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DHANESHWAR SANHITA i.e. BOOK OF LORD SHIVA

Translator:

Dr Ganga Prasad Pant,

Retd. Professor English,

Hamidia College Bhopal
Dept. of Higher Education
Govt. Of MP.

The importance of Guru’s Company

If a man is in enlightened company, he finds the word ‘Truth’

bandied about. He thinks the word ‘truth’ must refer to a
concrete shape which can be visualized as a creation of nature
and which can also be used for one’s own good. So he goes in
search of truth and enters the world of nature to see if any
object in it embodies it. He surveys the sky, the air, the fire, the
water, the earth, the trees, the plants like basil, and the idols,
but he finds that none of them embodies truth. He then
explores human society as he comes to realize that only a living
human being can help him in finding truth by means of his
words and actions. Such a living man is called a guru who,
according to Vedantic philosophy, incarnates the Trinity of
Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa (The creatior, survivor,
destroyer), and thus enables his disciple to visualize truth. So
he seeks and finds a guru by dint of God’s grace and his own
good deeds. Truth as an abstraction can not be seen, though it
can be imagined as having various shapes. In other words, a
guru himself is an embodiment of truth, goodness, and beauty,
and as such leads his disciple from darkness to light. Therefore
a guru’s house is the house of truth or of God. Lord Krishna
says that he lives in the same house in which an enlightened
guru lives and where people find themselves in good company.
He points out that he maintains a dual existence by living in the
house of an enlightened guru.

The question is why truth or God is not visible if he lives in the

house of an enlightened guru. The answer to this question is
that truth or God will be visible to a man if he is in the company
of an enlightened guru as his disciple and follows his teachings
sincerely. Lord Krishna says that he lives inside a saintly guru
who does good to people not only by his words but also by his
actions. Only the company or the discipleship of such a saintly
guru can help people in living a happy life while the company of
a wicked man makes them unhappy where a man comes to
know truth with the help of his mind or intellect and from where
he returns home fully satisfied, there is the presence of
enlightened company. A saintly guru’s house is the house
where God’s praise is sung and his presence is felt. Such Such
a house is the house of an enlightened company.

However, the aforesaid conception of enlightened company is

not accepted by all people. The reason is that there are three
types of people, viz., superior, medium and inferior. The
superior ones are saintly, the medium ones are worldly and the
inferior ones are irreligious only the superior type of people are
fit for enlightened company because the other types of people
find it difficult to know truth.

Human beings pursue diverse intellectual, ideological and

practical goals. Consequently they choose their gurus are also
of different types and possess different kinds of knowledge. If
someone is given to thieving, he will seek a guru who knows all
about it, if someone else is inclined to compose poetry, he will
follow a guru who is an established poet; and if some other
person is interested in seeking truth, he will go in search of a
guru who can enable him to achieve his goal. In fact, gurus are
of four types: (1) the true guru is one who knows truth and
helps his disciple in finding it in the form of Rama, (2) the
pseudo guru prompts people to perform evil deeds, (3) the lay
guru is a preacher who simply directs people to go to a true
guru who knows truth and can enable them to realize it, and (4)
the super guru is situated above all the other gurus. The true
guru sends people to the super guru and the super guru makes
them realize the nameless reality that is beyond the limits of
birth and death and that is also called the unborn ‘jeeva; In fact,
jeeva’ stands for ‘Shiva’, Brahma, or Atma’ in the opinion of our
ancestors. This is an aphoristic way of saying that self –
knowledge is akin to the knowledge of God. The philosophers
also say that the Bhagwadgeeta, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that
man’s soul is immortal as it survives his mortal body, which
returns to the earth at the time of death but lets the soul return
to God in a deathless state. The true guru reveals this truth to
his disciples and the super guru liberates them from the flaws of
character and conduct so as to make them fit for becoming one
with God. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he is a super guru and
can assume various roles by means of yogic magic. He
prompts Arjuna to participate in the war like valiant warrior by
renouncing his feeling of attachment to his opponents. When
Arjuna hesitates in doing so, Lord Krishna discards his role as a
super guru and assumes the role of a cosmic guru to coax
Arjuna into fighting against the Kauravas without any qualms of
conscience. Indeed, super guru is akin to God himself and it is
his task to maintain the dignity of his disciple.

Sometimes a super guru awards punishment to an errant

disciple. For instance, a super guru had punished
Sadaphaldeva of Pakadi Village in Vrittikoot Seat.

A super guru assumes the shape of his disciple and appears in

that shape at different places at the same time. Once he
assumed the shape of Shri Sadaphaldeva and appeared in
village Khasi Devasia as well as in village Lahari at one and the
same time to the astonishment of the villagers of Khasi Devasia
who could not understand how a man like any one of them was
able to be present at two different places at one and the same
time. It was the super guru who made him capable of doing so.

This world is a plaything of a super guru who amuses himself

by tossing it and yet maintains its religious basis. It is also the
plaything of God and a super guru’s task is to lead his disciple
to God.

The importance of Devotion of God

The devotion of God is based on three factors, viz; (1) fear, (2)
love, and (3) service of a guru. Devotion is generally used to
indicate great love and care for somebody whose name may be
grammatically treated as belonging to masculine, feminine,
neuter, or common gender. But devotion to God implies
devotion to a nameless and unknown reality which does not
belong to any conventional grammatical gender but to a special
gender known as light gender.

The devotee gets the knowledge of God by means of his own

action or karma and perceives him as the first father, the first
mother, or the first light.

Holy books and ancient monitors narrate stories of certain men

who performed super human tasks in this word. Ordinary men
cannot uproot trees, lift mountains and turn stones into women.
They fail to carry out such tasks despite being highly educated,
but some men succeed in doing so by virtue of their devotion to
God. Ordinary men display their university degrees but fail to
tell the gender of a stone, while extra ordinary men display their
mastery of diversity, i.e. Oam and accomplish super human
feats. For instance, people narrate the story of an extra ordinary
saint known as Jungali Baba who could stop running trains and
grant children to infantile couples. Once he is said to have
granted a son to the Queen of Hathuva by asking her to
copulate with her husband at a particular time on a particular
day. The Queen and the King of Hathuva were overjoyed to find
that the saint’s word of mouth had come true. Once Jungali
Baba is said to have felt mentally upset so he left his seat at
Kathora in Balia at 8.00 PM during August and led a group of
ten youngsters across the flooded Sarayu river to fetch a
basket. He returned to his seat with his ten companions after an
hour and a half, but he and his companions criss-crossed the
flooded river on foot in such a way as if it were a dry route and
none of them was wetted. On arriving at his seat at Kathora,
Jungali Baba asked one of his companions to go to the temple
over there and bring some food for his hungry friends as Mother
Sarayu must have kept some eatables for them. So one
youngster went to the temple and brought a can of curd and a
plateful of deep-fried pieces of bread. The youngsters found
both the items unusually delicious and ate them to their hearts
content, but they were surprise to see that both the items had
remained intact even though they had eaten them to their fill.
Jungali Baba smiled and asked one of the youngsters to take
both the eatables back to the temple for future use. He was not
an ordinary man but a superman who could do whatever he
liked to do on account of his devotion to God. A superman is
also a saint or a devotee who sings the praise of God and
becomes able to do anything at will.
A saint is very different from an ordinary man. According to
Manu and Tulasidas, one ordinary man out of a thousand
displays good conduct by means of courage, patience, bravery
and righteousness. Such a man is the right man. A saint owns
goodness, which is the basis of devotion to God. It is devotion
to God that liberates a man from lust, anger, pride, greed and
attachment to worldly ties and thus makes him fit to be one with
the godhead. In this context Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in
Bhagavadgeeta that he lives near an honest man who is like a
saint. Lord Krishna was a god, but he liked to sit with a saint
because he considered a saint to be free from deceit or
dishonesty. He came to Arjuna because he was a god and
could come or go wherever he liked. A god is above a saint and
can appear or disappear at will before whosoever calls him. He
is called the supreme father because he can showcase the
whole universe within himself. Blessed is the saint with whom
the embodiment of such power agrees to sit.

An incident reveals Lord krishna’s divine power. When the

Mahabharata war ended, an ashwamedhayagya was
performed. A horse was sent out with an army in accordance
with the convention associated with ashwamedhayagaya. If
anybody prevented the horse from moving on, he had to face a
battle. When the horse reached Kataka under the protection of
Arjuna’s fourfold army, Pranavira, the prince of Katakastate,
noticed the flag of victory over the horse and prevented him
from going ahead. Consequently, Arjuna and Pranavira entered
into a heated argument about the obstruction of the hourse’s
movement, which led a battle of wills between the two. Both of
them were devotees of Lord Krishna, but Pranavira was an
eighteen year old lad while Arjuna was a seasoned warrior.
However, Arjuna was greatly upset when he found it difficult to
counter-attack Pranavira who was firing arrows at him from his
bow in a ceaseless manner. When the battle came to an end in
the evening, Arjuna remembered Lord Krishna who came to
him instantly. The next day Lord Krishna accompanied Arjuna
as his charioteer in the battle field, but Arjuna still could not
summon up courage to defend himself against Pranavira’s
attack. Meanwhile Pranavira entreated Lord Krishna to witness
the battle after coming to his side and Lord Krishna went to his
side. When the battle began, Arjuna found himself helpless in
countering Pranavira’s attack and looked pitifully to Lord
Krishna for his help. So Lord Krishna left Pranavira alone and
went to the side of Arjuna. The struggle between the two
warring devotees for winning the support of Lord Krishna
continued, but it created a dilemma for Lord Krishna who did
not find it easy to side with one devotee at the cost of the other.
Pranavira then requested him to witness the battle between him
and Arjuna without supporting either of them. He tied Lord
Krishna to a palm tree with the help of his yellow scarf and
requested him to watch the battle and wait to see its outcome.
He thereafter engaged Arjuna in a fierce battle and fired arrows
at him continuously. Arjuna was nonplussed by Pranavira’s
onslaught and tearfully wished for Lord Krishna’s help because
he had not faced such an onslaught all alone even during the
Mahabharata war. Lord Krishna understood Arjuna’s
predicament and assumed another form to assist him as his
charioteer.

When Pranavira saw Lord Krishna acting as the charioteer of

Arjuna, he wanted to know from Lord Krishna whether he was
right in coming to the help of Arjuna in spite of the fact that he
was tied to the palm tree to present him from doing so. Lord
Krishna smiled and told Pranavira that the form he had tied to
the palm tree was still there. Pranavira was overjoyed to see
that Lord Krishna had assumed two forms to come to the
rescue of his devotee, Arjuna. Treating Arjuna and his parents
as blessed devotees, Pranavira was lost in the thought of Lord
Krishna. It was just then that Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to fire a
semilunar arrow at Pranavira in order to kill him. Arjuna
hesitated to do so, but Lord Krishna told him that he wanted his
devotee to be killed just when he was lost in his thought as
such an end would free him from the fetters of worldly life and
unite him with his lord. Arjuna thereupon cut off Pranavira’s
head from his body so as to make him merge in Lord Krishna
and thus achieve salvation. This incident shows that devotion to
God is an arduous but blissful task. It blesses the giver as well
as the receiver of its bounty.

Devotion to God leads to union with him, which is equivalent to

salvation. A man born in this world ends his life in two ways;
either he achieves salvation by means of devotion to God or
meets with physical death for various reasons without achieving
his spiritual goal.

Importance of Devotion : Part II

(Other types of devotion)

Devotion to God is not the only type of devotion as service to

society is also a type of devotion. Indeed, a devotee is a
servant who renders selfless service the society or to the world
of nature. How can one serve God without serving his
creatures? God is invisible, but his creatures are visible and,
therefore, to be serviceable to them is to be devoted to God. All
living beings are creatures of God, whether they live under
water, on earth, or in the sky, and to render any service to them
is to show devotion to their creator.

The question is how can one get the idea of serving God’s
creatures? The answer is one can do so by reading the books
that recount the stories of great men who left no stone unturned
in serving God’s creatures despite facing personal losses and
sufferings after the manner of King Harishchandra. They not
only earned name and fame for themselves by dint of their
good deeds but also set up examples for others to follow. Fame
is consequent upon devotion to God and his creatures. It is
derived from good deeds, which form the basis of the cast –
system.

Importance of Self – Study:

Self-study is closely related to devotion to God. It is by means
of self-study that a man cultivates goodwill and promotes the
welfare of his race. Goodwill leads to self-fulfillment through a
good deed. A man acquires a knowledge of the ways of the
world through self-study, which enables him to distinguish a
wrong deed from a right one. As Kabir says, “One need not
regret the result of a bad deed, because one cannot get a
mango if one plants an acacia tree”. It is only by doing a good
deed that one can achieve salvation.

A good man acquires wisdom by learning to make a distinction

between what is right and what is wrong wisdom paves the way
for the cultivation of devotion to God as well as to society. A
man devoted to the service of God or of society becomes a
saint and renders selfless service to others after the manner of
Rama, Krishna and other superior persons. Whosoever serves
others selflessly is acclaimed as a god, a sage, or a saint in
society.

It is necessary to know that the words one hears are good as

well as bad, because all words are generally thought to be
godly. The saying goes that in the beginning was the word and
the word was god. However, there are words that prompt a man
to do good deeds for the welfare of others and there are also
words that provoke him to do evil to his fellows. Therefore, only
those words can be considered godly that inspire good deeds.
Such words are to be learned from self-study and they are also
to be translated into good deeds. The practice of good deeds
results in devotion to God or to society, which makes a man
indifferent to the woes and weals of worldly life and free from
lust, anger, pride, greed and attachment to material
possessions.

Devotion to god is a arduous task because it entails an effort to

known the nameless and unknown reality by means of self-
knowledge and selfless service to society. It is said to be easy
to accomplish by means of yoga, which is based on
medition,determination and transce of course some gurus say
that God can be known simply by singing his praise. The
Bhagavadgeeta also says so.

Devotion to Appearance or Maya:

Devotion to nature is devotion to appearance or maya. The

human race undertakes social activities in order to be able to
achieve the ultimate goals of religious, economic, erotic and
salvationistic well-being. A man has to earn money to fulfill his
needs for food, clothing and shelter. It is only when he earns
money in an honest way to fulfill his basic needs that he
becomes able to serve God by arranging religious rituals like
yagyas, charities, and donations. Our ancestors have said that
social service is an essential part of religious or devotional
regimen. Again, money is also needed to set up a family in
order to satisfy the erotic urge and produce children. A man
considers himself very fortunate if he has children, because he
believes that children will enable him to achieve salvation
through his union with God by performing the last rites at the
time of his death.

However, enlightened men believe that the performance of last

rites at the time of a man’s death cannot ensure his salvation if
he has committed sinful deeds. Therefore, such men renounce
worldly ties and become saints to achieve salvation through
their union with God. In this way they become free from the
cycle of birth and rebirth in this world. Such freedom is the
essence of salvation.

Our ancestors have said that those who perform sinful deeds
are led to hell by the God of Death or Yamaraj, while those who
perform charitable deeds are led to heaven by the God of
Religion or Dharmaraj. Hell is the house of death, while heaven
is the house of happiness. The sinner is made to cross ten
doors to reach hell, while the saint crosses ten doors on his
own to arrive in heaven by virtue of his devotion to God. The
saint becomes a devotee of God by acquiring the knowledge of
his transcendental and deathless status. This is the reason why
a good man seeks a true guru who can groom him for
sainthood and thus enable him to be united with God. A true
guru knows the regimen of sainthood and experiences full
satisfaction, true peace, and divine bliss by following it.
Sainthood can be learned by means of yoga, which facilitate
the union of the human soul or jeeva with God or Brahma.

The Importance of Sainthood:

The word ‘Sainthood’ has a dual significance like the dual
existence Lord Krishna claims to have in the Bhagavadgeeta.
Sainthood signifies not only renunciation of worldly ties but also
knowledge of God. As self-study leads to a knowledge of
words, sainthood leads to a knowledge of God by means of
yoga. Of course, yoga requires concentration of mind on the
object of knowledge in a loving way. Meera concentrated on the
face of Lord Krishna because she considered him an
embodiment of love. Similarly, a devotee of God must
concentrate on the face of his guru who, too, is an embodiment
of love. A true guru is equated with God and, therefore, to love
a true guru is to love God. Whatever a true guru says is
intended to promote the welfare of the devotee of God.

