UNPRINCIPLED POLITICS

It is very sad that we have come to this point. I came from the murder politics of Kerala, India, to the painful, demoralizing, and unprincipled politics of the USA. A thick pall of gloom hovers over the entire US during this election to the most powerful office of the world. The most powerful office in the sense of money and muscle power: roughly five percent of the world’s population in the USA controls about twenty-five percent of the world’s resources.

We have to two candidates of the two major parties in this election: one is a woman who has been in the very center of power ever since she left her famous law school and her home turf in the progressive east to become the wife of a governor, her class-mate in the law school, of a very conservative and backward southern state. It appears she lost her own identity as she subjected herself to the demands of politics and southern culture. She became a martyr to her husband’s at least two serious marital infidelities. Her husband, the president of the US was on the verge of being impeached for his affair with a woman doing internship in the very center of unequalled power. She sacrificially stood by her man and saved him on many crucial occasions. Finally when she had had enough, one might say, she began to charter her own course led by her ambitions. She is reported to use any means, good or bad, to achieve her good end. She will be the first woman president, and she can do some good, and is unlikely to do any damage if she becomes the president.

The other candidate is a man, the quintessential autocrat and narcissist. He led by pleasure and power principles, creates and defines reality for himself and others as he is the measure of all things. He described in his advertisement his Trump Tower in New York City as a 68-story-tower instead of the 58 stories it really has. He termed this lie a ‘truthful hyperbole’. It is also good to remember that his mentor was ruthless, brash, and bullying Roy Cohn, the notorious lawyer of Senator Joseph McCarthy of ill-fame who engaged in investigations and communist witch-hunt in the 1950’s and under whom many innocent persons suffered. He learned early on from his imperial father that there is no place for failure, that one who loses is nobody, and has no place in this world. His older brother did not meet his father’s standard, and died in his early forty’s due to complications of alcohol. Uncontrollable by his own father, he was sent to an army school to bring some discipline in his life. He thrives in positive as well as negative publicity. On the verge of financial collapse of his financial empire, over forty banks, to which he owed money, and which came to liquidate his assets, finally decided that his glamorous name on his real estate was more worthwhile than the buildings themselves to recover at least some assets. Ever since then he is selling his name as his commodity. That is the pathetic and deplorable unreality that is currently lived in the US. This is also what is, in good measure, exported to the rest of the consumer world. He is reported to be a racist and a sexist. He was humiliated in public by the current African-American president for questioning his birth certificate, and thereby his citizenship. A self-centered authoritarian, concerned only about the “greatness” of the US, he is not temperamentally and character-wise suitable for the US or for the international scene. His ability to make good judgments is in question.

Coming to the unprincipled politics, Gandhi called politics without principles one of his seven social and deadly sins. He did not think that politics is a good place for a person with principles as politics is marked by intrigues, dishonesty, lobbying, bribery, and manipulation. A person with integrity is unlikely to last in politics. Our civilization is at cross-roads as it is currently guided more by emotions than by reason and principles. The religious, political, and medical fields are in chaos. Perennial values such as truth, fidelity, respect, and ethical behavior are in short supply. Politicians as other professionals need to be trained in ethics and professionalism. The current election in the US amply proves that the voters in general do not have the training to make discerning choices in the climate of political gridlock/stalemate, divisive and partisan politics. The world ethos, especially the American ethos, needs to arrest its degeneration before it is too late.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti 

The Old Faithful Well

A young boy spent a month every summer with his parents in an old farmhouse.  The house was 150 years old when his family bought it.  It had never been modernized.  The water supply during those years came from an old well that stood just outside the front door.  This well was remarkable because it never ran dry.  Even in this severest summer droughts, the old well faithfully yielded up its cool, clear water. 

The day came when the family sanctuary was modernized.  A new well was drilled a few hundred feet from the house. The old well was capped to be kept in reserve.

 The old well remained covered for several years until one day, moved by curiosity, the now grown young man decided to uncover and inspect the old well’s condition.  As he removed the cover, he fully expected to see the same cool, moist depths he remembered so well as a boy.  But to his great surprise, the well was bone dry - John Sanford

Note: (Curtsy Kaimlet) This type of well is fed by hundreds of tiny underground rivulets along which seeps a constant supply of water.  As water is drawn from the well, more water flows into it along the rivulets, keeping these tiny channels clear and open.  But when such a well is not used and the water is not regularly drawn, the tiny rivulets get closed by the small grains of sand and mud. If there was flow, these would have been carried away.  The well, which had run without failing for so many years, was now dry -not because of a water shortage, but because it had not been used. The same would be the fate of our talents and abilities if they are not constantly made use of.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Deeper Through Official Recipients

‘The third spiritual law of peace is that ‘all religions, scriptures and saints are recipients and reservoirs of divine grace and hence, by sincerely adhering to the eternal values taught by them any one can come to a deeper experience and understanding of the grace of God. Religions are concrete social and historical expressions of humanity’s quest after Truth, the Ultimate Reality, the one true God. They can help us to understand the true purpose and meaning of life in this world and thereafter. Scriptures of religions are divinely inspired. But they are written in human languages by human beings and hence, are subject to human errors and limitations. They are also subject to linguistic and cultural limitations….

