P. O Sivananda Nagai* Dist, Dehra Don, U.P., HIMALAYAS. INDIA. Salutations to the Lord, the Abode of Supreme Peace I This wonderful and inspiring volume from the pen of Sri Achyuta Nanda Purohitji may become a world-thriller It is a timely service rendered by Sri Purohitji for. Peace is ihe Problem of the Day and therefore the ‘ Message of Peace ’ is the need of the hour. Secondly, the author is one who, unlike the political “ peace-makers " in the world, has striven by earnest spiritual practices to find the Peace within himself, the Peace that is the Atma His words, therefore, have a special power, a speaal charm and a direct appeal Thirdly, the author has dealt with the problem from the modem scientific and psychological view-points, and his solubons, therefore, ought to be acceptable to the most “ advanced ” among modem thinkers Everyone wants peace, and yet few get it Often the very protagonists of Peace promote war ! Why is it so^ Because, they have not found peace within themselves, because, their own heart is full of desires, egoism, jealousy, sus- picion and hatred Cultivate cosmic love Eradicate desires. Annihilate •egoism Root out jealousy Give up suspicion Supplant hatred by love Then wall peace, real peace, radiate from you Blessed are the peace-makers! Blessed is Sn Purohitji! I pray to the Youth of the Worlcl to study and assimilate this Message of Peace , they are pure at heart and they are the leaders of tomorrow They alone can truly work for peace May God bless Sn Purohitji, May there be peace in the world! Om Shantih, Shantih, Shantih!!! Sd/ SWAMI SIVANANDA The book has been commended bv man\ prear men and TmirnaLs To note the remarks of nil would coyer oyer a hundred papes Hence extracts from the remarks of some only are given below I Hindu Saints and Sages 1 Swaml Slvananda of Rishlkcsh. Himalaya^The book If wonderful, inspiring may become n world-thriuer 2 Swam! Chldananda. President All India Divine Life ference —It is a boon . one among the greatest plus upon the humanity of our generation 3 Yogi Suddhananda Bharatl, Yoga Samaj, South India — Wonderful production excellent book of this century 4 Swami Gobindananda President, Shahan Shahi Sarv Hitakari Sangha, Dehradun — An ideal book 5 Swami Paramananda, Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Calcutta. — ^Every peace loving person will derive benclit 6 Swami Nikhllananda of Ramkrishna ^J’^sion Nw York USA- most vital problem of the day has been discussed in a very able and convinc'ng manner book Is reward p and stimulating 7 Swami Pavitranand Vedanta Society. New 'iork, USA — has a moving appeal 8 Swami Satprakashananda. St I-ebis, Missouri U S A —The book stresses the sound approach to individual ana collective peace 9 Swami Ranganathananda, of Ramkrishna Mission, New Delhi — is gripping and elevating 10 Sri U N Dhebar President, Indian National Congress It conveys through easy language and a fWe o£ its own the SPIRIT OF PEACE has potential to Jay the foundations of PEACE in the minds of men II Eminent Buddhists 1 2 3 Sri N Jinaratna Venerable Bhiku — Should be read by all lovers of peace Sri D India /alisinha General Secretary Mahabodhi Society, Vill helD the cause of peace throughout the world. Dr Sir A M Sur, Kt D Sc MB Buddhist Mission of India — ^Every a copy Ph D . D D President, house-hold should have III Eminent Christians including Qu.ikcrs 1 The Metropolitan of India, Pakistan Burma and Ceylon and Lord Bishop, Calcutta— is worthy of highest com- mendation 2 Reverend E G T Madge, BA. B D , Secretary, Baptist Mis- sionary Society — Young men of all nations wou.d draw inspiration from it 3 His Excellency The Iviost Rev Bishop Fulton J PhD D'D, World Mission Aid, New York, USA — Your book will be very helpful to us God love you* ii 4 Mr Horace Alexander, World famous Quaker Leader — I admire Rreatly 5 Rev N A Outlaw— 'kouth would do well to ambibe the thoughts and ideas in the book 6 Miss Lilv Quy Secretary, Christian Council —(Book Is a living idealism that uplifts man from earth’s frustrations to Heaven's peace 7 Mrs A F Meyer, American Evangelical Mission, IOWA, USA — Excellent and thought provoking book 8 Reverend John Pothen, Chaplain to Lord Bishop, Calcutta — Its message be learned all over 9 Mr K M George Asstt Secy National Academy of Litera- ture, New Delhi — Extremely interesting 10 Miss Alice Barnes, Editor of “Friendly Way,” — is full of erudition and of deep religious feeling 11 Reverend S G Grubb, Ex-Member, U P S C — is inspiring 12 Sri I Santra, British Empire L R Association — Remark- able book — points out a practical solution for the peculiar ills of our age and fills one with hope — To Improve disci- pline of youths and to prevent mental neurosis — should be made a Text Book of schools and colleges 13 Dr J W L Adams D Lltt , University of St Andrews, United Kingdom — Very attractive and inspiring 14 Dr J A Greig, M A , D Litt , St. Andrews Committee (Scotland) — gives a most interesting picture of religious and philosophical points of view 15 Miss L Wasser — Fredonia Pennsylvania, UE A — A very capturing book offers much to the world 16 Mr T R Addison — will do good to all 17 Father Dohmann, Bishop, Westfalen, Germany — Excellent bock 18 Mr David Howat — ^Director of Studies, UK If more people subscribe to such opinions the world would soon be d happy place XV Eminent Moliamniadans 1 Sri Humayun Kavir, Minister, Government of India — ^Book discusses perennial problems of life in a simple and in- teresting manner will bring East and West nearer in common appreciation of our common problems 2 Sri Abdus Sattar, Minister, Government of West Bengal — The deep humanity of this book should stir up hearts all over the world 3 Mr Ali Aksad, Member, Editorial Board of “Daily Ittefaq”. -Dacca, East Pakistan — Youth feeling any frustration should imbibe the teachings of this remarkable book of our century V Well-known Siklis 1 Sri N Singh, Editor of Deshdarpan— Shows what a great treasure life is pacifies the troubled soul and fills with hope of a bright future 2 Dr I S Kumar, Late CIMH, Campbellpore West Pakistan —Will cure life’s sicknesses and aches should be read and kept near the pillow for inspiration whenever anguished 3 Sri Guru Baksh Singh, Editor, Preet Luri, Amritsar— 1 have read it with pleasure and profit VI Zoroastrlans 1 Dr M M 'Mehta, M A , Ph D , D Sc , (London— Am Im- mensely impressed by it 2 Sri Hans Mehta Ex-Vice-Chancellor, Boroda vn. Leaders in World Affairs 1 Dr R B Pal, Judge (World Court), International Law Commission — have just read the thoughtfully written book "India’s Message of Peace ’ I do not know when a book so absorbed and stirred me 2 Mr Horace Alexander World famous Quaker (III-3) VIII Editors and Journalists 1 Mr G A Johnson, Editor, Statesman Calcutta — ^Well- written uses socratlc method to good effect 2 Sri D N Das Gupta President, Indian Journalists’ Asso- ciation May soon revolutionise human thought jioints out to war-weary mankind a scientific and most practical way of securing individual, national and Inter-national peace 3 Sri M K Bose Late Editor of A B Patrika and Forward — ^Like ArjUna s question In the Gita, the author poses the problem of today s frustrated youth and shows a practical wav of solving it I appeal to the youth everywhere to read, re-read and digest this timely publication 4 Sri Sunil Chatter jee. Editor, ‘Present’ — most wonderful and inspiring book of our Century sure to remove frustra- tion and kindle hope of a bright future IX Extracts from Reviews by Journals 1 Hindusthan Standard 29-9-57, Calcutta — ^Illuminating book — shows that there is a Power House within each one of us Every reader will be a better man — ^healthier, wealthier and happier 2 Truth 25-10-57, Calcutta — ^A remarkable book — remarkable in every way SAB Patrika 3-11-57, Calcutta — May bring hope to the war scared world 4 Sajjanatoshini, November 1957, New Delhi— A remarkable book of this Century we recommend this Unique book to ®11 young & old East and West to read, re-read, mark, underline and digest it, as the Gita of our age 5 Sanmarg 26-12-57, Calcutta — Is full of deep and Wide learning and iroints out a real way to World Peace 6 j^Imanya, 28-12-57, Calcutta — contains the essence of all tMt is good in the Vedas, Shastras, Puranas, Gita, ^u^yan, Mahabharat and Buddhist and Jain literature Iv 7 Viswamitra, 30-12-57. Calcutta,— is sure to fulfil the d^pest yearnings for peace and good will all over the World 8 Deshdarpan 5-1-1958, Calcutta — Points out a practical way for achieving true peace 9 Basumati, 6-1-1958, Calcutta — 'A remarkable book of our age If authorities make it a compulsory text book, society may soon be freed from its corroding corruptions 10 Udvoga Bharati, January. 1958 Calcutta — ^A real and true message of peace — a close perusal makes man feel himself nearer to God 11 Vigil, 4-1-1958, Calcutta — every reader will be impressed by the Catholic Spirit of the book 12, Yugantara. 2-2-1958 Calcutta — The book has a universal appeal that far transcends the limitations of men and nations 13 Ananda Bazar Patrika, 2-2-1958 Calcutta — The book em- phasises the control of greed and development of the human personality 14 International Buddhist — ^The Mahabodhl, February, 1958 — It IS a message of good will for all human beings 15 The Indian PEN -World Association of Writers, Bombay 1-3-1958 — A really remarkable book of this century No lover of peace should miss reading this great book 16 Samaj, 23-2-1958 Cuttack — Shows an effective way out of the moods that create wars 17 TJdbodhan, February, 1958, Calcutta — Shows how one can be at peace with himself and be saved from the ills of life 18 Bhoodan 26-3-1958, Poona — ^Is like a summary of the methods for purification of the mind and of the disciplines laid down in the Gita written briefly and in an interesting style 19 The Divine Life of April, 1958 — ^Easily one among the greatest books of the present times this book prormses to be of permanent and enduring value to posterity This Is an epochal contribution to the cause of Peace and spiritual Idealism in this world torn by violence and war and domi- nated by gross materialistic outlook on life Sri Purohit, the revered author, has put the modern wond into a deep debt of gratitude by bringing out this inspired book at this crucial moment in human history, when the nations of the world are upon the verge of an insane global holo- caust by nuclear weapons which can only result in self- extinction He has done a great service to mankind through this message of Peace so very vital to the world today We heartily wish this book a wide and universal circulation 20 The Friendly Way, April, 1958 Magazine of the Quakers This is a book which richly rewards the careful reader The author is a truly learned man , deeply versed in the Scriptures of his own Hinduism and of all other main religions, and with a reverent approach to their teachings He seems equally at home with Shakespeare Milton and many other Eng ish poets with the great European philo- sophers from Socrates and Plato onward, and with the work and writings of modem scientists The aim of the book is to demonstrate the relevance of true rehgion to the many urgent problems, personal, political economic and social of the world today , it is a call to all men, especially perhaps to the young, to the self-discipline by which alone we can become fitting chan- nels for the holy and Good-will of God to be done “on earth as it is in heaven " The method by which this thesis Is developed adds much to the interest of the book The author assembles an international and inter-religious group of young men, all of them grappling with personal problems too difficult for them to solve, at the Ashram of ‘Dadaji’, in idyllic sur- roundings in Orissa Using the Socratic method of instruc- tion by question and answer, Dadaji helps them to face such problems as the existence and nature of God, the meaning of death, the nature of true happiness, the place of discipline in spiritual progress, the evils of War and 11 international jealousies and hatreds For all these the Scriptures are shown to have their answer, profoundly and practically expounded by the sage Dadaji perhaps specially recommended to foreigners ° ^ wish to acquire some tnistworthy Imow- teachings of Hinduism but also to the many nowadays are tempted to believe that world can be cured by material ‘service' organisation divorced from that humble love to tioa, which alone can make us, “more than conquerors ’* 21 Eastern Woild, April, 1958 (London) already in its second edition from widespread commendation faiths the Hindu Buddhist, and Chiistlan career a? = intervals of a distinguished spiritual of many Sivananda 5^®^3tma Gandhi and Swami best to coi^v deeply on the problem of how those of tha ordinary men and women, including peace" which ^hat “inne? method vainly seeking The of wealth^and^no^ftlnn is to create a young American within him illustrate the conflicts set up and financial domestic bereavements, can be reLTvId ii^ese conflicts guidance which commonsense spiritual the ashram of an Ind^n stay at made casually in Ronfe whose acquaintance he the outfoo? thls^^ok Philosophical conceptions, oi inis book is none the *ess so deeply sphitual vl that it cannot but commend itselt to the adherents of e\erj revealed religion But its appeal Is wider , it speaks directly to those who have no religion, who dislike religion because it seems to them to fail in its answers to the deepest problems of human existence and because it leaves them frustrated and purposeless The path which the book sets out may not be easy to follow, since it calls for self improvement through mental and spiritual disci- plines as the iiist step towards the improvement of per- sonal and international contacts , but the guidance along that path is clear, courageous and honest Mr Purohit’s book deserves to attain in Britain and America the suc- cess which it has already achieved in his own country X Vice-Chancellors of Unitersitlcs and other Educationists 1 Dr P Parlja, Ex-Pro-Chancellor, Benares Hindu Univer- sity — Book IS remarkable — hope it will receive the atten- tion of modern youth and help them in preparing a disci- plined life 2 Dr P Misra, PhD. (Deed) Ex-Vice-Chancellor — With my lifelong experience as a Professor, Principal and Vice- Chancellor I would ask every young man and woman of the World not to miss this most remarkable and thought- ful writing of our generation Could this be made a Text Book of Schools and Colleges and the youth be instructed accordingly, human society may be free from the constant fear of wars 3 Sri C M Acharya, Ex-Vxce-Chancellor — A laudable effort, 4 Mr A Osborne, M.A . (Oxon) —The learning displayed is as impressive as the Idealism It will provoke the readers to a deeper conception of what peace means ^ Mr L Jha, Ph D , London — ^The concern for the lowly and passion for Universal peace (in ‘India’s Message of Peace') is Inspiring <6 Sn Phakira Misra, Vedantist, Puri— Should this book be made a Text Book of Schools and Colleges and its ideas he impressed on students. India may soon be free from student-indiscipline and the world from increase of suicides and nervous breakdowns 7 Sri A K Das Vice-Pnncipal, Rajkumar College, Raipur, — ^Is intensely interesting 8 Sri M Jhaveri, Prof St Xaviers’ CoUege, Bombay— Is a step in the right direction 9 Sri N Sharma, BA, BED— A Praiseworthy work TO Sri B R. Dev, Prof B H CoUege, Assam —Is Illuminating. JLl Prof J W D Adams, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom— (III-6) 12 Dr J A Greig, M A , D Latt St Andrews Committee, Scotland — (in-7) 13 Swami Chldananda, Vice-ChanceUor. Yoga Vedanta Forest University — (1-2) XI Literateurs — Authors and Writers etc. 1 Dr Kalldas Nag President Indo-MIddle East Association. — ^Laudable attempt 2 Sri Narendra Dev, Secretary, World Association of Wrlters- P E N , West Bengal — Will go a great way In eliminating: wars a wonderful and inspiring book of the Century 3 Eadharani Devi, Author of several books — The author has done Yeoman's service — f^el extremely grateful for the author's remarkable exposition of the subject of PEACE 4 Sri Radhagobind Nath M A , D Lltt , Ex -Principal Com- milla College and author of several books — Should be appreciated by every earnest seeker of real peace 5 Sri T C Roy, Author of several books — all lovers of peace will profit 6 Dr Mulkraj Anand, President, All India Writers' Confer- ence Calcutta — 1^7 — Much wisdom has been condensed into the pages Xn Presidents or others of Missions & Organisations 1 Sri N c Chatterjee President, Hindu Mahasabha — A timely contribution in the CAUSE of PEACE 2. Sri M S Golwalkar, President, Rastriya Swayam Sevaka Sangha — ^Have derived much benefit from reading this famous wonderful book a 4 5 6 7 Mattl^ Das M A , Phd> , Secretary, Biswabharatl oMSCTitl Parishad — I am simply charmed by reading India's Message of Peace" Swaml Bhaktlsaranga Goswami Maharaj — ^Head Sangha, New Delhi — Should be read re-read and digested as the Gita of our age Swami Paramananda, (Bharat Sevashram Sangha— (1-5) I^hrector, Loka Shilpa Sangha, ,Lokatlrtha and Secretary, Commercial College, oouth Calcutta — ^It will sober the fanatics of War Sri Bipradas Gupta, Secretary, Santi An inspiring book (Jr'eace) institute Xm. Ministers of Government and IVLPs and ML As ^ and ^ Justice and present Home, Law cHnniri Minister, Orissa — Exceedingly useful Worid hands of every youth may go round the ^ Minister, Rajasthan— It is thp- ricrHt about a vital problem that agitates- of world The message thinkiriff^-f interpreted In the background of modem of doubt that It will stimulate the minds which to whom the future belongs and for wnich they have a special responsibility viii 3 Sri I TX Jnlan Minister Government of West-Bengal — I>eFer\''es a tliorouRh reading b 5 ' everyone who desires peace for himself and the world 4 Sri Rajballav Misra, P L A , Onssa — An ideal and timely book 5 Sri N PhooKan Ev-M L A . Assam and the Great Leader of Assam — The illuminatinfj book has been a sort of scripture to me I was transported to a region beyond expression 6 Sri Amarnath Vidyalankar Education Minister, Punjab . interesting reading praise your attempt XIV Doctors 1 Dr N R Songupta, MB, Calcutta— A most remarkable book by a most remarkable man 2 Dr D L Sarknr. MB, FAFPS, (Glasgow) —Should be read bv all lovers of Peace 3 Dr S C Das. M B B S . D TM . D P H .—Will save youths from suicides and nervous diseases and indisciplineti behaviour 4 Dr R C Bohidar M R B S —A great asset— will save man- kind from frustration and fear of wars 5 Dr B Jena. M B B S — Will save all men and women from, frustration, kindle hope of a bright future, diminish indis- cipline and save many a youth from mental neurosis so common now' XV. Fonclpncrs not Tncntloncd before 1 Dr R Victor, United States, America— An inspired work- — has interested me much Mr Roy Rosedale. United States, America— It is tmlly a blessing to me to have read this hook 1 recommend it to all All will find deep Inspiration 3. Mr A Tamas, Minister, Hungarian Peoples Hungary, — ^Profound and burning desire for instinct in it Republic, PEACE is. XVI Missions referred to above 1 Ramkrishna Mission 2 Goudiya Sangha 3 Shahan Shahi Sarv Hitakari Sangha 4 Bharat Sevasram 5 (a) Buddhist Mission (b) Mahabodhi Society 6 Santi (Peace) Institute 7 Baptist Mission 6 World Mission Aid, New York, USA. XVH Artists. 1 Sri Sunil Chattel jee. Secretary, United Artists, Calcutta — (Vin-4) 2 Srimati Nirmala Joshi Secretary, Sangit Natak Akadame, New Delhi XVni others who have also spoken highly of The Book, 1 Sn M J Kanetkar, Editor "Nispruha”, Au^or of ‘‘World Crisis", Member W C Indian Conference of Social works 2 His Holiness Sri Bhaktibichar Jajabar Maharaj, Calcutta 3 His Holiness Sri Bhakti Gourab Vikhanas Maharaj 4 Eishl Atmananda, Calcutta 5 Sri A P Sinha, Patna 6 Sri Radha Krishna, East Punjab 7 Mrs Bandrawala 8 Sri S Bhandari, Ajmere (Jains) 9 Sri P Singh, Allahabad (Jains) 10 Sri B Singh, Eajputana, (Jains) 11 Sri S Supakar, M P 12 Dr P C Mahapatra, MJB B S 13 Dr S Misra 14 Mr C J Manuel, Howrah 15 Sri H, P Dev, President, D C C 16 Rev Herman D Souza, M A , M Ed , Ph D , U S A. 17 Miss B Oleary 18 Mr A Savaille, Cox Colony 19 Mrs L Scott 20 Mr B Scott 21 Mrs F Campos 22 Sn D M Roy, Retd Professor, Meerut College 23 Mr R, W K Paterson, Gold Medalist, Scotland 24. Dr T Sen, Mayor, Calcutta and Rector, Jadavpur University 25 Sri H S. Nilakantan, B A , President, Divine Life, Calcutta 26 Prof H L Chopra — ^Iran Society 27 Sri H S Rathor, Calcutta 28 Raja Sri Birendra MalUk, Marble Palace Calcutta 29 Sri O P Shori, BURMA is an anchor in prevailing chaos 20 Sri U Aye Moung, BURMA very inspiring will benefit all. 21 Sri C C Bose, Retired District Judge, Calcutta 22 Sri R K. Das, Advocate, Supreme Court of India \ 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Sr, I H Mohapatra, Advocate Sri B S Sharma, Advocate, Calcutta Sri B N Banerjee, Advocate, Calcutta Sri M S Mohanty, Advocate Sri R Bose (Engineers and Financiers) Sri Kamvar Sain, Chairman, C P W I , New Delhi Sri Thirumal lyenger. Chief Engineer Sri A Challani, Chief Engineer. South India S Behera, Superintending Engineer Sri Dharmarajan, Superintending Engineer Sri Sundararajan, Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer Sri A L Kohili, Deputy Accountant General Sri D Behera, Accounts Officer Dr K C Thomas. D.Sc (Eng) AM IE, JMABCE, MAC I. MSICF. Meerut (Businessmen) Sri R Chokhany, Calcutta Sri S K Nevada. Managing Director. Nevada Private Ltd.. Madras Sri De Souza, Elgin Mills Kanpur Sri H M Bengani, Suraj Jute Press, Cossipore Sn P Mehray and others, Jewellers, Allahabad Sri Smritlranian Guha, Director, ^oka Shilpa Sangha Director, Lokatirtha, Secretary, Commercial Co ege, Calcutta (Xn-6) Miss Huettemann, West Germany Sri Daljit Singh, Brightland XIX Farther Appreciations Received (During the Printing of this Third Edition of the Book) 1 Sri S L Saraf. Health and Education Minister, Jammu and Kashmir , +n an admirable book will udfmate faith all those who believe in honesty and ha not in matter, but in spirit 2 Sn V, S Krishna, BA (Oxon), PhD (Vienna) Chancellor, Andhra University thp In a clear and simple way futg)r and ancient and immortal way of harmony and calm, which wiU. in turn lead to ^orid narmui y universal success I wish this book all 3 The Hindu-Madras-dated 6-7-58 . Peace within should heart, and un- no lasdng good can come without a P §ook it tries to clouded mind— is the message of the doo«. xl clear doubts on all questions Including goal of ^Ife, the quest of peace and the conquest of happiness 4 Indian Council of World Affalrfi— June, 1950 "India’s Message of Peace” Gives an exposition of the Indian conception of ar ideal life 5 Nagpur Times — 29-G-1958 Everyone agrees that humanity as a whole is steeped in misery and sorrow, but few are agreed as to the precise nature of the problem and its solution The world is flooded by Ideologies, doctrines philosophies, which np- pioach the question from social biological, political, eco- nomic or spiritual angle but fail even to allay the ever- growing human sullering, not to say of curing It And yet many dedicated souls, not only in India but also abroad, are veering round to the view that the teaching of the ancient seers of India as formulated In the Vedanta, have solved the problems of universe, of life and llying and death, in absolute terms The most advanced findings of modern science, somewhat vaguely but still irrevocably, are falling into agreement with the basic truths of Vedanta The central truth of Vedanta Is that Man is of a piece with the Universe and his destiny, which Is abso- lute bdss in his Creator, is to be attained in the total integration of the Universal and the individual The author of this book, Achyutananda Purohit, is obvi- ously a dedicated soul, in terrible earnest about contri- buting to the salvation of humanity He asserts that world cannot achieve lasting peace and universal brother- hood through what the present rulers are doing but only by harking to India’s message of peace as contained in her ancient teachings, the power and truth of which has now been established by experience and realisation The theme of the book is patterned on the Socratlc method of catechism It is evolved in answer to a series of ques- tions put to the author by some persons who, overwhelip- ed by life, come to him in quest of solace and ^Idance The exposition is outstanding for lucidity of thought and expression, for wisdom, learning and lore The finest achievement of the volume is to impart clarity and sim- plicity to a complex theme in a manner as to make it cogent for the uninitiated In this respect, that Is, in ex- pounding Indian thought through a foreign tongue, the writing compares well, with the EngJsh writing of Vlveka- i^nda Yet, another merit of the book lies in its gripping the reader from the start and sustaining his interest through, to the end Though the theme of the book Is universal and eternal. It MS been addressed to the individual in practical terms TTie root or unit of humanity Is the individual man, and if he is at peace with himself and his world, he can contribute powerfully to the establishment of world peace But In ' Piis behalf mere philosophising is not enough , the eternal tmth must be translated into day-to-dav practice And this the author has done in an admirable manner The lart part of the book ‘Tractice” is of great value It Im- Ps™ practical instructions as to what a seeker after re- Mbllitation of his life and soul can do by way of dally, step-by-step, practice Everybody who is influenced by ■toe message of toe book would want to know what he can do practically for living upto that message The author gives clear and concrete guidance in this respect The message is addressed to the youths because toe future of humanity at every stage of its history has ever been In the hands of its youth And toe youth need not be afraid of reading the book, because it is no dissertation advocating "asceticism” or renunciation of the world On the other hand it promises health, wealth, happiness, self-reliance, efficiency and peace with society— blessings which are within the reach of any one who understands the highest truth and learns to live in harmony -v^to eternal laws Though the author accepts the authority of Vedanta, he is far from narrow or begotted He repeatedly advocates in the book that absolute truths are common to all toe faiths and scriptures of the world, and he makes his points by apt illustrations from and reference to Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, etc This Catholicism to- gether with its rationalisation with modern science and psychology add to the value of the book The Universities of India will do well to adopt this book for compulsory reading € Shanti (Peace) Institute The burning question of the age has been dealt with in a novel and interesting way in this inspiring book ■7 Father J Barrett I found the book most interesting it has a pleasant style ■8 President, Divine Life Society, Calcutta Branch Shri Purohit has done inestimable service to humanity by brmging out “India’s Message of Peace” one of the greatest books of the modem times contains the essence of the Highest Wisdom for practical utility It should be prescribed as a Text book by Educational Insti- tutions all over the world •9 Mr Kwee Llong Tian, IMAM BOITOJOL INDONESIA, — "India’s Message of Peace” is an inspiring book Shows the WAY TO PEACE grips the interest of the reader answers problem of PEACE m clear, concise language 10 Shri Chandra Sekhar, Prof , Training College, Ranchi, To my life of a long tale of miseries and sorrows the book has been a source of solace and inspiration 11 Shri Jagathbandhu Sahu, BA, and Ganaswaraj Misra. Y M C A , Ganjam Language fails to express toe intensity of joy and the great benefit derived by us by reading the book 12 Swami Sarvagatananda, 224, Angell Street, Providene 6, R I -U S A An interesting and mspiring Message will help mankind rethink in terms of PEACE 13 MALABAR HERALD, Cochm a message full of flesh and blood not a mere theorization, will benefit the students, even the casual reader xiii PREFACE The first part of the book is meant to prepare the nund of the reader for realising the great truths of life, the second to enable him to solve for himself the two biggest ever, problems of the world with which he must be faced , and the other three parts to reveal to him whence he has come, who he is, what his destiny is and how he can, unaided by any, attain the same I hope and beheve that a study of this humble endeavour of mine will make the reader a better man — ^healthier, wealthier, happier, more self-reliant, more efficient, and more at peace with himself and his world, whether he IS a student, teacher, officer, mimstei, lawyer, Doctor or whatever else he may be , and whether he be well- placed in life or be a forlorn broken man or a patient lymg in a sick-bed Being at peace with himself he will contribute to the establishment of World Peace as shown m the book Mad men cannot cure others of insanity ; nor can mdividuals or peoples who are not at peace with themselves, build World Peace Sambalpur, 5th February, 1957 A. N Purohit Preface to the Third Edition The demand for a third edition of the book within so short a time of its first publication m August 1957 and its appreciation by Eminent men in Asia, Europe and America, is very encouraging If as advised by Vice- Chancellors and other Educatiomsts more men of the East and the West including students make a thorough study of the book and follow the plan of life given m it, mankind may be saved from much of its current frustration xiv All nghts reserved CONTENTS Part I Mr Emeham's Narr alive Chapter 1 The End of the Road n The Beginning of a journey in The Background IV The Curse of War V Alice was nght VI Escape to Alice vii Alice leaves me vai The Bitter Harvest IX A World m Rums X In the gnp of Despair XI A New Life Page 1 4 12 18 22 25 29 36 42 44 56 Partn The Quest for God i The Soul of the, Universe, Latest Science supports Vedanta 67 11 The Meaning of Death, Anecdotes of Nachikela & Yama, Sabitri & Satyaban 103 Partm Man's Problems & iheir Solution 1 Youth’s difficulties and despair 131 11 Two lands of happinesses 136 111 Man’s Two Natures 145 iv Aim of Life 150 v Society of Physical Happiness 153 VI A Higher class of Happiness 160 Vll Reversal of mankind’s Moral Progress 166 Vlll The Abode of Peace & Happiness, heavens according to Islam, Chnstiamty, Buddhism, Hindu masses and Vedanta 169 Part IV Happiness through Conduct I The Evils of this World, societies & governments tolerate them, will do so long 188 II To improve them individual must first improve himself by action. Problems anse, often grim & baffling, wrong ju^- ments end in disaster, success depends on right judg- ments, Immensity of man s powers, seldom seen in early years, cases of Christ, Gandhi, Einstein, Shakespeare, Lenin, Sinclair, Wells & others . 195 XV Part Vf—iConld.) Chapter 111 IV V VI Page Coolheadedness essenhal for making right judgment, Need of mutuality in society Vedanta view that heavenly peace & happiness are available on this earth How? Mind and the power behind it, according to Sankhya Philosophy, experiment to know nature of mind, mind raises Waves Physical love can be transformed into spiritual, Tulsidas, Ramayana 199 202 207 214 PartV Practice i Purifying the mind Diagram of the mind, Browning, Truth is inSidc, why pessimism & optimism 222 11 Need of Discipline 227 In Theory & Practice, human life a pilgrim’s progress 242 IV Releasing the soul's Light pranayam exercises 254 V Recapitulation, Discipline, the individual can make or mar himself, blaming others is futile, individual responsible for his present state, to improve must start from where he IS, plan of life for improving oneself 262 VI The problem of War & its solution 286 VII The cause of differences between man & man & nation & nation 289 Appendices The terrific price of War If money spent on two World Wars had been divided amongst mankind each individual would have got about Rs 50,000/- = about £ 4,000/- = about S16.000/- 297 11 Some evil effects of our so-called "Civilisation" today 299 an Some painful facts & figures 300 9v A Model form of Appeal to be sent for preventing War and for reducing Military Budget . , .301 xvi PART I IVIr. Emeham’s Narrative CHAPTER I The End of the Road. I was approaching my destmation and lookmg with interest at the varied scenes on both sides of the winding road, when the driver of my cab suddenly pulled up He said “Baba is at his prayers We had better walk the few remaining yards from here ” I obeyed As we approached the house, I saw, at some distance in front of me, a man sitting on a deer-skm, his only covering was a narrow piece of cloth round his waist His body vas erect, his face towards the rising sun With his hands folded and legs crossed, he sat motionless like a statue In front of him was a little fire from which ipread the scent of clarified butter which was being lurnt in ]ts flames Tn front of the house a man beckoned us on to a ’•erandah, offered us seats and in a low voice asked us o wait “Is that Mi' I asked “Yes”, was the reply How much longer will he be at prayers'!”’ “About half in hour ” I said “As he is not fully dressed we will ^ait till he finishes his toilet ” The man replied “No, o, 3ust sit here He will see you as he is ” We sat ‘own But before a minute had gone by, I felt eager j explore the place, and a guide was sent for The house is not far from the cradle of the famous iirakud, the Diamond Island of India, which in ancient — .mes supplied diamonds to Egypt and Rome It lies near the Sutee Darha (Lake of the Chaste), the sacred waters of which are locally believed to cure all sms, 2 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE 3ust as the ascent on bare knees of the slaiiv'ay of the Scala Santa Church m Rome is held by many Christians to free the devotee of lapses from light conduct Close to the Sutee, winds the Rivci Bina between banks clad with reeds and saplings True to her name of Flute, she sings a sweet and soft melody which soothes the mind, bringing a peace and quiet unknown to city- dwellers Her banks are studded with sweet-smelling glades of lime, mango and other trees, impenetrable to the sun In these glades I could see urchins of the country-side singing and dancing Some were swinging on looped ropes hung from high boughs, and as they swung one sang, while all joined m the chorus Else- where rows of girls advanced and retreated in opposing lines, as they played ‘Humo’, one questioning the others, in rhymes, about legends of the Gods, while the replies were given in ready-made couplets Other children played hide and seek, some the exciting game of Dudu, invading their opponents’ grounds in a long single-breath challenge and then speeding back to their home ground, before the “enemy” could catch them Further on a young man chased a laughing girl and in his turn was chased by her, another young man was concealed so cleverly in the undergrowth that his friends could not find him But even as they returned disappointed from their search, he tiptoed up behind and startled them with a loud note on a flute Ignorant of the tragedies of hfe, some children nearby mimed marriage cere- monies, formal dinners, festival processions and marital (■alk In the sunny fields on the banks of this stream grazed well-fed cattle, goats and sheep, calves frolicked, kids and lambs jumped and frisked The tree-tops were alive With bird life There was movement on the nearby lake where swans, ducks and other water birds chattered and splashed From below the placid waters a fish ivould THE END OF THE ROAD 3 surface suddenly vanishing just as suddenly but mirror- ing meanwhile on its silver skin the gold of the morning sun Crystal clear, sunlit and smihng flows the Bma m shallows and rapids, over pebbles glistening with quartz, to her queen the Mahanadi In the rams her playful course is som^etime obstructed by an obstinate rock, she gathers volume, rages and roars, and smothers the opponent with an avalanche of water On she heads m her triumphal march till she is received by the great river-queen the Mahanadi Kissed and caressed, she renews her sweet strains and pours out a vibrant harmony It is here that the Mahanadi sprawls m a vast sheet of water scented by perfumes, lapped from the limbs of Sambal beauties bathing on her banks In the car festival, the gods of the locahty are gathered there and enjoy the symphony of the Bina’s musical notes, mingling with the chimes of bells, gongs and cymbals, beaten by the devout to the accompaniment of a hymn rismg from a thousand throats, while scented lights (Arati) are revolved before them Resting there for a while, the river-queen hastens furiously, impatient of delay, to lay her tributes at the Lord's feet at Pun Near the Sutee Darha, and lookmg out on to the Bma is a house which, although it bore signs of past glory, was of somewhat sombre and untrimmed appear- ance Rising high on an upland plateau, it commands a wide hill-horizoned view of the country around Many fine fruit-trees girdle it and their luxuriant foliage give it a certain wooded charm The garden is a blaze of flowers and their perfume, borne over the sacred waters of the Sutee or wafted by the spray of the Bina, tempted bees and butterflies who, intoxicated by the aroma inhaled, vied with one another m swimming through the sun-hght and flitting from flower to flower Nearer the house slim palm trees stand erect like sentinels, their INDIA’S MLSSAGI. Or PUC! cveigrecn crests set gioenlv nramsi th'- rhinn blue of the sky. Tn the distance bounding tiu' hori/on all lound* tier upon tier of blue gicv hills mt rgo v ith lly- ‘by o'- if they would stoim the gates of he im n AMun th' abundant bird life of the pl.ice mmplo’-. its morntn j music with the muimurings of the Bina and the hosannas of worship floating from the Budha-Hajn. the atmosphere IS so tuned to harmony that the imagination lakes one to a dreamland of fantasy. CHAPTER II The Beginning of a Journey How had I come to this strange and beautiful spot’ My thoughts went back to the dav on Inch I had first met Mr P, its owner, m a place thousands of miles away— m fact, m Romo It was a day when the Pope was to appear before the multitude More than a hundred thousand pilgrims from all parts of the world — from America to Australia and from Canada to South Africa — thronged Rome and the crowd that day before St Peter’s was tremendous The blessing was over The assembled multitude gradually thinned and finally dispersed from the great square As I left m my turn I saw a man fanning with his handkerchief a lady who was lying on the ground From his clothing I took him for a priest and I said to him "Father, what is the matter‘d” He answered "I am not a priest Bo you know this lady I did not, and said so My acquain- tance added — "She was in the crowd and as she saw the Pope she gave a cry which sounded to me like "Oh Father” and then, apparently overwhelmed by 3oy she famted If the crowa had not been so thick she would have fallen to the ground In the stampede that followed the appearance of the Pope, her companions probably lost her When the crowd was dispersing I asked passers- by if any of them knew her but no one understood THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY 5 English and I could not follow what they said as I don’t know Italian ” “What do you propose to do with her I asked “My difficulty is, I don’t know the language If I could get some one to understand me we could get a cab and take this lady to a doctor ” “You don’t speak French either ’ “No” was his reply “Are you an Englishman I asked “No, I am an Indian,” he replied “Of which faith I asked again “I am a Hindu, not a Christian But that’s enough about me Can you do anything about getting a taxi’” he asked Eventually we got a cab with an English-speaking driver and my new friend and his ‘patient’ went off to a chemist’s Before they went, I asked him for his name and his address in Rome He smiled, gave me his card, laid a hand on my shoulder for a moment and blessed me It was obviously a day for accidents because as I and my companion were leaving the square in my car we collided with a cab The damage done was trifling but my chauffeur had a badly cut hand We looked for a chemist’s where his hand could be bound up We found a chemist’s, and here I saw my friend and his charge once mere Mr P was telling his story to the doctor while the lady was in the process of regaming her senses She was obviously puzzled by her surroundings and asked, m Italian, for her companions Had they already left for the dinner to which they had been invited ’ She looked at her watch It was late I told her in Italian what had happened and how and by whom she had been brought there The lady expressed her gratitude to my friend Mr P , but when I told her that he knew no Itahan she asked me to thank him for her She was late for her dinner engagement , she wanted a cab She wanted to pay the doctor, but he had already been paid She was sorry but she was late She must go I pointed to a cab standing by the kerb She hurried from the shop mto the cab which disappeaied down the street I 6 INDIA’S MESSAGC OF PEACE took my new friend in my car and dropped him at his hotel Next morning as I was driving past the rums of a palace, my eyes fell on Mr P standing there with two other people I pulled up and he waved a friendly greeting The guide was telling him how Nero lived and how seven hundred milch asses used to be kept there to provide milk for the bath of his queen who believed that bathing in asses’ milk kept the skin in perfect bloom How many such stones he told in his broken English I cannot remember Did we know how Nero fiddled when Rome burnt’ This and many other stories we were told about the malevolence of Nero, the arrogance of the Caesars and how Rome, once the unchallenged Empress of the Western world, had gone headlong down the abyss through luxury and ease Mr P was in a philosophic mood as he surveyed the rums The guide had left us for a moment and all was quiet “How typical this rum is of man’s vanity”, he said “Does anybody mention Nero’s