Man's Mind Is Like A Mad Monkey

2 June 1976, Summer Course 1976 - Indian Culture and Spirituality, Ooty

Published English.

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The basis for the entire world is the of the Lord. Even if one is able to learn by heart the essence of all the , and even if one is able to compose poetry in a very attractive manner, yet if that person does not have a purified heart, he is a useless person. What other greater truth can I communicate to you.

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The education of today is not real education. It appears that the education of today is merely an avocation to enable you to make a living. While pursuing such a path which enables you to eke out a living, you also promote individual selfishness. The aim of real education is character. That kind of education in which there is no sacredness and character is useless. What is the use of acquiring so many different types of education? You must try to learn that, by which you can escape death. You may have acquired a degree like an MA or BA. You may have acquired a position in life. You may be doing many good things on this earth. Maybe you will also be practising or ; but whatever you may do, you will not be equal to the devotion of devotees.

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, students, boys and girls!

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I am hoping that the students of the will not only excel others in getting marks and credits in the examinations but will also take care to see that there are no remarks about them. In fact, not getting remarks on one’s behaviour is more important than getting marks. Therefore, I am hoping that the students will keep this sacred quality and bear in mind the important requirement that they should accept discipline, devotion, and duty; and that they should serve the country.

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Today, while being students and acquiring various degrees like M.A., M.Com., Ph.D., and so on, students wear clothes which give the feeling that they are street beggars, and they have no humility at all. Today’s students call themselves citizens of this great country of and they move about like beggars and hippies on the street, without any good qualities. The students of the should set an example by their behaviour and see that this aspect is completely eliminated. I am hoping that you will develop good qualities and set an example to others.

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The should be such that they will look at all religions with equal-mindedness.

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”” respect your mother and father

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The first thing which students should ask themselves is what is meant by affluence in life. The kind of pleasure and joy experienced by a is also being experienced by a dog in the street. Do we conclude that a dog and a are on the same footing? This is not correct. Man is not born merely to eke out a livelihood. Animals, birds, and other living things are also eating food. What kind of special effort are the animals making? They do not grow food. They are getting enough to eat at appropriate times. If you spend all your life in merely searching for your food, what is the use? This cannot certainly be the purpose of your life.

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There is a small example which I want to give here. Many people of different categories come to . They have so many different ideas and thoughts. Amongst these was a young sixteen-year-old boy. He appeared very sad and dejected and full of thoughts in his mind when I was giving him an interview. I asked him in what class he was studying. He said that he was not studying and that he had discontinued his studies.

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There is also an example in the sacred story of the . When was not at home, went to and was telling her all about the . At that time, came in and told that whatever was being told by was in fact being listened to by the child in the womb of . Because of this early lesson, ’s son got into the but could not get out of it, because he had learnt only the method of getting into it. In view of this, our tradition has been that pregnant women should listen only to sacred and good stories. It had been customary that as the pregnancy reached five months, recitation of sacred stories and festive celebrations were arranged.

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Unfortunately, pictures which are intended to extol the sacred traditions are becoming rare; and the young people, not knowing what to do, go and see these bad pictures. If you go back into history and look at the sacredness of the women in India, you will realise their greatness. Instead of learning from the sacred history of the great women in the country, we put our women for sale on the streets of the country. The culture and traditions of our country were such that they have protected the sacredness of our women all through the years that have gone by, and such culture is being neglected and forgotten by us. I am hoping that the students of the will make a determination to resuscitate this sacred culture of ours.

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Our sacred culture should be carefully protected. If we find young primary school children, as we find today, addicted to smoking, drinking, and playing cards, can we call such a person a human being? The first step is that man drinks wine; the second step is, wine drinks wine; and the third step is that wine drinks man. Our students should never take to such bad practices.

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On the other hand, our students should exterminate such bad practices and show themselves as good examples in the country. This kind of bad practice will simply ruin the person and his life. Our respect is disappearing because of these bad practices. We should conduct ourselves in a manner befitting our name “”. means one who conducts himself in a manner by which his ignorance is removed. In this context, it has been said that death is sweeter than the blindness of ignorance. Our respect to the elders must be shown by service and sacrifice.

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After completing your education, if you get the good idea of serving your country, you can join politics and do so. As a student, you should be a and seek knowledge. You should not be a seeking material comforts. For the past ten days and more, you have all been listening to various aspects of Indian culture from the grownups as well as from the younger students. I am hoping that you will be able to put what you have heard into practice for the benefit of your country. I bless you in that direction.