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- materially minded people worship God to satisfy their material desires, the extent of their connection to God is in as much as their need to petition Him to fulfill their material desires, God becomes an extender, perpetuater of the material lifestyle but spiritually minded people are already constantly connected to God and the world simply is a sheath between them and God, an interference, God doesn't need to toy with them for them to call upon Him because they are already turned to God, if these people suffer in the world it can only be the fault of the Lord and His neglectfulness of those that deserve His special caring hand
- the morning prayer is the most important, it symbolizes that we consider God as precedent over all things else, and sets the stage for the rest of the day, if one loves God the most over all other things, then that person would want to return to God before facing anything elseBut those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form-to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have. Bhagavad Gita 9 verse 22
- one should remember that this world is just the Lord's maya-shakthi, if the Lord is the hand, as its Controller, it is the outward manifestation that moves in accordance to His directings, like a gloveMitra is increasingly associated with the light of dawn and the morning sun (while Varuna becomes associated with the evening, and ultimately the night).
In the Atharvaveda, Mitra is associated with sunrise, and accordingly, Mitra is worshipped in the sunrise prayers of the Hindus.
- reading copious amounts of spiritual literature is better than not doing so, but not executing its purpose, which is to connect to God, renders it moot, just like a mechanic who has studied mechanical engineering yet has not lifted a spannerHe who inhabits water, yet is within water, whom water does not know, whose body water is and who controls water from within — He is your Self, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.
He who inhabits the sun, yet is within the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body the sun is and who controls the sun from within — He is your Self, the Inner Controller, the Immortal - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.7.4-14
- religious discourse/debate/sermons/hymns, the company and infectious presence of holy men, holy places and places of worship, iconographies and accessories of the Gods are all mere auxiliaries, above all is one's own soul which facilitates one's connection to God and sincere and intense love for God
- if one cannot connect to God directly himself, then one should read the revealed scriptures telling oneself "these are the words of God Himself", or worship holy men, or aid to religious causes through service and money, go through religious rituals thinking to oneself "I'm doing what is supposed to be pleasing to God, which is supposed to bring me closer to God"
- we are all angels, who possess a particle of God, called the soul, which by nature is in direct association with God, just meditating on this truth is a spiritual act
- you must sympathize and hate yourself for not connecting to God, only then you will chastise yourself for not connecting to Him
- creatures are always inclined to the pleasureable, but worshiping God is the highest form of pleasure, that's why the scriptures say Brahman is Bliss
- we may attribute the soul's disconnect from God to various reasons
maya obscuring Brahman and taking His place
the soul becoming embodied in flesh and possessing a mind
circumstance not the fault of the soul, unconducive environment, lack of spiritual knowledge and masters
God witholding His aura and presence
intensity of the soul not strong enough, maturity/intelligence of the person not strong enough/lacking spiritual values and principles
a person is currently not spiritual but may be so in the future
a person is already spiritual but has fallen
a person just needs some support, or needs to be shaken by life changing events and spiritual encounter
a person maybe in the bosom of spirituality like being born into a twice born household, following traditions, having gurus and access to holy texts yet may be disclined or not ripe
a person maybe very sincere yet is not finding any success "feeling close encounters with God"
- if now I am not connected to God, I can remind myself of the time that I once was, hope that it will happen again, and aim for it
- if one is not worshiping God, to feel His presence, then one must mumble to oneself in an unbroken repetition "I must worship God, I must worship God..."
- at night one should review one's relationship with God and speak to God "this whole day was given to me by You, now I am going to bed to refresh my tired mind so that I may be able to further worship you, please allow me to wake up again so that I may continue to worship you"
- one should seek beauty and effectiveness in prayers, calling upon God variously in different contexts by various names
- the man who loves God and seeks to cultivate a strong relationship with Him will have "a spiritual mind", he will view this world and personal experiences with a spiritual intellect
- God loves us, this is undoubtedly true, this is the one thing we must never forget
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