Bhagawan: A man lacking human values has only the semblance of the outer form, and is not a man in action at all. The supremacy and the distinction of mankind depend on human values, Man's birth has a purpose: cherishing his humanity and rising to divinity Satya, dharma, s’anti, prema and ahimsa, these five may be said to be the vital airs which together constitute the breath. Without the vital airs prana, apana vyana, udana, samana, there is no question of man's existence, is there? Afraid that truth may land man in difficulty, he has moved further and further away from satya. He is in such a sorry plight that he does not know what dharma is. Actually, man should never abandon these values, however troublesome the circumstances may be. Giving up these values so sacred is tantamount to committing suicide.
When truth is given up, it amounts to losing one of the five vital airs. The dictum, satyam vada, dharmam cara (Speak the truth, Act righteously), is the foremost in the culture of Bharat, and crucial to spiritual advancement. What is the principal cause of today's turmoil? It is the total abandonment of satya and dharma. That is why prema is fast vanishing. In the absence of satya, dharma, s’anti and prema, himsa, violence, is on the rampage. In the home and the village, in the city and the state, even in the nation at large, we witness orgies of violence. Terrible, cruel, and heinous crimes are being committed. Human life has become empty. Even now, through faith in God, we can cultivate our human values. Like a parent grieving over a dimwitted child, Mother India is crying over the dearth of human values in its citizenry. Moral, religious, and spiritual values have sunk to the bottom. Note how different King Dushyanta, educated in the city, lacking all values; is from his son, Bharata, who imbibed human values through education in an asram. Education for livelihood is not worth the name. True education trains pupils to cognize the highest goals of life, and spurs them to realise human values.
Q195) Swami! Why do we need human values? What is their role in our lives?
Bhagawan: In this world every individual and every material has a value. Each one has his or its own value. There is nothing in this world that has no value. Unfortunately in the present day world it is only man who has lost his value. His life is spent without any value. Hence, man has become worse than an animal. Even the body of a bird or a small animal like a rabbit, even after it is killed, has a value. Its flesh or meat is useful. But man, even if he were an emperor, has no value soon after he dies. So, there is every need to live with values. You should fill your lives with values. You should live a valuable life.
Q196) Swami! How can we acquire human values?
Bhagawan: It is not enough if you repeat like a parrot, the five human values - satya, Truth, dharma, Righteousness, s’anti, Peace, prema, love, and ahimsa, Nonviolence. It is not enough if you give lectures on human values. It is absolutely useless if you read books on human values. They have to be practised.
Just as ice is cold and fire is hot, a human being also should have human values, in a natural way. If you limit these values to mere lectures, they lose their value. An ounce, of practice is better than a ton of precepts. Your looking at the map of India doesn't amount to your going round the country, does it? So also, by reading or lecturing on human values, you do not gain anything. If you sincerely practise any one of them, the rest will follow. A tree has the dharma of a tree. An animal has an animal dharma. Then should not a human being follow human dharma?
The qualities expected of a human being are called `human values'. In my opinion, if you develop prema all the other values will follow. Love is the chief quality. Love is God, God is love. Love is life. You have love no doubt, but it is narrow. It is limited to you and your family, I and mine only. Love is not contraction as you have now. It is expansion. Love is selflessness, self is lovelessness. Be he a theist or an atheist, there is none in this world without love. You can win God's grace only by love. It is the bond of love that exists between you and God.
What had made Lord Rama pleased
with that squirrel in the Ramayana?
What scholarship had the boatman
Guha that pleased Rama?
What status and riches had Sabari
to win the love of Rama?
What accomplishments had the Gopis
of Brindavan to become so close
and intimate to Lord Krishna?
In all these instances, it was only pure love that made them enjoy proximity to God. Love excels physical strength, intelligence, wealth and authority. God looks for love in a devotee. Where there is love, there is truth.
For instance, if your son, after playing in the field returns home with his friend and asks you for a laddu, you may be tempted to say that there is no stock of sweets at home. But, if your son comes home all alone and asks for a sweet, you will immediately get into the kitchen and bring the whole tin of sweets for him to eat as many as he likes. See the difference! In the beginning, you denied a single sweet and later you placed the whole tin of sweets. Why? It is the love that you have for your son that made you speak the truth.
A word spoken with prema, love, is satya, truth. Any action that you do with love is dharma. All the unjust and unrighteous deeds that are happening today are only due to the absence of love. But an action done with love is bound to be righteous. When there is love, you enjoy peace. It is said that the face is the index of the mind. We shall know if one is peaceful, disturbed, or agitated by looking at one's face. Satya is spoken, dharma is done, while s’anti is experienced. So, experience of love is peace. You will not be affected by blame or criticism. Your peace will be of that order, above negativity and accusation when it is supported by love. This is the understanding you will have in due course, with your heart full of love, and you will never hurt anybody in any manner. This is ahimsa, non‑violence. Understanding with love is non‑violence.
So, there is nothing in this world that you cannot attain with love. You will be an embodiment of all the human virtues and values once you develop this divine universal love.
Q197) Swami! Now we understand that the defect of teaching lies somewhere in our schools, colleges and universities. Education is certainly not imparted in these institutions the way you are teaching. Where does the fault lie in our educational system?
Bhagawan: The knowledge you are acquiring from these educational institutions is not properly channelised and utilised. You have to nicely "skill" your knowledge. Then only there will be perfect balance between "knowledge" and "skill" in our education system. Today you do not "skill" the knowledge, but you "kill" it. So, the balance is lost. This is the main defect in modern education.
Q198) Swami! To what extent are parents responsible for the degradation of values among children?
Bhagawan: My opinion is that parents are soley responsible for spoiling children. Many parents behave like Dhritarashtra, the blind king of the Mahabharata. He never opposed or prevented his sons, the Kauravas, from doing any type of mischief, or misdeed. What happened to the king at the end? He was left with none to perform even his last rites or obsequies, though he had as many as a hundred sons. He ruined himself completely. Why? It was only his attachment to his sons that brought about his fall. The whole clan fell into disrepute due to his attachment.
It appears as though modern parents do not know how to bring up their children. As the son watches the T.V., the mother brings food from the kitchen, and serves it there. Keeping the plate in front of the T.V., the parents don’t teach them good manners and good behaviour. One with good manners is a man. The one with discipline is a devotee. The rest are only children.
Parents constantly think of career-oriented and highly promising education with prospects of going abroad. They want their children to settle in big positions, earn money, go abroad, and marry rich women and so on.
There is also another category of parents. When their children by chance go to a temple, they prevent them saying, “Are you going to the temple now? Why, at this age? You are very young. Should you be so religious at your age? You can be so after sixty.” Sometimes you also come across a father who asks his son to tell everyone who comes to see him that he is not home. What do you expect the son to learn from such a father?