name now except with great contempt ’ Two thousand years have passed smce Christ showed the world a way of hvmg, domg good to others and turnmg the other cheek when smitten But what do we see today all over the world I was surprised at the Hmdu’s appraisal of the New Testament The guide then returned and at Mr P’s request led us to the place where Julius Caesar had been killed by Brutus and other conspirators Meanwhile Mr P asked me to dinner that night, an invitation I was glad to accept After this we parted company until the eveiung A httle before the time appointed for dinner I went to Mr P’s hotel, found his room and knocked on the door He opened it himself, led me to a sofa, pulled up a chair and sat by me We had already shaken hands but as he sat near me he took my right hand between his palms, looked THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY 7 at me and asked me to forgive him for something which he had not told me about before I was mystified and asked "What is that "I cannot bear alcohol I only take soft drinks. Do you mind’” I immediately set Mr P’s fears at rest and while we were discussing our experiences in Rome, a waiter came to tell us that dinner was ready Having been invited by a foreigner with whom my acquaintance was of a few minutes only, I had put on a dinner 3acket As I drank a very fine Chianti I asked Mr P why he did not drink in spite of having travelled in England, Switzerland and other cold countries "How can you manage without alcohol I asked. “I manage even without tea,” he replied “But how do you manage to keep warm in these cold places, coming as you do, from a hot country like India I asked "It is a question of mind” Mr P replied "I find no difficulty Except once, near the Houses of Parliament in London, I have not taken tea or coffee, and I don’t feel any the worse ” I was to discover that Mr P did not smoke either, for as I offered a cigarette from my case, he refused it with a smile "You don’t smoke either I asked He made a deprecating motion with his hands "No” he said "As a non-smoker and teetotaller you probably have a sort of dislike for those of us who smoke and drink I asked “Not at all” he rephed "If that were so I should not have come to Europe” I said “But I had a notion that Hindus consider men of other countries who eat beef and drink wines, irreligious and impure people Yet at St Peter’s ynu, a Hmdu, were domg your best to help a Christian lady who had fainted ” "Have you read any books about Hinduism Mr P asked "No”, I said "Have you ever discussed Hinduism with Hindus "I have never had the opportunity” I told him "If you had, you would have found that Hinduism is a very catholic religion Its tolerant spirit regards nobody as a heretic It accepts all religions, all faiths, as so many paths to the same 8 INDIA'S MnSSAGC OF Pb\CE God According to Hinduism the smallest being on earth is a particle of God, has come from God and will go back to God Beneath Hinduism’s temples and sects, forms, ceremonials and rituals, thoie is a coic of perfect freedom to the individual to discard nil these and to seek God m his own way , to view nil prophets — Buddha. Zoroaster, Lao Tse, Confucius Chiist, Mohammad and others,— as different expressions of the will of the Father Hinduism has never been aggressive It has never disturbed those bom in another faith As a Hindu I need not embrace Christianity to worship Christ I can and I do wmrship Christ, Mohammad, Buddha. Lao Tse, Zoroaster, Mahabira. Guiu Nanak and other prophets because, as a Hindu, I believe that by v'Oi- shipping the gieat and good of this wmrld, I worship my God, who is there m all of them and at the same time transcends them all According to us the worship of any god reaches the Great Father “Sarbadeva namaskaaram Keshabam pangachhati” “But although I consider my religion to be very catholic, I do not pride myself on being superior to a man of another faith on the ground of my religion, nor do I belittle others or think ill of them If I did so, I should, according to my reading of Hinduism, immediately fall away from it ” Mr P said “But I have heard that Hindus don’t dine wnth non-Hindus” I said "Yet I am dining with you now,” replied Mr P “What I mean”, said I “is that many orthodox Hindus don’t do so ” “There are ignorant people m all faiths,” said Mr P “Many Christians who are familiar with the Bible and Christ’s advice to turn the other cheek when one is smitten, in their anger and ignorance indulge m the lynching of Negroes and other forms of unchristian behaviour Christianity can’t be blamed for that ” I said thoughtfully “I myself have often behaved badly that way ” “If you analyse the act” said Mr P you will find ignorance behind it In our ignorance THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY 9 we are very often carried away by what may be called mass-hysteria ” I could see the logic of his reasoning I lifted my glass, drank a little, leaned back and said “But in these democratic days it is better not to scorn the rabble ” “We must not scorn anybody, anywhere,” said Mr P. “but at the same time we must not mislead, or be misled by the masses There may be occasions when a million men m them ignorance or fury may not see a wrong that is clearly visible to one honest and sober man ” “True, but if you go against the majority, you risk their tyranny ” “In my travels in different parts of the world, I have found that the common man everywhere is really good at heart ’ said Mr P “He w^nts to live at peace, undisturbed by others and without intruding upon others : it is on account of the atmosphere and circumstances created by Governments and by ‘the societies within which he lives, that he sometimes behaves differently Very often it is one man that is at the bottom of mass activities He first affects a few with his views, then mere and more , and the masses concerned behave well or ill according as the man at the bottom is good or bad ” I said — “This may be true of politics, but not of social matters ” Mr P smiled “The man of conscience and reflection must not yield to evils, whether they are social, political or religious He loses all worth if he submits passively like an animal or remams indifferent like a piece of wood or stone or some other inanimate object Man is man so long as he struggles to nse above his circumstances Take away the element of protest and consequent struggle agamst the ills of life and man is but dead wood He belongs not to himself but to somebody else He is fit to be used and is 10 INDIA’S MCSSAGL OF PIj\Cf actually used bv others, moving v.hon moved and stopping when stopped Stagnation is rum Honest and truthful protests against evils, social, political or religious, elevate a man and all around h m Christ would not have been Christ without his protest and his cross Gandhi would not have been Gandhi without his protest and his prison life ” “True, but v/e do not know the Hampdens of a million little worlds There is Gods seed a latent greatness, m every one of us Those that cultivate it become great Those that neglect it become rotten ’* There was a pause and Mr P lay back with his eyes closed “Man is a creature of circumstances” I said “He can be master of them also” said Mr. P , opening his eyes “ The fire that bums the gold is ultimately smothered but the subsisting metal is purified and shmes brightly The man that faces, not avoids, the fires of life, rises to greatness ” I liked the latter observation and said humorously “Is that why you ordered for me the strongest fire of Italy Mr P laughed and said “well, you civilised men of the West can’t be warmed to life without it But now that we have almost finished our meal you can appease the file with some more fruit” “No more for me, thank you I was taken up so much with the talk that I forgot when to stoo I have outdone Dumas ” “Then why lose the chance of beating Bismarck and Johnson also by takmg a little more I laughed “AU right, I will take some more ” I eaten onion soup, roast duck, fried partridge and fruit But I went on eatmg and said “Now I can claim victory over those heroes” “Only m the realm THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY 11 of the stomach — not m the soul” said Mr P We laughed The dining room was then empty except for our- selves and the waiters, as it was past ten We got up and Mr P led me to the door and offered me his hand After a hearty handshake we parted The car whisked me away but my mind whose eyes had been turned towards my soul, seemed to stay with Mr P The truth of his words had gone right home and I pondered over them till I fell asleep The talk at dmner did not disturb my sleep In the morning I was thinking of asking Mr P to dme with me that night ; but before I had finished my breakfast a cable arrived from my manager m America telling me that there was trouble in my bank and suggestmg I returned immediately I was greatly perturbed I telephoned the air line and booked a seat on the next plane, which was due to leave that afternoon I paid the bills at the hotel, packed my bags and sat thinking very gloomy thoughts Dismal forebodings tormented me Suddenly it struck me that I must inform Mr P of my inability to return his hospitality I rang him up. “Emeham here”, I said, trying to make myself heard above the crackle on the line “Thank you for last night’s dinner I enjoyed myself tremendously I thought of askmg you to dine with me at my hotel this evemng , but a cable from America has arrived telling me to hurry back because of trouble at my bank I am very grateful to you for giving me food not only for the body but also for the mind ” “What is the trouble at your bank’” said Mr P “Do you know anjrthmg about it’” “Nothmg” I replied “It may be a complete crash ” “Please write and tell me about it if you have time, and if you feel like doing so ” “You don’t know American life If the bank has failed, God knows what I’ll do”, I said 12 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE “God be with you” said Mr P and the telephone cLcked I put down the receiver, sank into my chair and imagined all sorts of unpleasant things happening back home m the States “Cab ready, Sir” said the pageboy, suddenly I drove to the air terminal and paced the floor with an uneasy mind Five minutes before the connecting omnibus was due to leave, I suddenly saw Mr P who was obviously lookmg for someone Suddenly I realised that he had come to find me — I had told him on the telephone when the plane was due to leave Immediate- ly I came out of the ciowd of passengers and approached him He embraced me m Indian fashion, told me not to be upset even if it proved that the worst had happened , and put mto my hands a sealed packet “Open this, when your troubles become too much for you”, it has some sweets and ■a little writing he said I was overwhelmed by his kindness The clock struck two “WiU passengers please proceed to the bus said a voice from the loudspeaker We shook hands and I went on my way to the Aerodrome After the usual checkmgs there, I went to the plane As the plane flew through the afternoon, gloomy forebodmgs again overwhelmed me I wanted to kill all fears of misfortune But I could not CHAPTER in. The Background I reflected on my position fortune by a wealthy father predeceased him After her death I had been left a My mother had I was the only thmg THE BACKGROUND 13 my father lived for I was always in his thoughts For me he lived and made money I was still a student when he died I felt lonely and miserable at the time but kept to my studies After graduating I married My wife, who was also a graduate, wanted us both to get our doctorates We worked hard and were confident of success But on the eve of our final examination, America 3omed World War 11 Articles m the Press, speeches on platforms, the whole propaganda machine of the warring nations roused the young to arms Statesmen m Europe and America promised that this was a war to end for ever the gigantic waste and loss of life which war caused It would stop the age-old feuds between nations, and the deceptions that rent the human fabric The war was extolled as a holy crusade against the barbarian and the infidel This would be the last war, the war to end all wars, the war to turn the course of history and set the world on the new road to true and total peace It was a war to vanquish all greed and deceit, to conquer all misery and misfortune, to kindle a new light, a new bright sun of human happiness for all peoples on earth The world, they said would be better and happier m every way, there would be no more poverty or Ignorance All would be happiness and peace There would be freedom of speech and belief, freedom from fear and want for all mankind irrespective of caste, creed and colour There would be a parliament of man, one unified world state, one silken tie 30ining the earth from end to end The obstacle in the path of this ambitious programme, the sworn opponents of this grand pro3ect, were the enemy They must first be crushed, completely annihilated, effaced from the earth The earth would then smile with plenty, heaven would shower grace 14 INDIA’S MCSSAGC OF PEACC and the gods would envy man In this holy crusade all that had strength, all that had money, all that had talents should lavish them upon this war for the betterment of mankind The whole machinery of a world-wide propaganda was set in motion to popularise these ideas The enemy was pilloried in novels, films and speeches as evil and abhorent , everything that hindered the war-effort-home, natural affection, the dignity of manhood and womanhood — was held up to contempt Marriage was discouraged on the pretext that wives were problems, children were burdens and so on At the same time small achievements in the field of war were blazoned abroad and extolled as epoch-mak.ng victories Those who talked loudest were held up as liberators of mankind, those with little virtue were praised as saviours of civilisation In the rising tide of war propaganda, the minds of men and women m all parts of the world were swept away and drugged The whole air was surcharged with the craze for war it was so glorified that large numbers of the world’s noblest young became its first victims, as moths are drawn to flame Attracted by the glamour of war, fev/ of these who enlisted paused to ask why, since millions of youths had met their deaths in World War I, the war to end all wars, there was another war again now My mind, too was captured, like those of millions of others, by the high hopes of future peace and prosperity of all mankind, I was uplifted in heart and wanted to 30in in the great mission to build a new heaven and earth for mankind When I told all this to my wife Alice, she was startled She argued that we were about to take oui examinations , if we lost the chance, it might nevei come agam We had more money than we needed and we could help the war effort by giving to the Red Cross THE BACKGROUND 15 and kindred funds We could in various ways alleviate the distress and misery of the weak and the poor She thought that this talk about making a new earth was “mere moonshine” If our leaders were honest about the virtue of war, why, instead of themselves going to the fighting fronts, were they letting younger men enlist‘d Missionaries and divines who propagated war were decoying us to "inevitable massacres” and betray- ing God , politicians who fomented or inspired war were interested m the armament industry Scientists who invent new war weapons want to test them Inexperi- enced as Alice was, she had strong common sense She said finally, “Take it from me, the so-called promised land IS like an empire hatched by vain fools and false philosophers Remember that a cowl does not make a monk A new earth can never be built by Christians thirsting for Christian and non-Christian blood, or by usmg God as an engine to deal damnation to other human beings, simply because they worship God differently or speak a different tongue or wear a different dress or live m a different part of God’s earth Virtue can never be reaped by sowing vice Hatred, malice, massacre can never build a better earth A better earth connotes love, fellow-feeling, co-operation ” Full of sincerity, and strong m her innocence my wife feared nobody and poured out her heart She could not descend from her higher point of view , she did not see the force of my arguments or my dynamic urge to make myself useful to my fellowmen, and she was dis- appointed that I failed to see her point of view She sighed and said again “Without basic spiritual disciplme and a humane evangelical out-look, your romantic yearnmg to build a better world, however magnificent m fancy, can scarcely bear fruit , if it is impracticable for you, it is also the same for all who are talkmg of creatmg a new world While plannmg big actions, men often forget basic principles The world and its life are a complicated 16 iNoi/VS MTSsAGi 01 rb\a. muddle, and simpIc-looV »nr f)r,t p. incjpl^<^ f'tt * nlarif'kd or lost Yet they arc profound , imU-.s Ihoy nrc kept ahve, man sinks to suWiumnn nclivitics "Wars will onlv dehumanise mankind not rehuman' ise them Some willinply. many unvilhnr.ly, net cautdit up in war or in its ancillary activities No really great work has evei been performed in th.s v,orid by humbugs Minds that are lotton uith malice, haticd and contempt can never piomotc virtue n themselves or m others A better world, an uncxploitod cgnhlnrian society, where all are equal and free, can bo built only on the secure foundation of truth, chanty and justice , no* by war, not by thirsting for olhei people's blood, not by men who piofess to bo servants and practise living in palaces wh.lc their masters, the vote-givers, l.vc ;n crumbling hutments With the uisdom of a seer, she said "War is certain loss, physical, moral and spiritual, to all mankind, whether you win it or lose it ’ “War IS a mama of those whoso lo\^or natures preponderate over their higher ones— and worse than brute — beasts, they instinctively love and rehsh wanton killing Avaricious philosophers and psycho- logists sell their talents to preach that stagnation in human society needs upheaval , that the dull humdrum of monotonous existence can be removed only by the lelease of a war Hired poetry and oratory extol w'ar Genius sinks to quench its thirst with human blood Many of the world— leaders today are but blocks of cruel selfishness ’ Don’t be so hard, Alice, on the respected leaders of mankind ” I said With benign serenity and pride of innocence , she replied I am condemning the sin and not the sinners I am brmgmg the sinners into my argument only because I cannot, otherwise show up the evil It is the modern way of life that is to be blamed , not men If you or I TOE BACKGROUND 17 were in positions of powet and influence, the chances are that we ourselves would do no better ” “Well, there you are,” I said “It is to change this system and this kind of society that the war is being fought ” “You are so silly, darling Spite, hatred, violence and murder can never generate co-operation, love or nonviolence By adding to the numerous sms of the already sinful burdens of the world, you can’t make the world virtuous. You will make it all the more sinful If you break a man’s bone his whole being will recoil to retaliate and break your bone A tooth for a tooth is the law of war Let not Satan say from our acts that “Christians thirsting for blood know more about hell than I do ” Turning the other cheek, when one is smitten is the way of Christianity It is the only law of love '’ “Can you change world society by turning the other cheek I said “No, dear, you are not talking in practical terms A new world can’t be bmlt by cowards turning their cheeks I must answer the call of the time, the call of the moment. I cannot miss this chance to cover myself with glory ” For days and for weeks we argued without ceasing The debate went on mdoors and out of doors — over the dinmg-table, m the drawing room, under the trees outside, during our walks abroad Before the burning fire of my new faith her arguments sounded to me dead and cold I was like a kmght-errant going on a crusade against men and mstitutions that were enemies of human progress, that prevented the building of a heaven on earth Possessed by this idea, so new and so huge, new words, new phrases were born m me I told her that small things need not detam me when the war was going to turn the tide of history I argued that my niission m life was not merely ’to earn and sleep and en3oy myself ; that I could not nn^oy the gifts bestowed 2 18 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE by God, while my country was in danger and the existence of mankmd was threatened I must answer the time’s call to begin a new epoch in human history In my infatuation her arguments seemed wide of the mark and mme of perfect logic I could not imagme why she failed to see my mission in life, what 3oy and happiness lay ifi it. Days glided My mind was made up I was adamant and she was sad, sorrow-stricken and anguished Her words grew disconsolate and voice tremulous Her eyes and face, her talk and movements pained and embarrassed me CHAPTER IV. The Curse of War One morning after tea, she said with the utmost simplicity “I can be happy only by making you happy My love will be poor if I can’t make you happy Since you will be happy if you go to the war and unhappy if you don’t, I will no longer stand agamst your wishes ” The words still rmg in my ears She said them with such calm composure and loVmg warmth from the very depth of her soul that I felt guilty because of my obstinacy and of the cruel pain I had inflicted on her tender heart I clasped her hand and smiled, feeling conscience-stricken So long as she deigned to arguo, I was joining issue Our arguments turned round and round and did not advance towards any solution My vain hope and her fond fears .dragged us through mazes of mistakes I was adamant But now that she had consented, the thought of how I was to leave such a loving soul all alone m the world pained and perplexed me I told her frankly how I felt She was silent for a while and then said “But if I hold you. back, you will be unhappy ” In full confidence m her femmme com- mon-sense she told me that my illusion woiild never be THE CURSE OF WAR 19 dispelled without tasting the forbidden fruit and without getting bitter expenence And since it was so much after my heart, I need have no anxiety about her I said, “But what about you She said, “I can take care of myself. If you are renouncing your Doctorate I don’t want to take one either I shall take to nursing the sick and disabled till you come back ” “But you are far too delicately brought up to go through that drudgery” “If you can give up your comforts for a mad massacre to kill and to be killed, why can’t I give them up to help the weak and sick’” she said I urged her to prepare for the Doctorate but she refused She was thinking of living on her salary as nurse but ultimately, on my appeal, she agreed to serve only as a volunteer and to live on our own money Excepting the country house we had some miles away from New York I converted all my property into cash and banked it, making suitable arrangements for her to draw sufficient for her needs She decided to live in the country and take to nursing only to keep herself occupied I offered myself for the army and after some training was ordered off to the front My experiences there were no better and no worse than those of many others I was a cog m a machme and my dreams of glorious self-sacrifice were very soon shattered I felt completely disillusioned about the contribution which any individual could make to victory , the routine of army Me swallowed me and deprived me of all initiative Only once did I see action , and on this occasion the incompetence of my commanding officer and the unexpected strength of the enemy involved me in -a minor disaster, which led to my being taken prisoner 20 INDIA’S MESSAGt: OF PEACE My captors paid little heed to the Geneva conven- tions and I sufTered particularly because I happened to be the only survivor of my combat group So the officer in command of the company which had slaughtered my comrades imagined that I possessed information of value to him When I declined to answer his questions, I was beaten, kicked and starved, and finally forced to under- take the most repulsive duties in the prison camp which at length received me I was kept in a dungeon This was hundred times worse than our pig-styes in America It was an infernal abyss of unending woes, terrors and tortures The dread cell was hardly six feet by four and in height about eight feet High up in one wall, higher than man’s height, was a ventilation hole, through which only a little day-light peeped Through a hole about 9 inches square in the door leaf, with its thick iron lid to be dropped and locked from outside, food used to be given to me The walls were dirty The floor was mud, housing in its edges ants, insects and vermin I was given no extra clothing I had to sleep on the bare floor with only a rug for bedding To make a pillow I had to roll up the rest of my clothing and I had to sleep stripped to the skin A small bucket kept m a corner served as a lavatory , and its horrible stink dizzied me and confused my head till my nostrils got used to it My disillusion was complete I came to realise that war, and the passions which war brings, can only degrade and humiliate humanity, not elevate it In my solitary cell I reflected deeply on these matters I came to see that the germ of war hes m all that is wrong with our human life If one cheats another if one steals from another, if one hates or insults another, it is the cause of - quarrels These are mmiature wars It is these propensities that breed and feed competition and conflict Speculation and fraud and the violence arising from THE CURSE OF WAR 21 them mcrease the dangers, the pace and frequency of wars. From individual conflicts the scene shifts to class contradictions. Economic power, the strategic centre of national life, is monopolised by the few while the masses are left in the lurch Social inequalities aggravate the malaise The outlook which begets the miniature wars in our famihes, societies and smaller worlds casts its reflections, imposes its concussions and repercussions, and develops into wars of larger groups of men, of nations, of combinations of nations, of axes and ententes and alliances, leadmg to international butcheries and sub-animal cruelties The crimes of human societies are the measures of mankmd’s degrada- tion Frequent relapses into fratricidal wars prove that, barring one individual here and another there, in our totality we are heirs not of Buddha or Christ, but of the animals, and of cannibals that hunt for and eat human flesh and dance over it It is because the wolf is still in us that war-mongers whip it up and convert human society into the snarlmg and fighting of animals Sometimes we pride ourselves on being pacifists , or beheve that we will be saved from damnation because we do not actually go to the front and kill men But we little realise that by the vanities we buy, by the taxes we pay, we are hiring murderers. If we did not pay their wages by our taxes, surely the murderers would net be there Our pious excuse is like Macbeth’s, who said “Thou canst not say I did it ” The wolf in us is fed by the spoils of the undeclared war raging in all the countries of the world In this undeclared war, armies of liars, cheats, bribe-takers, black-marketeers and other spoliators of society, with their Generals, Commanders and commandoes form one vast alliance against the world’s ignorant, simple and credulous folk Conceive for a moment the prodigious- ness of the army of the wrong doers Sponsored or suffered by different governments, this unremittmg undeclared war will surely lead to open fighting, whose 22 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE roots he m the immoral warfare going tn human society^ The atom bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki turned thousands of human beings to ash and dust in a moment Worshippers bowing to their gods, mothers giving suck to their babies, lovers in sweet embrace, children at play, patients lying on their sick beds — all innocent of the war, weie torn in a moment to bits of mangled flesh Those who ordered the use of these fell bombs may plead that they have saved the world from the war that was raging But what about the immoral war now going on with incieased vigour in all parts of the world — the strong throttling the weak, the learned cheating the unlearned, the rich fleecing the poor and the man with power crushing under foot the man without it CHAPTER V. Alice was Eight Such was the tenor of my meditation while I expe- rienced in my own person something of the frustration and degradation of human dignity which are the fruits of violence and war With no letter from Alice, with no news of the world, each day became an age I became lean and diseased , life lost all its attraction for me , my dreams of gay castles and summer skies vanished , my knight errantry and my missionary zeal evaporated I despaired Life was a blank, a vacuum Death was better, a thousand times better, if only I could behold the face of my dear sweet Alice, even for a moment before my death I remembered the parting aches, anxieties and tears Her sweet smiling face flashed before me Her gentle arguments crossed my memory Oh, if only I had listened to her, to the words of God spoken by that sweet saint ' It was a black day for ALICE WAS RIGHT 23 me when I disregarded the angel who had bestowed her whole existence on me I thought , when I see her agam I shall fhng myself at her feet and ask her forgiveness But is she alive or dead*^ No; such an angel can’t die Is she well’ Disease can’t mar such beauty But what have I done for her ? She surrendered her soul How did I receive the gift ’ Will she forgive me ’ Surely she will She is an angel She must know my mind, my heart, the heart in my heart With such dreams of the days that were no more, my dark and dreary weeks dragged on in that prison camp I thought to myself ; Can any statesman, divine, or man of affairs, laughing, eating and drinking while humanity’s finest youth is pulverised to dust in battle or caged like animals in enemy prisons, imagine a hundredth part of the physical and mental horror of life there ’ A time may soon come when the miseries and misfortunes of youth will be avenged on those in high office, if not by us, by the next generation These devils will have to pay dearly for cheatmg us, for decoying us from our peaceful pursuits As I remember my captivity with its terrors and grief and sub-human existence, the war-mongermg elders of the world appear to me not a whit better than Satans incarnate, brimful of malice, malignancy, and spite towards the youths of the world, intent on prolongmg their powers by baiting the youths to dehumanisation and death In olden days kings, and men of office and rank that enjoyed the benefits of rule and power, themselves went to war and bore its brunt Is it not only fair that those in authority, those that enjoy the cream of a society’s honour and profit should themselves be the first to join the fighting forces and go to the front if a war is necessary to preserve that society’ Then only, such of the rest of that 24 INDIA’S MESSAGF OF PDNCJ. society as may liFe may follow them It i*; but selfiih- ness that leaders should enjoy and continue enjoying the best of everything, v.hilo the credulous younger generation is goaded and spurred to hideous cnieltics and crimes. War-mongers should not be allowed to contaminate youth with the festering leprosies of their own depraved souls and so spread the disease In the surroundings of a military camp, by the training they are given, young men degenerate from men into brutes The finer feelings of the human heart arc withered and m their place grow the revengeful ferocities of the wolf-world Decency of language degenerates into raillery and ribaldry, vile oaths, and filthy abuse Minds are coarsened, songs become vulgar, jokes lewd, merri- ment cruel, humour harsh, and pastimes boisterous Faces become rugged and stormy, eyes ferocious and minds greedy. The noble aim of reforming society from corrupting ills undergoes a sea-change The ideal of building the world in better ways by freeing govern- ments and societies from corrupting ills, is replaced by the habit of regarding violence, however directed, ns normal and natural In short a soldier is trained so that he may cease to be a human being He becomes a number, a Robot, an animal led by others, staying, moving, acting, m blind obedience without a mind or emotion of his own Deprived of fine feeling and humanitarian sentiment, without any human approach, reach or response, all has human instincts, all his natural goodness of heart are stultified If you want to change a human being to a machine you need only enlist him as a soldier Discipline will soon smother his identity and rob him of his self-respect He soon becomes a mere assembled machine His heart is deadened, his finer feelings are a handicap , the only instincts to which he is trained to respond are hate, and pugnacity He must either go mad or be driven mad into the orgy of killing others Moral values are incredibly debased and the basic attitude of his life ESCAPE TO ALICE 25 becomes sub-human From a lover of his fellow men he becomes a cruel murderer of them The best diploma for war is a stony heart, for the cruellest killing becomes a virtue CHAPTER VI. Escape to Alice. Days passed one after the other each broke with increased misery and hopelessness It seemed an eternity of torture and torment I perished day by day A sense of psychological abasement overcame me Yet I was not content to acquiesce in it passively — wanted to redeem myself Memories of my country, my home and my dearest Alice flocked upon me As I remem- bered her dear face, the longing to see her fired me, and a passion from the innermost depths of my heart set me thinking of escape First it was a vague undefined desire, gradually it grew to be an eager longing The idea of breaking loose uplifted me My imagination took long excursions to find a way out Scheme after scheme suggested itself, the second always appearing the better Some appeared alarming, others absurd beyond realisation I sedulously examined each As I developed the points, searched and dove- tailed them mto a practicable whole, the first feeble and shadowy glimmer of hope — the hope of returning to my dear America and meeting my dearest Alice, gained more and more strength Often I was atmgle with excitement As I revised and rearranged my plan the prospect became bright A peal of rejoicing rang in my heart I worked out with zeal the minutest details of the scheme — the day, hour and minute of the attempt how to leave the cell, how to avoid the sentries, how to pass through the barbed wire fence, my food supply, my route, my timing, when to cross the enemy zone, how to humour inquisitive strangers, how to dodge 26 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE the watch and a dozen other matters Each succeedmg day brought more and more cheerful and confident thoughts I kept mghtly vigil to note the acts of the sentries around the place, the time of their changes, the exact number of seconds or minutes their backs would be in the direction of my planned escape and so on With cool resolution one night I remembered God and took the desperate plunge mto the perilous uncertainty With the iron plates from my boots, I started making a hole m the wall of my cell which had become corroded by damp and urine For some nights, I continued my operation, covermg up the accumulatmg debris with my bulkier garments The appomted mght came > the longed-for hour struck , the change of the sentries began and moment for action came I raised my eyes to heaven, prayed and translated my desire to final determmation I forced myself through the hole I crawled caterpillar-like and mched my way up to the barbed wire fence at a spot shaded from the nearest lamp At that moment the back of the sentry turned in that direction Barely had I reached the fence when the sentry turned round and I had to lie as motionless as a dead mouse The moments were breathless But all went well The sentry agam turned his back to me I crawled under the fence through the drain of a urmal I clung to the shadows I crept agam for about a hundred feet, sustainmg cuts and tears on my knees, palms and elbows I then stood up, took stock of my surroundings and tiptoed about a hundred yards more Now I had gained the other side of a hedge and a cluster of trees, the darkness of which kept me fairly safe from the observation of the watch I heaved a sigh of relief Devotion to the idea and perseverance had obtamed the prize My heart beat fast with exhilaration Before and behmd, to my right and to my left, hung thick darkness swallowmg me and envelopmg the earth and sky Within me burnt brightly the hope of freedom, the expectation of seeing my ESCAPE TO ALICE 27 Alice I had some knowledge of the lie of the land, and I trudged on, dodging human habitations and selecting paths as the deep gloom was lit by flashes of lightning or by the lights from the tops of factories and industrial buildings I covered much ground , the detours I had to take through ploughed fields or woody paths scarcely slowed me I had gone about 10 miles when my hopes, which had been steadily rising, suddenly fell, and my heart contracted I saw what looked like a sentry outside a village by which I was to pass He seemed to be lookmg out for some suspect A cold shiver ran down my back I stood motionless The moments were tense But soon I regained my confidence and my daring Immediately I retraced my steps and kept the man under observation At last I saw that he had been joined by another fellow for whom apparently he had been waiting My fear had no foundation Neverthe- less I gave up that route The sky was showing signs of the approaching dawn and I anxiously looked to and fro in search, of some shelter that would be my cover for the day At some distance there loomed in the foggy darkness what seemed a wood , and hoping to find safety, I hastened my pace thither Crannies between some rocks seemed to provide cover in case danger threatened In my predicament, one of these clefts appeared to me as welcome as an oasis m a desert I threw myself down, aching in every limb There was heavy fog, a dense clammy mist that covered every- thing Later the cloudy sky began drizzling I was cold, drenched to the skm, wet through and through I curled up myself m a muddy hole and momentarily forgot my troubles m a heavy slumber When I woke up, the weather had mended The afternoon had waned and the sun was already in the Western sky, its errant gleams glimmering over the tree-tops I was lookmg round the place, when I suddenly sighted something more precious to me than the wealth of Kublai Khan’s China or Milton’s Ormuz and Ind of 28 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Old There were nests in the trees, and m the nests eggs The laying birds fluttered away, as I seized the precious food But as I was rifling one nest, the hideous head of an asp struck out at my hand, and I fled in fear The shock sobered me, and I recovered myself. I ate six eggs and kept four as my reserve I decided to make for a bog which I remembered as a disastrous obstacle to our men at the engagement in which I was taken prisoner The route was difficult and painful but I kept on When I reached the bog the cloudy eastern sky was indicating a cheerless dawn with a miasmic mist all round It was a wooded dark marshy place and a sure trap for unwary travellers I saw there human bones, picked clean of all flesh by birds of prey I saw half decayed corpses which emitted such a foetid stench that nausea overtook me I surveyed every inch of the ground I found uniform and equipment to replace my soiled garments I even found a knapsack half buried in a peatbog which contained practically all its store intact I refitted myself completely with all that I needed, including a new identity disc With new uniform, a new identity disc, and with new equipment, nobody could suspect me of having escaped from prison I still had to travel far, for I was as yet inside enemy country The shifts and stratagems by which I avoided capture, negotiated the frontiers, rejoined my unit, obtained leave of absence, embarked, and at last reached American shores must remain unrecorded It was a sorry tale of deceit I ask the reader to forgive me the omission, and to share my joy as the ship which bore me to America brought me nearer and nearer to the prospect of seemg my country, my Ahce and my home The bitter memories of all my pangs and sorrows of the past years began to fade I was exhilarated I sang for joy New ALICE LEAVES ME 29 life came to me The shore, the trees, the men— all familiar, yet appeared new and fresh As soon as I disembarked I sent an urgent message to Alice, who met me as the tram steamed on to the platform of our station I saw her eagerly looking at every compartment I waved my hand She hastened to me, her beautiful face glowing with delight I caught her in my arms As we drove to our house, every leaf, every blade of grass, every face appeared to be smiling and wel- coming me My home which had been kept in perfect trim by my Alice, was the same, yet appeared a hundred times more lovely My dog, who was now full grown, barked loudly at first, but quickly recognised me, wagged his tail, danced around and stood up on his hind legs to reach the breast on which I had caressed him as a tiny pup before I left for the army. CHAPTER VH Alice Leaves Me \ Time glided past Hiroshima and Nagasaki were turned to ashes by science’s latest devilment Mankind was shocked The defeated nations were crippled They could fight no more In the vanquished countries, rehef that the fighting had ceased and that the war was over had begun to give place to sullenness and despairing rage In the victorious countries, thanks givings to the Lord were offered for the successful practice and performance of man’s inhumanity to man Sports, dinner, dances and other victory celebrations were observed with great eclat Ministers of rehgion rejoiced that the