God Knowledge or Enlightenment (Gian) is only a basic beginning, a starting point of admission to the holy order. Thereafter, a stupendous and hard task lies ahead for the missionary. Heavy responsibility devolves upon him to engage and absorb himself in the spiritual effort (Sadhna), so that he can comprehend and assimilate the true meaning and significance of the Divine Knowledge to make it practically efficacious to achieve noble results. Then alone, he becomes worthy enough to confidently serve others, to disseminate the Divine Knowledge and work for the spiritual rejuvenation of the people by his own example of ideal practical life. The practical is the sublime:

"Mere God-knowledge is not enough. It should be supported by practical living."

- Baba Hardev Singh

IMBIBING ETHICAL VALUES

Ethical philosophy and knowledge do have a vital place in the system of values. These are indispensable aids to right spiritual experience and a right means for practical attainment of Truth. The immediate benefit of knowledge is to make us aware of facts. Knowledge lights up the path of action, which we have to pursue. In our concept of God-Knowledge (Gian), right conduct and right living have a unique place. We believe that the highest religion consists in knowing God and dwelling on His Name coupled with right thought and right action. Mere academic scholarship or intellectualism, divorced from practical conduct, cannot serve the ends of spiritualism. The missionary, therefore, has to remain exalted in head and heart, emulate and justify the values and wisdom embodied in the precepts. In short, he is to be an exemplar by precept and practice.

SPIRITUAL MOOD

The missionary has to maintain a consistent spiritual mood, a mood in which he remains all the time conscious that Almighty God ever abideth with him and palpably feels His immediate presence without break. He has to be fully conscious that his thoughts, feelings and actions are being x-rayed by the Supreme Lord and are subject to scrutiny and adjudication of the Highest Authority, whose verdict is irrevocably final. Man's conscience should be ever imbued with reverential fear of God, which acts as a loving deterrent to save him from evil and ignominy. Consequently, he becomes a noble and God-fearing man of God with inner tranquillity so essentially needed by the missionary to have a peaceful heart, the centre of inner claim, for dedicating himself whole-heartedly to the pious duty to spread the sacred message, Said Baba Avtar Singh:

"Whosoever submits to the will of God, I worship him as the most revered soul."

"Self-surrender is the only way to God-realization; one has to pay the price if one is after spiritual awakening."

- Baba Gurbachan Singh

The missionary should, therefore, become an instrument of God and merge his own will in the will of God.

SPIRITUAL EFFORT

Spiritual effort demands that the missionary should cultivate consciousness within by training himself for right activity as also to react properly to various challenges. Hence, he has to learn to walk with God, talk with God, live with God to remain free from attachment to material creation and worldly pleasures. Rising above emotions, cravings, desires, etc. is the target to be achieved by a spiritual person. Only by self-mastery, can he be spiritually happy in the true sense:

"The permanent happiness which men seek in dissipation, excitement and abandonment to unworthy pleasures, is found only in the life which reverses all this - the life of self-control. So far as man deviates from perfect self-command, just so far does he fall short of perfect happiness and sinks into misery and weakness, lowest limit to which is madness, entire lack of mental control, the condition of irresponsibility. In so far as he approximates to self-command, just as near does he approach to perfect happiness and rise to joy and strength, and glorious are the possibilities of such divine manhood that no limit can be set to its grandeur and bliss."

- James Allen

The missionary should endeavour to achieve that state wherein one can keep composure under all circumstances. That perfect equanimity cannot be acquired through any means except by dwelling on God's Name, drawing closer to the Divine Source, whence this soul, our real nature, springs. Only by intermingling the little droplet of consciousness with the Ocean of Divine Consciousness, one is able to attain the ideal blissful state: God First, God Last, God Always and God Alone. He must hold fast to that ideal, to that through, to that spiritual mood, to that ecstasy with which no other experience compares.

