BY SHRI KRISHNA (FROM "THE BHAGAVAD GITA")

Never the Spirit was born; the Spirit shall cease to be never: Never was time it was not; end and Beginnings are dreams! Birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the Spirit for ever; Death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems!"

Thus spoke the Lord of Creation when he made both man and sacrifice: "by sacrifice thou shalt multiply and obtain all thy desires."

In the actions of the best men others find their rule of action. The path that great man follows becomes a guide to the world....

A sacrifice is pure when it is an offering of adoration in harmony with the holy law, with no expectation of a reward, and with the heart saying "it is my duty."

But a sacrifice that is done for the sake of a reward, or for the sake of vainglory is an impure sacrifice....

A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.

But when it is given expecting something in return, or for the sake of a future reward, or when it is given unwillingly, the gift is ... impure.

And a gift given to the wrong person, at the wrong time and the wrong place, or a gift which comes not from the heart, and is given with proud contempt, is a gift of darkness.

Offer to me all thy works and rest thy mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts and with inner peace fight thou thy fight.

Those who ever follow my doctrine and who have faith, and have a good will, find through pure work their freedom.

But those who follow not my doctrine, and who have ill-will are men blind to all wisdom, confused in mind; they are lost....

Hate and lust for things of nature have their roots in man's lower nature. Let him not fall under their power: they are the two enemies in his path-hate and lust for things.

And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another's, even if it be great. To die in one's duty is life: to live in another's is death.

Great is the man who, free from attachments, and with a mind ruling its powers in harmony, works on the path of karma yoga, the path of consecrated action.

Arise therefore! And with the help of thy spirit lift up thy soul: allow not thy soul to fall. For thy soul can be thy friend, and thy soul can be thine enemy.

Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life.... The world is in the bonds of actions, unless the action is consecration. Let thy actions then be pure, free from the bonds of desire.

By sacrifice shalt thou honour the gods and the gods will then love thee. And thus in harmony with them shalt thou attain the supreme good.

...Sacred action is described in the Vedas and these come from the Eternal, and therefore is the Eternal everpresent in a sacrifice.

Thus was the Wheel of the Law set in motion, and that man lives indeed in vain who in a sinful life of pleasures helps not in its revolutions.

But the man who has found the joy of the Spirit and in the Spirit has satisfaction, who in the Spirit has found his peace, that man is beyond the law of action.

He is beyond what is done and beyond what is not done, and in all his works he is beyond the help of mortal beings.

In liberty from the bonds of attachment, do thou therefore the work to be done: for the man whose work is pure attains indeed the Supreme.

King Janaka and other warriors reached perfection by the path of action: let thy aim be the good of all and then carry on thy task in life.
***************************************************************************

FROM CONFUCIANISM:

Confucius was once asked what he would do to set the world right. After thoughtful consideration he replied, "I would insist on the exact definition of words."

When you know a thing to recognize that you know it; and when you do not, to know that you do not know- that is knowledge.

To go too far is as bad as to fall short.

A man without virtue cannot long abide in adversity, nor can he long abide in happiness.

When you see a man of worth, think of how you may emulate him. when you see one who is unworthy, examine your own character.

Wealth and rank are what men desire, but unless they be obtained in the right way they may not be possessed.

Feel kindly toward everyone, but be intimate only with the virtuous.

If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success...Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.

Confucius said: "The true gentleman is friendly but not familiar; the inferior man is familiar but not friendly."

Tzu kung asked: "What would you say of the man who is liked by all his fellow townsmen?" "That is not sufficient," was the reply. "What is better is that the good among his fellow townsmen like him, and the bad hate him."

Confucius said: "the well-bred are dignified but not pompous. The ill-bred are pompous, but not dignified."

Once when Fan Ch'ih was rambling along with the Master under the trees... he remarked: "May I venture to ask how one may improve one's character, correct one's personal faults, and discriminate in what is irrational?"

"An excellent question., "rejoined the Master. "If a man put duty first and success after, will not that improve his character? If he attacks his own failing instead of those of others, will he not remedy his personal faults? For a morning's anger to forget his own safety and involve that of his relatives, is not this irrational?"

By poetry the mind is aroused; from music the finish is received.

The odes stimulate the mind. They induce self-contemplation. They teach the art of sensibility. They help to regulate resentment. they bring home the duty o serving one's father and one's prince.

For nearly two thousand years, the first sentence a Chinese child learned to read was "Man is inherently good."

What you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others.

I will not grieve that men do not know me; I will grieve that I do not know men.

Do not look for quick results, nor look for small advantages. If you seek quick results, you will not attain the ultimate goal. If you are led astray by small advantages, you will never accomplish great things.

The nobler man first practices what he preaches and afterward preaches according to his practice.

If, when you look into your own heart, you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about, what is there to fear?

There was a disciple of Confucius named Tzu-kung who had taken to criticizing other disciples. Confucius said "Obviously Tzu-kung must have become quite perfect himself, to have time to spare for this; I do not have this much leisure."
****************************************************************************