Part of our spiritual progress is based on developing a kind spirit. To do this, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of others. It means feeling the joys and pains of others.听We can ask ourselves if the words we say to others are the words we want others to say to us. It means that the deeds we do to others are the deeds we want others to do to us. It means acting in a manner in which God would want us to act.

By cultivating听loving-kindness,听other听people will feel happy to be around us.听We would make them feel safe. They would feel that we are loving and helpful. We would be the kind of people that others would want to be with.听听Therefore, let us develop loving-kindness for our own spiritual growth. When we lead such a life, we inspire others to also live with听loving-kindness.

In this video clip, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji highlights the impact that our kindness can have on others, even when dealing with those who seem difficult. A spiritual Master is a source of kindness, of soothing and healing peace, and we can each experience that peace through meditation.

Nonviolence is an important virtue we must inculcate to grow spiritually. It requires that we not injure any living creature either in thought, word, or deed.听 When it comes to violence in thought, criticizing others is one of the most common forms. We do this with our words and with equal vehemence in our thoughts.

If we follow our thought patterns throughout the day, we find ourselves criticizing others. We have mental tirades against many people throughout the day. When something happens that is not to our liking, we think the worst even of those we love the most.

Our thoughts can not only injure others but can ultimately do harm to our own selves. The time we spend thinking ill of others is time in which we are wasting the precious breaths allotted to us. The time spent criticizing others only keeps us from our goal of finding God. First, we cannot concentrate on our meditation if we are thinking ill of others. Second, that thought will rankle and remain with us throughout the day. Third, we are creating actions that must reap fruits. And lastly, we are being unloving to one of God鈥檚 children.

Let us replace negative thoughts, words, and deeds with nonviolent thoughts. We should look at others’ mistakes and failings with compassion. We will become an abode of peace and tranquility for those around us.

Traditionally on Valentine鈥檚 Day, February 14, people usually celebrate by showing their loved ones how they feel about them. This can be expressed through a beautiful meeting, or by giving cards, flowers, and candies. It is a time in which people honor the love they have for each other, whether partners or spouses, parents and children, or friends.

The greatest valentine relationship, though, is that of the soul and God. That is a love that never ends. It is a permanent, eternal love that elevates the soul into the arms of God. There is no greater love than that of the soul and God. The closer we come to identifying with our soul, the closer we come to have greater and greater love for God.

Valentine鈥檚 Day is more than just giving greeting cards and candy to show love. These are outer symbols. True Valentine鈥檚 Day is experienced in the heart with a burning love for God. The symbol of a heart on a card is lifeless, but the beating heart of a soul filled with love for God is brimming with life. The heart within the disciple is really the soul, burning in love for the Divine.

The outer candy made of chocolates may be sweet, but that, too, is only a pale symbol for the true sweets offered by the soul鈥檚 heart to the Creator. There is nothing sweeter than the sweetness of love in our hearts for God. This sweetness is the sweetness of the soul in love with God.

We think of outer sweets as being delicious. But there is nothing more delicious than the love of the soul for God. Love is the sweetest nectar in the world. When the love of the soul meets the love of God, there is no duality. It is love meeting love. Two become one. Love meets love and there is nothing but love.

If we take an analogy in this world鈥攁nd I am sure this has happened in some households鈥攚e can get a pale understanding of losing awareness of the outer world. Sometimes a spouse is watching a television show, or the children are absorbed with their smart phones, gadgets, or computers. You try to tell them that dinner is ready, or you need them to do a chore, but you get nothing but a blank stare in return. It appears they are awake with open eyes and ears, but there is no response.

What is happening? They are awake to the outer world, but their attention is so focused on watching and listening to what is happening on their iPhones or computer that they have tuned you out. Their attention has shifted from the outer stimulus to a focused stimulus coming through an electronic or digital gadget.

Giving a valentine to God

Our attention can also be focused internally when we are deep in thought, conversing with ourselves mentally when we must make a decision, remembering something from our past, or reliving some events from our lives. During those moments when lost in thought, we are oblivious to the outer world of sight and sound.

When we develop love for God, our attention also shifts, but not to outer gadgets or the outer world. Rather, it shifts to being absorbed in the spiritual treasures within. We tune out all other problems we have. Our soul is alive to one alone, and that is the Divine.

How can we reach such a state of love that we become alive to God within us? Meditation on the inner Light and Sound is a unique type of meditation, for it allows us to tap into our treasures within and experience the love of the Divine. Meditation is like sending a valentine from our soul to God by sitting in silence to experience the Creator.

