Matam and Mati

Matam is a matter of mati; 'religion' is based on the urge that moves the 'mind'; if the urge is Divine, we have a Divine religion; if it is bestial, then the things held lovable and desirable will be bestial too. Join the particular with the universal, the limited with the unlimited, the river with the sea. This is the process called Yoga. This can be achieved through Bhakti, Karma, or Jnana.

You must develop this attitude of 'merging' with the Divine in all that you do, this attitude of dedication, of surrender to His Will. This is the best means of realizing Him. The Geeta, about which all the four Pandits whom you are honoring today spoke, was itself the result of Arjuna's surrender, his Prapatti. The Geeta does not prescribe the same remedy for all; each must get himself diagnosed by an experienced doctor of the spirit and then follow his advice until he reaches a state of health when he can restore equanimity to himself by his own effort. You need not learn all the Shlokas (verses) and all the commentaries by heart and exhibit your scholarship, engaging in a contest with other scholars. It is enough if you put into practice one Shloka, the one that suits your spiritual stage that appeals to you most. That first step will itself take you nearer the second step. The second will make the third easier and so on until the end.

If the cow is the representative of Dharma, then the four Vedas are the teats in its udder, where the life-giving milk is stored; the Gopala (Krishna) milked the cow and gave it to the world as the Geeta. It has to be taken into the heart. Of what avail is “medicine” if it is poured into the ear? It has to be taken in so that it might act and strengthen the blood stream. So too, there is no use in listening for hours to discourses on the Geeta; take the lesson in. Put it into practice: apply it in daily life. Realize the divinity in you—that is the lesson.

Observe Truth and Justice in Every Act

There are two statements in the Geeta, both complementary:

Shraddhavan Labhate Jnanam (the man with steady faith wins wisdom) and

Samshayatma Vinashyati (he who doubts perishes).

The doubt that overpowered Arjuna was removed by the teaching of Krishna, and the necessary Shraddha was inculcated. In fact, the Geeta is a conversation between the Jiva and Brahman, the limited or, rather, 'the idea of the limited', with the Unlimited. The Dehavastra is worn by the Dehi: the body is but a vesture of God, who is eternal and permanent.

Seeing one’s own reality is the opening of the doors of liberation; for this, the mirror of the heart has to be prepared, by coating the back of the heart with Satya and Dharma. Otherwise, the image will not appear. In every act of yours, if you observe truth and justice, then you can see your own reality revealed. You may say that the burden of past acts and their inevitable consequences have to be borne; but the Grace of the Lord can burn that burden in a flash; the revelation of reality will, in a flash, save you from that burden. If you see yourself in all and all in you, then you have known the reality, says Krishna in the Geeta. Therefore, you have to develop the same quantity and quality of Love that you have for Me, towards all others. When you are the Universal, where can you say, your street is or your house is? You are then no longer an individual; you are the Universal. Get that idea fixed in your mind. The Lord will be easily moved; He is like butter, a little warmth is enough to melt His heart. When Prahlada approached Him, the ferocity of the Narasimha Form of the Lord cooled down.

Consider the Welfare of Humanity as a Whole

The three Pandits you have honored today are preserving and propagating these vital truths of our culture for the last thirty or forty years; there are many more men of this caliber still to be recognized and honored. Many people condemn Brahmanas as a class and charge them with trying to promote their caste interests, writing the Shastras (scriptures) and trying to have a monopoly of the Vedas. But have you considered how difficult the Shastras have made the life of a Brahmana? No one will willingly impose such restrictions on so many of his own acts and movements, but these people have done it and tried to live accordingly for centuries, and their chief inspiration for subjecting themselves to this restriction has been not power or pomp, but "the welfare of humanity!" Consider this.

That is the outlook of Indian culture, the welfare of humanity as a whole. That is also the reason why it has survived, while all its contemporaries of the past have sunk into oblivion, some without a trace of their influence on posterity. This culture has stood firm because it is built upon the Vedas, the authentic experience of the seers. It is only those who are obsessed by doubt that lose those precious jewels of spiritual wisdom; there are some who hesitate to accept good and useful things that others suggest, though these same people are daily taking countless other facts on trust!

Imagine the enormous efforts of these seers, because of which the path of spiritual progress has been cleared by them for the good of all! Why do you not proceed along it? If you take the very first step, you will immediately recognize that their experience is authentic. What is the use of blaming them, instead of trying their prescription? But you must be aware, of course, of your illness and long for a cure.

Develop Confidence in Yourself

This Samaj must carry the Geeta to the villages, and instill its message into the daily lives of our people. You must yourselves follow the Geeta in your daily life so that you may get the authority to do this. Develop confidence in yourself and in the culture in which you have grown up. There is no advertisement needed for it; it has its own inherent value, and the proof of its value is in the Shanti it confers and the courage it implants.

I am sorry these Pandits, who are great scholars, did not speak longer because they wished Me to address you for a longer time. Whether they speak or I speak, the subject is essentially the same; liberation from delusion and escape from darkness, by the recognition of the light that is effulgent within.

Rajahmundry Hindu Samaja, 2-4-1965