co-operation which they had furnished in the 30 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE great work of destroying God’s children had not been in vain But even among the victors, the flush of victory soon faded There was no trace of the new earth and new heaven for man that were to emerge after the war The sun of plenty and prosperity that was to rise was nowhere seen Far from being united, mankind was divided into embittered revengeful groups Food, . clothing and the indispensable necessities of life became scarce in most parts of the world — not excluding the victor countries New diseases were born and spread Larger and more complicated problems threatened the peace and wellbeing of mankind more seriously than any which had existed in the prewar days Far from being eased, the miseries of the common man m all parts of the world increased a hundred fold Days, weeks and months passed My wife who had worked hard in nursing the srck and diseased of the war, lost her own health Long and irregular hours of daily drudgery had told heavily on her delicate consti- tution My absence from home and her acts of self- demal m food now came home to roost She pined and languished She lost her appetite , she became daily more feeble Time dragged on , I was at her sick-bed day and mght In hushed voices the Doctors told me that she had a type of malignant fever , that her heart and brain were seriously affected Her illness had been contracted from patients whom she had nursed Her case was pronounced critical In spite of all that the best medical skill could do, she became worse She asked — “Darling, do you think I shall be cured “The doctors say that you will be There is no reason why you should not be” “But somethmg in me says that I won’t live long ” She said ALICE LEAVES ME 31 I had known Alice She was true to me, true to all. She believed in God She had foresight Her inferences were often right As she said these words, I feared she might be right Tears came to my eyes I tried to conceal them but failed She saw them and said — “Don’t cry, dear Not that I don’t want to live How can I leave so sweet a shelter as you are I will go through all the treatments that the doctors prescribe, but it IS better that you should be prepared for the worst ” Our situation was further saddened by our lack of close relatives Alice was an orphan Her brother had gone to the war and died there Her only living relation was now an old aunt living far away in Australia, who was often peevish and wholly intolerant of others’ views My own two cousins, who were my sole relations, had joined the army, at my example, and had perished in the war Alice and I were two lone souls having none to call our own to console us with an affectionate word As these thoughts crossed my mmd, Alice said “You are still a child, darling, in the ways of the world” This warm maternal tenderness of Alice towards me was an additional reason for my love towards her I not only loved her but respected her too I replied — “Perhaps, but I am being mothered so well If only I had listened to you ” My voice choked Tears of inner joy Tolled down her cheeks I knelt near the bed on which she lay, clasped her, buned my head in her bosom and said "Forgive me, darlmg My blunder had no excuse You have borne my wilfulness with divine patience I was a fool If I had listened to what ^ou said and had not gone to the war, you would not have come to these straits Like a mother forgiving her errmg child, forgive me, Alice, Oh, forgive me”. o 32 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE We wept, clasping each other. “But I am much better oil than you were m the enemy cells” she said “That IS what I paid for my foolishness But why bhould you have suffered for my sins” ’ “ It IS for my negligence I am the author, the sole cause of my illness, not you at all And whenever I have the good luck to suffer for your happiness, it is no suffering to me It is all 3 oy and happiness to me ” “You are a noble soul, my darling” “I know the limitations of my sex Having enthroned you in my heart, I must share, not only your joys but your sorrows too”, she said I could not control myself and sobbed again With her angel hands, she wiped away my tears When next her doctor examined Alice, he was delighted with a change for the better He told her that she would be all right in a few more days, altered her prescription, and gave fresh instructions to the nurse Outside the sick room I asked him how he found Alice In a fairly loud voice, so that my wife could hear, he said — “Oh, she will be all right in no time. She is sixty per cent better now Cheer up, my boy” After the doctor left I ran back to Alice and joyfully announced the doctor’s cheering views Alice smiled Hope of her recovery, which was fading in my breast, revived The doctor and the nurse did their best Alice improved from day to day, but was still very weak The doctors advised a change of scene as soon as she was well enough to be moved At last she was 'fit for the journey, and she began to supervise the packing, giving detailed instructions to the maids about what was to be done to look- after clothes, furniture and pictures while we were away. ALICE LEAVES ME 33 She arranged, what should be left and what should be taken The packing was finished A few minutes before the appointed time for departure, Alice told the maids to open the chest containing her bridal dress as she wanted to take it with her As we entered the car she told the maids to look after me properly in case I returned alone leaving her at the Sanatorium The car started As it bore us away, Alice cast a longing lingering look on the villa where new days, and new nights, new suns and new moons had begun with new charms, new ]oys and new feelings, awaking in us new thoughts of life As Alice was weak I asked the chauffeur to go at a steady 20 miles an hour. Alice said — “How long shall we stay at the seaside, dear “Till you can swim in the sea”, I replied She said “Did not the Doctor say how long it might be I said “It may be just a few weeks It all depends how you pick up there” She said “Were it not for the attraction of a new place and new friends and the hope of early recovery I would not have left our dear home” « I said “But you can make a home wherever you are ” She smiled Sensible of our mutual feelings, we warmed ourselves with loving caresses I clasped her hand, put it on my thig|i, stroked and-pressed it in love She nestled against me with love lookmg out of her eyes and a happy contented smile Then the tragedy overtook us We were going up a hill road, when, roarmg like a hungry beast, a heavy military; car, driven most rashly and unsteadily bore down on us In spite of our chauffeur’s efforts to avoid it, it crashed into us Our driver, the nurse and the maid 'who were^ sitting in front, were frightfully multilated Alice and I, who 34 INDIA’S MESSAGE Of PEACE were in the rear, were thrown out Our car was smashed The other car did not stop It sped away All this happened so quickly that it is difficult to remem- ber the details I was badly injured in the head, and was bleeding profusely, but I managed to crawl up to Alice She was covered with blood, and lay lifeless, with her beauty shattered She was dead, dreadfully dead The flower of womankind on whom everv goddess of beauty and virtue had set her seal, “the grace serene and virtue heavenly fair” was as lifeless as the dust in which she lay It was terrible, terrible, terrible It was devastating I clasped her with both my arms I cried and cried and cried Hot tears poured out of my eyes While kissing her I lost consciousness, and knew nothing more When I regamed my senses I was lymg in a hospital bed, my head and arms bandaged As I lay, stony-stiff in plaster, the panorama of our married life with its thousand episodes of love and romance, gaieties and delights, quarrels and reconciliations, lightnesses and laughter, flashed across my mmd I remembered our first meeting, when I saw her in all her fairy-hke charms, the moment when her bewitching beauty planted in me the spark of love ^ I remembered the artless beauty of her luxuriant curls, a golden frame to the roses of her cheeks ; her face chiselled to perfection at every point I remember- ed our woomg, her dehght in my love, the excursions, and festivities which marked our courtship, the perfection of form revealed rather than concealed by her charmmg clothes, the golden moments when I found immortal bhss in her embraces Above all I remem- bered her tender affection, her motherly solicitude and her dmne forgiveness As I thus recounted from memory the happy story of our life together, enhvened and enriched for me by that guiding star, imagination sprang free from my ALICE LEAVES ME 35 misery and lifted me to ecstatic heights I was transported to another world, to a fairyland far different from where I lay. Her virtues shone with greater and greater radiance, and it seemed to me that a soul so good, so noble m everyone of her acts, whether she spoke or sang, sat or stood, walked or worked, could not be consumed by death She might be livmg Her death might be an illusion of my brain Often did I thus cherish vain conjectures and delusive hopes But the sharp pains from my bandaged arm and head waked me to the poignant reahty that she was dead A hundred vague fears assailed me, and the bleak future almost extinguished me Recurring pam from my injuries added to the agony Tears welled up m my eyes After my recovery I learnt that the man who had collided with our car was hopelessly drunk, a waster who had swindled his way to a fortune during the war, and afterwards bribed his way to high office He was safe from any retribution for the act which had wrecked my life, and he contmued to pursue a course of drink and debauchery while I bore the consequence of his ill-domg After being discharged from the hospital, I came home When I entered the rooms which Alice had furnished so delightfully, they seemed to me full of desolation and despair because she had left them for ever Her pet animals, her favourite possessions, her blossoming flower-beds, the places where she rested, worked and relaxed were vacant and lifeless without her I went to the church where my Ahce lay, with all her noble emotions and gentle wisdom As I placed my wreath of love and respect on the tomb that encased her seraphic beauty, and as I recalled her charm, my tears welled forth in hot streams Even the earth and sky seemed to weep with me, while the flowers faded and the trees withered I lamented that purest 36 INDIA'S MLSSAGC OV PLACl. innocence and perfect vutucs go “but to the grave” Vet comfoit came The kind Pne'it said in sympathy "She was so good and fan. Perhaps this eai th was no worthy place for her noble soul She may be now in a better place, a more hallowed abode” Since the day I became a prisoner of war I had not hcaid such kind words from any one except my dailing Alice I was greatly soothed by them The hope that she was living in a more hallowed land, though far away from me. made the bitterness of sepal ation less poignant and more bearable It widened my mental horizon and dispelled my belief, firmly held till then, that the spark of God given to man is extinguished on this earth, and that its being IS restricted to this little speck in the tremendous vast of God’s creation I began to feel that the soul is imperishable, that it cannot die but must progress like a pilgrim, and transmigrate to holier and holier places CHAPTER Vra The Bitter Harvest r I carried out what I knew to be my Alice s wishes about gifts and chanties So long as I was occupied with them, the heaviness of the bereavement did not tell on my mind But after they were over, I felt very lonely and miserable , and hoping for solace, moved to the city There too I did not feel happy After Ahee’s death I tried to settle down manfully , my expenses had gone down considerably and I had enough, more than enough But I found no change anywhere in the World for the better, rather it was for the worse, far, far worse The lies and cant, hypocrisies, cheatings, chicaneries and treacheries practised durmg the war years, by men in high positions in Government and even in the Church in different parts of the world had entered THE BITTER HARVEST 37 into the very blood stream of large masses of men. Earth mstead of being the promised happy home of all the sons of God had been plunged into a continuous night of corruption There was no hope of a bright day Men had forsaken God and m His sacred house had installed the devil In business, politics, and religion the world was worse , mankind was burdened by worse miseries and torments than in the pre-war years However much politicians and statesman havered and excused, giving prominence to trivial gams and glossing over major losses — the logical consequences of their misdeeds — the eternal chain of cause and effect played its part Hatred, distrust, malice, malignancy, trickery, treachery, and other sins sown durmg the war years, had borne bumper crops and had spread far and wide their smister influence When I compared the rosy promises of the war years with the grotesque contradic- tions of the post-war world, I was amazed at the precision of the eternal principle that we must reap as we sow I was completely disillusioned It appeared to me that many of the trustees of the poor, the learned leaders of the world, who had stampeded mankind into war- fever, were no better than pohtical animals, that they loved vice for itself, adored evil and were determined “that to do aught good will never be their task but ever to do ill will be their sole delight ” To me personally the war had brought a tremendous loss It had shattered my youth It had taken away my Ahce’s health and then her life It had blasted my future Except for the war, there would have been no opportumty for a waster to become a millionaire, and m a drunken fury to destroy all that was near and dear to me Yet there was no charity anywhere I found among the statesmen, leaders, writers, ministers or officers, whose inflummatory speeches and writings 38 i\'[)iAo ML*-' 'r.r t»r hv.u had lured me (o t)ie v.u, nufu tf) r^ind* •'ind io tho ^ hl’o me )n our de ointinn and d< p u*". or t»> u» a kindlv v.oid of rhcM Fiom no qinrlci rnittnch.ed in puv, er chd v. e ijnfor- lunalCi r.ei a nionu'nrs '>\mp,ith> for our v. .if-eaur‘^d sorrows and lean I h.«d foven inv 1 ' el, my \ery all my veiv bc.t to tlu u vni, for ttioi. hfjjfjti Oat of the milhnns of vouths, the* Paj”. cr of haimanity, ho had been lined av'ay from th( ir In at the homes rmej lieaccful avofalions hv the* v,,n*rnompnny ninnier’^, waiters and speakers many had O' com* fo^»d for can- non , huge numbci ; had been maimed f>r 0 v, ell companioned, sneak from life hkc a thief or like a coward’ Has groaning or grumbling anywheic made a man’ The weakness m you is self-made The moment you know this weakness, it will cease to he weakness Can you icccivo without aslcing’ Can you hnd w’lthout seeking? ‘The deer do not run into the mouth of a sulking lion’ Do you want your biead without sweat’ That is not only unmanly, it is also irreligious Put your trust in your own potentialities Arise, awake, plunge into the thickest of the woild Throw your whole soul into some task Remember the divinity in you and smile away the blows of this evanescent world Soon a miracle will happen Your veiy w^eakness will become youi strength An infimlc power will be at your command For Ho breathes in you He will strengthen you You have forgotten Him. He has no pleasure in your death Like a mother lun- mng to save from fire her ciying child, He will run to save you Call Him Try Make the feeblest attempt and you will feel the magic foice Have faith for a while, just a little faith Mighty forces of the universe will come to aid you No good thought is ever lost It leads to the Kingdom of Heaven It is at hand Take it No spiritual longing ever goes in vain The spiritual bank never fails Pious patience is God’s quality We call it Sthitaprajnyataa steady minded- ness It IS the highest virtue of man Doubt it not If your strength fails you at a moment of evanescent ad- versity, your strength, American manhood’s strength, IS small ” “Perhaps you think that because your bank failed there is nothing else left with you You do not know IN THE GRIP OF DESPAIR 53 that you still have untold wealth. Are you surprised ’ Suppose a billionaire whose arms and legs were amput- ated should offer you a million dollars for yours to graft the same on himself, would you sell If over that million he insures your life for another million dollars, and gives you for the rest of your life, at his cost, a house, attendants, clothes, books, and the best of all other things that money can buy, would you part with your limbs ^ If you would not, you have with you still property worth over a million dollars And if your four limbs only have such enormous value in terms of money, calculate the price of your human brain, mmd, heart, and soul What munificence of God is still with you Your despair is utterly unjustified” “Observe through which nostril you are breathing If the left, lie a while on that side and the breathing will be through the right Rub your face with your right hand Write with your fingers ‘Om — God’ or any other sacred word on your forehead If you are not sitting, sit Take five deep breaths, as deep as you can, imagining that you are mhaling the best of this earth Then say five times loudly or audibly ‘Scham’ or T am He’ T am of the Omnipotent and Omnipresent Father’ Thus link yourself to the Highest and then set on the ground right foot first, facing the east, with the back- bone straight Abandon for a while all other concerns and say, silently and ardently while linking your mind to each thought — ‘T am not myself alone I am my forbears, I am Washington and Irving, I am Emerson and Poe, I am Ruskin and Thoreau, I am Lincoln and Jefferson, I am Whitman and Twain, I am the great giants who sweated, slaved and built America I am the heroic legions who fought, fell and died in making America I am of that America which has saved human civilisation — ^America that has been a beacon light of what men’s unity in diversity can do ” 34 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE “Shall I, a stuidy son of that Ameiica, fear the vaporous fogs of life and turn away from its mighty possibilities like an “errant fool “The Most High dwelleth in me I am He It is I who came out of the hole of death in the enemy prison It IS I who broke the bonds there I stood my ground” “Tire world’s poor need me Afflicted humanity calls me God’s work awaits me I must hearken that call I shall not cast into the gutter my forbears blood, as if it were the blood of a rat oi a gnat I am an American I must be a man ” “God be with you, Sincerely yours, P” I read and re-read the letter twice, thrice, many times My restless agony vanished I was awakened to a new life I hugged the letter to my heart I kissed it again and again Long oppressed as I was, its very touch soothed me In joy and happiness I walked the floor with my breast full of hope I threw the drugged draught away I had forgotten this letter which Mr P had given me m Rome It had now saved my life It may save the life of many a man and woman, perturbed as I was — ^Heaven rain grace on it I thanked God I thanked Mr P in my heart of hearts I thanked India, the home of high thoughts My mind longed to see Mr P It was intensified by the desire to see India and to find in hei poverty the immensity of her spiritual wealth The warmth of joy flooded upon me I washed, I dressed myself in the best that I could sort out of my clothes Up and down the room I walked I whistled and sang The tyranny of false fears and vague worries had vanished Greatly relieved, I knelt and prayed to God with a passionless calm and mental harmony I had IN THE GRIP OF DESPAIR 55 not experienced before I bowed with a pure contrite heart, jn grateful adoration It was a true intercourse— a real communion between God and my soul After prayer I ate some of the sweets given to me by Mr P, and with perfect calm and happiness laid myself on my bed Completely at peace with myself and with everything around me I slept a sleep the like of which I had not known since my last days with Alice Thus ended in perfect grace my critical day I woke up next morning refreshed in body and mmd My ship-wrecked past had turned into a voyage to a haven of hope and promise As dawn opened the doors of the earth, the day itself welcomed me It was cloudless and clear The sky lit with laughter The tender sun enriched the face of land, sea, air and sky Nature was brimful of the glories of God I was happy beyond words Despite my disobedience, God had rained His mercy on me I sang His glories and thanked Him in gratitude again and again I rang the Air office to give me a berth by the next plane gomg to India I sold the ring which Alice had given me to purchase the reservation I hurried my simple preparations There was not much to pack I took the plane rejoicing at the prospect of seeing India, the home of the first literature of the Aryan race, the giver of Vedanta, the first philosophy of mankind, the mother of Buddha, Ashoka and Gandhi, the land that utters gentle and tranquil words of peace to all men, to all nations, m a wild world of fear and hatred The hours in the plane passed in eagerness and expectation When the steward announced our entry into the Indian sky, my ecstacy grew As I sighted from the air her glorious scenery I was delighted beyond words From 56 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Delhi I hastened to Calcutta and from there to the solitary house on the “Lake of the Chaste where I found Mr P immersed in meditation CHAPTER XI A New Life. Mr P finished his meditation, viewed the sun through an aperture formed hy the entwined fingers of his joined palms, and took a leaf of Tulsi As he was coming from the yard to the verandah, our eyes met His face showed surprise I ran and embraced him He said “Mr Emeham” I said “Not Mr Emeham, but simply Emeham to you You have saved my life” P — I saved your life ’ How E Your kind letter, handed me m Rome, saved me P — But how ’ When did you come to India ? E — 1 reached Calcutta two days back P —From America, to this hut straight*^ Coming straight ’ E —Yes, with a purpose P — If you don’t mind the inconvenience and the hard life here, please stay for a few days E — I am so thankful P — ^You must have something to eat E — would like to have a wash, first P —By all means I was given a room excellently suited for the new life I began After some food, I took a long rest to recover from my fatigue The change to a new place , the fruit , the flowers , the scenery , the calm, so remote from the smoke and strife of towns, cast their charms on me In the afterno-on I made another meal from fresh fruit and warm milk Afterwards Mr P and I took a stroll, over velvety turf, bending low under A NEW LIFE 57 fruit-laden trees, inhaling all the while the perfume pilfered by the gallant winds from the sweet-hearted flowers I told him my story When I gave him the lettei that had saved my life, he read it, smiled and handed it back to me saying “A precious 3ewel is sometimes found in adversity It is God’s mercy” I leplied “Nevertheless it came to me through you” Mr P said “Then I have acted the Post Office well” I said “No, you have done much more You have awakened me to my soul and I have come for further light and guidance When I saw you at the St Petei’s in Rome I took you to be a clergyman and addressed you as Father I intend to go on address- ing you like that, although you are not of the Christian faith P —It may be better if we call each as brother E — As you wish Please tell me the respectful way of addressing an elder brother in your language P — One can say Dadaji E — ^Fine, I will call you Dadaji p _in view of what has happened to you m America, you could perhaps make this your own home ’ E —Thank you, Dadaji If it will not inconvenience you, I should like to. p _oh, you are welcome as long as you can manage to stay We shall not want you to leave us provided you can bear the hard life here E —I have had to bear much woise than this We walked back to prepare for the The bright sun shining on meadows and turned mild, as the afternoon rolled crarfs western sky spread out her crimson and ye in glowing splendour The shadows of trees m the 58 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE garden lengthened over the blossoming earth The purple sun slowly sank behind Diamond Island The sunset land was all gold and glory From the other side of the Bma came fleeting myriads of birds who sought their nests, chirped and twittered with their young There was a running and racing back home of cows lowing for their calves, sheep bleating for their lambkins, and goats for their kids Herdsmen and shepherds whistled and sang or played their flutes as they merrily wended their ways home- wards The glimmering landscape faded Day’s bustle and noise ceased, and the darkness of night soon closed in with its stillness and peace By and by the firma- ment glowed with living sapphires The moon poured down her peerless light, joyfully flooding the earth and sky The busy world paused m its toil and became suddenly solemn The time for evening prayer had come After a wash and change of clothes we gathered m the Prayer Room Sweet smelling smoke scented the air 'The blowing of a conch heralded the exact moment All the others prayed, but being ignorant of the language, I closed my eyes and listened After it was over, Dadaji explamed to me a portion of the prayer Ishaabaasyam Idam Sarbam Yatkincha Jagatyaam Jagat, Tena Tyaktena Bhunjithaa Maa Gridha Kashyachit Dhanam Dadaji said — ^In order to grasp the essential truth and teaching of this verse from the Ishopamshad, we must know the meanmg of each word My English is a poor vehicle for its grandeur But it may give you just some idea of it Isha — C5od Aabaasyam — ^Pervaded 1 Ishaabaasyam— Pervaded by God A NEW LIFE 59 2 Idam Sarbam Jatkincha — ^All that is seen, heard or felt 3 Jagatyaam Jagat— Evergoing Universe of life and eneigy 4 Tena — ^Therefore 5 Tyaktena— With divine detachment 6 Bhun3ithaa— Take (with 3 oyful contentment) 7 Maa — ^Not 8 Gndha— Covet 9 Kashyachit — Of anybody’s 10 Dhanam — Possession The whole piece means All this that is (seen, heard or felt), all this ever-going creation of life and energy, is pervaded by Gcd Enjoy with high non- attachment what IS earned by the sweat of your brow Cast no covetous eye on what is another’s The prayer teaches us what all the good religions of the world teach, and what every man on earth should know It says that ever 5 d;hmg that we see, hear or feel in this world of living and non-living is pervaded by God God is immanent in the lowliest being, in the tiniest blade of grass and the httlest particle of dust The significance of the word Tsha’ is that though God IS immanent in all, He is also the Supreme master spirit over all In other words, while He is in the world. He IS also the transcendmg, guiding power over it; the underlying unity in diversity , the unknowable and undemonstrable power that is never affected by the changes going round in the creation The plain and simple meaning of the expression ‘Tena Tyaktena’ is therefore with divine detachment. Others put different meanings The substance how- ever of all the interpretations is the same The word ‘Bhunjithaa’ means eat with delight and content- ment This implies that we must imbibe and assimilate 60 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE with contented happiness, what is given by Him to ns through the sweat of our brows This idea is exemplified by the next four words ‘Covet not another s possession’ If you analyse the facts of any war, quarrel or trouble in the world it is mostly if not wholly due to some one casting an evil eye on what belongs to another This sloka provides us with the essence of all that we need know in leligion, philosophy, morality, law, socialism, politics and personal character A man or nation that sees God in everything, that will live with happy contentment by the sweat of his own brow, that will not cast an evil eye on what belongs to another, cannot quarrel or fight with any other man or nation No man of any religion or faith which deserves the name, has ever said, is now saying, or will say in future, that there are different Gods for different religions, races, peoples, or countries If God is the father of man, He IS father of all men In other words, all men of all nations are His children, living in his mansion He has brought them into existence, He has a meaning in their existence He has manifested Himself in and through them He is immanent in them Once we believe in a common Father of all mankind being immanent in all mankind (not apait and outside us) we cannot escape the conclusion that the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were acts of violence, not against anything other than God, but against God Himself , that the cruelties now heaped upon non-whites in parts of the world are violence not against anything outside God but against a part of God, that is, upon God Himself If you hate me, you hate the God in me If you bite my finger, you can’t say that you have bitten only a finger of mine and not me Similarly if you hate or kill a part of God, it would be sheer hypocrisy to say that you have not committed hatred or violence against God It is the doers of evil who whitewash the devil and give him a pious visage A NEW LIFE 61 E Surely, this is a grand prayer, Dadaji ^ know more of its grandeur we should grasp more fully the meaning and implications of each of its component parts We shall do it some other day Next morning a conch blew at four, waking the Asramites to their usual and me to my new life The earth was spreading her morning freshness A mild sweet breeze carried the aroma of blossoming flower beds Birds sang, adding to the charm of the place It was all exhilarating I finished washing and dressing and punctually at 5 30, gathered with others at the prayer room, where the air was sweetened by herbs and by fresh butter on a glowing fire which turned the mind to prayer Prayer over, we had breakfast of fresh milk and fresh plucked fruits Soon the Asramites went to attend their duties I went with Dadaji to his cottage where, on my query as to what I should do and how I should proceed to find peace and happiness, he said to me — D — ^If you wish to have real peace and happiness, you will have to stay here for some time E — I will do so with great pleasure D — am happy to hear you say so In that case your first work should be to acchmatize yourself to the mental and physical environments of the place You must try to gather knowledge of little thmgs which you see in course of your daily life, taking ardently what IS good and rejecting without ridicule what is bad Look at things, not too critically, not with hatred or contempt towards anybody, but with sympathy for all You know, all men can’t know or see or do things from the same point of view You are a rich man’s son, you were yourself rich, very rich from poor India’s standpoint You have been brought up in the height of luxury To live in this poor country, you will have to make a radical change in your ways and habits Further the change is also necessary for disciplining the mind, and without 62 INDIA'S MESSACC OF PLACL this, your spiritual powers will not glow as you wish To gain knowledge of the country and its people, you must take a few days to pick up the local language, the manners and customs of the people , and then go into some of the interior villages and see how in the midst of stark poverty people m this country live in peace and happiness without committing suicide for vmnt , and how they enjoy sound sleep without any di ugs or drink Lentoy, Edmund, Sun Tung, Akbar and Mano have also come here m search of peace I have given them similar advice After all of you are leadv 1 will send you to travel lound the countiy 1 thanked Dadaji , and leturning to my room, made a programme With ardour and zeal I began to learn the rudiments of the language, habits, manners and customs of the people I practised sitting cross-legged on the ground, and sleeping on the floor without any mattress In less than a week I got used to local ways and felt no discomfort in following them I ate food with my fingers without the aid of any spoon or fork, I gave up rich food, tea, coffee, and even smoking, by degrees I cut my hair short, simplified my dress and was mighty happy in the changes The pure air and water, the fresh milk, fruit, vegetables, the peace and quiet of the place and the elevating prayers and dis- cussions worked miraculous changes in me My health improved, my face became ruddy I felt new vigour and strength in my body It was a new life with new light and new thrills everyday I remembered my old pleasure in feasts and pastimes in my American home and in the company of the rich in different countries of the world Compared with the happiness of my new life, these thmgs paled to insignificance They were mere physical pleasures I was now experiencing mental quiet and spiritual happiness, free from the maddening strife, the competition, the quarrels of the modern world A NEW LIFE 63 I stiuck up friendship vvith the other inmates of the Asram, particularly with Govin, Madab, Joy and Mod. lientoy, Edmund, Sun Tung, Akbar and Mano The first four were all love and devotion to Dadaji Lentoy, a Russian, had passed through many vicissitudes in his country He began life as a peasant, but later shifted to a factory, entered as a clerk and ultimately rose high He had great enthusiasm till he reached high rank amongst the workers , but after a few years, his zeal for work decreased He had no wife or children He had avoided marriage because he feared that it brought, not happiness, but unhappiness and worry in the present day world When he began to think for himself, he realised that man does not live for bread alone He hungered for something he did not know, something higher and better, something more lasting than the pleasures of the flesh He read Tagore, Gandhi and Nehru, and came to India in the hope of getting something more valuable m hfe He said that with the help of his new experience, he would strive to strengthen the friendship between USSR and India and contribute his mite to the establishment of peace and happiness for all mankind There was Edmund, an English youth He was a credulous but good-hearted young man, idealistic and rather vague He told me that he had settled m Pans after marrying a girl of some country which he did not like to name She was most beautiful, perfect in dress, taste and bearing In the suite of rooms they occupied she managed everything perfectly for his comfort She never did a thing or spoke a word which did not evince love and endearment He had staked his life and his all on her loyalty Some time after his marriage, he had occasion to go outside the city on an inspecting tour relating to the duties of his office This tour was to last for more than a week He left his wife alone because her presence would have interfered with his work The tour was interrupted, and, as it happened, 64 INDIA’S MCSSAGD Of PLACE he returned home unexpectedly It was past midnight He knocked at the door but Iheic was no response He pushed the call button The bell rang After repeated knocks he heard two hushed voices but there was no answer A great suspicion rose in his breast When the door was opened he lushed in and was shocked to see a man he had never met before In the consterna- tion of tne moment the intruder slipped out His fust impulse was to pursue him , but on second thought he decided to interrogate his wife What she said lemoved all doubt — he had lost her He was visibly moved as he told me the story With his wife he had lost all his savings He did not want to disclose the nationality of his wife or anything further , and I did not press him After meeting this misfortune he lost all peace of mind and nearly went off his head He had to resign his post When sanity returned, he read many books about chastity in India’s womanhood and peace m India’s life of poverty, and in the hope of getting some solace had come to India Also in the Asram, was Sun Tung, a Chinese youth of aristocratic descent and high culture Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, brought up m ease and comfort, he knew nothing of the struggle of life But a time came when he was violently dispossessed of his properties His friends and seivants failed him Other misfortunes followed His wife and only son died When he was travelling with what little cash and jewels were left, a gang fell upon him and he was robbed of all He was of a religious bent In his misery he read the Gita and donning the garb of a monk came to India, with a hope that he might know more of the cultural heritage of India which enabled her to evolve the matchless power of non-violence Another guest was Akbar, a youth born to a very rich Arabian family In his early youth he was almost intoxicated, he told me, with pride of belonging to the most superior race and religion in the world After A NEW LIFE 65 the death of his parents, he inherited great wealth Bur there were frequent riots between the Muslims and Greeks, and between the Muslims and Jews in his country Once while he was away from home, there was a big not, in which his house was destioyed and most of his property lost He learnt that in Nehiu’s India a small minority of forty million Muslims were living without suffering any oppression m the midst of a great majority of three hundred million Hindus ; and that in its Government and society some of the highest positions of power and con- fidence had been entrusted to Muslims He had come to India to see how big majorities and small minorities were living together m perfect peace and amity. Finally there was a dark skinned youth, named Mano He had read m an English school and m his contact with the other boys he found no racial prejudice But when he grew up and enteied life, he found that men of other races and colours looked at him with some contempt This he took to heart and learnmg that in India’s SARBODAYA society, founded by Gandhiji and growing by Vmoba’s industry there was no such distinc- tion, and that men of different races, religions and colours — ^Hindus, Muslims, Sikh, Christians, Buddhists, animists, aborigines and others were living in perfect peace with equal rights and opportunities, he had come to India One day, when all of us six foreigners had got our- selves ready for our tour, we went to Dadaji, told him of our readiness and asked him if someone could be spared to accompany us Dadaji said “of course and sent for Govin, who seemed very happy indeed at the prospect of going with us Having grown according to the conditions of our different countries we ml had different backgrounds and varying pi oclmties , but ail of us wanted to know what dynamic social and religious 5 66 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE force there was in India to produce such notable leaders of religion and morality as Rama and Krishna m pre- historic times, and Buddha, Ashoka and Gandhi within the last two or three millennia This was what we were going to find out, if we could, as we moved about the country. So it was that we collected our equippage and looked forward to the day of starting with the eagerness of children On the appointed day we went to Dadaji He told us to be careful about our health and advised us to be cautious and respectful towards the villagers — cautious because owing to universal exploitation by the learned of the unlearned masses, they had become suspicious of educated people He also asked us, among other things, to find out their difficulties , to do little kindly acts of charity in their sorrows and miseries , remembering all the while that they are our human brothers and sisters, that they now suffer their present woes because they did not get and are not getting the opportunities of life that we the visitors got or are getting “Do unto them what you would expect them to do to you if you were m .their circumstances and they in yours Remember your past troubles in life and how you then expected the whole world of good people to help you out of them Helping the poor and needy with real sympathy and sincerity uphfts the human heart” All of us bowed to Dadaji and started a tour into the interior of the country We moved in different parts and gathered some knowledge of the kind of life that the people live in those parts What made a painful and lasting impression on our mind, was the stark poverty of the masses, livmg almost sub-human lives in the viLages, steeped in ignorance The tremendous contrast between the ease and the gay life of the city and the hard grinding poverty in the villages was a painful sight PART n. The Quest for GOD CHAPTER 1. The Soul of the Universe During the course of our tour, and after our leturn, we often discussed God Lentoy, who flatly denied the existence of God, was not much interested Sun Tung said that no doubt God exists, but as we cannot know Him, we need not attempt the impossible, and should do our best to improve ourselves, our family and the world around us, morally and spiritually, as our ances- tors have done We must follow the ways of our fathers Akbar said that there was surely a God, that Mohammad was his only prophet and that the Koran was the final word, which all should follow Edmund accepted God and said that we ought to pursue a ceaseless search for Him To know God is an irrepressible human urge , and to believe m God is to live and act as though He is watching us Mano said that God undoubtedly exists but that man can only make very imperfect, even crude ideas of the tremendously vast Reality Govin said that the one Great God is realised according to the receptive capacity of the individual Since all men can't be m the same plane of God — consciousness , since there must be lower and higher levels of spirituality among the intel- lectually advanced and less advanced, 3ust as there is between a genius and a dullard, m the journey Godward every one must begm from where he is And smce a child or backward man cannot conceive the