Since to love a guru is to love God, yoga insists on

concentrating the mind on the face of of guru so that it may use
the intellect to perceive his soul, which reveals the presence of
God in it. A guru’s soul is said to be a mirror, which reflects the
image of God. When the image of the guru and the memory of
his words get settled in the mind of the devotee, it is then that
he is able to see his soul or God. Concentration of mind or
intellect not only illuminates the presence of God but also
creates a divine melody for the entertainment of the devotee
who thereafter finds himself in heaven. In this context saint
Kinaram narrates the story of two women who saw fish being
sold in the market. They bought the fish and washed it
attentively. They took care not to spread turmeric powder over it
 and deep-fried it in oil with a concentrated mind. Saint Kinaram
ate the fish cooked so attentively by the two women and felt as
if he were in heaven. This shows that the two women cooked
the fish with such a concentration of mind and so great a care
that saint Kinaram found it extremely delicious.

The eye stands for eyesight on the ability to see something

clearly. It has a pupil, which registers an image of the guru of a
devotee. The devotee’s mind must be absorbed in the image of
his guru to the mind of the devotee and the mind directs the
intellect to think about in order to prompt necessary action.

Poets say that a man’s mind can be controlled by means of

eyesight. Yoga guru say that the mind of a man can be
controlled if he fixes his eyesight on the tip of his nose after
sitting in an easy pose. If he remains in such a condition for a
while, his breath stops and his mind is diverted from worldly
temptations and he experiences divine joy by catching a
glimpse of his soul. The devotee can undertake some breathing
exercises that activate the seven clusters of arteries in the body
from bottom to top. While doing so, he has to inhale and exhale
air slowly and stop the breach at certain intervals. Such an
exercise pushes the air upwards until it reaches the top of the
head and activates the spinal cord and makes the devotee fit
for pursuing his religious and economic goals successfully.

Salvation through service:

Once Mother Parvati requested our beloved guru Shivashankar or
Vishwanath to take her to the land of death, or the land inhabited by mortal
human beings, because she had never seen it and was eager to do so.
Shiv granted the request of his beloved wife Parvati and travelled with her
to the land of death. Of course, both of them did so as ordinary human
beings. Shivashankar happened to meet a milkman as a beggar and asked
the milkman to give him food-grains as alms. But the ill-tempered milkman
gave a hump of buffalo – dung to Shiv in place of food-grains. Shiva
thereupon granted a larger number of buffaloes to the milkman than he
already had! Shiv then took Parvati to the cottage of a motherly woman
and begged alms from her in the name of God. The motherly woman
gladly welcomed Shiv and Parvati in her cottage and fed them lovingly with
food, though she was too poor to entertain her guests comfortably. But
she was disconcerted to find her guests asleep in her cottage after taking
the first meal of the day as she had nothing to offer them a second meal of
the day on their waking up. Even so, she offered them toothbrush and
water when they woke up and asked them to eat basil leaves in the name
of God. The guests cleaned their teeth, washed their faces and ate the
basil leaves, but they stayed on till the evening. The motherly woman had
nothing to feed them a third time, but she thought it was her sacred duty to
feed her guests by any means. So she sold her hair, bought food, and fed
her guests very longingly and reverentially. Both Shiv and Parvati ate the
food offered by the motherly women, but Shiv abruptly stood up, joyfully
cursed his host destruction, and left the place with Parvati. When Parvati
pointed it out to Shiv that he had unjustly cursed the motherly women,
Shiva asked her not to be worried about it. On arriving at their abode,
Parvati was wonderstruck to see the motherly women present therein. She
told Shiva that he had gifted an abode to the motherly women, which
nobody could dream of owning. Having said so, Parvati merged in Shiva.
Reverence and Devotion:

The man that renders selfless service to his parents, teachers, family
members or society is known as a good or great man. Such service is
based on love, which is a type of reverence. Those who serve society in a
reverential manner are treated as great souls or icons. Reverence is born
in the heart. If someone affectionately offers grass to God, it will be
accepted as nectar. Affection is also born in the heart and denotes a
feeling of liking or loving somebody very much. Love as well as reverence
is sometimes expressed by shedding tears of joy, which are treated as
tears of overwhelming love.

Love is also felt for one’s birth-place and work-place. A man feels special
love not only for the village or town in which he is born and brought up but
also for the village on town to which he goes to earn a living. When a man
comes in contact with other men, he feels love for them and follows the
rules of correct or polite behavior in their society. He takes care not to hurt
their feelings but to show reverence for them. To show reverence for
others or to feel pity for their misfortune is considered a sign of good
conduct as it contributes to their well being. Reverence or pity leads to
non-violence. Pity is felt for the suffering of others and it prompts action to
mitigate the same. It is based on a feeling of attachment to the sufferer of
misfortune and creates an urge to serve him in a loving manner. Such
service is also a sort of reverence, but it cannot be rendred without a
feeling of attachment to the sufferer of ill-luck.

Love is grounded on good behavior. If a person is on his best behavior and

tries to promote the welfare of others, the others will respond to him in a
similar way. “As you sow, so you reap” is a well-known saying, which
makes the same point. Since the bond of love is beneficial for both the
parties involved in it, it must not be broken by them. If they break it, they
will hate and distance themselves from one another. They do so on
account of their selfish behavior, which makes them care for themselves
rather than for one another. As a result, their hearts are filled with jealousy
and anger for one another and they engage themselves in squabbles,
quarrels and clashes of a violent type. Indeed, they do not hesitate to kill
one another if their selfish designs are thwarted. It is anger that compels
them to undertake violent action against one another. Violence is a sin,
which is consequent upon anger. Therefore, people must give up anger
and behave with one another in a thoughtful and cordial manner without
hurting the feelings of one another. Not to hurt anybody is an essential part
of religions regimen wherever people treat one another happily, there
social relationships generate love, reverence and devotion. To alleviate the
suffering of others by taking pity on them is to practice devotion to God.

Pity and Devotion:

Man is sensible enough to show pity for the mute animals and refuse to kill
them for food. We knows that his existence on the earth is temporary and,
therefore, he must not kill an animal to satisfy his hunger. Every non-
violent religion requires its adherents to subsist on vegetarian diet instead
of subsisting on non-vegetarian diet. The reason is that vegetarian diet
pacifies anger, while non-vegetarian diet provokes it. Vegetables, fruits,
cereals and dairy products like milk, curd, and butter milk are to be
preferred to meat, fish, eggs and alcoholic drinks, because they are less
sensitive and more healthful than their non-vegetarian substitutes. In fact,
those who feed on animal flesh and take intoxicants receive a false feeling
of pleasure, but they become prone not only to life – style diseases like
high blood pressure, heart-disease and liver disease but also to crimes like
theft, loot, rape and murder. The aim of man’s life is to free himself from
sinful thoughts and deeds and behave well with parents, teachers and
other members of society. The Vedas prohibit immoral deeds like theft and
false speech and encourage philanthropic deeds that are done in the name
of God. “Do the universally accepted ideal of moral conduct. God himself
promotes the welfare of his devotees by bestowing the love and pity on
them.

The Nine Rasas”

Man is eager to experience rasa or ecstasy in life. Rasa is sensual as well

as spiritual. Sensual rasa is experienced through the senses of sight,
smell, taste, etc. while spiritual rasa is experienced through a peaceful
mind. If the sight of a beautiful object or the sweet – sour taste of well –
cooked food provides sensual rasa, the view of the dramatic
representation of the emotional concerns of people provides spiritual rasa
or ecstasy.

Literary critics contend that poetic or dramatic representation of the

emotional and cultural concerns of mankind provides nine spiritual rasas or
ecstasies, namely, the erotic ecstasy (Shringar rasa), the comic ecstasy
(hasya rasa), the pathetic ecstasy (karuna rasa), the furious ecstasy
(raudra rasa), the heroic ecstasy (vira rasa), the terrible ecstasy
(bhayanaka rasa), the odious ecstasy (bibhatsa rasa), the marvelous
ecstasy (adbhuta rasa), and the tranquil ecstasy( shanta rasa). These
rasas or ecstasies are based on such permanent emotions of mankind as
love, mirth, sorrow, anger, enthusiasm, fear, disgust, wonder and
detachment. These permanent emotions lie dormant in the human heart
and are activated either by personal gains and losses or by poetic –
dramatic representation. When these permanent emotions are activated by
personal gains and losses, they become disturbing or painful, but when
they are activated by poetic – dramatic representation, they become
generalized and pleasurable. For instance, the love between two persons
may be quite disturbing or painful in the real worlds, but the love between
Dushyant and Shakuntala as depicted in Abhigyanashakuntalam is
impersonal and pleasurable. It is transformed into the erotic ecstasy or
shringar rasa. Similarly, the sorrow caused by the death of a near and dear
one is painful for a person in real life, but the sorrow generated by the
deaths of the various characters in the Mahabharat is impersonal and
pleasurable. It is changed into the pathetic ecstasy or karuna rasa.
The erotic ecstasy arises from love between young men and women who
put on bright dresses and attractive make-up to please one another. This
ecstasy is of two types, one of which is related to the union of the lovers
and the other to their separation. The first leads to the consummation of
love between men and women, while the other leads to its frustration.
Women who are united with their lovers wear colourful dresses, put on
various ornaments from head to foot and apply vermillion to their forehead.
But those are separated from their lovers do not use such symbols of
erotic ecstasy. Married women use vermillion, but widows discard it.

Men and women belonging to a religious sect called sakhi sampraday

consider themselves as wives of God whom they treat as their husband.
Both men and women dress up like wives of God and try to please him
accordingly. Such devotees look upon God as a concrete entity and try to
establish personal relationships with him. Thus, Draupadi saw him as a
protector of her honour, Arjuna as a charioteer, Sudama as a friend,
Dhruva as a father, and Meera as a husband of course, Meera was
married to Rana, but Rana poisoned her to death on account of her whole-
hearted devotion to Krishna. However, she was very happy to merge in
Krishna after her death. She did not fall unconscious on account of the
poison given to her by Rana, nor did she regret her death. In fact, she
thought death had protected her honour as the devotee of Krishna and
thus had paved the way for her salvation. Her example shows that
salvation can be achieved by establishing an erotic relationship with God.
The Indifferent Pose:

Some devotees adopt an indifferent pose or stance toward their fate and
leave it to God to do whatever he pleases to do with them. They never feel
happy with themselves and their lot in life but always look sad and tired.
They sit before the statue of a god like Ram and completely surrender
themselves to him. They wear only a loin-cloth and carry with them a deer
hide, a jug, and a three-pronged spear or trishul.

The orphan Pose:

Some devotees take resort to the orphan pose in order to please their god
whom they treat as a father-figure. They shun the company of common
people and do not go to beg alms from them. In fact, they prefer to live in a
jungle and never visit villages and towns, because they believe that God
will take care of their well-being wherever they live. They follow the
example of Dhruva who left his home as a child and lived in a jungle all his
life under the care of God. They think Dhruva could realize God on account
of his full faith in him as a far better father than his real father. It was this
faith that made Dhruva a determined devotee of God who left his
comfortable home and lived in a lawless jungle in the midst of snakes and
tigers. It was this faith that made him live off the leaves of grass and the
fruits of trees that were the only eatables available to him in the jungle. It
was this faith that made him dedicate his life and its comforts to his
beloved god, Ram.

The unflinching Devotion:

Those who show an unflinching devotion to God place at his disposal not
only their bodies, minds, and riches but also their desires and egos, their
good and evil deeds, their fame and infamy, their gains and losses, and
their life and death. They deliberately throw themselves into jungles
inhabited by dangerous animals like tigers, elephants, snakes and
scorpions, because they are convinced that God will protect them against
every danger. They cite the example of Vivekanand whose life God saved
from falling a prey not only to the extremely cold climate of America but
also to the assault of a tiger. It was only by God’s grace that Vivekanand
survived to emerge as the spiritual leader of his country.

Social Service as Devotion:

Some devotees believe that God is omnipresent in spite of being invisible.

Consequently, they do not like to go to a jungle to worship God but decide
to stay in society and serve it to please God. They become champions of
truth, non-violence, love and compassion. They work for the uplift of the
poor and the downtrodden. They try to win the favour of God by means of
their good deeds. Krishna, Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra
Bose and Lal Bahadur Shastri displayed their devotion to God by means of
social service.

Painting as Devotion:

Some devotees undertake painting to display their devotion to God. They

treat God as a concrete entity and paint his figure in various ways and
contests. This sort of painting is an artistic form of the devotion to God.

Writing as Devotion:

Some devotees compose songs and poems in verse and stories in prose
about God’s greatness. The works of Surdas and Tulsidas exemplify such
compositions. All of such compositions project their composers’ devotion to
God.

The Pathetic Devotion:

When a man finds himself utterly helpless in facing a dangerous situation,

he prays to God to come to his rescue. In fact, every living being cries
pitifully for God’s help while confronting any danger to his life. There lived a
leader of elephants called Gajaraj during the Treta Yuga. One day he went
to the river side to drink water. When he began to drink water in the river,
an alligator grabbed his leg with his mouth and dragged him into the deep
water of the river. Gajaraj tried hard to free himself from the grasp of the
alligator but failed, because he was an animal of the jungle and as such
could not fight off an animal of water. Consequently, he pitifully prayed to
Lord Krishna to save him from the clutches of the alligator. Lord Krishna
granted his prayer and saved his life from the deadly grasp of the alligator.
This shows that living beings always remember God when they become
helpless in facing dangerous situations and God also helps them out of
danger whenever they seek his help.

Dualism and Monism as Two Forms of Devotion:

Devotees of God are very much confused about his existential status.
They do not know whether he exists apart from man and his world or is
immanent in man and his world. Some of the them think God is separated
from man’s world and exists as Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Ram, Krishna,
Durga, Hanuman, etc. Others among them believe that God is beyond
such separated incarnations and exists as an invisible dimension of man’s
world. In fact, they believe that man’s soul is quite god like and can be
comprehended by means of self-knowledge. Even so, they find it very
difficult to realize God through self-knowledge. So they take resort to other
ways of approaching God.
 3
The view that God exists apart from man and his world is known as
dualism, while the view that God exists as a natural part of man’s soul and his world
is known as monism. Devotees find these conflicting views about God’s existence quite
confusing. They are eager to visualize God in all his glory, but neither dualism nor
monism seems to be helpful to them in doing so. Dissatisfied with the view that God
exists apart from man and his world, they turn to the view that God is a natural part of
man’s soul and his world. They hold their breath and look within themselves, but they
find nothing there. They release their breath and burst into tears to find themselves
unable to see God in their souls. They utterly fail to understand why the omnipotent,
omnipresent and omniscient God has not bestowed on them the ability to visualize him
in his glory even though they try hard to do so by dint of yogic practice.

Superstitious Forms of Devotion:

In this Kalyuga some people use superstitious form of devotion for their own material
gain. They can be divided into three classes, namely, (1) Quacks, (2) pseudo-saints, and
(3) pundits or astrologers.

1. The Quacks pose as devotees of ghosts and witches in order to exploit those
men and women who go to them to get cured of their physical and mental ailments. Of
course, the Quacks do not know how to cure the psychosomatic diseases prevailing
among men and women on account of hereditary taints and behavioral lapses, but they
take their gullible patients for a ride by telling them that their diseases have been caused
by evil spirits and can be cured by appeasing the same. Frightened to death by the
‘diagnosis’ of their diseases made by the quacks, the patients, want to know how the evil
spirits are to be appeased. The Quacks them ask the patients to bring cannabis, wine,
cloves, incense, a bronze plate, rice, phaseolies murgo and barley in order to arrange a
ritual for the appeasement of the evil spirits that have inflicted diseases on them. The
patients buy all the articles demanded by the Quacks and visit them on a day fixed for
the ritual.

