Man Lives For Himself, For His Family And For The Whole Society

May 1974, Summer Course 1974 - Brahman, Brindavan

Published English.

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has an infinite number of names and yesterday we had understood in detail the meaning of one of these names “”. Today we will take another name “” for . For recognising the aspect of God, we shall have to make several attempts. is an aspect which constitutes the basis for . If properly understood, it will not only help one to attain realisation but will give all the wealth and prosperity that one desires. That is why it has been given the name . This has also been recognised as the beginning of creation and hence called which stands for a bright and for this reason it was also called . The same thing has also been called as or the great fire. The name has become immortal and is an aspect of which has gone into . In this manner it has taken a particular form called , which is synonymous with .

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In the context of , this has taken the aspect of a Goddess and in our scriptures it has the name . In one of the , it has attained a particular name “”. This song of has also taken another appropriate name, “”. In this word, , the aspect of is joined to the aspect of and this has the fuller name . When we take the root meaning of the word we realise that it means prosperity. The appellation has been used before the name of people who are well versed in the .

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If we want to understand the , we shall have to study the , , and and understand the aspect of . It is not enough if one only recites the . He has to understand and imbibe the full meaning thereof. The and the authorities that one derives from the are intended for and are valid for the entire world and not for India alone.

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Veda is made up of and consists of words which are arising from sound as the basis. In this context, we have to regard as a personification of sound. Sound in the form of words that compose the is something which is essential and necessary for all the people the world over. This has the form of three different kinds of knowledge. Only when the words that appear in the are used correctly, will there be proper significance for the . The sweetness of the is apparent only if the proper meaning of the words is taken.

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has infinite number of names and is to be understood in infinite number of ways. We should regard these aspects as endless. We should be aware of the unity and the oneness in reaching all these diverse aspects. It is in this context that the citizens of have been trying to follow the injunctions that are given in the .

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A lead in this regard was given by the three great scholars - , , and . Although what has come from these scholars has been given to us under different names such as dualistic philosophy, non-dualistic thought, and qualified non-dualism, we will see that there is a basic oneness in all these three types of philosophy if one carefully looks at them. Our own people have treated illusory differences between these three philosophies without realising the inner meaning. They have been creating unnecessary arguments among themselves regarding the differences between the three basic philosophies - , , and . I hope that you young people will recognise the basic truth that is contained in all these three systems of philosophy with the help of the teachings that are available to you here. Having recognised this truth, I hope that you will endeavour to spread this divine message throughout the world. It is only when you undertake such a sacred task would you have justified having been born in India and only then would you be doing appropriate service to your country.

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Participating in active work will always create the belief in you that the world is real and you will never reach the conclusion that the world is . Man generally undertakes work only if he wants some benefit from it. In this context, we will understand that the result is dependent on the kind of work you do. The meaning of this is that we should undertake to do good work and thus expect to receive good results and hand over those good results for the benefit of the society around us and the country.

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The world is full of or bliss. What then is the reason for so many difficulties and so much sorrow in this world? It is only the change in our own attitudes that is responsible for such unwanted situations.

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When we are in the aspect of the or , then everything looks like . If we are immersed in the bodily aspect, everything looks like sorrow to us. For this I shall give you a small example which is appropriate to all three systems namely , , and . Not only can one give an answer to this from our own culture, but one can give a good example from the Bible as well. In the Bible, Jesus Christ said at one stage, “I am the messenger of God”; at a later stage he said “I am the son of God” and at a third stage he said “I and my Father are one” and in the final stage he said “Holy Ghost”. We must examine the basis on which he said that he was the messenger of God and then that he was the Son of God, and finally that he and the Father were one and the same.

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These three ways of looking at this phenomenon have been called , , and , that is dual, non-dual, and qualified non-dualism. , and are three names given to these three aspects. Although the Sun, as the original object, is the same in all the three cases, just as the divine principle is the same in all these three situations, we are looking at it in different ways. In one case we are looking at it from the aspect of one’s own mind and in another case we are looking at it from the aspect of one’s own body and depending upon how we look at this, we have been calling it by different names.

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There will be no result coming from all our efforts if we spend all our time in the dual aspect. We must strive to move from dualism to qualified non-dualism and from there to pure non-dualism. On the very first day, I mentioned to you that you should recognise that your life is a journey from the aspect of “I” to the aspect of “We”. In this aspect, gave a very good example. ’s devotion was never confined to a particular name and form. came to the conclusion that God does not exist anywhere; , however, believed and demonstrated that God exists in all places where you look for Him. ’s belief was that God is not to be found wherever you look for him, whereas ’s view was that God is to be found wherever you look for Him. If we examine the difference between these two attitudes, we will come to the conclusion that ’s attitude was to see everywhere and in everyone while recognised only the particular name and form. Among the five attributes, - , , , and - the last two refer to temporary things and the first three relate to the Divine. When we are considering the aspect of , there is no point in paying attention to a particular name and form which keeps on changing. It is important only to bear the aspect of in mind.

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If you want to enjoy the divine, we should be able to develop the inner vision and towards that end go through certain practices. This has been taught to us in our scriptures as the embodiment of the divine strength and it has also been called . This is the Universal mother. Ability to appreciate and understand this aspect of the universal mother depends on the strength that each individual has in him. It is quite common that this gift of appears to us in this world in the form of wealth and prosperity, as a very transient one and not a permanent . However, you should understand the true significance of this word and then alone will you enjoy permanent . It is only by recognising this feature and meaning that we can experience daily the continued bliss which is above all ideas and (attributes). That is just one and has no second and is totally free from the aspects of .

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This is how our scriptures have described the aspects of . If we are desirous of having and moving into the sphere of bliss, we should recognise this sacred and all-powerful aspect which is present everywhere. Having recognised this aspect, we should completely surrender ourselves to this aspect. Only then can we have complete bliss.