Imbibe Bhaarath's ideals

3 February 1994, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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Greatness of culture in ancient times lived a life of morality and integrity and enjoyed peace and happiness. Students today, disregarding morality and their obligations to society, go astray and ruin their lives. have forgotten the essentials of their culture, based on morality and integrity. They cast away their great scriptural texts as trash. Western nations took these, learnt the profound truths contained in them and developed their technical and military skills and sought to give them back to . The weapons developed in Germany were based on the texts of the . today are cultivating a passion for exotic things, ignoring what is good in their own heritage. Students should strive to understand what is great in their own culture and heritage. Ignoring their own cultural greatness, are going abroad to earn money as an end in. itself. No doubt money is necessary, but, is it necessary to go abroad for this purpose? This cannot be the true aim of education. Students should recognise the truth of the saying, "The mother and the Motherland are greater than heaven itself." One who does not believe in this cannot be called a truly educated person. Making use of the education acquired by you, you should serve your country in such a way that it stands out as an example to the world. What perversity is it to neglect one's own house and try to beautify your neigbour's house? Students today are losing their love for the Motherland. The man who cannot proclaim that "This is my native land, this is my mother tongue," is a living corpse. He is no human being at all. People are giving up love for the Motherland and fostering greed for money.

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Selfless unity is the message of the From ancient times, has held forth to the world great ideals. Spreading the message of spirituality to many countries, proclaimed the message- (May all people be happy). never permitted the concept of selfishness to prevail. Selfless unity was the message proclaimed in the : "Let us live together; let us grow together. Let us share our knowledge with others, let us live in harmony and friendliness." Today in there is no spirit of harmony In ancient India, students, together with secular knowledge, sought spiritual knowledge, regardless of the sacrifices involved, and led purposeful lives. They conducted many investigations to comprehend the mysteries of creation and the secret of human existence. All experiments today are based on (mechanical devices). But in the olden days, they conducted the enquires with the help of . The truths which they discovered, they proclaimed to the world in strident terms.

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"Less speech, more happiness" It is the duty of today to learn something about the great spiritual heritage of . The ancients practised economy in speech. Students today tend to be loquacious. Excessive speech harms the mind. "Less speech, more happiness." The ancients practised three kinds of silent penance to control speech. The first was (silence of the tongue, the second one was (silence of the mind) and the third was (Supreme Silence). (Silence in speech) meant confining one's speech to the limit and the needs of the occasion. By this discipline, excessive talk was avoided. As a result, the power of their speech was conserved and enhanced. Discipline in speech also resulted in truthfulness. Truth speaking served to purify their thoughts. By this means they acquired (Realisation of truth) and (acquisition of the highest' wisdom). Therefore purity in speech is vital. It has to be achieved by restraint in speech. Then, there is (Silence of the mind). The mind is a bundle of thoughts and fancies. These thoughts have to be reduced gradually. When thoughts are reduced, the mind naturally comes under control, like a clock that is unwound. When the activity of the mind is reduced, the power of the manifests itself. As a consequence (intellect) becomes more active than the senses. When control of speech and control of the mind have been achieved, the state of (Supreme Silence) is easily realised. Students should strive to reach the third stage by the disciplines of the first two stages.

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Service is to society Society exists for the nation. The nation is a limb of the world. The world should strive for peace. That is the meaning of the benediction ! ! ! Why is this (Peace) uttered only three times and not more times or less rimes? This refers to peace in three aspects. (physical), (mental) and (spiritual). Peace relating to the body, the mind and the Self are invoked by this benediction. Such profound meanings are implicit in the pronouncements of 's sages.

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Man must worship God in human form As long as he thinks of his body and has human form, man cannot think of something which transcends form and body That is the reason why God incarnates in human form. To man He must appear as human. Only then relationships can be established between the Divine and human beings. If God comes in any other form, man cannot fix his thoughts on Him. Hence, you have to conceive of God in human form and worship Him. , who was the embodiment of , incarnated in human form. Because the (Divine advents) come in human form, human beings could have intimate relationships with them and adore them. The declared that the (The Supreme Divine, with the effulgence of the sun, dwells beyond darkness). God is beyond (darkness). He is not outside. He is within you. You are He. While He is himself the Divine, man seeks the Divine in a forest or through meditation. What folly is this? The deride man for failing to see God even while seeing Him. "" (The fool fails to see even while he is seeing). When God comes in human form, moves freely amongst you, talks with you, jokes with you, eats with you and drinks with you, even then you fail to recognise God. You pursue your own types of devotion. This is not correct. You must worship the living Divinity, not the lifeless. Honour every human being who is in human form. See the Divine in every man.

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Develop control of senses first The cosmos is (a manifestation of the Divine). God is with you, in you, and around you. He is not elsewhere. Develop this firm conviction. It is a piece of self-deception to imagine that God is somewhere away from you. At the outset, you have to develop control of your senses. This control in the form of (silence) influences your speech. went into rapture over the power of the tongue to chant sweetly the name of the Lord. Sweetness in speech makes all the differences between one man and another. The supreme greatness of the Lord's name has been commended in the present Age of (Discord). It is an abuse of the tongue to make it recite anything other than God's name.

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Students should realise the supremacy of (the culture of the Self). It is the key to all knowledge. What is the use of all the secular knowledge which is concerned with acquiring a mess of potage?

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Academic education has its uses. But it is not the summom-bonum of life. Adore the light of the Divine within you. Each student is like a petromax light. This light has to be kept burning by pumping kerosene from time to time. The soot has to be cleaned by a pin now and then. It needs kerosene. Only when all the three are present, the light will Butn brightly Your (earnest devotion) is the kerosene. Your love is the pin. Your spirit of sacrifice is the pump. In addition, a wick is needed. That wick is the Lord's name. With the aid of the three accessories, when you chant the Lord's name, your devotion will shine effulgently This effulgence is the light of the Divine within you. You proceed from peacelessness to (the light divine in the heart) through peace and an illumined mind. The heart of everyone is the scat of the Lord. In this way students should cultivate the discriminating faculty through education, cherish humility and foster faith in the Divine. This is the royal road to realisation of oneness with the Divine.