AIDS TO SPIRITUAL EFFORT

The immortal message "Dwelling on God’s Name" plus right activity is thus the focus of our spiritual effort. For the much stressed spiritual endeavour, the missionary has to seek and invoke the indispensable aids of Triple "S": Simran (constant and consistent remembrance of God), Sewa (selfless service) and Sangat (fervorous attendance of congregation). These aids serve as strong moorings and solid cornerstones for building the spiritual edifice and for providing the required exercise for spiritual strength to resist, combat and ward off unhealthy influences, to keep on replenishing the warmth and vigour of the spirit for a robust spiritual state of mind, to preserve the truthful mood for the practical implementation of the essence of spirituality and to activate the divine spark into a fulgent flame.

MEASURE OF SPIRITUALITY

A person’s bent of mind and his spiritual efforts are not to be measured by the number of times the goes to religious places, reads religious books, recites holy scriptures, or judged by the number of hours he spends in telling the beads or saying prayers. All these will remain inconsequential effort and will not result in fulfillment of the aim, unless the inner life is cultivate. Unless man’s mode of living is harmoniously synthesized, he cannot be called truly enlightened. He essentially needs to possess love of God and a pure heart - a heart which is not tainted with shallowness, malice and dislike for others; a heart which is full of compassion and kindness; a heart which throbs with virtue and honesty of purpose; a heat which strives to perceive the self-same Divinity in all beings.

The farmer, who wants to raise a good crop, has to root out weeds and shrubs from the field. Clearing the field of the wild growth is an essential precondition. In the same way, it is necessarily required of a devotee, as an imperative preliminary, that he gets rid of unscrupulous manifestations in the form of ego, hatred, jealousy, anger, slander, lust, avarice, greed, etc., which motivate and provoke evil designs in the heart, Pervert sensibility, defile thought and feeling corrupt the conscience with degrading experiences and prevent him from taking recourse to spiritual endeavour to tune and merge the little will in the infinite will of God.

"The essential enemies of man are not his brothers, children of Spirit, the one Father; but his own ego foes, born of mortal ignorance."

- Mahatama Gandhi

Spiritual awareness makes it mandatory for a man that he banishes and bans his ‘I-am-ness’ and ‘Mine-ness’. Ego, the root-cause of human degradation and downfall, wrecks and disqualifies him from pursuing the gigantic task honestly. Ego does not permit the swollen-headed to submit, surrender and merge his will in the will of God. Its maddening and disastrous impact whirls the head, poisons the mind, pollutes the heart and soils the conscience with callous arrogance and pride. This brings in its wake so many other malignant and venomous perils, which work havoc, consume and wreck the man physically, mentally and morally like the fire that burns and reduces the fragrant sandalwood to ashes. And, certainly, it inhibits his spirit of love, sympathy and service to his fellow-beings. It is like the monstrous hydra with jaws ever ready to swallow the whole human structure. Ego, with its collaterals and accomplices, makes man a devastating moving arsenal of self-destruction.

Beyond any doubt, annihilation of ego is a prerequisite for mental, moral and spiritual health. The positive need is that not even an imagined feeling of self-conceit or self-importance be allowed to raise its ugly head and afflict the human mind. But ego is such a deep-rooted and tough vice that it will not detach itself from man and flee so easily. Mere crying it out, cannot help man to wriggle out of its clutches and become immune from its evil impact. To relinquish ego is, of course, a colossal and uphill task. It requires tremendous courage and strong will-power to bring about a momentous revolutionary change in human psyche to look at and understand life entirely from a different angle of perception and comprehension.

However, we know ego has its invaluable counter attribute, i.e. humility, which costs nothing, and, at the same time, is the sweetest and purest antidote, a potent blissful remedy that exterminates and drives it away. Ego and humility cannot rest in the same coil. Where humility makes its presence felt, ego emigrates and vanishes in the thin air, dares not show its ugly face and becomes non-existent. Therefore, if one desires to deport and extern ego, he must import and intern humility.

Beware of the perpendicular "I" pronoun - Ego. Ego ruins so many good causes. Grief follows it like a shadow. Where there is no ego, joy, peace, courage, co-operation and love flourish.

