Glory of Bharatiya Culture

12 March 1999, Delhi

Published English.

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[Sanskrit Verse]

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Human body is highly sacred and invaluable. So, it has to be looked after with utmost care. , human birth is the rarest and noblest of all living beings. But man, unable to understand his true identity, is wasting his life. Since time immemorial, the culture of (India) has propagated three important values. (speak the truth). Never utter a lie to please someone. This is the moral value. (speak in a pleasing way). This is the social value. (do not speak unpleasant truth). This is the spiritual value. The says, “” (one should speak only truthful, pleasing, and well-intentioned words, which are beneficial to others).

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Right from ancient times, has been in the vanguard of human values, namely, , , , , and . Man is gifted with love, but he has highly adulterated it with selfishness and self-interest. He should cultivate selfless love. Only then will his life shine brilliantly. When the electric current enters the bulb through the wire, you get the light. Truth, righteousness, peace, and love can be compared to the electric current, wire, bulb, and light respectively. So, in order to experience the light of love, you must cultivate truth, righteousness, and peace. Love is God, God is love. So, live in love. Right from a pauper to a millionaire, none can survive without love. Man loves his wife, wealth, and children. But greatness lies in sharing your love with everyone, not merely with your kith and kin.

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says, love everybody, but do not trust anybody. The reason is that the human body is temporary.

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It is made of flesh and bones and is full of dirt. It is afflicted with many diseases. It cannot cross the ocean of . Oh mind! Realize that this body is ephemera, and take refuge at the lotus feet of the Lord [Telugu Poem]

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This body is valued and considered to be (auspicious) as long as there is life in it. It becomes (dead body) and absolutely useless the moment life principle forsakes it. So, understand the transient nature of the body and conduct yourself accordingly. Share your love with everybody. Your entire life is based on love.

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Man should realise his innate divinity Embodiments of Love! Since ancient times, the culture of has laid great emphasis on the need for good thoughts, good company, and good actions. “ (speak the truth and practice righteousness).” Man can attain exalted heights by following this dictum. Only the (Indians) understood this truth. But alas! Today the themselves have forgotten it.

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Today the themselves are not making any effort to understand their own culture, which is suffused with noble and divine feelings. Humanness has become extinct in man due to the lack of fear of sin and love for God. What greater misfortune can befall on humanity than this! [Telugu Poem]

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Protect your senses from evil effects The primary duty of man lies not in protecting his wealth and valuables but in conserving the five elements and protecting the five senses from evil effects. The same message was propagated by . In the beginning, he studied many scriptures, approached many preceptors, and undertook various types of spiritual exercises. But his spiritual thirst was not quenched. Ultimately, he realized that proper utilization of the five senses would alone confer peace of mind.

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First and foremost, he stressed on the importance of (right vision). All that you see, be it good or bad, gets imprinted in your heart forever. So, see no evil; see what is good. Hear no evil; hear what is good. This is called (right listening). and will lead to (right feelings). Your life will be sanctified once you cultivate . Human life is based on feelings. Human life sans feelings cannot exist. Today, man lacks peace of mind because he does not have , , and .

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We blame others for our sufferings. Do not accuse others for your sufferings, because you are yourself the cause of your misery. Happiness or sorrow is of your own making. All that you experience is nothing but the reflection, reaction, and resound of what is in you. , having understood this truth, put his five senses to proper use through which he could attain . He was in a state of supreme bliss at the time of attaining . That state could be described as ever blissful, granting happiness, embodiment of wisdom, beyond duality, infinite as the sky, primordial, final goal, one, eternal, pure, immutable, omnipresent witness, beyond emotions, devoid of the three (qualities).

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When was at the verge of attaining , his stepbrother , who was by his side, started shedding tears. Seeing this smiled and said, "My dear one, it is rather surprising that you should feel sad about my attaining the state of highest bliss. Instead you should also try to attain this state of supreme bliss by controlling your senses".

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Sacred values of Bharatiya culture is the motherland of many noble souls. It is therefore essential for all the to understand the sacred history of . But, today, no one seems to be interested in knowing the history and culture of . The culture of is based on . The word has been misinterpreted as religion. is like a vast ocean, whereas religion is like a pond. The culture of is pure, unsullied, eternal, and immortal. In olden days, the children were taught the sacred values of Indian culture right from the age of five. Their education would begin with the sacred like and . But in the modern education system, the divine names such as and have no place. The children are taught meaningless rhymes like “Ba. Ba. black sheep”. People are not making efforts to understand the efficacy of these .

