The first prerequisite for leading a spiritual life is Faith. Your faith must stand ridicule of the ignorant, caviling by the worldly, and laughter of the low-minded. When someone ridicules, ask yourself, ‘Are they ridiculing my body? Well, that’s fine, for, I need to escape this body attachment anyway. Are they ridiculing the Atma? That is impossible, for the Atma is beyond words or thoughts, unaffected by praise or blame.’ Second: Do not worry about ups and downs, loss or gain, or joy or grief. You yourself create the ups and downs, therefore you can straighten them as well. You crave for a thing and when you get it, you call it joy; when you don't, you call it grief. Cut off craving, and there will be no more swinging from joy to grief. Third: Rationalise and be convinced of the truth that All is Divine (Sarvam Brahmamayam). Fourth and final: Be always steady in spiritual practice until you reach the goal.

- Divine Discourse, May 16, 1964.