Man Should Promote Inner Vision For Himself

May 1976, Summer Course 1976 - Indian Culture and Spirituality, Ooty

Published English.

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Today man is very eager to listen to the news that comes to him from all corners of the world. He thinks that it is his mission to know everything that is happening, but he does not make an attempt to hear what is coming from within himself. An individual who cannot understand and recognise his own nature has not achieved anything. All that he is learning by way of education is apparently only for eking out a living. This has become common with us and has become an illusion of our mind. This is something which has no basis worth mentioning. This kind of attitude was criticised in a downright manner by . The basis for such a desire is your attachment and hatred. This attachment and hatred are commonly found in one who thinks that he is different from the environment around him. So long as one thinks that a particular car or house or land belongs to him, then there will be attachment to whatever he thinks belongs to him, and he will have a dislike of things which he thinks do not belong to him. Man does not have the capacity to distinguish between things which belong to him and things which do not belong to him. In a human body, there are several organs and the body itself is composed of those several organs. From amongst these several organs, even if one is hurt or damaged, the pain is experienced by the entire body; and this is the reason why man regards all the organs in the body on the same footing; and he desires the well-being of all the organs of his body.

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In the same manner, the grace and kindness of the creator will fall equally well on all living and non-living things with - sathwic, rajasic, and thamasic. Although light emanating from the same lamp, when it falls on a group of white pieces of glass, will be scattered in several different directions, we think that it consists of light from several sources. If the same light falls on a large number of coloured glasses, it appears as if it is composed of different colours. If the same light falls on the ground, we will not be able to see the light, because the ground obstructs and absorbs the light.

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In the same manner, if the brilliant shining grace from falls on a sathwic person, he will shine brilliantly. If the same grace from , falls on a person with rajasic qualities, it will make him develop several desires of the world. If the same grace falls on a person with thamasic qualities, it will not only go through without having any effect, but it may even lose some of its lustre.

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Just as the various facets of diamonds all scatter light and throw brilliance in all directions, so also the greatness of was scattered in all directions. As we cut the diamond and polish the facets, the value of the diamond goes on increasing.

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In the same manner, the culture of has become more and more through greater and greater exposure and experience. The more we experience it, the more we learn about our culture, newer ideas come to us. We will know, more and more, about the sacredness of ’s teachings if we look at them from the aspect of their being object lessons to other human beings.

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If you want to remove a thorn from your foot, you will have to do this with the help of another thorn. You cannot use an axe to remove the thorn from your foot. To cut a diamond, you need a diamond. In the same manner, to understand and comprehend a human being, you will have to use the essential qualities of a human being. , who was born as a , came down to the level of men when preaching to who was the best among men and holding his weapon, the . wanted to deal with in a manner in which a human being will deal with another human being. On the very first day, asked who the victor will be in the battle and replied, “Wherever there is the Lord and wherever there, in his presence, is holding the weapon in his hand and ready for action, there will be victory, good, prosperity, and all that is best.” This close and intimate relationship can only be understood by , the best among men, and by , the best among the . Here, represents the most deserving of human beings.

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So if you want to understand and comprehend the teachings of , you must either become the best of men or at least a person who acquires the right to understand them. had the right, and he was also the best of men; and so he was given the of the Universal God. We should also recognise the truth behind the fact that this divinity, while it is associated with the universe, is also something which is inherently present in every human being.

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Thus, everything that you see in this big tree of the universe has all come from one seed, the seed of divinity. In the same manner, in this huge body of yours, there is an infinitesimally small seed called the aspect of . If you take this seed which is in you, give it nourishment, and let it grow and prosper, then it will show the divine form of the universe. But where should we put this seed, how do we protect it and promote it to grow into a big tree? Can we put this seed in our palm and pour water on it? Will it become a tree? A seed will become a tree only if it is put in the soil and watered suitably. Even in that soil, if you put the seed too deep or too shallow, it will not become a tree.

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In the same manner, in the soil of our heart, if we can put the seed of God’s name, and if we can water it with the water of , it will sprout into a good tree. It is in this context that a divine vision of has been described as one consisting of thousands of heads, legs, and hands. Wherefrom has this vision come? It is simply the magnified version of what is within ourselves. When I open my eyes, I see so many thousands of heads; but when the eyes are closed, I do not see even one head. When the eyes are open, I not only see these thousands of heads, but I also see this wall, this window, all the photos, and everything around me. If I go outside and see with open eyes, one sees the mountains, the sky, the rivers, and the distant land; but, at that instant, if one closes one’s eyes, why is it that one does not see even a small ant in this entire creation?

