Daily Notes and Reflections by Alokda

The Ramayana is an evolutionary parable that moves at several levels. At the very outset, it is very clearly a story of the conflict between the forces of Darkness and Light, with the eventual victory of Light over Darkness, Truth over Falsehood, Good over Evil. That is how the memory of the great epic stirs in the minds of the Indian people. But the story is not as simple as that.

Ravana, the protagonist of Darkness is not all Evil. There are traits in him that are the marks of goodness. He looks after his subjects well and has ensured for them a happy and prosperous kingdom. He also engages in religious activities and can be very generous if he is pleased. He also follows some strict rules of conduct, even if they are few and personal to him and follows them religiously. Besides, he is a talented musician and an intellectual giant who is well versed in the scriptures. But herein lies the beauty of the epic. All these human achievements, remarkable though they may look, do not make him a godly being. Rather, he continues to bear upon him the stamp of the Asura, the fallen angel who has deviated from the path of Light. For, as the story goes, Ravana was once an angel, a watch-guard to the doors of the great Lord Vishnu, the preserver aspect of God. But he suffers a fall, a fall from grace that comes about through a curse of a sage when Ravana questions his credentials and obstructs his way to the Lord with arrogance and haughtiness that is unbecoming of God’s servants. And that brings the fall, that is the stamp that Ravana carries through three lives till he is redeemed by the Grace of his Master, Lord Vishnu. 

The hallmark of Ravana through all that he does is wanton arrogance and vanity that is reflected even in his seeming virtuosity. It is he who is the saviour, the protector, the winner of battles, the devotee of Shiva. He can, or so he thinks, even outdo his Lord by his strength and force till Shiva humbles him as he tries to carry the destroyer of evil along with his consort and his abode to his kingdom on his bare hands. He is a worshipper of Force and Strength and knows no other Godhead. Therefore, he distorts the great Vedic mantra Sohamasmi, That is me, to mean that the ego is That since the only self he knows is the self of the ego. It is this gigantic ego that is the mark of a Titan and not his lineage or capacities or intellectual powers or even religiosity. Of course, his intellectual capacity saves him to an extent from being an inferior form of titan, the Rakshasa, who is an image of a devouring being of some vital world, who is thoughtless and crude in his ways. Ravana, though not outright crude, is full of deceit and cunning and cannot tolerate any affront to his ego. He refuses to hear any other voice except the voice of his ego.

Since he refuses to surrender his ego, his redemption can therefore come only through a breaking of the thick shield in which his soul is trapped. His soul still longs to be God’s menial and knowing the troubled and restless nature that houses it, the soul of Ravana chooses to hurl itself against God in a wrestle since this alone, it feels, can hasten the advent of its Lord and be released from this evil bondage to an accursed and fallen life of being the Adversary in God’s world.

He too, therefore, serves a purpose in God’s mysterious scheme of things. By his triumphant egoism, by his force threatening to destroy the sages, the gods, the guardians and keepers of the laws, Ravana hastens the advent of God into this world. By this advent, not only he but the entire clan of Asuras and Rakshasas is redeemed. Thus, evil too hastens in its own way the advent of God. And what really is evil but a deviation of the energies given to us, from their true purpose, that of serving the Lord in all humility and surrender. This is the truth of Ravana’s life: A life centred around the ego is a dark and fallen life even if it is full of outer triumph and successes, even if we hide in the garb of high intellectuality and a show of religiosity, even if the person concerned is full of talent and capacities. He is still an inferior type and his soul feels stifled, entrapped and longs to be God’s servant once again. For, in the last analysis it is better to be God’s slave than be a boastful and egoistic king of the three worlds, it is better to seek His service than nurture the ambition of ruling men.

When such a nature reaches its extreme it becomes the conscious harbinger of evil. Once this happens then there are only two possibilities left for it. Either to surrender to God and be converted into Light by His touch of Grace, the longer and more arduous but more fulfilling path. Or, and that is what Ravana chooses, be dissolved by the Light by hurling itself against it, a shorter but inferior path since it brings back the soul denuded and unfulfilled.

Ravana was given the choice till the last moment, even his brothers were given this choice. But it is only Vibhisana who chooses the path of surrender while the rest simply chose to dissolve back into the Light leaving the soul’s mission upon earth unfulfilled, its work half-done. 

Alok Pandey

We all know the story of Prahlad and his father Hiranyakashyap. The father, born of an asuric birth wanted to attain immortality so that he could become the sole monarch of the world. But it was the monarchy of his giant ego by whose shadow he wanted to swallow the world. He wanted to eliminate all possible sources of death in his personal life. Now, he had a beautiful child called Prahlad. His father who wanted to teach his child that he, Hiranyakashyap, is greater than God, the Lord of the universe. Though the child loved his father, he did not believe his idea. He believed that Lord Hari was God and not his father. His father first tried various means to force this idea on the child but when Prahlad refused to accept it, he was enraged. He then tried various means to kill the child, by throwing him off the cliff, sending a snake to bite him, setting fire around him, but the child somehow was always saved by his simple faith and fearlessness. The father was getting more and more enraged at this till finally one day he decided to confront the child himself.

Threatening him to death, he asked: “Tell me who is greater, myself or Hari?” “Hari” was the child’s sweet and simple reply. “Why do you say so, you stupid boy? Don’t you see I am your father, the great King Hiranyakashyap, ruler over the three worlds, whom neither gods nor men, neither animals nor elements can kill, who has conquered Space and Time.”

The child fearlessly replied: “But father, Hari is everywhere. He is also beyond Space and Time and can take any form as He pleases. He is I everything.”

The father fumed at this reply. Pointing to an iron pillar in his royal hall, he mockingly asked his son, — “Oh so he is everywhere and in everything. So is he in this pillar too for very soon I intend to make this iron pillar red hot and tie you there.”

The child looked at the hot pillar and saw a little ant crawling over it. And with all his faith, he replied: “Yes, Hari my Lord, is in the pillar too.”

Now Hiranyakashyap’s rage went beyond all control. He took his mace and started hitting at the pillar. Each time he hit the pillar he would angrily ask: “Where is Hari, where is Hari? Show me, show me, where is Hari?”

Suddenly, the iron pillar broke up. And lo! Indeed Hari stepped out f the hot iron pillar in the form of Narsingh, the lion-man. A fight ensued and Hari as Narsingh destroyed Hiranyakashyap and enthroned Prahlad as the king over daityas.

The story short and simple as it runs, is one of the many fascinating symbolic tales that have come out of Indian thought and Spiritual vision and experience. In the story, the king over the three worlds, Hiranyakashyap is the giant ego that rules over the kingdom of mind, life and body so long as man lives in an asuric consciousness. The gospel of the ego is that there is no Truth, no God. All is simply matter and material energy and everything is meant to serve the interest of the human ego. According to Hiranyakashyap’s gospel; man can conquer death by mastering the outer forces of material nature. This is the gospel that we are teaching in our schools and colleges even today. The result is a greater and greater external control over material nature and physical space and time. But also an increasing domination of the human vital ego, an increasing anger, frustration, a self-destructive and world destructive frenzy that is intolerant of other views and ideas.

