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Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.
Sometime or even now and then, it is always necessary, desirable to think about what is this life and what is the purpose of one’s life. This evaluation about our life is something that normally nobody does as a result of which a lot of denial takes place in the matter of human enrichment.
See, we have got a great culture which has analyzed our life and found out what is the goal and how to achieve it. I always say that there are twelve words which will completely summarize the whole of our dharma and its pursuit and fulfillment. One is, we are all born according to the natural divisions called chātur-varṇās. There is no option just like the group of blood that we have as we are born, we belong to one or the other. You can improve your status and composition and there are methods of doing.
Then we have a fourfold purushartha, human objective. That is dharma, artha, kāma and moksha. First of all, know what is the dharmic way of life and following that, artha, earn your own money, have your own income, don’t depend upon others. Then use the income to gratify your genuine and beneficial desires, kāma. Dharma, artha and kāma, and this is to maturate you and take you to the level of moksha that means full freedom and fulfillment before leaving the body.
Now how to achieve this? This is achieved by a four-staged life. Brahmacharya, gārhastya, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. The first part is given to education, the second is to have a household life if you feel like and then contribute one or two children to take the position of the husband and wife to the society, then leave everything and retire as you are superannuated from your job, following that if you are able to have the vānaprastha life properly, then become a sannyāsin. And sannyāsa is the climax where it is almost co-existential with moksha.
What is this sannyāsa?
Ātmano mokṣārtham jagat hitāya cha
The purpose of sannyāsa is to gain freedom, moksha for oneself and jagat-hitāya-cha, and make use of the entire life for the benefit of the others. This is a concept that you have to think about very well. When we require moksha for ourselves, it means very clearly that there is nothing from the world outside that we look for to possess. We don’t need money. We don’t need property. We don’t need any kind of a recognition, we are not looking for anything sensory or objective.
Moksha is something that you gain by your mind, intelligence and heart. So we have nothing to grab from this world. So our life becomes a non-possessive life. With that, what will you do for the world? Everything you can do! With this non-possessiveness enriching you, whatever you can do you can do. Anything! There is no limit. Normally these people take to disseminating spiritual wisdom because that is the very rare part of human life. To impart spiritual wisdom you must acquire it, realize it. That realization means a life of sacrifice, a life of austerity and asceticism. That very few people can take up or can succeed in. And when they are enriched by the spiritual prerequisites of these factors, then dissemination alone becomes the best for them as well as the others. That is why they become spiritual wisdom disseminators. But it is not that you can do only that.
The entire effort of a human is to get away from his ‘sva’, selfishness and to incorporate in him ‘para’, for the sake of others. The trees and plants are the examples for us. Paropakārārtham idam sharīram, Paropakārārtham sadām vibhūtayah, the resources of any good and noble man are only meant for the others. Our whole body is meant to serve the others. I was thinking there are some virtues which you should develop. One is compassion, another is consideration and the third is commitment.
Yesterday we had a sibiram here. This time, the youngsters in the ashram along with the others outside, I mean non-inmates, they have arranged the whole program and they have done it very well. Nutan Swamiji and Mā were giving whatever views and decisions necessary but it was primarily done by our brahmachari team, brahmacharini team, very well done. Now I am wondering why are we doing it? If you ask me “Swamiji, are you happy?” I am happy when it is properly done. If it is not effectively done, then I can say I am unhappy. But in doing it and having conducted it well, do you feel anything specially if you ask me, “No”. You know why?
Our life is meant for helping and benefiting the others. Whenever there is an opportunity, there is a need, there is a demand or there is a persuasion, we just bend ourselves and try to do it. After all, what can we do to the people, to the country? But in doing whatever we do, I would like to keep up minimum the national fondness and inspiration. We are not just people born in families, in houses to remain as house members. We are members of the society, citizens of the country and citizens of the world. This expansion of the mind and heart, it can be had, it can be displayed only by the human.
The other day I was speaking about a girl whose father Murali, the autorickshaw man, he died all of a sudden. And the girl came to me saying that “I miss my father. I am very much aggrieved. Can I come to the ashram and be here for some time?” “Yes you may.” The girl was a very good student in our cultural heritage class. She has become an engineering graduate now. And she came here. That particular day she was there. That is why I mentioned about it. When I got up, our ‘Z’ said “I would like to sponsor if she would like to study further her education.” I said, “It is very good.” She may not be pursuing further studies. What she now needs is an employment. We are trying to get her an employment. If there is any need, very good.
You know, this compassion, it is something that every one of you should have. I don’t like to call it even compassion. It is called compassion, it is a feeling for the sake of others and a compulsion that you feel. We are living, so also are others living in the world. We may not know all of them, all about them, but at least of some about whom we come to know, we have to become considerate. This consideration that we have, you have to consider the world, consider the society, consider, that consideration, every time the selfishness should dissolve and consideration for others should adorn your mind. And we may have compassion, we may have consideration but we will not necessarily have that commitment to stand by it and to pursue it. This is very important. That commitment should be there.
After all, the world will always be various. It is a mixture of variety. Variety is an expression of nature. It will always be various. All people will not be equally blessed or resourceful. Whenever we are a little resourceful or inadequately resourceful even, thank God and be grateful to Him. And do not be selfish to think that “I have my pension, I have my salary, I will live comfortably.” Live comfortably, there is nothing wrong. But don’t have over comfort. You can eat only for one stomach, travel only in one car, lie only on one cot, dress only for one body, how much do we need?
So whenever we have some resources, always think how part of it at least can be spared for the benefit of others. It is not always easy to get cases where you can be helpful. So, all that from my point of view I only feel that till the last breadth let me be useful to others. The usefulness is primarily in the matter of sharing knowledge and wisdom, spiritual wisdom. That is our life and mission. Along with that, whatever little material or objective resources we can pool, we can employ for the benefit of others, let us do it. So this sibiram is one such activity.
Education is the one factor and educational institutions are the one center in which the citizens of the world are molded. I am very sorry that people don’t understand! There are world findings which say that the education imparted to a student in the first four classes, primary classes, that is what counts in the whole of his life. Can you imagine how much important is that primary education? It is a subject to be handled by knowledgeable people. We have perhaps the second rate, third rate and fourth rate teachers in the primary classes.
Good people never choose this wonderful profession. They always feel, the best of students seek industrial fronts because in the teaching profession they don’t have much money. That is what they are complaining or feeling. All this situation should change and we should value the educational mission, try to appoint the best of people in that area, giving them competable remuneration and tell them that you have to mould the child in the crucible of the school, education. So I am very much concerned about it when I think about it as a subject. So yesterday we got an opportunity, we are yet to go into and find out what are the feedback forms conveying and then depending upon it we will decide what further can be done. So it is all part of consideration, compassion and the role of sharing.
Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.