About the Book
"The everlasting, pure love arises from the heart. In fact, it is ever-existing and all-pervading. How is it that man is unable to recognize such all-pervading love? It is because man's heart today has become barren and is polluted. The heart is filled with all kinds of desires and there is no room in it for pure, unsullied love to enter. It is only when the worldly attachments are expelled from the heart that there will be room for real love to abide in it and grow." "So, first and foremost, make your heart pure." Sathya Sai Baba Purifying the Heart describes the spiritual practice that Sai Baba taught to Dr. Goldthwait. This practice releases the worldly attachments that close our hearts so they may open to our true Self that is pure Love and Compassion. John Goldthwait, Swami's devotee for twenty years, is an ordained minister and a transpersonal psychologist.
Preface
Since the first edition of Purifying the Heart was published, people from around the world have written me about how useful they have found the book to be in learning how to become more loving and compassionate and to know their True Self that is Love. In some circumstances, however, just reading Purifying the Heart is not sufficient to be able to do the heart-opening practice I describe. Some people have wanted further guidance concerning particular difficulties that they have encountered in learning how to purify their hearts. I have provided this guidance, and based on what I have learned about helping people to better understand how to do the practice, I have revised many sections of the book, added some new practice exercises, and included recent quotations from Sai Baba's discourses that illuminate the text. If you have comments or questions about Purifying the Heart, please write me and I will respond.
Introduction
In 1982 Sai Baba revealed my true Self. My true Self is pure love and compassion. This Self is not just my true nature but is who we all really are, exactly as Sai Baba has told us. Soon after awakening to my true nature, many of my old, unloving ways returned. Purifying the Heart describes the spiritual practise that Sai Baba taught me to remove the impurities that were closing my heart and separating me from my true Self. This practise combines Western psychology with Vedanta, the philosophy contained in the Upanishads. It is a powerful method of applying Sai Baba's teachings to everyday life so that everything we experience becomes a doorway through which we can realize our true nature-absolute, unconditional love. You will learn how to heal the cause of your anger, let go of desires, and gain control of your mind and your senses. You will realize how the world that you think is separate from you is actually your own reflection, a mirror perfectly designed to show you the way to God. You will discover how all your successes and failures, relationships, afflictions, desires, feelings, difficulties, and in fact everything you experience, can be your teacher of love. The practise I describe may be used at any time, in any situation, and at any stage of spiritual unfolding. It is the most effective method I know for Purifying the Heart. The more you use it, the more your heart will open.
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