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In the age, everyone is a doubting Thomas! No doubt, worldly education is required, but along with this secular knowledge, one has to make an effort to imbibe cultural values too. It is because of the growth of worldly knowledge without cultural values that man has become a repository of doubts. Even the parents and children, wife and husband lack faith in each other. During the times of Jesus, there was only one doubting Thomas, but in the Age, everyone is a doubting Thomas!

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and were equally proficient in 36 forms of knowledge. But sage , the composer of the , portrayed as a fool and as a noble one because misused his knowledge, whereas put his knowledge to proper use. That is why described as virtuous and noble. became the root cause for the death of his sons and brothers, because he was unable to control his lust. His entire clan perished due to his wicked qualities and wicked actions. led an ideal life. Today, many people aspire to occupy positions of authority in the political field, though they do not deserve. But renounced the kingdom itself though, being the eldest son, He richly deserved to be the king. He sacrificed everything for the sake of truth. He had firm belief in the Vedic dictum, (there is no greater than truth). He made such a great sacrifice and went to the forest to uphold his father's word. The Vedas also clearly state (immortality can be attained only through sacrifice; neither wealth nor progeny nor good deeds can confer it). In fact, (sacrifice) is true . If you do not exhale the air that you inhale, your lungs will be affected. If you do not excrete the food you eat, you will have stomach disorders. Likewise, you should give money that you earn in charity with a spirit of sacrifice. There lies the bliss.

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The culture of does not give scope for differences based on caste, creed, color, religion, and nationality. It says,

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It speaks of the principle of equanimity. It says, (May the whole world be happy!). It treats everyone alike irrespective of caste, creed, color, religion, and nationality. The same principle was stated by Jesus also. He said, “All are one, my dear son, be alike to everyone.” In fact, the underlying principle of all the religions is one and the same. But, people have forgotten this unity and have become narrow-minded.

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Search for Truth Embodiments of Love! Love is life. So, one has to channelise this love in the proper direction. Do not let it go in the wrong direction. You can accomplish anything in life if you exercise control over it. The culture of speaks of (search for truth). Why should one search for truth, which is all-pervasive? What is the inner meaning of the word ?

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The culture of gives a beautiful analogy for this. The eyes that see your mother, your wife, your daughter, and your daughter-in-law are the same, but the feelings with which you see them vary. Here refers to the enquiry into the feelings that you should have when you look at each of them. The culture of lays great emphasis on self enquiry.

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God is everywhere and in everything Some people say that since God has no form, He does not exist. But, God has form. In this world, there is nothing that exists without form. According to science, the entire world is made up of atoms. They too have form. The Vedas say, (God is smaller than the smallest atom and bigger than the biggest object).

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The atom is God. Right from the water you drink and the food you eat, everything is pervaded by atom. It took thousands of years for the scientists to understand this truth. But the same truth was proclaimed by the tiny tot ages ago. He said, “Do not have the feeling that God is here and He is not there. In fact, He is everywhere. You can find Him wherever you search for Him.” has been the birthplace of many noble souls like who had experienced the omnipresent Divinity. Since ancient times, the worshipped earth, trees, anthills, and mountains because they believed that God is everywhere and in everything.

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Only the is true and eternal Embodiments of Love! Develop faith in God for your own happiness and bliss. If people develop faith in God, the whole country will be happy. You are subjected to misery because you lack faith in the Self. Self confidence is very essential.

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Do not get carried away by the worldly education. In fact, all that is related to the mind and senses is nothing but ignorance. The annihilation of mind is true wisdom. Mind is a bundle of thoughts and impulses. So, all that is related to the mind is subject to change. Only the is true and eternal.

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Some people deny the existence of God because He is not seen by the naked eye. Can you, with the same analogy, deny the existence of air, which is also not visible to the naked eye? Though the human eye cannot see God, the (heart) can see Him, hear Him, and experience Him. This is the teaching of our ancient culture. This great culture has remained vibrant for thousands of years. Einstein said that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. It only changes its forms. The same thing can be said about our ancient culture also.

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Develop the faith that God is. Mere repetition of the names potato and will not appease your hunger. Likewise, merely reading the spiritual texts or listening to the discourses of holy men will not grant you fulfillment. Instead put into practice at least one sacred teaching. Only then can you experience happiness.

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The human heart is like a tumbler containing water. Divinity can be compared to sugar. Stir it with the spoon of (intellect). The process of stirring is enquiry. Once this is done, the sweetness of divinity will spread to all the limbs of the body. Then all that you see, hear, talk, and do will be suffused with divinity. Your life itself will be filled with love.