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If the eyes are open, we see the entire creation; and if the eyes are closed, we do not see anything of the creation. Thus, we conclude that this entire creation has come from our own vision. If there is vision, there is creation; and if there is no vision, there is no creation. Just as with extrovert vision we are able to see the external creation, so also with the help of inward vision, we can see the inner self. This is what taught . It was with a view to help develop this inner vision, that the Lord had given him so many directions.

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The have told us that what we see is only a reflection of what exists internally. That which we see inside or outside is essentially one, and the same thing is what has been taught to us in this aspect of of . There is only one thing and that one thing is perceived in many ways. This is what has been demonstrated in this vision and is described as (I am one. I shall become many).

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You go to sleep in the night, and you dream that you are a part of the summer camp. You see so many other companions sitting along with you. In your dream you also see speaking. You see the congregation and other parts of the house. You should ask who has brought all that there in front of you in your dream. No one has brought them, your own mind has created the form of and this mansion, your companions and all. All that is the creation of your own mind.

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Man’s mind alone is responsible for man’s bondage and his freedom. taught , in the very first instance, that the most important thing is the control of one’s mind. Thus, the first thing to do is to control your mind. The very first thing that we must do is to try and burn away the desires that come to our mind. The desires that are in your mind, may be known to others or may not be known to others, but are bound to come out some day or the other. You may pretend as if there are no desires in your mind, but the desires will never allow you to hide them. They will always come out. These desires are like fire. If you take fire and try to hide it in a cloth, the desires will burn the cloth and come out. The desires and thoughts of yours are bound to come out and show themselves.

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taught that it was better to throw out the desires than to keep them hidden. was told in the very first instance that neither he nor the are the persons who were going to kill the . Neither to , nor to the , nor to even was there birth or death. There is neither birth nor death to the essential in us, namely the . Therefore it is not right to subordinate ourselves to this body which is like a leather bag, forgetting the indestructible that is within us.

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So long as we are human beings, it is difficult to comprehend the difficult divine aspect taught by to . This is the reason why came in human form, created a bodily relationship with and others, and pretended as if he was the brother-in-law of and vice versa. In the ordinary daily matters, was always leading a sacred life. What we see in the or the or what we see in the cinema do not constitute a true picture of the life of . What we see today is created artificially; but if we go fully into the conduct of , we will understand that he was pure, steadfast, and sincere. He was always supporting truth and practising it. That is the reason why was always addressing as the embodiment of truth rather than as his brother-in-law.

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When the battle was over, went to and went to the place where his father, , was living. asked him, “You have always spoken the truth; and I would like to know from you, as the protector of truth, what are the true changes that came about in the and the .” Even if a son is always speaking the truth, no father will come forward and say that his son speaks the truth and protects the truth. In this context, we should really try and understand the deep significance of the father addressing the son and telling him that he had always spoken the truth, and protected the truth. But unfortunately, in the books that we read and the cinemas that we see, is depicted as a cunning and tricky person. The picture of formed in this manner is not correct. This is not what is contained in the . People write such stories in order to make money and make their stories more attractive. That our own countrymen do this and distort the truth for the sake of acquiring money is deplorable.

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It is not that alone was speaking the truth and protecting truth. The were also great adherents of truth. The great protectors of truth, and the , gave this country the sacred text of . The forbearance and the great breadth of vision which the exhibited, as well as the strength of character and determination which they exhibited in their conduct, cannot be seen in any other citizens of this country. Because the had always obeyed , they directly imbibed from the sacred qualities of truth and forbearance. When , who killed the , (Pandava children) was brought before , in spite of her great grief at the loss of her children, she moved forward and touched his feet and paid respects to him. It is such great qualities of truth and forbearance that we should observe in the and respect them for such qualities.

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If the mothers of today were in such a state of suffering as was, they would have pounced on and strangled him to death, even if they did not have the strength to do that. But had such sterling character that in her great suffering she only asked, “These who were killed by you did not come to you in any emotion or excitement. They did not have any weapons in their hands. How did you bring yourself to cut their throats and kill them when they were sleeping?” In spite of the fact that all her sons were killed by , she was telling him with great forbearance and equanimity of mind, “My husbands were the disciples of your father, . They learnt all aspects of weaponry from him; and you, who are the son of , killed my sons who should be like your disciples.” This was the way in which she was pleading with . was unable to bear such sorrow; and because of this, he was in great emotion which drove him to the point of exhibiting his physical prowess to the world. In fact, he was looking at this quality of forbearance of as a laughing matter.

