Inter- Faiths Dialogue

Classics > Spiritual Advices

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F or the good is not good if it is not rightly done. It is really good only if it is not done with the purpose of receiving some reward: as, for instance, the search for popularity or glory may be rewarded by fame, or by excessive gain, or by something else that is wrong. God is not interested in what happens to turn out to be good or in what appears to be good. He is interested in the purpose for which a thing is done.

quote 3376 | The Philokalia
St. John of Damaskos in On the Virtues and Vices: ("Philokalia (Vol. 2)", pp. 339-340)

H e who does something good and expects a reward is serving not God but his own will.

quote 3375 | Saint Mark the Ascetic
No Righteousness by Works: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 130, text 57)

B e joyful at all times… and give thanks for all things.

quote 3342 | Desert Fathers
Abba Benjamin: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 44, Benjamim 4

D o not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.

quote 3338 | Desert Fathers
Abba Poemen (called the Shepherd) p. 178, Poemen 80)

B etter indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice (of religious ritual). Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results (of one's actions), because there follows immediate peace.

quote 3235 | The Bhagavat Gita
BG 12:12, p. 163, The Bhagavad Gita. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1985.

A ttachement to the fruits of action binds a person to continual rebirth.

quote 3234 | The Bhagavat Gita
BG 2:51, p. 67, The Bhagavad Gita. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1985.

Y ou have the right to work, but never to the fruit of the work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.

quote 3233 | The Bhagavat Gita
BG 2:47, p. 66, The Bhagavad Gita. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1985.

A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us direct our deepest desires to realize the Self.

quote 3216 | The Upanishads
Chandogya Up. Chapter 3, 14:1, p. 177 in The Upanishads. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1987

T he true saguna or body of the Lord is the universe itself, in which He is immanent. And by His power He is causing, in this manifestation, birth, growth, and dissolution of all beings and things. He is also transcendent as pure spirit. Your body is one of His expressions. Your activity has its inception in the infinite power of God. Don't be deluded by a desire to behold things which are conditioned and momentary-mere phantoms of your mind. Have the true longing to realize your immortal nature and your union with the omnipotent and omnipresent God, who is the supreme Lord of the universe. Purify your mind and heart by proper discipline and entitle yourself to this glorious vision, and attain perfect freedom and eternal bliss

quote 3166 | Ramdas
In the Vision of God, Volume 1, by Swami Ramdas, pp 251-252

W herever there are two, there is fear, there is danger, there is conflict, there is strife. When it is all One, who is there to hate, who is there to struggle with? When it is all He, with whom can you fight? This explains the true nature of life; this explains the true nature of being. This is perfection, and this is God. As long as you see the many, you are under delusion.

quote 3155 | Vivekananda
excerpt from Jnana-Yoga, Immortality, Swami Vivekananda, pg 164

H idden behind the veil of mystery, Beauty is eternally free from the slightest stain of imperfection. From the atoms of the world, He created a multitude of mirrors; into each one of them He cast the image of His Face; to the awakened eye, anything that appears beautiful is only a reflection of that Face.
Now that you have seen the reflection, hurry to its Source; in that primordial Light the reflection vanishes completely. Do not linger far from that primal Source; when the reflection fades, you will be lost in darkness. The reflection is as transient as the smile of a rose; if you want permanence, turn towards the Source; if you want fidelity, look to the Mine of faithfulness. Why tear your soul apart over something here one moment and gone the next?

quote 3137 | Jami
translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'

A ll philosophies and scriptures say the same thing: "God dwells in this human body."

Do not consider your body a mere lump of flesh made of seven components. It is a noble instrument. In it are situated all holy places, gods, mantras, and the source of all extraordinary powers in this world…. God dwells in the body. He is present as fully in you as in the highest Heavens. Why are you exhausting yourself looking for Him in different places instead of in your own heart? You should live your normal life, but accord Him the chief place among your daily activities. Whatever may be your religion or philosophy, do not make yourself a foolish, weak, and trivial creature. Do not head toward decline and disaster by regarding this body as godless. Do not commit spiritual suicide by belittling yourself through defective understanding.

quote 3124 | Muktananda
in Jonathan Star, the Inner Treasure, Tarcher Putnam, from an unpublished work written in 1972.

M any sheikhs observe the following rule. When a novice joins them, they subject him to spiritual discipline for three years. He can be admitted to the Path only if he fulfills all the requirements of this discipline. The first year is devoted to service of the people, the second year to service of God, and the third year to watching over his own heart.

quote 2995 | Hujwiri
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.218

I f you wish to draw near to God, you must seek God in the hearts of others. You should speak well of all, whether present or absent. If you seek to be a light to guide others, then, like the sun, you must show the same face to all. To bring joy to a single heart is better than to build many shrines for worship, and to enslave one soul by kindness is worth more than the setting free of a thousand slaves.
The true man of God sits in the midst of his fellowmen, and rises up and cats and sleeps and buys and sells and gives and takes in the bazaars, and marries and has social intercourse with others, and yet is never for one moment forgetful of God.