In the modern age there are many children who are not fortunate enough to be brought up by the loving, sweet, and tender care of their mothers! Mothers are busy with their avocations, and spend their time in ladies clubs, in the market place, shopping, visiting friends, and so on and so forth, with the result that a child weeps only when the servant-maid dies and not when its own mother is lost. Why? The reason is that children haven’t known the love of a mother, only that of a servant-maid. This is the shameful situation today.
Who made emperor Sivaji great? Who made Gandhi a Mahatma? It is only his mother. It is entirely the responsibility of parents to mould their children into ideal citizens. If a girl is spoiled, the mother has to be blamed. If a boy is spoiled, the father must be held responsible. Parents should shape children in such a way as to win the appreciation of everyone. They should get a good name for their schools, society and country in general.
First of all you should know that man is more valuable than all the wealth in the world. Prices have gone up as man has gone down in human values. The day human values go up, the prices of commodities will come down. In fact, properties like land, jewellery, money, and houses, and physical comforts and conveniences have value only because of man. Since man is utilizing them, they are valuable; if not, they are useless.
For example, there is vast land available in a forest. It is very cheap to buy and own land there. You can easily go in for a plot or a site, whereas in cities like Bombay and Delhi, the cost of the land is so high that it is not within the reach of the common man. To get a plot of land there, even a small plot, costs a few lakhs. Why? Because many reside in the city. It is thickly populated. Every inch of land is fully utilised. But in a forest, hardly a few people live and as such the value of land is low there. Who is then responsible for the high cost of land? It is only man himself. If no one buys silver and gold, would you still call them valuable? No. It is man who makes the commodities, articles and properties either valuable or valueless. Since man has lost his own value, prices of various commodities have gone up. In order to bring down the prices, the value of man should be raised high by practising human values.
Q200) Swami! You know everything. It is very true that we as parents must be blamed. You have pointed out exactly where our mistakes lie. However, today we do not see children respecting their parents. They do not follow instructions. They are most ungrateful. Kindly tell us how children should conduct themselves in the presence of their parents and how they should treat them.
Bhagawan: You know the Vedic injunctions, matr devo bhava, pitr devo bhava, i.e., Mother is God and Father is God. One must follow these injunctions. The Epics also cite many instances of this direction.
The culture of Bharat demands that everyone should respect, love and serve his or her parents, and be very grateful because blood, head, duddu (Tamil word for `money') and God are only parent's gifts. If you neglect your parents, you will face the same situation at the hands of your own children. As is the fruit you eat, so you belch. If you eat cucumber, you don't belch the odour of a mango. If you sow a mango seed, do you expect a neem tree to grow from it? As is the seed, so is the tree. Everything comes back to you as reaction, reflection, and resound. This is as sure as anything. You can never escape the consequences. If you make your parents shed tears, your children will pass on to you the same fate.
Here is a small story. There lived a man by name Gopichand who had two sons. One day he was travelling in a train along with his wife. He wrote a letter to his sons asking them to meet him and his wife at the station. Both the sons came to the station accordingly. The eldest one did namaskar, salutation, to both the parents and enquired when they started, how the journey was, and if they wanted anything. The second son, on the other hand, did not greet them at all. His attitude to his father was rather arrogant. After some time, Gopichand said to his wife, "See! How our elder son greeted us and made enquiries, while the younger one did not!" His wife, then, said, `Don't find fault with the second one like that. After all, he is young. He will change as he grows older. Don’t be angry with him.”
Years passed. What happened finally? The eldest son who did prostration to his parents became a Judge in a court and was greeted honourably by everybody in society. The second at them? How do you expect them to be the recipients of God’s love and mercy?
son got the job of a peon in the same court and had to receive everyone and greet all and sundry with folded hands! This is the difference. Those who respect their parents will be respected by all. The one who doesn’t will not be respected by anyone.
The same lesson is that taught in our epics. In the Mahabharata, at the end of the battle of Kurukshetra, all the Kauravas died, and Queen Gandhari, wife of the blind king, Dritarashtra started blaming Krishna. She said, “Oh Krishna! You are very partial to the Pandavas. Now that my sons have all died in battle are you happy?” then Krishna said to her, “See, Gandhari! Did you ever see your sons with your own eyes? (Gandhari blindfolded herself to be like her husband who was born blind). Did they at any point of time pay heed to your words of counsel? How do you expect them to be blessed by God when their own mother never cast a glance
The same is the teaching of the Ramayana also. Kusa and Lava, the twin brothers, could fight Lord Sri Ramachandra with all their valour and might. Why and how? The reason is, Lava and Kusa enjoyed the blessings of their mother Sita, and as a result, they could heroically face Lord Sri Ramachandra, their father. That is the power inherent in the blessings of parents.
Everyone must serve parents. You need their blessings all the time. You know what your parents like, you know what to do to please them, and you know that you have been with them since you were born. If you can’t please them, how do you expect to please God who you have never seen, nor know what He wants you to do and what you ought to do? Parents are divine.
Q201) Swami! We know that we should cultivate good qualities right from our childhood. But, now, at this hour, how are we to cultivate them?
Bhagawan: First of all, you should fully realize the need to acquire good qualities and cultivate them sincerely. You should also know to what exalted heights of nobility they would take you. Then you should find out your own faults. The day you shed your bad qualities, you can fill your life with good qualities, just as you fill a tumbler with milk after emptying the water inside it. Otherwise, if the tumbler still retains water inside it, it will not be possible to fill it with milk. So, always remember that the removal of immortality is immortality. First, begin the process by correcting yourself.
Bhagawan: Character is the most important thing. Life without character is like a pot full of holes. Water can never be retained in a pot with holes. So, the essential human quality will never be retained in the life of a person without character. This is what Prahlada too remarked. One day he saw a beautiful lady leaving his palace. He asked her, "Who are you?" She said. "I am your kingdom". He kept quiet. After some time, he saw another very beautiful woman coming out of his royal palace. He asked her, "Who are you?" She said, "I am your wealth". Again, after some time, he saw an angel coming out of his palace. He asked her, "Who are you"? She responded saying, "I am your reputation." He kept quiet. This time, he saw a woman with a brilliant face and with heavenly effulgence all around her, the like of whom he had never seen before, leaving his palace. He asked her, "Who are you?" She said, "I am your character". Immediately Prahlada fell at her feet and repeatedly pleaded with her not to leave his palace. She obliged him and went back. The others reputation, wealth and kingdom, immediately followed her. Therefore, where there is character, the rest will follow automatically. So, I often tell our students:
Politics without Principles
Science without Humanity
Commerce without
Morality, and
Education without
Character
Are not only useless but
also dangerous
The end of Education is Character,
The end of Culture is Perfection,
The end of Knowledge is Love,
The end of Wisdom is Freedom.
