In English
Every Indian has to live the life taught by sages
In order that this wisdom may dawn on persons most in need of it, the elders must set an example of discrimi nation and detachment. If they run after sensory pleasures with feverish excitement, how can the younger generation be blamed for their selfishness and greed? The elders must practise what they preach and show how divine life can confer joy, mental poise, contentment, and real happiness. They must spend at least some time every day in the recital of the Lord’s Name or in meditation on the Lord; then the children will also imbibe that atmosphere and acquire the sure means of gaining peace () for themselves. You say that there is nothing as sweet as the name of the Lord, but you do not repeat it at all. You have spoilt the road by neglect and wanton destruction, but you advise the children to walk along it. They will discover the hoax; they will ask you to travel on the road yourself and give them the lead. So the responsibility of the members of the Divine Life Society here is very great. As a matter of fact, the responsibility of any person who holds forth an ideal is great, for he has to attempt to reach it himself while advising others to adopt it. That is why the responsibility of an Indian is so great, for in this land have been born saints and sages who have taught the world the highest truths of spiritual uplift; and anyone claiming to be an Indian has to live the life taught by them in order to deserve that ancestry and the admiration of aspirants all over the world.