The Quacks begin the ritual by getting one and one-fourth hand long part of the land
near their seat cleaned and plastered by the patients. Thereafter they smoke cannabis
or drink wine after sprinkling some of it over the cleaned and plastered part of land by
way of making an offering to the evil spirits. When they get intoxicated, they recite a
mantra to charge the articles brought by the patients for the ritual with their intention of
keeping them under their control. Then they get the bronze plate heated a little and
place it on the naked back of a patient. As the heated bronze plate is stuck on the back
of the patient because of the evaporation of the air around it, the quacks pull it off the
place. They treat it as an evil spirit and ask it to leave the patient alone as they have
propitiated it by means of an offering of an intoxicant. Then they put the bronze plate on
the ground and take grains of phaseolies mungo or cloves in their hands in a way as if
they were capturing evil spirits. However, the grains of phaseolies or cloves get so stuck
in their hands that these fail to release them and the evil spirits supposedly inhering in
them. They tell their patient that the evil spirit hovering over him is too strong to be
thrown off. They ask the patient to come to them on some other day when they stage get
another ritual. They pour some water into the bronze plate and ask an evil spirit to swear
that it will remain confined therein till it is called to come out. When this ritual also turns
out to be fruitless for the patient, the Quacks tell him that his neighbors have made the
evil spirit to put him into trouble with the help of a tantric who prompts evil spirit to harm
others. Thus the Quacks cause wrangles and quarrels among people in defiance of
religious norms of conduct.

The Quacks set up a court once or twice a week at the residence of their head after
erecting the statue of a god or goddess over there. The head of the Quacks acts as a
judge and the other Quacks act as pleaders. Patients haunted by evil spirits are roped in
for the trial of their cases. Of course, most of the patients who come there are young
women rather than men, because women are more superstitions than men and fall an
easy prey to the wiles of the Quacks. Again, the Quacks ask the young women to bring
wine, meat and cereals for the appeasement of the evil spirits haunting them. The
wretched young women believe that the Quacks will free them from their troubles.
Therefore, they come to their court whenever they are summoned and bring with them
wine, meat and cereals. As a result, they develop very close relationships with the
Quacks who do not hesitate to exploit them sexually. Thus the conduct of the Quacks is
not only deceitful but also sinful from the religious point of view. But they do not realize
that their misdeeds have a damaging effect on their own lives.

2. The pseudo- saints are as deceitful and immoral as the aforesaid Quacks. They
are really cunning men who get their cut and don the saffron robe when their wives are
dead and their property is lost. They pick up the religious lore from a pseudo-guru and
move from place to place singing hymns and performing rituals for the benefit of the
credulous people. When they win the trust of the gullible sections of society, they tool,
begin to exploit their followers after the manner of the Quacks. A few of them are able to
influence politicians, industrialists and businessmen. Consequently, they live luxurious
lives in modernized ashrams and enjoy wine, women and wealth to their hearts content.
When their misdeeds are exposed, they land in jail or move to distant places.

3. The pundits or astrologers study the position of the stars and planets of the
zodiac at the time of the birth of a person and predict his or her future accordingly. They
also exploit gullible people by telling them that their diseases and misfortunes have been
caused by certain stars and planets that need to be propitiated by means of religious
rituals. But diseases are cured only by doctors and misfortunes have to be endured by
their victims. The pundits or astrologers have no power to cure or control the mishaps
that befall mankind. They just play upon the credulity of their clients to earn their living.

The activities of the above mentioned people are totally opposed to the
lasting values of life upheld by our scriptures and our permanent religion.
Our society has become sorrowful and restless because it has no mentors
of the proper type. It is not possible to earn wisdom without the guidance of
a proper mentor or true guru, but a true guru can be found only by the
grace of God. Saint Sadaphal has said that it is very difficult to find a true
guru, but one must seek and find him in a determined way if one wants to
live to peace with himself and his world.

What is one’s Religion?

Religion consists in doing one’s duty to parents, teachers, family members,

friends, countrymen and god or gods. It also consists in visiting shrines,
giving donations for the benefit of the poor, arranging religious rituals, and
dealing with living beings in a non-violent, compassionate and affectionate
manner. It further consists in doing intellectual and artistic work for the
cultural development of society. In fact, all those activities that contribute to
the well-being of God’s creatures are integral parts of religion.

Our ancestors were wiser than the scientists of today because they lived
successful and rich lives by using their energy for doing good deeds to
please God who is present everywhere.

There are various ways of worshipping God. Those who worship God in a
concrete from wave an earthen lamp in front of the statue of Ram, Krishna,
Hanuman, or Kali and Chant a mantra or hymn while doing so. The lamp is
an earthen bowl filled with classified butter and burning cotton wicks.
People wave it in front of the statue of God in a loving and reverential
manner. But a yogi uses a different way of worshipping God. He presents
to God his body as a bowl, the combination of air, bile, and phlegm in it as
butter, and the mind, intellect and wisdom in it as wicks burning by guru’s
guidance. In other words, a yogi worships God with his whole being. He
worships God as an abstract nameless reality.

Kabir wanted people to worship a grinder instead of worshipping a statute

of God made of a stone. Ordinary people worship God by serving their
parents and family members lovingly and selflessly. Our holy books are full
of the stories of sons who sacrificed their own interests for making their
parents comfortable and cheerful. Ram gave up his claim to the throne of
Ayodhya and went into exile for fourteen years to help his father in fulfilling
his promise to Kaikayi. Shravanakumar carried his blind parents on his
back to enable them to visit shrines. Hanuman served his mother
sincerely. All of these sons received the blessings of God for taking good
care of their parents.
Women also receive the blessings of God by serving their husbands
faithfully and selflessly. Sita went into exile with Ram, countered the
advances of Ravan and faced trial by fire on returning to Ayodhya. Savitri
braved Yamaraj to save her husband’s life. Draupadi had to face the
ignoring of being stripped off her clothes publicity on account of her
husband Yudhisthir. Anusuya, Tara, Kunti, Mandodari and Ahalya also
underwent suffering in order to maintain their status as ideal wives of their
husbands. All these women treated their husbands as gods and that was
God came to their rescue whenever they were in trouble. Women who
dutifully feed their husbands as children, act as their bedmates, and stand
by them in trying situations achieve salvation by the grace of God.

Of course, some people serve God without expecting anything in return

and some others do so in expectation of a reward. Hanuman served Ram
selflessly, but Prahlad sought the protection of Narasingh.

Laughter as Medicine:

A true guru not only teaches his disciples what to do to achieve salvation
but also makes them laugh heartily by exposing the difference between
appearance and reality. Laughter acts as medicine because it relieves pain
by increasing blood-circulation, relaxes mental tension and physical
fatigue, and creates a feeling of peace and happiness. Therefore,
devotees of God must learn how to laugh heartily at the incongruities of life
without creating bitterness.
The State of Trance:

The state of trance is a state in which a man thinks about God in such a
way that he forgets himself and his surroundings. It is akin to sleep, which
makes a man close his eyes and rest on a bed so as to become
completely oblivious of himself and his world. However, it is not an ordinary
man but a yogi who can go into a state of trance by meditating on God.
The reason is that an ordinary man is activated by such movements of
mind as lust, greed, ambition and vanity. These movements of the mind
present the ordinary man from mediating on God, but the yogi liberates
himself from them and thinks of nothing but God. The ordinary man
dreams of love and power not only when he is asleep but also when he is
awake. But the yogi dreams of meeting his maker, not of gratifying his lust
and greed. In fact, some people look upon a yogi as a mad man on
account of his neglectful attitude towards his personal appearance and
needs, but the yogi does not put people into trouble like a mad man. In
fact, the yogi acts as the guide, philosopher and friend of people and is
held in high regard by them. He finds God present in every living being as
well as in every non-living object of the world and deals with it accordingly.
He concentrates his mind on God by devoting his attention to his
manifestations in the visible world and thus goes into the state of trances,
which is the consummation of his devotion to God.

Society as the Basis of Devotion to God:

The devotion to God is based on the conduct of people born and brought
up in a society. It requires a guru who knows God and devotees who are
interested in learning from him. Both of them are products of a society.
After all, people living in a society have to face suffering and need
someone to comfort them. Even the rulers and the rich seek the help of
saints in tackling the problems they face. Thus they become devotees of
God and learn to sing his praise.

A man is born of parents living in a society. He is also brought up and

educated in a society. As a result his conduct is shaped by hereditary and
societal influences. If those influences are constructive, he will become a
good man, if they are destructive, he will become a bad man.

The family is the basic unit of human society, while the colony , the city,
the village, the district, the province, the country and the world at large are
its extensive units. Parents are the main members of the family and they
are followed by gurus, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts
and grand parents. All the members of the family are related to one
another in various ways and they have to discharge their duties towards
one another in accordance with the relationships that hold them together.
Thus, parents have to produce, bring up, and educate children in order to
make them responsible members of society. Sons have to take good care
of their parents and gurus when they become aged and dependant.
Women are said to be better halves of men, but they have to act as
housekeepers, bedmates and companions of their men in an affectionate
and faithful manner. They have also to rear and educate their daughters so
as to make them ideal wives and mothers. Brothers have to treat one
another like Ram, Lakshyaman, Bharat and Shatrughan. Moreover, they
must act as protectors of the honor of their sisters who are to continuity to
society is to depend. The elderly and saintly members of society also have
to deal with its male and female members as brothers and sisters while
leading them in the direction of divine life. Of course, all the members of
society must serve their village, city, district, province and country by doing
their professional duties honestly and efficiently. The reason is that to
serve society is to promote religion.
Sectarianism:

We belong to the Aryan race and follow the permanent religion that
projects God as an omnipresent reality and thus seeks to promote the well-
being of all living beings of the world. But in this Kalyug several sects have
cropped up, each of which treats its leader as a god and his philosophy of
life as its guiding principle. Thus, the Buddhists worship Buddha as a god,
the Jains Mahavir, the Sikhs Guru Nanak and the Kabirpanthis Saint Kabir.
There are many other sects like the Shaivs who worship Shiv and the
Vaishnavs who worship Vishnu Certain cunning gurus have established
saintdoms in their own names in order to get themselves worshipped by
their followers, but they take care to call their seats by such popular names
as Shivagadi, Ramgadi and Hanumangadi. The worst thing that they do is
to go to beg food or money from people without any sense of shame. In
this way they have corrupted the permanent religion of the Aryans for their
personal gain.

It is very strange that human society is dominated by psendogurus who

live luxurious lives in their modernized ashrams and get themselves
worshipped by their followers. Instead of teaching their followers how to
serve society and its poverty-stricken sections, they use them as their own
servants. Instead of persuading their followers to eradicate the evils
prevailing in their society and keep it on the right track, they themselves
indulge in materialistic pursuits and sensual pleasures. Instead of abiding
by the norms of the permanent religion of the Aryans, they abide by the
dictates of their sectarian creeds. They are spiritual blackmailers of society
rather than its true mentors. After all, true mentors or gurus are those who
practice and preach austerity, charity, penance and devotion to God in
accordance with the injunction of the Vedas.
There is also the divide between those who think of God as an abstract
reality and those who think of him as a concrete incarnation. According to
Tulsidas, the abstract God walks without feet, hears without ears, performs
various deeds without hands, tastes various flavors without a mouth,
speaks without the organs of speech, touches others without a body, sees
others without eyes, smells odor without a nose, and completes
superhuman tasks in a manner beyond description. Tulsidas also portrays
a concrete incarnation of God as Ram, the son of King Dasharath and
Queen Kaushalya of Ayhodhya. While doing so, Tulsidas says, “Whenever
virtue declines and vile and haughty demons multiply and work iniquity
that cannot be told, and whenever Brahmans, cows, gods and the earth
itself are in trouble, the gracious Lord assumes various forms and relieves
the distress of the virtuous. Killing the demons, he restores the gods,
preserves the bounds of propriety fixed by the Vedas, which represent his
own breath, and spreads his immaculate glory throughout the world”. So
Ram as prince regent of Ayodhya marries Sita, the daughter of King Janak
of Mithila, goes into exile with wife Sita and brother Lakshyaman for
fourteen years in order to enable brother Bharat to ascend the throne of
Ayodhya in accordance with his father’s wishes, kills the powerful demon
Ravan to free Sita from his crutches, and returns home to rule over
Ayhodhya in a perfectly just, graceful and efficient manner.

What is really important is not to quarrel about the various conceptions of

gods but to acquire skills for the performance of good deeds to promote
the well-being of all God’s creatures. Such skills are to be cultivated by
reading the books on philosophy (the four Vedas – Rigveda, Samveda,
Atharveda and Yajurveda), music, sociology, grammar, economic,
theology, military science, sex, astrology, yoga, ayurveda, cosmetics,
agriculture, animal husbandry, and education. The cultivation of such
useful skills is part and parcel of our permanent religion, but the preachers
of sectarian creeds pay no heed to it. Those who do not own such skills
become miserable and wretched.

The eighteen puranas written in the names of as many gods are very
confusing. They include Brahmapurana, Shivapurana, Vishnupurana,
Lashmipurana, Bhrigupurana, Durgapurana, Jamadagnipurana,
Ravanasamhitapurana, Vaivatsapurana, Naradapurana and
Vashistapurana. Each of these puranas extols its own god as the creator
of the universe and its thought-content as the only truth. All this goes
against our permanent religion, which stands for unity rather than diversity.

The stories narrated in the Puranas do not appear is integral parts of the
permanent religion of the Aryans, because they are opposed to one
another. According to Durgapurana, Durga created Brahma, Vishnu and
Mahesh and asked each of them to have sex with her in order to set in
motion the process of procreation Brahma and Vishnu did not obey her
command if she surrendered her intelligence, power and weapons to him
and brought back to life Brahma and Vishnu. Durga fulfilled the conditions
laid down by Mahesh. She then went into a trance and reappeared as
Lakshmi, Brahmani and Sati. Each of the three incarnations had a specific
field of action. According to Brahmapurana, however, the same God
became Brahma to create the universe, Vishnu to nurture it, and Shiva to
destroy it. Such contradictory stories create confusion in the minds of their
readers.

What is common to different incarnations of God is the power to perform

superhuman deeds for the benefit of living beings. Thus, Ram went into
exile with wife Sita and brother Lakshyaman to enable his brother Bharat
to ascend the throne of Ayodhya in accordance with his father’s promise to
Kaikayi, rescued Vibhisan from the wrath of Ravan, and killed the all-
powerful ten-headed Ravan to free Sita from his clutches. On returning to
Ayodhya after the end of fourteen years of exile, Ram ruled over the
kingdom of Ayodhya in an exemplary manner. Similarly, Krishna brought
back to life the dead son of his guru Sandipani, killed the wicked women
Putana when he was only a child and put an end to the demonic Kansa
and his machinations valiantly. Such deeds cannot be performed by
ordinary mortals.

Ram and Krishna not only eliminated the demonic characters around them
but also promoted the welfare of their subjects with love and care. The
politicians of today however, exploit people to acquire power, prosperity
and pleasure for themselves. They organize antagonistic parties, divide
people into castes, creeds and classes to create vote-banks for
themselves, and run the government in their own interest. Consequently,
they fail to win the love and respect of the people who vote them to power.
Contd………………….. 5

Rulers must treat their subjects like their children. Ram and Krishna were
revered as incarnations of Vishnu because they looked after their subjects
with great love and care. They played many roles and owned all kinds of
skills for promoting the well-being of their subjects. Ram was well-versed in
archery and Krishna could lift a mountain. They were also well-trained by
sages like Vashista and Sandipani in all the arts and sciences. That was
why they could do whatever was needed to be done for the benefit of their
subjects. Today there are no sages like Vashista and Sandipani who can
train their disciples to serve society in every way.

The Brahmans are the mentors of modern society, but they think they are
a hereditary caste, which is superior to all other castes. According to the
Vedas, a Brahman is one who knows Brahma or the Supreme God. But
the Brahmans of today think they are born to study the Vedas and to
perform religious rituals by means of the Sanskrit language, while the
Khyatrias have to fight battles, the Vaishyas to conduct business affairs
and the Shudras to do manual labour. They prohibit other castes from
studying the Vedas and the Sanskrit language. They also function as
astrologers to earn money. Since they look down upon the members of the
other castes of society, the members of the other castes change their
religious faith and become Muslims or Christians to achieve respectability.