Yet, as a saving Grace, man has in him not only the ego-self but also the soul or his spiritual self. This spiritual-self in him is a younger birth, it comes later, when the ego-self has hardened and is ready to fall like a crust just as the outer and harder coat of the seed must break and release the inner seed. This spiritual-self in us that is seemingly born out of the ego-self is Prahlad, the child-divine. He is full of trust and devotion, direct knowledge, faith and surrender. He is fearless and full of peace and sweetness and joy. He knows that this universe is not mere matter but behind it there is the stable unchanging soul of Power and Love, Hari. He is seated in the heart of Time that uncoils infinitely; He is seated in the heart of Space upholding the cosmos and its million energies the image of Vishnu so beautifully conjured in the Puranas. This is the gospel of Prahlad, the soul within us.

For a long time, the soul lives as if under the shadow of the ego. But slowly it begins to assert itself. Once that starts happening, our being becomes a battlefield of conflict between the ego and the soul, between doubt in a spiritual world-view that holds and delivers matter out of Itself. Sometimes the one view predominates, sometimes another. The ego tries to destroy the soul and tests its faith but the soul is indestructible. The weapons cannot cleave it; nor fire destroy, as the Gita tells us.

Then the decisive hour arrives, the last ordeal and test before the victory. It is then that Hari, the Friend and Lord of all beings manifests Himself in us as a leonine figure, the lion-man, Narsingh. For it indeed needs a calm courage to overthrow the ego and offer its throne to the soul. This indeed is true bravery and heroism, to face our ego and destroy it so all in us may belong to Hari, the Divine Truth and Wisdom and Power and Love behind this world. Then Hari gives back this kingdom to the soul who must then govern our life and thoughts and emotions and the very body in the name of ‘Hari’ and make them beautiful and perfected instruments for God’s work in the world.

These are the two gospels that the world has known. So far, the human race has largely followed the way of Hiranyakashyap’s gospel except a few individuals here and there who have discovered Prahlad within them. No wonder the world is what it is today, full of greed and falsehood, governed by wars for domination and possession, ruled by vanity, fear, anger and death. But the time is coming near when Prahlad’s gospel would appear in every home I the form of children who would challenge the old materialistic view and a world-order full of hypocrisy, division and falsehood, built by the ego for the satisfaction of our vanity. More and more children will have the courage to seek Truth, to question the human ills born of our ego, even if it wears the garb of religious or secular ideologies. Hiranyakashyap will be vanquished from the face of the earth lifting the shadow from its face. The world and Nature will be once again reclaimed and ruled by Truth and Light and Sweetness and Love.

Alok Pandey

The Master sat under the cool shade of the Banyan tree. A little below him gathered around his presence young and old disciples, swift and brilliant in thought, energetic and full of enthusiasm, glad in heart and calm in speech and countenance; they sat around their Master as the ministers gather around a king. But this was a king whose slightest wish was their command and to obey him their soul’s right and privilege.

So did they gather late in the noon after the works of the Ashrama were over, expectant and eager for the nectar drops that would flow out of the Master’s heart in the form of stories from a hoary past. And yet the Master’s touch turned these well known or unknown tales into keys to unlock an inner door that opens upon a pathway towards the future.

A disciple started the conversation, “Tell us, dear Master, the story of that great endeavour when the gods and the titans came together?”

“You mean the tale about the churning of the ocean and the nectar of immortality?” asked the Master. The disciple nodded with as smile of approval.

The Master started, his gaze looking far upon the horizon as we he was traveling far back in Time or perhaps into another Time – Space Dimension: for indeed the story is of another dimension, a fourth dimension beyond our earthly sense, yet, whatever happens there casts its influence upon earth. So the Master told the tale:

‘The gods and the titans are ever at war. The gods have wisdom but not as much strength. They can give wisdom, they have also compassion but when it comes to force, it is the titans who have an upper hand.

Naturally, the titans have the upper hand in the battle using all means to win being fierce and cruel by nature.

The gods did not know what to do. Their defeat or even retreat meant that the demoniac qualities will grow on earth and human hearts become hard and given only to lust and greed. So they approached the great god, Vishnu, the preserver who dwells as Narayana in the human heart, Vishnu gave audience to the gods. Their concern was his concern as well. For the defeat of gods meant a diminution of godlike qualities and that would mean a great disorder…”

The disciples’ faces began to beam as they began to see a new sense in the story, a meaning that was still relevant to them.

The Master continued: ‘Narayana, the all-pervading Godhead who has chosen to dwell in the human heart so that men may not stray far away from dharma, spoke thus to the gods: “The titans are stronger and cruel as well. You, the gods, are wise and compassionate. Through wisdom you have learnt of humility and surrender therefore have you come to me for help. I will surely help you. But first you must find the nectar of immortality. It is that which will make you strong and invincible against the titans.”

A smile of secrecy lingered upon the great Lord’s lips. And the gods looking at each other with amazement and wonder asked, “The nectar of immortality. But where can we find it, Lord?”

The gracious Lord continued, “you will find it in the deepest depths of the ocean of knowledge, ksheera sagar, that upholds the great world-serpent, Time whose uncoiling carries the world – march forward and in whose heart, I, the guardian of the law am asleep.”

There was a moment’s pause yet a pause in which one felt as if ages passed away, for a moment of the Lord is a thousand years of earthly life. The Lord resumed: “In the depths of this ocean of knowledge lies the nectar of immortality born out Bliss that is at the core of everything. But you cannot reach it by your wisdom alone; you also need the strength of the titans. If both the sides, the gods and the titans come together and churn this ocean, you will receive the nectar of immortality as your portion and having that you would be invincible.”

“But won’t the titans too have it and become immortal and invincible,” the gods expressed a genuine concern.

The gracious Lord smiled reassuringly, “Leave that to me for eventually the titans and the gods both but obey the law of their nature. And unless the titans change themselves, they will be unable to have a portion of the nectar. Even after the long and difficult labour of the churning, there is a last test that would stand as a veil between them and the nectar a veil they are unable to tear for they have not the knowledge.”

The gods started to return full of a renewed hope. As they were preparing to go back to their world, the great Lord cautioned them; “But remember, before the nectar comes out, there will emerge out of this ocean, the deadliest of all poisons, Kalakuta. Be not frightened for it must be thrown out as a preliminary purification before the nectar comes.” He added, “And see that you covet nothing, let the Asuras have what they want for many beautiful gifts will emerge out of the churning. You keep your eyes fixed upon your goal, the nectar of immortality.”

The Master paused for a moment and throwing a meaningful glance at the disciples added, “The gods returned full of hope and joy for that is the effect of the Lord’s presence and his reassurance.”

He continued as the disciples were all in rapt attention, ‘So the gods returned rejoicing. They also sent an emissary to the titans with a proposal for the joint venture of churning the ocean of knowledge for the nectar of immortality. The titans agreed after much discussion and debate.

The two groups gathered near the ocean, the titans led by king Bali (a name that symbolizes strength) and the gods led by Indra (a name that symbolizes knowledge surpassing the senses). The mountain Mandara, (the embodies material consciousness) was placed at the centre of the ocean. Vasuki, the great serpent who represents the energy that labours in darkness at the root of the world, consented to become the rope that would be tied around the great mount. To prevent the mountain from sinking into the ocean, God Himself became a grant tortoise, kurmavatara, and held the mountain on his back.

