Another Story of a Man with the Lamp

A man with a lamp in a dark night notices another man coming across with no lamp.

He said, 

"My friend, please take my lamp as you don't have any. I am almost home".

The other man replied, 

"Thanks for your kindness my friend. But I am blind and so there is no use of a lamp to me".

Though taken aback for a moment realizing that the man is blind, he still persuades the blind man to take the lamp. Now his point is that it would help others notice the blind man and thus avoid an unnecessary barging into him. The blind man agrees to this and takes the lamp. 

After walking for a while, the blind man hears another person coming against him.

The blind man asks, 

"Hello friend, do you have a lamp with you?"

The other man replies, no.

Blind man then says, 

"Please take my lamp, I am blind anyway and this lamp would be more useful to you" 

The other man replies, 

"Thank you for offering the lamp, my friend. But it has already gone out"! 

Anything that is owned by someone who doesn't realize the value of, is like the lamp in the hands of the blind. They are too blind to notice it losing all its virtue in their hands!

Indian Thoughts Archives

LL 294 240517 In Finite Blessings

‘Be yourself’, ‘Be aware’……, every body gets a lot of advices like these. The problem of the day is that neither the giver nor the receiver knows what the exchanged information means. When I see beautiful quotes and adages flash through social media popups, many times I had wished if at least the sender had followed the spirit of the message. 

It is part of every religion to keep God restricted to a few narrow roads to earth. Those obedient religious Gods suffer with only a few narrow roads o reach His creations. This is another social puzzle!

Either we understand it or not the Universe is built in such a way that every part of it, be it a tiny particle or a big mass of earth, be it active or inactive, gets a feeling that it is at the centre of it and the whole universe exists just for that element or compound. Measure time by past and future; you will be in the centre. Measure space by north and south; you will be in the centre. This is the case with everything in this Universe. 

Still we do not trust the Universe or the Power we call God, who we believe has created us.  We also end up in the disappointment of having received no blessings. The truth is that it’s because of our holdings and inhibitions that we could not access them. Here is a story:

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car.  Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.  Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money, you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to  him.  He had not seen him since that graduation day.  Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.  He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago.  With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.  And as he did, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible.  It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.

Joseph Mattappally

The Frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well.... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'

Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking?

Indian Thoughts Archives

Where are all the sermons gone?

A Church goer once wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" 

It is true that we can not remember all what we have heard, all the lessons we have learned, all the experiences – sweet as well as bitter - that we have had, but they all have had their share in the making of what we are today.

Indian Thoughts Archives

To Calm a Disturbed Mind

 

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Please get me some water from that lake there."

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!"

So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink." After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. 

This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be.... and the mud settled down on its own - and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.

Don’t act or react when your mind is agitated. Give it some time to settle down before you do anything about the matter; and you will have no regrets later.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Gospel of prosperity and wellness

‘The evolution of the original Christian faith to its present state can be traced out in five important stages, as I see it. The first was the ‘Jewish phase’. The second was the ‘Greek phase’, then came the ‘Roman phase’. Much later came the ‘Colonial phase’. The latest is the ‘Commercial phase’…. 

‘The Jewish ‘creation mythology’ speaks about the ‘original sin’ committed by the first human parents, Adam and Eve. They were driven out from the ‘Paradise’ by God for this unpardonable ‘original sin’….

‘The Jewish people of early history had also believed that God would not forgive them their sins unless they made sacrifices to Him. Their God had preferred the sacrifice of innocent lambs…. 

‘Some of the Jewish communities even used to tie heavy bundles on innocent lambs and send them out into the dessert or jungle to die there or be eaten up by wild animals. This they used to do every year. The heavy bundle tied on the lamb represented their sins for which the lamb was being sacrificed!….

‘Unsatisfied with these kinds of sacrifices, their just and severe God finally decided to send His own only begotten Son to be sacrificed as the ‘Lamb of God’ for the sins of the world….

‘It was from this background that John the Baptist saw Jesus of Nazareth as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’. A large number of Christians are yet to outgrow this primitive Jewish phase of their faith. Even now many Christian Churches continue to live in this ‘Jewish phase’ seeing Jesus of Nazareth as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’……

‘The second phase through which the Christian faith evolved was the ‘Greek phase’ wherein Jesus of Nazareth was seen as the ‘Christos’ and ‘Logos’. The Greek term ‘Christos’ means ‘the anointed one of God’. The English word ‘Christ’ has come from the Greek, ‘Christos’. ‘Logos’ implies the ‘Primordial Word’. It is similar to our concept of ‘Aadi Sadba’. Christianity received its philosophical foundations from the Greek thought. Without this Greek philosophical support Christianity could not have grown as a world religion….

