The Inner Dialogue

May 1979, Summer Course 1979, Brindavan

Published English.

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We should not regard the as merely a dialogue between and . It is an endless dialogue between the human and the Divine in the hearts of all human beings. Just as listened to ’s Voice with an unwavering mind, every human being must listen to the words and declarations springing from the depths of his heart in a spirit of sincerity. If this spirit of attention is improved, it is possible for man to reach Godhead. A (demon) can undoubtedly become a or man and man can become God, through such discipline. This is the unexcelled glory of the . The influence and the sanctity of the can be understood not by the ordinary human consciousness but by the Divine levels of man’s being.

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is a or wish-fulfilling tree, which was planted by and nourished by . The are the seeds of the tree. Knowledge of is the sprout. The are the branches and Love of and surrender are the fragrant flowers. The Bliss of the is its fruit. Every human being must take shelter under this tree and seek to attain fulfilment of the purpose of life - Infinite Beatitude.

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The advent of an and His actions provide inspiring ideals for the emergence of divine human beings. We should endeavour to bring about or “descent” of the Divine principle in our hearts. This is the most sacred , described as . serves as the royal road leading man to his sublime goal.

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“As you are my devotee and friend,” addressed , “you deserve to receive the gift of this wisdom, which I am imparting to you out of affection.” In this context, we must pay attention to the two epithets, “devotee” and “friend”. There is no higher state than that of a devotee; why then did use the epithet “friend”? If we consider the status of a friend as the highest, why should have employed the epithet “devotee”?

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Humility and obedience are the qualities of a devotee. Excessive humility that often goes with devotion might act as a barrier in forging the spirit of intimacy with God which is so vital for attaining or Supreme Wisdom. On the other hand, close friendship and excessive familiarity alone might make a person take undue liberties. For these reasons, referred to as both “devotee” and “friend” or one in whom friendship is enriched by humility and devotion is tempered by intimacy. As was both a devotee as well as a friend of the Lord, he was the most deserving recipient of the .

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“You deserve to be initiated into this , O ,” said . “At first, I taught it to the Sun who taught it to , who in turn enlightened . In this manner, through the experiences of the sages, all kings came to know about it, ! This wisdom is eclipsed today and therefore, through you, I desire to communicate this to the world again.” These words of ’s bewildered . He asked, “, you are my contemporary; how and where could you get the opportunity to teach this to the Sun who taught it to of yore? I am unable to believe this. Please clarify my doubts.” At the time of the war, was eighty-four years old and was eighty-six, the difference in their ages being only two years. Then how was it possible during those two years for to have taught the to the Sun, queried. smiled and replied, “, I am unborn; I am infinite; I am omniscient and omnipresent. I have neither beginning nor end. You, too, are above birth and death, and have taken several bodies. There may be birth and death for the body, but you are above them. Because of your external vision, you are ignoring this aspect. If you turn your attention to the Atmic Reality, you will be able to recognise your immortal nature.” Whenever injustice and unrighteousness raise their hoods in the world, the Lord comes down as an . The word means descent. It is not coming down from the peak of a mountain or the top storey of a building. It is a descent from the state of the to the state of the body. A little illustration clarifies this point. An ICS officer may be well-versed in many branches of learning. But when he teaches his little son, he begins to write upon the slate the letters A, B, C, D and the boy learns them. Why should such a highly educated ICS officer come down to the level of teaching the alphabet? It is for the sake of teaching his ignorant son that the officer is forced to descend to the boy’s level. It does not mean that the officer knows only the letters of the alphabet.

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Because the Lord takes a human form, we find that He exhibits human consciousness along with Divine consciousness. Ordinary people cannot grasp the Divine aspects of an . God appears to be an ordinary human being to the limited intelligence of lay people because of the coexistence of the divine and human aspects of consciousness exhibited by Him. Man’s perception is limited to the level of human consciousness. Therefore, human comprehension is restricted by the limits of human consciousness. But the sages who were Divine human beings were able to comprehend Divinity and recognise that all objects manifest Divinity. They recognised the Formless God in the visible form, because they had imbued themselves with divine consciousness. Thus, according to their levels, different people regard an as a mere human being or the Cosmic Reality.

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“O ! Promoted by your human consciousness, you may erroneously consider Me an ordinary man. I am teaching you this wisdom in order to remove this illusion created by your human consciousness and to strengthen your Divine consciousness.” For one who desires to attain the divine heights of the Supreme Being, and wisdom are like the two wings of a bird. Many put a stop to their actions thinking that they have reached the highest state. In the state of , it is not possible to do anything. This may be described as the natural state of (detachment). But some people feel proud of their wisdom and discard all activity. This kind of proceeds from sloth, , and is the result of vanity. This pseudo-detachment, born out of indolence, can never be traced to wisdom.

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“In fact, the wise never desist from action, in order to be a model for others. If the wise do not act, there will be none to guide the ignorant”, observed.

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It is not desirable to give undue prominence to work, too. Wisdom is the final reward for the blossoming of our mind through action. If we go on harping on duality, when can we achieve peace? From duality, we must progress to qualified non-duality and finally to complete non-duality. Wisdom cannot be derived by mere acquaintance with many books. It cannot be acquired by learning the and philosophy. Real wisdom lies in the vision of non-duality. (). The elders say that real wisdom lies in the recognition of Divinity everywhere.

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Stuffing the brain with bookish knowledge does not lead to the purification of the mind. Wisdom does not mean mere prattle. It must be put into practice and authenticated by our actions. Real wisdom should be reflected in the joy with which we work. Can all the green birds speak like parrots? Can all the worms crawling on flowers hum like bees? Can the ass wearing tiger’s skin ever become a tiger? Can a swine, grown to elephantine proportions, ever become an elephant? Though the he-buffalo has two horns, can they ever have the value of the tusks of an elephant? In the same manner, those who memorise the , the , the , the , and the , those propagating them without practice, can never be regarded as wise persons.

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told , “I am present behind all phenomena. I am the spirit present in you as well as in all the soldiers who have gathered here for battle. When you regard yourself as distinct and different from Me, you can not properly understand the aspect of unity.” In this context, the common statement, “I and you are one” is incorrect. I am I and You are You - always. In fact, I and You become “We”. “We and we are one” is a more correct statement, because you and I are present in we. Wisdom resides in every heart like an effulgent beam of light. In the modern age, it is described as super consciousness. Our consciousness is the wakeful state. The dream state is called subconsiousness and the state of deep sleep is unconsciousness. Beyond these, there is the or the fourth state, that of super consciousness. If we follow the super consciousness in us, we shall be obeying the teachings of to . A little example illustrates the existence of the super consciousness in man.

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In the same manner, though every human being may be guilty of concealing falsehood and sin, though many lies may be told for the sake of escaping worldly censure, deep down within him he is aware of the sins he has committed, the lies he has told and the harm he has caused to others. The area from which such inner promptings of truth generate is the abode of . So, in the heart of every man, there is a continuing dialogue, a perennial argument between the human and the divine.

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The education that students secure today is not true education; it is only a bread-winning formula. As said, spiritual education is the highest education. Just as all rivers flow into the ocean, their destination, all branches of learning - scientific, medical, cultural, religious - also coalesce into spiritual education, which is their goal. In this context, said, “O, mind! Why are you worried to find so many different rivers in the ocean at ? If we bathe in the ocean, we earn the merit of bathing in all the rivers.” I hope that you will pursue the path of spiritual education and with pure hearts and selfless actions, work for the welfare of the world.