55.
The
Lord cares for the feeling behind the
act
Abdullah
was sleeping in a corner of a mosque in Mecca,
when he was awakened by the conversation of two
angels above his head. They were preparing a
list of the blessed and one angel was telling
the other that a certain Mahbub of Sikandar City
deserved to be ranked first, even though he had
not come on pilgrimage to the Holy City. Hearing
this Abdullah went to Sikandar City and found
that he [Mahbub] was a cobbler,
repairing the shoes of people. He was famished
and poor; for, his earnings barely sufficed to
keep flesh and bone together. He had by severe
sacrifice piled up a few coppers during the
course of years. One day, he spent the entire
treasure to prepare a special dish, which he
proposed to place before his enceinte wife as a
surprise gift. When he was proceeding home with
the gift he heard the cry of a starving beggar
who seemed to be in the throes of extreme
hunger. Mahbub could not proceed any further; he
gave the pot containing the costly delicacy to
the man and sat by his side, enjoying the
blossoming of satisfaction on his haggard face.
That act gave him a place of honor in the
register of the Blessed, a place which pilgrims
to Mecca who had spent millions of dinars in
charity could not secure. The Lord cares for
the feeling behind the act, not the fanfare and
the fuss.
56.
Guru
- The Last
Resort
An
aspirant after spiritual realization went off
into a jungle and was plodding across the
infested region, through the thick undergrowth,
when he heard the angry roar of a lion; he
climbed a tree to escape from the beast, but,
the lion saw him among the branches and roamed
round and round the trunk in terrific rage. On
the tree he was attacked by a bear and so, he
slid down the roots that descended from one of
the branches of the Banyan tree. Luckily, there
were two roots hanging from the branch, so that
he could hang on in mid-air clinging to them,
one in each hand. Just then, he saw two rats,
one white and the other black, which were
gnawing at the base of the roots, endangering
his life with every bite. While in this perilous
state, a honeycomb, which was full of sweet
nectar situated on one of the top branches
leaked a few drops, which fell his way; so, the
unfortunate man put out his tongue to catch a
drop so that he may taste the delicious honey.
But, no drop reached his tongue.
In despair and
terror, he called on his guru: "O Guruji. Come
and save me". The guru who was passing by heard
his appeal; he sped to the rescue; he brought a
bow and arrow and slew the lion and bear,
frightened off the rats and saved the disciple
from the fear of death. Then he led the man to
his own âs'ram and taught him the path of
liberation.
This is a
story of every one of you. This world is the
jungle on which you roam; fear is the lion,
which drives you up the tree of sâmsara,
world activities; anxiety is the bear that
terrifies you and dogs your steps in
sâmsara; so, you slide down into
attachments and binding deeds, through the twin
roots of hope and despair. The two rats are the
day and night, which eat away the span of life.
Meanwhile, you try to snatch a little joy from
sweet drops of egoism and mind feeling. Finding
at last that the drops are trivial and out of
reach, you shout in the agony of renunciation,
calling on the Guru; the guru appears, whether
from within or without, and saves you from fear
and anxiety.
57.
Freedom
from Egoism: First Qualification of a
Bhakta
Worry
and grief, there will always be, of one type or
other - in the past and future; while walking,
dreaming and sleeping. But place faith in the
Lord and do your tasks dedicated to Him and they
will vanish. Nârada one day boasted
before Vishnu that no devotee could excel
him; but this boast was against the very first
qualification of a bhakta - freedom from
egoism. So, Vishnu spoke of a ryot who
was tilling his little plot of land as a greater
devotee and recommended that Nârada should
visit and learn the art of devotion from him!
Nârada felt very much humiliated and he
proceeded to the village indicated in great
chagrin. He found the ryot engrossed in his
round of duties on the field and in the cattle
shed and at home and in spite of the most
vigilant watch, he could not hear him speak the
name of the Lord more than thrice a day; once
when he woke up from bed, another time when he
took his midday meal and the last when he
retired for the night. Nârada was
naturally incensed that he was deemed inferior
to his very poor specimen of a bhakta. He
was always singing melodiously the
lîlâs of the Lord and spreading
everywhere the message of Namasankirtanam
(singing the names of the Lord) and here was a
horny-handed son of the soil who remembered the
Lord just three times a day, whom Vishnu
judged superior to him. He hurried to heaven;
his face flushed with anger and ignominy,
Vishnu only laughed at his plight. He
gave him a pot full to the brim with water and
asked him to carry it on his head and go round a
certain course without spilling even a drop.