What is character? Perfect harmony in thought, word, and deed is character: manasyekam vacasyekam karmanyekam mahatmanam. Whatever you think, say it and do it. Your thought, word and deed must be one and the same. This is character. Manassanyat vacassanyat karman anyat duratmanam, it is only the wicked that think, say and act differently. This was very well demonstrated by Hanuman in the Ramayana. Rama commanded him to go in search of Sita, crossing the mighty sea. He did so with His infinite blessings. Given this divine assignment, Hanuman said, "Yes," and immediately jumped from the top of that Mahendra Mountain.
Here three points are to be noted. Hanuman decided to do his Lord's bidding. This decision is the first thing. Then he declared on the mountaintop of Mahendra that he was proceeding on His mission. This declaration is the second thing. Thereafter, immediately he started his journey flying across the sky over the sea. Action followed the declaration. This is the third thing. In Hanuman, we find these three, `decision, thought', `declaration ‑word' and `action ‑ deed' or the three "H's" ‑ "Head'. `Heart ` and `Hand" in perfect harmony and integration. This is Character.
There is another important thing you should always keep in mind to guard your character. I give you `Watch' as the `watch‑word'. Here every letter has a message and an instruction. `Watch' is a word with five letters. The first letter `W' stands for the `words' that we use. So, `Watch your words'. The words should be filled with truth. You speak truth. So, watch that your words express truth. The second letter is `A' which stands for `action'. `Watch your actions'. They should be dharmic. The third letter is `T' and represents `thoughts'. `Watch you thoughts'. They should be calm, never disturbing and agitating. So, let your thoughts be of s’anti. The fourth letter is `C', `Watch your character'. Throughout your life, your character should be perfect. This is possible if you have pure prema. Love will make you achieve everything in this world. Human character is based on selfless, pure and divine love.
The fifth letter is `H'. It represents `Heart'. `Watch you Heart'. `Heart' in Sanskrit is h daya. This is hrt together with daya. 'Daya' is compassion. The one with 'daya' is hrdaya. Where there is violence, there is no daya, compassion. You should not be violent in your words, thoughts, or deeds. You should not harm people by your looks, words, thoughts and actions. You can watch your Heart with full understanding of your thoughts, words, and deeds so that your Heart is full of ahimsa. Ahimsa can be achieved by understanding.
So the five letters of this word ‘watch’ represent Satya (w-Words), Dharma (a-Actions), s’anti (t-thoughts), Prema (c‑Character) and Ahimsa (h-Heart). These values constitute `Character'. It is character that takes humanity to Divinity. Without character, a man falls to the level of a beast. In certain respects, even animals are much better than human beings as they have a season and a reason for their behaviour.
We can view character from two angles. One is Individual character and the other is National character. Individual character emphasises the code of conduct. The second is National character. Everyone is to act in the national interest. Today, we have leaders with neither of the two, or both missing. This is the cause of the present sad plight of the country. When students have these two, they will mould themselves into ideal citizens of the country. Nitiye jati, adi vadilitivo koti kante hinudavu:
A true nation should have character. Without that, you are worse than a monkey. So character is most essential and prevails when there is total unity and harmony in the 3‑H's, as I often say for our EHV. (Education in Human Values) programme, `Head -word', `Heart ‑ thought' and `Hand ‑action'.
Bhagawan: Unless the foundation is strong, a building cannot stand firm and last long. So, the foundation is very important. You can construct any number of floors basing on a firm foundation. Self
confidence is the foundation. These days many do not have self‑confidence. They do not even attempt to do anything worthwhile as they have no confidence in themselves. How do you expect them to be successful? If a person has no confidence in himself, what can be done for his progress? On the foundation of self‑confidence are erected the walls of selfsatisfaction. A man with self‑confidence alone can have self‑satisfaction. A man without confidence can never have satisfaction in his lifetime. So, the walls of self‑satisfaction rest on the foundation of selfconfidence. Then the roof must be laid. Self‑sacrifice is the roof. Gaining satisfaction out of confidence, one prepares oneself for sacrifice. You cannot live in a building without a roof. The roof rests on walls, and the walls, in their turn, stand on the foundation. Then, we live in the house. Life in such a house is self‑realisation. So, everyone must develop these four `S's' ‑ Self‑confidence, Self‑satisfaction, Self‑sacrifice and Self‑realisation.
You need to cultivate three `D's' also. You must know that a VIP, like the Rashtrapati, the President of India will always be followed by two bodyguards one on either side. The first `D' is duty that stands for Rashtrapati. He is accompanied by two `D' s one on each side, `discipline' and `devotion'. To discharge duty ably, discipline is very essential. Without discipline, you will never be successful.
Normal body temperature is 98.4°C. One's normal blood pressure is 120/80. If there is deviation from the normal rate, you are sick. Changes in blood pressure lead to heart complaints also. So, our body is a limited company with all the systems working in strict discipline. The eye can see the intensity of light only up to a certain limit. If it crosses the limit, the retina of the eye gets burnt. Similarly, the ear also can hear sound to a certain extent, and if it is exceeded, the eardrum breaks. This is the lesson in discipline that the body teaches.
The second thing that is required for performing one's duty is devotion. Devotion is Love.
Duty with Love is Desirable,
Duty without Love is
Deplorable,
Love without Devotion is
Demonic,
Love without Duty is
Divine.
Everybody must be devoted to duty with discipline.
Bhagawan: Today, everyone appears to be a human being by virtue of having a human body. But, it is by virtue of your behaviour and nature that you are a human being. You should be a human being .You seem to have forgotten the value of human life. Kaya, the body, kala, time, karma, the action, kartavya, duties, and karana, the purpose of life are all either misused or misdirected or wasted. Though there is considerable progress in science and technology, the basic human values are lost. Everywhere there is the atmosphere of fear, anxiety, tension or insecurity or agitation and restlessness.
To cultivate human values two qualities yama, restraint and niyama, regulation and the five principles ahimsa, non‑violence, satyam, truth, asteyam, not coveting others' property, aparigraham, not accepting or expecting anything from anybody and brahmacaryam, celibacy are essential.
Ahimsa does not merely mean refraining from killing or hurting anybody. By thought, word, or deed, no one should be hurt or pained. This is true ahimsa or non‑violence. If you are harsh to anybody, it is violence. If you harbour evil thoughts towards anybody, it is violence. If you cast bad looks on anyone, it is violence. Therefore, non‑violence means not causing harm to anyone and not hurting anybody either by thought, word or deed.
Then, the second principle is satyam, truth. In the ordinary sense, you think that truth is telling exactly what you see, hear, and know. This is worldly truth. Even scientific laws are not constant. They change from time to time with new inventions, discoveries, observations and experiments. They may be called scientific truths, or material truths. Newspapers convey facts and not truth. Then what is truth? That which is permanent, eternal and changeless is satyam, truth. Truth is God. You should speak truth in an acceptable and pleasing way.
