The Science of Religion (Self-Realization Fellowship)

We generally experience this calm and pleasurable tranquil state just when we are falling into deep sleep and approaching unconsciousness, or rising from it and approaching consciousness.

intuition, which we shall later explain, is the direct grasp of truth.

He may be infinite, omnipresent, and so forth, but we have no immediate and practical use for those conceptions in our busy, rushing lives.

it is a deluding excitation consciousness, depending upon the satisfaction of the preceding state of desire and upon present contrast consciousness. The

This happiness is Bliss, a little alloyed. So with pure Bliss as a personal motive for altruistic action, the altruist is not laying himself open to the charge of narrow selfishness, for one cannot himself have pure Bliss unless he is broad enough to wish and seek it for others, too. That is the universal law.

the actions that we must adopt for the permanent avoidance of pain and the realization of Bliss or God are called religious.

A created want becomes a natural want in time, through habit. Of whatever sort the want may be, it gives pain. The more wants we have, the greater the possibilities of pain; for the more wants we have, the more difficult is it to fulfill them, and the more that wants remain unfulfilled, the greater is the pain. Increase desires and wants, and pain

Thus we see that desire is the root of all misery, which arises out of the sense of identification of the Self with mind and body. So what we should do is to kill attachment by doing away with the sense of identification. We should break the cord of attachment and identification only. As appointed by the Great Stage Manager, we should play our part

he who enjoys the pleasure of health will sometimes feel the pain due to ill health, because pleasure depends upon a condition of the mind, namely, the idea of health.