Ignorance will never vanish until this discrimination
dawns. "This world is but God and nothing else. Everything, every being
is but His Manifestation, bearing within a new name and a new form" -
Love this Truth, believe in it, and then you have the right to speak of Seva,
Bhakthi and Dharma and the authority to preach on those paths.
Vairagya or Non-attachment depends upon Jnana as well
as Bhakthi. Deprive Vairagya of that basis and you will find it crumbling fast.
Why, this is the prime cause for the want of spiritual progress at present. All
these three have to be emphasized in Sadhana; they are not to be separated and
striven for individually.
Bhakthi includes Jnana; if Vairagya (Detachment) is
isolated from Bhakthi and Jnana, Jnana is isolated from Bhakthi and Vairagya;
and Bhakthi is isolated from Vairagya and Jnana; each is ineffective.
The best that each isolated path is
capable of is to give some training in purity. Never therefore develop conceit
and declare that you are Bhakthas or Jnanis or Vairagis (Recluses).
Sadhakas must dip in the Triveni of
Bhakthi-Jnana-Vairagya. There is no other way to salvation.
Before anything, be pure and holy. Of aspirants and
Sadhakas, there are plenty; but of those who are pure in heart, the number is few.
For example, observe this one fact: there are many who
religiously read the Gita over and over again; there are many who expatiate on
its meaning for hours and hours, but persons who practice the essence of the
Gita are rare.
They are now like gramophone records, reproducing
someone else's song, incapable of singing themselves, ignorant of the joy of
song. They are not Sadhakas at all. Their Sadhana does not deserve that name.
Life must be seen as the manifestation of the three
Gunas, as a play of temperaments pulling the strings of dolls. This awareness
must saturate every thought, word and deed. That is the Jnana you need. All
else is Ajnana.
The Jnani will have no trace of hatred in him, he will
love all beings; he will not be contaminated by the ego, he will act as he
speaks.
The Ajnani will identify himself with the gross body,
senses and mind, things which are but tools and instruments. The eternal pure
Atma is behind the mind, and so this mistake of the Ajnani plunges him into
trouble, loss and misery.
All the names and forms that fill this universe and
constitute its nature are but creations of the Mind. Therefore, the mind has to
be controlled and its wayward fancies calmed in order to perceive the
Truth.
The ever-moving waves of the lake have to be stilled
so that you can see the bottom clearly. So too, the waves of ignorance that
ruffle the mind have to be stilled.
Love.
