Passage 2

Tap any word for its meaning.

In plain words

If any one of them were missing, everything would be utterly void. With the ears we hear sound; with the eyes we see sights. In this way our five senses prove that the world exists. Yet nothing in this world is permanent. Only the principle of Brahman, which dwells within everything, is permanent. That itself is the support of all.

The cosmos itself is the form of God

‘Brahma’ means the all-pervading principle made up of the five elements, the five prāṇas and the five kośas. Man imagines a shape for this divine principle and worships it. Forms and names are not permanent. So it is a great mistake to imagine a form for the principle of Brahman and worship it. You must think of Brahman as one whose form is the whole cosmos, and worship Him so. The cosmos itself is the form of God. The support of this cosmos is Prema itself. Without Prema there would be no Prakṛti at all, no world at all. The principle of Prema, present within the five elements and in all of them alike, is itself the support of this world. Forgetting this great principle of Prema, man nurses petty desires and pines for joy. Forget the principle of Prema, and however many pūjās you perform, they are of no use.

You must see God in every person

‘Jantūnāṃ narajanma durlabhaṃ’. Human birth is very hard to gain. In truth, humanness itself is divinity. But of the four puruṣārthas, Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokṣa, man today forgets Dharma and Mokṣa, takes hold of Artha and Kāma, and hangs on to them. God is in everyone. Wife, children, relatives, friends, enemies: God Himself created all of them. It is not enough to see your wife as a wife; you must see God in her too. Children too are embodiments of Brahman. Enemies too are embodiments of Brahman. You must behold God in every person. That is man's foremost duty. In past ages many turned into enemies of God Himself and fought against Him.