Be Good, Do Good, And See Good

22 November 2009, Convocation - 28, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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Bereft of truth, righteousness, peace, and love, the value of all your education is zero; Bereft of truth, righteousness, peace, and love, the benefit of all your acts of charity and kindness is zero; Bereft of truth, righteousness, peace, and love, the utility of all your positions of power is zero; and, Bereft of truth, righteousness, peace, and love the result of all your good deeds is zero. Truth, righteousness, peace, and love are verily the pillars of the mansion of (Eternal Universal Religion). What else is to be conveyed to this assembly of noble souls? (Telugu poem)

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There are millions of students and highly educated people in the world. They obtain all sorts of degrees starting from A to Z. But of what use are their degrees? What is their contribution for the welfare of the world? Do they help the poor and the forlorn at least to a small extent? They earn of , but they don’t give even a penny in charity. They are too selfish. They do not at all control their desires. One who controls their desires can work wonders in the world.

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People are not at all satisfied with their earnings. They accumulate huge amount of wealth and still crave to earn more. The declare,

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“Immortality is attained not through action, progeny, or wealth but only by sacrifice ().”

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Education, , and their benefits No doubt, education has to be pursued and some activities have to be undertaken in the world for leading a comfortable life. One has to take care of the worldly needs for oneself and one’s family, like food, clothing, and shelter. But, to what extent? These are all activities that one undertakes for the sake of oneself and one’s family, not for others. Modern education is breeding selfishness. It is for acquiring goods and services for one’s own comfort. These are worldly pleasures. The qualities of desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and envy () drive man’s efforts in pursuit of worldly pleasures. No doubt, worldly education helps to provide comfort and joy in the objective world, but it does not at all contribute to inner bliss. It is only the five human values of truth, righteousness, peace, love, and nonviolence that confer inner bliss. A person who cultivates these five human values will always be happy. The five senses of action provide external pleasure; but the five human values confer inner bliss. Education helps to obtain various conveniences for external pleasure, whereas inner bliss can be experienced only by . There is a lot of difference between education and . Education involves reading of books written by someone and listening to the lectures delivered by someone. , however, has nothing to do with books. It has no form at all! It is Truth that has no form. The ordain,

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“Speak truth, practise righteousness ().”

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God does not make any distinction between people “God is one without a second ().”

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To attribute various names to God such as , , , etc. is only your imagination. That which has neither birth nor death is one and only one. It has no beginning and no end. That is . Hence, whenever someone asks “Who are you? What is your name?”, you have to reply “I am ().” There is nothing real and eternal except . Hence, do not waste his time in pursuit of transient things. What is the use of acquiring such objects? No doubt worldly education is necessary. However, always remind yourself that it is all temporary. is One without a second. Zero gains value only when it is placed after the number. Likewise, the zero of worldly life will have value only if it is associated with the One that is . We are going after the impermanent and transitory things, forgetting the One. We think that the qualities of anger, envy, jealousy, pride, etc., are God-given, but it is not true. God does not make any distinction between people by granting positive attributes to some and negative qualities to others. All these differences are man-made. God has nothing to do with them. When our wish is fulfilled, we praise God. On the other hand, if something goes wrong, we attribute our failure to God and blame Him. God is only a witness to everything that goes on in the world, good or bad. He neither gives nor receives anything. All our sorrows and difficulties are of our own making.

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Mind alone is responsible for joy and sorrow The thoughts that flow from our mind are expressed through speech. Hence, mind is the source for our speech. And, this mind has its origin in our breath (inhaling and exhaling). Therefore, the inhaling and exhaling () is verily and the mind represents . It is said,

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“The world is a projection of the mind ().”

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Our speech represents . Hence, we need not go in search of the Trinity , , and somewhere in a distant place. God is in us, with us, above, below, and around us. In fact, you are God.

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The says: Better indeed is knowledge than practice. Better than knowledge is meditation on God. But better than meditation is renunciation of the desire for the fruits of actions. For, there follows peace immediately.