‘But it was the ‘Roman phase’ that saw the emergence of Christianity as a powerful world religion. This began when emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire. The titles of Jesus of Nazareth as the ‘King of kings’, ‘Prince of peace’, the ‘Lord’, ‘Saviour’ etc. came from this ‘Roman phase’. Wealth and power became central to the Church, and the Church also became the most powerful political force in Europe during this phase. Kings were anointed and appointed by the Pope..….

‘The ‘Roman phase’ contained within itself the seeds of the fourth phase, the ‘Colonial phase’. It was during this ‘Colonial phase’ that had begun from medieval Europe, that Jesus of Nazareth became the ‘only’ Son of God and Christianity became the ‘only’ true religion. The Bible also became the ‘only’ true Word of God during this phase…

‘Such exclusive claims were products of a colonial mindset which saw whatever the rulers said, did or believed as the ‘only truth’. All others were ‘pagans’. Their practices of prayer and worship were ‘pagan’ practices. Their religions were ‘pagan’ religions. It is unfortunate that this ‘Colonial phase’ of the Christian faith still holds its sway over many Christian missionaries all over the world even in this twenty first century….

‘But the latest phase of the Christian faith is the ‘Commercial phase’ wherein Jesus of Nazareth and his Gospel of light and love are made saleable commodities for wealth, wellness and comforts…

‘A ‘Gospel of prosperity and wellness’ is being preached during this latest phase of the Christian faith that had its origin in the United States of America. Preaching the Gospel is a multi-million dollar business there today….

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

Love Matters

In the beginning there was only one thing - Nature. As humans with double consciousness took shape in cloths, Nature further split into Me and the Nature around Me. Words with reference to Nature were the first to form in every vocabulary. Me further split into Others and My People. It continues growing down and down. 

It wouldn’t have been bad if we had been closing into ‘self-love’; but what is happening is that we are moving towards ‘selfishness,’ which is its’ opposite in every sense. ‘Self -love’ holds the theory that everything in Nature is close-knit and we are supposed to consider everything here, though our concern is limited to a small area. In Selfishness Nature and the Self are two entities positioned at opposite poles. In selfishness we don’t like others having the same thing or pleasure – that is the problem! It shows that we are slowly losing our touch with Nature. 

Have anybody thought of what happens when we lose our touch with Nature? I just copy and paste a Social Media post. It reads:

“If you lose touch with nature you lose touch with humanity. If there's no relationship with nature then you become a killer; then you kill baby seals, whales, dolphins, and man either for gain, for "sport," for food, or for knowledge. Then nature is frightened of you, withdrawing its beauty. You may take long walks in the woods or camp in lovely places but you are a killer and so lose their friendship.” 

And finally you reach a point where you probably are not related to anything even to your spouse or children.

Joseph Mattappally

Indispensable

A disciple very much wanted to renounce the world but he claimed that his family loved him too much to let him go. 

“Love?” said his guru. “That isn’t love at all. Listen...” And he revealed a yogic secret to the disciple whereby he could simulate the state of death. The next day the man was dead to all outward appearances and the house rang with the cries and wailing of his family.  

The guru then showed up and told the weeping family that he had the power to bring the man back to life if someone could be found to die in his place. Any volunteers?  

To the “corpse’s” astonishment every member of the family began to bring forth reasons why it was necessary to keep their own lives. His wife summed up the sentiments of all with the words, “There’s really no need for anyone to take his place. We can manage without him.”  

No one is indispensable.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Fair is fair

This story is told about Kruger, the great South African statesman, who lived at the beginning of this century. He was called upon to settle a dispute between two brothers. The dispute involved the equal division of land between the two.

The land contained mines, lakes, rivers and beautiful scenery, and Kruger knew that no matter how he divided it, he is bound to run afoul of at least one of the brothers.

He pondered the problem at great length, and then he came up with the solution. He called the two brothers together and he gave one of them the task of dividing the land in two. When he had finished, Kruger gave the other brother his choice as to which half he wanted.

Indian Thoughts Archives

GC 83 190517 Gospel of Light and Love

During the next Guruvar Satsangh Atma Prakash told his guruji about his longstanding prejudice towards Christianity. He requested the Baba to speak to him about Christianity and its relevance to the spiritual awakening and moral regeneration of India. 

The Baba replied:

‘Jesus of Nazareth the Christ, whom we refer to as Sadguru Jesus Christ, is the foundation of Christian faith, the basis of Christian life and the inspiration for Christian services…..