The third principle is asteyam, you shall not covet others' property. You shall not steal. Asteyam in the true sense means not entertaining any thought to own or possess others' property or that which doesn't belong to you.
The fourth one is aparigraha. Don't expect anything from anybody. Don't accept anything from anybody. But, you can accept things from your parents, Guru and God. You should not bother or pester your parents with demands they cannot afford to meet. You should accept wisdom and grace from your preceptor. But from God you must accept anything He gives you. Therefore, you are not permitted to receive anything from anyone. You should not be become rnagrasta, indebted to anybody. Give, but don't receive.
The fifth principle is brahmacarya, celibacy. Brahmacarya doesn't mean remaining unmarried. A brahmacari is one who treads the brahmamarga. Cariyuncuta (Telugu) of Brahman is brahmacari or a celibate. Harmony in thought, word and deed is brahmacarya.
Then, there are five niyamas. They are tapas, penance, saucam, cleanliness, s'antos'am, contentment, svadhyayam, scriptural reading, and isvara pranidhanam, dedicating all deeds to God.
Saucam includes both outer and inner cleanliness. It is not enough if you are clean outwardly, taking bath everyday and wearing ironed clothes. You should be clean inwardly also. Attachment and hatred usually pollute your mind. You should see that the mind is not polluted by these two evils. Therefore, both outer purity and inner purity are necessary.
The second niyama is tapas, penance. Tapas does not mean that you should run away from home leaving behind your property. It doesn't mean that you should break your family ties and go to a forest or stand upside down with your head on the ground and the legs up above. No, true penance means saying what you think and doing it accordingly. In other words, the three "H's ‑ Head, Heart and Hand" should be integrated by thought, word and deed. Giving up bad thoughts and deeds is penance. Pining for God or yearning for God is penance. Purging your heart with sacred thoughts is penance.
The third niyama is s’antos'am. You are under the impression that by fulfilling your desires, you will be satisfied and happy, No. Contentment lies in putting a ceiling on your desires. Too many desires make your life miserable. You may offer any number of objects and any amount of material to fire. It will burn them all to ashes. Fire never says "no" or "enough" at any time. Like that, desires also have no limit.
The fourth niyama is svadhyaya or study of the Holy Scriptures. You should read everyday one Holy Scripture. This is called parayana, worshipful reading of a religious book everyday. This cleanses your mind to some extent.
The fifth one is isvara pranidhanam. God is in you in the form of your conscience. You should satisfy your conscience. This is most important.
Thus the five yamas and the five niyamas will help you achieve the objectives or goals of life purusarthas and sustain your human values making you a true human being.
Bhagawan: It is remarked that of all the values of life satya, truth is the highest, Satyannasti paro dharmah. All have truth as the basis. God is truth. The entire creation came into existence from that truth and will ultimately merge in truth.
Satyamunand undi sarvambu srstince
Satyamunananage sarva srsti
Satyamahimaleni sthalamedi kanugonna.
S’uddha sattva madiye
cudarayya
(Telugu poem)
So, understand that God is truth and that truth is God. So, live in truth. Truth is the foundation of righteous conduct and the route to peace, which will make your life one of love.
Why is the history of Harischandra remembered till this day? Because he adhered to truth at any cost even sacrificing his wife, son and kingdom.
Those were the days when Prahlada was king. One day he saw a beautiful female figure leaving the palace. He asked her, "May I know who you are?" She replied, "I am your Character". Prahlada kept quiet. Next day he saw another beautiful woman was coming out of the palace and when asked who she was, she replied, "I am your Kingdom - Rajyalaksmi ". He remained silent. Next day he saw another woman of matchless beauty coming out of the palace. He asked, "Mother! Would you let me know who you are?” She said, “I am your reputation – yasas.” He didn’t prevent her from leaving.
Next day he saw still another grand and majestic form, the like of whom he had never seen in his lifetime, coming out of the palace. He gently and reverentially asked her, “Mother! May I know who you are?” She replied, “I am Truth.” Then Prahlada fell at her feet and pleaded with her not to leave the palace. She finally agreed to get back into the palace and not to step out. Then what happened? The other angels, Character, Kingdom and Reputation followed her one after another back to the palace. It only means all will follow you if you have truth.
Q205) Swami! We do not have a precise idea of what dharma is and we are not able to conduct ourselves according to the little knowledge we have. Scholars expound dharma in a variety of ways. They designate one thing as dharma in one context and quite another in a different context. This adds to our confusion. Swami! Kindly explain dharma to us
Bhagawan: What our elders and scholars had taught about dharma needs to be understood correctly. You should not hastily conclude that their views are contradictory. Take for example the dictum, satyannasti paro dharmah. What is to be chiefly noted here? The dictum means, ‘There is no dharma higher than satyam,’ and more too. The deeper meaning is, ‘the foundation of dharma is satyam.’ Now consider another dictum, ahimsa paramo dharmah. What does this mean? Earlier it is satyam which is said to be the foundation of dharma. Now, ahimsa, absence from violence, is called the highest dharma. Now ahimsa does not mean only refraining from violence. Harming none through word, deed or thought is true ahimsa. Here, it is seen that satyam has been touched upon obliquely. Satyam knows neither fear nor wrath. Satyagraha is not a hapy compound word. Where there is satyam, wrath does not exist. Satyam does not inflict pain. One, who is rooted in satyam, cannot undertake violence. Rather he considers ahimsa as his dharma. It is also said, vedokhilo dharmamulam. Veda which desribes yajnas, yagas and other rituals treats their performance as dharma. It is our duty to perform the deeds enjoined on us by Veda. Here, you have to consider dharma from the perspective of duty. You have to perform your duty, fulfil your obligations. Therefore, it is said, kartavyam yoga ucyate. In the verse from Gita, svadharme nidhanam sreyah, paradharmo bhayavahah, you have to realise that " svadharme " refers to atmadharma. On the other hand, the dharmas of the four castes and of the four stages, of life are matters of birth. The population of the world is a mixture of black, white, yellow, and brown hues and these are to be found in all countries. The dharmas of the four stages of life brahmacarya, garhastya, vanaprastha, and sanyasa are to be viewed as four kinds of steps, four processes of sadhana to reach Brahman, after performing the deeds enjoined as one's duty. Thus, dharma is very subtle. The life force of satyam resides in utterance as does that of dharma in practice or action.
Q206) Swami! Transformation of Man, how does this come about?
