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Sadhu at Vasishta Ashram. Detail
"So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence." - Bertrand Russell, in Science and Religion.

There is barely praise of robust humour either, but a hundred inconsistencies I cannot endorse. There is a German proverb I find very useful, though: "What does running along help, if you are not on the right road?"

To make sermons sweet and short, try a few well-chosen proverbs. A few pointed stories may work well too. All of the proverbs below are from A Dictionary of American Proverbs [Ak], but one.

IN BELFAST they still could tell you about the football game that took place between the 100 percent Catholics and 100 percent Protestants. A British sailor attended that game, and when the Catholics made a skilful play he applauded and when the Protestants in their turn scored he again joined in the shouting. At this point an Irishman jabbed the sailor in the back and said:
      "Man, haven't you got any religion at all?"


Alternative Sermon

  1. A wise son hears his father's instruction.
  2. There is something sweeter than receiving praise; the feeling of having deserved it.
  3. Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.
IN NUCEA wise son getting praised, should make it a point to deserve it.


In der Kürze liegt die Würze (German)

The German proverb tells that "Short is spicy", "Keep it simple, sweetie", or "Brevity is the soul of wit". More literally: "In brevity lies the spice, or interest".

IN NUCE A fully liberated guy should never forsake his various strengths, to be on the safe side.


Learning makes a man fit company for himself (American)

Was hilft laufen, wenn man nicht auf dem richten Weg ist? "What does running along help, if you are not on the right road?" (Speed gets you nowhere if you're headed in the wrong direction) [Gp 66].
      Lately, some thirty percent of the monastics that served Yogananda's organisation, SRF, quitted, and most of them in one year (2002). The disillusioned guys found they were victims of the fellowship - how it had become. They had their share in it by complying too. Most of these "SRF quitters" have not been seen to take any responsibility at all for contributing to what SRF has become lately.


Fit Company Is a Lot

ANECDOTE AT THE AGE of ninety-one, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935) resigned from the Supreme Court and spent the next summer at his country house. Old friends from Boston came to see him, bringing their grandchildren. Holmes greatly enjoyed their company. Sitting on the porch with Betsy Warder, aged sixteen, and discussing life with her, he said,
      "I will not refrain from talking about anything because you are too young, if you will not because I am too old."

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Literature  
      Ap: Mieder, Wolfgang (main ed.), Stewart A. Kingsbury, and Kelsie E. Harder: A Dictionary of American Proverbs. (Paperback) New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
      Gp: Mertvago, Peter, ed. Dictionary of 1000 German Proverbs. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1997
      Say: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Sayings of Yogananda. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958.

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