It is said that a Brahman must be respected even if he has no virtue

whatever, while a Shudra must not be respected even if he owns a virtue.
But the right thing to do is to have no respect for a Brahman who has no
virtue and to hold a Shudra in high regard if he shows any virtue in him.
Gandhi was a Vaishya by birth, but he won the love and respect of all
people by working for the uplift of the oppressed and the deprived sections
of society. The Saints and Brahmans of today have abandoned such ideals
of permanent religion as austerity, charity and righteousness and taken to
a luxurious, self-centerd and sensual life-style. Since they are treated as
the mentors of society, their disciples have also become pleasure-loving,
selfish and vicious. As a result, the permanent religion of the Aryans has
been thoroughly corrupted.

The Earth as a Mother:

The earth on which we live is also called land, soil, ground, or dust. She is
the mother of all living and non-living things existing on her surface. She
also brought into being Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Ram, Krishna, Durga,
Indra, Kuber and Yama. She harbours shrines like kashi where there is the
temple of Vishwanath and Haridwar where Sati burnt herself in the fire of
the Yagya performed by her father, Dakshya. She has been a scene of
fierce battles and spiritual achievements of saints.

The earth is the very basis of our existence as we would not have been
here without her. It is she who produces that articles of food and the
medicinal herbs that are absolutely necessary for our survival. In fact, she
produces things as Brahma, nourishes them as Vishnu, and destroys them
as Mahesh. We are born, grow up and die on the earth. “Dust thou art unto
dust returneth”, says the scripture. Our bodies are made up of earth and
mix up with it in the end.
The plants, animals and other objects seen on the earth constitute the
world of nature. The human body is a part of nature as it is made up of fine
natural elements, viz., earth, water, fire, sky and air. But human beings are
different from the other living beings found in the world of nature, because
they alone are capable of thinking and acting on the basis of reason. Even
so, human beings, too, are subject to birth, growth and death like the other
living beings existing in the world of nature. The earth is deathless, but
everything in the world of nature is subject to death.

We have to eat foods available in the world of nature in order to survive on

the earth. We eat not only vegetarian meals made of cereals , vegetables
and fruits but also non vegetarian meals made of meat, fish and eggs. All
these meals nourish us because they have life-giving energy in them.
Though life feeds on life, the vegetarian meals are preferable to the non-
vegetarian ones, because the articles used for preparing them are not so
sensitive as the living beings killed for preparing their non-vegetarian
substitutes. But poisonous vegetables and fruits must be avoided. Of
course, food is a manifestation of God and so is the world of nature in
which it is produced.

Top worship nature is to worship God, because God is present everywhere

in the world of nature. The human body is composed of such natural
elements as earth, water, fire, sky and air, but it is subject to death.
However, the soul within the human body is deathless and merges in God
when the body dies. That is why a yogi concentrates his mind on the
knowledge of the soul as a stepping stone to the knowledge of God. The
dead body of a man mixes up with the soil when it is buried in a grave or
burnt on a pyre, but his soul survives and unites with God – the reality that
transcends mortal beings existing in the world of nature.
Of course, there are many other kinds of living beings that exist in the
world of nature besides man, but only man is capable of thinking and
acting in a rational way. Man alone sings the Praise of God, studies the
Vedas, creates and enjoys music, cures diseases by means of his
knowledge of Ayurveda ad Serves society in various ways. Man alone
shows pity for mute animals, chooses vegetarian diet in preference to non-
vegetarian diet, and follows the ideal of righteousness. Man alone
becomes as great as Ram, Krishna, Christ, or Gandhi.

Man’s body is a microcosm of a macrocosm as it possesses whatever is

there in the world at large. Arjun was wonderstruct to see not only the
battle of the Mahabharat but also the whole world inside the stomach of
Krishna. Man’s body is his greatest treasure and must be protected against
every type of harm.

Man must try to approach God patiently with the help of a guru who
represents Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. It is the duty of a guru to lead his
disciples in the direction of the divine life in accordance with his liking. In
the Bhagwadgita, Krishna tells Arjuna that he appears before his devotee
in the same form in which he likes him to appear. So he appears as a
butter-thief before his mother, as a charioteer before Arjun, and as a
protector of honour before Draupadi. But he does so when his devotee
prays to him fervently and sincerely. Therefore, the devotee must
concentrate his mind on God like a yogi and pray to him earnestly for his
own salvation. After all, it is not possible to secure God’s grace without
exercising self-control and mental concentration. A guru helps his disciples
in doing so.

The world in which we live is the only world we know. Therefore, it is

useless to talk about other worlds. The earth on which we exist provides us
with all the things we need to enjoy life. But we must live a pious life by
concentrating our minds on God who has given us the power to distinguish
good from evil. If we choose what is good and discard what is evil, we will
be able to know God and achieve salvation. We have to do this while we
are alive because we cannot do anything when we are dead. We must
seek the company of saints and great men, but we must avoid the
company of sinners and scoundrels. We must listen to religious music,
study the Vedas and take the help of Ayurveda in keeping ourselves
physically fit in order to be able to recite the name of God and show our
devotion to him. The yogis detach themselves from worldly pursuits and
concentrate their minds on God by practicing self-control. Of course, the
yogis recognize two aspects of God, the abstract and the or the formless
and the formal. However, the name of God is more important than his two
different aspects as it flashes both of them on the minds of the devotees
when they recite it repeatedly. The Vedas point it out that the different
organs of the human body are manifestations of God and must be
worshipped by reciting “oam”. They say that “oam” is also Brahma or God.
So many words are used to refer to God that devotees get confused, but a
true guru must teach them to go beyond words to realize God in his glory.

Man is the only living being who uses language to describe visible and
invisible things found in the world of nature. Moreover, man also uses
language to communicate his experiences and thoughts to his fellow-
travelers. Besides doing so, man writes religious, philosophical and literary
books to preserve his views of life for the benefit of future generations.
Books like the Vedas, the Ramayana and the Bhagawadgita teach people
how to serve God and his creatures by cultivating the virtues of love and
goodness. They narrate the stories of great gods and goddesses like Ram,
Krishna, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga who assumed human forms and
came to the earth to liberate humankind from the clutches of evil
characters and lead them in the direction of righteousness. Such
incarnations of gods and goddesses are born and brought up on the earth.
People celebrate festivals in their names and reverse them as their divine
benefactors.

Durga and Kali as Mothers:

Incarnations of Durga and Kali are reversed as the mothers of the world by
their devotees, because they treat their devotees as their children and
protect them against every type of harm. Durga is viewed as a fierce warier
by her devotees as she has an awful visage and carries a three-pronged
spear and a sword as her favorite weapons. Her devotees imitate her
appearance and life-style. Kali is also regarded as the mother of the world
and her devotees consider themselves as her daughters. It is said that a
mother treats her daughters more affectionately than she treats her sons,
because the daughters leave her after their marriage. Of course, devotees
choose to worship different gods and goddesses according to their
temperament. Those having a mild temperament worship Brahma, Vishnu
and Saraswati, while those having a choleric temperament worship
Mahesh, Durga and Kali. But what is really important is not devotion to any
god or goddess but the exercise of self- control, righteousness, love and
wisdom in order to serve god and his creatures. Those who do so achieve
salvation and become immune to the woes and weals of worldly life. Thus,
Prahlad and Sudama remained unaffected when their antagonists tried to
burn them by fire. Gandhi made India free from the British rule in a non-
violent manner and championed the cause of the poor and the down-
trodden sections of society in a determined way. Such benefactors of
society win not only the reverence of its members but also the grace of
God and salvation. They appear on the earth from time to time to fight the
forces of evil and restore peace and happiness to human society.

The Earth as a Creator:

It is said that there was a zero period in the beginning of the history of the
universe when neither the stars and planets, nor the sky, nor the earth and
its inhabitants existed. At that time only Brahma or God existed in the form
of light, which symbolizes knowledge. Brahma or God is also considered
as the seed of the universe that is denoted by the sound of ‘oam’. Brahma
or God created the stars and planets, the sky and the earth.

Brahma treated the earth as his daughter and asked her to create the world
of nature. The earth requested Brahma to give her his own power of
creation and the granted her request very gladly. Of course, Brahma asked
her to create man after creating other living and non-living things so that he
may be able to use them for his well being. Accordingly the earth created
the birds, the animals, the insects,, the plants and the trees in the
beginning and the men and women in the end. As results, man became able
to use the various things created by the earth for his foods, clothing and
shelter. Man continues to do so till today however, man uses the natural
resources created by the earth in careful manners, because he is capable of
thinking and acting in accordance with his conception of what is good for
him. While birds, beasts and insects feed on each other, man prefers
vegetarian food to non-vegetarian food on account of its health benefits.
 Moreover, man also produceses many things that help him in living a
luxerious life in the midst of beautiful surroundings on the earth. Again,
man is not satisfied with a purely materialistic life - style and seeks spiritual
solace also. He thinks he has a soul, which is akin to god. Therefore, he is
eager to delve deep into himself in order to see his soul as god and to
achieve spiritual beiss by doing so. That is who he seeks the company of a
guru or saint who can show him the way to know his soul as God and to
achieve salvation thereby. The guru or saint teaches him to win god's
favour by worshipping Vishnu, lakshmi Shiva, Parvati,s Ram, sita, Krishna,
Hanuman and Durga who are immortal benefactors of all living creatures.

The earth is as eternal as Brahma himself, because its origin as well

as its end is unknown. It is said that once dashrath dug the earth to build
fort, but he was surprised to see a sage emerging from it with a pan on his
head. When Dasharath wanted to know from the sage how long head he
lived under the surface of earth, the sage replied that he had always lived
under the surface of the earth but had emerged from there 110 times to
see Ram's incarnation. The sage also total dasharath that his name was
Uddalak Muni, That someone had always dug the earth to help him in
emerging from it to see Ram whenever he was born, and that he had
always gone down the pit when he had seen Ram. This shows that great
souls remain hidden under the surface of the earth and emerge from it to
promote the welfare of mankind. Apart from the incarnations of gods and
goddesses, the earth also produces men like Gandhi and Subhash Chandra
Bose an opportunity to study together in educational institutions and to
work together in the public and private sectors of employment.
The importance of women's moral Education:

It is very necessary to implant moral education to women because

they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation by all and sundry. The most
vulnerable among them are the following:

1. Young girls whose male guardians are dead,

2. Young girls whose parents do not impart sexual education to

them

3. Young girls who study or work with boys,

4. Young women whose husbands live away from them on

account of their professional engagements and

5. Widows whose husbands die young and leave them alone in the
prime of live.

When such women become pregnant on account of illegal sexual

engagements with men, they either abort the foetuses or abandon the babies
born to them because of such engagements. In doing so, they and their
exploiters commit heinous crimes. Consequently, they are either punished by
law or ostracized by society. The women of lax morals are either
blackmailed by predators or turn prostitutes.

It is the responsibility of society to save its women members from

falling a prey to the sexual escapades of predators. Mothers must tell their
daughter all about sex and motherhood so as to enable them to exercise self
control in such matters. Similarly, husbands must teach their wives how to
be morally upright and socially responsible. Young girls and boys must be
married off when they attain the age of puberty. Young widows must be
remarried so that they may live safely and happlly in society. the urge to
have sexual relations in young age is very strong among men and women.
As a result, it has to be controlled seriously and tactfully types of women:

Indian writers like Vatasyayan and Tulsidas have divided women into
four types : (1) Superior, (2) Medium, (3) inferior, and (4) detesatable.
Superior and medium types of women are very beautiful in appearance,
faithful to their husbands and righteous in conduct. Inferior types of women
are neither beautiful nor amicable but ugly and quarrelsome. Detestable
types of women are repulsive who are universally held in high regard for
serving the cause of the poor and the oppressed people of India in different
ways. Gandhi liberated India from the British rule by means of a non-violent
struggle, But Subhash Chandra Bose tried to do so with the help of an army.
Each of them attracted millions of supporters in their struggle against
imperialism. The earth produces such great men for the establishment of
peace and prosperity in the world. They are loved and revered by people just
like Ram, Krishna and Vashistha.

There are two aspects of reality, Viz, the terrestrial or visible one and
the transcendental or invisible one. Incarnations like Brahma, Vishnu,
Mahesh, Rama, Krishna and Durga represent the terrestrial or visible aspect
of reality and it is by worshipping them that man realizes the transcendental
or invisible aspect of reality.

The Place of the Mother:

The mother of children occupies a highly respected place in Indian

society. She is likened to the earth, while the father is likened to the sky.
Indeed, parents and teachers occupy the same place in Indian society that is
occupied by Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.

When a daughter is born in a traditional Indian family, her parents

take care of her till she attains the age of sixteen year and becomes
physically fit to shoulder the responsibility of a wife and mother.

When she is married with a suitable groom according to the customs

prevailing in here society, the responsibility woman, she performs household
duties, acts as the bedmate of her husband's and produces children to
maintain the continuity of the family line.

A marriage fixed by the parents of youngters and solemnized by

priests in the presence of the relatives of both parties is called an arranged or
traditional marriage. But a marriage based on love between two youngsters
and registered in a court of law is called a love marriage. Such a marriage
defies considerations of caste, creed and class, which play a crucial role in
case of an arranged marriage. Love-marriages are on the rise in modern
society, which provides youngsters abusive and immoral, Ancient Indian
literature is replete with stories of superior and medium trypes of women
like savitri, Anusuya, Sita, Damayanti, Arundhati, Gandhari, Madalasa,
Tara, Kunti, Draupadi, Ahilya and mandodari. They faced the trials and
tribulations of their lives in a heroic manner and emerged as icons of Indian
womanhood. But modern Indian society seems to have forgotten them
altogether as its women strive to live as freely as its men and care a fig for
traditional ideals of domesticity, faithfulness and self-sacrifice. Girls and
boys are being educated to take up various jobs in the world but they are not
being inspired to imbibe moral and spiritual values. The cinema, the
television and the print media of today display intimate engagements
between men and women in a provocative, vulgar and obscene manner.
Women no longer hesitate to participate in beauty contests, fashion shows,
item songs and dances that repairer them to bare their bodies in a coquettish
manner. They are not interested in housekeeping and child rearing but in
money making and pleasure-seeking. To fulfill their hedonistic aims they
undertake various kinds of jobs and play the roles of bandit queens and
prostitutes in films in defiance of the norms of our permanent religion. Thus
they throw to the winds the cherished morals and manners of our society and
live apparently luxurious but really chaotic lives to the detriment of their
children. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that the transgression of
righteousness leads to the destruction of the human race. When women
behave in an immoral manner, their children follow suit. After all, women
are the first mentors of their children.

A married woman has to conceive and produce children. She has to

take good care of herself during pregnancy in order to bring forth healthy
children. She has to eat nutrients like cereal grains, lentils, vegetables, fruits,
nuts, milk, butter and curd. It has been established by scientific research that
the food taken by a mother influences the growth and development of the
child in her womb. Ayurveda also presents an elaborate plan for the
management of pregnancy at various stages, which can be followed by an
expectant mother for her benefit. Moreover, a pregnant woman must imbibe
lasting values of life, such as self restraint , love and goodness, by reading
the life-stories of saints and great men, because her thoughts and actions
impact the mental and behavioural make-up of the child she happens to have
conceived. When Subhadra conceived Abhimanyu, Arjuna told her how the
strategy of Chakravyuha was to be used in the battle of Mahabharat.
Subhadra listened to Arjuna till he told her all about the six moves that were
to be taken in connection with the strategy of chakravyuha but she fell asleep
when he was about to tell her how the crucial seventh move was to be taken.
As a result, Abhimanyu could not learn in his mother's womb how the
seventh move was to be taken to eseape the strategy of chakravyuha and he
was killed when he was trapped in the chakravyuha during the battle of
Mahabharat.

A woman's pregnancy lasts for nine or ten months. It is a harrowing

time for her. She has to bear with stoppage of menstruation, nausea, loss of
appetite, craving for a particular eatable, vomiting and backache during the
first few months of pregnancy. Gradually her health deteriorates. Her baby
becomes pale her back and stomach bulge, her breasts begin to make milk,
and her eyes being to sink. The reason is that the child in her womb shares
the food she eats. Therefore, it is necessary for her to take nutritious food
and proper medicines during the period of pregnancy.

