A few weeks ago in this space we had an article, “The Cup of life” from a current student of Swami’s Institute. Many readers wrote to us expressing their desire to have more articles from the students. So here we are with another student’s article. This is actually the transcription of a small talk given by Sri Chandrasekhar of I MBA during the Morning Prayer sessions in the Institute.
There’s no end to the incarnations that God indulges in. He comes down for various purposes. Sometimes He comes with a part of His glory, sometimes with a fuller equipment of His splendor, sometimes for fulfilling a particular task, while at times, He comes to transform an entire era of time, an entire gamut of space.
‘For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil forces and for the firm establishment of Dharma, I am born from age to age’.
This Divine assurance made by the Lord as Krishna is being fulfilled and we are all blessed to be contemporaries of Bhagawan, witnessing Him as He mends the very fabric of humanity and ushers in the ‘Golden Era’.
I would like to draw your attention to three of Swami’s profound declarations. Bhagawan said, “My mission is to raise the consciousness of man to a level, at which, he neither rejoices nor mourns over anything.”
Secondly, in a revelation given to Charles Penn, Swami exhorts to us, “Your mission has begun. These are My words to you, My devotees. Each one of you has a unique and valuable part to play in this lifetime… You are My instruments from whom My love will pour forth. Only those whom I’ve called can serve Me. I have prepared you for this work through many incarnations...”
Finally, Bhagawan in His own commanding yet simple way, said, “My mission is already accomplished. I’m only letting it unfold before your eyes.”
Now bearing these imposing declarations of Swami in mind, let us look at the world around us. We still find negativity manifesting as hatred, violence, disharmony and the like, in swollen proportions. So much so that even Mother Earth is retorting to man’s actions in the form of earth quakes, volcanoes and detrimental geographical changes. Nevertheless, Bhagawan’s resolve to bring in the ‘Suvarna Yuga’, the Golden age, is His ‘Vajra Sankalpa’ (Diamond-like resolve) and at His command, the stars have to fall in place. Why this incongruity then? Or, is there an incongruity at all? Is there something happening behind the scenes which we do not readily see?
Swami says, “Mano moolam Idam Jagat”. The world, as we see it, is but a reflection of the mind. If we find so much negativity around us, it just goes to suggest the state of man’s mind. With the mind and Ego being the focus of our lives, we hurt and inflict pain on each other. Life’s reins are to a large extent held by the ego and every ego says, ‘I’m right’. This manifests even as a nation, as the collective human ego. Every country is selfish and claims to be right in doing so.
This unchecked striving for more and more, for endless growth, is a dysfunction and a disease. This dysfunction is actually accelerating and intensifying. It’s the same dysfunction which the cancer cells exhibit, whose only intention is to grow, unaware of the destruction that it is bringing about to itself. The same is the fate of the ego. In its endeavor to intensify it is unconsciously burning itself. Like the forest fire which destroys the forest itself, the fury fire of ego in the form of negativity, is destroying the ego itself. Now, as the egos are drowned, the individual consciousness evolves. In science, we know of parameters like ‘Critical Mass’, and ‘Critical Pressure’, which indicate the point at which the balance shifts from one side to the other. In the same way, as the consciousness evolves at the individual level, it is raising the collective human consciousness. Once the critical point is reached, there will be a quantum jump in the collective consciousness. This is what we tend to miss, because Bhagawan is presently raising the individual consciousness of man. Nevertheless, it is quickly heading towards the critical point and thus towards an imperative collective evolution of humanity.
‘It is darkest before dawn,
A new age shall be born’
All the sufferings that humanity undergoes at large, the geographic and planetary changes, are the labor pains which Mother Earth is experiencing in the birth of a new consciousness.
Swami indicated this in one of His Dassera discourses in 2005. He said, “Within a few years, rivalry, hatred, and misunderstanding between people will become a thing of the past in Bharat and in the world at large.” Describing the grandeur of the Golden Age, He said, “The time is soon approaching when all humanity will live in harmony. It is beyond all comprehension. Its beauty is beyond all dreams.” Then He went on to say, “Before it arrives be prepared to reveal to every living thing, the true purpose of existence.”
Now what is it that Bhagawan wants us to be prepared for? Do we know the true purpose? What are our roles? The answers to these questions are very subjective, for Bhagawan Himself asserts that the role which each one of us will play is going to be unique and valuable.
However, broadly speaking, to be a part of the solution, we must be aware of problem and be sensitive towards its implications. The problem here is the mind, a wonderful tool, but a deadly master. It is the nature of the mind to dwell on the disappointments of the past and the anxieties of the future, completely neglecting the present moment. While the truth remains that life is always in the present. So by saying ‘Yes’ to the mind and its chatter about the past and the future, we are saying ‘No’ to the present, that is to say, ‘No’ to life itself. What could be more insane than this!
All the problems we see in the external world are a projection of the turmoil of the mind. No solution which arises from the mind will solve this problem, for the mind itself is intrinsically a part of it. The problem is not so much the inability to think, but it is the inability to stop thinking. Bhagawan in His adeptness puts it in two words, ‘Die-mind’.
It is from this mind identified state that Bhagawan ventures to raise us to His level of consciousness. He explains, “Man has to be unmade and remade with his ego destroyed and replaced with a transcendental consciousness.” How do we play our roles in this event which takes place once in an entire Yuga?
We have guideposts which will safely take us to the destination. The first of those is the simplest and yet the most potent. It is prayer addressed to our Beloved Lord. Swami Himself describes the story of the elephant Gajendra. He says, “In the thick forest of life, a wild elephant, the mind of man, will be roaming. This mind which is roaming becomes thirsty for sensuous pleasures. To quench the thirst, it begins to drink from the lake of worldly activities. The moment it does, the crocodile of attachment catches hold of its leg. In its efforts to extricate itself, the elephant (mind) finds that the grip of the crocodile (attachment) on its leg strengthens. Unable to free itself, in exasperation and exhaustion, the elephant beseeches to the Lord. In that moment, when the elephant’s vision turned towards the Lord, God’s vision also turned towards the elephant and saves it from Samsara (worldly life).
The second guidepost is ‘Namasmarana’. The human mind unconsciously seeks something lasting but unfortunately seeks it in things which are by themselves ephemeral. Only the Lord and His name last forever. Swami says, “For a bird in the mid-ocean flying over the dark blue waters, the only resting place is the mast of a sailing ship. It has the picture of the mast steady in its mind; its form fixed in its eye. Similarly, the Lord is the only refuge for the man who’s swept by storms over a restless sea. The name of the Lord is the mast for you; remember it ever.”
Thirdly and most importantly, we should never get attached to the work we are doing, to the roles which He’s instructed us to don. We should remember that even without any of us, the Lord will still achieve His mission. Recalling what Arjuna said on having the Vishwaroopa Darshan, “Oh Krishna, I can see the entire Kaurava army plunging into your fiery mouth and meeting their destruction.” Krishna replied, “I have willed both the battle and the result. What remains is the completion of formalities which shall be done with or without you.”…. “Therefore, surrendering all actions to Me, thy thoughts concentrated on Me, the absolute and supreme Self of all, free from selfishness and without any anticipation of reward, with mind perfectly calm, begin thou to fight.”
These are the words that should ring in our ears as we carry out Bhagawan’s work.
As Chardin said,
“The day will come when,
After harnessing the space and the winds,
The tides and the gravitation,
We shall harness for God the energies of Love.
And on that day,
for the second time
In the history of the world,
We shall have discovered fire.”
Let’s hope that day dawns soon!
Do you agree with us? How do you think Golden Age will arrive? Share with us your thoughts at h2h@radiosai.org.
