LETTER 1

Spiritual life includes the involvement of all 3 aspects of our personality – physical, mental
and intellectual. Efforts for each level is different.

Just as one uses a ladder to climb a wall and once we have reached the top, we discard the
ladder, similarly, one uses the BMI to reach the Truth.

The Rishis of yore have prescribed techniques for each of the levels which will help in
mastering the BMI.

At the body level:

Learn to live with minimum comforts
Eat nourishing food in restrained quantities with a cheerful mind
Do some simple exercises to keep the body fit.
ALL excesses are to be avoided
Drink lots of water at room temperature.
Fast periodically.
Do Naam Sankirtan.
“You have no business to be exhausted, drained out, fatigued and sick”.

At the mental level:

Do your duties towards your parents, family and society with no selfish desires. Therein the
reward is the joy of doing your duty well.
Live a life of right, ethical values – this stops dissipation of energies. This conserved energy is
true “Lakshmi”

At the intellectual level:

Fix boundaries for yourself wherein you don’t get so caught up in your duties that you get so
tired and exhausted with no time for prayers and study.
Devote time to deep study and reflection of the Scriptures.
This makes the mind quiet, alert and vigilant which will help in going deeper and higher in
meditation.
You have a duty towards yourself as well. Swadharma must be followed in order to exhaust
existing vasanas. There is no option but to work. Thus, work with inspiration.
Work without Raaga and Dwesha, without getting affected by the pairs of opposites. They
will come no doubt – “ignore them with a mere side glance”.

At no time should we ignore the BMI thinking it is just matter or it is just a delusion. We
have a BMI and we must use it to our advantage of reaching the pinnacles of spiritual
evolution.
LETTER 2
In the first letter, Pu Gurudev talks about the methods of disciplining, taming and quietening
the BMI so that they can act as an appropriate tool to reach the Higher.

In the second letter, He says, once we have disciplined the body & the mind & dropped our
agitations about the past, present & future, such a calm inner personality will now crave to
know God.

The BMI which is now a prepared equipment to reach the goal & should be transcended and
dropped in order to reach the Self.
With yoga, sadhana & self-discipline we can achieve this.

Gurudev alerts that an experience of peace should not be confused with God Himself
because it's a thought & a thought is an object. Drop the thought. Move on. Wait with faith
& Nirvikalpa Samadhi will absorb you. Wait some more & continue your sadhana & you will
reach that state of Pure Consciousness where false identifications drop, Maya ends, jeeva,
jagat, Ishwara merge in Oneness.

The scriptures can only show us the way, we will have to walk the path ourselves to reach
the goal.

LETTER 3
In order to perform my duties well I need to know very clearly what my place in society is
because not only do I have a duty to my immediate family, I also have a duty to the society
in which I live as well as my duty to myself. All duties need to be done in the true spirit of
Karma yoga, dedicating all actions unto Him and accepting all results as Prasad.

In order to do this properly I need to understand what my main identity is. Once my main
identity, that of a seeker is established, then will all the other duties fall in place and be
performed correctly. In doing so, selfishness is weeded out and society prospers.

The duty performed towards myself is not a selfish duty if undertaken with the right
perspective. Swadhaya, sadhana and seva are very important for my spiritual growth. Pujya
Gurudev says, "Never give up your daily prayers even for a day, whether you are travelling
or sick'.

Live the life of the scriptures with conviction and faith following the injunctions of the
shrutis, smritis and puranas. The Shrutis declare the Supreme Knowledge, the smrtis give us
the rules of conduct in life and the puranas give us examples of people who have lived the
life of shrutis and smritis.
LETTER 4
In this letter Gurudev reminds us that the sole purpose of Chinmaya mission is to revive
Hinduism. So, each one of us should take pride in being a Hindu and make this our goal. Not
only should we practice what we have learnt but we must also share the knowledge of the
Scriptures along with others around us. This is a way to repay our Rishi Rna.
In order to communicate effectively, Gurudev tells us how to be a successful speaker.
One must be able to judge the interest of the audience and their ability to grasp the topic.
You should have love and concern for the audience because when you love and care for
someone you will talk to them in a language that appeals to them.
Constant reflection on the knowledge of the Scriptures is necessary to develop the ability to
present a single concept in different ways to different people.
One must learn to hold everyone’s attention in the audience.
While talking, keep a smiling face, avoid distractions and criticisms, make a note of
constructive criticism and carry out the necessary changes.
To be constantly inspired he tells us to read daily from the Upanishads and Geeta.
Along with all of the above one also needs the grace of the Lord. His grace can be invoked
through Anushthan (daily prayers of your Istadeva, that is to be done under all
circumstances without fail)
One must have faith in oneself and in the Lord as he has chosen us for this cause. Do your
duties, follow the moral values and completely surrender to Him. You are only an
instrument. His hands will always protect you.