Now the great effort began. To initiate the process, The Lord himself held Vasuki towards the mouth. The gods followed him as they always did. But the jealous Asuras took it as a prestige issue. Vain and ambitions, they want to be honoured first. So, they raised a hue and cry against the gods holding the mouth of the serpent Vasuki. The gods readily conceded and moved over to the tail – side. Little did the titans realise that Narayana, the Lord was being gracious towards them by holding the mouth. For as the churning proceeded the breath of the great serpent phew out poisonous fumes. But that turned out to be nothing compared to what was to come.

As the churning went on, suddenly, the air became full of stifling poison. So deadly was its effect that both the gods and the titans began to run helter-skelter to escape the poison. This indeed was Halahal, the bitterness and darkness buried in the subconscient parts of our nature. We must confront this one day and only after we are purged free of it that the gifts of the spirit can emerge.

But new, the poison threatened everything. What could be done? The air was full of anxiety and fear. But the great Lord smiled reassuringly and at his behest these appeared on the horizons, the deathless Siva, the eternal who takes back all things into him for out of him they are born. In a mighty gesture of great compassion, Siva took the whole poison in the hollow of his palm and drank it. Only a drop was left for the earth to bear. The rest stained his throat and thus, was he named ‘neelkantha’, the poison – stain only enhancing his beauty and greatness.

The threat of the bitterest poison being over, the churning continued. Now it was the turn of the various gifts to emerge, – the winged horse, ucchaisravas, that Bali, the titan king took away; Airavata, the snow – white seven tusked elephant that was given to the king of gods, Indra. Then there was the Jewel, Kaustubh mani, that adorned, Narayana’s chest and Lakshmi of unparalleled beauty, charm and grace whom none deserved. She chose Lord Vishnu, the purest of all as her lord and consort. At last came our Varuni, with intoxicating eyes evoking desire in all. The titans wanted and received her?

The Master paused for a while, even as a disciple interrupted. “But what are these gifts, the flying, horse, the seven – tusked elephant, are these not mere imaginations and myths, surely they do not exist? “The disciple looked puzzles as the Master resumed with a smile on his face: “….and kamdhenu, the cow who could grant any wish was given to the seers, engaged in various tapasyas, I forgot to mention her.”

The disciple intenupted again as if something flashed across his mind’s sky as a revelation: “Oh, I see, is that why you are able to grant our wishes. So the cow is the symbol of plenty.”

The Master smiled again: “Surely, not all wishes, for that will not be a wise thing to do. Granting all wishes may sometimes lead only to an increase of desire, laziness and even vanity. That is why she is given to the rishis who have mastered the art of self – control. The cow itself is a Vedic symbol for light of knowledge, just as horse is a symbol of force and elephant a symbol of prosperity and quiet strength. So, now you can see the truth behind the symbol.

Nevertheless, to resume the last and the most interesting part of the story, finally, and at long last there emerged a most handsome being, healthy and beautiful in every way, full of youthful energies, – Dhanvantari, dressed in a light with a golden hue and carrying in both his hands a crystal bowl with a golden light around it. In that cup there was concealed the most coveted of all boons, the nectar of immortality.

Now, as Dhanvantari appeared with the nectar, there was a great jubilation around. But as they say, the real test, of character is when we are faced with the extremes of success or failure. Seeing the nectar, the titans completely, forgot the joint venture and the pact. They rushed and, as is their nature, they snatched the bowl by force and ran away to drink it themselves. But soon a fight ensued amongst themselves over who would be the first recipient. The gods watched all this with dismay and stunned as they were, and as is consistent with their nature, turned to the great Lord with submission and prayer for help. The gracious Lord who is in all things, who has become the strength of the titans and the light of the gods, simply spread out his hand in a gesture of reassurance and vanished from their vision. They waited with hope and trust.

Meanwhile, the in – fighting amongst the titans continued. Being sons of darkness and division, they are ever quarreling even between themselves. But as they were thus trying to snatch the bowl from each others hands, there appeared on the threshold of their sight, a form most beautiful to behold. A woman of endless charm appeared amidst them and the titans were as if hypnotized by her presence.

“Who are you, O! Loveliest and fairest of all who beats all that we have seen or heard of uptil now?” the titans inquired.

And the woman with a smile for which the triple worlds would be an easy price to pay said, “I am Viswa – Mohini, the most charming form that ever was made,”

“Would you then do this for us”, the titans asked entrusting the bowl and the nectar in her had, would you distribute it to us. We will abide by whatever you decide,”
“Are you sure?” the charming woman sought to confirm, “the sages say that you must be careful in entrusting yourself to charming appearances”.

But the, titans were already blinded. Smitten by greed and lust, they joined in a hideous laughter: “Ho, ho! The sages, who cares for what they say. They keep telling everyone to deny the very things that would give happiness, wealth and wine and woman. Ha, ha, ha! The sages, forget what they say, we will accept whatever, you decide for us,”

Lust had blinded their eyes and arrogance had fanned their vanity and false self-confidence.

The woman did not insist. She asked the titans to be seated to the left and the gods to the right. And as she passed in between the two rows, she kept pouring a bewitching smile to the titans and the nectar to the gods. The titans were still too dazed to take notice except one, Rahu, who saw the trick and changed sides. But even before he could drink the nectar, the woman changed her form and assuming the form of the great god Vishnu, cut off his head with the luminous discuss, Sudarshana Charka. But a drop had gone to the throat and so Rahu’s head became immortal, a queer creature, half titan and half god, born out of a crucial last moment choice.

The titans felt cheated of rushed with all their force upon the gods who now, rejuvenated by the nectar, gave a good fight and sent them packing, back to their heels.

Frustrated, they returned, blaming the great god Vishnu and preparing themselves for another fight?

But the god within their hearts smiled. For truly they stood cheated by their own lustful and greedy nature. For such is the decree given of old!

“They who abandon desire
Shall find the delight they seek through things
They who pursue and possess shall lose,
For such is the law given the man by the sages
To all claimaints of immortality
A difficult task is this,
A labour dual and fierce
At the end o which
There still awaits a tremendous choice,
What do you seek for the nectar of delight the cup of immortality,
If for thy ego, then thou must still wait.
But if for the growth of goodness, light and love in earth and men
Then thou shalt strive rightly
And seek and possess.’

The Master had summed it up so beautiful. The lights were slowly falling low as the sunset was in sight. But the inner light had grown within the disciples, their sight widened to greater horizons.

They got up from their seats. It was time to light the fire.

Alok Pandey

The young aspirants were full of enthusiasm to spread the gospel of their Master. Was it not the best way for them to express their gratitude to Him who had shown them the Light? But the Master generally discouraged this. He would often say that Truth needs no advertisements and the sun needs none to announce its coming to the world. He would tell them jocularly that the crow and the cock remain the same even though they are among the first ones to feel the coming of the sun and wake up the entire neighbourhood by their shouts and cries.

‘But is it not our duty to announce to the world the truth that we have known?’ asked a few.

‘Yes, you must share the joy of your discovery. But reading of it or even hearing of it is not enough’, said the Master, and added, ‘first hear, then think and meditate till you can see and realize it in yourself. That is knowing.’