Nârada did so, but when asked how often he
had remembered the Name of the Lord, he admitted
that his anxiety to walk without shaking the pot
and spilling the water, he had forgotten the
Name completely. Then Vishnu told him
that the ryot who was carrying on his head more
precious and more spoilable burdens than a pot
of water and who had to be careful not bring
harm to any of them, must perforce be admired
remembering the Lord at least three times a day!
Therefore
it will be great gain of you remembering the
Lord with thankfulness at least thrice or even
twice a day; that will give you great peace. Do
not give up your worldly duties, but do them
with the Name of God on your lips inviting the
Grace of God on you.
58.
Desire
Binds
Us
Those
who catch monkeys prepare a pot with a small
opening and fill it with some sweets. The
monkey, who desires the food, will put its hand
inside that pot and take a big handful of the
food. Thus, the monkey becomes unable to draw
its hand out through the opening. Only on
releasing the grip will the monkey be able to
take its hands out. It is its desire for the
food that has bound its hands. Because it took
with its hand some food to fulfill its desire,
it was bound there. This wide world is like that
pot and our 'samsaras' or families are
like the narrow top. Our desires are the sweet
in the pot. The world being the pot, containing
the desires, sweets, man put his hand in the
pot. When he sheds his desires, he will be able
to live in the world freely. To get freedom, the
first thing to do is to sacrifice. In
philosophical terms, this is called
renunciation. We think that the world is binding
us but the world is lifeless. It is the
desire that binds us.
59.
Your
Thoughts Affect the Food you
Cook
To
purify the mind and the intellect for the
correct reflection of the truth, the first
caution is in regard to food. Instead, this is a
very serious matter of sadhakas. There
lived in Malur, Mysore State, a pious
brahmin who was a great scholar. He had
an equally pious wife. He was always intent on
puja and japa dhyana and
was known far and wide for his virtuous
character. One day, a sannyasi called
Nityananda came to his door seeking alms;
so, he was happy beyond measure. He invited the
monk to take dinner with him the next day so
that he might honor him with due hospitality. He
hung green festoons over his doors and made
elaborate arrangements for the reception. But,
at the eleventh hour, physical impurity rendered
his wife unfit to prepare food for the honored
guest or for any one else. A neighbor
volunteered to cook the meal and she was brought
in and introduced into the kitchen. Everything
went off well and all were as happy as they
could be, under the circumstances. Only, the
sannyasi was wrong during meals by an
overpowering desire to steal the silver cup,
which the host had placed near the plate. In
spite of his best efforts, the evil idea won and
the sannyasi hurried to his abode with
the cup hidden in the folds of his robe. He
could not sleep that night, for his conscience
pricked him so. He felt he had brought disgrace
on his guru and on the rishis whom
he invoked by the mantras he recited. He
could not rest until he ran back into the
brahmin's house and, falling at his feet,
restored the article with tears of repentance
trickling down his cheeks. Everyone wondered how
such a saint could stoop so low. Then someone
suggested it might be the fault transmitted to
the food he ate, by the person who cooked it.
And when they examined the history of the
neighbor they found that she was an
irrepressible thief! The thieving tendency had,
by subtle contact, affected the food she
prepared. This is the reason why sadhakas
are advised to live on fruits and tubers only,
when they reach a certain stage of spiritual
achievement.
60.
Yajñas
and Yagas are Highly Valuable
Good
deeds done in dedicatory spirit do not add to
the length of Yama's rope; they give shanthi
and santosha in plenty. Why, you had
a very good illustration of this just today. The
final offering of sacred objects in the
sacrificial fire of the Rudra Yaga was
done here at 10 A.M. and, there was a welcome
downpour of unexpected rain at 10:45 A.M.! Those
who do not know the true values of
Yajña and Yaga ridicule
these rites and shout that they involve the loss
of precious ghee and fuel, which could be put to
better use. They do not realize that the food
they themselves consume is a colossal waste,
for, they do no good to the world or for
themselves. The cigarettes are a waste, indeed,
a dangerous waste; the bush coats, the films
they see the radio-hours they listen to are all
waste. You see a sculptor working away at a rock
with his chisel and you condemn his work of
chipping pieces as waste of precious time, and
valuable stone. You do not know that one day a
form of divine beauty will emerge. You see the
ryot scatter valuable seeds on the mushy field;
you blame him for wasting eatable stuff! You do
not realize that he will harvest it a hundred
folds in a few months. Your criticism is born of
ignorance and short sight. The rain that fell
this morning and surprised everyone did not
surprise me, for it is the inevitable
consequence of the Yaga. It is special
sciences, which pundits know; honor them for
it.
