The Lord is living. He is like a blazing flame. You may be ignorant, but your ignorance will be totally burnt away when you pray with great earnestness. The Lord is very kind. He has taken a human form for the good of humanity. Keep thinking like this. You will soon begin to feel his presence within yourself. You will also get peace of mind. If holy men are kind to you, you feel the presence of the Lord within yourself. You also have peace of mind.
(p. 140, Letters For Spiritual Seekers, Swami Shivananda’s letter dt 4 January 1918)
There are certain qualities that may be turned as divine. They are faith, love, devotion, knowledge, renunciation, compassion, and so on. I want you to be worthy of them. The son automatically inherits his father’s property. What he needs to know is the nature of that property. When I pray, I merely pray that the Lord may kindly let you know what that property is like.
(p.147-8, Letters For Spiritual Seekers, Swami Shivananda’s letter dated 4 January 1919)