Dada J.P. Vaswani

The following is a reproduction of a section of Dada's article in East and West series, May 2000 titled “What life has taught me.”

1. In the endless adventure of existence, God and man are comrades. God is our one unfailing companion. He will never leave us. We may try to run away from him. But he will continue to follow us as our own shadow. In the words of Thompson, he is the “Heavenly Hound.”

2. There is a meaning of mercy in everything that happens to us. For God is All-love. He is All-wisdom. He is too loving to punish, too wise to make a mistake. Whatever happens in the Divine Providence happens for our own good. Nothing happens a moment too early or too late…..therefore wherever God takes us, let us go, wherever he keeps us, let us remain. Let us never forget that all is well, all was well, all will be well both tomorrow and a hundred years hence.

3. When man surrenders himself to God, He takes upon Himself his entire responsibility. All we need to do is to hand ourselves over, in childlike trust to the Lord. And the angels of God will go ahead of us to clear the way.

4. Thought is a tremendous force in the life of any individual. Thoughts shape our attitudes. Attitudes mould our character. Character influences our life. By changing our thought pattern, we can change our life.

5. Problems and challenges are not a dead end; they are only a bend in the road. Problems are not stumbling blocks; they are stepping stones to a better, richer, more radiant life. Not unoften, problems become the door through which God enters our life. We have surrounded ourselves with hard shells which keep God away from us. Problems crack the shell and God easily enters our lives.

6. Neither rites nor rituals, neither creeds nor ceremonies are needed to improve the condition of the world. All that is needed is to love one another.

7. Are you anxious to love God? Then you must be prepared to lose yourself.

8. Do you want God to be yours? Then you must first become his!

9. How may we know that we are drawing closer to God? The closer we draw to God, the more tender and compassionate become our hearts to the needs of those around us.

10. What is the best exercise for the heart? Reach down and lift up as many as you can.

11. Misfortunes are blessings if we handle them well. They are like knives which hurt or help as we hold them by the blade or handle.

12. Life is too short to be spent in fault-finding, holding grudges, or keeping memory of wrongs done to us. Forgive even before forgiveness is asked. Forgive and forget.

13. The worst thing that can happen to a man is that he has a hot head and a cold heart.

14. If a person has moved in the wrong direction, he can always take a U-turn. The angels of God will be with him. The past does not – cannot – bind us!

15. You who are looking for miracles, open your eyes and see! All around us are the miracles of God.

16. A tiny seed grows into a huge banyan tree. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

17. Open thine heart and let love enter in – and all things in the universe will gravitate to thee. For love is the power that pulls!

18. Give, give, give – until it hurts to give! This will release you from bondage to the ego - and to things.

19. I must never forget that every thought I think, every word I utter, every action I perform, every feeling, every emotion that wakes up in me, is recorded in the memory of nature. I might be able to deceive those around me, I may even succeed in deceiving myself. But I cannot deceive nature.

20. When a particular problem has vexed you for sometime and you are unable to do anything about it, hand it over to God. Breathe out the aspiration “ “Thy will be done, O Lord!” Soon a way will be shown to you.

21. Does God want our work? Or does he want our love? He wants that we should work for Him in love.

22. If you wish to know God and understand him, you must love Him more and more! The more you love him, the more you will know him. The key to knowledge is – LOVE.

23. The aim of life is to realize that we are immortal spirit – not the bodies we wear!

24. An infinite potential lies hid within us. We are unaware of it, because we think of ourselves as limited, restricted creatures. We have identified ourselves with a biochemical mental organism. Our true self is the atman. Tat twamasi! That art thou! There can be no limit to what we can do – and achieve!

25. When all around us the storms blow and the tempests roar, let us close our eyes, think of God and repeat the words “God is with me-and He is in control.” Those are words of power and can quell the fiercest storm.

26. No man can attain to enlightenment by his own efforts. Enlightenment cometh to man by the grace of God. Strive for enlightenment – yes. But like the peasant who tills the soil and sows the seed – then turns to the heaven for chandi ka gola (the silver drops of rain)

27. The greatest illusion which man suffers from is perhaps the illusion of death. In reality, there is no death. Death is very much like the sunset. When the sun sets here, it has already risen elsewhere. Likewise, death here is birth elsewhere. For life is eternal.

28. The greatest intoxication is that of the ego. The worst madness is that of anger. The person who is free from arrogance and anger finds goodness and beauty wherever he goes.

29. Has someone offended you or insulted you? Insults are like bad coins. You cannot avoid them, but you can refuse to accept them.

30. The test of a man is – how much he can bear and how much he can share and how soon he confesses a mistake and makes amends for it.

31. If while praying we can think of worldly matters, why can we not, when doing worldly things, think of God?

32. Think positively. Eat sparingly. Exercise regularly. Walk as much as you can. Be careful to see that your thoughts and actions are clean. A guilty mind breeds many diseases. There is the way to live a happy, healthy, harmonious life.

33. I have met many who will go to any length to prove the superiority of their religion over those of others. They will hold endless discussions and debates. They will even fight for it – and die for it. But I have met very few who live for their religion – who bear witness to the great teaching in deeds of daily living. Religion is life!

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