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was greatly surprised at the peaceful attitude of . He thought that the suffering of having lost all her children had driven her to insanity, for, otherwise he was not able to understand how a true mother could show such forbearance when the person who had killed all her children was standing before her. He said, “If you do not kill , I will kill him with my fists.” was a great woman with exemplary character. If only the women of today take her as an example and follow her qualities of forbearance and calmness, our country will improve very much. When , the strong person, was preparing to kill with his fists, would it be possible for a weakling like to go and stop ? It was only the purity of her thought that was her strength. She had no physical strength. Then she tells , “It is not right for you to kill a person who is afraid, who comes to you asking for shelter, a person who is asleep, or a person who is drunk and has forgotten himself. It is not right to kill such helpless people.” was such a great woman that in order to protect right conduct, she would even oppose her husbands. She was not a woman who would bring disrepute, by any of her acts, either to her husbands, or to her father, or to her sons. She did not want anyone to get hurt by her acts.

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When were preparing to go to the forest, sent for and asked her to sit by his side. told her, “Owing to certain personal differences between the and the , a situation has come about by which we will have to go to the forest.” He told that these troubles and tribulations were something which they could not avoid, and that it was a very hard thing to be living in a forest for twelve years and follow it up with one year in which they had to remain incognito. told her that the men will somehow bear the difficulties and that it was not an occasion for women to go into the forest, and he advised her to remain back and take care of the old and .

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The had asked to take care of and , the two main people who were cruel and responsible for their having to go to the forest. This is a very great quality in the , and we must learn a lesson from this conduct. If the really hated the , is there any meaning in this act; and can we justify the fact that the asked to stay back and serve the ? The moral of this is that whatever has to happen in one’s life will happen, but to take such inevitable events and use them to promote hatred is not the correct thing to do, and it is not a good human character.

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The pain which we have to experience, the misfortunes which come to us and the troubles which we have, are not things which arise externally, nor are they God given. They are simply things which are the result of our own actions. It is only as a result of one’s own weakness, that man blames someone else for the troubles and misfortunes that he gets. This is not a right attitude. teaches us that it is not right to blame others for our troubles.

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The has taught us a lesson that we should regard our actions as being responsible for our sorrows or joys. But as a human being, you should perform whatever actions you have to perform. The capacities that have been given to you under the name of must be fully utilised. Do not think that you will achieve this or that, and do not think that you will be able to do great things without the grace of God. Do not get tired out in that process. The kind of seeds which you have put in, which have brought you to the position in which you are today, will determine the results that you will get later on. If the seed belongs to one kind of plant, how can you aspire to get a different kind of fruit? Therefore, the kind of seed which you use will determine the kind of fruit that you will get, and you will have to accept that fruit. You may be very intelligent and clever. All your intelligence and cleverness will not enable you to get over your own . , the creator, prepares a garland of all the good and the bad that you have done, without making any change, and will put it round your neck and will send it along with you into this world when you are born.

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It is necessary for us to recognise this causal relationship. We are responsible for the good that we do and for the bad that we do, and the desires that we get are merely consequences of this. The has been teaching us this lesson. While this is as it may be, , to maintain the reputations for her husbands, her parents, and parents-in-law, is talking about this code of right conduct. She said, “I was born to the great king , I have become the daughter-in-law of the world famous king , I have married the great who are proud of themselves, I have given birth to sons who are heroes. How can I be a servant?” These words of will move one’s heart. She wanted her parents to be proud of her, she wanted her children to feel that they are the children of a great mother, she wanted her husbands to feel that they were married to a great woman, she wanted her parents-in-law to be proud of her, and she wanted to please them. The is a text of great events and herself was always behaving in a manner in which she maintained the reputation of her great family and her country.

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Truly can be regarded as a true reflection of the qualities of the and . It is customary for us to regard The as a story of a group of people who are warmongers and who have no respect for peace, sanctity, and security of mankind. One can say that is the and has taken the five as the five elemental substances which are the basis of creation and as the , and has created the text of for us. The first thing we should try and recognise in is that took the form of a human being, and we should examine in what manner he gave us the lessons of code of conduct for other human beings. Whatever part of we may be studying, if we regard as God, we will never be able to understand the inner significance of that particular portion of . It is only when we regard and pay attention to the human aspect of and look at the whole story from the angle of in the human form, that we will understand his greatness. All your ideas and thoughts have to be transferred to the time when lived, into the time when the story of took place. Only then will you understand their true significance. If you are remaining mentally in the position in which you are now existing, it will not be possible for you to understand and appreciate the true context of the story of which took place 5000 years ago.

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As was told to you yesterday, worship a picture as God; but do not worship God as a picture. Do not bring him down to the level of a tumbler or a table or a piece of cloth. If you want to understand , take yourself to the position where lived and worked; but do not bring him to your position. If you want to rise high and go to a high place, it will be possible only if you read good stories and understand them. Therefore, students, boys and girls, with the help of your sacred hearts, understand the ideal lives that were portrayed in and put them into practice in your own lives and follow the paths indicated in . In the hope that you will be able to do this, I am bringing this discourse to a close.