61.
Steadfastness
and Deep Faith win the Grace of
God
When
you have filled your heart with sympathy for the
distressed, the Lord will shower His grace.
Draupadî [daughter of king
Drupada and wife of the
Pândavas] had earned the grace
through her devotion and virtues.
Sîtâ, too, stuck to the
highest ideal for life, in spite of the severe
sufferings she underwent. Hanumân,
who discovered her in the grove
[see
RRV-5]
where she was kept as a prisoner by her abductor
Râvana, offered to recross the
ocean with her on his shoulders and take her
safe to her Lord Râma. But, she
replied that she will not allow herself to be
abducted back from the custody of Râvana,
since that will deprive Râma of the chance
to punish him for his crime and retrieve her
through his own heroism! Splendid words these!
Quite in consonance with the dictates of dharma!
No wonder, the Lord's Grace saved her in good
time! If you have no steadfastness and no
depth of faith, you can have no
Grace.
62.
Unconcern
leads to the deepest yearning for
God
S'rî
Ramakrishna said that if you want to avoid
that sticky fluid in the jackfruit from
contacting your fingers when you peel it, you
have to apply a few drops of oil on them. So,
too, said he, "if you do not want the world and
its reactions to stick to you, have a few drops
of "unconcern applied on your mind".
The unconcern
leads to the deepest yearning for God.
Caitanya went to Vrindâvana,
where every particle of dust was sacred for him,
since Krishna trod that soil centuries
ago. He did not see or hear or touch or smell or
taste anything except Krishna at
Vrindâvana. He was rendered so
oblivious to the world around him that he
ignored demands of hunger, thirst and social
etiquette. He yearned for the consecrated food
that was offered to Krishna in the
temple. But, one night, the Lord appeared before
him and admonished him for entertaining that one
desire, too! When at last, he gave up the desire
also and was overwhelmed with the thirst for Him
and Him alone, Krishna manifested before him.
The divine chaitanya (consciousness,
intelligence, spirit) illumined the Caitanya in
human form.
Learn
therefore the discipline that can make the mind
settle on God only and never waver
therefore.
63.
Superstition
and Blind Imitation
In
the years gone by, every village home was
stocked full of paddy bags, and so, rats too
inevitably infested every home. In one such home
they were celebrating every full moon day, the
rite called Satyanarayana Puja. This
required the collection of a good quality of
milk and ghee, the previous night itself. The
rats attracted cats and the cats often preferred
milk and ghee to the rodent food they are
accustomed to. So, the milk and ghee were
carefully kept in places, out of reach of the
cats. But, during the celebrations on the sacred
day, the milk and ghee had to be kept open and
available for use, in vessels around the shrine.
That was the chance for the deprecatory cat; so
the master of the house caught the cat by the
neck and put it under a heavy basket, and placed
a stone on it, so that it could not play any
mischief with the holy offerings. This was done
so consistently every full moon day as a safety
measure in one home that the children and
grand-children felt that, puja or no puja, no
full moon day should pass without a cat being
imprisoned under a weighted basket! They started
searching for a cat and bring it home, so that
the ritual of the cat and basket could be
observed without fail.
The original
meaning and purpose was lost during the passage
of time and later generation was burdened with a
belief that danger lurks if a cat is not dealt
with in the way of their forefathers. From being
an insufferable nuisance, the cat rose to a new
status of importance! This is blind
imitation.
64.
It
is Never too Soon in the Spiritual
Realm
There
was once a miser who lived in a leaky house; the
rainwater poured into the house through the roof
but he sat through it all. Neighbors laughed at
him and warned him to get the roof repaired. But
in the rainy season he replied. "Let the rains
subside, how can I repair it now?" And when the
rains stopped, he replied. "Why should I worry
about leaks, now the rains have stopped?" Do not
suffer the leaks when the rains come, as they
are sure to do; repair the roof now itself. That
is to say, acquaint yourselves with the
spiritual primers and textbooks now itself;
begin the first lesson of silence, prayer, and
chanting the Name of the Lord. It is never
too soon in the spiritual realm.