AVARICE AND LUST

The missionary has to be an ideal householder, yet his worldly pursuits do not give him unchecked liberty to hanker after and pile up mundane effects with ever-bulging ambition. Avarice, lust and craving lead man to indulge in dishonest and shady deals to further his own interests, or to work to satisfy his ravenous appetite to amass appetite to amass more and more. The missionary has, therefore, to remain ever alert that neither does he involve himself in any unholy game nor does he even tough any gain, howsoever paltry or petty it may be, if earned by dishonest means. He should take utmost care that he always remains neat and tidy in his doings and dealings and, at all cost, refrains from craving for the running after earthly gains. When one is disappointed and his pride is hurt, it is natural for him to feel disheartened, disgusted and desperate. To maintain his poise and piety, he has to realize the import and significance of true contentment - Sabar Saburi -, and be fully satisfied with what he has from the Lord through honest efforts, as the fruit of his labour is entirely in the hand of God. God Almighty is the sole benefactor and He grants to everybody what pleases Him. As such, the missionary should not be so fickle as to succumb to the illusive charm of bewitching and glittering allurements for seeking sensual gratification at the cost of his spiritual advancement. The realized soul lives untainted in this world so full of impurities. Like a lotus flower that blooms in the muddy water and the duck that floats carefree in the stream, he remains detached from worldliness, ever enshrining the Lord in his heart and mind:

"To make a man happy, add not to his possessions but subtract from the sum of his desires."

- Seneca

ANGER

Anger is a wildly excited mood that frays the nerve-centre. It is a madness which unhinges and upsets mental equilibrium. Man frets and fumes and goes amuck with frenzy. Then follows fear that destroys whatever is left of sense and sensibility, and thereby sets his own house on fire. It incites him to resent, retaliate, be vindictive and revengeful to settle the scores: a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. Resentment destroys peace of mind if expressed, and equally destroys it if it is suppressed. Recoiling malice provokes man to take acrimonious steps. Revenge and retaliation widen the ruptured gulf, add fuel to the fire, aggravate the situation and make the relations worse beyond the point of rapprochement. Doubtlessly, that is not the right way to defuse the bitterness, resolve the issue and reclaim the strained mutual trust and good-will. With such a highly inflammable material, an angry, fiery man may succeed in defeating and vanquishing his opponent but, surely, he can never make friends, rather he may turn friends into foes. As such, the missionary is not expected to grudge and grumble or get offended and flared up even in the face of worst instigation or provocation. He is not to lose his temper even when the other person may not be right. It necessarily implies that he is not to be obstinate and obdurate. Essentially, he is to remain calm, cool and composed, and should always try to extinguish the fire of hatred and enmity by his conciliatory and mellow attitude. This will require limitless patience, unbounded tolerance and tremendous forbearance to keep himself under restraint. And, at the same time, with love and humility, he should be ever eager to bring about rapport, never making any issue a prestige issue. Thus, he will successfully turn even foes into friends:

- Mahatama Gandhi

- Saint Valluvar

"Anybody can become angry - that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy."

- Aristotle

HATRED AND JEALOUSY

The missionary should not expose himself and be vulnerable to fits of jealousy and hysteria of hate and violence. Jealousy and hatred, the known vile wreckers, keep one agitated, restless and perplexed, struggling and venomously recoiling, making him a miserable misfit in society, a square peg in a round hole, unfit to serve others. It is dangerous to nurse or be swayed by such emotions, which result in confused thinking, unnerving and leading one to mental imbalance, and possibly to the extent of derangement. Such persons breed bad blood and ill-will to harm others. They are bound to create conflict, confrontation and spite, which destabilize and strain relations and breed mutual dislike and discord. Many even derive sadistic pleasure and rejoice in others’ sufferings. To satisfy and appease their pent up base feelings, they hurl curses, accusations and insults and, sooner or later, are at loggerheads, even daggers drawn. One cannot hope to expect any good from such ill-natured persons. In social circles, they are unwanted and dreaded. In fact, a jealous person himself stands to lose, as he forfeits the confidence and trust of his fellow-beings. His very bona fides are looked upon with suspicion and thus he renders himself incapable of befriending anyone.

