Be Joyful, Smiling and Enthusiastic

Above all, it is best that the Sadhaka under all circumstances should be joyful, smiling and enthusiastic. Even more than Bhakthi and Jnana (Devotion and Wisdom), this pure attitude is desirable. Those who have acquired it deserve to reach the goal first. This quality of joy at all times is the fruit of the good done in past births. When a person is ever worried, depressed and doubting, he can never attain bliss, whatever spiritual practices or sadhana (spiritual exercise) one may undertake. The first task of a spiritual aspirant is the cultivation of enthusiasm. Through that enthusiasm, he can derive any variety of Ananda. Never get inflated when you are praised; never get deflated when you are blamed. Be a spiritual lion, regardless of both. One must analyse and correct one's faults on his own; this is most important.

A Sadhaka is a student, someone who is practicing Sadhana, meditation or some other spiritual discipline. 

From March 20th we should be every day in contemplation and focus on some quotes we got and this is one of them, we got 40 quotes. 

He is telling us that we should be at all time and under all circumstances joyful, smiling and enthusiastic, that is important. 

It is good what he said about enthusiasm, too often we listen only to talks about sickness and it is not that uplifting. 

If we don't develop enthusiasm and we are not aware of it, that it is even more important that Bhakti and Jnana.

Considering the words of Swami and that we should think it over, if we think love and we go on the feeling level, we need the wisdom about love, the feeling starts and instead of listening and absorbing the wisdom, we start to feel love, but it is about pure love and that we have to develop, the realization or feeling pure love is like pure consciousness, we have to listen, it is part of his divine wisdom. Pure consciousness we experience only when we know how to meditate, otherwise, it doesn't make any sense. It is only there if we practice and if we don't practice, truth, right action, peace, we know we are unable to experience pure love, therefore, if we want to experience pure love, we have to listen, as his message is truth, right action, peace and pure love and ahimsa, non-violence are the human values of Swami's teaching corresponding to our own experience it is based on truth and natural law, it means we all make the same experience when we are experiencing it as it is about truth, there is only one truth and that is non-changing.

How can we be enthusiastic in action if it is only fulfilled with the dawn of wisdom if we don't listen, without his wisdom it doesn't work. The  knowledge is in his words, we cannot see the dawn of wisdom if we don't focus and don't listen to his words, therefore, being joyful, smiling and enthusiastic is in that sense always present permanently only possible if we are able to listen, the dawn of Jana can only be possible when we start to listen and we get aware of the precious knowledge and insights we find in his words. That is why there is enthusiasm, joy and we are smiling.

Swami tells us here that being enthusiastic and smiling and joyful is even more desirable than Bhakthi, devotion and Jnana, wisdom and why? It is a pure attitude of mind. 

Above all, it is best that the Sadhaka under all circumstances should be joyful, smiling and enthusiastic. Even more than Bhakthi and Jnana (Devotion and Wisdom), this pure attitude is desirable. Those who have acquired it deserve to reach the goal first. 

If we are able to be always joyful, and smiling and enthusiastic we deserve to reach the goal first even if we don't know anything about Bhakthi, devotion and Jnana, wisdom. What Swami is telling us is that it can be there because of the good done in the past birth. 

On the other hand if we have a person in a state of mind always worried, depressed and doubting, we heard the expression, 'misery seeks company'. 

This quality of joy at all times is the fruit of the good done in past births. When a person is ever worried, depressed and doubting, he can never attain bliss, whatever spiritual practices or sadhana (spiritual exercise) one may undertake. 

Without enthusiasm, courage, devotion, energy, readiness and sincerity, nothing can be achieved. (Baba) 

If we remember it always over time, we know that nothing can be achieved as we are contemplating that truth. And here he it telling us that enthusiasm is the first thing to be cultivated. But it is not enthusiasm alone, we also have courage, devotion, energy, readiness and sincerity to be able to be enthusiastic. 

Enthusiasm is not there without being ready, being ready is not there if we have not enough sincerity and the energy depends on all of it and without devotion it also doesn't work and without courage the glass is half empty and not half full. 

But if we have enthusiasm, we can get a variety of ananda, therefore, we should cultivate enthusiasm, but at the same time we should not get inflated when praised or deflated when blamed.

The first task of a spiritual aspirant is the cultivation of enthusiasm. Through that enthusiasm, he can derive any variety of Ananda. Never get inflated when you are praised; never get deflated when you are blamed. Be a spiritual lion, regardless of both. One must analyse and correct one's faults on his own; this is most important.

To be a spiritual lion is to go ahead regardless of both, we must analyse and correct one's faults on our own and he calls that the most important. 

How do we even get aware of our faults without wisdom?

How are we able to analyse it without knowledge, how are we going to cultivate enthusiasm without devotion or energy without all of them, it needs not only enthusiasm,  but as well courage, devotion, energy, readiness and sincerity. 

What do you get from that quote? That enthusiasm is the main thing, that we have to cultivate it more than anything else, even more than devotion and wisdom? 

Through that enthusiasm, he can derive any variety of Ananda. Never get inflated when you are praised; never get deflated when you are blamed. Be a spiritual lion, regardless of both. One must analyse and correct one's faults on his own; this is most important.