Since time immemorial, it has been crystal clear that the path of the worldly is one, and the path of the saintly, the other. Their paths do not meet. Though they both belong to the same world as all God’s children, similar in appearance, diet and dress, there is a stark difference between the two.
The worldly are characterised by narrow thought, poor sightedness, feelings of apathy, negative deeds and selfishness. They treat their very own as strangers, and seem to derive pleasure from making others unhappy. The saintly are known by their large-heartedness, humility, humanity and human welfare. As they are happy, they share happiness with others. There are no strangers for them because they treat the whole world as their very own. Ironically, whilst they help people to settle down and allow their love to flow like great rivers, the worldly destroy their shelters and become responsible for the rivers of blood. Hence, both of these paths are different. One is likened to light, the other, to darkness.
The Good Lord has endowed upon human beings the capacity to think and reflect. It is man, who has to decide whether to choose night or day. He has to decide whether to pursue love, compassion and the healing of human wounds or to fan hatred, harm and injury. Every man is potentially divine, as the recipient of the gift of wisdom. When such wisdom dawns on man, there is no room left for problems. But in the absence of such wisdom, separate lines are drawn and different qualities and attributes entrenched.
As there is no knowing when man is going to breathe his last, man has to rise and awake now. The path of truth has to be acquired now and the destination, reached now. This is why it is said, “what is to be done tomorrow, must be done today; what is to be done today, must be done now” – i.e. presently. The worldly seem to have time for negativity and criticism; time for social and family dealings; time for wealth and affluence, whilst being cunning and clever, but they have no time for the Truth. Saint Kabir rightly says,
“There appears to be no takers of the truth
besotted with falsehood are, all un-couth”.
Negative thoughts
Despite the fact that this world is nothing but a myth and a dream, the worldly are still besotted by it every minute of the day. From their birth onwards, they devote their entire lives to it – their thoughts, behaviour and all their activities. This is why they are never freed from their routines and rituals. They are forever caught up and ensnared by this tempting world, having no other understanding.
There seems to be no end of pretence. The rosary beads are ritually turned, but the mind is elsewhere. It is not the fingers or the tongues, but the mind that needs to be engaged. For, it is the mind that becomes satanic (Ravana) or angelic (Rama). It is the mind that is going to get upset; it is the mind that is going to be at peace. It is the mind that has positive qualities; it is the mind that has negative qualities. In fact it is said, he, whose mind is holy (enlightened), the Ganges (the Almighty flow of life) for him, lies everywhere.
The very seed that gives rise to the harvest has to be sown. In the absence of the seed, there can be no yield. It is like a farmer, who prepares a patch of ground, which he tills, irrigates, fertilizes and then waits for the harvest. One day a man asks the farmer if his harvest has arrived. He says, ‘no’. The man asks if the farmer prepared the ground, tilled it, watered it and fertilized it. The farmer replies in the affirmative. Then the man asks if he had sown the seed. The farmer says, ‘no’. He forgot to put the seed in. It is all about this spiritual seed, which when properly tilled, irrigated and fertilised becomes a formidable harvest, like a deep-rooted tree that stands firm and provides solace in the form of shade. It becomes helpful and supportive for others.
Our Scriptures, full of the whereabouts of God, tell us one thing, and the worldly believe another. They still maintain that they can attain the realisation of God in remote forests and jungles. Saint Bulleh Shah reminds us as a rebuttal,
“if God was attainable in the jungles, then cows and calves
would have been the first contenders;
if God was attainable through bathing, then the fish and frogs
would have been the first contenders;
if God was attainable at tombs and graves, then bats and other nocturnal creatures
would have been the first contenders”.
The worldly still have their eyes closed, following the same meaningless routines and rituals. They carry on pursuing the same old defunct modes and methods to reach God. They maintain that only the clean and cleansed attain the Lord, and that the negative, the wicked are simply disqualified. However, if this were so, then Sajjan, the thief, would have remained a thief all his life. How did he then become a devotee? He did not do any good deeds; his slate was far from being clean. He was certainly not bright, but a blight. Kodah, the demon, had performed no deeds. There were many others like Ganaka, who had committed nothing but sins. So were they all disqualified? Perhaps they have forgotten what Lord Krishna says,
“just as a mighty horde of tinder can be turned to ashes with one match;
the light of knowledge can destroy a mighty horde of sins”.
The worldly also say that Lord’s devotion cannot be so easy. It takes many births. If indeed we have to take many births, then is it possible to know how many births one has already taken? The response is met with silence and ‘we do not know’. If one does not know how many lives it takes, then why is this life not the one for self-realisation? After all, somebody who is hungry and has not eaten for two days does not have to eat for two whole days to satisfy his hunger. He who has not bathed for five days, he surely does not need to bathe for five days to remove his impurities. Is it not so that all that is required is a plate of food and the presence of soap and water?
It is the mind that needs to be still. It is forever vulnerable like the ever-changing monkey. Even if you tie it to a pole, it still jumps up and down; it is never still. The mind is no different; it is stubborn and refuses to listen. To illustrate, consider the naughty child, usually quarrelling and fighting with one and all, being given some responsibility to learn the error of his ways. The youngster agreed to do what he was told. The idea was for him to be busy counting the waves as they came and went. At first, he thought that it was an easy task to perform. So he sat at a convenient spot and started to count the waves, then all of a sudden, he became very angry and started throwing stones at a nearby, passing boat. The people on the boat asked as to why he was throwing stones at them. He said, “don’t you know? I’ve been counting the waves and you came along and disturbed my whole count. I can no longer count!”