The missionary should understand that his spirit of service and good-will will suffer terribly if he succumbs to jealous feelings, as he will himself be hated and shunned by others. His own inner peace will be at stake. And, if he loses his calm and cool by his own errant temperament, he will be a victim of his own guilt, and will wear himself out. If he feels tormented and tortured by his self-created agony, none but he himself is to be blamed. With jealousy and hatred arresting him, affection and good-will, sympathy and compassion cannot find any room in his heart. Consequently, there will be left no scope for him to work for human uplift and will-beings.

Normally, a jealous person is not satisfied with his lot. When he compares himself with others, better off or better placed, he feels pained and piqued. He cannot stand and brook the sight of others prospering and wishes them bad days. The missionary by his conduct should take care that he never allows himself to be charged with such low feelings and mean thoughts. He is to develop an attitude of satisfaction and contentment with what he has. There is nothing wrong in bettering one’s lot by fair means. However, he should accept what honestly comes to him with heart-felt gratitude to the Lord Master, completely unmindful of what others have:

- Sheikh Farid

He should rather feel happy and pray for the prosperity of one and all. Entertaining jealous thoughts about others’ fortune, simply leads to misery and unhappiness. We miss the salient point that true happiness does not depend upon the worldly riches we have. While assessing another person’s good luck, we allow our imagination to run riot; and without verifying, we take it for granted that he is really happy! Shed not the blood; shed hatred, violence, and jealousy.

SLANDER

Another set of associate malefic influences which disagree with man's goodness is slander, criticism for the sake of criticism, back biting, maligning and mud-slinging with the hope that at least some will stick. One should not forget that derogatory or contemptuous remarks passed just to belittle others, bring shame and disgrace to the slanderer himself. Slander or Ninda is the by-product of the combined feelings of ego and jealousy, which spoils and mars his relations with others. He proves himself to be an undesirable and an indiscreet person in society. His very presence is disgusting and he is termed as a cynic whose sole aim is to transgress the limit of propriety with malevolent desire to bear ill-will for others. People prefer to shun his company for fear of his long and sharp tongue, incisive and spiteful utterances, embittering mutual friendly sentiments. It, therefore, behoves the spiritually enlightened not to raise a questioning brow, turn his nose up and point an accusing finger towards anybody; and if he does raise one against anyone, surely, he shall have to face the four himself. But, if the missionary wishes that people around him should eagerly seek his company and have the benefit of his sincere, sympathetic and mature advice he should cultivate an amiable disposition, affectionate temperament, affable manners, conciliatory attitude, mellow nature and extend his whole-hearted co-operation in righteous activities and causes aimed at doing good to others, and treat them with love, respect, understanding. He should not hesitate to humbly submit constructive suggestions in the best interest of common good of all concerned, but must not impose or thrust himself on others under any circumstances whatsoever:

-Edger A. Guest

GREED

Greed is a mania, an insatiable ravenous craze which compels man to be inextricably attached and clung to this fleeting world and its worldliness, be enamoured of and infatuated by its illusory charm - a silent cheat -, which relieves and deprives him of spiritual pursuits and gains and pushes him to slip into and be irretrievably caught in the complex meshes of over attachment, over-entanglement and over-involvement. Such an over-indulgence is the anti-theses of spirituality. Naturally, man's involvement beyond the necessary and desirable extent will put restraints and constraints on his work as a missionary, and keep him preoccupied with priority for worldly pursuits and thus hold him back from applying his mind and energy in the service of fellow-beings. Spiritual endeavour will then become a spare time hobby, depending upon his leisure and pleasure, to be flung aside even on a frivolous pretext. Attachment is a lower instinct, but it also has a higher corresponding attribute, known as dedication to the service of humanity and devotion to duty. The missionary has to be prudent enough to sort out and maintain a balance between the temporal and spiritual obligations, always bearing in mind that his foremost interest is to honour the commitment and undertaking given to the Master, which should prevail over any other consideration in life:

"While enjoying all the good things of life, we should never allow ourselves to be attached to them. This is how we can save ourselves from pain and misery."