quote 2988 | Abu Sa'id
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.212

D o everything you do in order to come close to your Lord in your worship and prayers. Think that each deed may be your last act, each prayer your last prostration, that you may not have another chance. If you do this, it will be another motivation for becoming heedful and also for becoming sincere and truthful.

quote 2977 | Ibn 'Arabi
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.159

I t is therefore a necessary prerequisite for lovers that they correct their lower selves by means of worship, spiritual exercises, and Remembrance of God. Through these, the self may attain a tranquil character, the heart purified, and the spirit burnished.

quote 2947 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.160

F riend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into experience while you are alive!
Think … and think … while you are alive.
What you call "salvation" belongs to the time before death.
If you don't break your ropes while you are alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?
The idea that the soul will join with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment in the City of Death.
If you make love with the divine now, in the next life
you will have the face of satisfied desire.

Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for, it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that does all the work.

quote 2926 | Kabir
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.256

S eek the company of the wise, who know. Agree with what they say, for one understands only that with which one agrees. Be sincere in what you say- a single tongue should not speak two different words. No deceit or fraud should enter into your thoughts. Do not belittle anyone or anything, for everyone and everything in its inner being wishes for the same thing.
"Do not touch anything that is not yours. Avoid crowded places; even in such places, try to be with yourself, for that is the place where the truth is manifested. That is where the truth is.

quote 2906 | Ibn 'Arabi
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.84

T he roots of conduct have four aspects: conduct with God, conduct with self, conduct with people, and conduct with this world. Each of these aspects is based on seven principles. There are seven principles of conduct with God: giving God His due, keeping His limits, being thankful for His gift, being content with His decree, being patient with His trials, glorifying His sanctity, and yearning for Him.
The seven principles of conduct with self are reducing fear, striving, enduring harm, embracing spiritual discipline, seeking truthfulness and sincerity, withdrawing the self from what it loves, and binding it in poverty.
The seven principles of conduct with people are forbearance, forgiveness, humility, generosity, compassion, good counsel, justice and fairness.
The seven principles of conduct with this world are being content with what is at hand, preferring what is available to what is not, abandoning the quest for the elusive, hating overabundance, choosing abstinence, knowing the evils of this world and abandoning any desire for them, and negating its dominance.

quote 2882 | Abou Bakr As-Siddiq
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.61

O bligatory charity for the sake of God is due from every single part of your body, even from every root of your hair. In fact, charity is due for every instant of your life.
Charity of the eye means looking with consideration and averting your gaze from desires and things similar to them.
Charity of the ear means listening to the best of sounds, such as wisdom, the Koran, and the benefits of faith contained in warnings and good counsel, and by avoiding lies, slander, and similar things.
Charity of tongue means to give good advice, to awaken those who are heedless, and to give abundant glorification and remembrance and other, similar things.
Charity of hand means spending money on others, to be generous with God's blessing to you, to use your hand to write down knowledge and information by means of which others will benefit in obedience to God, and to restrain your hand from evil.
Charity of the foot means to hasten to carry one's duty to God by visiting virtuous people, attending assemblies of remembrance, putting things right between people, maintaining ties of kinship, engaging in jihad [inner struggle], and doing things that will make your heart sound and your faith correct.

quote 2881 | Abou Bakr As-Siddiq
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.60

T he soul should take care of the body, just as the pilgrim on his way to Mecca takes care of his camel; but if the pilgrim spends his whole time in feeding and adorning his camel, the caravan will leave him behind, and he will perish in the desert.

quote 2871 | Ghazzali
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.47

Y ou will not be a mystic until you are like the earth-both the righteous and the sinner tread upon it-and until you are like the clouds-they shade all things-and until you are like the rain-it waters all things, whether it loves them or not.

quote 2867 | Bistami
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.40

W e read in the psalm: "If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in the netherworld, behold, here Thou art." When I consider myself great and think I can touch the sky, I discover that God is the faraway There, and the higner I reach, the farther away he is. But if I make my bed in the depths, if I bow my soul down to the netherworld, there, too, he is with me.

quote 2787 | Martin Buber
Martin Buber’s ten rungs, collected Hassidic saying, p.104

D o not tell yourself in your heart of hearts that you are greater than your neighbor, because you serve God so very fervently. You are no different from the rest of the creatures who were created for the service of God. And how could you be more admirable than the worm? For it serves its Maker with all its power and strength.

quote 2784 | Martin Buber
Martin Buber’s ten rungs, collected Hassidic saying, p.101

H e who desires to become aware of the hidden light must lift the feeling of fear up to its source. And he can accomplish this if he judges himself and all he does. For then he sheds all fears and lifts fear that has fallen down. But if he does not judge himself, he will be judged from on high, and this judgment will come upon him in the guise of countless things, and all the things in the world will become messengers of God who carry out the judgment on this man.

quote 2769 | Martin Buber
Martin Buber’s ten rungs, collected Hassidic saying, p.73

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