‘There are contextual and eternal elements and teachings embedded in all scriptures. The contextual are to be ignored after that particular context is no more prevalent. The eternal are to be preserved and cherished……. 

‘The eternal unites, the contextual divides. Many of these eternal principles are common to religions. The common eternal principles of religions embody in them common moral and spiritual values like truth, righteousness, non-violence, justice, love, purity, patience, compassion and respect for parents. Living one’s life according to these eternal principles and values alone can lead one to ‘eternal life’….

‘Different religions use different terms to represent this state of ‘eternal life’. The Hindu friends may like to use the term ‘moksha’. The Christian friends may prefer ‘heaven’ whereas the Muslim friends may like the term ‘paradise’. Our Buddhist friends may like to refer to this state as ‘nirvana’…..

‘Teaching and promoting the eternal principles and values common to all religions constitute the most important spiritual task ahead of us in this millennium….

‘The eternal values constitute the common meeting ground of religions. Scriptures and sacraments, cults and rituals, codes and creeds… all are for uniting people and for helping them find peace and happiness. Words often tend to divide. Spirit alone can unite. Hence, more than the words written in scriptures, the spirit behind them is to be understood and cherished...

‘Let us not forget that much of the conflicts among religions today come from the fact that the followers of different religious traditions do not understand well their own scriptures and the eternal spiritual and moral values contained in them. As a result, they lack the very values of the religion which they try to impose on others. They also do not respect the scriptures of other religions’ the Baba paused to look at his disciple. 

After few minutes of silence, the Baba continued: ‘Many think that theirs is the only true scripture and only they have received revelations from God. As a result, mutual hostility and mistrust grow among religions….

‘Competitions to promote the ‘only true religion’ arise among those religions which claim such monopoly over truth and divine grace. This is the result of ignorance, ‘avidya’…..

‘There is an interesting ancient story… the story of the old lady and her cockerel…

‘There was this old lady living in the village. This was before the clocks and watches were invented. People used to get up in the morning listening to the cock crowing… 

‘There was only one cock in the whole village, and it belonged to that old lady who was a very nasty and jealous lady… a kind of witch.. you might say… She used to consume a great deal of opium and country liquor…. Spreading rumors about young housewives was her main occupation…..This used to lead to domestic quarrels, fights among women, fights among men…..even to murder…

‘The old lady used to collect a kind of ‘cock tax’ from people for the services rendered by her cock. …. that of crowing every day morning to wake them up….. 

‘Occasionally she used to threaten the people by saying that she would go away, taking her cock with her….

‘The poor villagers could not allow such a thing to happen as it would mean disaster for them….

‘The ignorant villagers believed that the sun was also woken up by the cock. Hence, if the cock did not crow, the sun would not rise… that means total darkness… No agriculture…. No work… Life would be impossible…. Hence, they even agreed to double the cock tax …. 

‘The nasty old lady continued to eat more opium, drink more country liquor… and spread more rumors, causing more conflicts and violence…. 

‘The ignorant villagers believed that all these were much better than total darkness engulfing the whole village..!….

‘But an educated young man came to the village once. He saw the way the ignorant villagers were being exploited by the nasty old lady… 

‘One night he stole the cock and locked the bird up in a box. Next day there was no cock to crow. But the sun rose as usual. People were surprised….

‘The young man called the villagers together and told them what he did. That day the villagers came to understand that the sun would rise even if the cock did not crow…

‘They drove the old lady away… 

‘There was peace and fellowship once again in the village…. 

‘Something similar is happening today with religions and their priests, pujaris, mullas and others who make a living from their religions.…. They teach the people that the keys to divine grace and heaven are with them and no one can enter heaven or reach God unless he or she does the prescribed ‘puja’ or ‘penance’….and of course for a payment…

‘And so, we have today all over the country many temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras, and their pujaris, mullas, priests and grandhis………selling divine grace, salvation, eternal life… and such other heavenly commodities for a price... 

‘Religion is by far the most flourishing business in India today, my son …. 

