One day you will be gone from this world. Some will cry for you, and some may say a few words against you. But remember that all the bad thoughts you have had, as well as your good ones, will go with you. So your important duty is to watch yourself, correct yourself, do your best. Ignore what others may say or do against you, so long as you are sincerely striving to do right. I try never to antagonize anyone, and within my heart I know I have done my utmost to be kind to all. But I care not about man’s opinion, whether praise or condemnation. God is with me, and I am with Him.
It isn’t a boast, but I have experienced in my own consciousness the great joy of the sure feeling in my soul that no one can provoke me to revenge. I would rather slap myself than be mean to anyone. If you hold to your determination to be kind, no matter how people try to ruffle you, you are a conqueror. Think about it. When you are threatened, and you remain calm and unafraid, know that you are victorious over your little self. Your enemy cannot touch your spirit.
I could not think of being unkind, even to a mortal enemy. It would hurt me. I see so much unkindness in the world, and there is no excuse for me to add to it. When you love God, and when you see God in every soul, you cannot be mean. If someone behaves hurtfully toward you, think of the best ways to behave lovingly toward him. And if he still refuses to be considerate, remain withdrawn for a time. Keep your kindness locked up within, but let no demonstration of unkindness mar your behaviour. One of the greatest victories over the little self is to be sure of your capacity to be always thoughtful and loving, to be secure in the knowledge that no one can make you act differently. Practise this. The entire Roman government could not roused unkindness in Christ. Even for those who crucified him, he prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
When you are certain of your self-command, your victory is greater than a dictator’s- a victory that stands immaculate before the tribunal of your conscience. Your conscience is your judge. Let your thoughts be the jury and you the defendant. Put yourself to the test everyday, and you will find that as often as you take punishment at the hands of your conscience, and as often as you strictly sentence yourself to be positive- to be true to your divine nature- you will be victorious.
Age is no excuse for not trying to change oneself. Victory lies not in youth but in persistence. Cultivate the persistence that Jesus had. Compare this mentality, when the time came for him to give up his body, with that of any seemingly successful free man walking the streets of Jerusalem. To the very end, in every test- even when Jesus was imprisoned and crucified by his enemies- he was supremely victorious. He had power over all nature; and he played with death to conquer death. Those who fear it allow death to be victorious over them. But those who face themselves, and try every day to change for the better, will face death with courage and win the true victory. It is this victory of the soul that is most important.
For me there is no longer any veil between life and death, so death doesn’t frighten me at all. The embodied soul is like a wave in the ocean. When someone dies, the soul-wave subsides and vanishes beneath the surface of the ocean of Spirit, whence it came. The truth about death is secreted from the consciousness of ordinary people, who make no effort to realise God. Such persons cannot conceive that within themselves is the kingdom of God, replete with His wonders. There, no pain, no poverty, no worries, no nightmares, can ever delude the soul. All I have to do is open my spiritual eye, and the earth is gone and another world appears. In that land I behold the infinite God. This state comes through a balance between activity and meditation. Tremendous activity is necessary; not with a desire to serve oneself, but with a desire to serve God. And equally necessary is daily effort to realise Him through deep meditation.
