24 Guru of Shree Dattatrey Bhagvan

Angulimal

When Angulimal the bandit saw Lord Buddha coming along the road, he was very happy. He said, "Now I have a victim. I'll kill you and cut off your fingers to add to my collection." Buddha replied, "Brother, you may kill me. I won't stop you, but first break off one leaf from the tree and give it to me." Angulimal reached up and broke off the whole branch, and gave it to Buddha saying, "Here, take it. I have fulfilled your last request." Buddha took one leaf and said, "Listen, I asked for only one leaf, and I've taken it, so put this branch back on the tree." Angulimal replied, "I can hardly stick the branch back on the tree." So Buddha explained, "If you can't put it back, then what right did you have to break it in the first place? I only asked for a single leaf." Angulimal was disturbed by this. He had never heard anything like it. All he had ever heard was "might is right." So when Buddha said to him, "If you can't give anything to anyone, what right do you have to take from them," his ideas completely changed and he surrendered to Buddha asking him for shelter. And that murderer became a monk. So we should think about this. We can easily hurt someone, but then so can a lion or a bull, so if we act like this we are no better than animals. In other words, if we can't give love, what right do we have to torment others? The enlightened souls gave this advice: once you have received love, spread it around; if you are honoured, then honour others. If you have received Knowledge, spread it to others.
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Chance

Now you have the same chance as Arjuna had, as Hanuman had, as Dharmdas had, as Tulsidas had. We have the same chance now to enter the gates of spirituality, yet we let this golden opportunity slip through our fingers. So awaken the humanity within yourself and let its light illumine the whole world. It is easy to get trapped in social prejudice. It is very easy to fragment society and it is done very quickly, but will this bring peace to the world? No, It will only cause fighting and more fighting. 
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Satsang

Satsang is such a holy thing that if you immerse yourself in it, you will definitely be liberated. But only if you dive in. Before you dive in the water, you take off your clothes. In the same way, we have clothed ourselves in confusion and impurities and wrong thinking. Until we take off these `clothes' how can we dive into the river of satsang?
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Enlightened Master

In other words, spiritual knowledge is not a matter of words, it is not intellectual knowledge. It is something spiritual, and to get it we have to take refuge in an enlightened guru. All the scriptures inspire and encourage us to find the enlightened master if we want to realize the true knowledge. Once you meet a realized soul you have a golden opportunity to accumulate such spiritual capital, and if you misuse this chance, what will happen? It will slip from your grasp. If you reach the gateway to God and then turn back, how unfortunate you are! You have let a golden chance slip through your fingers. And who knows if you will get the same chance again? Trying to evolve yourself spiritually is no easy job. How can you be sure that you can escape having to suffer the consequences of your actions. According to the scriptures there are 8.4 million species of life, and who knows what will become of you? Then how will you practice devotion? How will you elevate yourself? If you can't make good use of this life, it's useless to talk about your next life. In other words, you have an opportunity now.
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Satsang

Sometimes when we are travelling, our car breaks down. We don't waste time sending for a mechanic who lives far away; we ask passing motorists to help us. When someone stops and asks what happened, we tell them that the car has broken down, and they lift up the hood and use their common sense to fix it. If someone were to shoot you and the doctor said to operate, would you ask him to first tell you his religion and where he is from? You won't ask all that. You will simply say, "Okay, take out the bullet. I am in agony." That is why one saint said, "Don't ask a saint about his caste or creed. Anyone who meditates on God becomes His." It is all a matter of meditation. If God does not discriminate between souls, why should those people who call themselves His devotees?
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Vivekananda

Vivekananda, who was formerly known as Narendra, was a great intellectual. He had read all the scriptures, but he couldn't realize practically that thing which they all spoke about. Then he met Shri Ramakrishna, who though illiterate, taught him the Knowledge which can't be found in books and which changed him into the great saint Vivekananda. Lord Rama gave this same Knowledge to Hanuman. Lord Krishna gave it to Arjuna. Arjuna knew all the scriptures and even quoted them to Lord Krishna. However, Krishna revealed to him the Knowledge which resolved all his doubts and delusions and helped him to see things as they really are.
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Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak said, "My satguru has applied the ointment of Knowledge to my eyes and dispelled my ignorance. By God's grace I met a saint and became enlightened." Only by God's grace can a person come into holy company. The spiritual master enlightens us. This is why we need great souls. We read the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bible, and other scriptures which all glorify this divine energy, this divine entity, but still we can't realize it. But a realized soul can show us what It is. Knowledge is transmitted from soul to soul. There is no other way. There are many cookery books available, but until you light the stove these books can't help you. In the same way, spiritual Knowledge is acquired from a living soul, from a living entity. The living torch of Knowledge is passed from soul to soul.
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Satsang

People think that we are alive because we breathe, that air keeps us alive. However, when someone falls ill, and he cannot breathe, oxygen has to be forced into him with a mask and a machine. So if a machine can make a man breathe, why does he die? Can a machine make a corpse alive again? No, because the life-force is not active in that body any more; it is not manifesting itself. Air going in and out does not constitute a living power. There is a power beyond air, which actually controls the movement of air. Man does not live by air only. If air were all that were necessary, then doctors could easily reanimate a corpse. However, intake of air depends on a higher power, which keeps a person alive. This power is not dependent on doctors or scientists.
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