‘This is also the only business that does not involve any risk as it does not need any ‘capital investment’.

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

ECUMENISM

(I was 25 when the historic Second Vatican Council ended in 1965. I was fired by it then. The council was an opening for further developments. That did not happen. I left the Jesuits after being one of them for 25 years. I still live by the ideals I learnt as a Jesuit. I live by the spirit of the council. For the two months I am in the US, I am revisiting the documents of Vatican II. I am especially studying the decrees on ecumenism, approaches to other Christian churches, and non-Christian religions. Currently I spend my energy and resources for the Unity of Humanity and Amity among Religions.)

Unity of Humanity in God is the supreme goal. Unity of religions and close friendship among them are essential to achieve that goal. It is not difficult to understand this when we know we are all children of the one and only God who is the loving Father and Mother of us all. Thus ecumenism among all Christian churches and all religions became a vital part of my everyday living.  In all this I do not want to overlook the many crucial struggles and the great differences among humans of the past. In every cooperative enterprise, candor, respect, faithfulness to one’s conscience, and tolerance as well as empathy and compassion are indispensable.

We also need to put everything in sound historical perspective and current theological insight. This is necessary to extricate ourselves from disputes unto death that our ancestors engaged in the past.  Our loyalty always is to the Will of God and not to the wrong views of our ancestors. It does not matter to which side they belonged. What matters is to what side we belong today in the light of God’s call we are given for the One Humanity after honestly evaluating everything that happened including all the doctrinal developments in the past.

After going through all the decrees about and closely connected to ecumenism, I came to a theological conviction that things are simple or complicated as we want them to be. Right from the beginning, for instance, there were many factions or churches in the one Christian community. Dogmatic developments came to solve problems of the time. Whether they solved the problems of the time or their solutions led to complicated problems and deeply-entrenched self-righteousness is another question. I do not think at the present time the hierarchical authority of the Catholic Church needs to insist that the fullness of life in Christ or a complete incorporation into the system of salvation according to the plan of Christ or a complete participation in Eucharistic communion resides only in the Catholic Church. The response of a well-known non-Catholic Christian, who played a leading role in the formation of the World Council of Churches, to the decree of the Council on Ecumenism is worth recalling. His statement implied that ecumenism should be centered on Christ and not on the Roman Catholic Church. I do not think any person focused on the Kingdom of God can disagree with that. We need to retrieve the teachings of Christ from the unfortunate historic baggage of polemics and of who is right and wrong. Let history speak for itself. Christ’s teachings in the scriptures are simple and easily understood by sincere persons who surrender wholeheartedly to God, and are willingly led by the Holy Spirit.

A PLAN FOR ECUMENISM:  This is a very simple practical plan. When people come together and cooperate on common good based on the teachings of Christ or fundamental teachings of other religions and good will, a spontaneous energy and enthusiasm that is very contagious is generated. Person needs to be convinced that a common goal worth pursuing is there for all.

In the United States that is purported to lead the world, I am witnessing an amoral society where anything goes, and where what matters most currently are power, might, and manipulation cleverly used to brow-beat others, and brain-wash them into subjugation. A couple of generations lost in the confusion of divorce, moral decay, and mindless affluence are striving to gain power and control to compensate for their lost identity. We thought we were coming out of the indescribable evils of racism in the 1960’s in the USA by declaring human and civil rights for all. We thought we were coming out of the cold war with the breakdown of the authoritarian Soviet Union in the early 1990’s. We thought we were making much progress in human rights internationally. We still have an impotent, anachronistic United Nations where major world powers are jockeying for power and their spheres of influence and dominance. The same old colonialism, imperialism, and religious fanaticism are raising their ugly heads wearing new masks. They are openly challenging human rights seducing the un-enlightened by offering material prosperity they are bound to fail in delivering.

We do have a moral emergency as the fabric of moral values and decency is corroding at its very foundation. True and humble leaders of Christian denominations and other religious groups need to fill the interim vacuum of leadership by urgently come together with an open mind for the sake of humanity, and chart areas of cooperation before the whole world sinks into a human-made chaos and confusion. We need to focus on external forum. By doing things that are practical and helpful in living a life of love, the Holy Spirit will work on bringing about changes in the internal forum. By internal forum is meant living a life that is according to one’s conscience in the area of faith and morals. No compromise of one’s values is required. Genuine love, candor, and respect overcome all obstacles. We see that again and again in mixed marriages where partners/spouses belong to different religions or races.