‘Let us, first of all, understand the key terms clearly. The term ‘Christ’ represents the ‘Word of God’ or ‘Sabda Brahman’ through whom all things are created. Jesus Christ is this ‘Word of God become flesh’ in human history. ‘Christian faith’ is the faith in the ‘grace and truth’ of God revealed in, with and through Jesus Christ. ‘God is Spirit’ is a truth revealed by Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Christ-Spirit’ is the Spirit of God ever active in human history in, with and through Jesus Christ. ‘Christian’ is one in whom the Christ-Spirit dwells and through whom the Christ-Spirit continues to work in human history. ‘Christianity’ is Christ-Spirit in action in the world through Christians. Church is a community of Christians. Catholic Church headed by the ‘Vicar of Christ’ on earth, the Pope, is the largest Christian community in the world... 

‘The Gospel of light and love of Sadguru Jesus Christ as it is recorded by Mathew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament is the basis of Christian faith and values…

‘But, at different stages during the last twenty centuries of Christian history, the path of light and love taught by Sadguru Jesus Christ came under the influence of many cultural and political forces. As a result, the original Gospel of light and love of Sadguru Jesus Christ is distorted beyond recognition. Mahatma Gandhi once had pointed out that ‘if Jesus Christ is to come again today, he is sure to reject the present Christian Churches and declare that he has nothing to do with them’!....

‘However, it is also a fact of history that the Christian values constitute the basis of the Constitutions of many countries in the world today, including that of India. Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as we have included in the Preamble of our Constitution can also be seen as ‘Christian values’. Love is the core and peace is the goal of these Christian values that are all essentially universal values today…

‘The truth of these Christian values were embodied in the person, life and message of Sadguru Jesus Christ himself. Hence, he was able to say: ‘I am the path, the truth and the life’.... 

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD FOR BETTER

I can change the world for better if I am willing to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Actually I start this writing after reflection and meditation on the events that took place on one day last week. I drove from the hills of Munnar to Kochi to be at the bedside of someone with severe heart failure in the intensive care unit of a hospital. I went there at the earnest request of his daughter who was flying from Mumbai so she could provide the needed hospital care as well as after discharge care. He was totally alienated from his family including this daughter. The father had written a book about the mistreatment he had received from his family. The daughter was devastated by this book, and told me in conversations how she was terrorized while growing up, and how she and her family suffered mistreatment from him. Obviously both father and daughter had deep hurts. Daughter was grateful that I allowed her father to stay in the ashram for three years. After meeting with the cardiologist, I was present while father and daughter exchanged their thoughts and feelings in the intensive care unit after a long period of estrangement. While I facilitated focusing on the immediate care needed for the father irrespective of what happened in the past or whose version was right, I also tried to help generate hope for constructive future engagement. Both were extremely happy that things worked out well for them. Needless to say, their present was the past that really shut out the present and the future.

Returning from Kochi to Munnar on the same day around 5 p.m., there was a traffic jam caused by a truck laden with logs and a mini-truck trying to pass each other on the Neriamangalam bridge over Periyar river. The bridge was not broad enough, so the vehicles were stuck. Seeing what was happening, I stopped my vehicle before the bridge. One of the drivers was asked to back off the bridge. While backing, the vehicle got on the very wet mud on the shoulder just off the bridge, and was asked to stop before falling off the road and, possibly, into the river. Interestingly impatient drivers from both sides got into the bridge putting everyone’s life in jeopardy. Noteworthy is the fact that not even enlightened self-interest came into play.

The two situations described above occur in one form or other almost daily in my last 11 of years of stay in Kerala. Many people lose their cool and get into verbal and physical violence. The persons causing the problems, needless to say, do not follow their own basic intelligence. We can all fret, fume, and feud and make a bad situation even worse. Each one of us can change the world for better only by being part of the solution.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti 

The sign of love

A man owned a wonderful magic opal ring. The person wearing it became so good that the person was loved and respected by everyone. 

The man had three sons. Before he died he gave each of the sons an opal ring. After the old man died, the three sons began to quarrel and argue among themselves about which of them had the magic ring. 

They went to a wise old man to settle the dispute, “My sons,” he said, “only time will show that. Your lives, how you live your lives, will show which of you has the magic ring.”

Indian Thoughts Archives

Warts and All

This story is told about Oliver Cromwell. He was sitting for an artist who was painting a full-length picture of him. When the painting was complete, Cromwell looked at it, and saw that the painter had gone out of his way to make Cromwell more handsome than he actually was. For example, Cromwell had warts on his face, but the painter had opted to omit these. 

Cromwell would not accept the finished product. He insisted that the painter do one more portrait, only this time, he was ordered to paint Cromwell with “warts and all.” 

Though we don’t like the “warts and all” part of us, they are as much part of us – good as well as not so good.  Seeing and accepting oneself as he/she is would ward of resentment for ourselves and would provide the healthy outlook to better oneself.

We could easily prefer the painter who can make us look better than we really are.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Political Parties in India

‘What role the existing political parties in our country can play in promoting the concept of ENP in India, guruji?’, Atma Prakash asked.