beginnmgless and endless God, it is wisdom for him to make a sjunbol of the kind of Godly power that he can conceive of, and then live m the presence of that idealised symbol It 68 INDIA'S MESSAGE OV PEACE matters not whether beginners worship their God through a piece of wood or a stone or a p.cture a cross, an image or the like Having started thus, they can proceed higher and higher in the quest The value lies not in the image or idol but in the effort to set a mundane mmd on its 30urney towards God On these lines we had interminable discussions, without reaching a conclusion So one day after prayers were over, we asked Dadaji to give us a simple exposition about God Addressing Lentoy, he said D — ^Now Lentoy, besides your physical body, which is visible to the naked eye, you have a mind also L —Yes I have I have also a heart and a soul D — It may not be possible for us to realise at this stage the subtle distinctions made m psychology between mmd, heart, soul and the like Leaving aside the intellectually-constructed differences, let us for our pre- sent discussion take all of them as different phases of some kmd of energy, quite distinguished from the physi- cal body, which is spatial and visible to the eye L — 'W e may do so D — How can you see or locate this energy in the body'' L — No, I can’t But I feel it D — ^Now when you say I have a body and I have an energy m me, you posit how many entities L — ‘Body’ and ‘Energy’ — two entities D ^What about the “ I ” which says “ my body and my energy” L I see Yes, there are three entities P Now when the tired body is restmg, or when he foot slips and the body tumbles, who is it that lifts the body up L — do so THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 69 D — ^But who IS the ‘ I ’ ’ Lentoy thought a while and said — L:— No, I can’t answer You enlighten me, Dada]i Edmund intervened and said It is the unseen power within us D — ^Wliat do you think of Edmund s view ’ L • — ^Yes, it IS the unseen power that we have D — But remember you say not T’ have a body but you also say “I have this power” When you say *T have this power” you again refer to two powers “I” and “ Power ” L . — You enlighten us Dada]!, I can’t really answer it D — I hope the truth will come home to you all later For the present let us suppose that this ‘ I ’ is the abstract concept of the power within the body When you are asleep, and the physical body is almost like a dead body, if you have a dream it is a phase of this power within you that sees, hears, moves in the dream In a second it travels from India to America In a moment, one scene changes mto another And what is important to note is that, for the time being, the unreal scenes appear to be real , and you remember the incidents — the talks you have, the sights you come across with in the dream, after you wake up from sleep In deep dreamless sleep, this power remains still , per- haps it enjoys something because when it wakes up, it remembers that it had a good sleep, and feels happy All these show the existence of an unseen power, as distmguished from the visible body Now because the power immanent m the body can lay the body down, move it, regulate it and use it even as a master controls his servant, we can say that the immanent power transcends the body also L —Yes 70 INDIA’S MTSSAGL Of ?rj\CL D —Now take the case of an oil lamp The Hamc which you get is not there in the oil or wick, hut arises from them when the wick is lighted The difference in electiical potential between cloud and cloud creates lightning and thunder Now, rub your light palm with the left rapidly , you v/ill get heat which was not there before On account of such phenomena, scientists thought till about the end of the 19th century that by the play and inter-play of the material parts of oui bodies, energy comes as an acc.dent They showed that by the play of the atoms, the heart beats, by the beatings of a man's heart, blood is pumped into the veins and circulates throughout the body You may be interested to know, that the velocity of this circulation is not slow If you ever see it with the help of appropriate reflecting instru- ments, you will find that the speed of our blood currents is several miles an hour This rapid circulation of blood causes our physical parts to play and mter-play, and keeps life going As you know, the mam centres of this process are the heart, the lungs and the brain It has been proved that if any one of these three parts fails — naturally or artificially— life goes out "l^en death begins at the heart, they call it heart failure This happens when there is a shortage of blood, due to exces- sive bleeding or the reduction of the strength of the blood from some great fright In the case of strangula- tion or drowning, death occurs first in the lungs from lack of air Engines which are run by water, steam, oil and elec- tricity are instances of power arising from the fnction of molecules m material substances The material objects are so assembled and coordinated that the machines when started, work like livmg beings, so long as they are kept m order and are properly fuelled and not stopped But the assemblage, coordination, starting, and tuelling of the engine are all works of thought, and almost all scientists are now agreed that thought can’t THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 71 come from matter. You know that by his power of thought, man is subjugating the mateiial objects of nature such as water, steam, oil, electricity, etc The steam engine, the wireless, X-ray, aeroplanes, radio, are all instances of subjugating matter to the service of man By this power he is also subjugating and using in his service many of the other animals of creation, such as horses, cows, lions, tigers, etc This power of thought possessed in higher degree enables a man to ccntrol or guide the lives of other men having it in lesser degree — parents controlling children, teachers guiding pupils, leaders guiding the masses But we have strayed a bit from the point We have found that the unseen power within us is immanent and transcendant Now suppose you are walk.ng in a solitary place, and you suddenly see, behind a bush, a child wearing valuable ornaments being throt- tled to death by a ruffian who seeks to take away the ornaments You don’t know either the child or the ruffian, you never saw or heard of them before What would you do L: — should knock the ruffian down and save the child D — What feelings in your breast would move you to do so ’ L —Anger towards the ruffian and sympathy to- wards the child D . — ^You thus see that when you find the ruffian gripping the child’s neck, although the child’s or the ruffian’s body do not at all come mto contact with your body, the mere sight generates m you feelmgs, so strong that you would not hesitate to endanger your own safety to save the child So even without any visible physical contact with the bodies of the child or the ruffian, two kinds of feel- ings arise in your breast, one bemg of anger towards the 72 INDI/v’S MESSAGE OF PEACE miscreant and the other being fellow-feeling towards the child Tliese foices also arise from the power that IS within your body. Now 3ust as there exists a power in your body which IS functionmg always, we can infer the existence of a function-ng power in the Universe L —But why should we infer something which is not apparent D — Why do you infer the existence of a power within your body although it is not apparent L — ^Because I feel it D —Just as you have an unseen power which you feel, I and other human beings also have unseen powers which each feels for himself Would you deny such power in us L —I can infer its existence D — So, by inference you know that there is some- thing positively existing in us Now close your eyes for a moment and try to com- prehend the unseen power which is m you and then try to comprehend a similar power in the world — ^pervading this Asram (hermitage), the surroundings, the country, the globe, and the universe with its milhons of suns, moons and stars Lentoy tried and said — L — ^No, I can’t comprehend the power withm me, far less the power pervading all creation ^ ^You can’t do it at this stage of your mental and spiritual growth You are used to seemg and imagining concrete things But the power we are discussmg is an undefinable mysterious power In a radio you hear the sound after it is amplified by the mechamsm in it Before you heard the radio song, it was there already in the air Because you could not hear it without the radio, you can’t say that it was not there Now just as you needed amplification to hear it, your jiresent mental THC SOUL or THL UNIVLRSE 73 power needs amplification to comprehend the power within your body and then the power pervading the universe L: — see. D * — Now wliat do 3 ou find m this world ’ Is every- thing in it moving haphazaidb'' ’ Does the sun rise one day in the east and anothei day m the west or in the north or south? Is a ciocodile born one dai"" from a cow*^ Does a Iime-tiec sometimes produce a mango‘s In other woids is this world a chaotic confusion of wild and erratic foices Is it a planless, purposeless phantasmagoria, a confused imbroglio of blind chances Or IS it a world that has laws and lules of relativitj'" of cause and efiect. and of gravitation*^ Is it not a vital system in w'hich millions and millions of suns and stars are moving in their pi escribed orbits for millions of years wnthout ever colliding w^ith one another, day followed by night, season by season , water, air, electri- city all functioning in their characteristic ways Is there not an organising or socialising tendency, some Rind of power 01 force or impulse that mtegrates and marshals things into order , a push, a dnve, welling up within all and always surging up to reach a higher level The modern scientists say that positrons, neutrons, mesotrons and the like move constantly an oim electron ; that electrons gather together atom , that about 5 atoms gather together and make a molecule But why ’ Why these gathering and organismg themselves like this a^J^hese Llhons of years and thus fulfilling creation ’ Why do blood corpuscles gather together and make ^ Chmes Wall ”, as it were, in the blood current to Prevent matoa germs from defeating them in a Si pm selves do domesticated buffaloes, which fight among tieer crowd together to save the herd from an attack S S or leoparf ’ Ants, bees and termites a city of their own, keep it in a sanitary qualities of patriotism and even of martyrdom Th y 74 INDIA'S MLSSAGL Of PnACX have no! learnt Ihc'-e Ihmns from man For millions and millions of years, lon/r, lonn before the appearance of man on earth, they developed these powers of organi- sation, sociahsaticn, patriotism and mai tyrdom vN hence did they get them*^ How is it that small children, quite unlettered and ignoi ant, agi CO on lulcs foi then nev 1> devised plays and games How is it that they carry on their activit.es of sitting, standing, running sing.ng or doing other things in some kind of order and sequence ’ Whence do they derive those powers of devising rules / And after adopting their rules, how is A that many of them, who seldom care for their parent’s behests, or their teacher’s lessons, agree to abide and do actually abide by those self-enacted laws , and vdien on viola- tion of the ‘Act’ by any one, the Dudge says “you are out” the delinquent does go out Do v'c not see instances of organisation every day in front of our eyes, unities m diversities, m the peipctually shift. ng pheno- mena of the world, m the ceaselessly renewing flux of existence‘s What do you think Is the universe one of order or is it a mere confusion of chances and acci- dents L — Surely there is system and order, there are laws and rules — the same causes producing the same effects . water, air, steam, electricity harnessed according to their natures, producing the same effect, doing the same services D — If you extend your study in the matter you will find that the law or laws governmg the universe have been accepted by all men who have given thought to the subject In the very first hterature of the Aryan mind, the Rig Veda, this law is called Rta In the Bhagabat Gita (or Lord’s Song) it is called NTTI and Prabartita Chakra (the ordained cycle) In Buddhism it is the Dharma- raakra or cycle of Niyamas or Rules — consisting of Karma lyamas (laws of action) Utumyam (laws of inorganic -substances) Bija Niyam (laws of seed), Chittaniyam THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 75 (laws of mmd) Dharmaniyam (laws of human stand- ards) The philosophers of China about 1000 B C called the law of the universe “Yang and Ym” Men- cius, a Chinese philosopher of 300 BC called it “Chi” meanmg the vital energy (of Heaven) The Iranians call it Asah or Arta. The ‘Ratum’ or ‘Ratio’ of the Romans and the “Pax” of Augustine connote a cognate idea According to Taoism (a religion found in China and Japan) it is the ' way ’ of the Tao It is the Dharmakaya of Nagarjuna, and the Bhuta-tatha of Aswaghosha It is called ‘ Universals ’ by Plato , ‘ Logos ’ by the stoic philosophers of the West , Intellect of Gcd by Hebrews “Natuia Naturans” by Spinoza, creative eneigy by Shelley and “Elan Vital” by Bergson Bradley says : “In all this diversity of existence, we saw nothing opposed to complete harmony and system in the whole . . we could discover nowhere the sign of a recal- citi ant element” (Appearance and Reality ) After this exposition Dada]! began to question Lentoy again Now if there is no teacher in a class, no President in a public meeting, no referee in a football game, what would you find ’ L — ^Pandemonium. D . — Since you do not find the world a pandemo ♦ mum, but a vital organisation of laws, don’t you thmk there must be a guide — a controller of this great cosmic order L * — ^It certainly looks like it D —So. let us take that there is a guide or controller of the Universe L —But again I find a difficulty My body is closely knit Each gram of flesh touches another, each drop of blood touches another, the bone, flesh, blood all adjoin one another So an intelligent coordinating power is 76 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE there in me But m the case of creation there are big gaps between one thing and another D — ^Leibnitz, a German philosopher, says that we are all a collection of monads only — the monads being living particles of matter If you see in a microscope a drop of your blood, or a fragment of your bones, flesh or brain, you will find that you are not one You are a collection of innumerable particles, all separate from each other And again each particle is a separate indi- vidual — a collection of cells, each cell a collection of molecules each molecule a collection of atoms, each atom a collection of electrons, neutrons and the like In spite of the gaps between such atoms and electrons, 3^ou consider yourself to be a single entity On the same analogy, in spite of the big gaps you see, in the umverse the universe may be a bodily entity Later you will reahse that the different parts of the universe are as closely connected with one another as the parts of your own body are If there be nothing 3ommg New York to Moscow, how could you hear m Moscow a radio broadcast from New York‘S If nothing connects your body with the bodies of the child victim and the throttlmg ruffian, in the mstance we examined, why should your feehng be stirred for either of them ’ Some link there must be, though your physical eyes can’t see it The body of the universe cannot be visible to our human eyes But every fragment m it is part of an organic whole, the great body (Biswa rupa) Are you now convmced that just as there is a power m your physical frame, in it but transcending it, so also there is a power m the physical creation immanent in it, but transcending it Am I clear ’ L—Yes D Now have you ever seen anywhere an out-and-out fool doing thmgs regularly, punctually, in THC SOUL or THC UNIVERSE 77 Older and according io laws and lules, system and methods, controlling others L —No To maintam system and oidei there must be an intelligent power behind D, —Right. The power that guides and controls and lilies this universe — the Noumenon that keeps the phenomena in order cannot be unintelligent, hapha- zardly working chance It must be an intelligent power L --Yes D .—Now let us proceed Whether you are here or in Moscow, whether you are asleep oi awake, whether you are bathing or eating or lying in illness, the presid- ing power m you is always there Outward movements and momentary clianges do not change the fundamentals of the person that you are L —No D — ^Just as the power in you remains fundamentally unchanged, in spite of the changes undergone in your body while eating, sleeping, travelling and the like, the universal power also remams fundamentally un- changed in spite of the changes — ^the passing shows, causef^ in creation by death and devastation, by floods and famines, by epidemics and wars, by revolutions ana renaissances L -—Yes D — ^Let me sum up our conclusions We have found — (1) In man, a power immanent in the body but transcending it at the same time (2) In the world, a power immanent in it and transcending it also at the same tune (3) This power m the universe, as in the human body, remains in its fundamentals unchanged in spite of the physical changes occurring in it 78 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE (4) Like the intelligent power m man, this univer- sal power IS also an intelligent one (5) Just as we know the intelligent, guiding power in us we can also know this guiding and in- telligent power of the creation Let us now consider how immense the intelligence of this Controller is The earth, in a tiny little corner of which we are now sittmg IS, m shape, like an orange with a circum- ference of about 25,000 miles It seems flat but is not really so It is round It has a coat of air fifty miles thick , but the upper layers are weighmg down upon the lower ones, with the result that the air nearer the earth is heavier than the upper layers When aeroplanes fly very high and the air is found rarefied, the men in charge release oxygen from tubes and thicken the air to sustain human life which can’t subsist without inhaling air of a required density When Tenzing Norkey went to conquer Mount Everest he took with him apparatus for mafang oxygenated air of the required density to sustain him m the rarefied air at 29,000 feet Our earth is 93,000,000 miles distant from the sun and 240,000 miles from the moon If you could imagine a railway tram starting from the earth travellmg at the rate of 40 miles an hour vuthout stopping anywheie on the way foi even a second, it will take about 265 years to reach the sun In other words, if two families begin a 3ourney on it with new-born babes and they mutually marry their respective daughters and sons, and each generation begets m its 25th year, then count- ing from the babies that were first taken in the tram, the survivors of the parents will reach the sun while the boys of the eleventh generation will be about 15 years old You can thus form some idea of the distance The earth which seems to us so stationary is not really so It is always m tremendous double motion revolving at the rate of over one thousand miles per THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 79 hour round its axis and running at a greater speed in its journey round the sun According to the Biblical view, the earth is the centre and the sun, moon, etc were moving around it But Galileo made observations through a telescope of the sun and other planets , and after verifying his findings, declared that the sun is not moving round the earth but the earth is moving round the sun Thereupon, the then Christian leaders threaten- ed to burn Galileo alive unless he recanted the heresy of saying things contrary to the Bible We now know for certain that Galileo was right and the Chr.stian leaders were vTong The earth takes a year to finish its journey round the sun As in the course of this journey, the sun’s rays fall in varying degrees on its different parts, we get the varying seasons of the year — summer, rams, autumn, winter, cold and spring When it is summer in India, it is winter elsewhere Like our Sun with its solar system there are millions and millions of other suns with their systems in this universe Each is called a nebula According to the latest views of the scientists, our earth came to existence about 2,000,000,000,000 (two billion) years ago , life on it first began about one billion years ago , and man was first born on th.s earth about 1,000,000 (a million) years ago (One million is ten lakhs and one billion is 1,000,000,000,000 ) We are told of a nebula whose light, travelling at the tremendous rate of 186,000 miles per second, reaches the earth in ten million years It is said that there are telescopes now which photographically show nebulae whose light takes 500,000,000 years to reach us. It is believed that there are ether nebulae whose light, commg at this terrific speed, has not yet reached the earth since its creation — two billion years ago Our earth has a diameter of 8,000 miles Modern telescopes show a star whose diameter is estimated to be about 1,000,000,000 miles How tiny is our earth when BO % romn.iu*t\ In ih'xt * A*\tono)p»’ nt'bul.< of th' 1 f Ml '» V,' It,' '*•'1 liUfO !£)’«» tb'it O' mimbtr toa\ h'- rnou* !h n .Jii Ih-* of Uu vorld Coino.'i'd th< fniuf 'truvf* », o .it.h, hQ v.isl U) vj' vilii ! of bOi'j ri.tl* '.nu siv conlinuit'— A mo. nu Irab.o. Afion, Tutopf. and Snub' Atncttca ,Ui’ o^*' .u, ; than the mill’onth prit nf nnr j t t tj of non ukI (Can you uTiaf'ino hoi infiutUs rnaih. Uuy puuy you nr« > These facts ceem fanbrlic-. h\sl tiny ato fart, r^'Ui ihiou'^h iclc-copos and a''cont<'d ns to^'iccl b" nUtt') t cvciy seicnto't of lepuk Such IS liic tiemcndous Yaihn*''.'^ of (Ttaticm V.i find A difT'cult lo beep piopcr order and dsneip^tn* anywhere tn a Goicinmenl n a ounfUt'^ n u ionipnn>, in a sciiool, oi c\cn in our ov n amnU hornen We h.ivt to plan and picpaic if we want to Yoop order In spUi of oui hardest attempts and our unnlentme vntjl.inct there are disorders, aberrations and misfirf". in all o.ir afTaiis There arc so many nee dents But in the ticincndous immensiu of cienl.on, v/hero Inlhons of billions of stais and nebulae nic continuously runnins’ some at the rate cxceedmR 100,000 000 miles an hour, there are no clashes, no collisions, no cntastiophics and no calamities Pondoi the Rta. the law, that the Controller of the universe has made, ponder the ceaseless Mpil that He must be keeping m mamtammg each of the billions of bill.ons of stars and planets m its propel place and ordei m their eternal activities Sliould we by our sms and evils add to His burden ? Is it net ungrateful for us to do so ’ It is perhaps to bring home to Arjuiia this eternal activity, the Loid m the Gita tells him "I am in incessant activity If I were not in eternal v.gil, the worlds will perish ” "Yadiaham Nabarteyam jatukarmanyatandrita utsedeyu ime lokah We have known the universe on the side of its immensity Let us now look at the other end, the minute side In the Gita, the divme teacher asks the THC SOUL or THE UNI\OSE 81 disciple to ponder on the Lord not only as the Being vvilhout beginning or end (Anadi, Ananta) but also as the minutest of the minute (Anoraniyansham) Remember that until about the end of the 19th century scientists thouglit that the minutest uncuttable stiucture of matter was the Atom You can form some idea of what an atom is fiom the following scientifically calculated fads In one cubic inch of gas there can be 450,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules This is wonderful But the wonder does not end hei e Each molecule is made up of about 5 atoms So 450,000,000,000,000,000,000, multiplied by 5. atoms aie there in each cubic inch of space Till about 30 years ago science had probed thus far The atom was legarded as the finally uncuttable stiuctuie of matter But recent discovery has found that each atom is a world m itself, having a planetai'y system of its own, which may be likened to the planetary system of the sun You have heard ot the fiightful atom bombs, only two of which devastated in a moment the whole of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (in Japan) m 1945 you have read of the experiment of the hydrogen bomb in 1954 in the Bikini Islands which brought death to millions of fish and other animals and injured several fishermen who were fishing m remote seas The power of these fearful weapons depends on the intensity of the geneiated speed of the particles It os the terrific speed of the tiny bullet discharged from a rifle which effects the killing of a giant elephant Such a bullet, travelling as slowly as a man walks would not kill even a fly The atom bombs are so made that the atoms of highly condensed metals whose elements exploding in succession by the application of automatic electric switches, spread out in terrific velocity and devastate all that they touch Two or three such bombs projected from remote regions can in a minute turn to dust and ashes cities like New York, London, Pans, Peking and Calcutta Forbidden fruits of science can spell more evil than a million Satans can do 6 82 INDIA’S A4ES5AGE 01* PEACE But let us pioceed with our subject Till recently the atom was believed to be made up of only two particles, called electron and proton But these two components of the atom, aie now over-shadowed by many more newly — discovered strangers, positrons, neu- trons, mesons, photons and so on All these particles move around a nucleus and the whole system forms a single atom The speed of the photon is so great that it can go round our earth seven times in a second The speed of the electrons is about 120,000 miles a second Some of these discoveries are so recent that you do not find the newly corned names m dictionaries printed even as lately as 1948 These particles are so infinitesi- mal that scientists deny their visualisation The great astronomer Sir James Jeans, points out that “the tendency of modern physics is to resolve the whole material universe into waves, and nothing but waves- bottled waves called matter and unbottled waves which we call radiation or light With this caution m mind It seems at least safe to say that the river of knowledge has made a sharp bend durmg the last few years Thirty years ago, we thought, or assumed, that we were heading towaids accepting an ultimate reality of a mechanical kind, which seemed to consist of a fortuitous jumble of atoms, destined to perform meaningless dances for a time under the action of blind purposeless forces, and then fall back to form a dead world Into this wholly mechanical universe, through the nlay of the same blind forces, life had stumbled by accident One tiny corner at least, and possibly several tiny corners, of this umverse of atoms had chanced to become conscious for a time, but was destined in the end, still under the action of blind mechanical forces, to be frozen out and again leave a lifeless world ” , Today there is a wide measure of agreement, w ich on the phys.cal side of science approaches almost 0 unanimity, that the stream of knowledge is headmg THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 83 towards the acceptance of a non-mechanical reality The universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine Mmd no longer appears as an accidental intiuder into the realm of matter ; we are beginning to suspect that we ought rather to hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter — not of course our individual minds, but the mind in which the atoms, out of which our individual minds have grown, exist as thoughts ” "The new knowledge compels us to revise our hasty first impression that we had stumbled into a universe which either did not concern itself with life or was actively hostile to life The old dualism of mmd and matter which was mainly responsible for the supposed hostility, seems likely to disappear, not through matter becoming in any way more shadowy or insubstantial than heretofore, or through mmd becoming resolved into a function of the working of matter, but through substantial matter resolving itself into a creation and manifestation of mind We discover that the universe shows evidence of a designing or controlling power that has something in common with our own individual minds We no longer think of external reality as a machine The details of its operation might be mecha- nical But in essence it would be reality of thought " Eminent scientists like Lodge, Eddington, Einstein and Shrodinger support this view As Bradley says '“Reality is inscrutable, perhaps the real sits apart, that it keeps state by itself and does not descend into phenomena The reality is viewed perhaps as immanent m all appearances, in such a way that it is alike and equally present in all We may fairly close this work then, by msistmg that reality is spiritual Outside of spirit there is not, and there cannot be,' any reality, and, the more that anythmg is spiritual, so much the more is it veritably real ” In our discussions we have found that the powei immanent in the Universe is an intelligent controlling 84 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE power The controlling power within us has the power of thought The cosmic order of the Universe proves that the power of the Universe also can thmk and is thinking This power of the universe which can intelligently think and is thinking is God. Men and religions in different parts of the world, m different periods of history have named this power differently. In the Vedas and Upanishads it is Brahma or Om In the Bhagabadgita, as dramatised to appeal to the human mind and to lead man in the practice of spirituality, through his worldly activities, it is the Purushottam- Siikrishna In the Hindu scripture it is Parameswara The old Egyptians of the days of Ikhnaton called it Aton The Zoroastnans call it Ormuz Accordmg to the Buddha it is the ‘Unborn’ something” It is reality. It is “the great spirit” of Chiang Yee , the Heaven of Mencius (Chinese Philosopher 300 B C ) Taoists call it the Absolute Tao, Hebrews called it Yahweh , the Aztecs of Mexico called it Tloque Nahuaque In Babylon it was called Marduk In Asia Minor the Hittites called it Miidraashshiill Christians call it God, Muslims call it Allah In Shintoism it is called Izanagi and Izanami It IS Aristotle’s unmoved mover — primum mobile Plato’s Unseen Abiding Reality— 'the Demiurgus It is Anaxa- goras’s Nous, Hegel’s Absolute Ideal, Fichte’s Divine or Absolute Ego “which breaks up m a multiplicity of things as the one light in the Prism is broken up mto a number of colour rays ” It is Schopenhauser’s Absolute Will, Nietzche’s Will Power, Spencer’s Unknowable , and Mathew Arnold’s power of Righteousness It is the 'libido’ of Western psychologists It is the First Cause of many thinkers in the East and West , the Ayin-soph or Ensof, the Ungrund or Mysterium Magnum , the noumenon, as opposed to phenomenon Akbar But surely some of these expressions real- ly mean law or laws, not God ? the soul of the universe 85 D — ^In the mental sphere there can be little differ- ence between the lawgiver and the law Take for instance the government of India or of any other country The Government is not the President or the King or the Prime Minister It is not any judicial or Executive or Legislative body or its head It is not any single individual or cluster of individuals It is not the government buildings or its records It is the totality of all The blended totality of the intangible and the tangible, the laws and rules, the decrees, orders and circulars, the meanings and understandings, the spirit and philosophy converging on the Government, and men who work and administer all these You can’t conceive the lawgiver without the law. The lawgiver and the law are one As the Hebrews say "God and the intellect of God are one ” Science has now established the absence of any fundamental distinction between energy and matter Not that matter first came, and mind came later by accident, but that there was first thought or spirit, and that matter is a bottled form of it A magnet attracts small pieces of iron Lovers attract their beloveds Spiritual saints attract spiritual minds All these show the pervasion of a similar unseen power in all. As such, the philosophical discussions about dualism and their modifications, permutations and combinations, as made m India— Ramanu 3 a’s modified Dwaitabad in the 11th century, Nimbarka’s Dwaitadwaitabad in the 12th century, Madhaba’s Dwaitabad m the 13th century and Vallabha’s Shudhadwaitabad m the 14th centuiy , and also as made m the Dualistic and plural- istic (pure and modified) schools of Western Philosophy with their mam protagonists Descartes m the 17th century and William James m this century, and several others in different periods, seem now emptied of their force Besides it is simple common sense that there can- not be two or more than two ultimate principles nr real- ities governing the universe. Two or more independent 86 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE masters— emperors, autocrats or despots or even two Presidents oi Prime Ministers with then individual- istic predilections and idiosyncracies but with equal sovereign powers to run the affairs of a country — cannot be a practical possibility There must in that case be 3 ars and collisions And if they co-operate or unite for a common purpose, the two cease to be two. They become a united one The ultimate reality — call it Brahma, God or Allah— cannot be two or more than two The very expression ‘ultimate’ connotes one To speak of two ultimates is contradictory The ultimate is one Besides, recent biological discovery shows that in the beginning there was not sexual but asexual reproduction of life by the amaeba dividing into tw*o It has been found that the Annelida — a monocellular worm, becomes two by dividing This discovery which revolu- tionises old notions and provokes further thought, lends support to the Upanishadic truth reached thousands of years ago “The one became many” “Aatmaa Abhut Bahubhutaani” The Vedic monism, the Upanishadic Brahma, found more than five thousands years before Christ , affirmed by Shankara in the 9th century , developed by Ananda- giri in the 13th century , by Sndhara in the 14th century, and by MadhUsudana in the 16th century; reinforced by the views of Socrates (the Father of Western philosophy) in the fifth century BC , of Spinoza m the 17th century AD and of many other Western Philosophers, is now confirmed by the dis- coveries of science The ultimate stuff of the universe is not matter It is spirit The source of spirit is God No scientist can tell you what electricity is He can only say what it does From the effects produced, he infers it and gives it the name electricity So ' front the effects we have to infer the cause— God The source Tf It matters little by what name we calPHim' it the word God is unpalatable call Him TruthrEteniab THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 87 Brahma or Sat (Sat means Truth as well as God) whichever appeals to you L .—No. Edmund now intervened and said; E — ^\Vhat about the views of the Atheists, Dadaji ? D : — ^Atheists, you know, are mostly town-dwellers Uvmg at leisure on easy income Not having to sweat m the field of Nature to earn their bread, they can’t d-scern God, who is very much nearer in nature than in cities An Atheist is like the Rahu of Indian mytho- logy who has only a head, but neither heart nor soul, and wants to glut himself by swallowing others. Let any Atheist, without taking with him any food, any gun or any scientific apparatus, go and live alone for a year m forests full of ferocious beasts and veno- mous snakes, let him sweat there for his daily food He will have to think of himself and his surroundings m the darkness of night He will soon find God both in nature and within himself Let any thinking man who is suffering deep grief go alone to secluded Nature, where she is undefiled bv man Very soon he will find God and His wonderful solace Nature is the ever-new book of God The Ved§s and Vedantas. the Gita and other religious wealth of India were made jn the forests— in the lap of undesecrated Nature Many of man’s misfortunes and aberrations today are due to his buildmg a life away from Nature Mahatma Gandhi felt the disease, and said . “ The cities are so many boils m the breast of India” Did you not see in your tour-s want and misery in the Mofussil and thoughtless waste and splendour m the cities, which fatten on the blood of the countryside? If you thmk, you will see that aU the food is coming from the country folk to the city folk, while all the evils of the city are flowing to the countryside, in every part 88 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE of the world All the miseries of the masses are due to their bemg sucked dry and Died white by city folks wno while preening themselves as civilised beings in fact behave like vampires They have abandoned God They mouth prayers m temples and churches and play the cheat m offices and on the black market On Sunday evening they are pious On Monday they are pirates Such IS the result of livmg away from God’s nature To show what atheists think, let us imagine the fol- lowing conversation between a Theist and an Atheist Theist —Let us suppose, Sir, that there is no God, but that from our fancies or phantasies we have fabri- cated a God and His laws of truth, love, doing unto others as you wish to be done by and the like. Do you think that because such an artificial God has been con- structed, mankind has become worse What has made man reach his present dignity, his sense of free will, his ideas of charity, fellow-feehng ’ How could we have had a United Nations Organisation such as we have today Now let us suppose the contrary There is no belief in God There are no laws of His, of truth, justice, doing unto others as you wish to be done by There being no such law, suppose, just now as we are talking, a man comes and spits in your face or tramples on you with the dirty heels of his shoes, as he might do if you were a piece of stone What would you say Athe.st — Surely m order that the human society may exist at all, far less, prosper, there must be some mutual understandings aliout reasonable behaviour — Surely But what conceptual difference is there between mutual understandings and mutual law Atheist — see Theist We can make governing principles or behaviour. Here is what Omar Khayyam on Atheist, says — THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 89 Ah love, could thou and I with Fate conspire To grasp this sorry scheme of Things entire Would not we shatter it to bits— and then Remould it nearer our Heart’s Desire ^ This IS very good poetry But can human beings oi society make the laws for the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies ? Can we enact the laws of nature to suit our idiosyncracies, as Omar Khayyam wants to do Atheist ' — ^No We have to discover the laws which ah’eady exist in these matters Theist — Laws are products of thought, aren’t they ’ Atheist — ^Yes, they are Theist . — Can you conceive of thought without a mind ’ The difference between me, a Theist, and you, an Athejst, IS a difference of outlook and not of substance. You say the universe is material, all is chance But chance has no memory, consciousness or thought Smce there are these things in the world, I say the universe is spiritual. You admit that the material universe has law and order Law and order cannot but be the outcome of thought There can be no thought without conscious- ness and memory. There can be no consciousness, memory and thought without a “something” fiom which all these come This ‘'something” is God He is the abstract of the concrete world Human minds are part and (parcel of that universal mind, Man’s cry for God IS the part’s cry for the whole It is like the child’s cry £or the mother,— the “ whole ” of his life It is the lover’s longing for the beloved It is there in our very being To deny it is to deny our existence Men are not leally making them own laws , they are discovering God’s law s to adjust human society , just as scientists are dxscover- mg physical laws guiding’ material phenomena, and w’g are adjusting our lives accordingly Just as successive 90 INDIA’S MCSSAGC OF PEACE scientists are amending old views of science, so a^o arc philosophers and true humanitarians changing the old particularist views of racial, geographical and other fragmentary entities by the discovery of new laws which guide all mankind The Sputniks, rockets and artificial moons show that time is soon coming when we may discover the laws that relate us to the inhabitants of the other planets For as Mr Shapeley says “the elements of water, air, etc that we have on earth having been scien- tifically found to be existing m the sun, moon and many other such bodies, there is every likelihood of life exist- ing m them also” The forms of life there may be different They may be like the angels fancied by our poets or they may be far otherwise They may be more handsome than ourselves as we are more handsome than the lower species on our own earth Surely it is time that all we men of the globe co- operate and befriend ourselves, so that we may co-operate with the inhabitants of the other planets and progress in our pursuit to Goloka — the city of God And remember this , in this world of men’s miseries, of widows’ wails and orphans’ tears, it is only faith in God that can save us No philosophy, no religion, that can’t heal the sick of heart, and is theiefore unrelated to life, can have any lasting value No King or Emperor, no man of wealth or power, nor any philosopher has foisted the idea of God on the human heart It is a natural growth, each man content to view Him accord- ing to his own limited vision, rismg from lower to higher truths as his powers of comprehension grow From the crudest stone-and-wood worshipper to the highest Absolutist of a formless God, all experience blessedness and bliss from their belief m God Would you deprive desolate mankind of this supieme harbour of emotions’ Atheist —This aspect of the question did not strike me THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 