- Baba Gurbachan Singh

We must work to earn our livelihood, but we should do it in an honest and conscientious way. Since our self-aggrandizement can obstruct the pious course of life, we should not allow ourselves to be stuck up in greedy acquisition of goods and gains.

Benedictory attributes endow man with edifying thought-force that rescues and protects him from down-dragging malefic tendencies. Virtues like love, humility, compassion, contentment, tolerance and forgiveness regenerate the dormant inner goodness and inculcate faith in right thinking and pious outlook. They are indispensable ingredients so essentially required for building meritorious caliber and a godly way of life. They promote and foster love for God through fraternal relationship with fellow-beings. Man has to win the grace of God, but no justifiable God-ward advancement or progress can even be remotely thought of without practically imbibing and blending the noble qualities of head and heart in actual living behaviour.

LOVE AND HUMANITY

For all intents and purposes, love of God and His creation constitutes the backbone, solid care, moving force, the source wherefrom all goodness springs and flows. What is, however, needed is an intense yearning for a kind of love that will consume with total fulfillment and ensure complete security that nothing else in the world can give, neither money nor any amount of intellectual understanding. Love ennobles the mind and enables it to comprehend the Ultimate Truth. It gives us wealth not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of pride but of humility, making the Truth manifest and giving expression of it. Love is that sweet, spontaneous and silent language which even the deaf and dumb can understand and throbbingly feel its warmth and soothing touch. It inculcates and boosts the momentum and tempo of the missionary’s enthusiasm and dedication (Lagan), fills him with gumption and replenishes his spiritual ardour, known as the proverbial missionary zeal, so very necessary for the proper performance of his duty and for promoting the noble cause of peace, brotherhood, unity of human race and a harmonious society based on mutual love and respect and good-will, and free from vice and violence. Love is an essential ingredient of truth, humility and selfless service without which nothing noble can be achieved. It is love that spurs man on and makes him an indefatigable, diligent and honest being. Love of God is the foundation of noble and righteous living:

- Bible

- Mother Teresa

"You have to present yourself as a ideal person. You should not speak low of any one and should be jealous of none. One the contrary, you should have love and affection for all."

- Baba Avtar Singh

Humility - self-effacement - is the touch - stone of man’s transformation. Be humble at heart, because only a humble heart can love all and serve all. Baba Gurbachan Singh attached great importance to this sterling virtue when he said:

"The more we become humble, the more durable is the honour that the Lord Master bestows upon us."

"Humility and love are the essence of true religion; the humble formed to adore; the loving to associate with eternal love,"

- Johann Kaspar Lavater

"A tree laden with fruit always bends low. So, if thou wantest to be great, be low and meek."

- Sri Ramakrishan

- Baba Gurbachan Singh

TOLERANCE AND FORGIVENESS

The missionary has got to be patient and tolerant. Patience and tolerance demand that he should temper himself with the spirit of forget and forgive. He should bot be a grave-digger and should avoid post-mortem of what might have transpired. Unless he stops rankling, he will not stop taking up cudgels. Forgiveness is the greatest virtue, which helps and enables man to bury the hatchet. It has in it such a strength and sweetness of character that assuages the estranged feelings, melts the heart even of an indignant aggressor, calms down the enraged and brings about normalcy in strained relations. The one, who forgives, is himself saved from the fire of bitterness and hatred. And, he who forgives is really the most compassionate, the most peace-loving and the most courageous. Forgiveness, however, requires deep understanding, massive will-power and momentous self-control.

"To recognize the frailties and foibles of human nature and to try to be everlastingly patient, forgiving and understanding."

- Wilfred A. Peterson

"Retaliate not an injury. The joy of revenge lasts but one day. But the glory of him who forgives, endures for ever. Be the wrong suffered even as great, yet abstain from revenge."