‘We cannot expect the large and centralized political parties in our country to follow the eternal values of truth, non-violence, sacrifice and service, and the national values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity that are basic to the concept of ENP. In fact, some of these political parties themselves are the causes for the crises facing the nation today. These parties do not seem to have the much needed dynamism and creativity for changing themselves for better’, the Baba replied. He continued further....

‘The older and larger an organization, the greater the difficulty for it to bring about any creative changes within itself. Such organizations also tend to become blocks in the path of creative changes initiated by others. They will be strong promoters of ‘status quo’ and will cause stagnation and decay in our national life. Just as stagnant waters breed mosquitoes and diseases, large and uncreative political parties and trade unions add to the problems of India and tend to block the path of development….. 

‘Some of the major political parties in our country today seem to have outlived their utility in the mission of nation-building. We will also have to aim at liberating India from the clutches of these corrupt and lethargic political parties and trade unions with their vested interests, hidden agendas and black money…..

‘However, the inspiring fact is that there are a good number of smaller value-based dynamic political parties and youthful ‘sovereign Indian citizens’ in our country today who are capable of standing up and fighting for the nation. ‘Sovereign Indian citizens’ means citizens who are value-conscious and who give greater importance to their Fundamental Duties than to their Fundamental Rights. They are called to enter the battle field of a new ‘Dharmakshetra-Kurukshetra’ to save Mother India from crime and corruption, and from other forces of adharma that are threatening to destroy her…

‘These youthful sovereign Indian citizens, and value-based dynamic political parties in India inspired by an enlightened political ideology, a common minimum agenda for socio-economic development of the last and the least in India, certain common minimum principles of enlightened governance and some common minimum parameters for MPs and MLAs can form themselves into an enlightened political alliance in the country or state and work together for the mission of building a hunger-free, caste-free and corruption-free India with the final goal of winning the economic, social and moral freedoms that are yet to be won for our motherland….. 

‘I have suggested the political ideology of ‘Democratic Federalism’, the common minimum agenda of ‘Gandhian Navaratna’, the 16 principles of Enlightened Governance, and the five minimum Parameters for MPs and MLAs as part of my vision of ENP. You can use them as they are. You can also modify them as you feel inspired. But let there be these four constituents. Only then ENP can achive its goal and fulfill its purpose….

‘The sovereign Indian citizens within this enlightened political alliance can contest elections as ‘National Candidates’. The dynamic political parties within this alliance can contest under their own banners…... 

‘However, it is very important that these political parties and sovereign Indian citizens joining this enlightened political alliance should be accountable and answerable to the nation in word and deed, and should be committed to the Fundamental Duties of Indian citizens as given under Article: 51-A of the Indian Constitution’. 

The Baba stopped for a while and looked at Atma Prakash.

The disciple was very carefully listening to every word his guruji said.

Excerpts from ‘Integral Revolution’

The Janitor

Bill Holbrook, the janitor at the wealthiest church in town, ordered some cleaning supplies from the hardware store. When they arrived, the driver asked Bill to sign for them.  Bill went into the pastor's office and asked the pastor to sign for them.  Puzzled, the pastor told Bill to sign for them.

"I can't," said Bill.  "I can't read or write."

"Well," replied the pastor, "I'm going to have to let you go, Bill. I'm sorry but we can't have a janitor that can't read or write."

Bill started walking home, wondering how he was going to tell his wife the bad news, when he reached for his pipe and found he had run out of tobacco.  He searched the neighbourhood looking for a tobacco shop but could find none. And then he got an idea.  When he got home, he told his wife he was going to open a tobacco shop.

The venture was so successful that Bill soon opened another, and then another until in ten years he was opening his one hundredth tobacco shop.  A feature writer from USA Today came to interview Bill on this great occasion.  When she had finished the interview she asked Bill if he'd like to read over her notes. 

"Yes, I would like to", said Bill "but I can't read or write." 

"My Gosh", said the young lady.  "You've accomplished so much.  Just imagine what you'd be if you could read and write!" 

"Yes," smiled Bill.  "I'd be the janitor in a church." 

When a person is determined and enterprising, nothing can block him, not even the apparent drawbacks.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Preaching the Bible

A chaplain on a battlefield came across a young man who was lying in a shell hole, seriously wounded. “Would you like me to read you something from this book, the Bible?” he asked. “I’m so thirsty; I’d rather have a drink of water,” the soldier said. Hurrying away, the chaplain soon brought the water. Then the wounded man said, “could you put something under my head?”

The chaplain took off his overcoat, rolled it up, and gently placed it under the man’s head for a pillow. “Now,” said the suffering man, “if I just had something over me – I’m cold”. 

The chaplain immediately removed his jacket and put it over the wounded man to keep him warm. Then the soldier looked the chaplain straight in the eye and said, “if there’s anything in that book that makes a man do for another all that you have done for me, then please read it, because I’d love to hear it.”