To give birth to a child at the end of the period of pregnancy is an

extremely painful task for a woman who sometimes dies while doing so and
finds herself resurrected if she accomplishes the task safely. In hospitals
doctors use the caesarean section for delivering a child by cutting through
the wall of the mother's abdomen, but such a facility is not available in rural
areas where untrained midwives assist women in giving birth to children. A
man's task is completed when he impregnates a woman, but the woman has
to nurse the child in her womb for nine or ten months and then she has to
bear the birth- pangs at the end of the period of pregnancy. That is why a
mother is compared to Brahma, The creator.
 However, a mother's task is not over even after giving birth to a child.
She has to recoup her own health and take good care of the newly born
child. She has to take a nourishing diet and protect herself against puerperal
fever and other ailments attending upon child-birth. She has to cleanse,
Massage, clothe and breast-feed the child for six months. When the child
begins to sit and move on all the fours, the mother gives it solid food in
place of her own milk. Of course, mother's milk is the most wholesome food
for a child but the liberated women of today not only feed their children with
powdered milk in order to maintain the youthful shape of their breasts but
also leave them to the care of nurses to enable themselves to take up jobs.
The result is that the children of such women are depraved of proper food
and affectionate care, which makes them delinquents in later life. A married
woman may work to earn a living, but she should not neglect her duty as a
wife and mother she should see to it that her house is kept clean and well
equipped with things needed for a comfortable living that its inmates are
properly fed and clothed, that all the members of the family live a
disciplined, healthy and happy life. If she fails to perform her household
duties, she will bring ruin on her family.

A mother plays a crucial role in shaping the life-style of a child who

takes a long period of about twenty-five years in becoming self reliant. As
the child is quite helpless in doing anything's on his won during the first year
of its life on the earth, the mother has to help it in learning how to sit stand,
walk, and talk. The child is also totally unable to distinguish the good things
from the bad ones around it and the mother has to tell it to avoid indigestible
foods, sharp weapons, insects and reptiles. The child also suffers from
ailments like vomiting, diarrhoea, stomachache, cold, cough, fever ailments
with home-remedies. When the child becomes able to walk and talk on its
own, the mother sends it to school and tells it how to study, play, and behave
with its teachers and classmates. The child is like a blank page on which its
parents can write any script. When the child grows up into a youngster and
completed his education, parents get him employed and married to a suitable
match. If the young man is well-behaved and considerate, he will take good
care of his parents in their old age, but if he is self centered and ungrateful,
he will leave them in lurch

Ideal mothers of the past:

Our scriptures, epics and plays narrate the stories of many

ideal mothers of the past whose steadfast concern with the well being
of their families stands in sharp contrast to the nonchalant attitude of
modern mothers to their families. For instance there is the story of
mother Shaivya who sold herself and her beloved son Rohitaswa to
protect the integrity of her husband Harishachandra's character.
There is also the story of Sati Savitri who freed her husband from the
grip of the God of Death, restored his kingdom to him, revived the
eyesight of her in- laws, and produced on hundred sons Again. There
is the story of Anusuya, the wife of Muni Atreya who chastised and
humbled Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh in order to Safeguard her
chastity. Yet again, there is the story of Sati sandili who obstructed
the movement of the chariot of the sun to save the life of here
husband as the sage Manadavya had cursed him to die at sunrise .
Still again, there is the story of Sita who submitted herself to the fire
test in order to prove her chastity in the presence of Rama,
Lakshaman and the monkey army. All these stories show that even
gods dread women who are firmly faithful to their husbands. Indeed.
Gods reside in those places where women are worshipped.

Brahma treated the earth as his daughter and asked her to create
the world of nature. The earth rejected Brahma to give here his own power
of creation and the granted her richest very gladly. Of course, Brahma
asked her to create man after creating other living and non-living things so
that he may be able to use them for his well being. Accordingly the earth
created the birds, the animals, the insects,, the plants and the trees in the
beginning and the men and women in the end. As results, man became able
to use the various things created by the earth for his foods, clothing and
shelter. Man continues to do so till today however, man uses the natural
resources created by the earth in careful manners, because he is capable of
thinking and acting in accordance with his conception of what is good for
him. While birds, beasts and insects feed on each other, man prefers
vegetarian food to non-vegetarian food on account of its health benefits.
Moreover, man also products many things that help him in living a
licentious life in the midst of beautiful surroundings on the earth. Again,
man is not satisfied with a purely materialistic life - style and seeks spiritual
solace also. He thinks he has a soul, which is akin to god. Therefore, he is
eager to delve deep into himself in order to see his soul as god and to
achieve spiritual beiss by doing so. That is who he seeks the company of a
guru or saint who can show him the way to power his soul as God and to
achieve salvation thereby. The guru or saint teaches him to win god's favor
by worshipping Vishnu, carshi Shiva, Parvati,s Ram, sita, Krishna, Hanuman
and Durga who are immontal benefactors of all living creatures.

The earth is as eternal as Brahma himself, because its origin as well

as its end is unknown. It is said that once dasharath dag the earth to build
fort, but he was surprised to see a sage evening from it with a Ram on his
head. When Dasharath wanted to know from the sage how that replied he
had always lived under the surface of the earth but had emerged from their
110 times to see Ram's incarnation. The sage also total dasharath that his
name was Uddalak Muni, That someone had always dug the earth to help
him in emerging from it to see Ram whenever he was born, and that he had
always gone down the pit when he had seen Ram. This shows that great
souls remain hidden under the surface of the earth and emerge from it to
promote the welfare of mankind. Apart from the incarnations of gods and
goddesses, the earth also produces men like Gandhi and Subhash Chandra
bose an opportunity to study together in educational institutions and to
work together in the public and private sectors of employment.

The importance of women's moral Education:

It is very necessary to implant moral education to women because

they one vulnerable to sexual exploitation by all and sundry. The most
vulnerable among them are the following:

1- Young girls whose make guardians are dead,

 2- Young girls whose parents do not impart sexual education to
them

3- Young girls who study or work with boys,

4- Young women whose husbands live away from them on

account of their professional engagements and

5- Widows whose husbands die young and leave them alone in the
prime of live.

When such women become pregnant or account of illegal sexual

engagements with men, they either abort the foretastes or abandon the babies
born to them because of such engagements. In doing so, they and their
exploiters commit heiress crimes. Consequently, they are either punished by
law or ostracized by society. The women of lax morals are either
blacfemailed by predators or turn prostitutes.

It is the responsibility of society to save its women members from

falling a mey to the sexual escapades of predations. Motherhood so as to
enable them to exercise self control in such matters. Similarly, husbands
must teach their wines how to be morally upnight and socially responsible.
Young girls and boys must be married off when they attain the age of
puberty. Young widows must be remarried so that they may live safely and
in young age is very strong among men and women. As a result, it has to be
controlled seriously and tactfully types of women:

Indian writers like Vatasyayan and Tulsidas have divided women into
four types : (1) Superior, (2) Medium, (3) inferior, and (4) detersabll.
Superior and medium types of women are very beautiful in appearance,
faithful to their husbands and righteous in conduct. Inferior types of women
are neither beautiful nor amicable but idly and anural some. Detestable types
of women are repulsive who are universally held in high regand for serving
the cause of the poor and the oppressed people of India in different ways.
Gandhi liberated India from the British rule by means of a non-violent
struggle, But Subhash Chandra Bose tried to do so with the help of an army.
Each of them attracted millions of supporters in their struggle against
imperialism. The earth produces such great men for the establishment of
peace and prosperity in the world. They are loved and revered by people just
like Ram, Krishna and Vashita.

There are two aspects of reality, Viz, the terrestrial or visible one and
the transcendental or invisible one. Incarnations like Brahma, Vishnu,
Mahesh, Rama, Krishna and Durga represent the terreshial or visible aspect
of reality and it is by worshipping them that man realizes the transcendental
or invisible aspect of reality.

The Place of the Mother:

The mother of children occupies a highly respected place in Indian

society. She is likened to the earth, while the father is likened to the sky.
Indeed, parents and teachers occupy the same place in Indian society that is
occupied by Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.

When a daughter is born in a traditional Indian family, her parents

take care of her till she attains the age of sixteen year and becomes
physically fit to shoulder the responsibility of a wife and mother.

When she is married with a suitable groom according to the customs

prevailing in here society, the responsibility woman, she performs household
duties, acts as the bedmate of her husband's and produces children to
maintain the continuity of the family line.

A marriage fixed by the parents of young strs and solemnized by

priests in the presence of the relatives of both parties is called an arranged or
traditional marriage. But a marriage based on love between two youngsters
and registered in a court of law is called a love marriage. Such a marriage
defies considerations of caste, creed and class, which play a crucial role in
case of an arranged marriage. Love-marriages are on the rise in modern
society, which provides youngsters abusive and immoral, Ancient Indian
literature is replete with stories of superior and medium trypes of women
like savitri, Anusuya, Sita, Damayanti, Arundhati, Gandhari, Madalasa,
Tara, Kunti, Draupadi, Ahilya and mandodari. They faced the trials and
tribulas icons of Indian womanhood. But modern Indian society seems to
have forgotten them altogether as its women stnive to live as freely as its
men and care a fig for traditional ideals of domesticity, faithfulness and self-
sacrifice. Girls and boys are being educated to take up various jobs in the
world but they are not being inspired to imbibe moral and spiritual values.
The cinema, the television and the print media of today display intimate
engagements between men and women no longer hesitate to participate in
beauty contests, fashion shows, item songs and dances that repairer them to
have their bodies in a coquettish manner. They are not interested in
housekeeping and child rearing but in money making and pleasure-seeking.
To fulfill their hedonistic aims they undertake various kinds of jobs and play
the roles of bandit queens and prostitutes in films in defiance of the norms of
our permanent religion. Thus they throw to the winds the cherished morals
and manners of our society and live apparently luxurious but really chaotic
lives to the detriment of their children. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna tells
Arguna that the transgression of righteousness leads to the destruction of the
human race. When women behave in an immoral manner, their children
follow suit. After all, women are the first mentors of their children.

A married woman has to conceive and produce children. She has to

take good care of henself during pregnancy in order to bring borth healthy
children. She has to eat nutrients like cereal grains, lentils, vegetables, fruits,
nuts, milk, butter and curd. It has been established by scientific research that
the food taken by a mother influences the growth and development of the
child in her womb. Ayurveda also presents and elaborate plan for the
management of pregnancy at various stages, which can be followed by an
expectant mother for her benefit. Moreover, a pregnant woman must imbibe
lasting values of life, such as self restraint , love and goodness, by reading
the life-stories of saints and great men, because her thoughts and actions
impact the mental and behavioral make-up of the child she happens to have
conceived. When Subhadra conceived Abhimanyu, Arjuna told her how the
strategy of Chakravyuha was to be used in the battle of Mahabharat.
Subhadra listened to Arjuna til he told her all about the six moves that worn
to be taken in conduction with the strategy of chakravyuha but she fell
asleep when he was about to tell her how the crucial seventh move was to be
taken. As a result, Abhimanyu could not learn in his mother's womb how the
seventh move was to be taken to eseape the strategy of chakravyuha and he
was killed when he was trapped in the chakravyuha during the battle of
Mahabharat.

A woman's pregnancy lasts for nine or ten months. It is a harrowing

time for her. She has to bear with stoppage of menstruation, nausea, loss of
appetite, craving for a particular eatable, vomiting and backache during the
first few months of pregnancy. Gradually her healthy deteriorates. Her baby
becomes pale her back and stomach bulge, her breasts begin to make milk,
and her eyes being to sink. The reason is that the child in her womb shares
the food she eats. Therefore, it is necessary for her to take nutrition's food
and proper medicines during the period of pregnancy.

To give birth to a child at the end of the period of pregnancy is an

extremely painful task for a woman who sometimes dies while doing so and
finds herself resurrected if she accomplishes the task safely. In hospitals
doctors use the caesarean section for delivering a child by cutting through
the wall of the mother's abdomen, but such a facility is not available in rural
areas where untrained midurines assist women in giving birth to children. A
man's task is completed when he impregnates a woman, but the woman has
to nurse the child in her womb for nine or ten months and then she has to
bear the birth- pangs at the end of the period of pregnancy. That is why a
mother is compared to Brahma, The creator.

Howeven, a mother's task is not oven even after giving birth to a

child. She has to recoup her won health and take good care of the newly
born child. She has to take a nourishing diet and protect herself against
puerperal fiber and other ailments attending upon child-birth. She has to
cleanse, Massage, clothe and breast-feed the child for six months. When the
child begins to sit and move on all the fours, the mother gives it soulid food
in place of her won milk. Of course, mother's milk is the most wholesome
food for a child but the liberated women of today not only feed their children
with powdered milk in order to maintain the youthful shape of their breasts
but also leave them to the care of nurses to enable themselves to take up
jobs. The care of is that the children of such women are depraved of proper
food and affectionate care, which makes them delinounts in later life. A
married woman may work to earn a living, but she should not neglect her
duty as a wife and mother she should see to it that her house is kept clean
and well equipped with things needed for a comfortable living that its
imamates are properly fed and clothed, that all the members of the family
live a disciplined, healthy and happy life. If she fails to perform her
household duties, she will bring ruin on her family.

A mother plays a crucial role in shaping the life-style of a child who

takes a long period of about twenty-five years in becoming self reliant. As
the child is quite helpless in doing anything's on his won during the first year
of its life on the earth, the mother has to help it in learning how to sit stand,
walk, and talk. The child is also totally unable to distinguish the food things
from the bad ones around it and the mother has insects and reptiles. The
child also suffers from ailments like vomiting, diarrhoex, stomachache, cold,
cough, fever ailments with home-remedies. When the child becomes able to
walk and talk on its own, the mother sends it to school and tells it how to
study, play, and behave with its teachers and classmates. The child is like a
blank page on which its parents can white any script. When the child grows
up into a youngster and completed his education, parents get him employed
and married to a suitable match. If the young man is well-behaved and
considerate, he will take good care of his parents in their old age, but if he is
self centered and ungrateful, ideal mothers of the past:

Our seviptures, epics and plays narrate the stories of many ideal
mothers of the past whose steadfast concern with the well being of their
families stands in sharp contrast to the nonchalant attitude of modern
mothers to their families. For instance there is the story of mother Shaivya
who sold herself and her beloved son Rohitaswa to protect the integrity of
her husband Harishachandra's character. There is also the story of Sati
Savitri who greed her husband from the grip of the God of Death, restored
his kingdom to him, revived the eyesight of hen in- laws, and produced on
hundred sons Again. There is the story of Anusuya, the wife of Muni Atreya
who chastised and humbled Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh in order to
Safeguard her chastity. Yet again, there is the story of Sati sandili who
obstructed the movement of the chariot of the sun to save the life of here
husband as the sage Manadavya had cursed him to die at sunrise . Still again,
there is the story of Sita who submitted herself to the fire test in order to
prove her chastity in the presence of Rama, Lakshyaman and the monkey
army. All these stories show that even gods dread women who are firmly
faithful to their husbands. Indeed. Gods reside in those places where women
are worshipped.

