I am giving you now some selected jewels, maxims of conduct, that are very important. Collect and treasure them well. Experience them well, put them into practice and derive joy therefrom. Wear these jewels and beautify yourself.

1. Prema, Love, should be considered as the very breath of life.
2. The Love that is manifest in all things equally, believe that the same Prema is Parmathma.
3. The one Paramathma is in every one, in the form of Prema.
4. More than all other forms of Prema, man’s first effort should be to fix his Love on the Lord.
5. Such Love directed towards God is bhakti; that is the fundamental test, the acquisition of Bhakti.
6. Those who seek the Bliss of Atma should not run after the joys of sense objects.
7. Sathya, Truth, must be treated as life giving as breathing itself.
8. Just as the body that has no breath is useless and begins to rot and stink within a few minutes, similarly, life without TRUTH is useless and becomes the stinking abode of strife and grief.
9. Believe that there is nothing greater than Truth, nothing more precious, nothing sweeter and nothing more lasting.
10. Truth is the all protecting God. There is no mightier guardian than Truth.
11. The Lord who is Sathyaswaroopa grants His darshan to those of truthful speech and loving heart.
12. Have undiminished kindness towards all beings and also the spirit of self-sacrifice.
13. You must also posse the control of senses, an unruffled character and non-attachment.
14. Be always on the alert against the four sins which the tongue is prone to commit:
    • Speaking falsehood
    • Speaking ill of others
    • Back bitting and
    • Talking too much.
      
    It is best to control these tendencies.

15. Try to prevent the five sins the body commits:
    • Killing
    • Adultry
    • Theft
    • Drinking intoxicants and
    • Eating of flesh.
    
    It is a great help for the highest life if these also are kept as far away as possible.

16. One must be vigilant, without a moment’s carelessness, against the eight sins that the mind perpetrates:
    • Kamam or craving
    • Krodham or anger
    • Lobham or greed
    • Moham or attachment
    • Impatience
    • Hatred
    • Egoism and
    • Pride
      
    
    Man’s primary duty is to keep all these things at a safe distance from himself.

17. Man’s mind speeds fast, pursuing wrong actions. Without letting it hurry like that remember the name of the Lord at that time or attempt to do some good deed or other. Those who do thus will certainly become fit for the Lord’s grace.
18. First give up the evil tendency to feel envious at the prosperity of others and desire to harm them. Be happy that others are happy. Sympathise with those who are in adversity and wish for their prosperity. That is the means of cultivating love for God.
19. Patience is all the strength that man needs.
20. Those anxious to live in joy must always be doing good.
21. It is easier to conquer anger through love, attachment through reasoning, falsehood through truth, bad through good and greed through charity.
22. No reply should be given to the words of the wicked. Be at a great distance from them; that is for your good. Break off all relations with such people.
23. Seek the company of the good men, even at the sacrifice of your honour and life. But be praying to God to bless you with the discrimination needed to distinguish between the good men and bad. You must also endeavour, with the intellect given to you.
24. Those who conquer states and earn fame in the world are hailed as heroes, no doubt; but those who have conquered the senses are heroes who must be acclaimed as the conquerors of the Universal.
25. Whatever acts a good or a bad man may do, the fruits thereof follow him and will never stop pursuing him.
26. Greed yields only sorrow; contentment is best. There is no happiness greater than contentment.
27. The mischief-mongering tendency should be plucked out by the roots and thrown off. If allowed to exist, it will undermine life itself.
28. Bear with fortitude both loss and grief; try and search for plans to achieve joy and gain.
29. When you are invaded by anger, practice silence or remember the name of the Lord. Do not remind yourself of things which will inflame the anger more. That will do incalculable harm.
30. From this moment, avoid bad habits. Do not delay or postpone. They do not contribute the slightest joy.
31. Try as far as possible within your means to satisfy the need of the poor, who are really Daridranarayana. Share with them whatever food you have and make them happy at least that moment.
32. Whatever you feel should not be done to you by others, avoid doing such things to others.
33. For faults and sins committed in ignorance, repent sincerely; try not to repeat the faults and sins again; pray to God to bless you with the strength and courage needed to stick to the right path.
34. Do not allow anything to come near you, which will destroy your eagerness and enthusiasm for God. Want of eagerness will cause the decay of the strength of man.
35. Yield not to cowardice; do not give up Ananda.
36. Do not get swelled up when people praise you; do not feel dejected when people blame you.
37. If among your friends any one hates another and starts a quarrel, do not attempt to inflame them more and make them hate each other more; try, on the other hand, with love and sympathy to restore their former friendship.
38. Instead of searching for others’ faults, search for your own faults yourself; uproot them, throw them off. It is enough if your search and discover one fault of yours; that is better than discovering tens of hundreds of faults in others.
39. Even if you cannot or will not do any Punya or good deed, do not conceive or carry out any Papa, or bad deed.
40. Whatever people may say about the faults that you know are not in you, do not feel for it; as for the faults that are in you, try to correct them yourself, even before others point them out to you. Do not harbour anger or bitterness against persons who point out your faults; do not retort pointing out the faults of those persons themselves, but show your gratitude to them. Trying to discover their faults is a greater mistake on your part. It is good for you to know your faults; it is no good your knowing others faults.
41. Whenever you get a little leisure, do not spend it in talking about all sundry, but utilize it in meditating on God or in doing service for others.
42. The Lord is understood only by the bhakkta; the bhakta is only understood by the Lord. Others cannot understand them. So, do not discuss matters relating to the Lord with those who have no Bhakti. On account of such discussion, your devotion will diminish.
43. If anyone speaks to you on any subject, having understood it wrongly, do not think of other wrong notions which will support that stand but grasp only the good and the sweet, in what he says. True meaning is to be appreciated as desirable, not wrong meaning or many meanings, which give no meaning at all and cause only the hampering of the Ananda.
44. If you desire to cultivate one pointedness, do not, when in a crowd or bazaar, scatter your vision to the four corners and on everything, but see the road only in front of you, just enough to avoid accidents to yourself. One pointedness will become firmer if one moves about without talking one’s attention off the road, avoiding dangers, and not casting eyes on others forms.
45. Give up all doubts about the Guru and God. If your worldly desires do not get fulfilled, do not blame it on your devotion; there is no relationship between such desires and devotion to God. These worldly desires have to be given up some day or the other; Bhakthi feelings have to be acquired some day or other. Be firmly convinced of this.
46. If your Dhyanam or Japam does not progress properly or if the desires you have entertained do not come to fruition, do not get dispirited with God. It will dispirit you even more and you will loose the peace, however small or big, that you might have earned. During Dhynam and Japam you should not be dispirited, desperate or discouraged. When such feelings come, take it that it is the fault of your Sadhana and endevour to do them correctly.
    It is only when in your daily conduct and in all actions you automatically behave and act in this manner and along these lines that you can attain the Divine principle, very easily. Therefore hold on to these maxims firmly.

Conduct of a Devotee
Created on 30^thApril 2008
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