Passage 8

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In plain words

Everyone who girds himself to uplift the world cannot escape hardship and loss, blame and reproach

There is a close bond between the country and the body. ‘Deho devālaya prokto jīvo devas sanātanaḥ’: that is, we must not think the body is merely something ordinary, a human form. It is a sacred temple, the dwelling of God. We must make the effort it calls for: how sacredly we must use this temple, in how many ways we must keep it clean. The body has not been given merely for selfish ends. ‘Paropakārārthaṃ idaṃ śarīraṃ.’ So service to others has been granted to us as the purpose of this body. In just such service Jesus sanctified the whole span of His life. He recognised time, karma, cause and duty. However many people thought of Him, in however many ways, along contrary lines, He never in the least acted against equanimity. In the world there cannot but be good and bad. Life is made of sunshine and shade. Right beside the shade there is sunshine too. Without sunshine itself, shade cannot be seen. Shade is the very absence of sunshine. Every man who has brought the world forward has had to face such hardships, losses, reproaches and blame.

To uphold Satya and Dharma man must be ready to sacrifice anything

To proclaim Satya and Dharma man must be ready to sacrifice anything. He must enter into God's work without a second thought of any kind. We must develop such sacred faith deeply. You must have faith in this: ‘Faith in God is my breath.’ Only then will you be one who has recognised your duty. Śrī Rāma came as an Avatāra; He tried to live merely as a man; He kept the keeping of His father's word as His goal and the welfare of the people in His sight; He took with Him Sītā, who had never seen the sun, and went on living in the harsh forests; and yet not on a single day did He so much as think, ‘This is hard for me.’