8
The nature of devotion and devotees:
To render selfless service to society is as good as to practice
devotion to God, because God requires his devotees to do good to
others and not to torment anyone in any way. A man who takes
good care of his parents, teachers and people in need is akin to a
saint who undergoes suffering to do good to others. He is free
from lust, anger, pride, greed and infatuation. If he faces
destitution on poverty, he leaves himself to the care of God and
seeks communication with saints to console himself. He neither
begs nor borrows money from others but lives within his means.
He abides by true values of life and keeps away from false
pretenses. He likes to be known by his good deeds and not by his
high caste, because a man of high caste doing evil deeds is in his
view like a jar of gold filled with liquor. He knows that no man can
be happy by doing evil deeds as no man can reap mangoes by
planting an acacia tree. He also knows that god's grace cannot be
achieved by doing sinful deeds. Consequently, he deliberately
chooses the life style of a saint for himself and rejects the life style
of a sinner.
The conduct of the saints and the sinners is analogous to
that of sandal wood and the axe. The axe cuts down a sandal tree,
while the sandal tree in its turn supplies its fragrance to the axe.
For this reason sandal wood paste is applied to the statues of the
gods, while the axe has it's steel edge heated in fire and beaten
with a hammer as punishment. Saints as a rule do not crave for
the pleasures of senses and are beneficent in thoughts, word, and
deed they grieve to see others in distress and rejoice at the sight
of others joy. They are even-minded and feel no annuity for
anyone. Free from vanity and passion, they are fully in control of
anger, greed, ambition and fear. Tender of heart and
compassionate to the distressed, they respect every living being
and cherish nothing but the grace of God. They never swerve from
the control of their mind and senses, religious observances and
righteous conduct and never utter a harsh word. They are
indifferent to praise and blame as well as to the ups and downs of
life, but they are whole heartedly engrossed in devotion to God
and feel blessed in doing So. The Sinners on the other hand, feels
dammed on account of their devotion to sensuality, greed,
ambition and vanity. Their hearts burn with jealousy at the sight
of other's prosperity but their joy knows not bounds to see others
in the grip of adversity. Since they are by nature malevolent,
deceitful and crooked, they bear enmity towards all without
rhyme or reason and do not hesitate to harm even those who are
kind to them. They befriend others only to stab them on their
back. They are always ready to rob others of their wealth and
have sex with their women. Concerned only with their self
interest they antagonize their kinsfolk and pay no head to the well
being of their elders. Overcome by infatuation, the revile saints,
scriptures and gods. Utterly ruined themselves, they bring run
upon others and exhibit themselves as demons in human garb.
Thus evil is their only good and they are content with it.
But is there anyone in the world who does not crave for
sensual enjoyment? Is there any sage, hero, man of learning or
man of virtue whom greed has not betrayed? who has not been
defeadend hardend by power? Who has not the pride of pelf
perverted? Who has not been thrown out of his mental equipoise
by the combined action of the three guans (sat, raj, and tam) as
well as by the derangement of the three Doses (humours : Vata,
Pita and cough)? Whose heart has not been inflamed by anger?
Who is not shaken by the blast of grief and who does not incur
obloquy through envy? And is there anyone in this world who is
not overcome by appearance (Maya)?
However, man owns the ability to think and chooses what is
good for him. Therefore, He must establish a right relationship
with people and things around him by acting in a thoughtful and
wise manner if he chooses to live happily in the world. First of all,
he must connote his craving for sensual pleasure, which is short-
lived and entails repetitive indulgence. Moreover, sexual
escapades outside the marital bond result in venereal diseases,
illegal abortions and violent conflicts between the parities
involved in them. Such escapades are sinful and must be avoided
by all means. Men must treat women as respectable human
beings and not as articles for consumption. Crimes against women
must be strictly punished.
 Secondly, man must earn his own living if he is physically
and mentally fit for doing so. He must neither beg nor borrow
money from others unless he is physically handicapped or
mentally deficient. He must live within his means instead of trying
to maintain an ostentatious life- style by hook or by crook. Simple
living and high thinking must be the ideal of a wise man.
Thirdly, man must be content with his situation in society
instead of vying with others to capture power, because power
corrupts and makes its owner high-minded. As tulasider says
"Who does not lose his head after aquiring power?" The lust for
power leads to violent conflicts between contenders for the
crown even if they are blood relations like fathers and sons,
brothers and sisters, and uncle and nephews. That is why good-
natured persons keep themselves away from the struggle for
power and serve society independently.
Fourthly, man must cultivate freedom from pride or the
pleasure gained from achievements, qualities, or possessions,
because pride makes a man excessively conscious of his own
importance in society and pride prevents a man not only from
serving society but also from devoting himself to God, because a
man conscious of his own, importance ignores society as well as
god. Kabir says "when i was conscious of my own importance in
the world, God was non- existent, but when I ceased to be
conscious of my own importance in the world, God came into
being." Therefore, man must look upon his achievements,
qualities and possessions as gifts from God so that he may be able
to use them to serve society and to please God in a humble way.
Pride is the worst of all vices, while humility is the best of all
virtues.
Finally, man must firmly resolve to do good deeds and to
avoid evil ones after consulting his parents, teachers and well
wishers. Good deeds are all those deeds that are designed to
revile God and torment his creatures. When man firmly resolves
to do good deeds, he must hold fast to his resolution under all
circumstances. When Harishchandra, the king of Ajodhya, was
challenged by the sage Vishwamitra to demonstrate the integrity
of his character in the face of adversity he abandoned his throne,
sold his queen and only son, and became the employee of a
pariah at his burning ghat. Wherever a dead body was brought for
burning there, Harishchandra used to recover the toll and make it
over to his employer. One day it so happened that a snake bit his
only son, Rohita, and the ex-queen brought the dead body of the
prince to the same burning ghat where Harishchandra was
employed. However, harishchandra did not allow his wife to
cremate his son without paying the fixed toll. His penniless wife
the offered her clothes as toll. When harishchandra was about to
strip his wife naked, the gods prevented him from doing so and
restored him to his throne and property because of his
demonstration of the integrity of his character in the face of
adversity. It is this sort of integrity of character that a man must
activate if he wished to do good deeds and serve God is well as his
creatures a true guru can help him in doing So.
Though man needs a true guru to inspire him to do good
deeds and avoid evil ones, he has to translate his guru's words
into deeds. The irony of man's existence is that he listens to his
guru's words but fails to act in accordance with the wisdom
contained in them the results is that fine words butter no parsnips
for man. There are many gurus who speak words of wisdom for
the benefit of their disciples, but it is very hard to find a disciple
who follows his guru's words of wisdom in practical life.
Consequently, disciples continue to live chaotic and sorrowful
lives despite maintaining communion with gurus. It is, therefore,
absolutely necessary for disciples not only to listen to the sermons
of a guru but also to act according to them.

The importance of the Human Form:

It is stated in the scriptures that the soul is immortal and the body
is mortal. It is further stated therein that the immortal soul passes
through eighty four lakhs species of living beings but rarely finds
the human form as its abode there is no other form as good as the
human body every living creative craves for it. It is the ladder that
takes the soul either to hell or to heaven or again to salvation. It is
also the bestowed of blessings like wisdom, self restraint and
devotion to God. Men who fail to adore God and his creatures
after attaining this body, and wallow in sensual pleasers throw
away the philosopher's stone from the palm of their hand and
take bits of glass in exchange for the same. There is no misery in
this world as terrible as poverty and no blessing as great as
communion with saints. Beneficence in thought, word and deed is
the innate disposition of saints. The saints undergo suffering in
the interest of others while sinners do so to torment others.
Tender-hearted saints, like the birch tree, submit to the greatest
for true (even allow their skin to be reeled off) for the good of
others while the sinners, like the hemp, have their skin frayed off
and punish in agony in order to be able to bind others in the form
of cords. like the rats and the serpents, the sinners injure others
others without any gain to themselves. Having destroyed the
prosperity of others, they perish themselves as the hail dissolves
after destroying the crops. The elevation of a sinner, like the rising
of a comet, is a soured of calamity to the world. The advancement
of a saint, on the other hand, is conducive to joy as the rising of
the sun and the moon brings delight to the whole world. A vow of
non-violence is the highest religious act known to the Vedas and
there is no sin as grievous as maligning others. A reviler of God
and his own guru takes the form of a frog after his death and his
birth in that form is repeated a thousand times. A reviler of the
Brahmanas (Those who know Brahma) is born on the earth as a
crow after suffering tortures in hell. Those conceited sinners who
revile the gods and the Vedas are cast into the hell called Kaurava.
They who delight in vilifying the saints are reform as owls who
love the night of ignorance and shun the sun of wisdom. They
who censure all are reborn as bats. People also suffer from many
diseases of the mind. An infatuation because many mental
ailmente. lust is counter part of wind and inordinate greed
corresponds to abundance of phlegm, bile anger represent bile
and burns the breast. Should all these three combine, the result is
the most dangerous fiber called sannipata. The cravings for the
many fold sensual pleasures are too difficult to fulfill and give rise
to various distempers. The feeling of mineness corresponds to
ringworms, envy represents itch, while joy and grief correspond to
the enlargement of the glands of the throat. Grudging
contemplation of the happiness of others represents
consumption, while wickedness and perversity of mind
correspond to leprosy. Egotism is the counterpart of the most
painful gout. While hypocrisy, deceit and pride correspond to the
disease known as dracontiasis, which is marked by the presence in
the body of a parasite called guinea a worm. Thirst for enjoyment
represents the most advanced type of dropsy, while cravings for
progeny riches and honor correspond to the violent quartan ague.
Tea lousy and thought lessens represent two types of fever. All
these diseases constantly torment the human soul, but they are
very difficult to cure.
All the above mentioned ailments of human beings can be
eradicated if the guidance of a true guru is followed and the
regimen of indifference to the pleasures of sense is maintained
very stencil devotion to God is the life giving herb to be taken as a
recipe, while a devout mind serves as a vehicle in which it is
taken. The mind should be accounted as cured only when the
heart gathers strength in the form of self restraint, appetite in the
shape of good resolutions grows stronger and stronger every day
and weakness in the form of sensual appetite goes. When the
mind grows wise and concentrates on devotion to God, it
becomes free from all ailments.

Since man's mental body shelters the immortal soul and thus
paves the way for the realization of God, he must leave no stone
unturned in keeping it fit in every way. To keep the body in a
healthy state he must eat vegeterian food consisting of cereals,
lentils, vegetables, fruits and dairy products which are easily
digestible and conducive to non- violent behavior. He must avoid
non-vegetarian food comprising of meat, fish and eggs which are
difficult to digest and necessitate the killing of animals. He must
abstain from alcoholic drinks, tobacco- chewing or smoking and
narcotic drugs which one extremely injurious to health. He must
eat and drink moderately at regular intervals every day, but he
must undertake fasting once a week in order to relieve the strain
on the digestive system. He must take care not to eat anything
that causes constipations which is the cause of many diseases. He
must go early to bed at night and rise early in the morning. He
must keep himself and his surroundings very clean to avoid
diseases. He must also take physical exercise regularly to keep
himself fit.

Of course, man's body is the physical expression of his

mental condition which governs it. For examples a constipated
digestive system suggests a contracted or inflexible habit of
thinking most of people own a settled or tied-up mode of thinking
on account of hereditary and social influences, but health requires
the casting off of every process of thought which produces
tension or disease (=the lack of ease) It requires freedom of mind
and body which is achieved by means of the elimination of mental
and physical toxins. The mental toxins that need to be eliminated
include lust greed, ambition, pride, jealousy, anger and false
humility, while the physical toxins that have to be eliminated
include in digestible, stale and junk articles of food, Thus, health
means harmonious functioning of mind and body which enables a
man to serve society and worship God in an efficient and
dedicated way.
What is Morality?

Morality consists of the principles of night and wrong or good and

bad behavior laid down in the holy books of every religion. A man
is said to be morally right if he abstains from sensual pleasure, is
content with what he earns honestly and refuses to earn money
by hook or by crook, resects all people without trying to dominate
them, is free from vanity, grieves at other's distress and rejoices
at the sight of other's joy, keeps the company of saints and seeks
God's grace. But a man's said to be morally wrong if he indulges in
sensual pleasure, earns money by underhand means, bears
enmity to all without rhyme or reason, delights in slandering
other's, is very proud of his possessions, feels very happy to find
others in distress and is pained by the prosperity of others, keeps
the company of sinners and reviles God.

Yoga philosophy requires a morally right man to follow five

yamas (principles of self-discipline) and five niyamas (religious
observances). The yamas comprise of ahinsa (non-violence in
thoughts, word and deed), Satya(truthfulness),brahmacharya
(abstinence from sexual indulgence), aparigraha (renunciation of
all possessions), and asteya (non-stealing). The Niyamas consist of
shaucha (purity of body and mind), Santosh (contentment), tapas
(penance), swadhyaya (study of the Vedas), and iswara
pranidhana (Self- surrender to God). The man who follows these
Yamas and Niyamas in practical life is considered a saint.

Fathers and Sons:

It is the moral and religious duty of a father to bring up and

educate his son in such a way that he becomes able to serve his
parents, gurus and people in need of help in a sympathetic and
loving manner. The truth is that each member of Society
possesses a soul that manifests God and, there for, to serve
Society is to serve God. Moreover, a father expects a son to take
care of his parents in old age when they become weak and
helpless. Conseorently, if is the moral duty of a son to cater to the
physical, emotional and medical requirements of his aged parents
however, a son deserts his parents when he secures a job and
gets married. He even gets the property and savings of his parents
transferred to his name and sends them to an old age home. This
is a crime punishable by law, but parents hesitate to go to a court
against their son. Of course, a son is forced to leave his parents in
the lurch when he gets a job in a place far away from his home,
but he commits a sin it he becomes totally indifferent to the well
beings of his parents for any reason whatsoever. Our scriptures
and epics are full of stories of ideal sons who underwent
sufferings to make their parents happy in their old age. For
instance. There is the story of shravana kumar who carried his
blind parents on his shoulders to the shrines they wished to visit,
but Dasharath, the king of ayodhya, mistook him for a deer when
he was drinking water from a pond and hunted him down. His
hapless parents cursed Dasharath to be separated from his son
just as he had separated them from their son later on, Dasharath
was compelled by kaikeyi to exile his eldest son, Ram, for fourteen
years and enthrone her son, Bharat, in his place. Ram gladey
exiled himself and his beloved wife, Sita, in order to facilitate
Bharat's enthronements as king of ayodhya for fourteen years.
Dasharath was so shocked by Ram's exile that he breathed his last
instantly. Ram wandered with wife, Sita, and younger brother,
Lakshyman, from jungle to jungle and battled against the ten-
headed demon Ravan for the rescue of Sita whom he had
kidnapped in the guise of a saint.

10

....Ram took the trials and tribulations of exile in his stride

because his exile was intended to pull his father out of the
diffecult which kaikayi's demand for the enthronement nether
ornament of her son, Bharat, as king of Ayodhya had placed him.

There is also the story of Hanuman who saved the life of a

king from the wrath of Ram in obedience to his mother anjali's
order, one day a king happened to travel by boat along the coast
of the Sarayu river while sage Vishwamitra, Ram, Bharat,
Lakshyaman, Shatrughn and Hanuman were bathing at Ayodhya
Ghat. The king coughed and spat saliva which accidentally fell on
Vishwamitra's body. Vishwamitra became so angry with the king's
behaviour that he ordered Ram to kill him when Ram aimed an
arrow at the king, he ran for his life. He sought the hole of
Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, but they refused to help him against
Ram's wrath. Then he met sage Narad who advised him to go to
Hanuman's mother Anjani. The desperate king went to Anjani's
cottage, addressed her as his mother's and requested her to
protect him against Ram's wrath. Hanuman was already pursuing
the king and he too arrived at his mother's cottage. Hanuman's
mothers told him that the king had treated her as his mother and,
therefore, she considered it as her sacred duty to save his life
from Ram's wrath. She then ordered Hanuman two fight against
Ram for the safety of the king's life. Hanuman thereupon
obediently engaged Ram in a battle and defeated him to save the
king's life from his wrath. Thus Hanuman batted against his own
lord for the pleasure of his mother.

There is also the story of Prophet Muhammad's son who

allowed his father to sacrifice him to please God. But when the
prophet blindfolded himself and attacked his son with a knife, he
discovered that he had sacrificed a goat in place of his son. God
had replaced the prophet's son by a goat,. but the son had
demonstrated his willingness to be sacrificed to God in
accordance with his father's intention. A son who obeys the
wishes of his father or mother is an embodiment of virtue or
righteousness. One can distinguish virtue from vice not only by
reading holy books and literary epics but also by keeping the
company of a true guru. Scriptures like the Vedas, the Upanishads
and the Bhagawatgita and epics like the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata teach a son to cultivate virtues like self study, self-
control, and austerity, care of parents and teacher's social service
and devotion to God. They also teach him not to indulge in vices
like adultery, robbery, murders, filial ingratitude, arrogant
behavior and neglect of devotion to God. A true guru also teaches
them similar things, but it is not easy to come across a true guru
who teaches his disciple to tread the path of virtue or
righteousness in a selfless manner. The reason is that a guru of
modern times acts as a trader in worldly wisdom for the sake of
his own material gain and deliberately ignores instruction in
spiritual wisdom as an unprofitable assignment. Even so., every
youngster must try to find a true guru who can help him to live
happily and achieve God's grace by following the path of virtue.

