The following is an excerpt from a satsang between the Gnani Purush Dada Bhagwan and spiritual aspirants.

Where does misery lie? Misery is the result of following the way of the world. There is never any happiness in following what the world does. No matter which way you turn, there is only misery.  In following the Gnani, there is never any misery. There is no pain where the Gnani is.

What is true misery? Misery is when a starving person finds no food to eat. Misery is when a thirsty man finds no water. Misery is when a person gasping for air finds no air to breath. All other afflictions and sufferings can be tolerated in some manner or other but you cannot do without food, water and air. You can endure all other tensions because you will not die from them. And yet you walk around unnecessarily burdened with such tensions.

Questioner: Why does one person find happiness and another pain?

Dadashri:  Happiness and pain are imaginary - mere mental projections. If you believe something is good, then you will like it. Anything done to the liking of others helps accumulate merit karma. What is carried in the vessel of the intellect will keep on changing but it is that which is carried in the vessel of intellect at the time of death that gives results for your next life.

This is a process of evolution. The knowledge one gains at the ‘first mile’ will continue to evolve with each succeeding mile.In the previous life one might think that there is nothing wrong with stealing but in this life one may acquire knowledge where one feels it is wrong to steal.  A person will hold fast to this (new) opinion but the fact that he steals is the effect of his opinion from his past life and so the stealing continues.  It will not come to a stop, because effects cannot be destroyed. The effects have to discharge and become exhausted, and until they do, one cannot die.  All I am saying is that you should change whatever wrong opinions you had in the past. Be firm in your decision that you do not want to steal anymore and keep reminding yourself this.  Every time you think of stealing, destroy the idea of stealing from its roots. Then you will succeed and bind merit karma for the next life.

In order to improve their worldly life, I tell people to have an obliging nature and show kindness towards others. Do not think about yourself.  Render service to others for the welfare and good of the world. Whatever you spend for yourself goes down the drain and whatever you do for others is an adjustment for your next birth.

What does the pure Self (Shuddhatma Bhagwan) say? ‘I take care of the those who take care of others and the ones that take care of themselves, I leave them to fend for themselves’.