Comment: If my actions don’t speak of Gospel values, be sure my words never will. What affects people most is often caught rather than taught. “Actions are irrefutable.”

Indian Thoughts Archives

The Elected in Independent India

‘Members of our Parliament and Legislative Assemblies are elected by us to provide leadership to the nation and the states, and to lay down policy guidelines as well as to frame Rules and Laws for nation-building….

‘It has been found that the quality and caliber of MPs and MLAs in Independent India have been declining rapidly. There is an urgent need for improving the quality, caliber and performance of these elected representatives if they are to help us build a great new India free from the evils of hunger, caste and corruption….

‘But let us not forget the fact that our MPs and MLAs are elected by us. We tend to support those who are like us, and elect those who can help us to get things done by hook or by crook. Hence, the character and caliber of the MPs and MLAs actually reflect the character and caliber of the electing public. This means we need to improve the character and caliber of our people. This is an educational task……

‘However, it is also necessary to have certain minimum parameters for a citizen to become a MP or MLA. The five minimum parameters suggested by me for MPs and MLAs in India under the ENP will be:

1. ‘They should have proven social service record with integrity of character,

2. ‘They should be men and women with simplicity of life, devotion to duty and commitment to non- violence,

3. ‘They should possess good spiritual, mental and physical health and should be preferably below 65 years of age,

4. ‘They should be committed to attend a minimum of 85% of Parliament or Assembly Sessions, as the case may be, and their term of office should be limited to only two tenures, unless they prove to be very selflessly committed to the nation and are found to be useful to the mission of nation-building, and

5. ‘They should possess the ability to communicate effectively in the state language and should have working knowledge of Hindi and English…..

‘Here also, these parameters are only indicative. What is important is that we should have competent leaders with strength of character, courage of conviction and hard working spirit. We have to ensure that we vote only for such candidates who meet these minimum qualifying parameters. It is very essential that all citizens, especially the eligible youth in India, exercise their voting rights carefully……

‘It has been found that the educated elite in India often tend to refrain from casting their votes. But they also complain the most about political corruption and governmental apathy… “The ultimate tragedy of mankind is not the brutality of the few, but the silence of the many”, pointed out the great American civil rights activist and winner of Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King Jr. … This is also the tragedy of India’.

The Baba stopped for a while and closed his eyes… 

Excerpts from ‘Integral Revolution

Look into your own heart

A young businessman began dating a charming young actress. The relationship progressed and developed until it reached the point when the businessman was considering the possibility of marrying the young woman. Being a very cautious businessman, he hired a private detective to check out the young actress, to ensure there weren’t any skeletons in her closet. 

The detective knew nothing of the relationship; in fact, he was just given the young woman’s name.  He did his work very thoroughly, and finally submitted the results of his investigations. It went something like this: “This is a very charming, honest, and upright lady. There seems to be but one blemish on her character. It appears that, of late, she has been keeping company with a young businessman of very doubtful character, and of questionable reputation”.

“Hypocrite! First get rid of the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see the speck in your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5)

Remember, when you point one finger at another, there are three fingers pointing at you. We are free to be whichever way choose to be, but we would expect our spouses to be real saints. The present culture is very liberal in its social outlook, nay, we should say it actively promotes all sorts of freedoms and promiscuity. Come election time they look for a “saint” with no taint of the slightest blemish. Hypocrites!

Indian Thoughts Archives

The Leadership

GC 80 210417 The Leadership

‘Now let me share with you, my son, the 16 principles of Enlightened Governance’ the Baba began their next Guruvar Satsangh.

‘First of all let us understand the term ‘Enlightened Governance’. Enlightened Governance in simple terms is effective governance which will ensure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for all citizens of the country. These are the Constitutional values enshrined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. This is only possible through a value-based approach without any fear or favour. This will also demand that the nation should have enlightened leaders with strength of character and courage of conviction. That is why we also need to improve the quality and caliber of our MPs and MLAs…….

‘Enlightened Governance within ENP, according to me, will have to be based on the following principles. I will only enumerate them. You have to study them carefully later on. Use the library. There are many books on Good Governance, Effective Governance etc.’ the Baba said. 

He then enumerated the following 16 principles of Enlightened Governance: 

1. ‘Let the heavens fall, justice must be done’

2. ‘Surety of punishment is a greater deterrent of crimes than the severity of punishment’.

3. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’.

4. ‘Corruption and rape are crimes against God and humanity and should carry severe punishments’.

5. ‘Smaller the state, better it can be administered, and more citizen-friendly it can become’.

6. ‘Good governance cannot be a substitute for self-governance’.

7. ‘Providing quality education to all youth and developing technically qualified human resources constitute the two most important tasks in a nation-building mission’.