CONTENTMENT

A contented heart is always large enough to accommodate with good grace the mental and material affluence of his fellow-beings without a trace of grumbling and jealousy. Contentment comes when man realize the truth that he has no choice or option in reaping the fruit of his labour. Since nothing happens without God's Will, why worry? Having full faith in the Divine Justice, man should surrender to the Divine will, for whatever He bestows, gratefully praying: All is good that pleases the Lord.

The missionary, who does not catch and imbibe this spirit of an enlightened being or Brahm Giani, is himself a discontented soul and, therefore, not fit to give solace and succour to others. Hence, he should accept what life gives without being too much elated or too much discouraged. Sorrow and disappointment should not affect him nor should material gain and fame unduly attract him. That is the state of a true spiritual being. But contentment does not mean inaction or to be an idler or become a parasite. On the contrary, a spiritually awakened being must work hard and make a living by toiling honestly; work is worship. At the same time, he should remain satisfied with whatever the Lord grants him. We hear people blaming, accusing, even cursing God as an unjust, tyrant and grumbling, 'What wrong have we done to God?' Truly speaking, such a person is an ungrateful, accursed being:

"True saints are above the feelings of pain and pleasure. They do not cry or curse their stars. They do not cry or curse their stars when in trouble."

- Baba Gurbachan Singh

Prosperity inheres in contentment; only a contented person can enjoy life, looking upon pain and pleasure alike.

INNER CALM

As James Allen says:

"In the life of calm, there are no fitful periods of sinful excitement followed by reactionary hours of sorrow and remorse. There are no foolish elation followed by equally foolish depressions; no degrading actions followed by misery and loss of self-respect, but all these things put away and what remains is Truth, and Truth is ever encircled with peace. The calm life is one unbroken bliss. The calm man, the right - seeing man, cannot separate joy from duty; such separation belongs to the mind and the life of a pleasure-hunter and love for excitement. The calm man succeeds where the disturbed man fails. He, who has succeeded in governing the within, is best equipped to govern the without. The calm man perceives difficulty in all its bearings and understands how best to meet it. The disturbed mind is the lost mind. It has become blind, seeing not whither to go, but only feeling its own happiness and fear. The resources of the calm man are superior to all incidents, which may befall him. Nothing can alarm him, nothing can find him unprepared, nothing can shake his strong, steadfast mind. Wheresoever, duty may call him, there will his strength manifest itself; there will his mind, free from the frictions of self exhibit its silent and patient power. Whether he be engaged in things worldly or spiritual, he will do his work with concentrated vigour and penetrating insight."

When Aristotle was on his death-bed, his admirers requested him to give them a prescription for inner peace. The great philosopher advised them to forget two things and to remember two things:

1. Forget that you have done a good turn to anyone.

2. Forget that anyone has done a bad turn to you.

3. Remember Death.

Death is a somber subject from which men generally shrink and shirk. Death does not spare even the holiest who appear on this earth to lighten the burden of the suffering humanity, show light to the ignorant stumbles and even lay down their own lives for the sake of truth, cheerfully and resignedly, to fulfil the appointed mission of the Lord. They do not care for the mortal coil and the pain and suffering they undergo:

"To confront the inevitable fact that I share with all human beings a common end; that some day Death, the kind old nurse, will rock us all to sleep, so we should help each other while we can."

- Wilfred A. Peterson

[d] Remember, inner calm comes from within and not from without.

And so, with inner calm, one will be at peace with himself:

"The storm my rage without but will not affect us if there is peace within. As by the fire-side there is security from fiercest storm, so the heart that is steadfast in the knowledge of Truth abides in peace, though all-around be strife and perturbation. The bitter opposition of men and unrest of the world cannot make us bitter and restless, unless we enter into and co-operate with it. Rather, if we have peace in our heart, the outer turmoil causes our peace to deepen, to take firmer root and to show forth more abundantly in works of peace for the softening of human hearts and enlightening of human minds."