65.
Transistor
Radio - A Barber's Box
It
is the distorted sense of values that makes you
carry a radio receiver strapped to your
shoulder, even when you come to Prashanthi
Nilayam! This has become a fashion; sons-in-law
try to extract a transistor radio from their
fathers-in-law, as quickly as possible. There
was a young man in a big town; it so happened
that his father arrived on a visit and was
received at the railway station by the son
himself. They were going home in an
auto-rickshaw, when the father, already confused
by the roar and noise of the traffic, noticed
someone carrying a small rectangular box,
strapped in his shoulder. He saw many more such
boxes, carried proudly by young men, fashionably
attired and walking in the strut, with a
nonchalant gaze. He asked his son what they
charged in the town for a shave and when the son
answered, a half-rupee, he was surprised that it
was so cheap. "These barbers going about with
these boxes strapped on the shoulders are so
well dressed and rich looking that I thought
they must be charging five rupees at least", he
said. The poor man thought the transistor radio
sets were barber's boxes! In fact, many who
carry them and tune in do not know the ABC of
music, eastern or western, nor do they know an
iota of geography or history or politics to
appreciate the news. They carry watches on their
wrists but, to know what hour it is, they have
to stretch their wrists before those sitting
next to them! They cannot read a watch, nor have
they any engagement to keep. All this is
needless multiplication of misery!
66.
Kabir's
Pitambara for the Lord
Kabir
[1440-1518] was weaving a pitambara
for the Lord, for his Râma. He had to work
the loom alone, by hand. He recited
Râma Râma Râma Râma
and went on weaving ceaselessly. The cloth had
become twenty yards long, but Kabir did not
stop; his tapas continued unabated; the
pitambara was becoming longer. The
ânanda of the craft, devotion to
his Lord, was enough food and drink for his
sustenance. When he gave it to the temple priest
for clothing the idol of Râma, the
pitambara was just the size, just the length and
breadth, not a finger breadth more!
[Read
here some more about the poet
Kabir]
67.
"Dharma Bodha" - True Dharma of a
Mahâtma
Samartha
Ramadas appeared before S'ivaji, with
his usual call for alms: bhavati bhikshaam
dehi. S'ivaji realized that the guru
is God; so he wrote something on a piece of
paper and deposited it reverentially in the alms
bag of Ramadas. For the relief of hunger,
how can paper suffice asked Ramadas? S'ivaji
prayed that the paper might be read. The paper
recorded a gift of the entire kingdom and all
the S'ivaji owned, to the guru. Samartha Ramadas
replied: "No, my dharma is dharma-bodha, the
teaching of dharma, instructing the people in
the right way of life; Kshatriyas
[varna of warriors, politicians,
nobles, state officials] like you must
follow the dharma of ruling the land,
ensuring peace and content to the millions under
your care". Yajñavalkya too once
refused a kingdom, because he cared more for the
kingdom of moksha, the realm of freedom.
Vasishthha is also said to have renounced
a kingdom offered him by Râma
[RRV-1].
68.
Every Material Object has a Qualitative and
Quantitative Difference
By
reading many books and developing an
argumentative tendency, it is quite common today
that young people get into argument with others.
Once a young man aged 22 years went to Sankara.
When Sankara was giving spiritual lessons to his
disciples the young man interrupted and asked
Sankara if all human beings in the wide world
should'n be regarded as equal since the same
kind of blood flows in all of them. Sankara
smiled at him and said that the blood flowing in
that youngster is hot and fast and so he was
trying to push things too far. It is not
possible for man to distinguish between
permanent and impermanent things. One can adopt
the notion of non-duality or Advaita
in one's own thought and attitudes but it is not
possible to equate everything in the world in
practice. The young man insisted that this does
not seem right. He stated that to him, the
proper thing appeared to be to treat all living
things in the same manner. Sankara recognized
that if this young man was allowed to go on in
this strain, he was likely to reach some absurd
conclusions. Sankara decided at once to teach
him a lesson and immediately asked whether he
had a mother. The young man replied that he had
a mother he respected. Sankara again asked if
the young man was married. The young man replied
that he was married and that his wife also had
come with him to the âs'ram.
Sankara then asked him if he had a
mother-in-law. The young man replied that the
mother-in-law was quite hale and healthy.