LETTER 5
In this letter Gurudev tells us how to evolve at the levels of the BMI.

At the body level we should perform our duties and derive joy out of the very performance
of the duty. This can be done only if selfish desires are curbed. The attachments we harbour
along with the life of indulgence that we lead are not conducive to developing a selfless life
of vairagya and devotion.

At the mind level we should live a life of moral values and eliminate raaga and dwesha
towards the world. Moral values are not just dos and donts they are positive ideals which
when accepted fully make living very dynamic filled with inner strength and courage. Unless
I like what I do, I wont do it. I need to understand and fully accept the values for me to live
them. If I am compromising on my values today, it is because I lack conviction in them.

At the intellect level we should increase our excellence in the line of work we have chosen.
Human beings are blessed with this faculty of discrimination which we dont use to its full
potential. This faculty has 2 categories: the conserving power and the directing power.

Many are able to tap the conserving power either through determination, will power or
plain suppression. However unless the directing power is also utilised, the conserving power
will only lead to downfall.

The directing power can be harnessed when one leads a noble life of sense control and
follows moral values, then this directing power brings Santosh and Shanti along with worldly
gains.
If I use the conserving power to garner wealth but I dont use the directing power to spend it
selflessly or for a higher purpose, I become a hoarder which will lead to my downfall.

LETTER 6
Anything that we do - physically or mentally requires energy. Each thought that is thought
uses energy. With an average of 60,000 thoughts going through the mind each day, the
mind tends to get tired. Such a tired mind can no longer function efficiently in life. And with
life continuously throwing challenges at us, there is no way that we can meet those
challenges efficiently with such a tired mind. In order to deal with these challenges we have
to have a reserve of inner stamina. We are defeated by circumstances not because of the
situation but because we have not had the strength of mind to deal with them.

A strong mind is built by living moral values, not giving in to indulgences, not getting
overwhelmed by emotions.

We can strengthen the mind through 7 steps:

1. Live a life by following a discipline of moral values - which maybe difficult at first but
with time it becomes enjoyable.
2. Not only will it be enjoyable to you but will also provide joy to others around you.
3. In time this discipline will result in the intellect performing to its full capacity.
4. A sharp intellect will make you successful in any endeavour you take up.
5. It also reveals to you a deeper reason for your existence.
6. Soon a spiritual search for the Higher Truth will start.
7. With small glimpses of this Truth, you find yourself well set in your study of the
scriptures and contemplation on the words of the scriptures.

This life of moral living should be done with right understanding and not as an imposition or
imitation. The results of following this kind of lifestyle:

1. Reduction of ego and selfish desires

2. Increase in love and compassion for others.
3. A need to help others even at the cost of your own comfort and welfare.
4. All actions are done with efficiency.
5. The life of moral values is now lived unconsciously as part of his personality with
effortless ease.
6. Has no selfish motive in his dealings with others.
7. Spends less of his mental strength facing say to day issues and conserves his vitality
for study, reflection and contemplation.

Such a person finds God's help coming to pull him out from even the direst situation.
LETTER 7
This letter is a call to revive the glory of the Sanatan Dharma.

1. Sevaks are urged to spread the message of the scriptures which call man to live the
words of the scriptures in their daily life. Encourage people to study vedanta and to
live it fully and fearlessly.
2. Be friendly and patient with those who have confusions or misunderstandings or are
just hesitant to enter the portals of Vedanta.
3. This can be achieved if we the sevaks live a moral life and are steady and regular in
our own sadhana.
4. Punctuality and cleanliness must be observed.
5. Act honestly and with love.
6. Be prepared to make sacrifices to serve others.
7. Serve people and not their possessions.
8. Make a tight schedule for the day and then a week and then a month and adhere to
it.
9. Diligently whip yourself to be faithful to your schedule.
10. Soon a schedule for the year can be planned and you will be able to execute all
activities with enough mental energies to see them through, with love and joy.