- James Allen

BEING GOOD

Being positively good without being conscious of it, is to be truly good. He that does good, is a man of God. Superior are those who do good even in return for evil:

- Bible

"While we do good deeds, we should be above all ego and consider it the blessing of Almighty God."

- Baba Gurbachan Sing

"To understand that the goodness of God can be known only through human goodness; that when I express the highest and the best, I express God."

- Wilfred A. Peterson

"You have to pass through this world but once. Any good that you can do or any kindness that you can show to any human being, do it now. Do not defer it or neglect it, for you will not pass this way again."

- Sarojini Naidu

Recollect only good; do only good; speak only good and only then one approximates to God, the source of all good.

TRUTH AT ALL COSTS

The missionary should have the courage and conviction to be morally brave enough to weather and face the heaviest odds even if he has to wade through troubled waters. He must adhere to the truth fearlessly. Fear has no place in our relation with truth and God. They, who deal in truth, the Master is most pleased with them. As such, the missionary's life should be a living experience and expression of truth:

- Sophocles

- Ruth Mckenney

It requires strong will and momentous courage to face evil with the conviction that truth always triumphs. Though evil might seemingly emerge victorious for a while, ultimately, it dies its own death as it carries within it the seeds of self-destruction. Obviously, the missionary is not to bow before righteousness even if it costs him heavily. His real mettle will be on test and trial if, when an occasion arises, he does not waver, turn his back, tell lies or adopt maneuvers to escape or save his skin. He must stand upright and unshakeable like a solid rock and prove himself to be a relentless crusader of truth. He should display the highest standard of integrity even against the heaviest odds. He should never deflect from the path of rectitude.

TRUTHFUL LIVING

It is by truthful living that one becomes competent enough to successfully exercise moulding influence on others. A special responsibility, therefore, rests on the missionary to fashion and carve out his own life up to the desired ideal - a life of purity and piety - and remain spotless and blotless in this world full of impurities and wretched allurements. He should shed evil and embrace virtue. Obviously, this necessitates honest and sincere spiritual effort. Spiritual effort does not mean regimentation, self-mortification, penance, rigid and harsh austerities, self-destroying repulsive devices or being cut off from the outside world. Actually, it comprehends and signifies and effort to keep the surge of Enlightenment actively alive in the repository of heart and pursue a practical life of good graces, building and achieving a high standard of meritorious existence and social behaviour. And, if he lacks this, he cannot be said to be learned in spiritual lore. He should clearly understand that he preaches well, who lives well: Truth is high; higher still is truthful living.

"Character is the summit of being and justice is the application of it to affairs."

- Emerson

"A man, who is dirty within, cannot have a clean worldly life or be pure in action."

- Baba Gurbachan Singh

Cease once for all to survive as an animal and live and act as a spiritual being, and think with a new heart, suffused with a new mind and a new heart, suffused with the inner light and attuned to the spirit. Nothing short of that can be called self-transcendence. So, one has to manifest divinity and spirituality at every moment, in every walk of life. Repose faith in the inherent goodness of human nature and the silent power of righteousness. Man’s greatness is measured by his kindness and his intellect by his modesty; his caliber is gauged by the consideration and tolerance he had for others; his ignorance is betrayed by his suspicions and prejudices. Be modest in prosperity patient in adversity, equal-minded at all times; conscious of duty to one’s own self as well as to one’s neighbours and that there is but one basis of well-being: to understand and feel that ‘I and my neighbour are one’. Help and not fight, assimilation and not annihilation, harmony and not discord, peace and not strife, unity and not dissension, are true saintly traits which the missionary ought to imbibe, promote and propagate:

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing."

- Emerson

"Small kindness, small courtesies, considerations habitually practiced in our social intercourse give a greater charm to our character than the display of great talents and accomplishments."

- Voltaire

- Swami Viveka Nand

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him."

- Voltaire

- G. D. Boardman

- Edna Lyall

"The reputation of a thousand years may depend on the character of a single day,"

- Chinese Proverb

"In the times to come, the people will not judge us by the creed we profess or the label we wear or the slogans we shout but by our work, industry, sacrifice and purity of character."