It is not that we do not have a world order that is many times better than the previous ones. It is just that we are at cross-roads, and that we need great courage and integrity to choose the path of righteousness (sanatan dharma) that will involve many sacrifices to finish our task God intends for us. While evil leaders who play games with humanity, and titillate the ignorant with false promises of material prosperity, leaders of integrity from many walks of life can unselfishly cooperate in increasing and sharing available resources that can benefit all. Initial resistances and suspicions melt down, barriers gradually vanish. Vested interests and hidden agenda have no place in these cooperative enterprises. Holy Spirit can triumph only in genuineness, transparency, and purity of intention. God’s will can manifest only in such a climate.

A footnote to the above: History does not generally favor the official religious heads of the past and the present who formulated and still formulate fantastic doctrines for the world of an after-life. It favors those who advocated human rights and risked their lives to save others from tyrants and oppressors in this world. That was also Christ’s mission in this world. I have not the slightest doubt that Christ’s mission in today’s world would be the Unity of humanity and friendship among religions while fighting for the oppressed and the down-trodden.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti 

Keep On Going

Colonel Sanders went to more than 1,000 places trying to sell his chicken fry recipe before he found an interested buyer. The fact that we can find “Kentucky Fried Chicken” almost anywhere in the world today attests to his perseverance.

Thomas Edison tried thoudands of different ways before he succeeded in creating the electric bulb. If he had given up, you would have been strggling to read this story!  

The original business plan for what was to become Federal Express was given a failing grade on Fred Smith¹s college exam. And, in the early days, their employees would cash their pay checks at retail stores, rather than at banks. This meant it would take longer for the money to clear, thereby giving Fed Express more time to cover their payroll.

Sylvester Stallone had been turned down a thousand times by agents and was down to his last $600 before he found a company that would produce Rocky. The rest of his story you know.

To truly succeed requires a total commitment to your goal. Too many people make the mistake of quitting just short of success. Keep going no matter what. If you really believe in what you are doing, give it all you’ve got and don’t give up.

You will succeed.

There is no such thing as failure. Every action produces an outcome. It may not always be the outcome you are looking for, but it is an outcome nonetheless. If you monitor the results of your actions and keep correcting what is not working, you will eventually produce the outcome you are looking for.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Lesson from a Terrapin

There was a boy who found a terrapin, more commonly known as a turtle. He started to examine it but the turtle pulled in its head and closed its shell like a vice. 

The boy was upset and he picked up a stick to try to pry it open. The boy's uncle saw him struggling and remarked, "No Johnny, that's not the way! In fact, you may kill the turtle but you'll not get it to open up with a stick." 

The uncle took the turtle in into the house and set it near the fireplace. It wasn't but a few minutes until it began to get warm. Then the turtle pushed out its head, then stretched out its legs and began to crawl. 

"Turtles are like that," said the uncle, "and people, too. You can't force them into anything.”

 

Be they turtles or people, if you first warm them up with some real kindness, more than likely, they will do what you want them to do." “A drop of honey attracts a thousand bees.” “A drop of vinegar repels all bees.”

The Language of Forgiveness

‘The second spiritual law of peace, my son, is that ‘repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation are preconditions for grace to take roots and bear fruits in our lives. ‘The light of sun and the grace of God are freely available to all. But if the windows and doors are closed, the light of the sun cannot enter the room. Similarly, if our hearts and minds are closed, the grace of God cannot enter into our lives. Repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation are the keys to open the doors of our hearts and minds to divine grace…. 

‘Through repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation we also humble ourselves. Humility opens our hearts and minds to the grace of God. ‘Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand.’ This was the call of Sadguru Jesus Christ to humanity…

‘Repentance is turning away from sins and turning towards God. It is an essential prerequisite for the light of grace to shine forth in one’s heart and life. We have already seen that without divine grace there can be no lasting peace and happiness in one’s life…

‘An unforgiving mind is the breeding ground of many human problems. Much of our ailments today are psychosomatic in their origins…. 

‘An unforgiving person is prone to psychosomatic sicknesses. The World Health Organization, WHO, estimates that more than 60% of sicknesses in the present world are psychosomatic in their origins……. 

‘The term ‘Kingdom of God’ implies a grace-filled existence. It is within us and among us. It begins within one’s own self, here and now. ‘Begin with self and begin within self’ has to be the methodology of anyone who seeks the Kingdom of God. This is a truth upheld by almost all religions and their enlightened saints and sages….