91 At this point I intervened and said Em — Dadaji, it appears from this discussion that the words “ creation ” and “ creator ” are rather mis- leading D . — You are right To apprehend reality, we must be careful about words Words, must not be “ Bastush- unya” or “uncorresponding to reality”. When a word is used or understood in a sense not corresponding to reality, the mind strays to a wrong route from the right one We make wrong mferences and jump to wrong con- clusions Thus arise many of our errors and delusions and like the frog in the well, the mind bounded by the blunder fails to apprehend reality We should beware of such delusion Instead of using the words creation and creator, we should say Manifestation and Manifes- tor To think of this solid earth and universe coming out of nothing at all is absurd What is true is that like the huge banyan tree being present in the tiny banyan seed, the earth can be said to have been involved at one time and then evolved This involution and evolution (we call them Sankocha and Bikasha) can take place in only parts of the universe at a time— as allegorically described in our Matsya Purana and Agmpurana and in the Western story of the Deluge and Noah’s Ark The deluge could be on earth only, not affecting the umverse, which consists of the multibilhons of stars which the scientists have now discovered Let us take any piece of matter, a pencil, a gram of sand, this gross human body, this vessel before us, anything They can be pulverised into fine dust They can be burnt and turned into the five elements of earth, water, light, air and ether and then further into the 93 primal elements of modern scientists Thus their manifestations change from the gross visible shapes to invisible elements And these elements again take shape and manifest them selves as new embodied beings oi things In the ever changing world (Jagatyaam Jagat) what is created I-) only the new form, not the eternal and invariable prime 92 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE If you think of the universe coming to existence at (1) some time, (2) from some space, the mind will be bogged into interminable difficulties If you say that the uni- verse was created at a certain point of human time, then there would be unending question — what was there before that time Similarly regarding the space of the universe If you say that the universe was created from some other substance, the question would be, where IS that other substance outside the universe On ana- lysing the meaning of the word “Universe” — ^Jagat creation — ^world, you will find that time, space and sub- stance all coincide with the connotation of the word, all are contained in the concept of Infinity Let us revert I was telling you of God, of ‘Paiamatma’ the soul of the Universe, a particle of which IS there in you But as Mano says, you can con- ceive Him , your imagmation can embrace Him only to the extent that you have developed your powers of con- centration and imagination To give a physical illustra- tion, you can see and stand the flame of a 200 candle power light But supposing a million candle power light is flashed imto your eyes, can you bear it If you go to the Tata’s installation, you can’t stand the heat of the Blast Furnaces there In the Song Celestial — (Bhagbad- gita) when Aroun was shown the tremendous mightiness of the whole creation, gathered into one mighty shape, he could not bear the sight , he could not endure it Immediately he implored and prayed the embodied Immensity, standing before him m a terrific shape, to reappear in his human form, in the form of his friend and charioteer Krishna From the wonderful discoveries of science at both ends the mightmess and the minute- ness,— that we have now known, it is not possible for niere man to visualise God in a whole view Just as the conscientious trustee of a small boy of 4 or 5 years would not place m his hands, while he is mov- among ordinary people, a million dollar e onging to him , but would joyfully, do so when THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 93 he IS sufficiently grown up to use it well, so also God in his mercy will not let you have more than you can assi- milate and make proper use of With our body-bound or nationbound visions we cannot see God There is yet another thing As Mano often says — “The power to understand, infer and imagine are not the same with everybody A boy of ten can't undei- stand the Gita or the Bible or the Koran or the Zend Avesta or any other sacred lore , nor can he make infer- ences and deductions from what is there m the same way and to the same extent that a specialist m them is able to do To know God, a casual talk is not enough. You must specialise m that field of knowledge To reach God you must wend your way towards him It is not enough that you should know the way , you must march on the journey You can't know the sanctity and ecstacy of marital love without marriage You cannot reach a place of pilgrimage by simply reading timetables and railway guides or loolang at charts of ships or planes To memorise them or to count your rosary without actu- ally setting your foot on the journey will not advance you an inch in the path The memorising and daily recitation of the Gita or the Bible or the Koran or the Zend Avesta or other sacred literature cannot bring you to God unless you actually tread the path pointed out by them. But of that later A football player, if he is to be proficient and suc- cessful must know the field, the referee, the rules and principles of the game, the position in which he is to play The seaman going on a voyage should have a compass and a chart of the Ocean Wisdom ]*es in so doing It IS unwise to be heedless or ignoiant about such things Similarly for a successful journey in this woild every human being should have a general knowledge of the cosmology, the nature of the universe in which we live, as so fai known, of its referee, God and His rules,— truth, love, doing unto othcis as you vush to be done by and the like , of mans position and the 94 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE goal he has to reach Without such knowledge one can- not be successful or happy in life “Nahi Jnyaanena Sadrusham, Pabitram iha bidyate” — There is nothing sanctifying hke true knowledge It cures mistakes and resolves riddles At this point Sun Tung remarked : To be of use in life the God-idea should be planted before contrary ideas are hardened m the mind E — Yes Here comes the question of religion and religious practices With the Hindus, God is not an extra-cosmic ruler, sitting above the clouds away from the field of man’s struggle and rewarding or punishing him as a regimented university or a legalistic magistrate does With the Hindu, God is immanent in his very body, to inspire, befriend and lead him to the golden gates To the lay mind what a tremendous difference it makes between God viewed as a Magistrate and God viewed as a lovmg Friend, dwelling in the very bosom of lonely man With the Hindus, religion is not a set of dogmas and beliefs It is a way of life The Hindu’s bathing, sleeping, even love and procreation, are for furthering the work of God For him God’s directive is “Do whatever you do, eat, work, walk, serve, for Me, and since everything is from Me and everything is pervaded by Me, it is by the faithful performance of the task before you that you can be perfect, even as I am perfect ’ Yat Kaioshi Yad Asnaasi Yad Juhosi Yadaasi Yat Yat Tapasyasi Kaunteya Tat Kuruswa Madar- panam Yatah Prabiitti Bhutaanaam Yena Sarbamidam Tatam Tamabhyarchya Sidhing Bindati Maanabah THE SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 95 Wise Hindu teachers have devised ways and means to imbue all grades of people in society with the God- idea For the developed intellects and the initiated, there are the Vedantas and the Gita For the masses, there are the Ramayan, Mahabharat and Srimad Bhag- wat and their recital every evening For children, with minds filled by light thoughts, there is Kiishnalila— teaching by example, depicting and dramatising the marvellous feats by the boy Krishna — the Eternal Child protecting his playmates from heavy ram, killing a venomous snake and hideous birds which were terrors to the children of the locality For the military men there is the example of Krishna’s aid to Arjuna m the destruc- tion of Duryodhana and his cohorts — the spoliators of society Srikrishna never bore towards them any anger or malice, Arjuna was asked to fight without any desire for the tempting fruits of victory, but with the sole motive of saving society from their evil practices, as Brutus undertook the killing of Caesar To implant the God-idea from childhood, to subli- mate the humdrum course of life, many healthy and ennobling practices were adopted m India They appear to have been ruined by the notion of misguided persons to whom eveiy thing Hindu is rife with superstition — an attitude often engendered by a false or half-baked knowledge of Western culture But ancient traditions are not to be contemptuously spumed, they aie scaffolds for using higher If you wish to climb a building, a ladder is necessary If you kick away the ladder and leap to reach a high point, the violent act may bring a violent fall and a great set-back If there IS a rung broken in the ladder, lopaii it The old oidci must be changed by eliminating what is wrong in il, and thus making it new Accoiding to the Gamut— Clausius Law, or the Second law of Thoi mo-dynamics, there is an iiieveisible change in the bcliavioui of some of the ultimate struciuies of matter. Wc too musi change But you can't pioducc- a Galileo v'lthout a 96 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Ptolemy, a Copernicus and an Einstein without a Newton Theories of “four dimensions’ and the "nature of space” could not be built without the scaffolding of Newton’s gravitation It was in order to plant the God-idea in the mind of the child, in the Ignorant and the uninitiated that eveiy Hindu home was anciently viewed as a sanctuary, where the educa- tion of the soul began from infancy In such a home there was a Chapel where, morning and evening, the family deity used to be worshipped The Fatherhood of God is too high a concept to be grasped by a child Hero-worship is a step towards God-worship The elders m the family are the heroes of the youngsters God-worship, in India as in China, began formerly with the worship of parents, ancestors. Guru, and Pati Respect for elders is respect for the wisdom and experience stored up in age Besides that, ancestor worship is the heart’s offering of gratitude for all that we have received from them and for feeling in their imagmed company even more than Cowper felt when he gazed on his mother’s picture If a child views his parents as “(Maataa Dharma, Maataa Swarga, Maataahi Paramam Tapah, Maatari Pri- timaapanne Pnyante Sarba Devataa Pitaa Dharma Pitaa Swarga Pitaahi Paramam Tapah Pitari Pritima- apanne Priyanti Sarba Devataa)”^ as ideals of Dharma (standards), Swarga (Heaven) and Tapah (service) he will not be worse for it His emotions are sure to im- prove Mahatma Gandhi was not worse for massaging the feet of his father Kasturaba was not worse for massaging the feet of Mahatmap It might be no small gam to Western life, if the husband regarded the wife as a goddess as the Hindus do, and if the wife regards the husband as an ideal^ voluntarily chosen, with and religion, mother is heaven, mother Is penance , when mother Is pleased gods are also pleased Father is religion, rather is heaven father Is penance , when father is pleased gods are also pleased THC SOUL OF THE UNIVERSE 97 through whom she is to reach God After having one or two children, the couple may regard themselves as brother and sister, started on a 3omt pilgrimage to the city of gold. You must have come to know by now that the Hindu wife who worships the husband is regarded by the enlightened Hindu not as a chattel or as a mere object of lower passions, but as a goddess, as a Devi, as Grihalakshmi, i e. as God’s Messiah bringing prosperity to him Then there was in Hindu society the system of Gurupuja or worship of the teacher A student who addresses his teacher as a meie Mr, like his equal, is hardly likely to receive with reverence the knowledge that comes from him. The regrettable shortcomings of students today are not a little due to their sense of so- called equality with the teacher The Gita's advice is “Tadbiddhi Pranipaatena Pariprashnena Sebayaa ” “Re- ceive knowledge with devotion, inquiry and service ” It is by actually living and walking m the ways of parents, husbands, teachers, saints and other pure souls in society — embodied goodnesses, placed as elders before the child— that he can learn to walk m the ways of God To love and worship man is to love and worship God in man When we' Hindus offer oblations to the souls of our departed ancestors, we offer oblations n, are examples o uiucgenciate ignoiance And sinc'' the Great Kathei IS ii^ancnt m all, m eveiy human be.ng, of whatever laith 01 lace or countrs he may be, the billing or ur mg 01 insulting by any man of another man, in a private fight 01 a national v ar m m n religious or political feud, is the killing oi injuung or msmtmr of God m that man To hate or kill another is a double dPhhna » another sin is Putra-!ho^n Amnlnsya that ic: m inimoitality Let us then eliminate all merely separatist, all that is and be hannv^f otherw isc merely animalist, SchaL eve^X’n universal God. m an^in 1 :hoiX a desisting from injuimg shall be added unto ir Le^ul' smg’’- ‘'^‘^'‘'””8 O God, Most glonous called by many a name , Who by thy just decrees. controUest all We all thanked Dadaji for the exposition. realised how**soeiaf into^ ®>’ih<'aced one another and bring hearts close t ^course and religious discussions B nearts close to one another, how the unknown THC i\fCANMNG OF DE.ATH 103 bGComes known, distance becomes lessened, and strangers become brotheis my head on my pillow I pondeied the set-back in India’s spinlual life caused by the ills of modern civilisation Before I fell to sleep I said, “Hail India ' woild’s Research Laboiatory of spiritualism. Hail Bharat ’ sanctuary of savants — Rama. Krishna, Buddha. Ashoka and Gandhi What piomise maj'’ not there be in you CHAPTER II. 'Pile Meaning of Death As my days of study and discussion in the Asram lengthened, I found that my belief in God was increased and strengthened But although I was advancing m spiritual knowledge, a number of problems still per- plexed me I could see more and more how kmd and merciful God was — that His sun shone on us that His mercy poured on us in spite of our disobedience But I could not undei stand why God created Death Frequent discussions with Edmund, Lentoy, Akbar, Mano and Sun Tung failed to solve my problem So one day we asked Dadaji about it E.—Dadaji, what a tragedy death is' Whenever I think of my Alice, I feel a great void in me It must be so with all men and women who lose their dear ones Can you throw any light on this difficulty ^ D —Death does indeed come as a blow to mortal men If the departed played a large part in family, social, national or international life, the bereaved are stunned for the time Saints also become atfected by it even though it be for a while Christ wept over Lazarus and tears came to the eyes of Mahatma Gandhi when Kasturba died This happens because even the greatest of us are not farseeing angeis but human beings with the weaknesses 104 INDIA'S MDSSAGi: OP PEACD of the flesh and the limitation of our vision. Since v/c are social beings, living m company, and deriving from it all that sweetens life, whenever a close association breaks, thiough death or even by departure on a long Dourney, we feel the loss as if it were a loss of some part of our own physical body The more ignorant and infatuated we arc, the longer becomes the time needed to reconcile us to the loss And because men feel that a person who was actually living with them cannot be altogether extinct, practices have grown up in all parts of the world of giving m different foims, food, drink, clothes, and other presents to the dead, either in the grave or in couise of ceremonies performed after death he belief was so strong m ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia that on the death of a king or noble, not on y ood, fuiniture, clothes, cooking implements, gold were given to ’ ut what IS more startling is that sometimes thp ZZZ f ts were also buried alive inside order^ that otherwise killed, in mitht customary services to the departed might still be provided Later on there grew up the prevent it with drugs to food and furniturr"l were us?d m tL ‘ maunds of gold the Bntfst Pharaohs® In to be more than three tv, ^ damaged mummy believed was exactly htetha?nf “"“'^ 'yhose hair nails and he fie,h o‘ now. Even the me nesh on the toes were scarcely damaged Mu a noble'l5rthe^sSe”S''f?,°°''j°^ Poetry that when three friends of ihic ^ ^ (about 700 B C ) desired rrMpX'aTertrdS^h^^ the noble ha^ THE MEANING OF DEATH 103 In India, the institution of voluntary Sati, though conceived first as an enlightened ideal later deteriorated. In some backward countries of Europe too, bread and wine are put in the grave to sustain the dead tiU the Day of Judgment The institutions of Ancestor- worship in China and in India illustrate the gratitude of the human mind to departed ancestors for the blood, brain and other benefits inherited from them Some modern people who consider it boorish not immediately to return the visit of a friend who has called on them nevertheless condemn ancestor-worship which is nobler m conception Returning a call only presents the body to save the face ancestor-worship presents gratitude and saves the soul. E — -Dada]!, I did not dream that there was so much wisdom behind this practice, which, as you have ex- plained it seems a kind of ‘noblesse oblige', an inspiration to preserve and to further the spiritual “good will of the family D Now, I have told you all these thmgs to show ’the disinclination of the human mind to treat death as complete extinction In other words, the human mm , consciously or unconsciously holds that the physical body IS not all that we are There is an imPenshaMe spirih (Aatman) in it, which does not die with the death of the body In the Gita, when Arjuna, gnevmg over *he pros- pective death of his kinsmen, wanted to avoid his du y and indulged in idle talk of society orumblmg by their death, God told him among other thii^s ‘S® nil a post you must do or die in it You can attain the higheS m life by dying, if need be, at yojf must do this, however, without with no hankering for the fraits of victo^ , but w th supreme detachment from all earthly g ’ the sole motive of furthering the progress of society and INDIA’S MLSSAGi: OF PEAU: lOt) treating yourself only as an instrument of the dwne And to bnng home to him the truth God said ' ‘‘Death IS of the hesh What dies is the outer man. It is not the true man The true man, that is, the inner soul, if he is to play his due part on the stage of the world, must wear the body which is lequired by the shifting scenes, and throw this body off like an old garment alter his part is played out The spirit does not die — it cannot die It is uncuttable, unburnable, indissoluble, lui evaporating It was, it is, and it will for ever be Of itself it comes , of itself it goes Some weep for it, some worry for it, some wonder at it, but very few know the mysteiy of it He that knows its mystery will not be upset by death E — ^Is there, dear Dadaji, any way to know the mystery D — ^We shall try Now, as we found in our discussion about God, the ultimate Reality of the Universe is thought or spirit, not matter According to the scientists, matter is only a bottled wave of thought Such bemg the position there was thought or spirit first, and then matter Spirit or soul, which was there m the beginning, will always exist It cannot die We have found that the unconscious or conscious belief of all men living in different parts of the world in different periods of human history is that the spirit m man does not die The views of the author of the Gita, of the Vedantic philosophers, of Socrates and of many other eminent philosophers both in the East and the West is that the soul does not die According to scientists, nothmg in this world is destroyed There is only disintegration, change of form When waves die, they do not become extinct When water passes into vapour, it only n form All the mam religions — Hmdmsm, Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam hold that there are heaven and hell , and that the vir uous and the sinners will go and live m heaven or THE MEANING OF DEATH ' 107 hell in accordance with their good and bad lives in this world. Thus the common belief is that there is no extinction of the spirit It may go to heaven or to hell but exist it will So the unanimous view of all of lay men, of scientists, of philosophers, of Doctors and of Divines, is that the spirit in man, does not die Akbar — If this view is generally accepted, why do we all grieve ovei death ’ D • — Because we are both ignorant of reality and thoughtless. The mass of mankind is ignorant because it has no opportunity to learn or to think about high subjects It is not its fault But even literate and civilised men often behave like a herd Let any man of crdmary education, when afiaicted with sorrow, take pen and paper, write out why ® miserable, and thmk over it He will soon n reason for his misery except his own thoughtlessn E —Do things really work out like that D '—Yes, take the case of the death of your dear Alice You remember the prayer which , , pervades everything, and that we must mveting only what He knows that we deserve, without coveting more than what is given to us ’ E —But I loved my Alice and ^as was I, I was she I was content with her content with me I did not covet more ? should death end such a life ’ Is n not a tragedy D — ^Tragedy to whom E —Tragedy to me and tragedy to her D —Do you believe in heaven ’ E —Yes I do D -If a bright account to a higher class in the middle of y ’ j of his special merits, would you ca i lifted up lower class ’ Is it a tragedy if a pure soul is Iiltea up 108 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE from this dusty, dingy earth to the high heavens to hve with the angels, to worship and pray at the feet of the Father E — ^But IS my dear Alice there D —You know the saying “Whom the gods love die young” Why should you think that our merciful Father has not taken that good soul to a place much better than this world of spite, envy, hatred, malice and uncharitableness Did not the Priest tell you, when you went to Alice’s grave, that she was too pure a soul for this impure earth and that she is living in more hallowed country ^ ^Yes, I see But the grievous loss to me remains D ^Dearest Emeham, in your infatuation you don’t seem to realise the great selfishness involved m this atthude of yours If your Alice is now in the company ot God and His angels m heaven, is it really a blow, not a blessmg, to you ’ Surely you should find great gam, ]oy and happiness in it It does not really ease the torment of my bereavement fn h^v °^?f^words, your own selfishness blmds you of^bic; vigilant for the welfare vour enorl^f ’ He is, and has made laws for tor the good of all do you think he would ever let his roses be spoiled by company Now, let Z aT“u something Have you ever grown and reared plants ’ ^ course , m my garden suited to^^ nnrtt°'i*^^ ^ Particular plant was not Zre statable onZ"n?°‘- ^ ^ from their onein i uproot flower seedlings beds’ ^ transplant them in better E —Very often, naturally THE MEANING OF DEATH 109 ^ have told me that you served in the Army Did higher officers transfer lower officers from one place to another in the interests of the Army ’ E — Y ery often D — So the person in charge of a garden or institu- tion, who loves it and wants it to prosper, has to make changes and transfers Remember that while we do not know, God, the loving, merciful, and omniscient Father does know the place which befits each of us In his love for us and the world, and in order that we and the world may prosper, He has to take a man from one place, and put him in another for which he is fit, not in our, but in His eyes E — am beginning to see that death is a necessary evil D — I do not agree with you Death may be a necessary good For example, good people who have . been frustrated for no fault of theirs may after death gain fresh opportunities to further their good works, unimpeded by former errors or obstructions Those who have blundered or sinned in this hfe may get the chance of being good and pious m their next lives, having been removed by death from the unhealthy surroundmgs which had inspired and fed their vices If you remove a gambler or drunkard from the places which gave scope and encouragement for the growth of his vices, and keep him in a forest hermitage, under the tutelage of a saintly man, the dehnquent has a chance of being cured of his vice and of starting life afresh in a better atmosphere E — ^I see , but how about the case of a poor family whose bread-winner dies leaving a young widow and small children ’ In such a case the death of the earning member is surely a loss and evil to the rest of the family D —It may be a loss to them from their or your hmited view It may not be a loss at all from God s no INDIA'S MLSSAGL OP PJT^CL viewpoint How can you say definitely in such a case that if the male mcmbei had continued living foi some years more, the family would not liavc become pamper- ed or lazy or idle ’ The favoured in this world aie very otten idle drones They cause double loss to society ociety loses the food which they eat, and the construc- tive work which it has a light to expect from them for its own good After such a death as you describe the haidncss of iite may set the family striving and struggling to stand on then own legs, to shift for themselves in the world they can develop their latent powers, their strength and self-confidence, to tide over the storms and stresses of ^eir lives unaided by anybody else And remembei, ^od is there always, with His anxieties for his creation He makes the mother’s breast secrete milk when the baby is born He makes the hen hatch the egg. dis- regardmg her own hunger He makes the cow lick off the dirt from the calf He makes the cuckoo-chick fly m thP there is faith in the Father, evils lose their edge been^n^dSifn ^^P^ct Suppose there had Deen no death since the coming of man a million vearq STanv only births • Won d m^ch this earth How That TnTlTT , the world ^ TV ^ i TTf be for all employrJent insufficient food and 2,300 millions Tf present population nearly there once hvpri^ pre-historians say that measuring 60 ft^bv W ft Dinosaurs— huge reptiles K DU It by 10 ft A foot print of such a monster THE MEANING OF DEATH HI was found to be 52 inches in diameter If the paw be four feet four inches m diameter, imagine the stupendous bulk of the monster Besides there once were elephants twice as big as those that we see today, whales 100 feet or so in length, monstrous crocodiles, laying half a dozen or more eggs in a season There are msects and worms that multiply more than a thousand times a year A mature female of the worm called Ascaris Lumbncoides may, it is said, lay the stupendous number of 200,000 eggs everyday If there were no death, do you think such tremendous congestion of living creatures could be housed by this earth Remember further, that there would not only be arithmetical addition, but geome- trical progression also At first it would be like 2 times 2 = 4 or 2 plus 2 = 4 But thereafter it would be 4 times 4 = 16, and then 16 times 16 = 256 and then 256 times 256=65,536 and so on. And then, would you like to live on in unending decrepitude, dragging out a pathetic existence without any zeal, energy or daring to defy danger Who wants to endure for ever a tedious old age to lie like dead flesh on a sick bed ’ And if there were no death, what other alternative to life can there be ^ Imagine “shrunk shanks” “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every- thing” Would you like your own dear ones to drag on a wearisome existence of which they were mere victims'^ Would you wish such a fate for your Alice E — Of course not D —It IS therefore meet that old should make room for new blood, that bodies lacking in vitality should be replaced by fresh ones, brimming with vigour, to fulfil the Father’s will Now consider death from yet another point The energies, physical or mental that are in the universe, cannot go out of this universe because there cannot be ansrthmg beyond the universe In the smithy, old things are melted down, and, with the purified metal, new ones are made In the machine-making factories, newl> 112 INDIA'S MEbSAGL OF PEACC made parts made with old materials aie assembled Similarly, elements assembled as the human body are disassembled by death , and then are reframed and reshaped to be reassembled into new bodies, into new organism To bring home the matter to your mind, draw a circle on a piece of paper to represent the universe Divide it into two or four or more parts and put figure 1 for Alice, 2 for you, 3 for me and 4 to 10 for others in different parts but within it If you take any figure from any one part to any other part the sum total of all the figures inside the circle is always the same Similarly everythmg that Alice was, is still there m the world, but in different form and in a different place Your misery is due to your failure to grasp this truth It IS like the weeping of old grandmothers and young children when their loved one is transferred on promotion to a distant place We sorrow for death when we Ignorantly cut ourselves off from the totality of the universe Let a man realise that he is an inseparable part of this universe and his sorrow will at once vanish “The Universe is a whole From whichever side you view it the whole will be there If you take the whole fiom the whole the whole will still be there” Isn’t it so ’=1 E — ^It IS ^ ~T3mdall also says that the sum total of energy ^ alw'ays the same and that it is in- ^structible How, then, does the world lose by death ^e, we sorrow and grieve over death because of our imperfect knowledge of the world and God We wrongly mk mat our dear ones have been violently torn away irom the w-orld by some evil agency If we can feel and ^ heart that we, like them, are parts of the 0 e, there would be no feelmg of separation from the Om Purnamidah Pumamidam Pumaat Pumamudachyate Pumasya Purnamaadaaya Purnamebaa Vashisyate THE MEANING OF DEATH 113 dead and so there would be no sorrow Believe that your Alice is now in heaven under the affectionate eyes of the Father, she is walking, singing and praying to the Father , and that, being near God, she is doing her best for you Your unhappiness will very much abate The remedy hes in realismg your oneness with the whole Universe contaming God, angels and your Alice, and your Father, mother and others who loved you and still love you from their celestial abode Now look at death from whichever point of view you like, the dependant’s or the dead man’s, or the world’s If you can regard yourself as one with the world, you will not view death as an evil It is the Avidyaa, the illusion of otherness, the sense of duality in you, which causes you pain If you can make your- self beheve that you are also a part of the world-soul, that “Thou art That”, that you are only in a different part of the same house, there will be no sorrow If death were an evil, the true Suttees of old India would not have embraced the pillars of flaming fire with smiles in their lips and 3oy in their hearts Mahatma Gandhi would not have undertaken fasts to death to save the poor and weak from the clutches of the rich and power- ful The true martyrs of religion have embraced death not with grief but with joyful smiles To grieve over death is not only unprofitable to the gnever and to the dead, but is to question God’s wisdom and love tor us Here is what Shakespeare writes — “Cowards die many tunes before their death, The valiant never taste of death but once Of all the wonders that I yet have heard It seems to me most strange that men should fear Seeing that death, a necessary end. Will come when it will come INDIA'S MDSSAGi: OF PFACE U4 Here is what Mahatma Gandhi says — “The more I observe and study things, the more convinced I become that sorrow over separation and death is perhaps the greatest delusion. To icalize that it IS a delusion is to become free There is no death, no separation of the substance And yet the tragedy of it IS that though we love friends for the substance we recognize in them, we deplore the destiuction of the merely insubstantial which covers that substance foi the time being Again Mahatma Gandhi wiote — “I have all your letters Mothei is slowlj. going It will be well if the end comes soon It is better to leave a body one has outgrown To wish to see the dearest ones as long as possible m the flesh is a selfish desire, and it comes out of weakness or want of faith in the survival of the soul after the dissolution of the body The form ever changes, ever perishes, the in- forming spirit neither changes nor perishes True love consists m transferring itself from the body to the dweller within and then necessarily realizing the one- ness of all life inhabiting numberless bodies" E — 1 now realise that death is a necessity for the world as also for the individual But surely it should come only in old age Why should the child’s lips be sealed by it Why should youth’s sweet-scented spring vanish with its rose D — ^Have you thought why people die prematurely ’ Either from inherited illness or illness acquired here, or from accidents So far as illnesses are concerned, the entire responsibility is on man, the individual and the society, including his ancestors Primitive people Imng amidst undefiled nature are often healthier and They live longer than the urban and “civi- dwell m artificial atmosphere, eating pre- served food, stale vegetables, drudging inside dark rooms where God’s lifegiving air and light have no THE MEANING OF DEATH 115 place The venereal and other fell diseases resulting from unhygienic customs and practices are man-made. The farther we live away from nature, the larger is the number of our physical ailments If men, young or adult, die of diseases, it is our own fault These man- made deaths can be avoided by vigilant rectification They come from our abuse of the laws of health, and they will exist no more if we disabuse ourselves of the proclivity to violate these laws. E — But what about accidents ’ D : — ^Except death by hghtning, or earthquake I do not know of any accident that is not man-made, or that IS not due to want of proper precaution. As for death by lightnmg that also can, I believe, be avoided with improvements achieved in science It has certainly been very much minimised in recent times Earth- quakes may be due to man’s disembowellmg the earth Right or wrong, death there will always be We can’t stop it Wisdom lies in not being morUfied by it, in not freezing the genial current of the soul because of a dear one’s death Em —The real question is, how to do it’ D — ^The unfailmg friend in this matter is time It is the greatest healer The severity of the first moment lessens as hours and days and years pass After some time, we become reconciled to the loss Very poor peo- ple, who have nothing to fall back upon, and have to toil from mom to eve, forget death soon It is the rich and leisured people who are affected most Our old Hindu custom of providmg unremitting occupation for twelve days by an entire household m performing rites to facilitate the departed soul’s smooth progress to heaven is perhaps a wise way of giving no leisure to the bereaved to brood over the calamity The customary visits of friends and relations (as distm- guished from merely posting formal condolence letters). 