Test of Religion

• Love and charity for the whole human race, that is the test of true religiousness.

• Renunciation is the true background of all religious thoughts wherever it be, and you will always find that as this idea of renunciation lessens, the more will the senses creep into the field of religion, and spirituality will decrease in the same ratio.

• Selfishness is the chief sin, thinking of ourselves first. He who thinks "I will eat first, I will have more money than others, and I will possess everything"; he who thinks "I will get to heaven before others, I will get Mukti before others", is a selfish man. The unselfish man says, "I will be last, I do not care to go to heaven, I will go to hell, if by doing so I can help my brothers." This unselfishness is the test of religion.

• The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful. When a man is gloomy that may be dyspepsia, but it is not religion. To the Yogi, everything is bliss, every human face that he sees brings cheerfulness to him. That is the sign of a virtuous man. What business have you with clouded faces? It is terrible. If you have a clouded face, do not go out that day, shut yourself up in your room. What right have you to carry this disease out into the world.

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Meditations on Earth, Life and Dharma: >>

Om, May there be Peace in Heaven,
May there be Peace in the Sky,
May there be Peace in the Earth,

(Shanti Mantra of Upanishad)

Preserve Nature,
And Nature will preserve Us,
Simplify Life,
And help Nature thrive,
Plant Trees,
And make our planet Green.

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