The Ten Commandments

The following are the Ten Commandments inscribed below the figures of the Dasavataras [ten primary avatars of Vishnu] at Dharmakshetra, Bombay.

Matsya: Recover the treasure of wisdom from the deluge of doubt.

Kurma: Live unattached as master of here and hereafter.

Varaha: Carry the burden of duty on two tusks: Devotion and Discipline.

Narasimha: Do not allow your ego to hide the glory of God.

Vamana: Offer yourself at His feet and gain the feet of the Lord.

Parashurama: Learn the lesson of surrender or suffer.

Rama: What one meets in life is Destiny; how one meets life is self-effort.

Krishna: Strive to become an instrument in my hands.

Buddha: Perfect yourself so that you may aid others to perfect themselves.

Kalki: Build the mansion of Life on Truth, Morality, Peace, and Love.

~V. V. Rayudu, Bombay
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Feb 1984

Three disciplines are essential to become aware of Divinity in all and in the Avatar: No activity should be taken up with individual aggrandizement in view; intellect and emotion must be directed to the revelation of the resident in the heart, Atma; every act should be done sincerely, with love, and no yearning for acquiring personal profit, fame, or benefit. Above all, listen to the voice of God within. As soon as one contemplates a wrong act, the voice warns, protests, and advises giving up. It pictures the shame that must be suffered, the punishment that has to be faced, the disgrace that it entails. It would appear as if there are two personalities inside you, the one that prompts and the one that prevents. The warning signal, the timely advice, is given by jangam [parts of the body] in the angam [body]. It reminds you of the absurdity and the danger inherent in the identification of the self with the body, it encourages you to discriminate between right and wrong; it is God, enthroned in every heart as the highest wisdom, the Prajnana, the Eternal Witness, whom you can contact easily in the depths of dhyana [meditation].

~Baba