WISDOM FROM SRI ANANDAMAYI MA
Each of the five fingers of the hand has its own peculiarity; each part of the body has its own function, high or low; the teeth may at times bite the tongue, but since the whole of it is your own body, you accept all its ways and take great pains to look after every part of it. In the same manner, try to regard as your own every person you contact. By making this a habit you will in due course come to feel that everyone in the universe is part of you. To abolish the distinction between ‘I’ and ‘you’ is the sole purpose of all spiritual endeavor.
Many hang their heads in disappointment, murmuring, “I have received Initiation from a Sadguru, but what progress have I made?” Just think, when a little ink is spilled on cloth, how much time it takes to remove it. How can you expect the thick layers of impurities that obscure human consciousness to be cleared up in a few days or months? Rather than trying to estimate how efficacious the power of the Guru and the mantra is, you should lay emphasis on exerting yourself to the utmost. By sitting back comfortably and without paying the price, spirituality does not come. Hard and sincere labor is indispensable in order to realize the Self. With implicit faith and a sacred regard for the Guru’s instructions, continue your practice with the greatest possible regularity and concentration—rest assured, success will be yours. Those who serve dharma (the Way of Righteousness) will be gripped by it and led on the path of dharma.”
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