03.07.2015 Anger To be influenced by anger is to repress the soul's original qualities of tolerance and love. The biggest service is to show others the right path. When someone is going wrong, it is very easy to get influenced and go wrong too. For example, others' negativity brings anger, fear or sadness, which is negative too. Then, I lose the ability to show others the right path. When someone is negative, it is all the more reason to have a positive state of mind so that I can guide them towards the right path. Today I will take a few minutes before I react. Whenever there is a negative situation I am faced with, I'll wait for a minute or two before I give any reaction. this will help me finish negativity and I will be able to respond with positive. Different Thought Types (cont.) We have explained Negative Thoughts yesterday. Today we continue with the same: Negative Thoughts (cont.) If your thoughts are based on the five vices or related emotions (as explained yesterday), it is as if you had poisoned your own mind and the atmosphere around you. However much you may be right, it does not matter. By thinking negatively you will always be the loser, since negative thoughts take away the respect you have for yourself and others respecting you. Generally speaking, people who think very negatively about others will often find themselves alone, even though they have many relationships. Other people will try to avoid someone who has angry thoughts since anger is like a fire that destroys and causes damage, and nobody wants to approach this fire. A negative person who only sees the negative side of things causes disharmony in their immediate environment. These types of thoughts are more prevalent in people today, and are one of the causes of stress, fragmentation, aggressiveness and suffering in our current society. At a practical level, negative thoughts make you lose energy and weaken you. They are a form of inner pollution that must be cleansed so that your mind becomes a more efficient tool. (To be continued tomorrow .....) Soul Sustenance Varied (Different) Concepts About The Supreme Being or God (Part 1) Various questions related to the Supreme Being or God for the vast majority remain unanswered and therefore the experience of God remains unfulfilled. The concepts about God are as varied or different as are the sanskars of human beings. Some common concepts about God: • Some say God is everywhere. • Some say He is nowhere. • Some say He created the whole Universe out of nothing or out of Himself: others see that as illogical and impossible. • Many say God is beyond the understanding of limited human intellects, others believe that they have understood Him and are then respected as self-realized or spiritually knowledgeable humans. • Still others believe themselves to be God and allow themselves to be worshiped. • Some say that God creates only what is good, and others say that He also creates evil or bad, and that everything that is happening in the world is just God's play. • God is seen by some to be just an expression of human beings' needs and that they will soon go beyond needing such a figure-head (someone who is looked upto). • Some say He makes the grass grow and the wind blow, others say He is merely the voice of the conscience - the inner voice. • Others define God as the higher self who remains constantly at peace; this concept is called cosmic-consciousness, since the one with this characteristic is said to be at one with the whole universe. (To be continued tomorrow …) Message for the day The way to bring transformation in others is to have mercy for them. Projection: Inspite of wanting to bring about a positive change in people and working towards it, I rarely find that kind of change that I expect. People continue to display their old patterns of behaviour and finally I end up only feeling disappointed or frustrated. Solution: Real change can come in people only when I am able to have a vision of mercy for them. With mercy I am able to percieve and bring out the best in people without actually being caught up with expectations. Once I am able to see the positive qualities I am able to encourage them to use these qualities.