A few persisted. The Master left them free to discover the truth of His words their own way. For this was His method. He would suggest but never impose, counsel but never order. He left each one free to follow his own nature and led each according to their law of inner growth.

Some felt confused at this. Their small minds wanted a narrow rigid doctrine applicable to all. The Master would explain how such a thing would soon turn the truth of His words into a narrow sect and a religion. For the Divine does not act according to a fixed principle or dogma but in infinite freedom and liberty. His is not a dictatorial kingdom where all be compelled to obey Him. That would make a truly mechanical world of men who are more like robots than living and thinking creatures. God lives in freedom and gives this freedom to all as the first condition of growth.

‘But is this freedom not dangerous when we do not know what is good and what is bad for us’, asked someone who was a strict disciplinarian by nature. But the Master simply smiled and said, ‘Perhaps, but how else can there be authentic growth without the direct experience of things. And as of danger, did I not create them for man to overcome them and grow stronger through the difficulties! Man fears danger and is afraid of error and thereby man also limits his perfection. But God dallies with evil and sin to bring light and good and makes our errors the stepping stones upon the heavenward way.’

One among them who felt himself holier than others lamented as he observed how this freedom had spoilt the disciples. He mused under his breath if there was any difference at all between the life of the aspirants here and the life of ordinary men.

And the Master heard his unspoken thought and felt the disciple’s ego of holiness heave under his holy breast even as He spoke: ‘Be not deceived by appearances. Some sticks that seem straight outside are crooked below the water. Others that appear twisted and kinked at several places are so because they have entwined their life around the vast and complex body of the tree of Truth. Unable to clasp it they have thus entwined themselves around It and thereby appear crooked. Yet are they centered around Truth in their inner being!’

‘But sometimes we find no difference between some of us here and those who are outside leading an ordinary life. Is this too a deception of the eyes or is there a difference?’ Asked another, unable to fathom the diverse ways of the Master who dealt differently with each one, often defying a simple understanding based on standard norms and conventions.

‘Of course there is a difference. It is like the difference between the fertilized and the unfertilized egg. To all outer appearances they may look alike for a long time with common virtues and vices. But to an inward eye they are different. The aspirant however is like a fertilized egg in whom the seed of divinity has been cast. His inner being begins to get shaped by the power within it even though the outer nature may appear the same as anyone else. Then a time comes when all is ripe and something breaks free from within the fertilized egg and the chick is born. The soul-force is released and the resistances and barriers of the outer nature break under its growing pressure. But the unfertilized egg has been delivered prematurely. It remains the same until it is swallowed by the cosmic powers and dies to itself.’

And as a word of caution to their premature enthusiasm he added: ‘While the highest possibility of an unfertilized egg is to provide nourishment to another by its own destruction, the fertilized egg must avoid this. Its destiny is fulfilled by going under the brooding wings of the Divine Grace and wait with patience letting the new thing develop within. The heat of the Divine Tapas then prepares the chick and one day sets it free to grow into the likeness of its creator. Only then are they ready to go into the world and mingle amidst ordinary life and yet carry the seeds of Fire and Light that the Divine has put in them to places far and wide.’

Once again, the disciples had gathered under the cool shade of the banyan tree. The Master arrived as usual at the appointed time. It was not in his nature to make others, even if they be his disciples, to wait for him. The story session began with a discussion over the story of Amrita – Manthan which the disciples had heard the other day.

Disciple: – Master, you narrated the story of Amrita Manthan, the other day and it appeared perfectly natural that the Lord distributed the nectar to the gods while denying it to the titans. But hadn’t they too laboured for it and therefore deserved it equally? Then why was the Lord partial to the gods?

The Master seemed to be waiting for this question. He responded at once: “But the Lord was not being partial at all though it may seem so to the human eye. He was simply doing what ought to be done as the right thing to do. Then after a pause, he added. ‘Well he was rendering Divine Justice, if you like?’

‘Divine Justice’, a few disciples exclaimed as if puzzled for they had never thought that there could be several kinds of Justice.

The Master resumed: ‘Yes, each earthly value, whether Love, Charity, Kindness, Unity, Justice has its divine and a human counterpart. The Divine renders Justice as per the Divine vision which is as you all know a complete vision and a total knowledge. He sees not only the outer effort but also the inner motives, the hidden forces at play, the long-term results and above all the good of the earth. Even when he destroys, he destroys out of love. Man sees only the surface of things and has at most only a brief life’s vision therefore is he perplexed and confused at the ways of God. True, the titans laboured as fiercely and perhaps even more than the gods. But their motives were unclean had the nectar been given to them, that would have spelt disaster for earth and humanity on whom these beings of other dimensions cast their influence. Have you not heard what Sri Krishna has said in the Gita about the right course of action, dharma. This right, from the Divine point of view is what helps in the evolutionary march of mankind towards the ultimate Truth and Light and God. Have you not heard of the Lord’s incarnations as the dwarf child, Vamana avatar?”

One of the disciples inquired. “Tell us Master, the story of Vamana. I have heard about it as a child but couldn’t quite grasp the sense behind it.”

The disciples were all attention, expectantly waiting for another story. The Master got into the frame of telling another story, of another incarnation. As he spoke, a joy flowed from his body as if he experienced what he recounted:

‘The titan king Bali had not forgotten his defeat. He performed various forms of austerities to gain rare weapons. Then, armoured with these and gathering around himself a huge army, he marched towards Amravati, the city of deathless gods where Indra resides. Seeing the huge army and the rare weapons, Indra in consultation with the guru of gods, Brihaspati decided to abandon the city and go into a hide – out with the rest of the gods. Better be free even with nothing than be a slave to the titans which seemed imminent. Brihaspati, who knows the ways of the Vast, explained to Indra, the king of gods, thus: “After God’s will, one must respect Time for it is through the agency of Time that the great Lord works and acts. He who acts completely ignoring the conditions set forth by Tine in this huge cosmic play, brings only doom to oneself. For in all things Time works. There is a Time for victory, there is a Time also for defeat. And he who knows how to accept both, success and failure with grace and dignity, eventually masters Time itself.”

Brihaspati spoke, but Indra was still not fully convinced. The gods are not powerless, he thought. Why should not we fight. But Brihaspati, the wise said, “Look Indra, the time is not good right now for your victory. The Lord, in his mysterious way has brought you face to face with inevitable defeat. Perhaps he wants you and the gods to learn the lesson of humility. However powerful you may be, Time over-rides and overtops all things. So concede right now to avoid destruction of this beautiful city and its many inhabitants,”

Indra listened for the gods always obeyed their guru. Along with the other gods, he took refuge in devamata Aditi’s home. Aditi, the Mother of the gods, received them with Love and Compassion that is always there in her heart for all her children. The gods forgot all their pain and humiliations in Her presence but the ever kind mother carried the sorrow and anguish of the gods to the great lord, Narayana, “Wherefore this ignomy, and defeat, this humiliation and so now for my radiant children. Lord, you must intervene on their behalf for their kingdom has been snatched unjustly by the titans.”

The gracious Lord smiled and reassured Aditi, the mother of the gods: “What thou hast willed for them, I cannot refuse. It is granted. The kingdom of the gods will be returned to them in due course of time, for as thou knowest, my will executed by the trustee Time. The heavens have been snatched from the gods without a fight for the gods had to learn a lesson. It is Time and not the titan king who snatched it away. And it is Time who shall give it back to them without a fight.”

