Only in this stage of mind will the egoistic mind disappear. Only in this state of mind can you really be in the state of worship and in the state of practising the Path that, I, Niang is leading you on.
You need not think of great plans for wonderful deeds to woo My attention, to gain some merits. I do not count your deeds, they must be part of you and you must discern the meaning of what a good act is. Even if you were to be charitable at most of the time, you may gain no merit at all if your mind is impure, if your mind gives forth the feeling of the giver and the receiver, if your mind thinks that you have done meritorious deeds and that you will deserve some returns in the future.
You need to look into your mind. If you can do it, if you can realize it, you will realise that you are Me and I am you. And you will also know for sure that if you can be at this state of being, there are countless ones who too are at the state of being as you are. And you will feel humility and you will feel joy in your heart, that you and the others are not so different. That you are all fellow cultivators who are practising the good Path. And if you can keep calm and refrain from boastfulness, you will be the true practitioner and then Silence will become the Golden Rule in your life. It will not be easy to maintain but it must be put to practice. That is why you have the saying of, ‘An empty barrel makes the loudest sound,’ which is not far from the truth of: “Those who know do not speak, those who speak, do not know.”
So it is to be borne in mind that arguments will lead to a dead end. Wisdom is indeed silence. But if you must speak, speak with humility, speak with the good intention of passing on your experience to those who truly seek the Way, speak without feeling that you are the master and they are the novices; speak only when you need to do so and speak with the purpose of imparting knowledge but avoid feeling that whatever you have spoken should be listened to. In this way there will not arise the ego self and your speech will become pleasant.
Feelings, with joyful engagement, must be there in whatever action you perform so as to give it the true meaning of awareness. To be aware right through the day of what you do will bring good feeling to both self and others. If you do not want to hurt the feelings of others, respect their actions, speeches and thoughts and you will also be aware of your every action be it mental or physical. Let there be harmony between you and those who are with you and there will be pleasant company for you, and there will be no petty misunderstanding which come about from egoistic and selfish minds. Respect others if you want others to respect you, but do not put too much stress on the importance of the self and whether there is respect for you or not should not really be the real concern in life as long as you remain righteous in your thoughts, words and actions towards others, you have done quite well in life. And this can only be maintained throughout life if your mind is calm and pure, if you will practise the Path that you are now walking.
Today may be a wonderful day for you and you look at the world with love, so it will not be difficult to feel great compassion and love for other sentient beings. However, tomorrow may not be the same if you have not attained equanimity and so the day will be dictated by your feelings of the moment and of the day.
Each day must be a good day for each of you who are seeking the Way, if you have installed Me in your heart and mind. You have only to remember each morning when you awake that you are to make yourself a worthy vessel for Me to dwell in your heart and mind. It is not because I do not come to you whenever your mind is impure, whenever you have caused a miserable self in you. Do you invite your guests to your home without attempting to make it as clean and pleasant for them as a sign of welcome? The guest will still come no matter what condition your house is in, but it is a sign of disrespect both to yourself and to your visitors. When you are on the Spiritual Path, you are walking the Pure Path and there will be many impurities for you to clear away otherwise why do you choose to become spiritual?
Do you think that by daily acts of worship alone you are already a spiritual one? If more time is set aside for prayers and worship and the rest of the day is without any thought of spirituality, then you are only maintaining a habit and there is no sincerity in your pious acts. Worship is in your heart and mind and prayers must flow from within you at all times of the day. You will need to live in a state of prayer before you can attain the blissful state which is the true feeling of existence. And to be absorbed into this state of being, you have to learn to know your mind, you will have to meditate!
Friday, 12th February 1982 (1st Moon 19th Day)