SUTRA 95
Om vibrates like a storm in the sky.
Having neither beginning nor end,
It is the stage manager of the Divine Drama.
The human body is a string of Om,
All that is—inside us, outside us,
Is born of Om.
We do not need to search for Om.
It is present in everything, everywhere.
No special effort is needed to recall it
To memory.
Shakti! The creative power of the Divine
That is Om exists in all creatures.
The sound produced by any creature is
Nothing but Om.
The universal sound is Om.
When Om unites with vital breath
And moves in the body,
This is the universal sound.
When nature and subtle energy are separate,
This is the universal sound;
When both are felt to be one,
This is the Oneness.
Om is seen everywhere.
Wherever you place your faith
Becomes All.
The Shakti that is Om
Fills and penetrates the universe.
It is formless, infinite and indivisible.
It is the light in all directions!
Ignorance and knowledge are not real—
Neither pain nor pleasure has effect.
All is Om!
SUTRA 102
A true guru can turn you
From the jungle road of ignorance
To the royal road of spiritual knowledge.
There are two gurus:
The causal guru and the action guru.
The guru who gives the disciple a mantra
Or otherwise initiates him into spiritual practice
Is the causal guru.
The Self is the action guru.
No person can be another’s action guru—
Only another’s causal guru.
The causal guru can lead the thirsty disciple to the well,
But only one’s inner action guru can
Prompt one to drink deeply.
The first instructs, the second acts.
The divine force within all creatures is the Self.
This is the action guru, the supreme guru,
The all-pervading guru—
God.
Commentary:
Nityananda says that the guru who initiates an aspirant is the “guru of cause,” elsewhere called the secondary guru. He is differentiating between the physical teacher, who can show the seeker the road to Self-realization, and the “guru of action,” who actually walks that road. This action guru, also called the primary guru, resides within the individual, for the action guru is nothing other than the Self of all.
SUTRA 113
To be fit for the name “guru”
One must renounce completely the idea
That “I am the body.”
There is none higher than such a guru!
Even God is not higher than
The guru who is identified
With the Absolute.
Such a guru is a manifestation of
The bliss of universal consciousness.
Such a guru is God made manifest.
SUTRA 125
If you are afraid of fire,
You cannot cook a meal.
If you are afraid of water,
You cannot cross a river
Even in a boat.
There must be no fear.
For anything to be done,
First you must have courage.
SUTRA 162
If you do not concentrate on the breath,
There is no aim, no state,
No intelligence, no fulfillment.
Concentrate!
Think without losing concentration.
Concentrate on the inbreath and the outbreath;
Draw the breath evenly, properly.
Concentrate on the sound of the breath,
Breathe and concentrate on the internal sound,
Have faith in that sound, and breathe in.
Breathe deeply and more deeply.
Breathe so the internal sound is audible to
The ears and think of nothing else.
Eating, drinking, walking, standing—
Such things do not elevate the soul!
Do your own work—
Do not desire to eat what others have cooked.
With faith, do what you have to do.
SUTRA 172
Suffering given by God is not suffering.
Grief given by God is not grief.
It is a delusion of the mind.
There is grief at birth
And there is grief at the end.
Man comes from his mother’s womb
With tears in his eyes.
SUTRA 183
For liberation and wisdom,
Age is no consideration.
This is the moment.
If you are hungry, you should eat.
If you are not hungry, you should wait.
The hunger for devotion must be intense.
The bigger the fire, the sooner the water boils.
Intense faith is the heat.
Peace is like ice in the head,
Filling the inside and overflowing to the outside.
Fully satisfied, the mind becomes pure.
This peace, this contentment, cost nothing—
Not even a penny for charity.
When you are filled with this peace,
Those around you also benefit.
When it begins in you, it also begins in others.
Even among thousands,
If one person has this peace,
Others can enjoy a part of it.
When entering a crowd,
A holy man should have the peace of
The hunter approaching a tiger.
To live in the world, a holy man must have
Great calm, great peace.
Peace is of great help in moving
Among thousands of people.
These sutras were selected from The Sky of the Heart: Jewels of Wisdom from Nityananda, published by Rudra Press, the publishing division of The Movement Center. The accompanying commentaries are by Swami Chetanananda.