Passage 4

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In plain words

Since all on earth is filled with Īśvara, is not the sense of ‘mine’ in vain, is it not harmful?

When one recognises the truth that the principle filling everything is one, there is no room for the separateness of ‘this is mine, this is yours’.

Recognise that one supreme principle is in oneself and in others

‘Māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva’: this possessiveness, ‘my people, and the Pāṇḍavas’, is the root cause of wicked qualities. The fundamental goal is one! The goal of all karma is one! The goal of every dharma is one! The paths differ; the goal is one. In the same way, whether it is the karma man does, or upāsana, or Jñāna, every one of them brings him to the goal! But the Bhagavad Gītā has taught a further, subtle meaning of what is called righteous action. Who is blessed? To that question they answered: the noble one who sees karma in akarma and akarma in karma, he is blessed. What does it mean to see akarma in karma? By karma is meant the body. This body is the very basis of all karma. This body is what perishes through the fruits of karma. This body is what is born again to experience the fruit of karma. So it says that he who sees, in the karma that is the body, the akarma that is the Ātma, is blessed. Seeing akarma in karma, one must see karma in akarma: so it was said. He who tries to see not only the Ātma in his own body but the Ātma in the bodies of others too is blessed, it was said. That is, you must recognise the truth that the very supreme principle that is in you is in every person. That is ‘Īśāvāsyam idaṃ sarvam’. In that state, man finds a fine chance to take care not to hurt others or put them to any hardship, and to love them. Whomever you hurt, you hurt God! Whomever you honour, you honour God! We must not see only the differences between upādhis, feed them and make them grow, and so sink into ignorance. This body is merely made of the five elements.