Thus assured the mother of the gods who ever mediates between the anguish of the gods and the ecstasies of the highest Being, returned and resumed her work of nurturing and strengthening the gods, pouring her Grace and Love upon them, healing all their anguish and sorrow.

Time rolled by. Meanwhile, a little child with an unusual radiance was born to Aditi. He emerged out of her womb a radiant god himself whose splendor was greater even than Indra, the king of gods. The earth, the moon, the sun, the fire, the mother goddess Parvati herself, Brahma and Siva all gave something of their aspect of energies to him. His form resembled Narayana himself and Aditi knew that the Time had come for the gods to get back their due. The little boy, well versed in the Veda love, remained dwarf-bodied, Vamana, but in his consciousness he was vaster than the skies and deeper than the oceans.

Meanwhile, king Bali who was now commanding the three worlds, the physical material world, the subtle word built of prana and the still subtler world mind, decided to perform a rare yajna that would make him invincible. The yajna was being presided over by the guru of the titans, Shukracharya. As master of all the elemental forces and material energies, Shukracharya wanted the titans to become invincible. As he thus proceeded on the Yajana, suddenly a dazzling radiance was seen approaching near the sacrificial fire.

The titans were perplexed for they were not accustomed to so much light. Some even fainted unable to bear the effulgence which, as it neared, was seen to be emanating from Vamana who was approaching the Yajnasala dressed in the barest of bare clothes, he held a Kamandalu in his hands and an umbrella made of reads over his head. His eyes were full of an unearthly joy and the countenance full of peace and radiance. A beautiful fragrance as of jasmine emanated from his body that had a lotus pink hue around it. As he approached the Yajnasala, the titan king was filled with a strange joy. Indeed he thought the little boy to be the fire-god himself. Offering his obeisance to the young bright Brahmin boy, the titan king asked him: “Who art thou, O young one? You seem to be celestial being or perhaps the Lord himself in a miniature form. Tell me what can offer you you as a due share of the yajna?”

At this the Master paused and elaborated a little about the Yajna: ‘Yajna is not merely an external rite as some see it. In principle it is a recognition of the fact that we are neither alone nor the only one in the universe. Through Yajna, the sacrificant offered what he had and what he could to others, to men of wisdom and valour, to men in need, to the subjects in one’s kingdom, to the gods and denizens of other worlds. The fire is the inner fire, the eternal witness, the Divine will in man. Through that as one’s witness, one makes the offering. But this is not a one – way process, for in return, the elements, the earth, the sun, the moon, the sea, the gods also gave to the giver something of their forces and their energies. Thus, each could grow into the All and the Whole enrich each element?

The disciples were amazed at the depth and profundity of this ancient wisdom that not only saw oneness behind all things but also provided a way to realize it, through, Yajna, as one of the powerful means.

The Master resumed: ‘To come back to our story, the radiant Vamana thus spoke to the titan king: “O great king, you are truly generous and large – hearted much like your father and grand-father. All that I need, however, is just three steps worth of land.”

Now, Vamana knew that the titans are readily carried away by praise. They are generous but their generosity is driven by the ego and done for the sake of self-flattery. Bali too felt flattered but also somewhat surprised at the small measure of the gift. He asked the little dwarf to reconsider and ask for more. But Vamana, the dwarf stood his ground.

Meanwhile, as the two were conversing, Shukracharya had perceived that this was no ordinary being and his measure need not be our measure. He advised the titan king not to grant what Vamana asked as there may be some trick to it. But the titan king would not listen. He was full of vanity and boastfulness. What trick can this little dwarf do with me, Bali, who rules the three worlds and of whom even the gods are afraid. If listen to my guru, I may bring shame to my family pride who were known to be generous kings. What will people speak of me, that the mighty king Bali did not keep his promise for mere three steps of land. Huh, he thought, my guru has lost his senses to thus advice me. I know better and thus, with the fire as witness and the water as the sanctifier, he promised Vamana to take three steps worth of space anywhere in the three worlds.

And Vamana smiled. He took out one step and his being seemed to tower to unimaginable heights. With his first step he measured the entire earth. His second step covered the heavens and all else in-between. The titan king was all amazed. Realizing that Vamana was none else but Narayana himself, he stood with folded hands, speechless and in wonder.

“Where do I place my third step, O! great and generous king.” He heard Vamana’s sweet and soft voice that was like celestial music to his ears.

Still held almost in trance, the king bowed his head and gestured that the third step may be placed there upon his head. This gesture meant that his ego may be completely demolished and his whole being reclaimed by the Lord himself.

Vamana, the Lord who had assumed the stature of a dwarf smiled as he granted to Bali the highest boom possible, by taking away the burden of ego, pride and vanity that man carries on his head.

“O! Great and noble king, the earth and the heavens were already mine. I have only reclaimed them from you who thought that they are yours. I give them now to the gods to govern and to you I give the highest of the nether worlds, Sutala where you will reign a while as my trustee. In return for you noble gesture, I promise that I will always be by your side, even in the nether worlds, for there is nothing small or dark where I cannot reside and even in the darkest mysterious and the fallen worlds I am there, hidden and masked. Now that you have chosen to surrender your ego to Me, I shall quickly purify your nature and after this cycle of creation withdraws, it is you whom I shall appoint as the guardian of heaven, the king a gods, Indra, for the next cycle.”

And Bali bowed his head in utter gratitude as the Lord placed his feet over his head and sent him to the nether worlds.

The Master paused for a while as in deep contemplation. Then addressing his disciples, he asked. “What would you call this – Divine Justice or Divine compassion, Retribution or Reward, taking or giving, disgrace or the greatest Grace?”

The disciples were unable to answer.

The Master resumed: For such is the wisdom that has built the world. Justice and injustice, these are human terms, needed for us, but the Lord sees and act differently and does what is needed for our growth.”

Evening was spreading fast. The master summarized, revealing the symbol of the story: “Vamana, the radiant portion, amsa of the Lord is man’s soul, his psychic being, and dwarf in appearance, but formidable in power and knowledge. So long as the ego is battling out between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’, the ‘bright’ and the ‘dark’ side of life, Vamana remains hidden to our sight. But a time comes when we are ready through suffering and humility, when the world – mother Aditi, intercedes on our behalf and Vamana, the soul in man emerges out of her and begins to spread its radiance and influence upon our life. He reclaims our nature for the Lord to whom everything belongs. And when we have offered our ego to him, He purifies us quickly and abides with us always wherever we are. Then sin and evil fall away from us and, whether in hell or in heaven, we become radiant instruments of God.

The Master fell silent but, the disciples felt a strange joy and peace invade their hearts and an urge to give themselves utterly and entirely to the Lord. Quietly, they stood up, one after another and walked for the last errands. It was night outside but inside all was light and happiness and peace.

Alok Pandey

The atmosphere was solemn but not heavy. There was a lightness and a Light that one always felt in the Master’s Presence. But the solemnness of the occasion was because of the Master’s ‘illness’. The Master had not been well for the last couple of weeks, and now he seemed to be withdrawing, suddenly, as a sun assumes the crimson golden hue of dawn just before setting in the western seas, the Master came back to his full outer awareness and smiled at the grave faces that had gathered around him in the dusk.

