CONTENTMENT

I must tell you the truth. No one is a saint when he is born. When we are born into this world of Maya, of illusion, we have to undergo all the procedures of a human being: like we have to be ignorant again, we have to suffer all these illusionary desires, and then the disappointment of the unfulfilled desires and all those kinds of things. Until one day we have enough of it and say, "Okay, that's it! Now, whatever I have, I have. If I don't, I don't." That's the time when you reach complete liberation. You liberate yourself from all your own problems, from your own self-made prison, and also your own learned prejudices of who you are.

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Sometimes we have the illusion that only a prosperous life can give us peace of mind, make us happy, and let us practice spiritually. This is not the truth! When we are happy and have peace of mind, we can pursue spiritual practice under any circumstances; it has nothing to do with being wealthy.

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Possession is not important, contentedness is. Be contented in any situation, and problems will be kept away.

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The things in this world we will enjoy if they are there. If they are not there, it makes no difference to us. That is the way of the enlightened spirit.

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Everything's value depends on how much attachment we have for it.

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If we still demand something, or our heart is still attached to a certain place, we will be used by the King of Maya. When we have no more fear or demand, we are content with anything we have, even if we have nothing, then there won't be anymore traps. And we will not be afraid of any turmoil.

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Be happy with whatever you have. Otherwise, God takes everything away.

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The real importance is to be satisfied with ourselves. We should never disgrace others as well as our own consciousness, no matter what we do.

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Forsake everything and then you will have everything.

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The more we are steeped in these material surroundings, the less we know ourselves.

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Do not find excuses to spoil your physical body. The more we indulge ourselves, the more we develop a kind of individual self sentiment. The more we develop this sentiment, the easier it is for us to sink into the cycle of birth and death.

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Comforts really bind us.

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Diamonds, rubies, gold or whatever it is, the value they have is the value we give to them, but it's not the true value. Suppose you're in the desert, have no water, and your camels are running out of food. Can you eat the diamonds? At that time, do diamonds have any value to you? No, you'll die beside the diamonds, and the diamonds cannot move, cannot do absolutely anything for you. So any material values in this world, only have importance because we give it to them. Otherwise, there's nothing here that's valuable.

Thus you see, some men love their woman so much that they would die, would kill for her but to other neighbors, she's nothing. Even if she came to his house, he would kick her out. He'd ask what are you doing here? He would not feel her appeal at all because she has nothing to do with him. She has karma with that person, with the one who would kill for her. So everything is related to each other through karma or through the value that we attach to the subject or to the person.

There is no real value in this world; but since we live here, we accept. We accept, but we must know so that we don't feel attachment for these transient things, really not valuable things. We must understand the root of all the values so that we can use them but should not feel attached to them. That's the reason why we must practice for spiritual wisdom. We must know so that we free ourselves from everything - from material binding, from attachment to passions, from the binding of physical love even.