Unity in Diversity
Date: Oct 22, 1993
Occasion: Dasara
Venue: Poorna Chandra Auditorium
Location: Prasanthi Nilayam, AP
Original Discourse Audio
Unity in Diversity
Though the Upanishads are termed as Vedanta (the end of the Vedas) they are actually the Shiras (head) of the Vedas. The Eashavasya Upanishad emphasizes that man is bound by action and purity of heart is the basis for right action, “Chittasya Shuddhye Dharmah.” Right action has to be done for achieving purity of heart. When you get rid of bad feelings, evil thoughts, and evil deeds, you can experience your Inner Self.
As long as one is puffed up with the pride of education, wealth, status, and position one cannot comprehend the Atma. You must turn your mind away from all these transient mundane pursuits and redirect it towards the Inner Self to realize the Atmabhava, which is eternal and changeless. This is the basis for all the changing phenomena of the mundane world. (At this stage, Bhagawan materialized a gold chain by a wave of His hand and went on to explain that the basis for all gold jewellery is gold). The gold chain can be melted and turned into solid gold from which other ornaments can be made bearing different names and forms. Similarly, the basis for all the different forms and names of beings in the world is Divine. The Eashavasya Upanishad stresses the unity in diversity. It teaches that the mind and the body will change but the Atma is the unifying, changeless and permanent entity. Man, in his ignorance, considers all changing objects as true and does not look into the common basis which is changeless.
Excerpts from Discourse on 22-10-1993, given in Purnachandra Auditorium.