Of the three most important things to be eliminated before attaining God-Realization – greed, lust, and backbiting – backbiting is the worst and most disastrous.

One can overcome greed and even lust, though both are very hard to get rid of; but by far the worst and most difficult habit of all to eliminate is that of speaking ill of and trying to find fault in others.

And why must it be eliminated? Because this particular act or vice incurs the burden of sins or sanskaras of others, which is spiritually very derogatory and reactionary.

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It is your right to be happy and yet you create your own unhappiness by wanting things.

Wanting is the source of perpetual restlessness. If you do not get the thing you wanted, you are disappointed. And if you get it, you want more and more of it and become unhappy. Say, “I do not want anything,” and be happy. The continuous realisation of the futility of wants will eventually lead you to Knowledge. This Self-knowledge will give you the freedom from wants which leads to the road to abiding happiness.
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To be merely an idealist is hopeless; to be merely a materialist is also hopeless. It is necessary to create a balance between the two.