's efforts, the ultimate outcome lies with Providence. Therefore, place your faith in God and do your duty, wherever you may be."

Quote 10. "Nobody has free will. For man is subservient to his senses. Even is he wants otherwise, his eyes will look at the world. Ears will listen to all sounds. Legs move to places unwanted by him. He is thus reduced to the state of a slave to the senses. Where is the free will? Added to this, man's behavior is also fashioned around the acquisitions of previous birth; not only that, the effect of the deeds of his parents too will influence the child born to them. Thus, man is subjected to and influenced by diverse forces, that of his parents and above all the influences of the senses. Then how can free will prevail for man? The faculty is enjoyed by God alone"

Quote 11. "All actions are His (God's), the fruits come from Him and they go back to Him. You are only instruments in His Hands and are witnesses. Therefore, since you are not the actual doer, you have no right over the fruits ... You have the right to exercise choice over action, whether or not a certain course of action has to be adopted. You have the right to choose between alternative courses of actions. the courses or the paths leading to action are optional and are open to you. The action itself is pre-determined and fixed, but the way in which is is done is left to your choice or preference. With the help of your intelligence and discrimination, you can choose a certain course of action and execute it. This is where your right ends. Once the action is performed, the result or fruit passes out of your hands."

Quote 12. "For example, suppose a man is seated in a car which is being driven by his chauffeur. The master tells the driver to go to a particular destination but leaves the choice of the route to him. The driver chooses the shortest and easiest route to reach the destination. The destination is fixed or pre-determined, only the alternative routes is open to choice. In other words the action is fixed or predetermined but the course of action is open to choice. But once you choose a certain course or path and the action or deed is done, the result passes out of your hands. Then the Law of Karma takes over and decides the result of the fruit of action"

Quote 13. "Once you realise you are not the doer and the enjoyer, you will learn to renounce all rights over the fruits ... You will become detached. You become indifferent to the consequences of your action. Whether the result is good or bad, a success or failure, you remain calm and unruffled, detached and unaffected"

"Attachment and liberation can both be effected through the mind. You have the choice. It is an instrument for either. Condemn the use, not the tool."

SCIENCE (too many to add in here)

Quote 14. "Scientists announce that the cosmos is composed of atoms. Spiritual Seers announce that God is the minutest of atoms and the vastest among the vast. Sea water yields salt crystals. Similarly, the all pervading Divinity crystalizes as Avatars. The crystal is the build up of many atoms; the Avatar principle is the build up of many divine attributes. The two sciences - physical and spiritual can never clash; one compliments the other; for the sciences related to nature have bounds which they cannot cross. They can only study the created; the Creator is the special field of study of religion. One is the scientist, the other is a saint. The saint probes the root; the scientist peers into the tree above ground."