116 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE which show in practical ways their sympathy to the bereaved family by personal participation in the ceremonies, goes a great way m alleviating the hrst shock of distress For what the bereaved one needs at the moment is not philosophical arguments , but realisation that death is nothing but a vast fellowship which shares the shock of the blow He also needs the diversion of his mind His nund can be diverted in two ways I have already indicated one way, busying oneself in some work con- nected with the good of the departed The other way for the bereaved is to think about episodes showing the conquest of death E — Are there such episodes ’ D — 'We have two wonderful ones E — ^Please Dadaji, tell us of them D — One is in the Katha Upamshad There was a King known as Vajasraba To earn high rehgious merit he began a Yajnya — a big sacrifice, which is a very important factor in the Hindu life On the physical side it means sacrificmg, pouring out upon a ritual fire cow-butter, the best food in the world , and on the mental side, sacrificmg all that is low and mean m the mind Both have to be done m a true Yamya Making gifts to smtable persons is an indispensable part of such sacniices So the King began givmg gold, silver, ele- phants, horses and cows After exhausting his stock of good animals, in his passion for charity he began giving away the old and maimed and otherwise useless animals too His son Nachiketa who had received his education under an enlightened Guru (Preceptor) felt that this was wrong , and pondered how he could save his father from the mistake Bemg only a boy, he took it mto his head that if his father, who loved him most, would make a gift of him to somebody, then there would be adequate amends for the iniquity of the imperfect sacnfice With such an idea he approached his father THE MEANING OF DEATH 117 and said ‘‘Father, to whom would you give me Once, twice, thrice The old father, tired by his toils of many days in the performance of the sacrifice (the sacrifice IS done by fasting) and blinded by his mfatuity, got annoyed at the boy’s interference and said “To Death I give you” All were astonished Consternation filled the place Now according to Hindu mythology Death IS a God, who keeps his state over the dead His name IS Yama, which implies that he has fully disciplined his body, mind, heart and soul He is also called the Dharmaraj, which means that he is the enforcer of discipline and mamtainer of world’s law and harmony (you can imagme that law and harmony cannot exist, unless tyrants and other evil-doers of the society, at last die) To a Hmdu a father’s word is law It must be obeyed So Nachiketa, who was a true ascetic, and never erred into untruth, went to Yama’s country and entered his palace Yama was absent So Nachiketa waited there till his return When Yama came home he was told by his servants that an ascetic had been waitmg for him in the house without taking any food or water for three days I should tell you here of the belief that a guest is a god to a Hindu , for a guest to remain in the house without food is a terrible sm And if the guest happens to be a true ascetic, the sin is heightened Yama became sad and worried He chas- tised his servants for their remissness To expiate the sm he approached Nachiketa m awe and asked his forgiveness Yama said “Revered Sir, for three days you have stayed as a guest m my house without even a sip of water Would you free me from my sm by acceptmg three boons, any that you choose’” I am condensing the conversation Nachiketa said “Could it be that my father’s annoyance at my conduct shall subside, and he love me as before and be happy”’ Yama said “Yes that shall be Ask, Sir, two more boons” Nachiketa said “Could you give me the fire which will free me to attain Heaven ’ 118 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Yama said “Yes There is such a fire — Its three components are — ^knowledge, meditation and practice The three methods are, testimony, infer- ence and experience, the three duties are study concentration and absence of hankermg And he who will offer sacrifice to such a fire, will surely reach heaven Since I am telling you of this fire, the Yajnya of such fire will be known hence as Nachiketa Yajnya Now ask the third gift and relieve me of my sm ” Nachiketa said — “Some sages say that even after death, man exists Some others say that he does not Which IS really true Since you are the king of death, it IS you who must know, and none other So you only can give this boon Please grant it ” Here Yama hesitated and said “Good sir, don’t press for this boon It is a great secret, which is unknown even to the gods Please take any other gift — a celestial wife , heroic children , gold , pearls and other wealth , long life , political power , unfailing health — anything ” Nachiketa said “Good sir, all the things that you have mentioned ultimately end Women, wealth, power when enjoyed, lose their attraction by and by, and ultimately become insipid They not only perish, they also make man restless and miserable I do not want such evanescent stuff from a King like you WTiat all mankind needs to know, and "will always want to know, IS whether man exists or does not exist after death i want to know the truth about this It is known to you alone and none else Please reveal to me the mystery ” argued and argued but m vain He could rrfncf guest He offered him the best and 4- world But Nachiketa was Ultimately Yama yielded He admired the for s determmation to acquire true knowledge fVio ® ^^^^Shtenment of mankind (mark the lesson for tne student world that to acquire true knowledge, all THE MEANING OF DEATH 119 physical pleasures must be sacrificed and that even death must be boldly faced) He told his guest “Good Nachiketa, I have tested your determination Now that you have preferred knowledge to women, wealth, and power, I will tell you the secret Now consider, Nachiketa, your body to be a chariot , the eyes, ears, and other organs of the body as horses, the mind as the reins, the intellect as the driver, and the soul as the Rider. The real man is the soul — the Atman The chariot, the horses, the reins, the driver all are meant for the use of the Rider, the Atman On death they cease to exist but the soul goes on Those who realise this truth, and live the life of the soul are never afraid of me , but those that live the life of the brute body and hanker for its pleasures fear me The soul is beyond my province This IS the truth It is so easily stated m words Its realisation and practical application, however, are very difficult But he who endeavours with determma- txon and faith never fails After a few faltering steps, when the pilgrim begins to go steadily, exhilaration comes , and glimpses of rays shot from the city of gold spur him to quicken his pace As he climbs higher and higher, the prospect captivates him more and more” Nachiketa offered his thanks and said — “This I have learnt but of what value is knowledge without actually practising it ’ Could not you teach me how to practise ” Yama said — “I cannot imagine a better disciple, Nachiketa, I will do as you ask, with pleasure ” So Nachiketa learnt the practice from Yama and returning to the earth told it to the initiated If you ever ponder on your death, which is a certamty, I tell you from my experience that the more you ponder on it, the better you will be in mind and 120 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE morals But never do so while you are ill or in misery Ponder when you are not in these states and you will derive immense benefit, as Nachiketa derived immense benefit from Yama The distinction between perma- nent and evanescent will deepen , you will by and by eliminate the ephemeral and turn to the eternal in you * You will live more and more for the soul and enjoy the blessedness and bhss it gives Self-indulgence will cease to appeal to you You will be more and more inclined to speak a kmd word to your neighbour, to do a little more charity to the poor and so on This is how meanness and selfishness will gradually vanish This is how the soul m you will awaken Death is the greatest teacher m this world He is a great benefactor of mankind It is on the wings of a loved one’s death that the mmd rises from the mundane world to thoughts of high heavens Death bids the evil-minded, the tyrant, and the vain, desist from their evils Suppose a thief IS stealing another’s necklace to give it to his beloved Suppose that was the only idea behind his plans for long days Suppose he kills or injures the owner and succeeds in bringmg the necklace , and while he is m the act of givmg it to his beloved, she is bitten by a snake and she dies Will not death teach him at once the evil behmd his folly And if you see such an inci- dent enacted on the stage, you will be happy at the thief s mortification for his beloved’s death , and you will probably say — the fellow deserved it But what are we all domg Are we not steahng each other’s tnings similarly for our own loved ones ^ earhest men who lived for a materially pros- cravmg for more and more physical Ln awe-struck by the phenome- irresnpot^^^ Strong oi weak, rich or poor, cont?ni having subjected and brought under feUow-bemgs, of death and the sure co nsequence of the Nityaanitya Vastuviveka THE MEANING OF DEATH 121 ending of all things valued in life, all must have impelled them to think — ^what is this oddity m the even flow of life‘s Why is it inevitable for all, in every condition of life‘s What -becomes of the body after it perishes ^ What is man ^ Is he the same thing as the perishable body*? Are all things — the good, the better and the best, — ever3rwhere mere unreal nothings ’ Is there no reality in this world ’ It is from such questions, pressed on occasion with great intensity and urgency, that the philosophies of life, and the religions of mankind have grown So, you see, the functions that death performs for the good of man are many If there were no death, tyrants and evil-doers would multiply their trades , the fell diseases of the world would spread their contagion , there would be no end of wars because, like the gods of Valhallah, fighting people would mdulge m bloody duels but would never die Em — ^This never struck me before D — ^Now, close your eyes , and imagine seriously that all that you are in body, all that you value for the body, will perish, tomorrow, the next hour or the next minute Do you think you would do anything harmful to anybody or to your soul‘s Following Dada]i’s advice I closed my eyes and imagmed my death It was wonderful I then said You are quite right Dada]i And the story is enlighten- ing Now please tell us the other story D —Thousands of years ago, there lived in India a Kmg Aswapati by name He had a daughter Sabitn From her childhood, she had been educated in the Hindu lore When she grew up to marriageable age, her parents anxiously searched for a suitable bridegroom The King’s intention was announced far and wide , and princely suitors came from different parts But none 122 INDl/VS Mi^S-NGi: or PlTvCi’ could give proper answers to the great (■{ucstions put by Sabitri regarding man. his life on eni th, his relations to the world and to God As none rould answer the questions, Sabitri declined to marry any one of them When the King and Queen found all the suitors going back bafhed, they became anxious, because they had no other child and if Sabitri did not mairy they would have no heir to the throne A high council sat , and after much deliberation it was decided that Sabitri herself should go well-attended to dilTerent countries, and make her own selection Some aged and able Ministers accompanied her She was taken to different countries Princes rich, handsome and powerful discussed with her the same questions They wore all charmed by her physical and mental attainments, but none came up to her test Disappointed the party started their journey back While returning they encamped at the edge of a small forest They passed the night there , and next morning Sabitri went out alone fer a morning stroll dressed as a countiy girl She had not gone very far when her eyes fell on a cottage At its backyard, a young man wearing only a small loin cloth was gathering flowers and Tulsi leaves (The picking of Tulsi leaves indicated that the youth was engaged in worship- ping some deity ) His body appeared heavily suntanned but glowing and bright In build he was perfect medium size, with strong legs, sinewy hands, face oval, nose pr^inent, ears, eyebrows and all other features in symmetry The face and bearing of the youth a tinted her attention She approached him, offered ner homage and asked the youth who he was In the course of the talk she learned of the learning and the 1 1 y of the youth , and when he returned from tne wer g^den to the hut she also accompanied him Satyaban (such was the name of the ha+v>ir>rt bhnd and aged parents, ^hem and domg all that a dutiful son would do THE MEANING OF DEATH 123 Returning to the camp, she had it moved to a far-off place Next day, dressed agam as an ordinary country girl, she came to the hut all alone and watched Satyaban serving his parents as usual She herself offered to help him, but Satyaban would not let her, saying that he would be deprived of the happiness of doing himself all that his parents needed Sabitri began talking to the old lady , and learnt that the family was royal, but that an usurper had deprived them of all they had, had mjured the eyes of both King and Queen and banished them from their land Satyaban their son was their only support in life now , he gathered fruits and loots from the ]ungle, worshipped the deity, bathed and fed them and in this way they were passing their sad days When she got a chance Sabitri discreetly questioned Satyaban to find out more about him Satyaban said “God can be worshipped hy the true performance of one’s own duty Since God pervades everything, since God IS there in my parents, my sincere worship of my parents is my worship of God ” This and other remarks showed the culture and nobility of Satyaban’s heart Sabitri could not but admire it The camp continued for a few days and occasionally attendants stole into the locality to find out what Sabitri had been doing After about a week, the camp was struck and the party returned home From information conveyed to them by the attend- ants her parents became aware of Sabitri’s mind When asked, she said that she would marry that youth and no other Her parents and others tried to dissuade Sabitri from her selection, but in vain The Kmg and the Queen fell into deep sorrow over it But seemg her determina- tion, they ultimately agreed The question of poverty would be no handicap , they could endow her sufficiently to enable her to pass her days m plenty At this moment there came to the house a great sage He was received with the usual veneration and the customary greetings When requested to give his view on the contemplated 124 INDIA'S MLSSAGL Of PLACD match, he hesitated On being pressed, he said that he was fully awaie of the virtues and nobility of Satynban On merits the selection was perfect, but there was a fatal difficulty All became anxious Not to wound their feelings the sago avoided the question ; but being pressed, he said that Satyaban would not live more than a year from that day, as indicated by his stars The sage had the reputation of correctly reading the future . and his words therefore came as a bolt from the blue It threw the whole house into deep soirow. That then daughter would after a year become a widow for the rest of her life, with all the disaster that this means, was too great a calamity to bear The parents did their best to dissuade Sabitri from her choice Councillors pleaded, friends implored, her parents pressed her But Sabitri would not budge, she told her patents with all humility and love that she had already installed batyab^ as the Lord of her heart, and to marry another would be nothing less than an act of self-sought un- c as 1 y on her part This she could not do At the reques of her parents, the sage also tried to change her min , but when Sabitrj. said “My parents being wordly peop e might show weakness , but how can you, a sage, advise me to swerve from a vow taken at my heart ’’’ he had no reply attempts to alter her mind having failed, the thm? Satyaban and his parents, obtained ■mario T4- preparations for the marriage were S performed with all ceremony on the side nf nothing showy on the side others ^nae^matS the was over Sabitrj gave away to cows clothes, milch maids of costly dowry She asked her sLtatr, ? ” to her father’s palace husband’s t- '*** better than her She took a promise from Satyaban that THE MEANING OF DEATH 125 they would not be too familiar in privacy till the expiry of a year from that day Satyaban wanted to know the reason , but on Sabitri's entreaties not to press the matter, he agreed Sabitri reheved Satyaban more and more of his daily household drudgery she cleaned the house, tended the Ashram cows, carried water , bathed and dressed her parents-in-law, made things ready for their worship and prayers, cooked food , fed them , and did everything in the household Satyaban's work was now to read scripture and to collect fire-wood and fruits from the forest Early in the morning of the day that completed the year of the sage’s forecast, Sabitn, who had started a fast three days before without takmg even a sip of water, wakened earlier than usual, and, finishing her household duties, prepared to accompany Satyaban to the forest When Satyaban asked her why she was coming, she entreated him not to be curious about it So both took the parent’s permission and went to the forest On the way, and m the forest, Sabitn was all attention — ^ready to put forth her best if anything un- toward happened She kept quite close to Satyaban, and helped him in collectmg the fire-wood'. While Satyaban was up in a tree cuttmg some wood he felt unwell and could not continue He told Sabitn, and came down She seated herself on the ground, extendmg her legs and asked Satyaban to take some rest on her lap She kept on stroking and caressmg him but after some time Satyaban lost consciousness Although she was anxious about the sage’s forecast, she did not lose her courage How the air became suddenly still Birds ceased to chirp or twitter A strange shadow fell over every- thing A dark figure approached It was Yama, the god of death But Sabitn’s immaculate chastity had spread a holy halo around her and Yama halted outside the ring 126 INDIA’S MLSSAGC Of PEACE Satyaban lay m the lap of a woman who W'as chaste in every one of her thoughts, words and deeds Yama could not disregard such purity He asked Sabitri in respectful words to leave Satyaban so that he could take the life and do his duty at the appointed moment Sabitri made her obeisance to Yama and told him that she too had a duty to protect her husband How could she abjure that duty of hers ’ There was a long argument between the two, the god of death argued his case while Sabitri suppoited hers, emphasising that the wife could not part from the Lord of her heart At the end she asked the god to take her own life instead of hei husband’s so that she would have the satisfaction of having done her duty by her husband and Yama that of taking a life from the earth to his kingdom Pleased with her Yama said “Good daughter of the earth, your husband's end is near Leave his body so that I may take his life But I am pleased with you Excepting Satyaban’s life, ask any boon that you \vould have of me and I will give it ” Sabitri said — Could you, if you are so pleased, restore the health and eyesight of my parents-in-law ? Yama — ^Yes, it shall be so immediately Now leave the body and go back You will find them restored as you desire Sabitri — True, but you see sir, would not my parents-in-law with their eyesights restored long to see their lost kingdom and to be with their subjects as they were before ’ What good will their health and eyesight be without their son, without their throne, and their people ’ Yama — ^Do you wish their kmgdom to be restored Sabitri — ^Please, if that could be done Yama — ^Yes, it shall be so Now leave the body ^d go back to the parents, accompany them to their kmgdom, and prepare for Satyaban’s funeral and obsequies with all usual ceremonies THE MEANING OF DEATH 127 Sabitn —Sir, all this is good but if my husband dies, and I become a widow, two famihes, my husband’s parents and my parents will lack any heir to their thrones What ]oy can we derive in such a state of continuous worry for want of heirs to the throne ’ Yama Do you want a brother bom to your parents to succeed to the kingdom^ Sabitn — If that could be Yama — ^Yes This also shall be Now leave the body and go Sabitn — Revered sir. You have done so much to make me happy But can a woman be happy without a child ’ Yama — Is this your last request Sabitn — Sir, it is Yama — ^You will have as many children as you like Now leave the body and go So saying the god made as if to seize the life of Satyaban Sabitn folded her hands, smiled and with aU veneration said ‘‘Revered Lord, how can you take away the life of my husband smce you have already blessed me with as many children as I like You are the upholder of truth, and order Can there be truth or order m this world without chastity ? The god realised his error, admired Sabitn for the glory she was to womankind, again blessed her with long life and prosperity and returned to his own place Next moment Satyaban regained his consciousness and found that he was lying on the lap of Sabitn He told her that he had a terrible dream , that he was now better and would be able to resume collectmg wood Sabitn did not tell him what had happened They collected fire-wood and fruits, and returned to the Ashram They hastened their pace to reach the Ashram soon, as the usual time had long passed by and they were anxious about their aged ailmg parents As they were approaching the Ashram they were surprised at 128 INDIA'S MESSACn OF PDACE what they saw For lo, both paienls wcic waiting for them at the gate of the Ashram and as soon as they saw their son and daughter-in-law, in great joy they advanced towards them, clasped them to their hearts and said that they had legainod their health and eyesight Tlicy kissed their heads and faces, and all wcie filled with joy. Satyaban simply wondered. Plappy at heart, all went inside the Ashram, Sabitri busied herself m performing the household duties and Satyaban sat neai the parents asking if they knew how it all had happened As they were talking, people from their own country arrived and told them that the usurper of their kingdom had died without leaving any heir , and the people, much oppressed by his rule, wanted their old king to return and take the throne They set on the king’s head the crown they had brought with them They had also brought with them royal chariots and troops to escort them back home, and insisted that the whole country was eager and expectant, and that delay would only add to their anguish So the Ashram was wound up and the happy party proceeded to the capital As they reached the borders of their kingdom, their subjects awaited them with gifts of fruits, flowers, garlands and other tokens of love, and escorted them to the palace With all joy and ceremony the King was reinstalled on his lost throne Sabitri and Satyaban continued, however, hving simple unostentatious lives, helping the poor and needy as much as they could The news of this good fortune reached the home of Sabitn’s parents who came full of joy and happiness with their royal presents A year afterwards a son was born to Sabitri’s parents and some time thereafter Sabitri narrated to all concerned the incidents that had happened in the forest According to local beliefs the scene of Sabitri s saving her husband is the Sati lake Em — But can the story be true — ^An incident that took place thousands of years ago must gather around it some exaggerations and even THE MEANING OF DEATH 129 absurdities from writers and poets who have to narrate it according to the varying tastes of their times But the fact that nullions of people in India, year by year, celebrate the anniversary of it, shows that there must be some substratum of truth Have you anywhere seen the anniversary of an incident that never occurred at all ’ In the whole of India, particularly, in this part of the country, no Hindu woman misses the performance of this anniversary by fasting, praying and recollecting the incident Because we in India have had to pass through over a thousand years of slavery, which greatly affected the moral and spiritual life of our people, we are today mere apologists for our great ancestors Don’t judge the truthfulness and moral life of India’s past by looking at us moderns Foreign visitors and writers have unequivocally testified to the truthfulness and moral purity of our past in unstinted terms In those days milk and rice were so plentiful that they could be had for the asking They had no price People slept without locking their doors Personal honour was so high that loans and transfers of valuable lands needed no attesta- tion by witness The intellectual class, the Brahmins, were vowed to poverty and held no property Good kings adored them, bad ones trembled before them for their moral and spiritual powers They were dedicated to poverty, but whenever they wanted resources for a benevolent object, the wealth of Empires was placed at their feet by the Emperors At a time when our moral standards were so high, is there anythmg improbable in an educated Princess Royal pledging her love and marriage to a youth of equally noble descent and high mental attainments, and adhermg to the pledge in spite of a forecast that the youth would die a year thereafter ’ Nor is there anything absurd in a chaste, and spirited daughter of a King courageously facing death We know that modern science believes that the basis of everjrthing we see is not matter, but thought or spirit Just as 130 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE transmitted sounds, like martial music, can revive drooping spirits, so also vital energy or life can be transmitted to dying people. Such transmission of life by Babar to Humayun is a historical instance I also see nothing fantastic in heaven’s pouring blessings on a; virtuous wife who offered to lay down her life, to save her husband’s Discussions with the god of death and other embelhshments apart, the observance of the anniversary, proves to my mind the truth of the story “Anyway we here are not antiquarians The highest ideal for women is set out in the story , and in my view any woman, in any part of the world can profit both from knowing it and from observmg its anniversary by such prayer and fast as she can achieve ” - “Remember one thing Every householder lives and works for the peace and happiness of his home life Wherever he goes, he comes back m search of the sweet- ness which he expects Remember what dangers you risked by seekmg to return to your home from the enemy cell The hfe of Edmund here is proof that the peace of a home at once breaks whenever there is loss, or even suspicion of loss, of chastity on the part of the woman Like Cffisar’s wife, every wife must be above suspicion Therefore any incident, any story that sings the praises of chastity should be widely encouraged and the example set should be ardently emulated You yourself know what influence Alice cast on your home, and on all around her” The mention of Alice once more reminded me of my wonderful life with her I said “You are quite right, Dadaji , there is nothmg like a chaste wife in a' man’s life I know thousands of cases where lack of chastity has converted heavenly homes into horrid hells I can see from the story that a sinless person does not fear death , and by boldly facing it, eaves others from fear of death , and that a man who does his duty, even when faced by death, brings well- being, not only to himself but also to all around him ” PART in. Man’s Problem CHAPTER L Difficulties and Despair of today’s youth. Em — Dadaji, we do not know when we may meet you again We have been encouraged by all you have told us, to ask you something that will be of great value to us D — ^What is it. brother ’ Em — We all want to know how young men can be happy today A young man is now perhaps the unhap- piest person alive Not that there is anything funda- mentally wrong with him , but he is so beset with uncertainties, so driven by despair and so haunted by anxieties, that the hope which comes to others seems to elude him He is the saddest victim of fears , he does not know what to do or how to do it When he asks men of worldly success, of age, experience and wisdom, most if not all of them express regret that they have realised too late the error of their ways, and tell him that if they had known prudence early in life and put it to practice, while they still had youth’s danng and drive, ardour and zeal they would have done much better and become healthier, wealthier, happier, more devoted to God and more useful to society Some say that they gathered all manner of glittering prizes from life, but that they now find them all worthless Others say that all the fruits of their ambition for power, possession and enjoyment seem ending m smoke, and that when they die, their estate will be only a source of quarrels and litigation This IS what we gather from the living wise— the 132 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE Doctors and the divines When we turn to books, we find that religions vary, mountains of scriptural and ethical literature bewilder the mind Cruelties and carnahties, hatred and massacre, practised by men of religion on the name religion sicken the soul Extreme love of one religion has led to extreme hatred of others Indeed, Karl Marx said religion seems to be the soul of soulless conditions, the heart of the heartless, the opium of the people Religions contaminated with fraud are losing their former appeal, and nationalism, socialism and communism seem to be supplanting them Philoso- phy is bewildering In the West every philosopher, from Socrates to Santayana, has something to say In the East, there is the lofty range of the Vedas, Upamshads and the Gita The philosophical lore of the last few centuries, with some exceptions, is full of unending controversies, and disputatious argumentation, of which the only object has been to triumph over the holder of another view During the last three centuries many of its theories and abstractions have been too abstiuse for the layman’s comprehension In its winding mazes, it IS difficult to find a clear path To America, the world’s plenty has brought no solu- tion of life , it has led to wide-spread neurosis, loss of self-esteem and self-reliance, loss of mental balance and peace Even great possessions become tasteless and insipid With the spirit starved, the human con- science IS uneasy The noble potentialities of the human mind are being supplanted by uncouth and ugly traits Why are we so furiously speeding in trains, cars and planes What is the purpose of all this hurry ’ Far from quieting the troubled soul, all these modern things, perplex and worry it No one has time to ask whither are we to go And how These are basic questions which concern us young men, which concern our conduct and the world we are living in The ordi- nary worker in the office or factory merely eats, dresses, talks of wages, home, sports, and sex and avoids the DIFFICULTIES AND DESPAIR OF TODAY’S YOUTH 133 afflictions of life by a smoke or a drink or a visit to the races or to the cinema In the higher levels of life there is equal spiritual deadness Time is killed by tea m bed, morning shaves, magazines popularismg levities, nudism and night clubs, escapist novels, crossword puzzles, bridge, smokmg, drinking and the like Among the intellectuals there are conferences, lunches, dinners, demonstrations, mis- leading analyses of situations, blaming other people for everything that is wrong m the Government or the country and praising the virtues of the speaker or of the clique to which he belongs, or other talks littered with empty rhetoric Few prefer feeding the hungry to feeding the fires of war Few think of building up man, though all plan to destroy him If ever they chance to debate, in patro- nising fashion, ways to alleviate the miseries of the disinherited, the lowly and the lost, the words remain words, the funds allocated dwindle, disappear or are misused When it comes to actuality it is often found that the supposed beneficiary gets only chaff, while the good gram has gone to the planner, the supervisor and the VIP visitor. The test of planning lies in the life it produces Far from rising in moral height, man is going down and down Greed, anxiety, suspicion, fear, hatred, ammosities, are increasing in all parts of the world Yet you can’t fix the blame on any individual For there is only a crowd, a party or a regiment You do not know, you cannot know, who is liable for what, which ill comes from whose ‘ bill ’ All being in the treacher- ous whirlpool, none knows whither he is driftmg It IS about the aim of hfe that we want to know, its meaning and hope, its future and its conduct. Shall we live for the world’s plenty, its name, fame and pleasures Are these the aims of life Or are there any better‘d If so, what are they’ We are eating, dressing, love-making, sportmg, sleeping But why’ Are these the whole of life ’ Beasts and msects do the 134 INDIA S NUi^ACr OF PrlACn same We arc maFmr otiOv. impu*vine amfn^t:r‘^ gloiyinR in ncojiiiipbicnl patnoti'tn Ant*, .tnd and lei miles do Ihc pam*^ Savar.e and i>itntittv» taniui)'d'> also arc patuotic Iltn" arc \v< titan b'''.*! t' and insects, ants and bee-'., piimitive and n man- caiinR cannibals’ E\li ernes of gco;;inphical pilnoli-rn v, jih th<’r hell-hoirors of nloni bombs and h>d’o,'’'rn b'>mbs menace mankind Bombs ate nov. m m d xm\ il n. *ank to smother all life and bnnr, the nobc to a ci»‘:id < nd m a few days The ullra-pnlriol has outstripped Satan in his machinations afininst his hi other man While tber^ hoirors giov. , the jounn man feels he is itandini; on th*’ brink of a precipice with the furies of bell behind and abysmal despair in fiont Political proupmps named m new jaigons like NATO. MEDO, MIDDLE EAST. FAR EAST, WESTERN DEFENCE. PACIFIC PACT. ATLANTIC NATIONS, SEADO. SEATO ICAO. ILO. IRO, ITO, ITU, IMEO, UPU make a veritable labyrinth wherein each insists on a solution suiting his n*\n nd' vantage In this marc, the light of v.nsdom, where it exists, serves only to heighten the darkness Tne aver- age young man, who v ants to hve according to a straight and abiding nglit, who seeks for somcihing of sure value and positive good, is distracted and lost With all his learning, ho is no wiser Feeling like a character mis-cast m this cosmic drama, the times seem to him to be out of joint Novel before m man’s million years’ life on earth has youth been so frustrated and fearful To whichever side he looks, the facts forebode a bleak future Assailed by fears, racked by doubt, he cannot see where his good lies Failing to fix his loyalty, he can’t discern his duty Thwarted by hope, distorted in reason and dismayed by the vehemence of ^e confusion, the poetry of his life becomes dull piose He loses interest and zeal , he becomes indifferent, fear- ful, or cynical As time passes, his difficulties deepen and his problems become more acute Disgusted with / DIFFICULTIES 'AND DESPAIR OF TODAY’S YOUTH 133 the problems of life, he becomes disgusted also with life itself Can you save us from this fierce dilemma, this medley of confusion and chaos, this bewilderment of our minds, and this desperate drifting, towards ends we know not of We want to avoid despair now and repentance in old age , our question is urgent , we are eager to know a saving truth Can you tell us a spiri- tual doctrine, a philosophy and way of life which is at once definite, an incentive to action, and also acceptable to the modern mind’ Is there any’ Has man any aim of life ’ What is it ’ And can it be attained in this imperilled world ’ D — ^Dear brother, the question which perplexes you IS the basic human problem — the question of the meanmg and destiny of life In fact since the moment when man realised that he is better than the beast and began to think of things higher than those which he has in common with the animals (food, clothing, shelter, sex and sleep), this is the eternal demand of the human heart In different parts of the world, men of God, heroes and prophets have answered it in words and ways suiting the country and the tune It may be too bold, if not presumptuous on my part to solve the discord by an answer that claims to be the last word for all time or even at the moment All — But surely you could give us some lead in . solving the puzzle ’ D —Or I might, like one bhnd man leading an- other, cause you all to fall into deeper ditches All —We don’t think so Any way, you must not deny us the privilege of hearing your views D _Sq you have caught me But smce this is a 'great question, would it not be better if instead of your listening to my views, we all of us pool resources in cool discussion and seek a solution ’ So that if perchance, -We strike something correct or near correct, weary souls 136 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE and plodding pilgrims everywhere may be saved some portion of their trouble CHAPTER IL Two Kinds of Happinesses Next day when we met, all of us agreed Dadaji suggested the chapel as the venue of our conversation After bathing we went there in a prayerful mood There, facing the pictures of Rama, Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, Mahabira, Confucius, Lao Tse, Ashoka, Christ, Chaitanya, Guru Nanak, Ramakrishna, Gandhi and the prophets of other peoples, we sat m a half circle In front of us there were also the symbols of OM, CROSS and CRESCENT, etc The synod consisted of Dadaji, ourselves and a few other visitors from neighbouring countries, who had gathered, as we ourselves had gathered, at this peaceful spot to dnnk of Dada^i’s wisdom We began with hearts purified by prayer, led by Dadap Our prayer was — “Om Bhur Bhubah Swah Tat Sabitur Varenyam Bhargoh Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyoh Yonah Prachodayaat”, “Oh Thou creator and sustainer of the three worlds — earth, sky and heaven — we contemplate Thy Supreme Glory, by the very light that Thou Thyself hast been giving us” Dadaji Your question — ^what is the aim of life and how can it be attained, — assumes, and m my view, right- ly, that man is not a product of chance but that there ^ cause behind him and a purpose before him and that this purpose is attainable by him In our discussions on God, we found that this world - IS not a chaos of blind chances or irrational forces. TWO KINDS OF HAPPINESSES 137 acting haphazardly now one way and now contrary- wise , but that there is in it order and harmony directed by an intelligent, ever-wakeful, merciful, power Bearing this in mind, let us seek the aim of life If you examine the acts and conduct of any man, at any moment of his waking life, you will find that there IS behind them the invariable motive of promoting his own happiness, immediately or later , such happiness of course, as he knows or can conceive of, for the time- being We eat, dress, play, read, write, work, pray, and do all other things of life, with that one idea The child plays, the youth loves, the adult plods on, the aged smks into dotage or ascends to devotion, with the idea of being happy. Optimists and Epicureans are happy in their views, pessimists and cynics in theirs Jean Valjean sought happiness in committing the most un- grateful act of stealing from the house that fed and sheltered him , his god-fearing host was happy, not only m saving Valjean from the dire consequence of his crime, but also in giving him more of his wealth Drunkards, profligates and cut-throats resort to their vices to be happy thereby Inquisitors and Mau Mau killers find satisfaction in their domgs His enemies tortured Christ and were happy in doing so Christ was happy in praying for mercy upon his tormentors War-mongers promote war and pacifists try to prevent it, each to gain happiness Life, you know, is most precious to man On analysing the human mind you will find that in spite of all the ills and tears, the woes and worries, which we experience in life, we want to exist, we want to live — for ever if we can Even though we know that our elders have died, even though we are fully aware of the certainty that we will also cne day die, still we do not hke to die We cling to life 138 INDIA’S MESSAGE Of PEACE “Ahanyahani Bhutaani Gachhanli Jamamandiram Shesaah Sthiratwam Ichhanti Kimaascharyam Atahparam” “Of all the strange things it is most strange, that although not a day passes in which people do not die, the survivors want never to die” “ The weariest and most loathed worldly life That age, ache, penury and imprisonment Can lay on nature, is a paradise To what we fear of death” Shakespeare “ For kings and for beggars, for the 3ustly doomed and for the unjustly, it is a hard thing to die ” Carlyle If you just ponder a little you will find that life, even the hardest, is the most wonderful and the most beautiful treasure in the world Everybody has the greatest love for his life Yet Socrates gave his life to secure what he con- ceived to be his happiness— the happmess of teaching people new wisdom One of the listeners —Hew did it happen ’ D — Here is the story — The old Athenians were the predecessors of the modern Greeks They loved and worshipped their anthropomorphic gods— jealous, schemmg and revenge- lui, but they did not like new ideas to be introduced TWO KINDS OF HAPPINESSES 139 into their orthodox ways of life But Socrates began preaching his new ideas of philosophy to the citizens of Athens He would ask people — ^what is life'!’ What is birth ’ What is the soul ’ What is God What is truth ’ What is justice ’ What is morality ’ and with such questions he drew replies from his listeners and then by his answers brought home to them the falsity of their ideas Orthodox people could not bear the free expression and circulation of new ideas and thoughts Some ridiculed him, others assaulted him But Socrates was not a coward He went on One morning the fol- lowing charge was made against him in the streets of Athens, by a leather-monger called Anytus — “Socrates is guilty of crime first, for not worship- ping the gods whom the city worships, but introducing new divinities of his own , next for corrupting youth The penalty due is — death ” On this charge made by a leather-monger, the great philosopher was tried When questioned by the judges, he said . — “I do believe that there are gods, but in a higher sense, than that in which my accusers believe in them I submit to my punishment If you should say to me. O Socrates, at the moment we will not hearken to Anytus, but we release you on this condi- tion, that you no longer abide in this mquiry or prac- tise philosophy — and if you are caught still doing this, . you will be put to death, if then you would release me on these conditions I should say to you “You have my thanks and affection, men of Athens, but I will obey the God rather than you and, while I have breath and power, I will not desist from practising philosophy ” And for practising philosophy, he was sentenced to death After the sentence was passed, the Jailor brought, at the fixed time, the hemlock poison (which was the mode of execution then prevalent) and handed 140 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE it over to Socrates, weeping, and saying that although he had to hand it over to him, he was not the cause of his death Socrates soothed him His friends and admirers including Plato were m tears But Socrates with a divme calm within him, told them “And there (in the other world) my friends, no one is ever put to death for his opinions so be of good cheer and do not lament my passing when you lay me in the grave, say that you are burying my body and not my soul With such noble words, the then wisest man of the West, drank the poison It worked The great father of Western Philosophy died And the Western world fell to silence When Gandhi was tried for the offence of sedition, he pleaded guilty and asked the trying Judge to give him the highest penalty because he had knowingly and deliberately spread disaffection against the Government because he believed that the Government had been act- ing against the interest of the people To suffer for rectifying this wrong was his happiness The true Satis of India cast themselves into the funeral pyres of their dead husbands, not with sobs and moans, but with celestial smiles on their lips You will thus see, that men go to ]ail, and embrace even death, in order to be happy Even if ten thousand Divmes, Doctors, Saints, Seers or Dictators ask you to do anything which will make you unhappy, you will not do it except under moral or physical compulsion You young men have moved in different parts of the world, you have come to this country, we are assen^led here, we are talking just now, we are doing everything with that one idea of getting happiness (just now or at a future date) as each conceives it to be, for the time-being to Gita (YI-21-22) when placid man is enthroned m the plenitude and glory of his own soul. TWO KINDS OF HAPPINESSES 141 he IS flooded with ever-revealing nameless ]oy and is convinced of the certainty that there is no other treasure to be sought, no other world to be gained Not even the heaviest blow of the material World shakes him from that certainty According to Vedanta, God is bhss (Aanandam Brahma) , the aim of life is Ananda, celestial bliss, blessedness without end, by becoming one with Satchi- daananda — ^the Ever Existent knowledge and bliss Sri Arabinda says “Happiness is the one thing which is openly or in- directly the universal pursuit of our human nature ” Swami Sivananda says — “The search for happiness is a universal pheno- menon Wherever life is, there is this search” Sn Ramana Maharshi says “Every living being longs always to be happy” (vide— the first line of book- let “Who am I’”). According to Plato, beatitude is the end of life Prof Whithead says “The natural mode by which living organisms are excited towards suitable self- development IS enjoyment Joy is the normal healthy spur of the Elan Vital ” Every living thing seeks happiness and avoids pain Some say duty is the end of life, others say perfection self-realisation, Mokshya, Nirvana, attainment of heaven, etc But all these are the means or ways for earn- ing happiness Happiness however has grades Some are lower , some are higher , some momentary but ultimately bring misery , others are eternally blissful The hap- piness of the soul IS altogether different m quality from the pleasures of Hedonism E —What IS the highest happiness, Dadaji ^ D — We will discuss it later E —What is Sat-Chit-Ananda 142 INDIA'S MESSAGE Of PEACE D — "Wg ’n India believe that the Universe is born of Ananda (happiness), lives in Ananda and v/ill ulti- mately merge in Ananda. (Anandat Khalu Idam Sarbam) According to us God is flowing blessedness and bliss (Anandamoyahi Purusha) He is Sat (truth or existence) Chit (knowledge) Ananda (bliss) and the Father m His mercy after planting His seed in man wants man to unfold the divine potentialities of that seed and become an epitome of Himself — an Entity of Existence — Knowledge — bliss, to be perfect as He is perfect (God created man m his own image — Genesis 1—27 ) The hunger to know is universal To be more and more happy, we want to know more and more (Jijnasa) and to know more and more, we want to live longer and normal children are curious to know more When they are told of new things they are happy It Au t ^ stones in the novels and pictures that often attract us All of us want to know more, to have new possessions, and other new things , and m this happiness we are happy A man or woman, even when overwhelmed by bereavement and m deepest ^ ^ commotion uhal nrnpp«^^’ ^ military march or a tnum- th^i naurderers while undergoing hen trial, and aware of the 'penalty of death emov knowing some new thing previously iiknown to “em first first emotion, the taken a httif born, ’had anything otwl^.n .