8. ‘Ministers and Government officials are meant to serve the citizens, not to rule over them’.

9. ‘Duties, not rights, will make a nation great’.

10. ‘Farmers and school teachers are to be respected and rewarded as the most important nation-builders’.

11. ‘Government is not an employment agency, but a law enforcing authority’.

12. ‘In a democracy public servants and political parties are subject to the law and accountable to the public’.

13. ‘Mother India’s future is in the hands of mothers in India’.

14. ‘Youth are the hope and the most precious wealth of the nation’.

15. ‘Democracy does not imply collective responsibility, but individual responsibility based on collective decision-making by consensus or consent’.

16. ‘The character and caliber of the leader will influence the character and caliber of the cadre’.

After enumerating the 16 principles, the Baba said: ‘These 16 principles of Enlightened Governance are also only indicative. One can add more or delete some. Effective and corruption-free governance whereby the Constitutional values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are upheld at all times and at all places should be our goal. This is also the most important function of the Government within ENP’.

The Baba looked at Atma Prakash questioningly.

‘Yes guruji. I will study them carefully.’ Atma Prakash replied.

‘Now let us come to the fourth pillar of ENP: the minimum parameters for our MPs and MLAs’, the Baba continued.

“Yatha Guru, Thatha Shisya; Yatha Raja, Tatha Praja; Yatha Neta, Thatha Chela” 

says an old Indian dictum . It means ‘the disciples will be like the guru; the subjects will be like the king; the followers will be like the leader’….

‘The leadership is the most important element in any nation-building mission. Enlightened leaders are required to build a great new India. The first thing for us to do if India is to have enlightened leadership is to improve the quality and caliber of our MPs and MLAs…..

Excerpts from ‘Integral Revolution

LIVING IN TRUTH

Living in truth here means living truthfully, authentically in our everyday practical life. I have often heard expressions such as “my life is a search for truth; I am a searcher after truth”. Mahatma Gandhi’s well-known auto-biography is called “My Experiments with Truth”. The fact of the matter is that we do not need to search for truth; truth is always searching for us. We are born into the reality of truth; our life ends in the reality of death. As fish is surrounded by water we are surrounded by truth everywhere. 

All mental disorders, all problems of adjustment to life situations arise due to one’s inability in facing truth. We have a guilty conscience because we did not say or do what was true for us. We pretend to be someone we are not because we do not feel comfortable in letting people know who we really are. We do not want to tell people what we really think about them because we want to “protect” them, because we do not want to “hurt” them. In reality we do not want to lose their “good feelings” toward us. So we all keep on playing various games to protect one another while we all live a life of lie. Thus we lose our authenticity and genuineness. We lose the authority of our own being, in effect, our own integrity.

The other day in a long phone conversation with a significant person who had some serious problems with his son, I took the risk of telling him that his son was doing to him in a more vicious way what he himself had done to a third party. He got upset with what I said, and cut the phone off. I reflected on what happened. After some time I called him back since he had approached me for some guidance. Soon after I called him, he started blurting things that I was not willing to hear. I told him that it was rude of him to cut the phone off, and that I wanted to give him a few suggestions related to handling his son positively, and that if he wanted to talk to me, he could call me back after I hang up the phone. He interrupted me rudely several times before I finished what I had to say. What does one do in such situations? Truth demands that one assertively sticks to one’s plan even though it would be too tempting to accommodate and placate. There is only one thing that we need to be concerned about: we respond out of empathy, and compassion, and not react impulsively out of our own hurts. I have often experienced in group therapy and other group meetings that some persons would not say what was own their minds for fear of not being in others’ good books.

Whether we want to be open to the truth of our life, whether we want to accept the truth that stares in our face, and whether we want to break out of the deep programming that distorts reality/truth for us in many different ways is the most important question in our life. We do not need to search for truth as truth is always in us and with us. We need to live it joyously

Swami Snehananda Jyoti 

Give as you receive from God

A wealthy man pondered Jesus’ teaching on giving and he was deeply depressed by the whole thing. He prayed and prayed that he might be able to accept the teaching, but the more he prayed, the sadder he became. 

One day, when he was near despair, an angel came to comfort him. “Why are you so sad?” the angel asked him. 

“I am sad,” the man replied, “because of my master’s teaching on giving. Does it mean that I have to give again and again, and again, without any let up?”

“Oh no, not at all,” said the angel. “You have to give only as long as God gives to you. If God ever stops giving to you, then you won’t have to continue to give to others. God will continue to give to you – except in much greater abundance than you could ever give.” 

God gives me nothing just for myself. He doesn’t give me the gift of speech, for instance, to go around talking to myself.

What comes down from God must go sideways to others – otherwise it stops coming – like the spring in the well. This applies to love, forgiveness, compassion, etc.