In fact, wherever you take such people, their stubbornness never goes. Hence, this mind is proud – full of ego. It is always stressing upon the ‘I’. Saints say that we should take out the ‘I’ and replace it with ‘You’ (You, the Lord). This mind has to be humbled; made large-hearted and it has to be extricated from its arrogance and pride. To illustrate the plight of the worldly, consider the story of a married couple who went out for a walk. The wife taunted her husband by saying that he looked silly in his attire, like an animal handler. The husband retorted, “yes, indeed, I would look like an animal handler if a monkey like you accompanies me”. They were both engaged in defaming each other, sparing no efforts. Just so, labels of caste or class are used to belittle others; religion is being used to subjugate others; people use rank and fame to belittle others. There seems to be no end of I, me and mine. Why does man keep on putting off that which is going to salvage him, improve his here and hereafter, and make him praiseworthy?
Positives Thoughts
Without the company of the saintly, man’s intelligence remains destructive, for it is the saints’ positive company that illumine both the mind and intelligence. Endowed with a superior mind, they become instrumental in passing on the same to others. With such a transformation, they (the saintly) become worthy of turning this earth into a veritable heaven. This is why there has been talk of the acquisition of saintly wisdom for many millennia. The Gurus have always taught us that the mind is to be low and humble; wisdom, is to be the highest.
Saint Prahlada did exactly this. He delved deep into selfless devotion and wisdom. His righteousness was unflinching, firm and strong, even when his father, King Harnakashapa, tried to kill him. We remember the demise of his Aunt, Holika, on the occasion of Holi every year.
Swami Vivekananda reminds us that we should have the same desire for the Truth that we have for worldly achievements. In fact, the longing for the Truth should be akin to a drowning man, gasping for life. We should also yearn for freedom from the ocean of material snares.
The Creator pervades everywhere; it is unique. To salvage oneself from the material ocean, one has to embrace the Unique One that has always existed. It was there before this universe, the stars, the solar system and the galaxies. Then it gave rise to this creation – all that we see. If tomorrow the world were to come to an end (‘Maha Pralaya’), the Creator would still be there.
The merger of our real identity, ‘atma’, with our Source, ‘Parmatma’, cannot be over emphasised. This Source is not this world or the creative expanse. Let us not confuse the two. We talk about God, the Creator, and yet the word that comes out of the mouth is nature (‘kudrat’). We give importance to nature, but according to the saintly, there can be no kudrat without the Creator (‘kaader’). This nature exists because of the Creator. The art exists because of the artist; a painting is only meaningful because of the painter. If we take away the artist, there can be no art. Just so, without the sun, there can be no rays. Without the Creator, there can be no creation.
The saintly give importance to the Creator at every step of their lives. So much so that they hold the Almighty in great esteem with every breath. Just like the vital breath, saints give importance to the Lord. When cataract sets in, we cannot even recognise the things close to us. We wander aimlessly all over the place. But when the cataract is removed by a knowledgeable physician, our vision is clear once more. It is just so, with the malady of spiritual blindness – it too must be removed by a knower of Spirit. Just as a mechanic diagnoses the fault in a car with his expert experience, our ability to travel on the spiritual path is made possible, with the advent of a saint. Though it may be difficult to know God, it is made possible through an enlightened soul.
Lord Krishna introduced Arjuna to the Lord on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna was not in any hermitage or a remote place, but on a battleground, where lives could be taken at anytime. Battle conches were being blown; blood was being shed; and people were at war. In spite of that, Lord Krishna decided to impart the realisation to Arjuna there and then – on the battle field.
Kabir ji acquired enlightenment with the grace of Ramananda ji, whilst doing his every day duties. Meerabai, though born into a royal family, was graced with the divine knowledge through Ravidass ji. It is only when Ravidass ji gave Meerabai the subtle vision that she was able to recognise the all-pervasive, Almighty Shyam. Overwhelmed with emotion, she began to dance in the streets:
I have found, yes, I’ve really found
The wealth of Love’s precious gem
As my True Guru gave me this rarity
I accepted, with his grace, this gem!
The saintly do exactly that. They try to reach as many people as possible, propagating the Divine. This is not to be ignored, but very much to be concentrated upon. These are not light issues, but very serious ones. The whole phenomenal world depends on it. On the one side, the atma gets salvaged, and on the other, it is freed from the cycle of becoming.
So it is not simply about self-enlightenment, but also about the enlightenment of others. Their welfare and salvation is also important. Not just to improve the hereafter through salvation, but also to work for the here and now. It is the mind that we have to adorn with salvation. When that’s done, it separates the enlightened from the un-enlightened. We have to adorn the mind with love and compassion. To adorn the here and now is to adorn the mind.
When the mind is so adorned, we see that our physical form is in equilibrium, and our wealth is used judiciously. If the mind is in fact balanced, then everything it works with is also balanced. Kabir ji says,
“do not indulge in dishonesty even by default,
for finally you have to face the consequences”
All that is required is the company of saints. Those who are already joined with the Lord, it is they who can help us also to link with the Divine. Saints have said, and are saying continuously, that if you need to look for anyone, then look for the enlightened souls. When you find someone in the form of a saint, the knower, then that which has been scarce and impossible, becomes very much easy and possible.
Hence, the saintly are always contrary to the worldly. Unlike Ravana and Kansa, Duryodhna and Harnakashyp, they gain the whole world by becoming humble and model citizens. Knowing full well that they can breathe their last any minute, they rise, awake, acquire the right path, and whole-heartedly begin to walk on it too. They honestly feel and put into effect that what is to be done tomorrow has to be done today; and what is to be done today, should be done now.