Bhagawan: Actually transformation of man is transformation of mind. You wrongly tend to call it transformation of the heart. The heart is not the physical heart located in the left side of the chest. The spiritual heart is quite different and is all-pervasive. This is existence of awareness, and is not subject to change. Transformation of the mind is truly important, for only the one endowed with mind is to be called Man. An individual passes away, but his mind survives. That is why it is said,
mana eva manus yanam,
karanam bandhamoksayoh
The mind alone is the cause of bondage or release of men. When the mind reaches out, as it does in the
Pravrttimarga, it gets saturated with desires, ideas, and worldly concerns. But when it is withdrawn in the nivrttimarga, all these are subdued. This state is called amanaskam, disinterestedness, and facilitates the experience of peace and joy. This is what is meant by transformation of the mind. Then alone is transformation of men possible.
Q207) Swami! How are we to comprehend the three‑fold path, karma, bhakti and jnana ?
Bhagawan: You study your own wrist watches. Every watch has three hands ‑ the second, minute and hour, hasn't it? The second hand should go round sixty times for the minute hand to move one place. Then the minute hand should go round sixty times for the hour hand to move to the next place. Here the second hand is karma marga, path of selfless action. The minute hand is bhakti marga, path of devotion, while the hour hand is jnana marga, path of wisdom.
I will give you another example. Most of you travel by train as you go home for vacation. You have three ways of reaching your destination. You can board a train, an express train that takes you to your place straight. You can also get into a train where the coach in which you are seated will be connected to another train at a railway junction. It is a through carriage and so you do not have to get down anywhere in between and change. Then there is another way. You catch a train and travel some distance, get down at a junction, and board another train to reach your place. This is a passenger train.
These three ways of journey hold good in the spiritual path as well. The path of selfless service, karma marga is travel by a passenger train. The path of devotion, bhakti marga is travel by a through carriage where the carriage will be connected without your having to get down, to another train. Finally, the path of wisdom, jnana marga, is an express train that takes you straight to your destination.
Q208) Swami! It is said that we cannot escape from the consequences of our actions. It means we are responsible for both the good and the bad we experience. The fruits of our actions, thus, are inescapable. Then, how does devotion to God help us? Why should we be devoted to God at all?
Bhagawan: God created the whole world and gave it to man to be happy and to utilise it freely. But, however, he gave it on one condition. "Oh Man! You do whatever you want, but be prepared to face the fruits of your actions. You cannot escape from the consequences of your actions. In full knowledge of this, from now, you can enjoy and do whatever you wish to in this world".
So, for both good and bad, your actions are responsible. Then why should you be devoted to God? How does it help you? You may decide to raise onions or jasmines in your field according to your own liking, but you must pay the tax for utilising the land accordingly. Similarly the tax of the result of your actions is inescapable.
However you note one thing here. You pay income tax. You have to pay it proportionate to your income. There is no way out. But there is a provision for exemption. Be sure it is not definitely tax evasion. If you have paid some amount as premium to the Life Insurance Corporation, if you have paid some amount towards Provident Fund, you are eligible for some exemption out of the total tax payable by you. So, your taxable amount is reduced. Similarly, spiritual practices like daily prayer, service activity, meditation, worship, help you to reduce the intensity and magnitude of the consequences of your past actions which you face, karmaphala. They give you the courage and forbearance needed to endure the suffering.
Q209) Swami! God is omnipresent. There is no place or object or person without divinity. All names as you have said are His . You have also said that all forms are His. In such a case how are we to comprehend, visualise and experience God.
Bhagawan:
atmavat sarvabutani,
eko vasl
sarvabhutantaratma .
Our scriptures say that God is the only one without a second. He has manifested Himself as many according to His will. `ekoham bahu syam,’ the one becoming many, everything is divine. The plurality or multiplicity or diversity is due to name and form.
You will notice that ` jnani,’ the one who inquires, ‘jneya’, the one to be known and ‘jnana’ knowledge are one and the same. This is called `triputi', trinity. Everything is out of that primordial principle of atma or consciousness.
The gross body, sthula, the subtle body, suksma, and the causal body, karana, of everyone are out of the atma only. You know the tamarind fruit. Its outer green covering, (physical, gross, sthula ), the middle soft pulp (subtle body, suksma), and the inner hard stone like seed (astral body, karana) are formed out of the original seed only. It is the seed that forms another seed in the times ahead. So, all the three are only atma.
I tell my students often, `You are not one, but three: the one you think you are (physical body), the one others think you are (individual mind), and the one you really are atma, conscience. You are born with a question, koham ? (Who am I?) If the reply is aham dehosmi , I am the body, it represents the first step, the one you think you are. To the same question koham, if the answer is aham, I am an individual jiva, it represnts the second step, the one others think you are. But to the question koham, if the answer is aham brahmasmi, I am God, it conveys the real truth, the third step, the one you really are. This is your real nature.
It is the same atma that exists in all the three stages, jagrata, waking, svapna, dreaming and the susupti deep sleep. Atmavaisvanara plays all the three roles. Atmavaisvanara in the waking state operates in association with the body, the mind and the intellect. Atma functioning in the waking state may be called visva. Atmavaisvanara, functioning in a dream state, monitors the mind only. There is no body in the dreaming state as it lies on the bed. The entire thing is the creation of your mind only and the mind creates you when you pass through dream experiences. This atma of the dreaming state is known as taijasa. The third stage of deep sleep susupti also has the very same atma as in the previous two. In susupti the body, mind and intellect do not exist. Atma remains as an experiencer called prajna. So Atmavaisvanara left to itself is a pure, unsullied, unpolluted, eternal and immortal truth in the state of the ultimate turiya , expressed in the three levels of consciousness. In the waking state it is vis'va, in the dreaming it is taijasa while in deep sleep it is prajna. These are merely names given to the same atma in these three states, just as you know an actor playing three different roles. An actor by name Mallaya (equal to Atmavaisvanara, turiya state) plays the role of Dharmaja in one scene, visva, waking state, Arjuna in another scene, taijasa, dream state, and Bhima in still another scene, prajna , deep sleep state, while Mallaya (atma) remains the same basically.
So. in this universe everything is essentially atma. The five elements, the five senses of perception, the five senses of action, the five life breaths, the five life sheaths and the body constitute one wide area or realm called bhutakas'a. The impact, influence, and effects of all these components of the sphere of bhutakas'a (drawn from the outer world) are contained in or imprinted on a small sphere or field called chittakas'a , viz. the mind, citta. But then there is atma which monitors and operates through the body, mind, intellect, the sense of ego (I' ness) known as cidakas’a. These three are equivalent to the gross (sthula ‑ bhutakas'a), the subtle (chittakas'a- suksma) and the casual (cidakasa’ a ‑ karana ) forms.
This is what Christ also said in his first statement, "I am the messenger of God".This is dualism, dvaita. The next statement of Jesus was, “I sm the son of God.” This is qualified non-dualism (visistadvaita).