The best valentine we can give to God is to show our love for God by meditating to meet the Creator. On Valentine鈥檚 Day, while we may express a token of our love through greeting cards and candies, these are only symbols for the true heart beating within that is filled with love for God. The candies are only a symbol of the sweetness of the love of the soul for God. The true Valentine鈥檚 Day is the love between the soul and God. We can ignite that love by sitting in meditation and finding the Divine within.

God is in every grain of sand in the desert. God is in every particle of creation. God is in the fish. God is in the reptiles. God is in the animals. God is in every human being.

God is love. When we recognize God everywhere, we are recognizing the power of divine love. Meditation is merely changing our vision from blindness of God to vision of God. God is all around us every moment. God is pulsating with us. God is closer to us than our jugular vein.

Meditation helps us experience that. We may feel we are putting in a great deal of time meditating but have not yet seen God. It is only because we are not really meditating. We are thinking. We are evaluating. We are judging. We are sitting and thinking, 鈥淥, God is not coming, God is not coming.鈥� That is not meditating; rather, that is thinking. If we truly want to find God, we need to still our thoughts. We merely need to gaze within. We need to still our body and mind to experience it. Any thoughts of evaluation, judging, or clutching will keep us from the experience.

A helpful factor while meditating is to sit lovingly as if waiting for God to come. This is the attitude we should have when we wait for God to come. There should be love in our heart. We should have anticipation but without anxiety or clutching. We should sit at the door lovingly and await God鈥檚 arrival.听听

In this closing video clip (00:59), Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj explains we each can experience God when we still our body and mind.

The beauty of God鈥檚 unseen hand is that sometimes we actively pray for help and receive it. But there are many times when we do not even ask for help, and help comes anyway. These times are reminders to us that we are not alone. We realize that God has been with us all along, watching us and guiding us.

God knows when we are in trouble and need help. Just like a parent is always on guard to protect the sleeping child, so does God watch all of us. Unasked for, help from God comes to us.

As we walk through the byways of life sometimes feeling discouraged that we are alone, we should recall how God is always with us. God鈥檚 arms are always surrounding us, helping us with the high notes and low notes of life. We should be grateful to God for that unseen presence protecting and guiding us. Next time we feel helpless and alone, we should remember that God鈥檚 arms are around us, surrounding us, loving us, and protecting us.

One way that we can be sure of God鈥檚 presence is to sit in meditation to find God within. As we go within, we will experience God鈥檚 love for ourselves. Then, we will be able to face life鈥檚 challenges fearlessly. Let us put all our repose in God and face life knowing that we are in God鈥檚 loving arms.

Spiritual development is a process by which we attain self-knowledge and God-realization. We have a physical body, and we have a mind and intellect. Spiritual growth involves the realization that we are not the body and the mind, but, in reality, we are soul. Throughout our lives we have become so identified with our body and mind that on our own we cannot separate our true self from them. A spiritual teacher can help us realize our true self. In fact, the great teachers of ancient Greece exhorted us to do so with the words, 鈥淜now thyself.” This expression is written on the entrance of the Delphic oracle.

Spiritual teachers who have mastered the art of knowing themselves can teach others how to achieve this goal. If we look at the various methods used throughout history, we find that the most effective way to realize our self is through meditation. Saints and spiritual teachers have told us that God is within. They further explain that soul is a part of God. If we can turn our attention from the world outside to the inner realms, through the process of meditation, we will find that we are soul and will realize God who is within us.

If we are sincerely interested in knowing ourselves, the means of doing so is available. We will be performing the greatest service to our own self by developing spiritually, and we will become a positive force in the lives of our family, friends, co-workers, and the world. We will find the perfect balance in our lives as we develop body, mind, and spirit.

This engaging video clip by Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj offers us a wake-up call to change our routines and perspective so we can focus on our soul.

Humility is a virtue that helps us grow spiritually. It means that we live without looking down on others. We are kind and considerate to others. Humility is a way that we present ourselves to others in which we do not act or speak as if we are superior or better than everyone else. Humility means to live in a way that we recognize everyone is the same as us. We see God in everyone.

We need to learn to curb our ego. The difficulty arises when we feel we are superior to everyone else. We may realize that at times we may be smarter, stronger, or richer than others, as judged at a physical level, but we also realize that at our very core, we are all the same and are all one. For example, we can see that all flowers are part of the same garden. We can see that some flowers are red, some are purple, and some are yellow. Some are tall and some are short. We can know there are outer differences, but we know they are all part of one garden and they are all flowers.

Similarly, we may all look different outwardly, but inside we are all the same. We are all soul, a part of God. Humility means realizing we are all one and the same, and treating everyone with love, kindness, and respect.