Sankara again asked if he had sisters and the
young man replied in the affirmative and said
that he had two sisters. Sankara asked if all
these people were women. The young man asked how
it should be otherwise. Sankara asked if he
regarded all of them as equal and was treating
all these people in the same manner and if in
particular, he was treating his wife as his
mother and his sister as his mother.
In
this world of multiplicity one has to recognize
qualitative and quantitative differences. Each
electric bulb is varying in power and wattage.
Therefore the difference in the light radiating
from the bulb is not due to the electric
current. The current is the same everywhere but
the difference arises from the bulbs with
different intensities. God's power is like
electric power and our bodies are the bulbs.
69.
Rabbia Malik and Hussain
Remember,
your real nature is the same as the other man's;
he is yourself known by another name. When you
do a good deed, you are doing it to yourself;
when you do a bad turn to someone, remember, you
are injuring yourself; so, avoid dong evil to
others. I am reminded of what Hussein, the son
of Rabbia Malik of Persia used to do. He rose
early and went to the mosque for prayer with
great diligence and devotion. When he came, he
found the servants of the house still sleeping
on their mats and he grew wild at them; he swore
and cursed them for neglect of religious duties.
Then his father chastised him. He said, "Son,
why do you get angry with those poor souls who
are too tired to wake up early? Do not wipe off
the good results of your adherence to the rule
of God by falling foul of these innocent slaves.
I wish you would rise rather late and abstain
from the mosque, for now you have grown proud
that you are more religious than these others
and you dare blame them for faults for which
they are not themselves responsible".
70.
Faith and Science
A
Hindu and his British friend once happened to
come to the bank of the Godavari. The Hindu
said, "I will bathe in this scared water". He
recited the name "Hari" as he plunged in and
came out refreshed in mind as well as body. He
felt great happiness that he got the rare chance
of a bath in the holy water. The British friend
laughed and said, "This is mere H2O;
how can you get unspeakable joy by dipping into
it? It is all superstition". But the Hindu
replied, "Leave me to my superstition; you can
stick to your superstition". The cynic got only
physical cleanliness but the believer got mental
purity also.
71.
Mâyâ can Ruin a Life
Mâyâ
has
the capacity to ruin our life. If we understand
the nature of mâyâ well, it
will go away from us in one moment. If we give a
high place to it without understanding, then
that will get the upper hand and will begin to
dance on our heads.
In
one village a marriage was to take place. The
party of the bridegroom came to the village and
was staying in a house. The party of the bride
was staying in another house. In between these
two parties, there was one individual who wanted
all kinds of comfort and was demanding them from
both parties. This individual used to go to the
bridegroom's place and tell them that they were
always coming late and causing a lot of problems
to the bride's party. People belonging to the
bridegroom's party thought that he was a
respected elder from the side of the bride.
Similarly he went to the bride's house and told
them that they were not respecting the
bridegroom and members of his party and were not
giving them all the respect that was due to
them.
This
individual was enacting a drama. He was going to
the bridegroom's party and was behaving as if he
was a respected elder from the bride's side and
he was going to the bride's people and behaving
as if he was a respected elder from the
bridegroom's side. When this drama went too far,
the two parties started investigating and found
that he belonged to neither side. Once you
make an inquiry and find out the origin of
mâyâ, it will disappear, even as the
individual in our story
disappeared.
72.
Affection and Attachement Responsible for All
Joys and Sorrows
Moha
expresses
itself in desiring things. Desires go on
multiplying. Moha may be compared to the
water that is found in a lake.
I will now
give an example. There is a girl in one house.
There is a young man in another house. Their
houses are almost side-by-side. But the girl
does not know anything about the young man, and
the young man does not know anything about the
girl living in the neighboring house. One day,
the girl, fell seriously ill. That day all the
people in the house were hectic and they were
all anxious and several doctors were called in.
When the boy in the neighboring house heard the
noise, he thought it was a disturbance to his
studies, and, therefore, he closed his windows
and started reading.
But in the
course of time, as a result of destiny, this boy
who was living in that house got married to the
girl in the neighboring house. The marriage took
place in the morning. In the afternoon the girl
developed a stomachache and the bridegroom felt
very anxious for the girl and her stomachache.
Where and when had he developed this attachment
to the girl? Because he got married to her; even
a little stomachache upsets him now. Though the
same girl felt dangerously ill some time ago, he
did not feel even the slightest anxiety for her
because at that time there was no attachment or
relationship with the girl. So, abhimana
and mamakara, affection and attachment
are responsible for all joys and sorrows.