Finally on the cross, Jesus said, "I and my Father in Heaven are one". This is non‑ dualism. In the Persian language too it is first said, "I am in the light:", which is the state of dvaita, dualism. Later it is said, "The light is in me", which is qualified visistadvaita , non‑dualism and finally, it is stated, "I am the light", which is advaita, non‑dualism. We can find in all these states unity in diversity. If you identify yourself with the body (aham dehosmi ), it is the one you think you are or, what Jesus said, `I am the messenger of God' or it is bhutakasa which is dualism, dvaita. If you think you are an individual, jivi, the one others think you are or aham jivosmi, it yields the same meaning as in Jesus' statement, "I am the son of God," or the Persian declaration, "The light is in me" or chittakas'a, qualified non‑dualism. But the final experience lies in knowing what you really are, aham brahmasmi, the same as what Christ said "I and my Father in Heaven are one" or the Persian declaration, "I am the light", or cidakas'a which is non‑dualism.
This is the one to be known and experienced. Hanuman said the same thing to Rama, "Oh! Rama! If I think I am the body, I am your servant; if I think I am an individual soul, jivi, you are my God, and if I think "I am atma", you and I are one. This is the path of enquiry that leads to the discovery of one's true svarupa.
Q210) Swami! God's creation is absolutely good. Then, from where do we get anything bad in life? When there is nothing bad in your creation how can there be bad actions at all? Or do you say that there are both good and bad in your creation? Kindly clarify this doubt.
Bhagawan: Creation is absolutely pure and good. There is no trace and scope for the bad to exist in God's creation. It is only the factor of time that makes you take things as good or bad. You eat today a phalam, good fruit. Tomorrow, the very good fruit that you have eaten today transforms itself into malam, faeces. Is it not the same fruit? Is it not time that has brought about the change? Therefore, good and bad are present from your point of view. But to the divine both are the same as he is nondual.
God created everything for you to enjoy. It is in use that good and bad arise. For example, you brought all the necessary provisions from the market and kept them in the kitchen. It is now left for you to cook properly with these provisions. The taste depends on the way you cook, how and in what proportions you mix the provisions: You have the needed utensils and the material. Now it is up to you to cook your food properly and make it a delicacy. Similarly, God has given you everything. Good and bad depend on the way you use the material given to you.
Bhagawan: You are mistaken. Never say that your memory is fading. You say you are old. It is only an excuse, but it is not really so. You remember your date of birth, you remember exactly when you married, when your children were born, when you performed their marriages, when your grandchildren were born, when you joined service and retired. If what you say is correct, that you are losing your memory as you are aging, how do you remember these details then? It is only love for your family that makes you remember these dates. You have interest in these matters. Since you do not have such intense love for and interest in spirituality, you take advantage of your advanced age as a lame excuse for complaining that your memory is fading. A fruit may be fully ripe, yet the seed within is hard.
Bhagawan:You don't get anything in life for nothing. One gets these things in life because of any one of the following three reasons. Take one simple example. You know banking. You are an account holder. Suppose you want some money. What should you do? You go to your bank and get the money. But you should be having enough money to your credit. and by submitting a cheque, affixing your signature you can withdraw the money you want. If you have no money to your credit in the account; you don't get any money. Yet, you need money. How to get it? If you mortgage your permanent assets like gold or landed property, the bank will give you some money proportionately. You may not have permanent assets. Still you want money. Then, if a rich man stands as a surety or guarantor, the bank will give you the money you need. Thus, these three are ways of getting money from the bank.
Here money is God's grace. If you are doing some good deeds in the present i.e.depositing some amount of money in your account, you can withdraw the money of God's grace in the future. If in the present there is no such credit, at least the good deeds you did in the past, that is to say, your permanent assets when mortgaged to the bank, entitle you to receive money. Without these two good acts you may still be eligible to draw money from your bank. if a rich man i.e.God or an Avatar or a Sadguru stands as your guarantor. So, you receive God's grace either because of your past merit, or present merit, or if a rich man stands as a surety or guarantor. There is no other way. These are the reasons for a person's affluence, luxury, life of happiness. comforts and conveniences.
Q213) Swami! You tell us that we are not mrnmaya (dust thou art), but cinmaya (you are awareness). Therefore, we devotees, should know that we are not simply the body, but awareness. You also repeatedly say, "You are God." Then, when I am God, aham brahmasmi, why should I pray? Where is the need for all this spiritual exercise, then?
Bhagawan: You may know or may not, you may agree or may not, and you may believe or may not, but you are God indeed. "Mamaivamso jivaloke," said Krishna in the Gita, which means "You are mine, you are the spark of My Divinity"
The three divine attributes sat, being, cit, awareness, and ananda, bliss are in you. Prajna, conscience in you is divine. So, it is said, prajnanam brahma . The great mahavakya, the supreme statement, also says, tattvamasi, "That thou art."
We have today intelligent people who observe plurality or multiplicity in unity. But good, noble, and pious persons who find unity in diversity are rare. Once it so happened that a little tiger cub got mixed in a flock of sheep. Thus, moving about with the group for some time, the cub thought that he was also one of the sheep family. One day a tiger came that way and attacked the sheep. On seeing the tiger, the cub started shivering, and said, "Oh! Don't kill me. I am one of the sheep, after all, so weak". Then the tiger spoke to the cub, "Why do you fear? You are not one of the sheep. You are a tiger. Come on. Follow me. Look into the river and see your reflection there in this water and compare your figure with mine. You will find the same stripes on the coat of your body, a moustache on your mouth and a roaring sound in your voice. Why do you think you are one of this flock of sheep. Oh dear one? You have forgotten your true identity and nature". The cub then realised its true nature and abandoned fear from its mind.
Similarly, in the field of spirituality, a guru, through his uppeds'a, divine teaching, tells you your true identity. Once you separate yourself from all that is not your true Self, spirit or atma, you will experience your reality, i.e. atma. Therefore, self‑enquiry is very essential. I say "You are God" but this truth has not come into your experience. You should continue your spiritual practice until you've experienced it. You have to continue your bhajans, meditations,etc., till the reality is experienced.
Q214) Swami! By now we have known about divinity very well. What more do we need in this world?
Bhagawan: You are mistaken. It is not enough if you merely know. If you spend your lifetime reading books when are you going to experience Bliss? It is experience which is important and not bookish or scriptural knowledge. The Gita refers to three specific steps in spirituality, jnatum, knowledge, drastum, sight and pravestum, experience.
Suppose you want to eat a delicious item. What do you do first? You know about delicacies such as kurma, pulao, etc. Then in the next step, these two items, pulao and kurma , are to be served in a .plate. It is not enough if you know, jnatum ,the items and see them, drastum. Isn't it? You have to eat and enjoy the dishes, pravestum, experience. So mere information and knowledge are useless. You should practice and realise. This is wisdom and when you attain it, you find yourself immersed in bliss and you remain dumb.
