Studies

December 1966, Pune

Professor Kasturi's English.

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Earning a fat salary is not the chief thing at all; no. The aim should be the cultivation of virtue. Studies are the roots of the tree of life. The attachments which the individual develops towards kith and kin, the objects of the world, the ideals and the goals, the fancies and fashions - all these form the branches and twigs. The blossoms which the tree produces are the intelligence and its manifestations. The blossoms yield the fruit of or Joy. The fruit of confers the sweetness called Character. The essence of character is virtue. It is in virtue that the tree of life justifies itself. The root of education fulfils itself in the fruit of virtue. Without it, life is a waste; it is as much a waste as a tasteless fruit. So, the aim of all study should be the cultivation of good qualifies, the development of virtuous habits, the raising of the standard of values, of one's own self-respect. We say, 'they study' or 'he studies'. What really is the study? Years of study do not give any idea of the 'entity' that studies! The result of study does not reveal itself in character and virtue; the educated person is more prone to temptation and more addicted to evil habits and evil attitudes. The best that can be said of the learned is that they are efficient in the art of argument and cynical discussion and criticism. The real subject of study for men is the study of the means of ending death and birth.

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Each space rocket costs as much as will maintain all the Universities in India for a period of twelve years! What a colossal waste is this? People try to fly millions of miles into space, but, they are powerless to travel even half an inch to their own inner realm and discover what lies therein, what their reality is. This 'Science' has enveloped the whole world in mortal dread; each nation holds its life in the clasp of the palm and is shivering in hate and fear, awaiting the moment when it may be reduced to ashes or dust. That is the result of knowledge without virtue. A spark of hatred or pride or short temper can set the whole world aflame today. But. the science that was extolled and practised in India since ages is the science of sense control, of mind control, of character development, of the cultivation of the individual and social virtues, the progressive unfoldment of the Divine in man, not of the mean in man. It speaks of the reality (fulfilled), and of this world too, as fulfilled, . From the full, this full has manifested. It does not posit any incomplete, unsatisfied vaccum or discontent. For, it taps the very spring of eternal Joy and Strength and Wisdom. That is the path of spiritual discipline, steady intellectual and moral discipline. That is the basic, the essential study. The cultured person is the person who has cultured the spirit, not the person who caters to the senses and enslaves himself to their attractions.

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Foster the divine in each one When the (intellect) is thus transmuted, man attains (fulfilment). When moral discipline is absent, man reduces himself into a brute. There is the spark of the divine in each one and the duty is to foster it and develop it and benefit by it, rather than smother it and silence it. How to keep in constant contact with this higher Self that is seeking expression in our acts and words and thoughts? The best means is the simple exercise of , the repetition of any one of the meaningful Names of the Lord, signifying the Glory that lies embedded in man. People indulge in all types of purposeless gossip and scandal; they find time and interest in these degrading pursuits; but, they have no inclination to awaken the Divine in them by constant indwelling on the splendour of Creation and the Creator. See only such scenes as will foster this discipline; speak only of elevating, uplifting subjects; listen only to purifying topics; think and feel only pure thoughts and emotions. That is the way to develop the Divinity inherent in each one. Our thoughts now build up only castles in the air; our plans are like bubbles on the surface of the waters. They are ephemeral, because they have no grounding in the permanent, the eternal base.

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