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liked to do. When therenvas something I didn't want to do, I collapsed. Why?' That is when I realized that energy sprouts from one's attitude. We have energy where there is a deep interest. And see how our interests have changed! Once we wanted to run out to the movies; now we love to go in to be with ourselves!"
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After seven years of searching in vain for spiritual knowledge, a young man from Spain discovered Gurudev in Bombay. Each time he had met a renunciate or self-styled teacher, he had been disappointed. When he met Gurudev, he was struck by his different approach. Gurudev did not offer him any promises or solutions. He taught him how to meditate and investigate his mind. He faced him in the right direction, toward his own inner divinity. He told him, "There is no particular saint wearing certain cloths or robes. Everyone is a saint who adorns himself or herself with beautiful thoughts. I always say this: saints are those who are adorned with beautiful thoughts.
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"The power of thought is great. Even in the worst of conditions, think the best. Select each thought. Let each one be valuable to you. Preserve it. Mesh yourself with it. Wear it and see what blossoms out of it in your life."
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In the few weeks he spent with the Master, Manuel never missed the daily lectures which were given in Gujarati. Though he did not know the language, he tuned himself to the vibrations of love and peace. He loved to bask in Gurudev's presence. Before returning home to Spain, he buried his head in Gurudev's lap and wept like a child.
Later Gurudev sent a copy of The Beacon to him in Spain. When he received it, he wrote to Gurudev, "I feel it is really the Spirit speaking to man. Every time I read it, tears come to my eyes. It puts me beyond space and time and I feel in communion with the Self. Often I visualize the Self in different forms of which you are one. Sometimes I feel very deeply that it would not be much longer for me before Realization."
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One day Gurudev was walking back from collecting alms
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