On Scriptures, Knowledge and Experience

"A belief obtained through telling, hearing and reading will not last long. Whereas, the faith gained from experience will last forever."

"Attending a lecture on the theory of cooking will not remove hunger. Knowledge alone is not enough; to practice what we grasp intellectually is more important."

"Spirituality is an experience. To really know it all interpretations and explanations should end. There should not be any inner talking or any judgements. All interpretations are borrowed ideas. They are all repetitions. Spirituality can be experienced only in stillness and silence."

"What difference is there between someone who gives speeches and a tape recorder? Will reading cookbooks satisfy our hunger?"

"You can train a parrot to say: 'Brahman, Brahman.' But when a cat comes by, it will cry in fear. Instead of just repeating words, we have to absorb the principle."

"Following the Path of Knowledge without devotion is like eating stones. We should think that God is our own Self and worship Him seeing all forms as different aspects of the same God."

"You have heard that honey is sweet. You may put some in your hand. But unless you taste it with your tongue, you cannot experience the sweetness."

"Can you explain the beauty of a flower, or describe the sweetness of sugar? So how can the beauty of the Infinite be described? It has to be experienced."

"Repeating, 'I am Brahman' without doing any sadhana is like calling a blind child by the name 'Prakasham' (light)."

"Is it enough to sit in a parked car staring at a map? Satsang only teaches spiritual principles; we have to put these principles in to daily practice and live according to them in order to move forward on the spiritual path. This is why sadhana (spiritual practices) is performed."

"If we put the different parts of a radio together in the proper manner and connect it to a battery, then we can hear the programs broadcast by a distant station while sitting in our own home. By living according to the spiritual teachings, we can enjoy infinite bliss even while living in the body."

"When we are hungry we eat just enough food to appease our hunger, and not all the food in the kitchen. Many scholars waste their lives eating the whole thing."

"Scriptures, like a signboard, point the way; in order to reach the destination, you have to follow the instructions and move forward, not stand reading the board again and again."

"Many scholars are like those who stay at the railway station memorising the train schedule. Will they reach anywhere?"

"By eating the picture of a banana, you won't get the taste or nourishment of the fruit. Scriptural study is necessary, but sadhana is needed to benefit from it."

"We spit out the residue after we enjoy the juice of the sugarcane. In the same way we should take the essence of the scriptures and discard the rest."

"Vedanta has nothing to do with reading or giving speeches. It is a principle to be adopted in daily life."