The Master broke the silence, or rather enriched it by his sweet and liquid voice that always seemed to come from some far-off world: ‘What makes your faces so grave?’ One among them answered with a rather low voice: ‘your illness Master and the fear we all share that you may leave us.’

There was a pause as if between the destruction and creation of worlds. The Master seemed to have lapsed again. But he came out of his trance soon enough. Slowly, he responded to the disciple’s anxiety:

‘But where am I leaving you? Do you think I am this body?’ The Master pinched his flesh at places while saying so, and continued: ‘None of us are mere physical bodies alone. Only you are not conscious of it whereas I am fully conscious of my deathless Self and the many births before. And the deathless Self is immortal. It does not die.’

The conversation had started. Another continued the thread: ‘you are God, aren’t you?’

The Master paused a while: ‘yes, but it is also true of all of you, only you do not know it.’

The disciple: ‘But you are God in a special sense, an avatar, the Supreme incarnated in a material body. You are not like us struggling from below upwards.’

The Master: ‘yes, but so were Krishna and Christ and Buddha avatar, conscious of their Godhead. Do you think an avatar is not subject to the laws of earth, when he takes up a human body.’

And the disciple: ‘we thought so, an avatar is free from the laws that govern us mortals.’

The Master said with a great force in his words: ‘None of us is a mortal. Bondage is an illusion, Death is an illusion. There is none bound, none dies. Have you forgotten the great injunction of Sri Krishna, “It is only forms that perish, the soul is immortal.” Did he not also say, “There was never a time when I or these kings were not there, nor when they will not”.’

The Master looked at them with a powerful gaze. Then as the glow softened, he continued: ‘Do you think that Sri Krishna, Christ, Buddha are dead and gone? Have I not told you my own encounters with them, especially with Sri Krishna, the eternal friend and lover of all mankind in whose arms of ecstasy I spent days and weeks. How could I if he were no more. In fact, an avatar never leaves the earth. He comes for the earth and stays here as a permanent part of the earth consciousness so that all who rightly strive may be helped by him and arrive.’

The disciples looked puzzled. Of course, they had read all this but somehow seemed to forget it. How foolish of them to believe that the Master could ever leave them. The Master as if read their thoughts: ‘How could I ever leave you. No, I will be present upon earth till the work for which I have come is done. Only you would not see me with your physical senses.’

‘That makes a great difference to us,’ one of them pleadingly complained.

But the Master reassured: ‘But my help will always be available just as ever those who have a subtle vision can even see me.’

‘But your physical presence….’

The Master revealed: ‘Do you think the Divine takes up a physical body only to guide a few handful of people who are near him? He can and does do that even without assuming a physical body. The experience of many devotees and saints testifies this.’

The disciple insisted ‘But still your physical presence makes a great difference.’

The Master looked at them with great compassion: ‘It does serve as a concrete example but one cannot profit by physical nearness alone. The Master is a doorway to help you discover the Divine Master within you. One too often forgets that simply because the Master is physically available and readily accessible. In fact, the help of the Master is not so much by the words he utters and the letters to which he replies for these can be readily misinterpreted. His real help reaches out as a silent but powerful influence to all who are receptive and open. And this help and influence is not dependent upon the physical Presence though men find it easier to open to someone who is concretely visible in flesh and blood. But that is man’s limitation, not the Master’s. He acts without hands and feet, speaks without the tongue and influences us even while he is bodiless. Indeed that is the Master’s mode of action even while he is in the body.’

A little puzzled the one with a logical reasoning asked: ‘Then why does God take up a body at all if He can guide men and the world without taking up a human body? And if He does, why does he seem to suffer and even fall ill and die like ordinary mortals?’

‘Oh that is another matter. It is not about Guidance but about doing something with physical matter or the earth substance. The Divine takes up a human body as a field of action directly upon Matter and the physical conditions of earth. Now also He acts but from behind, through many layers that clothe and conceal Him. Therefore the work upon earth seems so abominably slow, difficult, and painful. But by taking up a physical body, the Divine can bring the very physical substance and earth-nature directly in contact with the Divine Forces from another plane of a higher consciousness. That helps earth and embodied beings progress as a whole, collectively and not just few special chosen men. It makes the earth cover as if in one giant leap of a few decades or centuries what it would otherwise take millenniums to realise.’

‘Oh yes, we can see that; how your coming revolutionized the entire face of the earth. The very atmosphere has changed,’ a disciple observed, but then added, as if with a tinge of doubt: ‘That is why all the more we cannot understand your illness. We have seen and experienced your powerful Presence and its Influence several times ourselves and in the world. To say the least, we have seen you cure such intractable illnesses in others. So why or how could you not cure yourself!’

The Master spoke as if enigmatically: ‘May be I could cure myself but would not. May be I wish to experience all that human beings experience including illness and death so that I can change their law. How could I do it unless I experience it? How can how ca I change the law unless I fully know it? It is easy to pass beyond the law and remain above it, it is also easy enough to superimpose the law of one plane upon another, but it is extremely difficult to change the law of one plane into another.’

The disciples looked quizzically at each other: ‘What does that mean, we do not quite grasp that.’

The Master: ‘It is easy, for example for a yogi to keep his body alive and healthy for a long period by superimposing upon it the vital force, or else, to simply rise above his illness and be free within of all reactions. That is how miracles ordinarily work. But when you want to change the material laws, then it is another thing altogether. In the previous two, you rise above them or else momentarily suspend or hold them in abeyance for whatever period you wish to with a constant superior control. It is like policing. The presence of the police controls the thief so long as they are vigilant but it does not change a thief or criminal. For that you have to enter into the criminal’s mind and consciousness and know it by a kind of identification, of course without losing your own identity. It is a deliberate process. You do this not out of any weakness but out of strength, to understand how they think and operate, what is their origin due to. And all this so as to change them. That is transforming the law.’

‘But won’t that upset the balance,’ one reflectively demurred.

‘It would do so only if the law were such at the origin and fixed for all times. But that is not the case. Earth and physical life has become what it is not because it is radically and incurably false in its origin. Quite the contrary. Its origin, as indeed the origin of all things is Truth and Consciousness and Bliss. But, in the course of time it has become almost its opposite.’ The Master paused, reflectively, as if the whole course of earth’s history stood before him in one panoramic flash.

‘But why did this fall from Glory come out,’ someone steeped in tradition asked seizing upon the pause.

The Master once again turned towards them: ‘Oh! haven’t you read, I have written all that in great detail elsewhere.’ Some of them could notice the touch of gentle irony in the Master’s words, haven’t you read, as if observing human complacency. For these were his way, gentle and subtle yet unfailing in pointing us the road of Light.

He continued: ‘Nevertheless, the fact that everything has issued forth from the Divine and contains His Presence within it, therefore everything is not only potentially Divine but also destined to become more and more so through an evolutionary process. Matter too, despite all its inertness and unconsciousness is divine in its origin and in human beings it has already reached a point wherein it can be divinised. The Divine descends upon earth and takes a physical body to redeem matter and liberate the godhead concealed in it.’

