In plain words
She says that even giving him food that day is a waste. What is the reason? He did not do properly the work he had to do. He did not do his duty. So, to be honoured in the world today, we must do work that brings good to the world, to us, to all. Only when man lives as man, shows duty in man's conduct and tries to recognise it, are we honoured. Today man is demonstrating flight through space, but he is not showing forth humanness. We must develop our human qualities today. You all know this. If you go to London, the value of every object has gone sky-high. The value of things has grown too high. But the value of man has fallen. So, only when we raise the value of man will the value of things come down.
The work all Bal Vikas gurus must do today is this: to prepare teachings that develop human qualities and humanness in these children. We must not think our duty is over merely by teaching a few ślokas. We must not think our work is over merely by having a few dramas staged. We must make a fitting effort to show in practice whatever we teach. We must give this humanness to these boys and girls in their daily life and make their future life very sacred. We must try, step by step, to set them right in discipline. Only then will the future of all countries learn a good lesson and take on patience. Not only must we make a fitting effort today to have the values in humanness recognised; we too must have the practice of living that way. First of all, we must cut down our desires. We must keep strengthening these in the children step by step. Now, what is the reason all the children steal one another's things, get angry with one another, hate one another? These mad desires alone. For what are we studying? Another example.
On every flowing river they set up a reservoir. What for? Not to hold all this water back. They store it and send what is stored through canals to the crops, and through the crops they bring about plenty. We have gathered all this learning and set up a reservoir. We must take all this learning, step by step, through canals and grow the crop called society. It is not that we merely keep all the learning we have gained in our heads and do our sums with it. We must try to use it in society, develop society, reform society, and so bring about change. Only when we do such deeds does human birth become fulfilled. We must not turn into idlers who do no deeds, thinking, ‘I have a place that suits me, to eat and to live.’
A small example. We wear a wristwatch on our hand. If we wind it every day and it works properly, it shows us the time nicely. If we do not use it and put this watch in a cupboard, it stops. If it is kept unused, it rusts and is ruined. If an inert thing is ruined like this, then if this living body does no proper work at all, how rusted this world becomes! What is this rust? The rust called desire sets in. Because this rust sets in, it bursts. Before this burst, before the rust sets in, we must seek rest. But if we want this rest, we must first make a test. What test? Am I living as a man? Am I living as a beast? Each must put this question to himself. One must put the question, ‘Am I doing my duty or not?’
We keep saying, ‘Dhyāna, dhyāna.’ The dhyāna we see today is contrary to the culture of Bhārata. A small example.
Without good qualities, without good thoughts, can the mind hold fast in dhyāna? To build a house, if bricks and lime are not there, how can the house be built?
In the same way, if dhyāna is to come right for us, it comes right only when both of these, good qualities and good thoughts, are there. But unfortunately, today no qualities at all are needed. Whatever bad qualities one has, dhyāna comes right in a minute. Is this real dhyāna? No, no. It is artificial dhyāna. If one takes some intoxicant, or some opium, or some drink, everyone falls asleep. No, no. Today dhyāna has so many names.