In English
This is a pillow. The outer cover of this pillow is cloth and what is inside is cotton. One who worships the visible form will argue that the cotton is more important. The basis for this is that without cotton, we cannot have cloth. When we examine the inseparable connection between those two aspects, we will come to the conclusion that the cloth has a certain usage and the cotton has another type of usage. Cotton is something that is used to produce the cloth but cannot replace the cloth. So, for everyone who is in a human form, it is essential to have a form as an aspect of God, at least as a first step. It is not right for us to begin the search for God by thinking of the contents of the container, forgetting the container. This is a silver tumbler. We do not see, in this, the silver being different from the tumbler. Someone has given me the silver, and I have got a tumbler made out of the silver. If the individual asks for his silver back, it is not possible for me to say that he could take the silver and let me retain the tumbler. It is not possible, at all, to separate the silver from the tumbler. In this manner, as the silver and the tumbler are inextricably connected with each other, God with a form and God without a form are connected with each other. If we just bring a piece of silver and want to pour water into it, we cannot do so. If we take the silver and give it the shape of a tumbler, then only can we use it to contain water. Here, the form of the container can be compared to the form of God. Taking this form as the basis, we can gradually proceed to realise the nature of the contents of that container. But remember that if we want to sell the tumbler, we will not get any value for the tumbler. The value is really that of the silver that is used in making the tumbler. Therefore, when the experience of the flows in a mortal form, only when the aspect of is mixed with this, will it get a value. The purpose of is to enable us to worship the divinity that is omnipresent and help us to see the divinity that is in us. What we should learn today is the path that will enable us to see the divinity that is present in every one. was one who loves and was one who hated . At all times, there was a difference of opinion between the father and the son. As grew older, the father tried his best to teach his son what he considered as the correct type of education. For an individual filled with ego, jealousy and arrogance, the world around him is the most important thing. Since was of this type, he used to preach that there was no God, and that he himself was God and that there was nothing worthwhile beyond his kingdom. was very much against such teachings. He was feeling sorry that the people in the world were worshipping (wealth) instead of . He felt that without the presence of , all the wealth was indeed useless. He began to preach that was the base and the wealth that one gets is only incidental. used to think that if only man can learn how to reconcile with , he can then become very blessed indeed. As he was immersed in such thought and actions, his father did not like the spiritual path on which his son was going. Therefore, he got hold of two spiritually strong teachers by name and and instructed them to see that was put on a different path. was always worshipping wealth; and was always worshipping ; and between these two extremes, the mother was suffering very much. Here, we should carefully understand the difference between human beings, demons and divine persons. When we talk of God, we should not think of him as residing at some distant place; in fact he resides in each one of you. When you think of sin, you should realise that it is not external to you and it depends on the actions that you undertake. Therefore, when we talk of demons, human beings or , it is not as if they are resident at some far off place. As has been told in the , this division is really based on the or actions and the classification of the person is determined by his qualities. In keeping with this, represents the demons, represents the humans and represents the divine ones. Thus, in one family, the father, mother and son represent demonic, human and divine qualities. In this manner, ’s actions, which originate from divinity, were being promoted day after day. Since had the fortune of being close to , the coming together of these two divine personalities brought a great deal of to . The two teachers, and tried to teach that was God and that his kingdom was heaven. They were also telling him that there was no one greater than his father. However, never agreed with this kind of preaching. On the other hand, he would defy the teachers and tell them that this was not the kind of teaching that they should be imparting to young and pure minds such as his. After some time, brought and made him sit on his lap and asked him what he learnt from his . To this, replied that the had taught him all that there was to learn about the important aspects of life. He went on to say that “” represents the essence of all learning. As soon as he heard this, felt that he was being stung by millions of scorpions. He could not bear this situation at all and called the and instructed them to use whatever methods of punishment they would like, but to see that ’s attention was diverted from the path chosen by him to a different one. He tried many methods to change . He tried to beg him, punish him, cajole him and threaten him, but all these were of no avail at all. would not lend himself to any of these methods. He had only one ambition and all these methods did not deter him from his chosen sacred path. To a person who is in divine , the worldly punishments will not mean anything. On who was immersed in the aspects of , the punishments had no effect at all. The teachers, and came to and told him that all the demons were punishing , but this had no effect on him at all and that he was always in bliss uttering the name of . He would not suffer or cry in spite of all the punishments. They got snakes to bite him, elephants to trample on him and beat him mercilessly; but all these were of no avail. was not moved at all. These were not things which a father should mete out to a son. put the son to indescribable pain and torture, just because the boy was always thinking of the Lord. In return for all this, was teaching the father various aspects of truth and God. He said, “A human being who is attracted by transient pleasures will be mistaking charcoal for a precious stone.” In the same manner in the , in order to test , King asks him a number of questions. He asks, “Dear Son! You are in the prime of youth and without experiencing the pleasures of youth, why do you want to enter the spiritual world?” To this, replies, “These pleasures are very transient. They are like passing clouds and are like visions which one gets in a dream.” He was saying that he was interested only in the permanent aspects of life. , and several other young devotees have demonstrated that youth is no obstruction to experiencing the sacred aspects of divinity. has taught the world about the kind of persons that should be regarded as good teachers. He said, “The prayers that are offered to are the only true prayers. The eyes are valuable only if they are used to see divinity. The head that bows to is the only head that counts. All other heads are as good as not being present. That education which teaches us about the Lord is the only true education. The teacher who teaches us about the secrets of divinity is the only true teacher. A father who encourages the son to go and reach is the only real father.” Nowadays, there are many fathers like . If the children want to attend divine discourses or sacred , the father discourages them and says that they should take to such a path only when they grow old and retire from active service. Some fathers even advise their children that they should do such things only as a last resort. Because such fathers have become very large in number, the children are taking to a wrong path.