Control Your Senses

30 May 1999, Brindavan

Published English.

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If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. If character is lost, everything is lost. This is the teaching of the culture of . But, for the modern man, everything is lost if wealth is lost; something is lost if health is lost and nothing is lost if character is lost.

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Since time immemorial, the have been adhering to the principles of spirituality. Thus, they attained bliss and shared it with others in the world. The Himalayan mountains form the boundary of on the northern side. means pure and sacred. Mountains symbolize steadiness. Purity, sacredness, and steadiness are the hallmarks of the (Indians).

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The perennial rivers, the , , and (underground) flow in this land. These three symbolize the threefold path of work, worship, and wisdom through which man can attain Divinity. The holy texts of the , the , and the set noble ideals before mankind. What is the inner meaning of the word ? means light, effulgence, and divinity. So, are those who spread light and effulgence of wisdom. The Indian scriptures like the , the , and the are shining resplendently, showing the path of divinity to man.

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Spirituality starts with faith was born in this sacred land of . He declared to the world

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(nonviolence is the greatest ).

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When one undertakes the study of this infinite book, one has to put into practice the five important teachings of . They are (right vision), (right feeling), (right listening), (right speech), and (right action). A true human being is one who follows the path of truth. Truth, righteousness and sacrifice should be the way of life. said,

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.

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It means: (intellect) should follow the path of , and should be fostered in society. Only then the country will prosper.

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This is also the inner meaning of the word . S denotes spiritual change, A denotes association (social) change, and I denotes individual change. Man's mind will become pure and sacred only when these three changes take place.

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Life principles of man Divinity is latent in every individual. But, today, man has forgotten his divine nature and is getting deluded by the worldly, ephemeral pleasures. , , , , and are verily the five life principles of man. They are like his , namely, , , , , and . Losing amounts to losing one part of his life-breath. And when he loses all the four, viz., ,

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, , and , he loses four parts of his vital life breath. As a result he is confronted with sufferings and violence from all sides. Who is responsible for this? Man himself is to be blamed for this.

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said nonviolence is the greatest . Love will be fostered only when nonviolence is practiced. When love is fostered, there will be peace in the world. When there is peace in the world, man will naturally take to the path of . When man follows the path of , he will attain Truth. It is, therefore, the primary duty of every man to foster these life principles.

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The sacredness of is unmatched Once, was traveling from village to village giving spiritual discourses. One day, he felt tired and asked one of his disciples to address the gathering. He went inside to take rest.

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The disciple during the course of his speech said, “In this world, there has never been a spiritual master greater than our master, , and there will not be another like him in future.” The audience gave a thunderous applause.

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On hearing this, came out. One of the disciples told him the reason for the people's joyous applause. smiled and called the disciple who delivered the lecture. “What is your age?” he asked.

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“How many kingdoms have you visited so far?” asked him again.

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said, “You are thirty-five years old and have seen only two kingdoms. You have not understood the present completely. Then how can you say anything about the past and the future? It is meaningless to say that a master like was never born before and will never be born again. Many and sages have taken birth in this sacred land of . Many more and noble souls will be born here in future also. There are many noble souls in this world, I offer my respects to all of them.” In this way, reproached his disciple. It is foolish for a man with little knowledge to behave like a learned man.

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No one can estimate the sacredness and greatness of this country, . To be called an Indian is in a great qualification and honor. How can one describe the great good fortune of the , for the Lord Himself has taken birth several times in this sacred land to show the path of divinity to mankind? Many saints, sages, and men of sacrifice were born here. The sacredness and renown of are unmatched. That is why chose this country as his motherland.

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Character is important, not money The story of is highly noble and sacred. He sacrificed everything and went around in search of truth. He said,

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" (I take refuge in ).”

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One has to practice, propagate and experience . But, today, has declined. People think that money is everything. Just as the earth revolves around the sun, people go around money.

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This was the teaching of . Character is important, not money. Bliss can be attained only through control of senses, not through penance, , or meditation. Neither by penance nor by going through scriptures nor by having a dip in holy rivers can one attain liberation. Only by serving noble souls can one cross the ocean of . There is no easier path to peace and bliss other than controlling one's own senses.

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There are forty light rays in the human eye. But their radiance is destroyed on account of wrong vision. When you look at wrong things, you waste the enormous power of radiance of the eyes. There are thirty taste buds on the tongue. But they get destroyed because of bad talk. So, first and foremost vision and tongue should be kept under check. Otherwise man may lose his humanness and ultimately ruin his life.

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Along with right vision and right talk, cultivate right listening. If someone were to indulge in bad talk in your presence, leave the place at once. Right vision confers double promotion, it strengthens the will power and enhances the power of radiance of the eyes. Having understood this truth, made a concerted effort to control his senses. Meditation and penance confer only temporary happiness. Eternal happiness results only from control of the senses. was the crown prince and had the entire kingdom under his control, but he sacrificed everything and tried to control his senses. He could experience bliss and attained only after controlling his senses.

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Giving up body consciousness is liberation No benefit accrues from doing spiritual if man does not have unity of thought, word, and deed. The unity of these three constitutes humanness.

