Today's Beautiful Gem: `Happiness and God's Grace' by Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950).

"If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy. So one must find out how to become happy oneself. Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the whole world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.

"Every being in the world longs to be always joyful, without any taint of sorrow. At the same time, everyone loves himself best. Love is caused by joy. Therefore, joy must lie in inside oneself. In order to realise this inherent and untainted joy, which indeed we experience every night when the mind is subdued in deep dreamless sleep, it is essential that one know oneself.

"God's grace is the beginning, the middle, and the end. When you pray for God's grace, you are like someone standing neck-deep in water and yet crying for water. It is like saying that someone neck-deep in water feels thirsty, or that a fish in water feels thirsty, or that water feels thirsty."

Om s'aantih: Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao

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