‘One of the major tragedies of India and of the modern world is lack of forgiveness and reconciliation. India is a deeply wounded country; wounded by her own caste and class prejudices and exploitations, wounded by communal conflicts and violence, and wounded by external aggression and foreign subjugation. India needs forgiveness and reconciliation to be healed from within…

‘Without forgiveness there can be no reconciliation, and without reconciliation there can be no inner healing, and without inner healing, there can be no peace. Without peace there will be no development, growth and happiness. The nation will continue to suffer from poverty, illiteracy and sickness and other evils, even if it has the best of political leaders to rule…. 

‘Religions and religious communities in India have to learn and promote the art and science of forgiveness and reconciliation…

‘Forgiveness needs repentance. One needs to be really sorry about one’s wrong deeds, about the falsehood one was party in spreading, and about the damages one has done to others knowingly or unknowingly…

‘Love is the source of forgiveness. It is also the inspiration for forgiveness…. We have seen that true love is always forgiving. It does not keep an account of the wrongs done by others. Without love, forgiveness is impossible…..

‘Our ability for love comes from the divine love that we receive from God, the source of love. We need the grace of God even to forgive ourselves and others. It is here one can experience the importance of God’s universal ‘atonement’ in, with and through the Christ-Spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation…. 

‘As we have seen earlier, this Christ-Spirit and Christ-Consciousness has its ‘divine standard’ in Jesus of Nazareth. But this Christ-Consciousness is neither confined to Jesus of Nazareth the Christ nor is it limited to Christian Churches. It is available to anyone anywhere anytime who seeks, knocks and asks for it, irrespective of his or her religious affiliations…

‘I myself am a living witness to this truth. I was never a ‘Christian’. I do not belong to any ‘Church’. Yet, I could experience this Christ-Consciousness in my life. God’s free gift of His Christ is often misappropriated and made a saleable commodity by Christian Churches….. Liberating Christ from these narrow sectarian Christian Churches is an urgent need of the era. The world need Christ not Churchianity….

‘Sri Paramahamsa Yogananda, a great Hindu saint who was sent by his guru to America to serve as a ‘spiritual link’ between Christianity and Hinduism, had a deep insight into this distinction between the Christ-Consciousness and Jesus the Christ….

‘He wrote in his book ‘Man’s Eternal Quest’: “I am glad that Christianity was not called ‘Jesusism’ because ‘Christianity’ is a much broader word. There is a difference between Jesus and Christ. Jesus is the name of the little human body in which the vast Christ Consciousness was born. Although the Christ Consciousness manifested in the body of Jesus, it cannot be limited to one human form. It would be a metaphysical error to say that the omnipresent Christ Consciousness is circumscribed by the body of one human being.”…. This beautiful book is also there in our library… 

‘You can also read the book ‘One Christ and Many Religions’ by Dr. S J Samartha so that you can understand well this difference between Jesus of Nazareth and Christ, the eternal Word of God…..

‘Christ-Consciousness enables one to forgive one’s offenders and bless them just as Jesus the Christ was able to do from the cross, rising above the agony of his own suffering death. India needs this Christ-Consciousness, not Christianity, to be healed of her inner and historical wounds and to be made whole and healthy. What India needs is not the western Christian religion, but the eastern Jesus the Christ, and the Christ-Consciousness embodied by him…..

‘Forgiveness is the key to health, happiness and peace. For India, this is very important. We need to forgive and forget what happened in the past and look ahead with hope and confidence. History does not march backward, but forward… No individual, no religion and no nation can ever achieve greatness by fighting over the wrongs committed in the past. This is where India’s spiritual hospitality and heritage have to play an important role. A spirituality of peace is also a spirituality of love and forgiveness. Mother India has to draw strength and vitality from her deep spiritual resources and treasures in this historic task.…. 

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

MEMORIES OF A JOURNEY

This was a memorable journey. I got into Kochi airport at Nedumbassery early. Going through emigration quickly, I came near the boarding gate. As the boarding lounge was not opened, and having realized I had a couple of hours to board for Doha and onwards to Dallas (USA), I spread a sheet on the cold tile floor in a secluded corner near the boarding lounge around 2 a.m., and lied down to rest. I fell into a deep sleep. Fortunately the search party of the Qatar Airways found me and rushed me to the plane after all had been boarded. At Doha all destined to the USA had to go through 3 security check-ups, the last one being extremely thorough. In the plane I had a burly young man with great girth close to my seat. He literally overflowed into my seat. As my dream of a comfortable sleep over the 15-hour flight to Dallas dashed, and as I was resigned to accepting my plight and settling down for the long haul, a merciful air hostess accommodated him in a seat that had more space for him to maneuver. 

