Devotee: The world knows well how You are vouchsafing courage
and daring and guiding men to do good spiritually, physically, and mentally.
The world knows how You have rendered educational and medical help. You have
never done any harm or caused harm to anyone in any form. How can we suppress
the people who invent and spread all kinds of silly stories about such as You?
Do they gain anything by this?
Swami: Oh.
So this is the story! Well don’t you know that good and bad are of the very
nature of the world? If all are engaged in selling, who will buy? With regard
to God, fault finding has come down from the beginning of time; it is not new.
But present-day people might manufacture some new tales. Well, why should you
take such abuse to heart? Take it that they are remembering Swami by this
means!
Memories of love and memories of hatred are two types.
The latter are
ignorance-based illusion (a-vidya- maya) and are related to the quality of
passion (rajoguna).
The former are knowledge-based illusion (vidya-maya) and are related to the quality of
serenity (sathwa-guna).
Ignorance-based illusion results in grief; knowledge- based illusion results in
bliss (ananda).
Their results are indicated there itself.
Now, why should you suppress? You asked about the gain, right? They don’t
need any gain; finding fault with others has become their habit; they do it as
their duty. As the saying goes, “What does the moth care or gain whether the
sari costs a hundred tankas or is cheap? To gnaw and tear is its nature.” The
moth tears a costly sari or a rag equally. Does it know the value of things?
Its work is such. So be at peace, realising that the work of these fault-finders
is the same as the work of these moths.
Author's note
With the example of some people criticizing Swami; while answering to that, Swami has given a big lesson to all of us today.
He says:-
Feeling of hatred is caused by Avidya Maya, ignorance and related to Quality of passion- Rajo guna.
This results in grief.
Feeling of Love is caused by Vidya Maya, illusion based on Knowledge, related to quality of Serenity- Sattwa Guna.
This results in Ananda/Bliss.
So, readers, why would we, after understanding this truth, develop quality of passion, develop hatred for others and ultimately end up in grief??
Only way, only solution, only secret to be happy, to be in Ananda / Bliss is to LOVE, LOVE and LOVE one's SELF which culminates in LOVING ALL!!
Love.