» Speak little and spend some time in silence every day.
» Listen to everyone, but do that which is right.
» Take account of each minute. Spend every minute wisely and well.
» Live a simple life. Do not imitate others. In simplicity is the secret of true strength.
» Spend your strength in the service of the surrounding world.
» Study with concentration.
» Take regular exercise.

Fear is a poison that circulates through the entire system, paralysing the will, producing a queer sensation in some part or the other of the human body. Fear is the great foe of man. Overcome fear the moment it appears or it will overpower you. And fear is a merciless master. Strike fear with the weapon of the spirit – the word, God. Utter the sacred name dear to you, the name of the beloved Krishna, Shyama, Jesus, Buddha, Nanak. Utter it again and again. Utter it in childlike faith and He, whom you call, will rush to your aid. Say aloud some prayer which appeals to your heart. When we are tormented by needless fear, when we are crushed by the blows of faith, we should turn to God in absolute faith and trust. When we link ourselves to him, we allow positive energies to flow into our lives. Helpful, healing, wholesome thoughts come to us during periods of stillness, prayer and meditation.

Though we are unable to see those who we call dead, though we are unable to hear them, they can nonetheless see us and hear us. They cannot hear our words, but they can hear our thoughts. For they whom we call dead are minds without bodies, and their minds can read our minds. They hear our thoughts. Therefore, we should be careful about our thoughts in regard to the dead. We should try to overcome our grief and send out to them thoughts of love and goodwill. We should pray for them and wish them well in their journey. Our attitude towards the dead should be that of a mother or a wife whose son or husband has gone overseas to seek his fortune. Surely the mother or wife of such a person would send him encouraging messages from time to time, words of love and goodwill and cheer. If, instead, the wife writes him letters containing tales of woe and grief, the condition of the husband would be miserable. He cannot go back to his wife to console her. And thinking of the sorrows of his wife, whom he loves, he feels unhappy.

It is not only possible but your birthright. Anandam is your birthright as children of God. Each one of you is a son or daughter of God. God is the source of Ananda. He is an unending source of bliss. The moment I realise that I am a child of God, nothing is going to affect me. In order to live a life of bliss, all we have to do is to transcend the phenomenal, transcend what is happening around us.

Our journey through life has been perfectly planned by Infinite Love and Infinite Wisdom: there can be no mistake. Every experience that comes to us is just the right experience occurring at the right time to train us in the right way. So let us accept all that comes and never attempt to circumvent anything.

Again and again, we try to run away from what appears to us as an unpleasant experience, and try to avoid what we regard as difficult situations. We may succeed in keeping them away for a while, but we can never avoid them all the time, for they are, indeed, essential to our growth. God means us to face them and so develop our moral and spiritual muscles. If we avoid an unpleasant experience, it will return to us in due course with redoubled force, and we shall be compelled to take up the challenge until we have learnt the lesson it has come to teach us. The best way, therefore, to face difficult situations is to accept them and cooperate with their inner purpose, all the while fixing our mind and heart on Him who has planned for each one of us the glorious liberty that belongs to the children of the Spirit.