*^ 'r""® ’ ^t could not be all around vou ®t“"®thing o£ what was new vistas to fnrtlfp^ advance must have opened up pastures iw-’ T. P"°S"ess-to “fresh woods and made new domm acquisitions were possession was madp^vn^^^^ added and the collected You gathered Tnnro ^ ^ gradually enlarged hered more and more of the wealth bequeatLd TWO KINDS OF HAPPINESSES 143 to man by antiquity, the treasures that saints, seers and martyrs had garnered in the world by their un- ending labours and sacrifices So you see, curiosity is irrepressible “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordamed strength” (O T Psalms VIII-2) “From the womb of the mornmg thou hast the dew of thy youth” (Psalms ex-3 ) Now the desire for happiness is not confined to the human kmgdom alone Animals also do things that give them happmess and avoid that which they think or instinctively feel will not bring them happiness The earth-worm, which is said to have no brain, will not move if somethmg hot or biting be applied to its body There is an anecdote that when Emerson and his son wanted to take an unwillmg calf from their barn-yard to the pen, one draggmg him by the head and the other pushmg him at the tail, the calf jibbed The housemaid saw from a distance the predicament of the great thmker, and to save the situation, smeared her finger with something attractive to the calf and came on the scene Smiling at the sillmess of the savant and his son, she asked them to leave the calf When they did so, she held out her finger The calf smelled it, licked it, and followed the maid willingly into the pen and was easily tethered there Scientists have proved that plants too are attracted to stimuli giving them happiness and are repelled by stunuh causmg them pain The Lajabati (sensitive) leaf shrinks the moment you touch it Nothing that lives loves pain Even those that injure others simply for the sake of injurmg, and without any gain to them- selves, do so to be happy thereby There is none that would not change his misery for happiness Except under compulsion, people do what it pleases them to do WTien men of religion say that we should so live that we may, after death, attam heaven, they mean the happmess of heaven, the happiness of living near God 144 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE m heaven You will thus see that wherever there is life, there is the desire to be happy The gicatest common factor of all activity m life (let us confine ourselves now, to human life) is the idea of happiness From end to end of the globe, each and all seek happi- ness The very fact of the constancy and universality of this idea behind the activity of all men, prince and beggar, saint and sinner, learned and unlearned, indicates that happiness is the goal of life Happiness however, as already indicated is an attitude of the mind It IS an agreeable feeling, an exhilaration This feeling comes, this harmony accrues, when the indivi- dual feels himself in concord with the world around him , when he is in tune with it. When there is discord between idea and existence there is misery The same thing may cause happiness to one and unhappiness to anotner Some are happy by making others unhappy Generally speaking glee, gratification, fun, felicity, elation, satisfaction and other similar bodily feelings are called pleasures Bliss, blessedness, rapture, ecstacy, which are higher m quality, are called spiritual happiness A listener ‘ — ^If I return a blow for a blow or answer abuse with abuse, is my aim to be happy D —You want to triumph over your opponent — that IS the moments happmess which you want L — ^What about the whining school-boy creeping to school — ^He wants to avoid the imhappmess of the father’s rod and the teacher’s cane, descending on his back He creeps, because there is both unwillingness from within himself and compulsion from outside . f weep for the death of a friend, do I do so to be happy ^ D Ask Emeham if he would not have been even more imhappy if he had not wept over his Alice’s MAN’S TWO NATURES 145 death He would have been xestless if he had not given way to his feelings The unhappiness^ of anger against a friend ends when the anger is openly expres- sed It increases if 'you keep silent “^Avoiding un- happiness IS another way of sedcing happiness We sometimes find joy in sorrow We weep over a tragedy m a novel or oti the screen or stage Yet we love to read and see tragedies We ar^ happy thereby. “Our sweetest songs are those that sing of saddest thoughts.*' (Shelley). Mighty aghny for another is- 'the 'triumph of human life Buddha, Christ and Gandhi were happy in bleeding and suffering for others But let us pause here Hy view is there before you all It may be right or it may be wrong Santah Parikhyanyatarat Bhajante . Mudhah Parapratyayaneya Buddhih The wise examine, ponder and proceed The unwise go blindly by what- others say r Now you ought to reflect over what I have said for some time, and in the light of what you find, we may amend our view For this you will need time and solitude Let us disperse today and meet again tomorrow to resume our debate CHAPTER HI Man's Two Natures Next day, we assembled again at the Chapel and, taking our places, prayed Dadaji led the prayer— “Om Asato Maam Sat Gamaya, Tamaso Maa Jyotirgamaya, Mrityormaam Amrutam Gamaya, Om Aabih Aabih Mayedhi, 10 146 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Jibema Sharadah Shatam, Pashyema Sharadah Shatam, Prabra^aam Sharadah Shatam, Sebaamah Sharadah Shatam, Shrunuyaama Sharadah Shatam, Adinah Shiama Sharadah Shatam, Bhuyascha Sharadah Shataat’”'’ After the prayer was over, we told Dada]i that none of us had any doubt of the truth of what he had said and that we wanted him to go on from where he had left off Dada]i resumed — “If we reflect on the prayer we said just now, we find that we have, so to say, two natures, one lower and the other higher In our own daily experience we find the play of these two natures In anger we sometimes insult or beat someone; later, m a calmer moment, we reflect upon it and we regret it. An average good man who, because of wrong judgment, a momentary mis- take, an impulse, an infatuation or a desire for com- panionship, commits a sin or other wrong, rues his folly when he withdraws himself to seclusion, and hstens to the still voice within One side of us drives us to such deeds, the other disapproves of them and makes us repent “One part serves the creature, the other serves the Creator ” (N T Romans 1—25 ) “The dust that man IS and the man that- is created in the image of God” (Genesis III-19 and 1 — 27) “the man that hves by bread alone and the man that cannot live by bread alone” (Matthew IV-4) These two natures are mentioned in the Gita as Purusha and Prakriti, or as Akshara and Kshara It is referrmg to these two sides of our nature. from.untruth to truth, from ignorance to light pom the Perishable to the imperishable from death to immor- ; blossom in me that in Thy wake shall I live years, see a hundred years, hear a hundred years, hundred years, serve a hundred years and uphold my AiA ® hundred years, nay for multiples of hundreds of years ) MAN’S' TWO NATURES 147 ' Milton sang “What in me is dark, illumine, what is low raise and support ”, and Emerson said “ I the imperfect, worship my perfect” Gita says “Atmaiba hyatmano bandhuh, Atmaiba Ripuratmanah, Anatmanastu Shatrutwe Bartetaatmaiba Shatrubat”. “You yourself can be your own friend You your- self can be your own foe If you don’t make yourself your friend you will become your foe Mark the refer- ence to the two entities— You and Yourself, Swami Shivananda says— “The kingdom of God is to be found in the heart of good people who have transformed their lower nature ” “Oh if my soul can fling his dust aside And naked on the air of heaven ride Is it not a shame, is it not a shame for him So long m this clay suburb to abide ?” (Omar Khayyam) Expressions hke — “ The spirit is willing but the flesh IS weak” (Matthew XIX-30), “I am at war with myself” and many others refer to these two natures of man These two natures that we have, grow according to their different tendencies One is the visible body and the other is the invisible spirit inside the body Each grows according to the food and attention, which we give them If we don’t give physical food to the new- born babe, his body will perish If we do not give food to his spirit, it will not grow. The cannibal and the primitive savage, lacking spiritual food, have a stunted spiritual life Man’s spiritual life grows in proportion to the care and attention given to it Christ said “ It is more difficult for the rich to reach heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.” He said so because he saw, as we see, that the rich cannot because of their pre-occupations, give attention to the spirit 148 INDIA’S MESSAGE 6F PEACE and to the extent that they neglect it, it remains stunt- ed in growth It is so both with men and nations The spiritual mind of the Pilgrim Fathers is but a dream to the rich m America now The Industrial Revolution of the West, along with its cult of utilitarianism, froze spiritual life in Europe If the eyes, ears and tongue of a babe be so stupefied as to disable him from im- bibing knowledge, ^ by seeing, hearing, or talking, if his body IS artificially fed 3ust to keep it alive, he will be only a body without any growth of spirituality in him In the babe, spiritual life is dormant If after the spiritual life IS awakened by the wisdom that the babe imbibes from the mother, and from the atmosphere of his family and societyj only spiritual food be given and no physical food, his body will perish and the soul will fly off be- cause it can’t remain, at least in this world, without a physical body We thus find that there are two kinds of lives in us— one of the body and the other of the spirit On the physical side there are different kinds and degrees of happiness, m food, clothes, sex, sleep, sports, games The baby loves rattles and lollypops , the child his toys , the boy enjoys whisthng, ridmg hobby horses, knocking fruit off his neighbour’s trees , the youth seeks good clothes, food, sport, love , the adult works for wealth , and so on On the spiritual side, also, there are various kinds and degrees of happmess Some seek spiritual happiness by worship, some by chanty, some by martyrdom Some abjure social life, and go to caves to seek happiness by peaceful concen- tration Others go to monasteries and missions, and lavish their hves in doing good to others Happiness both of the body and the spirit can change with the growth of knowledge Rice, milk, cotton, mortar, have not changed But man’s knowledge of using them has changed The forms of our food, dress, jewellery, cosmetics, sport and other material adjuncts of physical happmess are not what they were in the' days of our great-grandfathers We do not now MAN’S TWO NATURES (49 relish the food, clothes, games and amusements that our remote ancestors enjoyed hundreds of years ago. In the Press, we are attracted by^ advertisements of the latest European and American novelties If we see the obsolete ornaments and clothes of our ancestors of a hundred years ago depicted in paintings or m theatrical performance, they seem so remote from us that our kinship with them does not immediately come home to us If you see a picture of Charles I or Drake, their clothes are such that without names on the pictures, you might mistake them for clowns. Adults do not relish playing marbles or taking to pastimes which thrilled them in their childhood ^ “ 'As in the physical sphere, so m the spiritual field , humanists today who believe m the great Fathej of all and the universal brotherhood of man, no longer hold that merely because a man does not belong to a parti- cular “rehgion”, his way to heaven is barred or that heTs unfit to be treated as an equal. The former spiri- tual satisfactions derived from the destruction and de- solation' of the .images and places of worship" of some- one else , from hatred of others’ faiths ; from the burn- ing of old women and witches, from thrusting babies mto the ' burning bellies of Holoch’s images ; from in- quisitional tortures, from human sacrifices; from the converting of others to one’s own creed by the show of the sword or by the lure of rice, all these no longer appeal to^us Human conscience is enlarging, and the levels of our spiritual happiness are rising higher and higher. We have seen that the aim of life is happiness We have also seen that there are two kinds of happinesses— one of the body and the other of the spirit. We have further found that of these two classes of -happinesses (though they are not very sharply defined) each is dis- tinct from the other. They change their forms and their appeal as we grow m knowledge from age to age, in -individual national, and international life. 150 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE chapter IV. Aim of Life Now we have to see which happiness is the aim of human life The doctrine of man’s highest good being physical pleasure, was preached in India by a philosopher called Charbak In Greece Aristippus preached the same doc trine As late as the 19th century Bentham, a great English philosopher, who died in 1832 at the age of 84, developed and emphasised this view in his famous doc- trine “ the greatest happiness of the greatest number ” Virtue and vice, right and wrong, good and bad, in men composing a society were to be judged by this one test This doctrme is known as Utilitarianism in Western Philosophy It means that pleasure in the greatest pos- sible quantity is the end of human life “ Pushpin is as good as poetry if the happiness is as great ” But since man has to hve in society with other men, who also want their pleasures, the end is not the greatest quantitative pleasure of the individual alone but it is the greatest quantitative pleasure of the largest number of individuals that compose that society In other words the individual must secure to himself the greatest amount of physical pleasure, subject only to this restriction, that it must not jar with the greatest pleasure of the majority of individuals Bentham’s utilitarianism wields considerable influence over the mind of the modem man It does not envisage spiritual happiness, which lies above and beyond mere ammal pleasure (Charbak’s dictum is “Jaabat jibet Sukham jibet, Rinam Kritwaa Ghritam Pibet”. Live in plea- sure as long as you live Feast on butter, even if you die a debtor,”) This doctrine makes no distinction between the pleasure of a profligate or prostitute, a cut-throat 'and AIM OF LIFE 151 a cut-purse, and the happiness of a Buddha, Christ or Gandhi Such being the position, we have now to con- sider whether the aim of life is physical pleasure, or whether it is spiritual happiness, or whether it is a re- gulated adjustment of both. If the goal be only or mamly physical happiness, such as comes from eating, dressing up, matmg, sleep- ing, playing and the like, then each has the right and duty to strive for the best m every such thing Money and property, political cum military power, being means to such happiness, men who collect, and use for their bodily pleasures, such property and power ought to be the ideals of mankind They should be the heroes, pro- phets and path-finders for erring humanity If each man has the right and duty to have the best and most of all bodily pleasures for himself, he has a right to combine and conspire (as Thugs and dacoits do), with others to rob the rest and to divide the spoils with his conspirators Thus to promote his physical happmess Chengiz Khan was right to bum men and cities • Nero was right to set fire to Rome and fiddle while it burnt, Muhammad Ghori was nght to bum Delhi and to flay men and women alive , Bacon Was -right to take bribes as a Judge , merchants in the black market are right to defraud the public. If physical happiness be the aim, why should not a servant tell the thief how the master can be murdered and his jewels be shared’ Why should not a man of the Police share the booty and sabotage a trial ’ Why should not clerks and ac- countants secretly remove' or set fire to records that might prove their defalcations, their negligence m duty, or their misappropriation of their employers’ money or property’ Why should husband and wife be faithful to each other if they will rget more pleasurable sensa- tions by taking outside liberties’ Why should not there be those dramatic rises and falls m political for- tune which we have seen m the Middle East of recent years ? Why should not fifth-columnists -sell atomic and INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE other national secrets to foreign powers, since they will gam more money and assure themselves of better physi- cal ^pleasures and comforts ’ Why should not railway men m charge of valuable goods, appropriate some, and burn or otherwise destioy the rest, to pass off the whole affair as a pure af’Cident ’ Why should not people adopt the piofessions of pimps and procuresses if this brings more money and more physical pleasures to them ’ Why should not watchmen in warehouses misappro- priate large portions of the stores and set fire to the rest to show that all was burnt Wliy should not suc- cess in elections be secured by defrauding the voter, by hckmg his boots during elections, and then sucking his blood by taxes m order to gam food and clothes much superior to his own How can we blame Hitler for his oppression of the Jews, or for carrying on his J^ordic experiments, or for securing for crowded Ger- many some colonies while other countries in Europe had occupied large tracts-’of the earth’s surface much fheir need and flaunted their possessions before the Germans We cannot ' blame the cannibal for kilhng another man, the" bigot’' who sacrifices human beings for his earthly gam, the prostitutes who sell 01’ the Tartar warriors* who after victory ^^om' eight to eighty -u could seize inrthe conquered country If ^'i^lileasure be the aim of life, physical and political c might Which secures the means to that ^i^ht thing ' Religion, philosophy, brotherhood, fellow-feeling, soul, W are all meanmg- condemning slave-hunt- Mau Mau killing m recent times "^eii'bomiS question the use of atom and hydro- ind radms“ " ^ thou- of-allnhe frailties add failings, the talsehoods hnd -hypocrisies -generated' by modem: man’s SOCIETY OF PHYSICAL HAPPINESS 153 feverish hunger for physical pleasures, m spite of all his selfish pride, and his hatred of others, there is some- thing in the human breast that condemns such deeds. I may not have the language to put into words whal that something is, but it is there It is because of that inexpressible something that charity and not cruelty, mercy and not punishment, humility and not hatred, have appeal, irresistible appeal to the undefiled human heart The blackest lone criminal pitted agamst orga- nised might, while undergoing trial, evokes not anger and hatred, but sjnnpathy and compassion from the disinterested bystander The latter’s soul says as it were — “ yes, he did it , but many others, the judge and the jury, the prosecutor and the witnesses also might not have acted very differently if they had only his education, his mental outlook, had been situated as he was ” Expressing horror at some Britisher’s hunt of Mau Maus the Daily Express of London in November, 1953 said “Has the attack on Mau Mau turned into a British fox hunt ’ A tally was kept of the killed as if they were grouse or partridges and not human beings The Statesman of India also wrote in November, 1953 to that effect The Daily Expiess or the Statesman have no political power to stop the wrong but they ex- press the kind of cry that surges up in the human soul CHAPTER V. Society of Physical Happiness Em Could you continue Dadaji fiom where you left off yesterday D Let me conjure up a society or a nation whose ruling class enjoys sufficient wealth and political power — the unfailing means of physical happiness Each men> ber of this class has a helicopter, a Cadillac, a Radio and Television set, a Tele-printer, a palace on a high hill 154 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE where the scenery on one side rolls to the course of a blue sparkling stream , where the vision ranges from the ground to the foothills of a mountain range and then further up, luring the eyes with beautiful nature’s mysterious charms He owns delicious gardens around the house, a marble swimming pool, magnificent foun- tains gyrating and playmg upon nude nymphs, fiower beds of amaranths, lilacs and roses , many-coloured birds darting on branches chirping and twittering , cuckoos and nightingales pouring their eversweet melodies His house is a triumph of architecture, marble floored, mosaic pillared, walls adorned with Gobelin tapestries, glorious canvasses, within it, the best of paintings, ivory- mlaid -mahogany furniture, Chippendale chairs, Ming vases, Persian carpets, Sambal curtains and a large treasure of the curios of centuries He has plenty of damty food, Olde English Marmalade, American drinks. Oriental perfumes. Pans cosmetics, the most fashionable and up-to-date dresses for wear, made of woollen crepe, Swiss floral rayon, Scotch tweeds and so on He has cardigan jackets, his wife has American nylon stockings When he presses a button, everything wanted comes before him neatly "arranged in a drawer electrically operated Each hoUse-o-wner’s wife is a Helen for beauty, always healthy and elegant There is no hard- work, no worry, no anxiety about getting the materials of such happiness The days are filled with sport and amusement, the nights with dinners and dances All these this ruling class has m abundance, enough and to spare There is however one thing wantmg among, the rulers There is no spirituahty, no behef in God, in religion or morality All the culture that they have is of the physical senses, and of the carnal mind for the enjoyment of the pleasures of the flesh There is no sense of chastity, no idea of keeping faith with one another To keep their position, the ruling people or parties contmually plan and pursue their physical SOCIETY OF PHYSICAL HAPPINESS 155 welfare. Since they want only their physical pleasure, an outbreak of infectious disease amongst their servants or amongst the governed, is the signal for the instant des- truction of the sufferer They coax or compel the ruled who provide the means for their welfare, to remain at a low level Do you think such a society or nation will be happy Rum will soon overtake them History shows that the sunny weather of physical fortune and power does not last long It is the nature of wealth and luxury Abundance destroys brotherhood In a short time for- tune becomes misfortune, prosperity becomes decadence According to the Bible, Satan rebelled in order to share jDower with God Then he begot sin, and then through her again begot death and then all our woes If in the celestial paradise rebellion is possible, in our fancied paradise on earth there is bound to be rebellion In the spiritual vacuum m our imagined society, some like Cssar will be arrogant in power, like Cleopatra many will lure power to the attractions of the flesh, many like Cassius will plot the destruction of the powerful They would say— • “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves Men at sometimes are masters of their fates The fault dear, Brutus is not in our stars But m ourselves, that we are underlmgs” Like Brutus, the few good men there will be deceiv- ed and misled , like Antony, many will inflame the people to achieve their own power and after attaining it they will remain drunk, and end m pomocracy, under courtesans like the “enchantress of the Nile And that society's sun Will set as the sun of the great Roman Empire set 156 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE In the hey-day of the Greeks, Pans kidnaps Helen and golden Troy is turned to dust and ashes Agamem- non the king takes away Briseis, the captive mistress of his comrade Achilles, spends “Lustful nights” with her , and later, when he falls in to difficulty, tries to placate Achilles by offering him bribes of “full twenty nymphs of Tro3an race”, besides one of the three daughters bred m his own court, a vast store and seven ample cities Achilles, wronged, feels that “armed in impudence thb King braved mankmd, meditated new cheats and was “a shameful fellow” One of the great lessons' of the Trojan war, is that even so petty a thing as an'appl'e of gold or so silly a thing as the opinion of . a mere mortal about physical beauty, could turn goddesses of heaven into mean, spiteful, and revengeful beasts " _ ^ - Powerful but godless Ravana, the kmg " of ' the country of gold, lives in plenty, but bums with low passions He steals a medicant’s wife, too blind by the intoxication of his physical powers and _ his wealth to realise his sm The sm works , he and his brood perish by God’s justice Godless Duryodhan usurped others’ rights, outraged female modesty, spurned good advice and lost all he had ^In different parts of the world to- day Gonerils and Regans are driving their benefactors out of doors ^ Macbeth’s are murdering Duncans and Banquos , the_elected are eatmg up their electors"' ’’’Who can imagme the dark deeds committed by some men of power during India’s inglorious days under the British ’ The mysteries of the Court of London,’ of -the Court of the Great Moghuls, the inside stones of Versailles, are all tell-tale instances of matenal greatness leadmg men down into the abyss The flaymg of^rhen alive", the agonies of criminals sentenced to death, or of slaves thrown into the cages of hungry" lions,- were "watched With pleasure by many of the world’s mightiest rulers - General Dyer shoots defenceless men in Jallianawala Bagh He and men like him, who by violence cwanted SOCIETY OF PHYSICAL HAPPINESS 157 to strengthen the British Empire, built by the motherly love of Queen Victoria and the affectionate devotion of many noble Britishers, unwittingly weakened it and accelerated its end Khtler, for his own power wanted to do away with his friend Hess, and the latter fled for his life to enemy shoies Physical power and riches, and undue ambitions for either, breed godlessness, fanaticism and violence. Attila, the terror, Chengiz the tormentor, Napoleon the wonder. Hitler the world- shocker, all have perished Their record in the history of mankind is fast losing its glamour among men You will also find th^t today’s victors are often tomorrow’s victims Successive mutual exterminations by group fanatics who call themselves patriots are not rare in history In the last war the Germans and the Japanese were victors for a time , but became victims later You will further see that to promote the bodily happiness of the utilitarian type of one man or of one section, another man or another section must be enslav- ed or must suffer In other words, the bodily happiness of one comes from the drudgery and misery of another , the one becomes happy by making large numbers un- happy The greatest happiness of the greatest number IS a high sounding shibboleth, yet for one man’s better physical "hfe more th^ one man must live worse The so-called happiness and rule by the majority in demo- cracy IS often a farce in practice In most demo- cracies of the world today, the credulous voter is for- gotten after the election is over ; and the spoils of society go only to the-elected few who soon become an oligarchy Often they align themselves with the nch and become a plutocracy— -another name for the autocracy of the rich ' Most of them, with their employees and protegees live a life of luxurious idleness, flittmg from place to place and enjoying the best of both worlds at the cost of 'the -rest of society They use', or rather abuse their powers as elected men in appropriating to th^S'elves emoluments' ''that sometimes exceed one 158 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE hundred even one thousand times, the earnings of the men who have elected them While the electors are crsang in penury, large salaries are paid to the elected men, for mechanically mouthing, votes of yes or no to their master’s voice This is a common picture in many democracies of the world today, and it results from the theory underlying rule by majority — the “greatest happi- ness for the greatest number”. If you examine the concept of physical happiness a little closely, you will find that when an individual wishes for it or enjoys it (beyond actual needs to keep the body fit for the growth of the spirit) there is always in his mmd a selfish desire to show off, an inclination to display himself above others If he has a Cadillac he IS happy, but only so long as others have not got one The day he finds other people with Cadillacs, his own ceases to give him delight The same thing holds good for his house, food, clothes, occupation and almost all other things of physical pleasure If most people share the delicacies and material comforts which the nch are enjoymg now, the desire of the rich for them would"' soon dimmish They would appear trite and hackneyed So long as there is a craving for physical comfort beyond the limits of actual need m an mdividual, a section, or party anywhere m the world, that section must be selfish, that section must act more or less like a rigid caste and strive to keep itself apart from and above the others All talk by such men of the brotherhood of mankind, peace, religion, morality, or internationalism IS spoiled by the motive of safeguarding their own class interests Every one of the 2300 milhons of human beings now mhabitatmg the earth cannot be a miUion- aire to join the brotherhood of millionaires, or to share equally what the milhonaires are enjoymg today Americans- are the richest people on the earth today The wealth of many is almost fabulous The U S A. Gevernment is said to be trymg to see that every worker m their country gets a wage of $1 (nearly Rs 4/-)- per SOCIETY'OF PHYSICAL HAPPINESS 159 hour It IS also said that every fourth man has a car The food produced is so much in excess of need that to keep up the tempo of production amongst the growers, millions of tons of wheat, incredible quantities of eggs, apples and other food are bought by the Government and then given to other countries or thrown into the sea There are organisations of which every housewife- member gets a new gadget for household use every month Food, wear, sports, amusements and all that the flesh needs are there in plenty Yet you yourself, Emeham, have told me that the people of that big country are not happy The general mood is one of frustration, worry and anxiety Nervous disorders have led to large scale mental instability and the multi- plication of mental hospitals Suicide out of disappoint- ment with life IS more common there than in any other part of the world More than half the hospital beds of America are filled with persons mentally ill Besides the general hospitals there are special hospitals for the mentally defective and the demand for such institutions IS on the increase The truth is m fact, that wealth up to a point is necessary , but beyond that, it is a danger that brings inevitably vanity, pride, lethargy, and then rum Untold riches have not brought mental peace to the Americans Nor is Britain the foremost m Western civilisation any oetter vide App II We have noticed in our discussions that the corrup- hons deriving from physical wealth, power and pleasure have driven human societies downward in different narts of the world at different periods of history At tiiat tune mankind lived in separate sectors Now that mankmd is coming into closer contact, the evil of pch Sit IS sure to infect aU others You must have realised bv now that physical pleasures cannot be the final goal nf men If they were, the human body would enlarge from day to day, its appetite to engorp larger quantities of food would increase Instead of being satisfied with Snly a few spoonfuls of delicacies, it would consume 160 INDIA’S OF PF-ACT. maunds and Ions In si 70 il v/mild !\vnv.' to t>K ( normoai hugeness oC elephants, v h.ik-s, (sinD'.'jius InMo.id <» living for 3 or 4 score >cais t»nb. il should n^ver die, it would never fall into odious old an Hut the body IS fiailty and clay Piiysic.d pleasure, pall If v’o l.d:e only rich food foi two or Ihicc d.iS'., thf 'Stomach balks, the food cloys and Iheic is nausea PioJhfacs bring-, debility. Indulgence m bodily pleasures •'oon leads to degeneracy CIIAPTER VI. A Higher Class of Happiness There is anothei class of happiness m which there IS no such balking, cloying or nausea The more good- ness we have, the more our appetite for goodness increases If we are sorry for the distress and misery of one man or of one section, today, we become sorry for the distress of more people the next day Dmabandhu Andrews rushed from one place of distress to another, never feeling discouraged, but more and more encourag- ed, more and more happy Small, evanescent, and ultimately misery-making are the happinesses of the body The other happiness is large, uplifting and ever- lasting To understand it, let us imagine a different kind of society There men of Government so live and behave in their httlest acts that people feel that the ]oys and sorrows of one are the joys and sorrows of all. In warm sympathy each does his best to help the other in difficulty and distress All abstam from actions which are harmful to any or may produce unhappiness any- where Each uses only as much food, clothes, and other creature needs as will keep the body fit and efficient to help mankmd He does not overfeed it or allow it any luxury The self-denial of each is an insurance against possible misfortune to any Each keeps under control A HIGHER CLASS OF HAPPINESS 161 his physical senses, as the Brahmin Rishis of old did, as true Zen monks of Buddhism, as true Reformers of Christianity, and Islam do Such a man will earn only 3 ust enough to keep his body in perfect health, and wiU utilise the rest of his time m pursuing the happiness of reading, of worshipping and praying to God and of caring for orphans and widows He would eat, clothe himself, and work, just as Gandhi did when he pursued truth, love and non-violence He would ponder the problems — what is this world What is his relation to the Creator ’ What is his responsibihty to the weak in society How can he help their moral and physical improvement What is the goal of human hfe How can he reach it Thus would he try to know the goal and work to achieve it In such a society, there can be no doubt that each of the 2300 millions of human beings living on this earth could happily live in the peak of physical, moral and religious health The individual’s conscience, more vigi- lant than the eyes of the police, detective, and anticorrup- tion officers, would keep society free from the violation of laws and from deviation into harmful conduct All will have sufficient to eat and wear , enough leisure to pray to God, to discover the abiding spirit withm, and to advance the spiritual happiness of all mankind But today all of us, all men, save a handful, are eager to have more and yet more money and power in the hope that wealth and power wall give the best kind of happiness We forget that J D Rockefeller of America, the richest man in recorded history, whose in- come every hour was over 6,000 dollars, lived constantly in fear of bemg killed and had to be guarded by armed men day and night In spite of his extensive donations he was a man who was disliked by many in his country He had no peace His misery because he had too much money can only be imagined And what of the wealthy man in Europe, of whom it is related that he committed 11 162 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE suicide one night because he had learned that his assets amounted to less than a million sterling It IS said that one day when Tamerlane, the great conqueror, was asked why, after subduing so many nations, he was still restless and planning more conquests, he answered that the world is too small to be satisfied with In the case of spiritual happmess, we become happy by making others happy Thus, while mere bodily happmess seems to grow less when others share it, so that those who aim at it must strive to increase their own share and to deprive others correspondingly, spiritual happiness is doubled and trebled when it is shared with others So while the sum-total of bodily happiness always grows less among those who pursue it, the sum-total of spiritual happmess multiplies as it is communicated to others The body perishes , it can’t grow beyond certain limits But spiritual happiness can enlarge to any extent, can embrace all men, all nations, all life, the whole of creation Its achievements percolate everywhere and are diffused among all It has no death We adore Buddha, Christ and Gandhi, not for the achievements of their bodies, but for their spiritual attainments Their bodies have perished Their spirit IS here, still workmg amongst us, inspiring us, conducting us in the paths of virtue A Chengiz Khan burning cities and a Muhammad Ghori flajang men ahve, a Kalapahar desecrating places of worship and destroying works of art and sculpture, might evoke admiration m primitive hearts But who among today’s better part of mankind will prefer a Hitler pursuing his experiments in nordism on human beings to a Gandhi ready to give his life’s blocd, if needed for his human brother, even for a political opponent who imprisoned him or threatened to do so ’ Em ^Would you tell us, Dadaji, how Mahatma Gandhin lived A HIGHER CLASS OF HAPPINESS 163 D — Well, his life was an open book I had the toitune of living near his feet for some time He lived a simple life, incredibly simple He woke at 4 AM., worked till 9PM Sometimes till past midnight During the Round Table Conference m London m the early thirties, and also while he was touring m East Bengal in 1947, he sat up at times till past 1 A M to start again from 4 AM The only hours of break from his hard work were what were needed for washing, eating, sleep- ing and praying All his three meals, one early in the morning, a second at about noon and third before sun- set, seldom cost moie than about a shilling His dress was the simplest — practically just sufficient for decency In body a tiny little man, aptly described as “naked fakir” he had an iron will and a determined adherence to truth at all costs He would not lose his soul" to gam the independence of India or even the kingdom of the world Just as Imperial Rome was impotent against the faith of the early Christians, so the mighty British Empire of the 20th century had to yield to the spirit of this one single physical mamkin Yet this man of unbendmg spirit had a heart over- flowing with the milk of human kindness and a soul that loved all men on earth, white, black, brown or yellow, and longed for the love of his bitterest foe He never lived for a mmute false to his ideal, he never flinched a hair’s breadth from what he said, always doing what he told others to do and never afraid of anybody, of any power, in the world, other than God How much better and happier was this little man than the great and wealthy m the USA! The possession of physical wealth involves the fear of losing it In all countries of the world, people who have accumulated wealth ahgn themselves with the existmg order, expecting to be protected by it from the 164 INDIA’S MDSSAGE OF PEACE wrath of the hungry and needy You will thus see that beyond a certain point, wealth often weakens the mind instead of strengthening it Mahatma Gandhi s life bears ample evidence of the fact that the lack of posses- sions generates great strength As the Latin proverb says “The poor man sings cheerfully even when the robber is about” Those of you who had not the good fortune of seeing the Mahatma may see his disciple. Vinobha Bhave, another living example of plain living, high thinking and noble acting Like the Mahatma he is a physical manikin with little of beauty in his face or distinction in his dress But his eyes beam with affec- tion and love for all men, for all life. He has a heart full of the pathos of the poor people’s miseries In spite of his poverty in bodily strength, he has a great mind, an indomitable will and high character He is a mighty force with a determination which overcomes every obstacle His luminous and concise sentences, coming from the depths of his universal soul, uttered in a calm serene manner, reach down into the hearts of the men to whom they are spoken They are not sounding brass, eloquence, rhetoric, wit or repartee But they so mirror his heart that his hearers are soon filled with faith m him, with renewed self-confidence, with hope in the good that exists m this world in spite of surrounding evil What is there m this little man to account for the fact that when he was lying ill, in an improvised leaf cottage m a place deep in the interior of the country, he attracted to his bedside the great President from Imperial Delhi What has he in him that compelled Nehru to leave his tremendous preoccupations and lun to this small man lying there in rags ’ It was neither political ncr mihtary power nor physical wealth, for of both Vinoba has nothmg ^ At 3 in the morning he wakes, washes, prays and oy 4.30 he is already on his feet for the march in his mission By about SAM when he has covered about 8 miles on foot, he is at the next place of work After /HIGHER CLASS OF HAPPINESS 165 talking for a few minutes with the people assembled there, he again washes, and then attends to correspon- dence, and reads newspapers It is said that he can lead and write about 20 languages After an hour’s rest, one full hour he spends in the sacrifice of spinning at his wheel Then he goes to the meeting arranged, addresses the people on the land-gift sacrifices, and for the all round moral and physical improvement of every individual. About sunset he is back m his residence His dress IS a loin cloth hardly going below the knees Like his wear, his food is simple and sensible At 3 30 AM he takes a plate of curd, about half a pound, at 6 30 AM another, at 9 30 A M, one more plate At 12 30 PJVL he takes about half a glass of fruit juice and a little curd at 3 30 P M a cup of milk and at 6 30 P M another cup This IS all his food Not even six years have passed since Vinoba began his mission in Telengana , but imagme the mighty force he has already released throughout the length and breadth of this vast country of 400 millions men, and 4,000,000 square miles