Partners of a Nation

‘All of us will become old and will need the help of others to take care of us. Those of us who are fortunate will have our near and dear ones to take care of us. Those who are rich can afford to employ people to take care of them. But the poor often have none of these blessings. We as responsible and grateful citizens of India need to take loving care of the old and helpless citizens of India, especially our farmers who worked hard to feed us and the nation. We need to take care of them with love and gratitude during their old age…

‘Government servants in India earn monthly salaries many times more than the monthly income of our farmers who feed the nation with their own sweat and hard work. The government servants are also paid pensions till their death. They and their families enjoy many perks and privileges. The farmers’ families enjoy none of these…

‘My son, this agenda is only indicative. If you sincerely work to implement this agenda, you will be able to build a great new India of peace, prosperity and power. Begin with self, begin today and begin small. But, begin. Motivate others also to begin…….

‘The common minimum agenda may change according to the needs and conditions of the people and places. What is important is to have a common minimum agenda based on the needs of the last and the least. True development of a nation is to be measured not based on the GDP as we do today, but it should be measured by the living conditions of the last and least in the country….

‘Making Laws and Rules in Parliament and Assemblies by themselves cannot solve the national problems. Governments and political parties alone cannot build a great new India. Every citizen has a responsibility to work to implement those laws and rules, and to collaborate with the Government and other agencies involved in the nation-building mission….’ 

‘Study well this socio-economic development agenda. Give focus on Gandhiji’s vision of ‘Gram Swaraj’ and also study his constructive programmes for nation-building. He was able to involve all patriotic Indians in the mission of nation-building through his constructive programmes….

‘Nation-building means national involvement. All citizens of the nation should be able to become partners in a great nation-building mission..’

The Baba concluded.

Excerpts from ‘Integral Revolution

SALVATION FOR ALL

For about the last 11 years I have been back in India to specially focus on my mission of service to promote Unity of Humanity and Amity among Religions, I have been building structures for the Ashram inmates and those who, with similar visions, visit us and stay with us. While I work with an architect for the soundness of the structures, I modify the flexible aspects of the designs for functionality, Vastu (law of nature for health and prosperity), and aestheticism. The basics of salvation for all humans have been designed by the Great Architect (God) right from the beginning of creation. We humans can work on the non-essential, flexible elements to suit us. Anyone can reach God and God-realization. Only honesty, sincerity, and rigorous and faithful following of one’s conscience are needed. That means no religion is needed to reach God. The basics that we all need to keep in mind are: There is only one God for humanity; we are all brothers and sisters and sons and daughters of this one God. God created all to be saved, and to enjoy the beatific vision of God. The most precious gift of freedom that God gave us can create problems that can come in the way of salvation. But then the remedy of repentance and reconciliation is given to us.to make reparation and amends. God also asks us to love God whole-heartedly and to love all humans as we love ourselves. Loving God is easy; loving humans is difficult. But loving humans is easy if we keep in mind that we do not have to like them to love them.

Flexible elements of our salvation that can certainly help and facilitate our spiritual and social well-being are healthy religions, sound cultures, good rituals and traditions. We need to thoroughly scrutinize them all for helpfulness, usefulness, promotion of good will, peace, friendship, and overall efficacy. All the sages, seers, and prophets like Buddha, Christ, and Sankaracharya (the great organizer of Hinduism, the Sanatan Dharma), around whom great religions originated and developed had great faith in God, were non-violent, and promoted inner conversion (metanoia) and God-realization.or self-realiztion They modeled life for humanity. The teachings of Buddha, Christ, and Sankaracharya cover the entire spectrum of human thinking and life, namely, atheism, theism, immanence, transcendence, and oneness of God and human). We need to take our own religions seriously and examine them thoroughly and impartially. We need to take good elements from other religions. All good elements anywhere come from the Holy Spirit who is the spirit of God. We need to change our religions if our religions do not help us to live morally and spiritually. We may need to change our religions if they violate basic human rights or interfere with our life that is lived according to our conscience, and our consciously adopted value system. 

Some paths and directions are easier, more practical, more meaningful and more pleasing. All that is required on our part is determined effort (sadhana), ceaseless and intense devotion, a sharpened conscience, affective detachment, and purity of intention.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti  

The poor in Spirit

During the Great Depression in America, a government agency had the task of travelling through backward mountain areas, in search of poor farmers, to whom they gave some grant of money for the purchase of seed, or repairing their homes. 

One agent came upon an old woman living in a shack. It had no floor. Several windows were broken and covered over with tar paper. The old woman had but the basic essentials, and was just barely scratching out a living on a miserable plot of land.

The agent said to her, “If the government gave you $200, what would you do with it?” 

Her instant answer was: “I’d give it to the poor.” 