With a flash of intuition one observed: ‘Oh! like that story of Ahalya who becomes stone due to a curse and then turns into a goddess by the grace of Lord Rama’s touch.’

But another ventured to ask: ‘Is that the reason why Divine comes again and again upon earth and takes up a physical body? Is this the second coming spoken of in the great traditions of Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism?’

The Master answered: ‘The second coming is not a religious event. It is not the resurrection of a certain creed or Church or a theology nor is it to save a particular religious group. The second coming is precisely this, — this complete victory of the Divine upon earth, this reign of Truth and Light in this world, the Divine advent in all His Glory and not as He is presently concealed in the thick cloak of a human body. The second coming is about the coming of the Divine in a divinised body, a body befitting the Mighty Presence.’

The disciples were awestruck. How much vast was the Master’s vision and how small and narrow our ignorant beliefs. After a long silence one asked, ‘So you will come again.’

The Master nodded in ascent, and added: ‘Yes in a divinised body. For only such a body can truly fuse and express all the diverse aspects of the One Divine who comes as Krishna, Christ, Buddha and the rest.’

One pleaded: ‘How will we recognise you?’

And the Master said: ‘That is one reason why I must depart. So that you open your inner eyes and find me there. For they who have this inner vision will always find me for they know me as the Supreme Godhead who has assumed this form. For them the form is the door to the worlds of Light and Truth. But those who see the form alone and know Me only by my external personality will try to make a cult and a religion or an intellectual creed and dogma and philosophy out of it. That is what man has always done so far with the Divine. But with the second coming all this will cease, for the Divine will no more be hidden by the form nor will He need the imperfect figures of idea and philosophy or religion to express Himself in this world. The second coming is the great return, the return of the Divine as the revealed and not a concealed sovereign and king upon earth. That will also be the establishment of the Divine Kingdom here, the dream of all religions and the hope of mankind.’

The Master’s words fell silent in the fast gathering night. But a hope stole in the heart of earth and the Light of a New Dawn waited in the Eastern sky for the appropriate hour.

Alok Pandey

A group of young and old had gathered ashore the sea. They had never seen the sea before, only read and heard about it. Soon a discussion followed. One who had neither read nor heard much simply exclaimed at the marvellous sight before him: “vow! What a vast expanse of water. Who can ever measure it?” Another who was well-versed with books on sea rushed into impress by his erudition, “oh, you seem to be quite ignorant. Actually, quite a few have ventured but two among these, truly bravest among them tried to sail across the entire sea. Of these only one returned after ten long years. And of the other, one knows not the fate whether he was drowned or drifted to some friendly or hostile isle”.

Surprised by his knowledge one turned to ask: ”is it true that the sea has many riches in its store?”

“I don’t know exactly what riches the sea has”, replied another eager to join the conversation and contribute his bit as well, “but I have heard through word of mouth that there are some rare jewels in its depths”

“And some dangerous creatures as well”, said another unable to resist, “the kind of which we do not see on land or near the shores”.

And the knowledge able man again: ”oh he is talking of sharks and whales”.
“And mermaids too”, said one who was simple and full of wonder among them. And he added with a solemn religion tone, “And these mermaids can grant you boons of many kinds and pearls and riches if you would pray to them.” A knowledgeable scientist whose scientific books had not mentioned anything about mermaids and boons strongly ridiculed these stories as fiction and imaginations.

Soon the group of men divided into two camps. One was with the scientist and argued against the mermaids and boons. The other was with the simple credulous man who joined him even to pray to the mermaids for these treasures. This religious man had learnt a few incantations from his grandfather written in some sacred text thousands of years old. This grandfather himself who had never seen a mermaid or even the sea and died a penniless man had in turn learnt this formula from his great grand father who in turn from his great grand father and so on and so forth.

While all this was going on, a third group broke away from both and tried to philosophically reason out about the sea and its various possibilities. These again divided into several sects and sub-sects, some argued that the sea had nothing in its depths since they could see nothing, neither whales and sharks nor mermaids and pearls. He felt this speculations was a waste of time. All that the sea has are some fishes and turtles and all that one can know and needs to know is how to ply a boat on the waves and how to cast a net to catch the fish and crabs and prawns. Others ridiculed the shallowness of this group who could see nothing beyond the tip of their nose and immediate utility. Still others simply said “ Lets stop arguing and just enjoy this lovely sight and the beautiful sunrise”. All however agreed on one thing that none knows fully about the sea and none an ever know. Even they doubted if the story of the lone sailor crossing the sea itself was not a hoax. Yet none would venture to find out lest they met the unknown fate of the other sailor. A known insecurity is better than an unknown certainty, they thought.

And as they thus debated and discussed some tired and weary of the stories and philosophy of theories and dogmas of proofs and doubts of arguments and counter-arguments of joy and the wonder and fear of the dangerous waves slept off. The others too followed these to the world of dreams with familiar lands and faces love. Some dreamt of the roaring sea and the storms that sweep the surface. Yet others dreamt of unknown far off isles inhibited by strange and unknown people.

But one youth among them kept awake, Unknown to others he was building a boat whole night. And when the sun rose and there was daybreak once again nothing had changed in the life of these men except for him who was young in spirit. Unseen to the eyes of those left behind on the shore he had sailed off to the delight of danger with faith and courage as his companions. They saw him not again and pondered over his fate. But the youth had gone far into the deeps gathering pearls and delighted playing with storm with the lightning stars as his guide. When the winds blew softly, he conversed with mermaids who informed him to keep clean of the dangerous waters and hostile isles. And as he moved on pressed by a need in his soul, a hope stole through the heart of those left behind. A hope that the storms can be weathered and the rough waves tamed and the great sea conquered.

Alok Pandey

The Master was taking a stroll in the garden. The group of disciples surrounded him like bees around a flower that had turned the Light and Power of the sun into a sweet and strengthening nectar for their thirsty struggling souls.

Feeling the mood of the moment, one among them asked as to how come in this world of beauty there came to dwell evil and suffering. The Master became pensive and took them to a nearby place where the gardener had just thrown some seeds into the ground. Pointing to the soil and the seed below it he asked them why must the seed of this beautiful flower destined to partake of the sun be put underneath the soil into a dark space and breath the waste and the mire and rot on the surface and struggle to reach the top against the heavy resistance of the earth.

‘To throw its roots deep’, said one. ‘To cast off its hard shell’ said another.

The Master smiled and exclaimed ‘That’s the answer to your question. Suffering is like the waste and the mire and Evil like the darkness and the resistance that man’s soul must face so that it can also throw its roots deep into the earth and its surface crust soften in due time. The surface crust is the ego-self, that source of all evil and suffering. When inner being is ready by the pressure of the world forces, when it has cast its roots deep and strong, then the ego-self slowly dissolves and the deeper soul emerges into Light and Freedom. It is delivered out of the womb of darkness and is ready for a new adventure into Light and its climb towards the sun. But if the seed is stripped bare of its hard crust prematurely and exposed too early to the light of the sun and the immense freedom of space then it may simply burn off and be blown away by the strong winds before its roots have steadied it. So also what we call error and evil and suffering are simply necessary intermediary steps and stages in man’s ascending growth towards Light and Freedom.’

‘What then is sin and what then is virtue and good’, enquired another.

The Master observed as he moved from one flowering tree to another: ‘Look at the buds, their petals closed upon each other, their fragrance trapped inside. That is the first stage of the flower. It is as if it was trying to not only feel and hold but also to capture and possess the light it so badly needs and to keep the fragrance to its solitary self that is meant to be its gift to the world. So also with man. Selfishness is the only sin since it induces man to try and appropriate things for its solitary self and give out nothing in return to the world. The result is that it remains dark inside and closed outside. But a time comes when the bud begins to trust the Light that it feels and opens out to it and all that surrounds it in a spontaneous gesture of self-giving. And, lo and behold! – its self-giving is instantly rewarded by the fullness of its bloom and its generous uncalculating gift of fragrance turns into sweet nectar inside. Man is selfish in his early stages of growth but soon he must realise that selfishness is a trap since it prevents him from getting the very thing that he most needs and wants. With this awakening and the pressure of Light and its own secret nature there comes in him the trust and the confidence to open out and reach out and give itself first to the world around it which alone he sees with his half open eyes and then to the sun that it begins to perceive as its eternal source, the secret master of its journey, the fosterer who turns all things to honey within him. Then man becomes a link between the earth and the heaven.’ Then with a mystic pause he added, ‘Selfishness too, that origin of all sin, is a preliminary stage in human growth. This too must pass away as man begins to trust God within and His play around and gives himself freely to both or rather to God and His play in the world.’

The Master sat down quietly on a little rocky promontary in the garden, his gaze as if fixed into infinity, his look encompassing the whole of space in a single glance, his heart one with all things in their eternal essence. And the disciples sat around him wondering whom to admire, the sweet fragrance of the flowers that gave themselves generously to everything around them or like the earth that shared the joy and the struggle and the sorrow of all things giving shelter and place to each thing that must wait for its season to turn ripe and to blossom emerging out of the darkness into the Light, or like the sun that gave itself to the creation and though far and high beyond the reach of earth and its creatures yet was the secret source and support of all. And as they thus contemplated their inner and outer gaze was fixed upon the Master who was to earth and men, at once the flower and the earth and the sun.

Alok Pandey

The Master had the deepest love and compassion for the struggling soul of man upon earth but his compassion was not blinded and he seldom seemed to encourage acts of charity and philanthropy of the kind practiced by rich men. He neither discouraged nor encouraged it. But in general he observed that it had little to do with true spiritual growth and did not want people to confuse one for the other.

On being asked he would simply reply, – “What does humanity needs most, – food and comfort for the body or release from the bondage of Ignorance by the growing Light of his soul?”

When questioned whether a poor man can think of God, he would laugh and say with the ring of experience that it is often the poor whose hearts are more open to God than the rich ones. Too much money was not necessarily a sign of some special Grace. Rather it was often a curse, for it put the man into so many traps and bonds that made it even more difficult to break than if he were less privileged materially.” But he agreed that spirituality had little do with riches or poverty and a rich man as well as a poor one may be deeply spiritual if they have arrived at the inner readiness. Only it made it more difficult for the rich to turn to God.

“So should one discard one’s wealth if it comes in the way of our spiritual progress?”

“How about using it divinely”, the Master would say. “It is easier to discard a difficulty rather than transform it and turn it into an opportunity to serve God’s purpose in the world. If God has given us wealth we should turn it for the good of the world, but not through blind pity but as guided by the Divine Vision.”

“By distributing it to the poor,” asked one unable to get the true import of the Master’s statement.

“No that is the worst way since it would encourage lethargy and stifle the heart and soul of another who receives money as charity. Wealth that is received without any effort often leads to its misuse except in the rare few.” The Master replied.

“So should one build hospitals and schools for free and for the poor?” asked another.

“And increase diseases and the ills that modern education brings with its almost exclusive emphasis on man as a biological entity whose only goal is to survive!” quipped the Master. He went on to add, – “there is no use repeating the past follies blindly. What humanity needs most is a new vision in the mind, a new hope and faith in his heart, a new impulse and will to live for greater aims and deeper goals. Instead of opening hospitals and multiplying diseases why not find out the root cause of human maladies and the master remedy. We need educational institutions that can embody the new Light.”

“But that is a vision,” complained another. “How can I use my wealth to further a vision?” he asked.

“Surely wealth will not give you the new vision for that can only come through personal growth,” the Master responded. “But if you have sympathy for the new vision and one has wealth then it can be put at its service. For to express this new vision upon earth and reach it out to the many who are still blind, you need both, men of vision who can carry it afar and also men of action to organize it. So also you need men of wealth to create new institutions and support old ones that would embody this new Light. That indeed is the best service that one can render for earth through wealth.”

A rich man proud of his philanthropy asked what the Master thought about those rich people who spent a lot of money on charity.

The Master had a hearty laugh and remarked, – “It is often like the case of a robber sharing a little of his loot with those whom he has looted and thereby assuage his guilt and flatter his ego.” But then not wanting to disappoint the man he added, – “Well if a rich man wants to distribute money or open hospitals that is his business and if he has nothing more to give and no other vision to uphold, then let him do that especially if that be his calling. But he should not think that he is doing something very great to solve the problem of humanity or that what he is doing is greater than the poor man is quietly seeking God in his hermitage.”

“But don’t the hermitage and the ashrams also need money? And is it not a waste of life for a young man to spend the prime of his youth doing nothing except seeking God and live on the wealth of others when he could earn that wealth for himself and be independent,” asked the rich man again unwilling to give up.
“And what makes you feel that the young man seeking God is doing nothing. Try doing it and you will understand that it is far more difficult to seek God than to earn bagfuls of money.” The Master calmly replied.

The rich man would not concede, – “But why should others support his quest, to whose benefit when he could easily earn.”

The Master became serious to see the degree of human resistance to Light. He responded: “The young man seeking God is doing a great benefit to the society. Firstly, he is earning spiritual wealth that the others are not ready to earn. Once he earns it he to shares this inner wealth with others as the great Masters and their erstwhile disciples do. In fact their gift is much more than the money that you give for their needs. You look after their physical needs while they look after your spiritual needs. So who is the gainer?”

“But such disciples and such Masters are few ad far between, what about the others. Are they not parasites upon society,” he argued one last time.

“On the contrary even the failures in the spiritual path do a service to mankind for they at least keep the fire of the soul alive by their sheer effort. And when even one succeeds he makes it easier for many others to follow. Even if he does not speak about it his mere presence brings the earth in contact with forces of Harmony and Peace and Light. He is like a silent dynamo that energises the earth and rejuvenates its sick body by digging out from our nature’s deeps the streams that sooth and heal man’s mind and heart and soul. They are like beacon Lights if not Lighthouses for man to follow on the dangerous roads of destiny to the great discovery that awaits us all one day. The seeker of Light is the spearhead in this eternal collective quest of man who makes the way for others to follow and even if he falls he becomes a brick to bridge the way towards the future. Do you then still feel with the superficial thinkers that the spiritual man is simply a do-nothing or is it simply that his great contribution goes unnoticed and he cares little for it either.” The words of the Master fell upon listening ears and the earth suddenly woke up to fresh and sublime memories that stirred in its silent deeps, memories of spiritual heroes and martyrs whose life was a burning example and without whom this world would long have sunk to perdition or gone to blazes.