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What does MAN stand for? M stands for giving up (illusion); A for gaining the vision of ; and N, denotes attaining .

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Man has to give up materialistic pleasures in order to attain liberation. What is (liberation)? Getting rid of (attachment) is . Giving up body consciousness is liberation. But, today, man is immersed in body attachment. He can attain liberation only when he develops attachment toward the .

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(Brahman is immanent in everything), (Vishnu pervades the entire universe), (God is the indweller of all beings)

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(only a person with steadfast faith can attain wisdom), and (a doubting man perishes).

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(May all the people of the world be: happy!).

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means individual, means society. So, you should progress from to , from to (creation), and ultimately merge in (God). You should attain the unity of individual, society, creation, and the creator. Only spiritual transformation can bring about social welfare. The first letter S in the name stands for service (work), A for adoration (worship), and I for illumination (wisdom). So, the very name of symbolizes the unity of work, worship, and wisdom.

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if you want to attain divinity, you have to practice . That is the meaning of . But, this must also lead to the welfare of all (). This is the inner meaning of the teachings of .

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Once, entered a village along with his disciples. A lady approached him and requested him to have food in her house. blessed her and accepted her invitation. Seeing this, many villagers, including the village headman, warned , saying, “O , you are one of wisdom and have renounced everything. She is not a woman of good character. It is not proper for you to have food in her house.” smiled and asked the village headman to come forward. , holding the right hand of the headman, asked him to clap. The headman said, it was not possible for him to clap since one of his hands was in ’s hold.

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said, “True, it is possible to clap only when two hands come together. Likewise, this lady cannot turn bad by herself unless there are men of bad character in the village. The men of this village are the root cause of her bad character.” The villagers realized their folly, fell at ’s feet and sought his forgiveness. Through his teachings, instilled sacredness and wisdom in people. ’s teachings are highly sacred, with profound inner meaning.

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Develop friendship with Truth ’s mother, , passed away when he was just 8 days old. His stepmother brought him up. That is how he got the name . He was christened as at the time of his birth. He came to be known as because he developed (intellect) and discrimination power. Discrimination is of two types: individual discrimination and fundamental discrimination. Individual discrimination arises out of selfishness, whereas fundamental discrimination is concerned with the welfare of one and all. One should discard individual discrimination and have only fundamental discrimination. This was the teaching of to , son of , before he attained .

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When was on the verge of attaining , started shedding tears of sorrow. Then consoled him, saying, “, why are you unhappy over my attaining ? I have been craving this state of for the past many years. Why do you shed tears of sorrow when I am experiencing supreme bliss?” understood the truth and followed the teachings of . Ultimately, he too attained .

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Divinity transcends space and time True ideal is to give practical knowledge of to others. One should be a hero in practice, not merely in preaching. This was the ideal of . All the and noble souls led their lives in the most exemplary manner and helped people experience divinity. said, “O man. you don't need to search for God anywhere. You are God yourself.”

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The , the , and the Vedas also echo the same principle. The Vedas declare:

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(Thou art That).

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Man today does meditation in the morning like a , eats sumptuous food during the day tike a (pleasure seeker), and sleeps at night like a (sick person). This is not the way one should lead one's life.

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(one should be a all the time).

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(whatever one does, one should do it to please God).

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(everything is Brahman).

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In order to understand this truth, one should cultivate . do not denote good qualities alone. means Being, that which is permanent. So, mean having divine feelings. Similarly, the word means being in the company of the Divine, not merely in the company of good people. Divinity is within us. That is . One has to develop friendship with . That is true and true friendship.

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Never depend on worldly friendship. Worldly friends come and go. Only friendship with God is true and eternal. God is your true friend, world is a test and (heart) is your preceptor. Your life will find fulfillment if you understand this truth and put into practice.

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All the worldly are not in the strict sense of the term. How can they be called if they cannot tell you the goal of life? Mind itself will become your guru once you understand its mystery.

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You may call Him by any name, be it Jesus, , , , ; God is one.

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(one God has many names)

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(saluting the individual amounts to saluting God).

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Many devotees from Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and other countries have gathered here today with great devotion and dedication. Truly speaking, their hearts are highly sacred. Though they do not have many comforts and conveniences here, they have considered it a , treated everything with a sense of equal-mindedness, and are experiencing bliss. Their devotion is true devotion. In path of spirituality, have the determination to face any constraint that you may come across. That determination is the true (penance). Bereft of determination, it becomes (sloth).

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(happiness cannot be attained through happiness)

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(O people, we have seen God who is beyond the darkness of ignorance, shining resplendently like a thousand suns.)

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They also declared, “He is all-pervasive. We have seen Him not outside, but within ourselves. You can also see Him if you turn your vision inward.” In order to attain divinity, one has to undertake spiritual . What type of ? Not penance or meditation. One has to control the senses. Talk less and work more. Only then will the individual, society and country as a whole prosper. Don't waste time. Time is God. Time wasted is life wasted. The declare that human life is highly sacred and unique. So, sanctify your life by contemplating on the Divine. Offer all your actions to God. Only then you can attain peace.