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Sreyohi Jnanamabhyasat, Jnanaddhyanam vishishyate, Dhyanat karmaphala tyaga, Tyagat Santiranantaram. (Sanskrit verse)

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Mother is the foundation for the mansion of your life You have acquired all this knowledge from text books and your teachers. This is bookish knowledge. If you put it into practice, it becomes practical knowledge, which will remain with you permanently. The rain water is pure. When you place a vessel while it is raining, you can collect pure water. It is like distilled water. By drinking that water, you will not be troubled by any ailment. When the same water is mixed up with other substances, it gets polluted. In the same manner, the mind, which is always pure, is polluted by desires. Hence, do not pollute your mind by cultivating desires. Keep the mind always pure. Whenever a desire arises in your mind brush it aside to keep your mind free from pollution. Apart from reading your text books and acquiring knowledge, keep your mind always pure and free from pollution. This is what you have to learn today. You may or may not worship God, but you must respect your mother and father, who are responsible for your birth. Respect your mother. Keep her always happy. No one can estimate or describe a mother’s love. No one can pollute it. If only you are able to win the love of your mother, it amounts to acquiring all degrees. Our scriptures enjoin on us to respect mother, father, teacher, and God in that order. First and foremost is the mother who gave you birth. The father brings you up and puts you on the road to development. The mother is the foundation for the mansion of your life; father represents the wall and the (teacher) is the roof. And, finally, God is your life itself. Hence, those who yearn for God must love their mother first. If only you keep her happy, all other things of happiness will be added unto you. Nowadays, people keep their aged parents in the old age homes. This is not correct. The exhort one:

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“Revere your mother, father, and teacher as God ().”

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’s compassion for Once , a poor , went to meet his childhood friend . He was afraid that the guards standing at the gate of ’s palace might not let him in. But God is so compassionate that He will not forsake any individual. Lord Himself came to him and asked, “Dear friend , what do you want?” replied, “, I do not want anything. I will be happy if I have Your love and grace. Oh Lord! That is enough”. When returned to his place after taking leave of , he could not recognise his house. In place of his hut, now stood a palatial building. His wife and children were moving about in gorgeous clothes, wearing glittering ornaments. This is the gift of love from God. Hence, if only we are able to win God’s love, everything else will be added unto us. Therefore develop firm faith in God. You will not come up in life unless you get rid of your bad qualities. Even if you have accumulated wealth and attained positions of power, they will not last long. It is not wealth but noble qualities that are important for a human being. Hence, develop human qualities. You call yourself a human being. Unless there are values in you, how can you be called a human being? It is only when you develop noble qualities that you are entitled to be called a human. God will protect a person with human values by constantly guarding and guiding him. Hence, develop human values; do not crave for money. We often come across people changing jobs with a hope to get high salaries. Do not develop this craze for money. Money comes and goes, morality comes and grows. Develop morality and love for God. When you develop love for God, the demonic qualities in you will be removed. When people get rid of the demonic qualities, society itself will change into a better society. You will earn a good name. People will praise you, “So and so is a good person. We must have people like that person.” If you wish to earn such a good name, be fully involved in prayer to God. The prayer must constantly ring in your heart.

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Earn good name for yourselves, your parents, and the institution Always spend your time in the contemplation of the divine name or reading good books. Today is convocation day. Some of you might be entering into the outside world, having acquired degrees. Let your contact with the outside world be good. It is possible that there may be significant changes in the lives of most of the students from today. I wish you all should earn good name for yourselves, your parents, and the institution in which you studied. Samuel Sandweiss also told you the same thing in his convocation address. He talked about his divine experiences. The advice of these elders must be imprinted in your hearts. They always speak good words. I am very happy. It is not possible for Me to talk to you all, individually. Hence, I gave a discourse that is applicable to all. Our students are all good when compared to those in the other institutions. Let that good name be upheld. I am very happy. ( wanted all the students to sing a song. The students sang in chorus the song: “”.) Your song has given Me immense happiness.