It is the human's duty in this life, as also in later lives, to know and experience the Basic Cause of the Universe, the Source of all,  what is Sath-Chith-Aanandha (Being, Awareness, Bliss , Absolute) and human too is a spark of the same Basic Cause.

    (Those who deny God or the Supreme Will or the Basic Cause, can give no really satisfactory justification for their stand; nor can those who assert that there is God. Both have to rely on their own experience. After all how can sweetness be denied by one who refuses to taste sugar? How can one be convinced that sugar is sweet until one tastes it?  

    The wise are buoyed up by the bliss of their genuine awareness; the seekers and aspirants have their urges satisfied by the experiences of people in whom they have faith. The atheists hang on, by the slim thread of reason, to the beliefs they have once entertained. If they had faith in their own selves, they would have inferred that their selves derive strength and joy only from the Overself or God or the Cause of the Universe or the First Source).

    All human's misery is due to separation from that Source of all. The simple truth that everything is permeated by the One has been lost sight of. If human realises that he/she is one with the Omni-self, there will have no cause for sorrow.  When human realises that the Divine is all-pervasive, there will be no room for acquisitive selfishness or divisiveness.  

    The fear and anxiety, the grief and pain, the defeat and distress of human's earthly existence - these are the result of person's identification with falsehood. Human ought to proceed from one truth to another, from one facet of truth to another brighter and clearer one. No one really moves from untruth to truth. What is called untruth is only partial truth, or dulled truth or clouded truth. The ultimate goal is the uncovering of Truth.  

    The Divine assumed a myriad amazing variety of forms in the Universe and taught in the Gita to realise the magnificence of the Divine. Human has been engaged in exploring the infinite wonderful secrets of Nature in this marvellous creation in all possible ways.

    But because of the vagaries of his mind, human has failed to understand the true eternal, spiritual basis underlying everything in the Universe and has lost himself in the pursuit of the external phenomenal world as if it were the only reality. In the process human has failed to realise own true nature and has totally perverted own mind. The root of all trouble is the uncontrolled ill-directed mind. The mind fancies that it can get joy from the objects around, about which the senses give it information. 

    The mind is like a boulder which the intellect transforms into an image, even as a sculptor does. If the intellect allows the senses to dictate the design, the boulder will be shaped into a horrid idol. If, however, the senses are sublimated by the spirit, the image wrought by the intellect will be simply adorable. One must have the mind fully co-operating in the spiritual discipline and not obstructing its progress at every step. The mind can be mastered by Jnana (supreme knowledge) and  should not admit any activity that is contrary to Dharma (righteousness) or injurious to spiritual progress. 

    The mind will disappear as soon as the enquiry starts, for it is like cloth composed of the warp and woof of yarn. Each yarn is a desire, a wish, an attachment. Remove them and the cloth vanishes. Delusion is the cotton, desire is the yarn, mind is the cloth. Through vairagya (detachment) the warp and the woof can be pulled out. The sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) must have as own security personnel, viveka (wisdom) and vairaagya. Then he can move through the world unharmed.

    However, how can you expect quick success in the control of the mind? It is very difficult to overcome its vagaries, for it is many-faced and very adamant.

    If you rub a bit of iron on a hard surface, it develops heat; continue to rub it vigorously; then it can be made red-hot: If you do so with long intervals, the iron bit will become cold and all the effort up till then is a waste. The mind is as iron. The work has to be repeated over again. 

    Samartha Raamadas, while a boy, was going through the bazaar reading books. Some one reprimanded him for reading while walking. He said that Raamadas could read when he reached school. But Raamadas replied, For me, the entire world appears as a school, which I must attend throughout life. I do not see any difference between the school where I learn some lessons and the world where I learn other lessons. The process of learning lasts until death and is resumed at birth. Samsaara (worldly life) is the saara (the essence) of all experiences.

    By the first three primary goals of life - Dharma, Artha and Kama (righteousness, wealth and desire - fulfillment) - the practice of Dharma is the Art of Living. That is why in the Gita Krishna taught Arjuna to give up the fruits of action, not  to give up the body.

    Human's career in this world is a perpetual struggle with the down-dragging impulses and the raising impulses. It is Dharmakshethra, where the Kurukshethra battle is being waged, from birth to death. Life is a game with fire; one has to derive the warmth without getting burnt. One has to use the senses and the intellect wisely, for liberation rather than get entangled in their wiles.   

    The joy one has lost has to be recovered from the inner consciousness which has been covered by the darkness of ignorance. Search for the joy in the inner vision; set it right and you can discover it there.

    Practise the attitude of joy when others are joyful and of grief when others around you are grieved. Let your heart move in sympathy. But the joy and grief have to be translated into service; they should not be mere emotions. It is not by your wearing the 'bush coat' which all others wear that you should demonstrate the principle of equality. That is external uniformity. How are all equal? Because they have all the same Atma within them. Every being has to reach the Goal, however slow they walk or however circuitous their road.   

    To reach the Goal quickly, without passing through the ordeals of the long journey and stopping at one caravanserai after another, passing from birth to birth, learn sadhana - especially, the easiest and the quickest, Namasmarana. So, attach yourself to Swami and the current will flow through you and get things done for your good. The light you get from the current that flows always along the copper wire depends on the power of the bulb you fix. The rain falls of its own accord uniformly on the land; the lands bring forth the fruit according to the quality of soil and seed.

    A little practice will teach to hold fast to the Feet of God, while roaming about in the world doing all duties and carrying all responsibilities as dedicated to Him. No attempt need be made to run away from the duties of one's station and status. Remember, those duties have to be done as worship, as offerings of one's intelligence and skill, qualities and thoughts and feelings to the Feet of the Lord in a spirit of thankfulness for the chance given, without a trace of egoism or a sense of attachment to the fruits of the actions. The obligatory actions have to be carried out, wherever you are, with care and sincerity. They award the needed viveka (wisdom) and vairagya (detachment).   

    Do not worry about the consequences; leave it to God who prompted the act and made it possible. Develop physical health and mental alertness and cleverness in discovering the way to lasting happiness; then you will have attachment, which if turned to God becomes devotion which promotes detachment from all that distracts the mind away from God and leads to liberation. So, with the Lord of the Universe in your heart, you can wander over the entire world. Like a lamp held in the hand which will illumine every foot of the journey, because it will come with you however far you go, the Name of God will illumine every minute of your life. Devotion is not something objective and concrete. It is an inner experience which springs from the heart. As you think, so you become. Hence, the heart must be filled with good feelings. The senses must be engaged in good actions. When the eyes are turned towards God, all creation appears Divine. 

    It is part of human nature to desire to reach the presence of God. For deep within the human heart is the urge to reach the place from which he/she has come, to attain the lost joy and  the missed glory.  Human being is  divine and so it is a matter of the' deep calling unto the deep, of the part calling for the whole, of the sky in the pot yearning for the sky surrounding it. 

    To reach the presence of the source of Bliss, that is, God, you must tread the foot-steps of the great saints and seekers. Practise their teachings, follow their example.  

    Give the world only secondary importance; the primary place should be reserved for loosening its coils. The Jagadjanani (Mother of the Universe) will hurry towards you and caress you only when you cast off the dolls and cry. Yearn from the very depths of the heart, yearn with your whole being. Leave no balance of attachment in the mind. 

    Scientists have to feel the great marvel of energy manipulating both the minutest atom and cell and the vastest, most distant star. They consider the atom as all-important and the Atma as insignificant. This is a tragic reversal of values. As human's knowledge and skills have increased, the moral calibre has declined. To indulge in demoniac actions while having the human form means degrading human nature.