The same thing has been explained in the Brahmasutras also. The first principle is: athato brahma jijnasa which means, athato, hereafter, brahma , about God, jijnasa , developing interest. But what is meant by `hereafter'? When exactly should we develop interest in Brahman? This word "athato ", is interpreted in many many ways by scholars and visionaries. They run to volumes. But what is first needed is karma jijnasa , interest in action, later dharma jijnasa, interest in discrimination, and finally bramha jijnasa , interest in divinity.
I give simple examples for you to understand this. Suppose you want to eat coconut chutney. What do you do first? You should procure all the material necessary for its preparation. This is karma jijnasa . You should grind all the material so procured nicely. This is dharma jijnasa . You have to keep it on the tongue to decide the taste and to know if anything else should be added to it. This is brahma jijnasa. This means mere karma jijnasa is not enough. You need at the next stage, dharma jijnasa and finally, you develop interest in Brahman, brahma jijnasa. The wisdom so gained must be practised and experienced. You should share the bliss with others.
Bhagawan: Since you are a Commerce student, you have put this question. All your thinking is along the direction of credit and debit. But, God, you know, is a super divine accountant. His balance sheet is not of your type. He will make you face the consequences of your actions, good for good actions and bad for bad actions. He will not add or subtract any of the consequences of your actions.
A small example I give you in this context. Suppose you have some seeds of both thorny plants and fruitbearing trees. When you sow them, what will happen? The seeds of the thorny plants will germinate into thorny bushes and the seeds of the fruit bearing trees will germinate into fruit bearing ones respectively. Germination will never happen contrary to this, will it? The same is the case with your sinful deeds and the meritorious.
You must have seen persons who vow to offer ten. thousand rupees to Lord Venkateswara if they win a lottery for ten lakhs. Can't they understand that God who can give you ten lakh rupees doesn't expect your ten thousand rupees? They don't think reasonably and logically. People think according to their worldly standards. But, Swami wants you to spiritualise your worldly actions as well.
Q216) Swami! Is it not enough if we are good? How can we know God?
Bhagawan: Remove one "o" from `Good'. If that extra "o," prakrti or body feeling is given up, it becomes God. You know the letter "W". It is double `you', i.e., the individual soul jivatma and the cosmic soul, paramatma. It is the illusion, maya that prevents you from knowing the unity of the two. If you repeat "my" a couple of times, it will sound like "maya". .
It is the feeling of `mine' and 'thine' that is responsible for all the misery of the world. You are least disturbed if your neighbour's car is damaged. But if there is a slight scratch on your own car you are very much worried and disturbed. If your neighbour sells or disposes of his house it matters nothing to you. But if circumstances force you to dispose of your own house, you will feel very very sad. Why? The feeling "this is my house", makes you feel sad. This feeling of `mine' is maya if this is gone, you will experience unity in diversity .
Bhagawan: Here we should note one important point. You say some wicked people are happy. They may do all the misdeeds smiling,. but later they have to cry and suffer. Some actions give results immediately, some take some more time, while others a long time. I give you a small example. If a blade cuts your finger, your blood gushes out immediately. This is an action that gives result from the cut immediately. To draw milk from the udder of a cow it takes some time . This is the second category of action. It takes food a few hours to be digested. This is the third category of action.
If you sow a seed, it takes a long time to germinate and grow into a plant. So also your actions give results at different points of time. It is all a question of time. One must necessarily face the consequence of one's own actions without fail.
Bhagawan: You do not know until I tell you that all forms and names are His. You need to be told of the divine nature i.e., sat, being, cit, awareness, and ananda, bliss. This is the purpose of incarnation. God in human form is the embodiment of love. He teaches and makes everyone experience love.
Though flowers, thread
and a needle are present,
don't you need someone
to make a garland?
In spite of gold and
pearls being available,
Shouldn't you have a
goldsmith to make a chain?
The wick, container and
oil will not give light
unless you light the
lamp, will they?
Avatar, God incarnate, sets an ideal for the entire humanity. There is nothing He needs in this world as everything is His only.
Bhagawan: `Yecat inundi vaccitivo acati keguta naijamu pranikotikin', (Telugu verse). It is necessary that you should go back to the place of your origin. Truly, you should know that you are from God and you should go back to God.
A pot, a slate, etc., can be made out of clay. Suppose you have a pot. After using it for sometime, you drop it by accident. It falls to the ground and breaks into pieces over which several automobiles pass crushing the pieces further. Then, what happens? You get the clay back again. So earlier it was clay and at the end it is clay once again The pot also is made of clay. Similarly, you are from God, bound to God and are God as well. Realisation of this truth is the purpose of life.
One example. Any letter you post should have two addresses, one to whom you have written, another your own address, so that if by any chance, it doesn't reach the addressee, it will come back to you at least. But, if the addresses are not written it will go to the dead letter office Similarly, you should know where you come from and where you go from here.
Merging in God or to be one with reality, or total identity with God is the ultimate aim of life. "punarapi jananam punarapi maranam punarapi janani jathare s'ayanam." (Adi Sankara's Bhaja Govindam). After all, the whole thing is a cycle of repeated births and deaths. After death one has to go back to the womb of the mother and be born once again. It is only life after life. But spirituality helps you, so to say, not to be born. Having died, you don't have to die once again by having another birth. You take medicine so that you don't have to fall sick once again. Death should take you to immortality.
One more example. Once a prisoner was released after the completion of the prison term. The jailor said to him, "Pack your baggage and leave!" The prisoner in reply said, "Sir! Why the trouble of taking the baggage? Anyhow I will come back soon." It implies that he will commit some crime again and is prepared to put himself behind bars. Our life should not be like that. It should be like the newspaper. Today's newspaper is not read tomorrow. Why? Today's newspaper is tomorrow's waste paper. Always remember that you are from God, in God and will be back to God.
Bhagawan: There are two reasons for this. People are sad thinking of the past. Don't you know that the past is beyond recovery? Having walked all along and passed by several things, why do you need to look back? Past is past. Don't brood over the past. The second reason for sadness is worry about the future. Where is the guarantee that you will survive until your plans are realised? Do you know what will happen to you in the next moment? What is destined and bound to happen will happen in its own course. Everything goes according to God's will. Why do you worry? The future is uncertain. Suppose you go on accumulating money with the idea of educating your son and sending him abroad, where is the guarantee that he will study well? So don't think of the past and future. Live in the present and be happy. This is not the ordinary present. This is omnipresent.
One simple example here. In the past it was a tree. In the present you have a seed of that tree. In the future it grows into a tree. So the present is the result of the past. It is the foundation of the future. Keep this in mind. Then,,you will never worry and feel sad.