Of course, a man who transgresses righteousness may escape

legal punishment by painting his sin with gold. The lance of justice
hurtless breaks, but he cannot escape social disgrace and the
hurtles breaks. But he cannot escape social disgrace and the
onslaught of veneral diseases if he commits adultery. He also
cannot escape the attack of such life style diseases as high blood
pressure, heart-failure kidney failure and liver disorders if he
indulges in high living by accumulating wealth dishonestly. Finally,
he cannot escape damnation if he reviles saints and gods. If he
wishes to escape such mishaps, he must follow the path of virtue
or righteousness under the guidance of a true guru.

what is Enjoyment?

Man hankers after the enjoyment of the good things of life

available on the earth, but he fails to experience peace and
happiness despite living a luxurious life. The reason is that the
enjoyment of material objects is momentary and ends in sorrow.
While the enjoyment of peace and happiness is a lasting mental
experience which is accomplished by means of spiritual wisdom
and leads to salvation.

All the good things of life are abundantly available in the

world, but a man fails to own them if he does not do his duty
conscientiously. After alls he who wishes to enjoy the good things
of life peacefully and happily will have to cultivate the virtues of
self- restraint, contentment, benevolence, truthfullness, filial
gratitude, evenmindedness, a liking for the company of saints and
devotion to God. He will also have to keep himself away from
vices like adultery, covetousness, malevolence, false pretence,
filial ingratitude, irascibility, and neglect of saints and gods. There
is the saying "as you sow so you reap." This means that he who
dutifully cultivates virtues enjoys life, while he who cultivates
vices suffers. Of course, bodily ailments, economic ups and
downs, and natural calamities have to be borne by everyone.
Besides, everyone's life is very short. Yet he who follows the path
of virtue and serves society dutifully wins the love of all people
and is affectionately remembered after his death, while he who
follows vices and torments the members of his society invites the
wrath of all people and is buried in oblivion after his death.
 Man must live thoughtfully and rationally in order to enjoy
the good things of life. He must follow the principles of morality
laid down by the Vedas and the puranhas. He must also follow the
advice of his parents who have given him birth and provided him
an opportunity to live a virtuous life and achieve salvation.

The way to salvation:

Man finds it very difficult to tread the way to salvation by

realizing God. The reason is that he is born in a society in which
he has to work for earning a living and maintaining a family. But
he is reburied to renounce society in order do penance to realize
God. consequently. he finds social life and divine life akin to two
swords that cannot be put into one sheath or like two women
who cannot be married to one man without inviting trouble. He
thinks attachment to social life is attachment to appearance,
while attachment to God is attachment to reality. He feels he will
have to renounce his social life and imbibe spiritual wisdom in
order to achieve salvation by realizing a God who is said to be
nameless, formless, and limitless, desireless and blissfull.
However, he thinks it is extremely difficult for him to renounce his
social life in order to achieve salvation by realizing a
transcendental God with the help of spiritual wisdom.
 Of course, society forms the basis of a man's existence and it
is obligatory for him to work for the benefit of its members by
living with them. But it is not at all necessary for him to leave
society with a view to achieving salvation by realizing God.
Because society is a manifestation of God and to serve it is to
serve God. If a man deserts his parents wife and children to
achieve salvation by realizing God. he will not succeed in doing so.
The reason is that God is present in all living beings whose neglect
amounts to a neglect of God himself.

A man can live in society and achieve salvation by realizing

God after taking certain steps. First of all, he must go in search of
a true guru who can help him in realizing God, because God
cannot be realized without the help of a true guru whose only
mission in life is to liberate his disciple from lust, greed, ambition,
and pride so that he may be able to exercise self-control,
contentment, love and respect for all living beings in order to
realize God and achiever salvation. Thirdly he must not try to
comprehend the transcendental God by means of gnosis or
mystical knowledge, because it is very difficult to do so. He must
rather concentrate on the worship of such concrete
manifestations of the abstract God as Brahma Vishnu, Mahesh,
Rama, Krishna or Durga. By doing so, he may gradually learn how
to comprehend the abstract or formless God. In this way he will
realize God and achieve salvation.
 11
Appearance (Maya) and Reality (Brahma) :
The material world inhabited by living beings is not thought
to be fit for the realization of God and the achievement of
salvation, because it is regarded as the world of appearance or
Maya that tempts its inhabitants to transgress the virtues of self
restraint, contentment, austerity, benevolence, the
companionship of saints and devotion to God required for the
achievement of salvation. Who in this world is not blinded by
infatuation? Is there anyone in this world whom lust has not
made its Puppet? Is there any sage, seen, hero, or politician in it
whom greed has not betrayed? Whom the pride of pelf has not
pervented while living in this world? Who has not been corrupted
by power within its fold? who has not been thrown out of his
mental equipoise by the combined action of the three modes of
nature ----- sativa, rajas, and tames- as also by the synchronous
derangement of the three humors' (doses)- (vita, pita, and cough?
Who does not incur obloquy by envy and who is not shaken by the
blast of grief on account of the death of a near and dear one, the
loss of property, or a natural calamity? Whose mind is not
polluted by the desire of progeny, the desire of wealth, and the
desire of fame? All these constitute the formidable army of
appearance of maya that frightens not only mortal men and
women but also the immortal gods.
However, appearance or Maya is God's handmaid, thought
unreal when understood, their is no escape from her grip except
by God's grace. The Maya that has made a plaything of the whole
world is always at the beck and call of God. But God is not a
material but a spiritual reality- name-less, formless, limitless;
present everywhere, omniscient, omnipotent and blissful. Of
course, God also takes the form of a human sovereign or here like
Ram, Krishna, or Durga in order to free his devotees from the
clutches of demons and villains, God is realized either by Gnosis
(immediate mystical understanding), or by devotion. Gnosis is
difficult to attain and beset with numerous obstacles. Its path is
rugged and slippery. Scarcely one attains it after a hard struggle,
yet fails to win God's garce without devotion. Devotion is
independent and a source of all blessings, but it is to be cultivated
with the help of saints.

Gnosis and Devotion:

It is important to understand the distinction between gnosis
(mystical knowledge) and devotion. The soul is a particle of
godhead- immortal, conscious, untainted by Maya and blissful.
Such a soul allows itself to be dominated by Maya and is caught in
its own trap like a parrot or monkey. Matter and sprit are linked
together with a knot which, thought imaginary, is difficult to
untie. Since the soul has become worldly, it can have no
happiness till this knot is untied. The Vedas and Purans have
suggested a number of devices for untying the knots but the knots
far from being resolved, becomes harder and harder. The interior
of the soul is so darkened by ignorance that the knot can not even
be perceive how then can it be untied? If God were to bring about
favorable conditions for its resolution, even then it would not be
easy to disentangle the knot. Suppose by the grace of God the
blessed cow of satavic piety comes to abide in one's heart and
feeds on the green leaves of grass in the form of prayers penance,
self- restraint, contentment, austerity , non- violence, non-
possession and self surrender to God. Milk begins to flow from
her teats when she is united with her newly born calf in the shape
of love. Quietism serves as the cord by which here hind legs are
tied for milking her, faith represents the pot in which she is
milked, while a pure mind plays the role of a milkman. Having
sawn the milk in the form of righteousness one should boil it on
the fire of desirelessness. When boiled it should be cooldown with
the air of contentment and congealed by mixing with it the curd in
the shape of self- cooled down with the air of contentment and
congealed by mixing with it the curd in the shape of self- control.
The curd thus made should be churned in the earthen pot of
cheerfulness with the stick of reflection after fastning to it the
host of self restraint with the cord of truthful and agreeable
words, and by this process of churning and should extract the
butter of dispassion.
After kindling the fire of Yoga (concentration of mind) one's
past karma, both good and evil, should be consigned to it as a fuel
and the butter place on it. When the scum in the form of worldly
attachment is burnt the clarified butter that is left in the form of
gnosis should be cooled down by reason. Having obtained the
purified butter in the form of wisdom, reason in the form of
understanding should fill with it the lamp of the rational faculty,
and making a stand of even- mindedness set the lamp securely
there Extracting cotton in the form of the transcendental State
out of the boll of the three states of consciousness (viz, waking,
dream and dreamless sleep) and the three modes of nature (Viz.
Satvik, rajasa and tamasa). The same should be carded and
fashioned into a strong wick. In this manner one should light the
glorious lamp of immediate knowledge, by approaching which the
mothers of list, greed, ambition and namity are all consumed.
The constant awareness that " I am God (aham Brahmasmi
" represents the most dazzling blame of the lamp. in this
way when the bliss of self-realization sheds its bright lustre, the
error of duality, the root of worldly existence, is dispersed and the
darkness of infatuation etc, which forms nescience (avidya),
disaprears. Having thus procured a light, reason sits in the
chamber of the heart to untie the ligature that binds the spirit
with Matter. The soul can hope to attain its object only in the
event of reason succeeding in untying it. But when Maya finds
reason trying to untie the knots she creates many difficulties. She
sends forth a number of riches and supernatural powers (riddhi)
and siddhis that try to excite reason's cupidity. By artifice, force or
frauds they approach reason and put of the light by fanning it
with the ends of their garments. If reason refuses to look at them,
gods appear to create trouble. The various apertures of the body
that locate the five senses are so many windows in the chamber
of the heart, each of which is presided over by a god.
As they find the gust of sensuality entering the chamber the
gods wantonly throw open the shutters of these apertures. As
soon as the blast penetrates the chamber of the heart the light of
immediate knowledge gets extinguished. In this way while the
ligature binding the spirit with matter remains untied, the light of
self- realization also disappears and the understanding gets
bewildered when buffeted by the blast of sensuality. Gnosis is
welcome neither to the senses nor to the goods presiding over
them as they themselves are fond of sensual enjoyments. And as
the reason too is distracted by the blast of sensuality, who can
light the lamp again?
when the light of wisdom is thus extinguished the soul then
goes again through the manifold agonies of transmigration. Maya
cannot be easily crossed over by gnosis, which is difficult to
expound, difficult to grasp and difficult to achieve thought
practice. If by chance one succeds in achieving it, there are many
impediments in preserving it.
The path of wisdom is like the edge of a sword as one is apt
to fall from it very soon. He who successfully treads it achives
salvation or emancipation, but it is not at all easy for anyone to do
so. However salvation or emancipation comes unsolicited by
worshipping Ram, Krishna, or Durga. Realizing this, the wise men
and women spurn final salvation or emancipation achieved by
means of gnosis and concentrate on devotion- By practicing
devotion. Ignorance which is the root cause of transmigration, is
eradicated without any effort, in the same way in which the
gastric fire effortlessly digests the food people eat to satisfy their
hunger. Such devotion must be liked by everyone as it is so easy
and delightful.
Devotion is linked to a jewel. The beautiful wish fulfilling
gem of devotion to a god like shri Ram is an embodiment of
supreme effulgence, which sheds it's radiance day and might,
requiring neither a vessel nor clarified butter nor a wick to light it.
He in whose heart such a jewel abides is not sainted by poverty in
the shape of infatuation. No blast of greed can extinguish its light,
which dispels the darkness of ignorance and keeps away the
moths of lusts, ambition, vanity, etc. He in whose heart the gem
of devotion to a god like shri Ram abides cannot have any trouble
or suffering in life. Although this jewel is manifest in the world,
none can find it without the grace of God. It is the reward of all
spiritual endeavors, but none can secure it without the help of a
saint. Realizing this whoever cultivates the fellowship of saints
finds devotion to a god like Shri Ram easy to attain.
Nine Forms of Devotion:
God recognizes no other kinship than that of devotion.
Despite caste, kinship, lineage, piety, reputation, wealth, physical
strength, numerical strength of his family, accomplishments and
ability, a man lacking in devotion is of no more worth then a cloud
without water. Of course, there adenine forms of devotion. The
first is fellowship with the saints and the second is a fondness for
religious stories. Humble service of one's guru is the third form of
devotion while the fourth type of devotion consists in singing the
praise of God in a sincere way. Reciting God's Name with
unwavering faith constitutes the fifth form of devotion revealed in
the vedas. The sixth variety consists in the practice of self-control
and virtue, desisting from vicious activities and ever pursueing the
course of conduct prescribed for saints. The seventh type requires
a devotee's seen god in all living beings without distinction and
reckons the saints as even greater than God. The eighths type
wants the devotes to remain contented with whatever he gets
and not to find fault with others. The ninth form of devotion
demands that a devotee should be guileless and straightforward
in his dealings with everybody, and should in his heart cherish
implicit faith in God without exultation or depression whosoever
possesses any one of these nine forms of devotion, be he man or
woman, or any other living being, is most dear to God. He who
follows all the nine forms of devotion in a determined way finds
his soul in its natural state, which is untainted by Maya.

12

Suffering and salvation:

Man is mortal and lives for a short period of time in the

world, but he undergoes a lot of suffering during this period. He
has to work hard to earn a living, he has to take care of his aged
parents, wife and children and he has to face physical ailments,
deaths of kith and kin and natural calamities like floods,
earthquakes and climatic changes of abnormal character. As a
result, he yearns for peace and happiness. But he fined it's almost
imposible to fulfill his yearning for peace and happiness in a world
in which everyone is engaged in a ruthless struggle for survival
against numerous odds. He thinks he may experience peace and
happiness if the leaves the work-a-day world and goes to live in a
jungle where he can worship God and achieve salvation or
emancipation from the weary, stale and unprofitable ways of the
world. However, He cannot achieve salvation by leaving his family
in the lurch in order to worshipped God as an ascetic living in
jungle, because the members of his family are God's creatures
and to desert them for any reason is to desert God. therefore he
will have to live with his family and worship God as a householder
to achieve salvation.

Man is the only living being who is gifted with reasoning

power or intellect. Therefore, he must use it to reconcile worldly
life with spiritual life in order to achieve salvation, which implies
freedom for worldly suffering as well as from the cycle of births
and deaths. As far as man's worldly life is concerned, he must
earn money to fulfill the needs of his family for food, clothing and
shelter and to help the poor within the limits of his resources.
Suffering can not ensue from solicitude for the well-being of
others. Next, man must avoid vices like adultery, greed, ambition
and vanity by cultivating the virtues of self-restraint contentment,
love and humanity. After all, the adulterer cannot escape
ostracism, the embodiment of greed cannot be free from the
craving for more and more of wealth, the power-seeker cannot
keep away from violent struggle, and he who is puffed up with
pride cannot escape his downfall at some stage of his career.
"Pride goes before a fall" is a saying that rings hery true in the
work-a-day world. Again, he who seeks peace and happiness in his
life must keep the company of saints instead of hobnobbing with
sinners, because saints are inclined to do good to others while
sinners delight in tormenting others by their words and actions.
He who discharges his obligations to his family and society very
faithfully and honestly is respected by all in his lifetime and
remembered lovingly by after his death. He is sure to achieve
salutation.

Man can follow spiritual discipline while living as a souse

holder in the work-a-day world. He can take time off from his
domestic and social preoccupations and seek a true guru who
happens to have realized God and is willing to help others in doing
so without any selfish motive. When he finds such a guru, he must
worship him as a god and shape his life- style according to his
instructions, The reason is that spiritual discipline is a very secret
or esoteric discipline which cannot be picked up by anyone
without the guidance of a true guru. Etymologically, the word
'guru' means one who removers the darkness or ignorance
(Gu=darkness+ru=remover) of his disciple by disclosing to him the
secrets of the spiritual way of life. He teaches his disciple to tread
the path of virtue and to undertake the respiratory, physical and
mental exercises that have been recommended by yogis for the
realization of God and the achievement of salvation. The disciple
on his part surrenders himself completely to his guru, looks upon
him as the representative of God and follows his words and deeds
faithfully and sincerely. Gradually, he too realizes God and
achieves salavation after the manners of his group. Of course he
carries out his familial and social responsibilities in a detached
manner despite following the spiritual way of life.
 Man remembers God whenever he is unhappy, but he does
not do so when he is happy. However, he must remember God
whenever he has time to spare. In his free time he must relax on
his bed by keeping one pillow under his head and another under
his feet. He must then close his eyes and hold his breath by
keeping his attention fixed on the tip of his nose. After doing so,
he must remember or meditate on such a concrete manifestation
of abstract God as Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Ram, Krishna,
Hanuman, Durga or Kali. None of them is God the nameless,
formless, limitless and transcendental reality, but each manifests
or symbolizes the invisible God in a visible way. If man does not
want to meditate on any one of them, he may meditate on his
own soul which is a limited manifestation of the limitless God and
which can enable him to realize God and achieve salvation.