As each seat had its own entertainment system with screen in front of them, most passengers were busy selecting and watching the movies they wanted. As I had to catch up with sleep I decided to sleep most of the time. Outside of sleep I meditated or observed the behaviors of others. My sleep was interrupted for meals from time to time. The vegetarian meals I had were nothing much to write home about. But the upuma was exceptional and delicious. After the meals I watched on the map for a few minutes the flight path of the plane over various countries. Interestingly the plane flew over near St. Louis, my final destination, before reaching Dallas. The Dallas International airport was very user-friendly. The immigration process for me was very simple. It took only a few minutes. After putting the right passport page on a monitor, a few simple questions were asked, and at the end a small piece of paper with my picture was printed out. The security man at the immigration exit briefly examined the paper to make sure it was my true picture. He was kind of curious to know why I was in India for about 10 months. I told him I was helping and serving people there as part of my mission. A nephew was waiting for me at the airport exit, and I accompanied him.

Reaching his house after a 15-minute drive, my niece was waiting for me with all kinds of my favorite fruits and vegetarian foods. She thought I had lost weight and wanted me to put on 10 pounds in two days. I wished her good luck. Their daughter, Tina, wheelchair-bound with a neurological problem was very fond of me as I paid her a lot of attention. She wrote on her i-pad a touching story about me entitled Pappan’s Story. I plan to keep the printed story with her picture as a precious memento. I would like to say that unlike many disabled kids she was extremely well taken care of. During the time I was there, I also watched three movies with a social message in the comfort of a home theater. With these three movies, I got the quota of movies for the entire year. In the one movie (Spirit) Mohanlal, a chronic alcoholic, quits alcohol for his deaf and dumb son. This movie is very timely as alcohol is destroying Kerala. In the second movie (Apothecary-Hospital), Suresh Gopi ordering unnecessary expensive tests, and unethically experimenting with new drugs on his patients in collaboration with some American pharmaceutical company for big money, gets subjected after a serious brain injury in an accident to the same treatments he was providing his patients. When he comes out of the coma, he realizes what he was doing, and picks up the courage to confront the administration that includes his own colleagues. It is also my thinking that the medical field is gradually losing its credibility and integrity. In the third movie, (Ayalum njanum Thammil), Prithviraj, playing the role of a compassionate physician at Redemption Hospital is saved by Dr. Samuel, his mentor, from a medical censure. As a doctor, Prithviraj, lets his animosity, legitimate though it is, toward a corrupt police officer come in the way of treating his daughter’s serious illness. Dr. Samuel in the nick of time treats his daughter and saves her life. This picture gives a mixed message to an already confused world. Both doctors are good in their profession. They work among the poor unconcerned about their financial reward. But both are flawed in that one goes against his Hippocratic oath in treating a patient in order to take revenge on her father, and the other uses bad means, even though only once, to attain a good end.

From Dallas I reached St. Louis. At the airport I had a little comedy of error. There were women waiting for their loved ones. Among them was my wife. I had a slightly delayed response in recognizing my wife as she had a very short haircut, and as her clothing was typically American. Of course I was cautious in that I did not want to be thought of staring at women. I think my wife recognized my predicament and called my name. I was also consoled by the fact that she also wondered about my quickly recognizing her. She had preceded me to the USA two months before.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti 

Laws of Peace

‘The first spiritual law of peace is that ‘the source of true and lasting peace and happiness in the world is the grace of God that is available to all who surrender themselves willingly and consciously to Divine Providence’….. Please repeat it..’

The Baba told Atma Prakash who repeated it verbatim. 

‘Good. You have a very good memory. It is a special gift of God” the Baba told his disciple and continued:

‘We must remember always, as we have already seen earlier, that our understanding of God and the true attributes of God are evolving realities. It varies according to the level of consciousness, especially of those who are given the grace to have an insight into the nature of the one true God. As we very well know, human beings are very much limited in their capacity to grasp the Ultimate Reality. Only divine grace alone can give us an insight into the true nature and attributes of God. Here too, one has to be very humble….

‘Pride is the biggest block in the path of truth and grace. Humility is the key to spiritual growth and enlightenment….

‘We need to learn to be humble. We also need to learn to let go. Renunciation and transcendence are essential for spiritual growth. But the most important virtue needed for our spiritual growth is humility. Humility is learnt often through humiliations.… We have already learnt some of these spiritual principles…

‘Self-surrender, Saranagathi, is the sure way to gain an insight into the nature of the one true God. This is also the path taught by all religions….

‘Self-surrender brings divine grace into one’s life. This divine grace is available to all alike. It is the source of true and lasting peace in one’s life and in the world. ‘Know God, know peace. No God, no peace’ is a dictum that contains within it the wisdom and experience of saints and sages from all religious traditions….