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This is the business you are supposed to do with God. But in this age, people are engaged in a different type of business with God. Students go to temple and pray, “O God, I will offer two coconuts if You make me pass the examination.” What will God do with your coconuts? It is because of such foolish vows that spirituality has become a matter of ridicule in the eyes of many.

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Many of you may be aware that in , there is a very famous pilgrimage center named , where Lord is the presiding deity. Some people go there and pray,

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‘, I will offer my hair to You if I win the lottery.” They do not realize that God is not in need of their dirty hair.

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Today, people are amassing wealth, but only a few of them are making proper use of it. Many are receiving high salaries. But, their work is not commensurate with the salary they receive. “ (whatever you do, do it to please God).” Only then your life will be redeemed.

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Proper utilisation of wealth Embodiments of Love! There are innumerable rich men, educationists, judges, scientists, and intellectuals in this country. But not many are putting their wealth and resources to proper use. Very few are discharging their duties properly. This is the reason the country is facing hardships today. All those that amass wealth must realise that they cannot carry even a with them when they leave this world. The money that you earn from the society should be used for the welfare of the society only.

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You all know that spent of to build this magnificent building. There are many rich people in this country, but how many are engaging themselves in such acts of service and sacrifice? Sacrifice is the highest virtue.

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Some people are building hospitals and educational institutions with business motive, spending of . If they invest 50 on a hospital, they expect a profit of 100 . Similarly, with the investment of 50 on an educational institution, they want to make 200 . This sort of business is an unhealthy practice. Whatever you do, do it for the benefit of others.

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Consider every good work as God’s work There are many poor people in who cannot afford medical care. There are many more who are unable to send their children to school owing to financial constraints. Establish hospitals and schools, which will render free service to the poor. A third person need not tell you these noble ideas. You should take the initiative on your own. I never instructed to construct this building. It was his own idea that took this shape. Such noble ideas originate due to the merits done in past lives. There may be many people who feel jealous of him. It is his good luck to have built this building and it is their misfortune to feel jealous about it. Everyone must undertake work. Consider every good work as God's work. Truly speaking, has done a great service to the Organization by getting this beautiful building constructed. He has done this not for his benefit, but for the service of others. Every rich man should develop the spirit of sacrifice.

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It is a mistake to think that is a poor country. It is the very abode of , the goddess of wealth. In the olden days, in , there were houses made of silver. The foreign invaders plundered those houses and took away all the silver on camels. They looted all the gold from temple. If were a poor country, it would not have suffered such foreign invasions in the past. There is no dearth of wealth in . It is unfortunate that some people call a poor country. is the land of plenty and prosperity. are not poor; they are very rich.

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Who is the richest man in the world? He who has much satisfaction. Who is the poorest man in the world? The one who has too many. The one imbued with the spirit of sacrifice is the richest man. If you have, ten in your pocket, give at least one rupee to the needy. However the beggars are not satisfied with one rupee because they cannot buy even a small piece of bread with it these days.

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Whatever I do is only for the welfare of other Our ancients used to attach more value to their word than to money. It is your good fortune that you are born in such a sacred land of . You should uphold and propagate to the rest of the world, befitting your nationality. It gives me great joy to find anyone practicing and propagating . Believe it or not, there is not an iota of selfishness in Me from top to toe. Whatever I do is only for the welfare of others. Be good, see good and do good. That is true human quality.

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God is the embodiment of , and . means Being (that which is permanent). means Awareness. The combination of and results in . So, in order to experience bliss, one has to make friendship with God. God is the only true friend. All of you are aware how the worldly friends are. As long as there is water in the tank, you find thousands of frogs living there. But all the frogs desert the pond once it gets dried up. Likewise, all worldly friends swarm around you saying hello, hello as long as you are in position of authority and have wealth. Once you lose both, none will look at your face even to say goodbye. But friendship with God is true and eternal. God is always with you in times of both pain and pleasure. King underwent many trials and tribulations to uphold truth. He always had the protection of God because he stuck to the path of truth. So, have faith in God and tread along the path of truth. Money comes and goes like passing clouds and makes many rounds, but morality comes and grows. This is the thing you have to note today.

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is the capital of . So, if is good, the whole country will be good. Anything can be achieved through unity. Give up individual and political differences. Have the national interest uppermost in your mind. Stand united and be prepared to sacrifice even your life for the welfare of the country. Uphold the prestige of the country and spread it far and wide.

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