Matham and mathi

April 1965, Rajamundry Hindu Samaaja, Rajamundry

Professor Kasturi's English.

1

is a matter of ; 'religion' is based on the urge that moves the 'mind'; if the urge is divine, we have a divine religion; if it is bestial, then, the things held lovable and desirable will be bestial too. Join the particular with the universal, the limited with the unlimited, the river with the sea. This is the process called . This can be achieved through or or .

2

You must develop this attitude of 'merging' with the divine in all that you do, this attitude of dedication, of surrender to His Will. This is the best means of realising Him. The , about which all the four whom you are honouring today spoke, was itself the result of 's surrender, his . The does not prescribe the same remedy for all; each must get himself diagnosed by an experienced doctor of the spirit and then follow his advice, until he reaches a state of health, when he can restore equanimity to himself by his own effort. You need not learn all the (verses) and all the commentaries by heart and exhibit your scholarship, engaging in contest with other scholars. It is enough if you put into practice one shloka, the one that suits your spiritual stage, that appeals to you most. That first step will itself take you nearer the second step, the second will make the third easier and so on until the end. If the cow is the representative of , then, the four are the teats in its udder, where the life-giving milk is stored; the ()milked the cow and gave it to the world, as the . It has to be taken into the heart. Of what avail is "medicine" if it is poured into the ear? It has to be taken in, so that it might act and strengthen the blood-stream. So too, there is no use in listening for hours to discourses on the ; take the lesson in. Put it into practice: apply it in daily life. Realise the divinity in you, that is the lesson.

3

Observe truth and justice in every act There are two statements in the , both complementary: (the man with steady faith wins wisdom) and (he who doubts perishes). The doubt that overpowered was removed by the teaching of and the necessary was inculcated. As a matter of fact, the is a conversation between the and , the limited or, rather 'the idea of the limited', with the Unlimited. The is worn by the : the body is but a vesture of God, who is eternal and permanent. Seeing one's own reality is the opening of the doors of liberation; for this, the mirror of the heart has to be prepared, by coating the back of the heart with and . Otherwise, the image will not appear. In every act of yours, if you observe truth and justice, then you can see your own reality revealed. You may say that the burden of past acts and their inevitable consequences have to be borne; but, the Grace of the Lord can burn that burden in a flash; the revelation of reality will, in a flash, save you from that burden. If you see yourself in all and all in you, then, you have known the reality, says in the . Therefore, you have to develop the same quantity and quality of Love that you have for Me, towards all others. When you are the Universal, where can you say, your street is or your house is? You are then no longer an individual; you are the Universal. Get that idea fixed in your mind. The Lord will be easily moved; He is like butter, a little warmth is enough to melt His heart. When approached Him, the ferocity of the Form of the Lord cooled down.

4

Consider the welfare of humanity as a whole The three you have honoured today are preserving and propagating these vital truths of our culture for the last thirty or forty years; there are many more men of this calibre still to be recognised and honoured. Many people condemn as a class and charge them with trying to promote their caste interests, writing the (scriptures) and trying to have a monopoly of the . But, have you considered how difficult the have made the life of a Brahmin? No one will willingly impose such restrictions on so many of his own acts and movements, but these people have done it and tried to live accordingly for centuries, and their chief inspiration for subjecting themselves to this restriction has been not power or pomp, but "the welfare of humanity!" Consider this. That is the outlook of Indian culture, the welfare of humanity as a whole. That is also the reason why it has survived, while all its contemporaries of the past have sunk into oblivion, some without a trace of theft influence on posterity. This culture has stood firm because it is built upon the , the authentic experience of the seers. It is only those who are obsessed by doubt that lose those precious jewels of spiritual wisdom; there are some who hesitate to accept good and useful things that others suggest, though these same people are daily taking countless other facts on trust!

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6

Develop confidence in yourself The must be carried by this to the villages and its message must be instilled into the daily lives of our people. In order that you may get the authority to do this, you must yourselves follow the in your daily life. Develop confidence in yourself and in the culture you have grown up in. There is no advertisement needed for it, it has its own inherent value and the proof of its value is in the it confers and the courage it implants. I am sorry these , who are great scholars, did not speak longer because they wished Me to address you for a longer time. Whether they speak or I speak, the subject is essentially the same; liberation from delusion and escape from darkness, by the recognition of the light that is effulgent within.