From: bishop_greg_aymond@austindiocese.org   
      
   Dear Brothers and Sisters   
      
   Welcome again to Salvation Gems.   
      
   It is vital to understand what is the correct approach on the   
   spiritual path and how to attain spiritual salvation.  Spiritual   
   teachings and teachers have been ongoing since the development of   
   human civilization - but few have been omniscient Spiritual   
   Preceptors.   
      
   Where can you find the spiritual essence that is required? Only   
   through proper spiritual practices based on rational approach,   
   devotional outlook and sense of surrender to the Supreme.   
      
   Spiritual salvation is the union of unit consciousness with the   
   Supreme Entity - God.  This is the true definition that results in   
   non-duality and the result is achieved only through genuine   
   spiritual practices.  Accordingly heaven is within, and lack of   
   spirituality is what causes people to make a hell for themselves.   
      
   Togay a revival of inner meanings is required.   
      
   The teachings of Anandamurti have been given to assist all in the   
   world to develop spiritually.  These are the authentic teaching of a   
   Spiritual Preceptor.   
      
   This is a series for inspiration and upliftment. It is particularly   
   suitable for those persons giving talks or sermons to their   
   congregations and brings uplifting thoughts to the listener - so   
   bringing them closer to God.   
      
   These pieces you can slot or adjust into any of your talks and   
   sermons.   
      
   ---   
      
   Not Heaven and Not Hell - The Need for a Spiritual Ideal   
      
   "The proverb "prevention is better than cure" may be applied to all   
   aspects of life. It is undeniable that, when we see the variety and   
   seriousness of crimes increasing with the so-called advancement of   
   civilization, it becomes necessary for crime-prevention policies to   
   be given greater importance than remedial action. Civilized people   
   today should be more interested in preventing base criminal   
   propensities from arising in human beings in the first place, than   
   in taking corrective measures to cure criminals' mental diseases.   
      
   It is true that the majority of people are not born dishonest.  If   
   one's goal is a pure and pervasive one, then the defects in the   
   process of attaining the goal can never transform a person into a   
   sub-human creature. And if these efforts are in harmony with   
   people's psychology, this will be extremely beneficial. As a result   
   many people will harmonize the rhythm of their diverse ideas and   
   ideologies and progress together, thereby gradually transforming the   
   inherent individualism and disparity of social life into one   
   symphonic chord, one unified rhythm, which will become the genuine   
   prototype of a healthy human society.   
      
   This idea of oneness is fundamentally a spiritual idea. Individually   
   and collectively human beings will have to accept the Supreme and   
   the path to realize the Supreme as the highest truth, and this will   
   have to be recognized as the highest goal of human life. As long as   
   human beings do not do so, the human race will find it impossible to   
   implement a sound, well-thought-out plan of action for social   
   progress. No penal or social code, no matter how well-planned, can   
   liberate society. Without a spiritual ideal, no social, economic,   
   moral, cultural or political policy or programme can bring humanity   
   to the path of peace. The sooner humanity understands this   
   fundamental truth, the better.   
      
   "Good" or "bad", "virtue" or "vice" - from the worldly standpoint   
   notwithstanding, people act in order to attain happiness. We judge   
   people's actions as "good" and "bad", "virtue" and "vice", only   
   after evaluating those actions in terms of a goal and steps to reach   
   that goal.   
      
   On a relative level, virtue and vice are both distortions of the   
   mind. That which may be considered good in one particular temporal,   
   spatial or personal environment may be considered bad in another. A   
   country generally bases its penal code on the concept of virtue and   
   vice which prevails in that country, and the concept of virtue and   
   vice in turn is based on accepted religious doctrines.   
      
   However, at the universal level, virtue is that which helps to   
   expand the mind, by whose assistance the universe increasingly   
   becomes an integral part of oneself, and vice is that which makes   
   the mind narrow and selfish. And the realm to which the mind of a   
   person engaged in virtuous activities travels, is heaven, and the   
   realm where the mind of a sinner races about in a wild frenzy, is   
   hell.   
      
   Those who ignore their conscience and repeatedly commit crimes due   
   to poverty, eventually turn into habitual criminals. If somebody   
   steals or robs out of hunger, or is goaded by their propensities   
   into some mean act, it will be the duty of society to find out what   
   the person's needs are and then remove them in some lawful way. But   
   if society fails to do its duty (and to date human beings have not   
   yet been able to create a society in the true sense of the term) and   
   punishes such criminals instead, focusing only on the magnitude of   
   their crimes, all feelings of remorse will vanish from their minds   
   and in their place a sense of desperation will arise. They will feel   
   that since they have already been stigmatized and have nothing   
   further to lose, there is no point in suffering by earning a living   
   in an honest way. They will think, "As I am sinking, let me sink to   
   the depths of hell." Those who have committed crimes due to poverty   
   (whether due to lack of food or clothing, or physical or mental   
   factors), will blame society for their offences. They will claim   
   that their poverty is the result of a defective social structure,   
   and in most cases this allegation will be true." (HUMAN SOCIETY PART   
   1, JUSTICE)   
      
   What is needed is a higher spiritual ideal.  Immerse yourself in it   
   and make it part of your life and readings.   
      
   "In every era literature has depicted the unique union of bliss   
   (godliness) and objective pleasure in different modes according to   
   the different phases of evolution to the characteristic self. That   
   which is antithetic to one's nature, no matter how assiduously one   
   might attempt to paint it with the colours of the imagination, can   
   never be accepted by humanity as its own. It has no use in life, nor   
   has it any relation with the inner nature of human beings.   
      
   In order to give full expression to the continuous flow of   
   humanity's true nature, then insight, power of expression, and   
   boldness - all three are necessary. The creation of ideal literature   
   is not possible for those who are ever ready to yield to the   
   pressures of the throng. To manifest that true nature of self, one   
   will have to give a clarion call to the common people to struggle   
   against those forces that want to suck dry their vitality. Those   
   voices which lack that bold heroism will simply whine and whimper   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)