It is the inescapable destiny of
everyone to fulfill themself. Every living being has to attain fullness in the
end. Each one is at present at a particular stage of this march, as a result of
the activities engaged in during previous lives and the feelings entertained in
the past. The future is being built by the activities being engaged in now and
the feelings that urge and shape them. That is to say, what one does, feels, or
thinks about at present are the basic reasons for the good or bad fortune that is
in store.
The prompting to save oneself and the
power to pull oneself up into liberation cannot be derived from books. This
strength has to come from the individual himself. One can spend an entire
lifetime scanning profoundly written books; one might earn the highest rank
among intellectuals.
But at the end of it all, one might not
have attained even some little progress in the spiritual field. To conclude
that a scholar who has reached the topmost height can therefore be considered
ripe in spiritual wisdom will prove to be a great mistake.
Scholars themselves might imagine, as
they learn more and more from books, that they are progressing more and more on
the spiritual path, but when they examine the fruit of their studies, they will
recognize that though their intellects have become sharper and heavier, they
have not been acquiring awareness of the Atma to the slightest degree.
Character: the core of spirituality
Many people have the skill to deliver
wonderful discourses on spiritual subjects; but, really speaking, everyone has
failed in living the life of the spirit, the highest Atmic life. What exactly is the reason for this sad state of
affairs?
Now, spiritual texts are studied to
equip oneself with scholarship in the competitive race for superiority, to earn
a livelihood, to pose oneself as an undefeatable upholder of some specific
point of view, and generally to earn a reputation as a pundit. The scholar
might write elaborate commentaries on the Gita. But, as a result of all that study,
if in their character, behavior, and conduct the scholar does not prove that
the Gita has soaked in, all that scholarly level is but a burden to be
carrying around. This is the lesson that Indian (Bharathiya) culture tries to impress.
The source from which this lesson
emerges is the Guru, the soul (purusha)
latent in you. The study of the scriptures and other texts can reinforce the
spiritual urges already in you and induce you to practise the precepts.
Don’t treat the learning you derive
from them as so much fodder for the brain. It must be sublimated into bliss (ananda) for the individual. Envy,
pompousness, egotism — such evil traits have to be driven out of the
individual.
Love.
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