‘Thus, sooner or later all sincere seekers of truth and peace will come to realize and experience the reality that the source of true and lasting peace and happiness is the grace of God that is available to all who surrender themselves willingly and consciously to Divine Providence, that is, to the grace of God’ the Baba said and closed his eyes. He remained silent for few minutes.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

‘I had gone through an encounter with death at the prime of my life. I was an atheist at that time. But, experiences thereafter have taught me that life is a gift and grace of an ever loving God, given to us free..’ the Baba said. 

He continued: ‘Getting up in the morning everyday in itself is a miracle… The heart beats, the lungs breathe and millions of cells in our body function without our knowledge or permission…..

‘An awareness of this mystery of life in itself will lead us to an act of ‘self-surrender’ to this ever compassionate love-force, God. We are here because of divine grace, we live because of divine grace, everything in the world exists because of divine grace, yes my son, because of divine grace....….

‘The source of true peace and happiness is also this divine grace. This is the first spiritual law of peace…Have you understood this well?’ The Baba asked Atma Prakash.

‘Guruji, you mentioned that humility is often developed through humiliations. Can you please explain this to me?’ Atma Prakash requested his guruji.

‘Humiliations are painful experiences, my son. It affects our ego directly. Ego has a tendency to react first and fast negatively. The result will be anger, resentment, hatred or revenge towards those who humiliate us….

‘But instead, if we consciously control our tendency to react negatively, and send out some positive vibrations to the offender, we will find that the ego gets humbled and purified in the process’ the Baba replied.

‘Thank you, guruji.’ Atma Prakash prostrated before his guruji and got up.

He went for a long walk into the forest. At any time he has something serious to reflect on, he went to the forest for a long walk.

He was reflecting on what he learnt today, especially on what was said by his guruji about developing humility through humiliations. 

This was indeed a new insight for him.

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

Double Standard World

I wanted to say this since long, but somehow, I kept myself on hold for reasons unknown to frontal me. Most of this world seems to show double standards and a hypocritical style in its treatment of various situations. I felt this many times, but I felt this lot when I was watching the sainthood ceremony of Mother Teresa. The thing that was pinching me most was that this recognition was in return of two approved miracles of healing. In a country where people become saint just by wearing saffron clothes, a lady who worked for downtrodden people with the greatest commitment possible was supposed to do certain miracles to be called a saint by people of her own religion. Interestingly the entire world media was watching, heads of many states or their reps were there. No one dared to say that true sainthood is her deeds and not the two isolated case studies of healing. 

That’s how religious ceremonies are there in all religions. We have a habit of dramatizing things in order to possibly acquire more followers. Ultimately in the race of dramatizing, the urge of proving my drama better than someone else’s drama becomes strong and people start fighting for silly reasons. Some say that the GOD is formless while others argue that a form is a must for common people to allow them the rituals to be performed and be satisfied with that. Formless or Formed, the drama element and rituals are no way less in any of them. 

More than this I won’t say at this moment. Find such dramas around you and think if in some way you can be a contributor to the true cause these concepts were made, rather than being carried away by the paraphernalia. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

Philosophy of Peace

‘We will discuss in our next seven sessions about a holistic philosophy of peace that is so much needed in this present era. Your own life-mission, my son, is to be a prophet of peace in a violent world…. You have to lay a strong foundation for a new World Order for a culture of peace…

‘People all over the world are hungering and thirsting for peace today. They seek peace through acquisition of wealth and power, and also through enjoyment of pleasures, only to be disillusioned at the end. They come to realize late in their lives that wealth, power or pleasure is not the real source of peace. These are often obstacles in the path of true peace. But this realization comes sometimes quite late in life, when there is no possibility of retracing one’s steps and reorienting one’s life….

‘Nations talk of peace in terms of absence of war. They create strong Armies, Navies and Air Forces, and pile up more and more deadly bombs and missiles as deterrents of war….. Religions are promoting divisions and conflicts rather than harmony and peace in the world…..

‘All things put together, we realize that nation-states and religions, as they are today, cannot create a culture of peace in the world.’ The Baba looked at Atma Prakash. 

He was listening attentively.

‘Then how can we hope to find peace in the world, guruji?’ Atma Prakash asked.

The Baba seemed to be reflecting on the question. 

Then he said: ‘First of all we will need a holistic spiritual philosophy of peace. That is what we are trying to provide through the seven spiritual laws of peace that we will be discussing later….

‘We will also need sovereign spiritual persons and integrated basic communities of peace. They will have to live by and promote this spiritual philosophy of peace. Such sovereign spiritual persons and integrated basic communities will be the catalysts and seedbeds of a true and lasting culture of peace in the world….’

