7-1:
Man's pride and satisfaction in what he knows limits the scope
of his vision.
7-2:
Man must first create peace in himself if he desires to see
peace in the world; for lacking peace within, no effort of his
can bring any result.
7-3:
The knowledge of self is the essential knowledge; it gives knowledge
of humanity. In the understanding of the human being lies that
understanding of nature which reveals the law of creation.
7-4:
While man blames another for causing him harm, the wise man
first takes himself to task.
7-5:
Whatever their faith, the wise have always been able to meet
each other beyond those boundaries of external forms and conventions
which are natural and necessary to human life, but which nonetheless
separate humanity.
7-6:
It is the message that proves the messenger, not the claim.
7-7:
Every soul has a definite task, and the fulfillment of each
individual purpose can alone lead man aright; illumination comes
to him through the medium of his own talent.
7-8:
While man judges another from his own moral standpoint, the
wise man looks also at the point of view of another.
7-9:
While man rejoices over his rise and sorrows over his fall,
the wise man takes both as the natural consequences of life.
7-10:
It is the lover of God whose heart is filled with devotion who
can commune with God, not he who makes an effort with his intellect
to analyze God.
7-11:
Do not bemoan the past; do not worry about the future; but try
to make the best of today.
7-12:
He who can quicken the feeling of another to joy or to gratitude,
by that much he adds to his own life.
7-13:
Praise cannot exist without blame; it has no existence without
its opposite.
7-14:
Riches and power may vanish because they are outside ourselves;
only that which is within can we call our own.
7-15:
The world is evolving from imperfection towards perfection;
it needs all love and sympathy; great tenderness and watchfulness
is requires from each one of us.
7-16:
The heart of every man, both good and bad, is the abode of God,
and care should be taken never to wound anyone by word or act.
7-17:
We should be careful to take away from ourselves any thorns
that prick us in the personality of others.
7-18:
There is a light within every soul; it only needs the clouds
that overshadow it to be broken, for it to beam forth.
7-19:
The soul's true happiness lies in experiencing the inner joy,
and it will never be fully satisfied with outer, seeming pleasures;
its connection is with God, and nothing short of perfection
will ever satisfy it.
7-20:
Every blow in life pierces the heart and awakens our feeling
to sympathize with others; and every swing of comfort lulls
us to sleep, and we become unaware of all.
7-21:
A study of life is the greatest of all religions, and there
is no greater or more interesting study.
7-22:
We can learn virtue even from the greatest sinner if we consider
him as a teacher.
7-23:
Warmth melts, while cold freezes. A drop of ice in a warm place
spreads and covers a larger space, whereas a drop of water in
a cold place freezes and becomes limited. Repentance has the
effect of spreading a drop in a warm sphere, causing the heart
to expand and become universal, while the hardening of the heart
brings limitation.
7-24:
There should be a balance in all our actions; to be either extreme
or lukewarm is equally bad.
7-25:
Our spirit is the real part of us, the body but its garment.
A man would not find peace at the tailor's because his coat
comes from there; neither can the spirit obtain true happiness
from the earth just because his body belongs to earth.
7-26:
Every purpose has a birth and death; therefore, God is beyond
purpose.
7-27:
Belief and disbelief have divided mankind into so many sects,
blinding its eyes to the vision of the oneness of all life.
7-28:
Spirit can only love spirit; in loving form it deludes itself.
7-29:
To love is one thing, to understand is another; he who loves
is a devotee, but he who understands is a friend.
7-30:
Among a million believers in God there is scarcely one who makes
God a reality.
7-31:
The soul feels suffocated when the doors of the heart are closed.