In plain words
He remains a man, but human values are gone. Human values alone remain for ever, even after we die. A man may die. But values live on, undying. So it is a great mistake for us to regard such humanness as something mean. Taking to petty ways, abusing others, harming others, tormenting others: we must not enter into things of this kind. Even if there is some fault in them, you may reason with them and set them on the right path; but to abuse them for no reason and make them suffer is not good. Politics today, all of it, is entering this kind of path. First of all, knowledge needs Viveka. Knowledge without Viveka, scholarship without discernment, music without sweetness, feeling without sacrifice, a society without discipline, politics without morality: all these are useless. That is why we must first begin with Viveka. We look at dates of birth and signs. That is not it. The sign called death is very good. That itself is the foundation of rebirth. We keep thinking of the dates of birth, its auspicious threads, its auspicious rites. At the time of giving up the life-breath, we must earn a good name. We must become worthy of the Prema of God. We must make our Prema for God grow. Without any Prema for God, life is useless. Humanness without Prema is like a house without lamps. It is like a coin that will not pass. So we must become fit for the grace of God. Where does this come from? That too must come from your heart itself. God dwells in your heart. I have said it many times, to the students. ‘Let your mother be God to you, let your father be God to you, let your teacher be God to you’: in this spirit, serve your parents, honour them; serve your teachers, honour them. Regard them as embodiments of God. But all these too are things that do undergo some change. Where does the mother live? She lives in her own house. Where does the father live?