The Baba stopped and looked into the eyes of Atma Prakash who was all attention…..He continued:

‘More than 80% of people all over the world believe in the transcendental dimension of life and follow one religion or the other. That means religion still plays an important role in the lives and affairs of people all over the world. This will also imply that peace in the world will be impossible without peace among religions in the world. For us in India, it is very important to remember this truth if we are to build a great new India of peace, prosperity and power….. 

‘Religion is very important for us. We cannot root them out from the society, as they tried to do in erstwhile USSR. Religion gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Without it, we can be totally lost…

‘Gandhiji had very rightly pointed out: “To try to root out religion itself from society is a wild goose chase. And were such an attempt to succeed, it will mean destruction of the society. Superstitions, evil customs, and other imperfections creep in from age to age and mar religion for the time being. They come and go. But religion itself remains, because the existence of the world in a broad sense depends on religion. The ultimate definition of religion may be said to be obedience to the law of God”. These words of the Mahatma shows the importance of religion for humankind…

‘But today religions have also become divisive and destructive forces. We need to go beyond religion to spirituality if we are to find a way out of the present crisis. It is spirituality that can unite religions and humanity at large. Spirituality is also the goal and aim of all religions. We need today, more than any other time before, a spirituality of unity and peace. 

‘We need to build our nation and the world on the strong foundation of a socio-spiritual philosophy of peace. I have over the years formulated seven spiritual laws that can together provide a strong foundation for such a socio-spiritual philosophy of peace. I have termed these seven spiritual laws of peace as ‘Sapta Rishi’ and the socio-spiritual philosophy constituted by them as ‘Dharmodaya’, my son.’ The Baba stopped and was silent as if recollecting his thoughts. 

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

BS 315 010916 INSANE CULTURE

We have an insane culture that breeds pervasive distrust ending in paranoia, a major mental disorder. Historically we had immoral laws that defended racism and casteism resulting in violations of major human rights. Currently we have immoral laws that bar women from places of worship and priestly roles in religious institutions. Interestingly, these discriminatory laws are made on the basis of our own interpretations of revelations or traditions.

Three insane categories that are widely used to distinguish cultural groups are race, caste, and class. While I admire Gandhiji in many respects, I wonder how he missed the blatant discrimination so obvious in casteism, even though he condemns superiority, discrimination, or privileges on the basis of caste or varna. His argument for varna (social class; literally it means color) on the basis of idealistic spiritualizing of the problem is not at all convincing. Eminent social reformers like Sri Narayana Guru and B. R. Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Indian Constitution and the first law minister of India, rightly challenged Gandhiji’s views on caste/varna.

Ambedkar, an intellectual giant who acted on integrity, principles, and convictions and who has not yet been given the place he rightly deserves in our society, made his last speech to the Constituent Assembly entrusted with the task of writing the Constitution of India on November 25, 1949. His speech was remarkable in that he sounded three warnings related to anarchy (unconstitutional methods of achieving social and economic objectives), hero-worship, and social democracy beyond the basic political democracy that came with independence. These warnings are very relevant especially today.

With blind westernization that has nothing to do with modernization, the way the new upper and middle class rich spend money to impress others on occasions of weddings, birthdays, death anniversaries, and other occasions of celebrations is scandalous when many persons do not even have the very basic necessities of life. Some celebrate these occasions on borrowed money. There are persons who borrow knowing well that they would not be able to pay their loans back. With run-away materialism symbolized by mindless consumerism, lifestyle diseases are becoming common in affluent sections of our society. 

When I experience certain Christians putting on airs of importance and status of prestige by diligently setting apart themselves from common persons lest they be diminished, I wonder if they know the teachings of Christ who said if anyone did anything worthwhile however small to the least human being, he/she did it to him. The irony of it all is that these very same people would talk highly and eloquently about, say, Mother Theresa who incidentally will be canonized in four days precisely on account of her dedicated life to the least humans. They also will be the first persons who will be burning candles in front of her shrines that will, I am sure, sprout all over shortly. When I visit some persons in Kerala I am reminded of a British comedy series called Keeping Up Appearances that used to be broadcast on Public Broadcasting system in the US where the lady of the house would go to any length to impress her neighbors by presenting herself as better cultured than others. Her laid-back husband would grudgingly chug along with her antics in order not to court her displeasure.

The pleasure of being oneself for who one is while taking care of others in the best way possible is the best medicine one can give to oneself. That kind of genuineness and authenticity is the best gift each one of us can give to God, and that also is the best antidote to insanity that is present in cultures all over the world.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti