Knowing Oneself

One can acquire all forms of knowledge and can be outstanding in an assembly of scholars.
One can fight with all the valor and courage in times of war;
Being born as a king one can be reputed as an able king;
One can offer gold and cows as charity;
One can even count the number of stars in the sky;
One can mention the names of all the living beings;
One can be expert in all eight forms of knowledge;
One can even reach the moon;
But controlling the body and senses to turn inwards and to remain in the state of equanimity, it is very difficult.

Students!

In this vast world there is no knowledge which man has not acquired. With knowledge of all the various fields, being the recipient of all comforts and conveniences, he moves about actively in this vast world. He knows the secrets of matter but he does not know who he is, his own self! What is the fun of knowing the rest ? Therefore moving about actively in this vast world, with all the expertise and the knowledge, one should know one's own self. By knowing one's own self, he will know the entire universe. This is the main principle in the doctrine of non- dualism. The world is a combination of non-dualism in three states- Padharthadvaitha (Matter), Bhavadvaita (Feelings), Kriyadvaita (Action). Here is a kerchief. What is the non-dualism aspect here? It is the combination of threads. The basis for these threads is cotton. Therefore the non-dual aspect is, first it is cotton which becomes thread which in turn joins together to make a cloth. Likewise in the realm of the matter when we go deeper, we will understand the changeless essence at the bottom of it. In cotton, thread and cloth though the name and form vary, the matter is the same.

Now coming to Bhavadvaita, thousands of people have assembled here. Each one has got his own name and form. They are not one any way. But I will prove the fact that you are all one. Though the name and form differ, the circumstances vary, the desire and ambitions differ, in times of pleasure and pain, though they appear to differ that which is present in common and uniformly in all of us are the five elements. This is non-dualism at the individual level. With any one of the elements missing, he cannot be a human. Therefore the name and form may vary but the five elements are basically and essentially same. Not only those who are present here in this august assembly, but also the rest of the whole universe are one and the same.

Padharthadvaitham - Non-dualism in respect of matter. Based on the state and position, every person entertains certain ambitions and desires. He has so many ambitions. But he has got frustrations and disappointments. Because of too many desires, and the worry, he struggles to achieve those desires, though quite undeserving. Whatever that is done, whatever thought is entertained, if it is done without expectations of any fruit or reward then it is Padarthadvaita. When once you have expectations there arise appointments and disappointments and the satisfaction turns into dissatisfaction. When once the actions are done and offered so as to please God, there is no question of disappointment at all.

Since there are four states in man that have come to stay once for all, he is put to all these sorts of sufferings. God in man, man in man, demon in man and animal in man. Therefore God, man, demon and animal are all present in everyone. Based on the portion and the circumstances, the time and the space, the reason and responsibilities, actions undertaken, these four come out and express themselves. In what form is God present in man? Man thinks of God continuously, he does all the activities and actions without expectations of any reward, without any trace of ego and thinks of the divine. He entertains sacred thoughts, he renders service to every body. Whatever work he undertakes, he does it to please God. Therefore every good work transforms into God's work. He has no thought other than to let all actions be satisfying into God. These sacred qualities and virtues present in man will prove the Divinity in him. Man without thinking about himself and the other world, thinks only about the eternal truth - that is Divinity latent in him. Where from do you get these thoughts? They emanate out of the human heart. Where from do you get this Divinity? It comes out of man only. Therefore the one who spends all the time thinking of the Divine, will find the Divinity in him. Though he is human being by form, all the thoughts and actions are Divine. All the good actions get transformed in to good actions.

This is how God manifests in man. Next aspect is of man in man. Every human being on earth is after truth and righteousness. With full faith in these two, he doesn't drop his path, discharging his duties and responsibilities, he takes care of his house hold responsibilities. He entertains all acts of charity. His heart is full of compassion. Upanishads define Manava(human) as the one with faith. He has no fear at all. It is only an animal that has fear. Man is not an animal so he need not be afraid of anyone. So don't make anyone fear stricken and don't have fear of anyone. Man renders service and participates in social work. He also earns reputation, name and fame in society. He practices human values and he delights himself and makes others happy. The truth depends on righteousness. Righteousness depends on peace. Peace depends on love and this love depends on Non-Violence. When once there is truth in you, you will never resort to violence. When once there is righteousness you will never utter a lie. Once you have peace and love you will never be violent.

This is the true human life. Then who is the demon in man? The one who is intoxicated and who forgets himself is the very demon. There is no other reason for demonic qualities in man except alcoholism. The one who drinks naturally forgets his human qualities. What he does and what he talks, he himself doesn't realize. At that time for him there is nothing called mother, daughter, wife . He loses the power of discrimination. So he undertakes such activities and forgets human qualities and he goes by this transient world. He forgets the future.

How does the animal quality present itself in man? The one without wisdom is equal to an animal. He has no sense of discrimination. He eats full. He always experiences worldly pleasure. He spends all his time eating and drinking and sleeping. These are the qualities of an animal. He will also be violent. He goes on accusing others and makes fun of others.

Therefore every man has the qualities of God, man, demon and animal. Today we study various forms of knowledge. In this world there are many people who have learnt many types of knowledge. Everyone takes care of his own dignity, prestige and money but no one thinks whether he is behaving like a human being or not. He has got the attire of a human and enjoys the rights of human but does he behave like a human? The one who doesn't give scope for Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha is a human being. Educated man should conduct himself properly otherwise there is no use of studying at all. Virtues, adherence to truth, devotion, discipline, discharging one's duties, learning all this is true education and one who learns all this is a true student. We have to see that there are human values in every aspect of our life.

We spend all our time in criticizing others, finding faults in others, making fun of others. When we go on thinking of others, good and bad, all these qualities get into us. So never think bad of others. If anyone is bad try to correct it. If you are truly good why should you think of anybody? Today's man criticizes, makes fun of others; this is not the quality of an educated man. It is just the opposite of human life. The one who has known and practices being a human will never think ill of anybody; it is an animal quality. For all this selfishness is the root cause. Because of this selfishness ever on the rise, we find attachment and hatred prevailing in the world. Having been born as a human being we should help others. That is the essence of 18 Puranas. HELP EVER, HURT NEVER.

Today there is no help rendered anywhere. Where ever we see it's only hurting others. From the educated to the illiterate, the pauper to the millionaire every one hurts. If a poor man harms in a small way, the rich man harms in a bigger way, there is no trace of help in any one. There are no feelings of charity anywhere. What is the use of being born in this world? What is the use of earning money? All our learning is going to waste. We waste our time in earning money. Do we take the money with us? We don't even take the sand with us. This truth was taught by Alexander in this context. Having attacked India, as he was returning, he sustained a heart attack. Doctors had given up hope. Alexander was not scared in anyway. He gave the answer. He said, "I may die any time on the way. Though a life time is prescribed for 100 years, when one dies, one never knows. One can die as a child, an old man or a youth. Death is certain. If you are intelligent, first know yourself while you are alive. So after I die, take this body back to our country".

His body was taken to the palace and wrapped in white cloth. The two hands were lifted up and the body was taken in a procession. Every one started questioning as to why the hands were kept up. This was the teaching of Alexander. He earned name and fame and won over many countries. He had no shortage of money, he was quite virtuous. He was an ardent devotee of Aristotle. Aristotle was a great devotee of Plato. Plato was the disciple of Socrates. Having been the recipient of the wisdom of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, he went back empty handed. This is what he wanted the whole world to know. Every one goes empty handed. As you leave this world do you ever give your address? Where are you born and where do you go? You should declare with all the courage that you will certainly go to heaven because you are doing all good works or you will go to hell because you do all bad things. So going to heaven or hell depends upon your actions only. Everything, good or bad, depends on man's thoughts. With feeling of sacrifice lead a sacred human life. Live in society without getting a bad name that you are a worst sinner. Get a good name, that is the one thing that follows you after your death. All the relatives and friends will come only till the burial ground but it is only the name of God that will be above you, below you, in you around you and protecting you. We have forgotten this eternal truth and we are lost in this temporary world. Because of attachment he is not able to know his true self in spite of his long life. We should develop detachment.

Heart is the lock, Mind is the Key. Turn the key towards God - you get detachment. Turn the key towards world - you get attachment. Detachment leads to liberation. With all the money man is restless. Only sacrifice can bring peace. Do good actions, offer things in charity to others or donate for education, health . There are many people who suffer in villages. For man head and heart are important. The head is education, and the heart is health and the body is water. The body needs health to do service. We should desire good health to do service. We need a head that thinks of good always. We should know the relationship between food, head and God. You need food to develop health and good virtues. These virtues are required to do service. We should maintain safety and security in society. For this reason only we are born in society and we grow in society. If we don't think of society, there can't be a greater betrayal than that. If society is good you will also be happy. Therefore one should desire for the welfare of society. For doing service in society love is essential. Through love you can get everything. Without love what is the use of reading so many books? When you don't put into practice what is the use of reading books? We should not read so many books, they spoil our head. Today we need practical knowledge and not the bookish knowledge . We should act, we should do and find happiness in making others happy. Let us not aspire to live long. It is enough if we get a good name.

         Truth is the real jewel to the neck.
         Sacrifice is the real jewel to the hand
         Sacred text is the real jewel to the ear.

What other ornament do you need? Our real ornament is love for God. Let us try to have that love and redeem our life.