Do not criticize…

I have seen people commenting, “Just by going to temple, doing a pradakshina, and breaking a coconut, what do they achieve? They have no real love of God.’’

The first sign of pure devotion is tolerance. Do not criticize. Know that each and every individual is progressing. The progress is different for different people. If you do not want to break a coconut or put flowers for a picture or idol, it is your wish. You may worship in your own way. But do not criticize any form of worship unless it causes injury to another (for example, animal sacrifice).

Nothing goes waste. Even the one who breaks a coconut as a form of worship, with the intention that it will be useful for making chutney later on in the day, loses nothing. In fact, even such people are better compared to the person who buys a cigarette or alcohol with that money or puts fire to somebody’s house.

Even the person who goes to a temple as a matter of habit, rather than with pure devotion and love of God, is still better than a person who goes to a movie hall or spends time in useless internet chat.

In course of time, love and devotion for God will spring from the heart of that person who is doing those acts of breaking a coconut or visiting a holy place. The progress may be slow, but the path is not wrong.

Every one is progressing. The theory of evolution is true for every individual. If possible, guide them and show the light. But, do not criticize… because criticism often leads to bitterness and repulsion. Moreover, the time and money may go into wrong places as mentioned above (instead of buying coconut and flowers, they may buy cigarettes or alcohol; and instead of visiting a holy place, they may visit the wrong places). May be, this is what is happening now in the case of many individuals. They strayed away into a wrong path and ruined themselves.

Now there are people who break coconuts, visit holy places and do a lot of crime as well! What can we say about such people? One fine day, even such people will realize their folly and light will shine in their heart.

Time is precious. This human birth is very precious. Let us utilize every minute of our life in constructive activities.

Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi - Part IX: Further Teachings

1. Disciple: "Those who are obtaining your blessings are fortunate indeed. What will happen to people in the future?" Mother: "What do you mean? Why won't they too succeed? God exists everywhere and at all times. The Master is always there. They will succeed through his grace. Are not people realizing God in other countries?"

2. To someone who asked if there is any truth in image worship, Mother said, "From time out of mind, innumerable people have worshipped images and thus attained spiritual knowledge. Can you deny this fact? The Master never cherished dogmatic views. Brahman exists everywhere. Prophets and Incarnations are born to show benighted humanity their way. They give different instructions to suit different temperaments. There are many ways to realize truth. So all these instructions have their relative value. For instance, many birds are perched on the branches of a tree. They are of different colours: white, black, red, yellow, and so on. Their sounds, too, are different. But when they sing we say that the sounds are made by the birds. We do not designate one particular sound only as the sound of the birds, and refuse to acknowledge the other sounds as such."

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Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi - Part VIII: Love and Compassion

Holy mother Sri Sarada Devi’s teachings regarding “Love and Compassion” are presented below:

1. "I tell you one thing — if you want peace, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own."

2. "To err is human. One must not take that into account. It is harmful for oneself. One gets into the habit of finding fault. ... Do not look for faults in others, or your own eyes will become faulty."

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Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi - Part VII: Advice to Householders

Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s teachings for householders are presented below:

1. "Those who belong to a very high plane of existence alone can take to the monastic life and free themselves from all bondages. Again there are some who are born to have a little taste of this worldly life. I say that one should see through worldly enjoyments. …Let X — marry and finish all enjoyments in this life; otherwise there is no knowing when he may fall a victim to some unfulfilled desire. But you may be sure of this, that so long as he remains under the Master's1 protection he can never slip."

2. When a young man, out of temporary dispassion, expressed unwillingness to marry, Mother said, "How is that? God has created things in pairs: two eyes, two ears, two legs — and likewise, man and woman."

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Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi - Part VI: Renunciation

The Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s teachings on Renunciation are presented here:

1. "You are a living God. Who is able to renounce all for God's sake? Even the injunctions of Destiny are cancelled if one takes refuge in God. Destiny strikes off with her own hand what she has written about such a person."

2. "Will a man who has strong desires for worldly pleasures listen to me if I ask him to renounce them? But if a fortunate soul has realized the world to be the sport of Maya and God alone to be real, shall I not help him a little? Is there any end to the suffering in the world?"

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The Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna - Part VIII

This part presents the Sayings 350-395

350. As an unchaste woman, busily engaged in household affairs, is all the while thinking of her secret lover, even so, O you man of the world, do your round of worldly duties, but fix your heart always on the Lord.

351. As a wet-nurse in a rich family brings up the child of her master, loving the baby as if it were her own, but knows well that she has no claim upon it; so think you also that you are but trustees and guardians of your children whose real father is the Lord God in Heaven.

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