It is a mistake for a religious to think of money as riches. In spite of the lack of it this good woman does not consider herself poor. Millions of good people are really rich, while having little money. On the other hand, one could have plenty of money, and be really poor.

Indian Thoughts Archives

How real is it?

One time a group of people came to Abraham Lincoln to discuss something that had been causing some trouble. 

Their arguments were not based on facts but on suppositions. After listening for a while, Lincoln asked, “How many legs would a sheep have, if you called its tail a leg?” 

“Five” was the reply.  

“No,” said Lincoln, “it wouldn’t; it would only have four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one.” 

Our fears, likewise, many a time are based on suppositions and unrealistic assumptions rather than on facts.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Gandhian Talisman Contd.

GC 78 070417 Gandhian Talisman Contd.

‘The third of this socio-economic development agenda is ‘working for agrarian reforms with focus on small and marginal farmers and promoting natural farming methods using modern technologies, and working to ensure appropriate prices for agricultural products based on the costs of production’. India is an agrarian country. Most of our farmers are holders of small plots of agricultural land. We need to make agriculture a profitable occupation. We also need to recognize the important national service our farmers are rendering by producing food items without which we cannot survive. We can survive without our politicians and government servants, but not without our farmers. But we give more importance to the politicians and government servants than to the farmers who provide us with food for our survival……

‘The fourth agenda is ‘working to ensure affordable quality primary school education for all children in India. Education is the basis of nation-building. We have the largest number of illiterates on earth. We cannot build a great new India with illiterate human resources….

‘We need to learn from countries like Japan, Germany and China. All these countries have become global economic powers by giving great importance to education and human resources development. Technical education and scientific development are very essential requirements for nation-building. So is the knowledge of Enligsh language today. English language is essential for development of Information Technology and scientific knowledge. India has to become a global power. She has a global mission to fulfill. This will be possible only by giving importance to Enlish language and scientific development in our education system….

‘In the multi-liguisitc context of India, English has also been serving as the common link. Without this national and global link language India cannot survive and grow as a living force ….

‘But first of all we need to focus on quality primary education for all children. This is by far the most important nation-building agenda. But this is also one of the most neglected areas in Independent India. All educated Indian citizens, especially senior citizens can take up the responsibility of educating one child. ‘Each One - Teach One’ has been a successful programme at many places in India...

‘Fifth of this nine-point agenda is ‘working to protect the life of all Indian citizens and the ecological harmony of Mother India’. Every life is precious, not only the lives of the rich and the powerful…The lives of the poor and homeless Indian citizens are also equally precious and important. They are also children of God and citizens of the Indian Republic…. 

‘Ecological health and harmony are very important requirements for the healthy existence of all living beings on this planet. Mother Earth is our common mother. We need to protect and preserve her health and vitality if we desire to lead a healthy and happy life on earth which is our one and only common planetary home in space. ‘Sustainable development’ can never be achieved at the cost of ecological health and harmony….

‘The sixth agenda is ‘working to promote effective governance and decentralization of authority and resources, and empowering Gram Panchayats, Gram Sabhas, Gram Adalats and other Panchayati Raj Institutions, and channelising our endeavors to contain corruption in public life and Government’. This decentralization, as we have already seen, is at the core of the ENP ideology of ‘Democratic Federalism’….

‘The seventh of our developmental agenda, my son, is ‘working to empower youth and women to become nation-builders’. The Youth are our hope and most precious wealth. The future of the nation is their legacy. Empower them to build a great new India. This is our most important nation-building task today….. 

‘Also, remember my son, Mother India’s future is in the hands of mothers in India. Great mothers give birth to great men and women who build great nations and great civilizations. By empowering the women in India we will achieve great and far-reaching goals. All women are mothers or potential mothers….

‘The eighth of my Gandhian Navaratna is ‘working to promote Responsible Citizenship and Value Education, and protecting the girl child’. Education is the basis of human development and national regeneration. ‘Character-building’ is the most important goal of education. Developing responsible citizenship consciousness and commitment to non-violence in our youth are also very important objectives of education. This can be achieved through ‘Peace and Value Education’ that can be taken up by all competent and responsible citizens, especially the well-educated and well-experienced senior citizens in the country who are retired from active employment. This will also provide an opportunity to these senior citizens to show their gratitude to Mother India for what they have received from her bounty… 

‘It is a tragedy that in India we speak very highly about women, yet,as we have seen, many families in the country mourn the birth of a girl child. Many even try to get rid of girl children, or kill them before they are born. We need to save and protect our female children with great love. They are potential mothers. They are the most precious gifts of God for the very survival of human race on planet earth...…

‘And the last and ninth of this common minimum agenda for nation-building is ‘working to provide loving care and grateful services to poor and old Indian citizens, especially to poor and old farmers in India….

Excerpts from ‘Integral Revolution