You are Therefore I am: A Declaration of Dependence

Karma causes success or disappointment. Action performed without desire is dharma. Dharma is appreciation of what is. Dharma is to be at rest, at peace, contented and natural.

“Restraint is the key: think less, speak less, do less. Be more, meditate more. Practise silence and serve others.”

In fact, we are more truly ourselves when we are in the mode of being rather than doing.

“The practice of compassionate living (dharma),” said gurudev, “is not something other than everyday, ordinary, simple and mundane actions. This practice is in walking, in talking, in eating, in sleeping, in washing the bowl, in taking care of clothes, and in relating to all other beings. Compassion is not a matter of scholarship: you live it rathe

Dharma is to be good rather than do good.

“Is there a way out of this karmic maze?” a disciple asked. Tulsi answered, “Yes there is. It is living in compassion, dharma. As karma captures, binds and holds our physical and mental interactions, dharma liberates us from all conditioning and all trappings. Dharma is the spiritual sustenance, and is the antidote to karma.

For every Jain devotee it is an essential practice to begin the day with the darshan of a holy person or sacred image in a temple. It must be done before breakfast, before work, before any form of activity, so that the spirit of the encounter can permeate the day and every activity.

Water is so powerful, so overwhelming, yet the duck swims right through it, and water just rolls off its back. So we can learn from the duck how to swim in the sea of sorrow and remain joyful.”

The lotus is our guru, our teacher. It shows us a way to accept sorrow and serenity simultaneously.