Man earns money, enjoys delicious food, wears designer

dress and lives in luxurious surroundings, but these things cannot
ensure permanent peace and happiness to him as he can be
deprived of them by thieves, decoits rioters, floods and
earthquakes. Moreover, he has to leave behind him all of his
worldly possessions at the time of his death. He can enjoy
permanent peace and happiness only by means of his devotion to
God who is the source of everlasting bliss. Man is destined to
suffer in the work-a-day world in spite of owning power and
prosperity. For instance, a learned stage like muni vashistha
conducted the marriage of Ram and Sita in an auspicious hour,
but the result was disastrous as Sita was abducted by Ravan and
Ram's father Dasharath died. Therefore, it is necessary for man to
remain detached from the woes and weals's of worldly life and
concentrate on the worship of God for the achievement of
otherworldly peace and happiness.

The work-a-day world is very baffling. In it life feeds on life

(the rich exploit the poor and the poor often loot the rich. Many
people suffer from blindness, lameness, paralysis, leprosy, cancer,
heart-disease, kidney failure and Aids. Women are subjected to
rape, prostitution and murder. Individuals, groups and nations are
vying with one another to acquire power and prosperity without
any holds barred. Various religious organizations have divided
people into warring communities instead of prompting their
followers to imbibe the values of love and goodness. The rulers of
the various nations of the world are interested only in enjoying
powers and privileged by dangling the carrots of democracy and
development before their subjects. Science and technology have
created an industrial civilization which has made man self-
centered, aggressive and materialistic and filled his life with sick
hurry and divided aims. It is a civilization which has polluted
water, air and eatables and disturbed the ecological balance of
nature. To cap it all, it is a civilization that has produced weapons
like the atom bomb and the hydrogen bomb that can destroy all
living beings on the earth if international tension erupts in war.
Therefore, it is absolutory necessary for human beings to
development truly spiritual outlook on life which can help them to
establish peace and happiness in their world.

13

THE WORD IS NOT GOD:

 The words of a language are symbols of sounds used by its
speakers to express the joys and sorrows of their lives in
accordance with the rules of grammar. Words are also used to
sing the praise of God. of course, people living in different regions
of the earth speak different languages, but each and every
language has distinct words for singing the praise of God in
accordance with its grammar and usage. Thus languages like
Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil,
Telegu, etc, have distinct words for naming God and praying to
him. This shows that God is kind enough to make his presence felt
by the speakers of the various languages of the world.

It is said that in the beginning was the word and the word
was God. However, the truth is that the word is not God but a sing
or symbol of God. As God is the creator of the living and non-living
things of the world, he who serves them by his thoughts, words
and deeds is nearer to God than he who just sings his praise. After
all, man must not waste his brief life in the world in the pursuit of
sensual pleasures and material possessions which are not only of
a fleeting nature but also troublesome. instead, he must use it to
serve God's creatures in an honest and humble manner which can
ensure his salavation. God blesses a man who controls his craving
for the pleasures of the senses, is content with whatever he gets
easily and honestly, practices benevolence in thoughts, word and
deed, and maintain a low profile. lord Krishna makes it very clear
to Arjuna in the Bhagwat Gita that he lives inside a man who is
devoted to the well- being of the inhabitants of the world instead
of being devoted to his own well-being.
 God presents himself to his devotees in various forms in
accordance with their liking. Though God is formless or
transcendental, he appears in the form of Ram before kaushalya,
in the form of Krishna before meera, in the form of saraswati
before one who is devoted to learning and so on. However, a
devotee cannot discribe the bliss that he enjoys on meeting his
favorite God or Goddess in a concrete form because such bliss is
beyond sense perception, beyond intelligence and beyond verbal
description.

God is the eternal source of virtue and his devotee becomes

one with him. But a devotee cannot merge in God and achieve
salvation unless he keeps the company of a guru and follows his
guru's words and deeds sincerely and regularly. As you sow so you
reap' is a well- known saying which must be kept in mind by
everyone who wishes to win God's grace. participation in the
enlightened and joyous company of a guru ensure a devotee's
salvation or emancipation from the stress and strain of worldly
life, Even a god like Hanuman likes to take rant in such company
because it has a cooling effect on his angry mood. Moreover the
enlightened and joyous company of a guru helps a devotee to free
himself from the pure of temporary pleasures of the senses and
fleeting material possessions and thus enables him to enjoy the
eternal bliss of God's grace.

Worldly pleasures and possessions are short-lived and end in

sorrow. A man who devotes his mind to worldly pleasures and
possessions after attaining human birth takes poison in exchange
for nectar. None will speak well of him who picks up a peppercorn
throwing away the philosopher's stove. The immortal soul of a
living being goes round through eighty four lakh species of life.
Driven by appearance or Maya and encompassed by time,
destiny, Nature and phenomenal existence, it ever drifts along.
Rarely does God graciously bestow on it the human form, which is
a veritable raft designed to enable it to cross the ocean of
mandane existence, with God's grace as a favorable wind and a
true guru as a helmsman to steer it. The man who equipped with
all these resources, fails to cross the ocean of metempsychosis is
ungrateful and dull-witted and meets the fate of a self-destroyer.

Of course, man finds himself placed on the horns of a

dilemma. On the one hand, he has to shoulder the responsibility
of maintaining a family by means of worldly wisdom and on the
other hand, he has to worship God to achieve salvation by means
of spiritual or other worldly wisdom. If he devotes himself to the
care of his family, he will be steeped in lust, greed, ambition and
vanity to the neglect of God's if he neglects the care of his family
to devote himself to the worship of God, he will feel guilty of
doing so. As he grows old, he becomes deeply attached to the
members of his family and neglects the worship of God. When
death stares him in the face, he regrets that he has not been able
to win the grace of God on account of his exclusive attachment
to worldly relationships and possessions. However, man must
know that God does not require him to abandon his family or
society but to serve it sincerely by means of good deeds which will
provide him the highest felicity. Indeed, God requires man to take
the woes and weals's of worldly life in his stride and perform
worldly tasks in a detached manner. No man can win God's grace
and achieve salvation unless he accepts the joys and sorrows of
worldly life with equal thanks because they constitute the
indispensable parts of his destiny on the earth. In the end God
also requires man to put up with the abuses and insults of his
fellow travelers without any reaction because they are intended
to test his patience and sanity.

Man sorrows not only over the death of a near and dear one
but also over the loss of property or over the failure to achieve
success in a venture. He prays to God to give him the strength to
bear sorrow or goes to seek solace from his guru, but none can
free him from sorrow as it is part of and parcel of his life and he
has to bear with it patiently and calmly. In fact sorrow has a
chastening influence on man's mind if it is allowed to ripen
without seeking an anodyne. Men hike Dhruwa, Prahlad,
Harishchandra, Tulsidas and kabir became embodiments of truth
by facing the sorrowful incidents in their lives with courage and
wisdom. Indeed, God is always on the side of a man who does not
transgress righteousness in the face of sorrow, but he never
favors a man who oppresses and exploits his fellow-travelers for
the enjoyment of life. Shukracharya was the guru of the gods but
he was punished for leading them away from the path of virtue.

It is very necessary for man to undertake self examination

from time to time in order to find out whether he is following or
not the virtues of self- restraint, contentment, love and goodness
in order to win the grace of God. It is easy to find fault with
other's but it very difficult to be aware of one's own faults.
However, self- knowledge is the key to the achievement of God's
grace and salvation while ignorance of the ways of on its mind is
the souse of sin and damnation. The path of virtue is as difficult to
tread as the climb to a mountain top, but it has to be trodden by
means of constant self-awareness in order to achieve spiritual
bliss. But it has to be trodden one's cheerfully under all
circumstances because to maintain once cheer in the face of the
trails and tribulations of life is to be ready to win God's grace and
achieve salvation.

Nothing can be achieved without hard work. A yogi

undertakes very difficult respiratory, physical and mental
exercises in order to achieve the goal of salvation. Some of those
exercises are not only extremely painful but also fateful, but a
yogi does not hesitate to undertake them on account of his
determination to attain his goal no matter what happens to him.
Even so, yoga needs to be practiced happens to him. Even so,
yoga needs to be practiced under the guidance of an expert and
an ascetic lifestyle is to be adopted while practicing it. The reason
is that yogi exercises can be harmful and dangerous if they are
undertaken by a novice without an expert's guidance and without
self-discipline.

There is also an easy way to realize God and achieve

salvation. If a man cuts himself off from his family and society for
a while by sitting in a quiet corner of his houses, he can undertake
free meditation. To do so he has to forget his professional
worries, social responsibilities, good as well as evil thoughts,
physical needs and desires, worldly as well as other worldly goals
and hopes and fears of every sort. If he succeeds in forgetting
himself and his surrounding by doing so, he can achieve complete
peace of mind as well as union with God. Sometimes a man
forgets himself and his world without making any effort for doing
so and at other times he can seek the help of his guru in freeing
himself of from all hopes and fears in order to achieve self-
forgetful-nests and union with God.
 14

unmerited suffering:

Sometimes man has to face suffering in spite of doing good deeds

under the guidance of a guru. Once a man named Muhammad
Ayyub was born in Arabia. He becomes very rich in the course of
time, but he was devoted to God and spent money to help the
poor and the sick. He always prayed to God to enable him to serve
others and to avoid sinful deeds. As results, people loved him and
he loved people very sincerely. He shared the woes and weal's of
his fellow-traveller sympathetically and sought God's blessings for
them. Neverthess, he had to face a lot of suffering in his life. The
reason was that the devil deprived him of all of his riches and got
him exiled from his village by making him a leper. Then the devil
challenged God to come true rescue of his devotee. God sent an
angel to free Muhammad Ayyub from poverty and leprosy.
According, the angel restored Ayyub to his former status as a rich
and healthy devotee of God. However this story indicates that the
devil is capable of inflicting suffering on God's devotees.

Of course, both God and the devil are invisible, though God is
unborn while the devil is born as a form of life. One who has not
realized God as invisible realty is likely to deny his existence, but
one who has realized him cannot do so. The visible world tempts
man with its ephemeral riches and pleasures, but the invisible.
World beyond it offer him eternal beatitude and bliss. If man
remains attached to worldly possessions and pleasures and does
not devote himself to God, he cannot achieve God's grace and
otherworldly bliss. However, this does not mean that man must
put on saffron robe and dole out blessings to people by making
them prostrate themselves at his feet very proudly as their
spiritual guide. This means that man must live as an ordinary
member of society and devote himself to God despite fulfilling his
duties to his family and friends in a sincere but detached manner.
He must cultivate freedom from lust, greed, ambition and vanity
in order to imbibe self-control, contentment, fellow-feeling and
humility. He must eat whole some vegetarian diet contentedly
and cheerfully, but he must avoid meat, fish and intoxicants very
strictly. He must remember God all the time whether he is awake
or asleep. if he does all this, he will certainly realize God and
achieve salvation.

What is God or Brahma ?

People mistake the word 'God" for God himself, but the word
'God' is a verbal sign of God rather than God himself. In fact. God
exists beyond the word 'God' as the inner light within the human
body that enables a human being to distinguish between what is
right and what is wrong for him. As the eye is the organ of sight in
the human body, in the same way the soul is the source of inner
light withing its frame. If physical health needs to be maintained
by the intake of nutritious food, spiritual health needs to be
maintained by beneficence in thought, word and deed. The living
and non-living things found in the world of nature are
manifestations of God and to serve them lovingly is to serve God.
If a human being tries to realize God without taking good care of
the people and the things exiting in the world of nature, he will
not be able to do so.

God cannot be realized merely by undertaking yogic exercises,

prayers, penance and recital of his name, but he can be realized
only by doing one's duty to society and the world at large in a
sincere and determined way. Lord Krishna has made it clear in the
Bhagawadgita that man can fulfill his destiny as a devotee of God
only by doing his duty to society without expecting any reward for
it.

Whosoever firmly resolves to realize God is sure to realize him

after the manner of meera, prahlad and Muhammad Sahib. God is
not in a temple, Church, or woof but inside everyman. Therefore,
it is necessary to have self knowledge in order to realize God. Of
course, the human body is composed of soil, water, fire, space
and air, but inside it exists the immaterial and invisible soul that is
the abode of God. One devotee finds God as a spark which blinds
his eye while another finds him as a beautiful and desireless being
that has a cooling effect on his mind, In fact, God appears before a
devotee in the some form in which he wishes him to appear. Lord
Krishna tells Arjun in the Bhagavad-Gita that he is present before
him as a microcosmic embodiment of the macrocosmic God
whom he has not seen. Sometimes a devotee visualizes God as a
limited embodiment of the limitless God and at other times he
envisions him as a limitless or cosmic presence.

God is beyond verbal signs, grammatical categories and

secret returals. He lives in a man who is free from lust, greed,
ambition and vainty and acts lovingly as disinterested benefactor
of the people, the animals the plants and the trees around him.
Such a man spreads love and laughter among his fellow- travelers.
He shows malice towards none and charity for all. He loves the
company of saints and displays no liking for worldly or
otherworldly enjoyments. We sing the praise of God but avoid
bigotry and sophisticated reasoning. He liberates himself from
worldly attachments and merges himself in god or Brahma who is
the fountain of eternal bliss.

The development of science and technology has created an

industrial civilization which has disturbed the relations of living
beings with one another and the world at large. It has polluted
water, air and eatables. It has raised the temperature of the
earth's environment and thus has damaged not only the ozone
layer above it but also the glaciers on the mountains of the earth.
It has also produced weapons of mass destruction, Such as the
atom bomb and the hydrogen bomb that raised a threat to the
existence of all living beings on the earth in the contact of existing
international tension. To cap it all, it has created a world order in
which individuals, groups and nations are engaged in a cut-throat
competition for the acquisition of prosperity power and pleasure
at the material level. Therefore, it is absolutely, necessary for the
survival of the human race to combine the materialistic outlook of
science with spiritual enlightenment. Human beings must realize
that they have to use the discoveries and inventions of science by
establishing a beneficient relationship with one another and with
their natural surroundings if they wish to live safely and happily
an earth.
If human beings cultivate selfless love for one another and for the
life-giving resources of nature, they will certainly achieve
happiness on earth as well as God's grace. The reason is that God
wants' his devotees not only to love him but also to love all living
beings without taking into consideration the differences of caste,
creed class and sex prevailing among them. But human beings find
themselves unable to love God and their fellow-travelers on
account of their selfishness and arrogance. They have to realize
that they are dependent on people and things around them for
their birth and growth therefore, they cannot remain what they
are unless they rise above their self interest and pride to bestow
love and care on the living beings and non-living object around
them. The silk worm is a mean creature, but it provides, silk
textiles to human beings if they take good care of it.

Yet another way to know God is to study the vedas that

emphasize the observance of the yamas like continence, veracity,
non-violence, non-stealing and non-possession as well as of the
niyams like external and internal purity, contentment, self-study,
self discipline and self-surrender to God. Of all living beings only
man has been gifted with the rational mind that can receive as
well as impart to others knowledge of various sort. Therefore,
man must use his mind to know what is good or bad for him and
to find a true guru who can help him to realize god and achieve
salvation.

God can also be realized by man if he releases perfection in any

field of creative activity, such as music, poetry, or painting when
in inspired musician poet, or painter performs his an he does so
like someone possessed or blessed by God. Meera, Tulsidas and
ravi verma are examples of such creative artists.