There is another reason for sadness. Unlimited desires also are responsible for your sadness. For example, if you drop a piece of cloth, it falls down. Why? Due to its weight it falls down, doesn't it? But if it is cotton, it never goes down, instead it goes up. Why? Since it is light in weight it goes up, the man on the moon loses his weight. Having been a householder for fifty years you should be totally detached. A grhasta, householder, should become a vanaprastha, recluse and finally, a sanyasi, renunciant. If your desires are less, you will be happier. "Less luggage more comfort make travel a pleasure", is the slogan of the railways.
The more you love God the more will you be happy. For this, faith is necessary.
Where there is Faith, there is Love.
Where there is Love, there is Peace.
Where there is Peace, there is Truth
Where there is Truth, there is God.
Where there is God, there is Bliss.
It begins with faith and ends in Bliss.
Bhagawan: A simple illustration. There was a poor villager who had a wife and a son. He found it difficult to make both ends meet To improve his lot, he went to another town leaving his wife and son behind to do some business there.
One day he had a dream; in which he was a rich man and had five sons. After some time, he woke up. When he returned to his native village, he was informed by his wife that his only son had died as he couldn't bear separation from his father. This man stood unruffled. Then his wife asked him, "Are you not sad over the death of your only son? What has happened to you?" The poor villager replied, "I know the tragedy. But I am at a loss to know for whom I should cry. Should I cry for the loss of five sons in the dream there or for the death of the son here?" Similarly, you should know that one is a day dream and the other is a night dream. One doesn't exist, when the other is present, but you are present in both the states. You are the experiencer in the waking and dream states.
Then what is the difference between the day dream and the night dream? The day dream is bound by
factors such as the kaya, body, kala, time, karya, action, karana, reason, and kartavya, duty. Suppose,
you have gone to Guntur, and you know when, why, how. You went by bus, which took ten hours to reach your place, to share with your wife all your experiences as part of your duty. But, in a dream these factors do not exist. How do you travel, and how long does it take to reach your place, while your body remains lying in the bed? Like this, there are differences between the two states, but you are present in both. So you are nitya, eternal.
Bhagawan: Without difficulties you can never get happiness. 'Na sukhat labhyate sukham'. You do not get happiness out of happiness. No hardships end up in hardship. Without difficulties, you will never know the value of pleasure.
For instance, you are spending your time in this airconditioned room. If the value of air‑conditioning is to be known, what you should do is to come out and go round in the open space in bright daylight. Even a mother would not be able to love her child, if there is no death in her family. Here is an orange fruit. This has an outer bitter skin. But within it you find sweet juice. So, both good and bad co‑exist. The bitter skin protects the inner sweet juice. Does it not? Another thing you notice is, a thing that gives you happiness now may make you unhappy later. Similarly, an unhappy thing now may make you happy later.
So, nothing gives you absolute happiness or unhappiness. See, a woollen coat in winter makes you happy, but in severe summer it makes you unhappy. Does it not? So also a heater in winter makes you warm and happy. But, in summer the same heater makes you very uncomfortable and unhappy. Does it not? Therefore, happiness and unhappiness depend on the time, circumstances and position. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. Pain is an interval between two pleasures. If you think of the difficulties and the intensity of suffering in times of sadness the pain doubles. In bad times, you should think of those days and moments when you were happy . Then, the intensity of suffering decreases.
You should face all the difficulties as tests of God. A devotee should welcome troubles which are the tests of his devotion and faith. How do you expect a student to be promoted to the next higher class without facing a test? Otherwise, he has to remain in the same class. Can a doctor diagnose his patient's disease, prescribe medicine and treat him without testing? How do you expect crude gold to shine unless it is burnt, hammered and polished so as to be shaped into an ornament? But, if you set some pre‑condition that the gold should not be hammered or burnt and yet you want a shining jewel, will the goldsmith ever be able to make it?
You also know how you get sugar. The sugar‑cane must be crushed and the juice must be heated and processed so as to make sugar. Otherwise, it is impossible to extract sugar. You know how an earthen pot and a slate are made : The clay must be burnt repeatedly in order to transform it into a pot which you lift and carry on your head. Before the clay is made into a pot, it is trodden and trampled by anybody and everybody. The pot does deserve a place over our head because the clay has allowed itself to be burnt and processed. So, you should not be afraid of difficulties in life.
In the epic Mahabharata, Kunti prayed to Krishna to give her sons and herself more and more difficulties so :that they, can think of Him unceasingly and fervently. Hence, both good and bad are created by God for your redemption and liberation.
Q223) Swami! From where has evil come? Do you say that the mind is the source? Then, what is it that transcends both, good and evil? How is evil to be eliminated? . Swami alone can explain this with felicity, None else can. Kindly enlighten us.
Bhagawan: Evil is not related to the mind. Rather it stems from samskaras, previous accomplishments.
The mind is full of thoughts. That is why it is said, sankalpavi kalpatmakam manah, The mind is essentially determinations and negations. Being hard like wax, the mind softens with a little heat. In that state anything and everything sticks to it. When wax is thrown into fire, it melts completely. Attachment and hatred stick to the mind only when it is in the soft state. When the mind is melted away, nothing sticks to it. Then how does the mind melt away completely? Even as fire melts away wax completely, jnana, supreme wisdom, melts away the mind..
Atma is beyond good and evil, and nothing can touch or injure it. Being a witness, Atma transcends duality. Notice this little example. The lotus flower blooms in water and mud. Without these, there is no way it can exist. But, neither water nor mud sticks to the lotus. Mud represents samskaras of past lives, and water, the fruits of present actions: The flower of the soul is beyond past and present.
Desires which are bounded by time constitute nerpu (Telugu), skill or craft, while Divinity mined from the recesses of the heart is kurpu (Telugu), arrangement or synthesis. In other words, nerpu is pravrtti, outward oriented, and kurpu is nivrtti, inward oriented. If `nerpu' is a matter of the mind, ` kurpu ' is a matter of the heart. A small example. For irrigating the fields, an etam or water‑lift is used. It bails out water. A long wooden beam is laid across a well with a heavy stone tied at one end with a rope, and a bucket hanging from the other end. When the bucket goes down deep into a well or a canal, it gets filled with water. At that time, the heavy stone goes up as in a seesaw or a balance. The stone represents desires, and hence the heaviness. This is nerpu or previous accomplishment. But, the bucket is not like that. It sinks deep into the well of the heart, and fills itself with the water of divinity. This is kurpu . Are there any games without a ground to play them in or a song without a rhythm to it! The bird comes out of the egg, and the tree from the seed . Likewise the nature of atma and humanness are reciprocal, and supplement each other. Then, not taking note of evils is the way to do away with them. Consider them illusions. That would be fine.