I Am Thine

May 1979, Summer Course 1979, Brindavan

Published English.

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Giving up of one’s evil thoughts constitutes sacrifice and , leaving one’s wife, giving up one’s material possessions and retiring to the forest will be of no avail. I speak to you the truth that exists.

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(sacrifice) is the touchstone of righteousness, charity, (sacrifice) and . (greed) is the root cause of sinful actions resulting in injustice, unfairness, falsehood, misconduct and weakness. Man should first realise his responsibility, discriminate between good and evil, sin and virtue, and then begin to act in the right manner. It is a mistake to think that control of senses is necessary only for and . Sense control is essential for all human beings. When all humans are able to control the senses, it will lead to the well-being of the world. Devotion without humanity and patriotism without morality will be of no use and will bring harm to the community. However, actions undertaken to please God assume the nature of sacrificial offerings and are conducive to the well-being of all.

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The six evils of lust, anger, pride, greed, desire, and jealousy spring from man’s identification with his body. Compassion, love, and the spirit of sacrifice arise, on the contrary, from the . Every individual must develop and follow the virtues proceeding from the . We have forsaken the noble human virtues and are pursuing instead the temporary pleasures that gratify the senses. said, “The Lord is the father of the entire creation comprising the sentient and insentient objects, ! There is only one Lord who holds sway over the entire universe. He is the Lord of the universe, the , the and also the Master of all life or the . The governance of this world is in the hands of the Lord of the universe. He gets work done through all human beings. Without the Lord’s prompting, human endeavour cannot progress. This Divinity is manifested and demonstrated in all creatures in the form of Truth - Consciousness - Bliss.

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“! Undertake work in order to please God and not to gratify the senses. Your actions are responsible for elevation to the highest state or degradation to the lowest planes. Your joys and sorrows proceed from your own actions. Your actions are responsible for your sins and virtues. Fix your mind on the and do your work for the pleasure of God; your actions will then be disinterested. Disinterested action destroys the demoniac qualities of man and promotes the divine tendencies. It strengthens pure and sathwic qualities in man. Thus it is said that man has only the authority to act and that it is God who dispenses the fruits of man’s actions. You should not undertake any work in the hope of receiving its fruit. You will become an exemplar for the world when you achieve control of the senses and undertake disinterested actions. As the representative of mankind, O , you should take a pledge to perform sacred actions.” The human aspect () and the Divine aspect () have a close connection. You should recognise the significance of the cycle of creation. The cycle starts with (indestructible); from comes ; comes from ; from comes ; from comes , and from , our food; and from food comes life. This is the cycle of creation. When we consider their sequence - (The Word), (the Cosmic Reality), (sacrifice), (action), (clouds), (food), and (life) - we notice that comes first and stands last. All living creatures are born from food, live by food, and are nourished by food. It is declared that “Food is God” (). When we examine the cycle of creation commencing with and concluding with , we must recognise what entity lies closest to . The first is , then comes , then comes , then we have , , , and . In this cycle, , life, comes closest to , the permanent reality. It goes to prove that life in its essential quality stands closest to . (action) achieves coordination between these other entities. On one side, we have , , and . On the other side, we have , , and . stands in the centre with these entities on either side. offers a synthesis of the three aspects, , , and on one side, and , , and on the other side.

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Life is not permanent. It is encased in the body that is ever-changing and is made up of the five senses, five sheaths and five elements and is related to the , whichis subject to destruction and decay. But, life endowed with Divinity is related to which cannot be destroyed. These two aspects, the destructible () and the indestructible () are also characterised as (unstable) and (stable) respectively.

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is also because it is beyond change and above the mutations of place and time. is that which is connected with the five senses, compounded of the five elements and goes on changing. Our life is subjected to many troubles between these two aspects of and . A small illustration.

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advised , “! You are becoming a victim of and and falling into a mood of dejection. You should not allow your human nature to be affected by feebleness. One who wants to live in this world must be manly. When you undertake action in a spirit of dedication to the Lord, when you work with your body without any consideration of the fruits of your action, then you tread the royal path.” That is why it is said that King could attain the highest state by doing his daily work always in a spirit of dedication. We should cultivate the spirit of surrender, saying, “I am Thine.” There is an apt illustration. In the , the from the beginning used to tell , “We belong to You.” This is the characteristic feature of true devotion and surrender. Therefore, protected them at all times wherever they were. On the other hand, the people of regarded as their possession. “ is our brother, our aunt’s son, our uncle’s son, our cousin, our nephew,” they thought. Such relationships clouded their attitude towards . This feeling that belonged to them made them feel that the triumphed because of , who belonged to the clan, and that, therefore, the credit should go to the . Thus, they developed also; and this marked the beginning of their destruction taking the shape of a catastrophe () and wiping out the entire race itself. On the other hand, the were always safe and happy because they were devoid of ego, possessiveness and pride.

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In ’s case, however, the Lord Himself claimed him as His own. How fortunate was! and were described as (man) and . showed as the ideal man and the model representative and through as His medium, He communicated to mankind the sacred message.

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Though we are enveloped by Divinity, we become victims of sorrow by cultivating attachment to worldly phenomena. The ash conceals the fire from which it arises. The moss covers the water from which it is born. The cataract that is formed in the eye blinds the vision. The dirt that gathers on the mirror makes the mirror give a blurred image. In the same manner, ignorance which had its origin in Divinity ultimately shrouds our sacred knowledge. The evil tendencies in us are responsible for this. When we banish these evil tendencies and thoughts, it will be possible for us to behold , the Lord.

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It is only when we remove the evil propensities in our mind and visualise Divinity that we can live according to . A person desiring to live according to should purify his mind. When the head is stuffed with evil tendencies, when the ears listen to evil words, when the eyes peep at evil scenes on the sly, when the mind is wavering and deceptive, cannot come anywhere near you.

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It is proper that you should feel that you belong to , instead of feeling that is yours. If you undertake the journey of life in this spirit of surrender, you will be greatly blessed. You shall enhance the sacred nature of our country by such an attitude. You can propagate the spirit and the message of the if you preserve in your heads this one line, “He is the Father and the Lord of the Universe.” You should strengthen your faith in the Lord who rules over the universe and prompts all your actions. This faith left a strong impact on ’s heart and he acted according to the Divine ordination.

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said, “I will act according to Your Command. Pardon me for having posed so many questions knowingly or unknowingly. I have misused precious time, feeling proud of my intelligence, ego and physical prowess.” Strength of body, strength of mind, and strength of learning are of no avail without the strength derived from God. Without divine strength, all these are feeble.

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Do not feel proud of your youthful vigour and beauty. All your freshness and lustre shall fade away like the beauty of a flower which blossoms at dawn and fades by dusk. The stories of your petty achievements flash like lightning and then vanish, leaving behind utter darkness. We should not forget our divine destiny and be enticed by evanescent pleasures. Every student must make sincere attempts to understand and implement the spirit of the . They should preserve in their hearts the sacred and blissful , which is glorified by the .