in area In India, rich and poor, samt and sinner, political parties and religious organisations see m this tiny httle man a new Messiah, m his method a new cure of ills, a new dream, a new hope and a new era Never anywhere in man s million-year history on earth, have organised military might or untold physical wealth or the combination of both achieved in hundreds of years what the spiritual power of a Buddha or Christ or Gandhi has achieved in one smgle life Their powers and their happiness came not from their bodies, net from their possessions, but from their spirit, from their ascetic soul We have now looked at the two happinesses, one physical and the other spiritual In the past, both the idea and the pursuit of spiritual happiness have been crude But they are changing with 166 INDIA’S MESSAGD OF PEACH the growth of our knowledge Wc do not now practise simony, trafficking m sacred things and in the gifts of God In Dante’s time a murderer could escape punish- ment by eating a sop of bread and wine wuthin nine days of the deed, at the giave of the dead , who W'ould not now hate to forge a document, as wms done in the middle ages, to piove the transfer of temporal power to the Papacy We no longer believe that leligion is strengthened by burning infidels or that men become religious by lanatical intolerance To feed gods or goddesses, we no iongei kill human beings. Those that want to plav the God to punish the delinquent in leligion. are no longei kindly viewed The hatred of those who wore called untouchables , the denial of equal treatment to un- developed or coloured peoples , the killing of bulls, and sheep, goats and buffaloes to buy the blessings of deities, are losing the appeal w'hich they once exercised learn more and more of spiritual values, selfishness and smallnesses cease , our hearts enlarge , tne distant becomes near, the interest of others be- comes our own , a stranger becomes a brother , and our and pursuits cf spiritual happinesses improve pH Ilf of this century embraces all men, ii-Tir, 1 creation With the increase of his ^^0 depths and boundaries, the TW happiness are also enlarging ness ^ climbing the Sinais of spiritual happi- VU. Reversal of Mankind’s Moral Progress Dada]! Continued Our^lwel^m V^^^^sal of the process we are ceasme f regimented that ceasing to be thinking beings In food, dress REVERSAL OF MANKIND’S MORAL PROGRESS 167 and almost all other matters of hfe we are infliuenced too much by fashions set by others , fashions intended not to increase humanity’s health and wisdom but to inflate private purses When the over-industrialised countries of the West, producing large masses of goods, wanted foreign markets, they fought with one another, and captured large markets When they lost their foreign markets, they were frightened by the Frankens- tein s monster that rose up from their own works — the danger of social disintegration inside their countries created by the factory hands thrown out of employment and by the fear of shareholders’ losing not only their monthly or yearly incomes but also the source of it — the very investments that gave them the mcomes The panacea has been to create new needs, new wants, new fashions, new luxuries, new war materials, to keep trade going Advertisements at home pushed the sales of the newly invented luxuries, while the fomentation of quar- rels abroad created demands for the materials of war The result on the individual man of this atmosphere has been disastrous He has become an unthinking moron buying trifles with gold earned by the sweat of his brow, heedless of the great meanings of life He is working, struggling and strainmg But why ’ His mind today is not unlike that of the blindfolded ox go- ing round and round the oil press All the oil goes to others, while the ox is satisfied with chaff Attracted by the smell of the oilcake, he willingly lowers his neck to be yoked Like the ox, many a youth today IS a prisoner of his own habits Unthinking, oblivious of the larger meanmgs and hopes of life, he is a dismal display of lostness, afraid to go beyond his rut He is not aware that he can create and recreate, that he can raise and sublimate He does not perceive that it is reflection which gives the place of distinction to man over the other animals, that by reflection, fresh fields, new pastures, widening horizons and rismg skies can be discovered He does not know that the best book 168 INDIA’S MCSSAGD OF PEACE IS yet to be written, that the best world is yet to be created , that the best discovery in art, philosophy and religion is yet to be made The more we reflect the bettor we know The less we reflect, the more we degenerate to the level of the lower animals which are controlled by others The individuals deterioration is due to his sluggish mind which misses the opportunities which life brings His ears are closed to the knocks of God on his door He allows his mind and intellect to be fashioned and cramped in biological grooves and to be imprisoned within narrow barriers When England rose m power, e average youth of the world that knew or heard of og ish ways of life and dress — “the Russian in his Japanese and Chinese awkward efforts to be English” hon Here in India our English-educated men fnoTK.f not only in clothes and sneezing, coughing and saying their wiir ^ T'u^ their mothers, their sisters and Gandhm went so deep and wide that ^om political freedom SeSom to secure her civilisation ■Ri ^ foreign and frivolous tragedies of m imitation is one of the greatest " cease. ?oT mdi- coming a mero independent being He is be- ft.s hi regards rsTrogrlT’"® Western Science*"^T’ *^azzled by the brilliance of 400 miles or more an plane may carry you the measure of man ’c ^ scientific progress is not to aruZled ?o“d “> d^tiny- wanl yoftXhave • /^fleeting men I do not a vortex Do lot nllf “** DO not, please, go by what I have said THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 169 Rather let us all reflect and find out our destiny, your destiny, my destiny and the destiny of all human brothers and sisters who are now living and that will live hereafter on this earth The question you have put is big It is the biggest ever known We are small men Even so let us have faith m ourselves and think If we do not think, who shall think for us’ If we do not think why should we be men, at all ’ If we do not think, what difference would there be between us and brute creation ’ The animal is not ashamed of his nakedness He does not know, cannot think and cannot fill up the gap between ‘what is’ and ‘what ought to be’ The man that can do so and yet does not, is still an animal though statistically he is counted as a man I have said nothing new The search for this truth has been going on since man grew higher than a mere animal prowling for food Wherever the spirit has been v/akened, and to the extent that it has been wakened, man seeks spiritual happiness, though in this venture he IS often obstructed by the animal in him I do not pretend to know the whole truth , I have only indicated the processes of thought and reflection by which truth may come home to us All of us must reflect earnestly and seriously, so that God willing, we may hit on the right conclusion CHAPTEE VUL The Abode of Peace and Happiness Next time we met, we told Dadaji that it seemed to us that there was no doubt that spiritual happiness was better than physical, but that we thought that it could be had in heaven only Dadaji said have any of you tried to form an idea, of what the heavens and their happinesses are, as visualised by the differen religions 170 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE We reabsed our ignorance, looked at one another, and then requested Dadaii to give us a short idea of the heavens and happinesses as conceived by the different religions, and also the hells and the punish- ments there Dada]! said — At the outset I would warn you that my ideas and views about religions other than Hindu, cannot but be imperfect and sketchy We do not know our own religion sufficiently v/ell To know another’s IS so difficult To know the grandeur of a religion, one must live in the company of the best men of that religion Mere book-learning, however deep and wide it may be, cannot bring home to a stranger the essential truth and beauty of it So you must take my views subject to these limitations E — ^That IS true D —Now, from where should we start Akbar —Let us begin with the latest D According to Islam, heaven is a place of perpetual life after death in the sight of God , and hell IS a place where the vicious shall be under the perpe- tual wrath of God According to Christianity, heaven is as described in this passage — Glory to the Father, to the son, ^d to the Holy Spirit” rang aloud ^ough .111 Paradise , that with the song passing sweet the strain what I saw was equal ecstacy One umversal smile it seem’d of all things , ’ gladness unutterable , ^perishable life of peace and love , xhaustless riches, and unmeasured bhss Silence ensued. Through the blest quire, by Him, who here appoints THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 171 Vic.ssitude of ministry, enjoin’d , When thus heard “Wonder not, if my hue Be clianged , for, while I speak, these shalt thou see All in like manner change with me My place He who usurps on earth, my place, ay, mme, Which in the presence of the Son of Gcd Is void, the same hath made my cemetery A common sewer of puddle and of blood The more below his Triumph, who from hence Malignant fell (Dante-Divina Comedia-Paradise Canto XXVIH) Sun Tung — Wlio was the Malignant referred to, uho fell fiom heaven and triumphs below D — The Christian belief is that Satan and his numbeiless followers were formerly angels living with other angels and with God But somehow Satan wanted to share power wnth Goa and started a rebellion So God sent the rebels headlong down into hell which as described by Milton is — “A dungeon horrible, on all sides round, As one great furnace flamed , yet from those flames No light , but rather darkness visible Serve only to discover sights of woe, Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can never dwell, hope never comes That comes to all, but torture without end Still urges, and fiery deluge, fed "With everburning sulphur unconsumed ” (Paradise Lost) 172 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Now after the fall of Satan, God created the fust man Adam, and placed him m Eden, a beautiful garden A nb was taken out of Adam’s body it became a female, and both lived as husband and wife but without carnality She is known as Eve God had granted them full freedom to eat and enjoy the best in that delicious garden but with one reserving command that they were not to eat the fruit of a tree called the Tree of knowledge As they were especial favourites of God, Satan m hell thought out a plan to corrupt and make disobe- dient Adam and Eve, and thus to pain God With this plan in his head, Satan rose from hell, stole into this beautiful new creation , and by his wiles succeeded in making Eve eat the fruit of that forbidden tree Eve then tempted Adam to taste it So for disobe- dience of God’s command they fell from God’s favour. They would have lived as immortals but for their folly they became mortals In their sinful state, they begot _many children Hence arises the Chiistian belief that man is bom m sin and evil and by his own efforts he is mcapable of redeemmg himself from sm to attain heaven Adam lived for 930 years and you can imagine how his progeny must have multiplied, all filled with starting from their first parents Mean- while God was sorry for man’s disobedience and held a coimcil in heaven to save mankind from the multi- file their sms It was decided that to expiate ^^st be paid by heavenly host to .unreZ ^ Son of God, the the* offered himself as desim pleased and at His expiation for mans ns and has regained for mankind the Paradise that THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 173 had been lost by the disobedience of the first parents This Paradise, however, can be gained only by one who IS a Christian and who has no sin in him at the time of his death The belief is that after death the souls of all dead will be waiting in their graves When the world will come to end there will be a day of judgment On this day a Messenger of God will come to the earth and on his bidding all the souls of the dead, will appear before him He will see the accounts of each, weigh the good and evil done by each and will then pronounce his judgment, sending the completely sinless to eternal heaven and those having any taint of sm in them to eternal hell Heaven according to Christianity is above the Starry Spheres where happy hours aie spent in joy and singing hymns Among others there is in it a tree which blooms with amaranth flowers and shades the “Fount of Life” Nearby rolls “The River of Bliss” Her verdant banks are full of celestial roses Elect Spirits, tune their golden harps and in charming symphony, begin sacred songs and wake concordmg raptures filling the eternal regions with loud Hosannas The sojourners have gay dresses, cheerful company, celestial food and all other high and pure delights both to the body and soul God has a hierarchy of angels to administer his rules and to carry out His wills Shakespeare calls it “Hefvven, the treasury of everlasting joy” Luther says “I would not give one moment of heaven for all the joys and riches of the world, even if it lasted for thousands and thousands of years” According to R W Hamilton it is “The city which God prepared, is as imperishable in its inhabitants as its materials Its pearl, its jasper, its pure gold, are only immortal to frame the abode of immortals No cry of death is in any ot its dwellings No funeral darkness along any of its ways No sepulchre of the holiest relics gleams among the everlastmg hills “Violence is not heard in the land ” There is no death “Its very name has perished It IS swallowed up in victory” 174 INDIA’S MESSAGE Of PEACE In Buddhism also there is a heaven and a hell for man Nirvana is attainment of heaven, the highest aim of life. To the unedified masses of Hindus the highest happi- ness is a heaven, where the best of earth’s happinesses and comforts, prayers, peace and prosperity, are avail- able in a purified and sanctified form except that there IS neither animal food nor alcoholic drinks The pious man who goes there, daily bathes in Mandakini (the celestial Ganges) plucks ‘Pari]at’ and other sacred flowers and Tulsi from ‘Nandan’ (God’s garden), weaves them into garlands every morning aftei bath and with empty stomach goes to Goloka (God’s shrine) offers his daily gifts at the Lord’s feet there, witnesses the performance of Arati, sings hymns with all others there, prays and partakes Prasad, Amrita “manna” After a little rest agam there is worship, Arati, hymn, prayer, offer Thus the rounds go on There js no carnality, no frivolity, all think, feel, wish, pray and act for the good of all creation, while God is comforting and filling all with the ecstasy of never ending bliss All feel that they are within God Himself Heaven has seven gradated spheres meant for var3rmg virtues Swarga (region of gods), Maha Region of saints), Jana (region of the chosen souls), apas (^epoii of penances) and Salya (region of abso- u e truthfulness m thought, word and deed) And above ail there IS the Lord’s city Baikuntha with Gcloka His Lord’s sacred city, is free from 4 - 1 . ^ illusion, delusion, and obsession and overflows with ever reassuring peace and bliss withonf°^'a^^+^ ILndus, heaven is unattamable trutSnei ’^nharmful penance and absolute facihtehvp fact “d therefore he t IS ont happiness The contrary ,s a It IS only those who never utter a word of untruth THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 175 whether for self, for their people, race, religion or nation or any other body, that go to heaven Jathaarthakathanam Jatcha Sarbaloka Sukhapradam Tatsattyamity Bijnyeyam Asatyam tat Biparjayam Aatmaarthebaa Paraarthebaa Putraarthe baapi maanabaa Anritamjena -bhaasante te Budhaa swarga gaaminah” There meet parents and child, friend and friend, husband and wife who have been true to each other They worship, pray, eat and sleep The husband and the wife stay together but love now has no longer any lust in it It is transformed and become divine It is now the love of soul to soul Rising in unison from the hearts of both, the love now flows to the feet of the Father, who m His great alfection takes both to his bosom and there they melt away and partake supreme bliss This goes on from day to day so long their earth- earned truths and virtues lasx “When they are spent up, the individual, has to return to earth and begin life afresh Te Tang Bhuktwaa Swargalokam Bishaalam Kshine Punye Martyalokam bishanti *” If according to the Hindu conception, heaven is charming and beautiful, hell is most frightful There the sinner has to undergo condign torture and torment Every limb or part of the body, eye ear, tongue, genera- tive organ, mind, heart or head which has sinned, festers grain by gram and the sores weep As the sores grow and fester, the torments increase The hells are many Men who instead of making proper use of the vital fluid (one of God s greatest gifts to man) in a legitimate field to advance creation, misuse 176 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE it, go to a hell called Put where among othei punish- ments, the denizens are always haunted with an ever- tormenting feeling of void and vacuum Killers of the cow, the giver of mankind’s best physical food , murder- ers of the wise who give the best mental food , haters of the poor, the lowly and the disinherited who arouse kindness, charity and other noble feelings in human hearts , doers of evil in the sacred places where pilgrims flock to inhale and imbibe holiness , are doomed to a hell called Rouraba (from the root-ro — weep) where not only their eyes but all the openings in their bodies weep red blood while gram by grain the flesh drops off their bodies and is reassembled m its loathsome horrid- ness again and again m the sinner Edmund — ^But can such cruelties be inflicted by God*? D — I view them as God’s mercies E — God’s mercies Can such cruelties be called mercies D — ^If I commit a sm I welcome the punishment — the process of purification to free me from its evil effects Suppose you violate the laws of health and get a malignant boil which threatens your life Would you not prefer to undergo an operation, even a painful one, to be free from it Does not wisdom lie there ’ E —But why should God be cruel ^ the Surgeon who performs the operation cruel Were your parents and teachers cruel when, to mend you they punished you for your faults ^ And why do you drag God mto the picture? Would you say that the British Queen or the American President or the Indian Prime Minister is cruel, because their officers perform the assigned duty of hanging murderers, ^ntenced by the Judge? God’s laws pervade creation They must operate m every sphere, earth, heaven and THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 177 hell They are made to sustain creation as thfe laws of a country are meant to further the nation’s advance. E . — see D : — ^There are other hells to meet adequately the varieties of sms, for according to the Hindu conception it is the sinner himself who must pay for his sin No other can be his ransom Now, to resume the thread It is only after sms are thus expiated, m an hour, in a year or in a thousand or more years, as required by the depth, extent and enor- mity of the sins committed, that the individual’, goes to heaven and en]oys the happmess there as earned' by his virtues practised on the earth After the period earned is over, he again returns to the earth Thus revolves the cycle of his births and deaths, till he attains liberation (Mukti, Mokshya) from the ordained cycle This idea of emancipation is expressed by other words such as getting Laya or becoming Leena (dissolv- ing) at the feet of the Father , attaining Kaibalya — free- dom from the limitations of personality, even as God who IS Kebalo free from such limitations “Saakhi Chetaa Kebalo Nirgunascha”- - — ^All knowing primordial unqualifiable one This according to the general masses of Hindus, is the highest view of life. The ignorant unenlightened masses have no clear conception of the supreme part of Hmduisra. And since the imimtiated can have no initiative to work and no mcentive m life without' a hope of reward of some great good and a fear of some pimishment to deter them from sm, the Vedantic seers do not disturb them in their limited beliefs — “Na budhibhedam Janayet Ajnyaanaam Karma Sangmaam Jooayet Sarbakarmaani bidwaan Yuktah Samaacharan.” 12 178 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE “Disturb not by precepts the lesser minds from their beliefs and pursuits But attract them from darkness to light by your own uplifting practices.” An example is to be set for the common emulation of all classes of people — learned and unlearned, prince and pauper, Aryans and non-Aryans, any and all But the enlightened and thinking section of mankind are advised not to wait for happmess beyond the grave , but to avail themselves of the tide of spiritual hajppiness and bliss, here on this earth We were all surprised and I said This is a rather revolutionary idea in religion D — So it IS E — ^But IS the highest spiritual bliss really available in this dusty world of spite, envy, war, massacre and other temfying evils ’ D —As surely as I am talking to you this moment: Here is what the Prashnopanishad says— “Rig Veda promises joys of the Earth Yayurveda of heaven, Sama sings of both But Om, leads man beyond fear, decay and death And gives him Eternal peace and bhss ” E — But do you seriously mean to say that a single word ‘Om’ can brmg all this D God IS also a smgle word, but we know what it means It is not the word, but its implications which matter Even in India very few people know what mcredible spiritual power the word “Om” has Its hackneyed use has very much undermined its spiritual efficiency, even with the educated m our country. I will tell you later how you can, m your own person, receive a demonstration of its immense content You know how the words, “Nirvana” and “Non-violence”, the phrases. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”, “No taxation without representation” and the like have made heroes out of clay THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 179 E — ^Dada]! I have been wondering about this, but now I can understand. Can you tell us something more about Hmduism Dadaji said . — A perusal of the Vedas will show that all of them cannot be revelations to one seer or saint, as IS wrongly believed by the large masses of Hmdus, who rarely read them. The collection is a wealth of fine literature, often rising to sublime poetry and superb language, painting the idyllic hfe, the lyrical beauty and abundance of those simple days when all the powers and forces of nature — sun, moon, air and others were viewed and addressed as dear friends close at hand and stretching out their arms to succour man Life was then untramelled by any religion, faith, creed, doctrine or dogma It was not imprisoned within any institution hke patriotism, caste, race, community such as divide mankind today The Vedic man was filled-full of humanity Long after that period, Ram, Krishna and other heroes worshipped as gods by the masses in India did not bear any stamp of what is now known as Hmduism Both Ram and Krishna were heroes for all mankind, without distinction of race or religion, caste or colour The teachings of the sages of the Upamshads and of the Bhagabat Gita are not restricted to any particular group out of mankind They are addressed to all The Buddha sought a way out of man’s miseries caused by sickness, old age and death. He preached detachment, renunciation of posses- sion, control of the bodily senses, regulation of thoughts and ideas to all At the time of Greek impact on India, we find no specific designation such as Hmduism or Buddhism The word ‘Hindu’ gamed currency after Alexander designated the nver Sindhu m the Pun3ab as the Indus , and called the people living to the east of Indus by this name The expression Indus became in course of time Hmdus The word Indu or Hindu was a geographical 180 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE description of the people living in Bharatbarsha. I do not know when exactly the word Hindu was first used to mean the religion practised by the men of India ; but whatever be the point of time when it became current, the description is incorrect and misleading Since the days of the Vedas, India’s religion has always been Manabadharma or Humanism This religion has taken into its bosom Aryans, non-Aryans, Drav’dians, primitive people, Greeks, Scythians, Assyrians, Misrs (Egyptians), Mongolians, Ceylonese and all other folk who ever wanted to merge in her Sanatan Manabadharma, j e everlasting humanism, without undergomg any rigid formality of initiation There are worldly men and non- worldly men — ^Monks, Sanyasis and Fakirs, m almost all the religions of the world The Buddha renounced worldly life and became a Recluse The words of this great son of^ India have brought peace to innumerable souls m different parts of the world The true Hmdu womhips him as an Avataara (incarnation of the highest), regards Christ as a Bhakti-Yogi, and St Francis as a Karma-Yogi T j will fhus see that it is a mistake to describe India s Sanatan Manabadharma, as Hinduism Very likely the distorted description of India’s Manabadharma frehgion of humanity) as Hinduism was given currency by mdividuals belonging to sectarian faiths m order religion from that which ^^^/^agennath temple m Pun is a n Manabadharma where no distinction of Tnrioo,! ° pnnce or pauper was ever contemplated belr. to appear local ^ pariah sweeper and clean the for ^ eustom unique in human history P^^^^dest in the land to nartakp of Brahmin or Prince may not refuse This wflc Prasad with the lowest sweeper thera It in ^as clouded yea s For in spite of all our endeavours to THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 181 do good, there will always be a tendency in most men, a strong tendency in some men and a vicious tendency in a few men, to spoil the world's good things for their own narrow and selfish purposes But although the word Hmduism does not correctly represent the rehgious beliefs of the residents of Bharat (India), it has earned the content we know by wide and frequent use It means the religious beliefs and faiths of the residents of India, including Aryans, Dravidians, and such others as have accepted the belief contamed in and assumed by the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Brahma- sutras, the Gita and other rehgious literature of In(ha Therefore the word Hinduism nas been used in this book, in the sense in which it has been current for the last 2,000 years or so. Unhke other great rehgions of the world, Hinduism is not dogmatic or oracular It is not confined to the words and preachings of any one Hero, Prophet or Incarnation of God or of any one seer, sage, saint, or other religious preacher or reformer It is a religion which has grown by imbibing the moral and religious experiences of teachers tune to time It is a religion which synthesises and subhmates the different modes of x of men living m different parts the ages and in different tunes It holds the narti great Father gives to man the wisaom needed at parti- cular place at a particular *nn® recipient to ennoble and sanctify i “Ekam According to the Hindus there is one single Sat, Bipra Bahudha Badant^’ “God cannot describe him differently”. Since my , miiverse conceive the immense Creator of t is c envisagmg man should be, indeed must be, satisfied ^^^gmg and worshipping such limited aspect nf ^ Hindu- Creator as he can conceive Such being ism does not look with con'^rnpt ev worship as of stones, wood and idols ; but vm ctruesle to rise the faltering steps of a baby who has to struggle to 182 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE and fall many a time before he is steady on his feet Accordmg to the Hmdu, God pervades the universe ; but though immanent in it, he transcends it, 3ust as the human soul while being immanent throughout the whole of the human body, transcends it Hinduism, all- embracmg, allows full scope to all manner of worship to all manner of gods It holds that the path which starts upwards, even from any level, even from bare animalism onwards, will ultimately lead the votary to God The world, according to Hinduism, is only a field in which man may develop the potentiality with which God has endowed him at his birth , the kind of field, indeed which is necessary, just as a kmd of field is necessary for the players of football, cricket, tennis and other such games to develop their inherent skills by playing Outside India, the meamng of some aspects of Hinduism, and particularly the meanmg of Karma, is o en missed The doctrine of Karma is not fatahsm or Kismet, as is wrongly believed by many Karma, according to Hinduism, is the law of causation or relati- vity, now so well developed by Einstein In this world altbniTpVi httlest acts have their effects, Evpn our, naked eyes mSJ dropped mto the waters of the be®bS Small jt may m'the mental ’ piiysical world, so also effectn™ mdToi thTh^er No Durgatmg Taatagachhat. ing on thfs unde^ ’’ go«l and ,*^“***' Hindus believe that the ^d Tetmds* THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 183 The aim of life, accordmg to Hinduism, is the attain- ment of perfect bhss by the human soul’s merger into God, who is the soul of creation This bliss can be attained only by making one’s self fit to attain it. To fit one’s self for this reception, we must strip ourselves of all the narrownesses which have accumulated in us through our contact with the gross materials of this crude world Hinduism further believes that obstacles cannot be vanquished by avoiding them We have to fight them and earn victory over them ; 3 ust as a student cannot liberate himself from the ordeal of his studies by avoiding them, and can free himself from, them only by mastering and triumphing over them m his examma- tion To pass the exammation of human hfe we have to read, study, work and struggle, so that after passing the examination we shall gam a higher class attain a higher level of hfe In this way, by and by, man will reach the feet of the Father m heaven You will thus see that according to Hinduism, man (1) must worK (Karma), (2) must gam knowledge , develop devotional love (Bhakti) to God ^ later more m detail what this expression Bhakti and imphes You must be satisfied for the know that it means the attitude or state ^ no distinction between God and man is felt - , ^ as man has not developed Bhakti to the extent that he and his Father are one (Soham) , at the level where the Father is felt to be higher than himself. It IS very easy to describe the state by these few sentences, but the actual reachmg o when man can say “I and my Father be achieved in a few years or even in a ew on this earth Accordmg to Hinduism man is Twamasi”, man is divinity He is “Sat , has m hi essence of eternity His path is “Chit’ know eg destiny is “Ananda”, the happmess of returning to a reuniting with the Father from whom he as oe a Hindu, all men, whatever their race or religion, 184 INDIA’S MLSSACr: or PTACt sacied beings, epitomes of God, wliom they v/iH reach one day, even though that day may be far off, even though it may not come in this life As 1 have said before Hindus beaevc that man is man today by having passed through 84,00,000 (84 lakhs) oi hves T-O apprehend God, he may have to pass through many more lives Delayed it may be foi more lives yet Through Worlds I shall traverse, not a few Much IS to learn and much to forget Eie the time be come R. Browning You will see that Hinduism is not a mere collection of tenets, dogmas or doctrines preached by one man or one sect or one series of individuals It is not meant for any limited group living m a geographical area It IS not bound by any orthodox or established teachings or beliefs It has no limitation at all Hinduism, as I have said, is the religion of man, of all places and of all times It has no full stops or frontiers at the words or sayings of any prophet or any number of prophets It IS Sanatana, which means perennial It has grown, it IS growing and it will continue to grow till it becomes universal Its aim is to uplift mankind frem the fright- ful confusion of Atom bombs and Hydrogen bombs by harmomsmg all the different religious creeds and cultures Nay more By a golden thread it seeks to link together all men irrespective of caste or colour, race or religion The excavations in Mahenjodaro and Harappa pomt to the existence of a highly developed civilisation in India about six thousand years ago from today There were public baths there, although m most modem cities we have no public baths One of the finds there is the image of Shiva, seated m Padmasana, m calm meditation It must have been a long journey from Darwin’s THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 185 ape-man to the civilised mmd that can conceive calm meditation to attain the ideal of life, even though a serpent be coiling round the neck From this you can imagine the long history behind Hinduism. From its dim origins over 12,000 years ago till today, innumerable men of hght and learning have built and shaped Hmdu- ism by the wealth of their moral and spiritual experiences Its frontiers and horizons are enlarging more and ever more The rise and growth of Hinduism and its authorship cannot be attributed to just one individual or to a few individuals. And if I were to tell you the life stories of all the sages, from the days of the Vedas and Upanishads down to Gandhi, who have contributed o the building of Hinduism from age to age, as needs arose, 1 should need a hundred volumes for the task. You can however form an idea of that has constructed Hinduism from Megasthenes account of a typical Brahmin of India. “Kmg Alexander, when he heard of a sage caM Dandamis (perhaps Dandi, meanmg holder jg’ 1 e msignia of Brahminhood) whose home ^ where he lay on a pallet of leaves and where M nigh at hand the fountam of peace, wher suckmg as it were the pui’e breast o a » desirous of learning the doctrines of his , , sent 'for this Dandamis as bemg their teacher and 170 sxd One sikrates was therefore thee, and when he found the great ’ ) The son of thou teacher of the Pragmanes (^rahmms), ine the mighty god Zeus, Kmg Alexander who isj ^ sovereign lord of all men, asks and splendid you comply he -v^nll reward you wjfh gr , ^d” gifts, but if you refuse, he will cut off y Dandamis, with a h^s^head from the end, but did not so much as lift up his neaa 186 INDIA’S Mi:SSAGC OK PEACC his couch of leaves, and while still retaining his recum- bent attitude returned this scornful answer .—'‘God the supreme King, is never the author of insolent wrong, but ^ the creator of light, of peace, of life, of water, of the bc^y of man, and of souls, and these he receives when death sets them free, being no way subject to evil desire He alone is the God of rny homage, who abhors slaughter and instigates no wars But Alexander is not 0 , since he must taste of death ; and how can such as he be the world’s master, who has not yet reached the further shore of the river Tiberoboas, and has not yet ^ated himself on a throne of universal dominion? Moreover, Alexander has neither as yet entered into Hades, nor does he know the course of the sun through iti regions of the earth, while the nations of name If desire capacious enough for his i^egions able to sustain men, if the country on our side wLrA?eTaai° this, however tfa? Tro n'Tif ^ ^nd the gifts he nromises Hme aTflnTof r‘*f ^ which are mv tif ‘ "w ” *ese leaves me with dain+v fn ,1 blooming plants which supply with anxious c^e are J^^ngs, which are amassed who amass them and cause ruinous to those with which everv nnnr m sorrow and vexation, £or m™ he noon the foZ’i'f But as which requires euardma and having nothing slumber, TheSas had T void 1 sleep The earth sunnh??™''’ would banish a mother teehilfwrtrmuv "'i*'’ ®''®'^*ing, even as and there are no car^ I Plena® myself, against my will Sho'l’w Ai” head, he cannot als^aLtrot Alexander cut off my ^OW silent, will remain hnt ^ wiu remain, but the soul will go away to THE ABODE OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS 187 its Master, leaving the body like a torn garment upon the earth, whence also it was taken I then, becoming spirit, shall ascend to my God, who enclosed us m flesh, and left us upon the earth to prove whether when here below we shall live obedient to his ordinances, and who also will require of us, when we depart hence to his pre- sence, an account of our life, since he is judge of all proud wrong-doing , for the groans of the oppressed become the punishments of the oppressors “Let Alexander, then, terrify with these threats those who wish for gold and for wealth, and who dread death, for against us these weapons are both alike powerless, smce the Bragmanes neither love gold nor fear death Go, then, and tell Alexander this ' “Dandamis has no need of aught that is yours, and therefore will not go to you, but if you want an3d;hing from Dandamis, come you to him” Alexander, on receiving from Onesikrates a report of the interview, 'felt a stronger desire than ever to see Dandamis, who, though old and naked, was the only antagonist in whom he, the conqueror of many nations had found more than his match. Such is Hinduism, called Sanaatana Maanaba- dharma, meaning Perennial Religion of Man PART IV Happiness Through Conduct. CHAPTOR I The Evils of this World Emeham — ^Dadaji, now that wo have got a general idea of the dilTerent leligions of the world, with their ideas of happiness, can we go back to our question about the aim of human life We are convinced that sp ritual not physical happiness is the object of life We now want to Icnow what is the highest spiritual happiness and how it can be attained '> Dadaji . — ^When a man is bom in this world, he is immaculate “Mewling and puking” in the mother's arms he smiles delightfully and makes others happy , all delight in making him also happy He is km to the whole world He brings with him boons from the Lord He comes as the hope of the world, as its assurance, and as its joy Till he is taught evil, he remains a pure angel Till he is taught discrimination, he knows of no distinc- tion between king and beggar, learned or unlearned, white or coloured As a child he plays, and treats all his companions as equals If he ever differs from them or has a little quarrel for a moment, soon his sense of universality returns to him, he forgets the quarrel and is a firm friend again the next moment Sometimes ignorantly, sometimes unwittmgly, and at times knowingly, we teach the child evil The feeling in the family, in society and in Government by and by educates him m discrimination , and builds up m his mind walls of caste, creed, cult, community, nation, race, wlour, wealth, power, party and guud Not only that. He is also taught falsehood, hatred, fear, anger, malice. THE EVILS OF THIS WORLD 189 envy, and other evil qualities of the world In the spoiled angel, hunger and thirst for the unrighteous and for the bad are created. His longings for evil are fed and the more he is fed with forbidden knowledge, the more unrelenting are the walls constructed in his mind, the more he is cut away from what was originally godly, universal, and righteous in him Followmg the course of his upbringing, he absorbs wrong ideas ; he receives accepted errors without question and reflection If ever he thinks, he does so in a light and superficial way. By and by, he increases in isolation , he becomes narrower and narrower, more inhuman, less universal, more un- righteous, more corrupt, selfish and egoistic Interested persons exploit the group-attachments injected into him and make him a renegade to the cult of human brother- hood Slowly these habits become parts of his nature The animal man appropriates a large share, if not the whole of his life’s efforts, struggles and their fruits He seldom ponders the purpose oi life Devoid of spiritual contact he sinks by and by to barbarism To calm the qualms of conscience, he calls this in-grouped condition civilisation, and despises the very men whom he has himself despoiled and harmed If a daughter of the chastest parents be brought up from mfancy in a brothel, she will relish and delight in the trade of the others Conversely, place a prostitute’s child in the holy atmosphere of a forest hermitage, and she is sure to grow up chaste Who amongst us does not realise that in better and holier surroundings, we ourselves might have been better than we are now The evils created and maintained 'by society and taught by our elders, enter into our blood partly against oui inclinations , but not unoften we become willing victims Thus decline our ideas and values of life, our standards of living. Thus comes our social degeneration The evil so thick in our blood now that we do not feel it The large promises made m elections in the ® Democracy in almost all parts of the world aie se om 190 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE fulfilled Such practices by people in the pubhc eye teach cheating and enure men to vice, to falsehood, hatred, greed and dishonesty Society excuses the evil as being sanctioned by convention, forgetting that such convention is in itself an evil So narrow minded and selfish have men become that m the society of today every man except, it may be one or two in a million, would readily prefer all others to suffer, for the advance- ment of his own selfish ends It is to his advantage that others should be honest and good without questioning his own practices of evil “Use changes the stamp of nature.” Evil habits are thus formed And, you know, long standing habits seldom change by mere mtellectual awareness of their evils Addicts of tobacco, opium, hemp and liquor realise the ills thereof m their sane moments , but having waded far into the mud, they go on, mstead of gomg back Even as recently as the last century, Emerson, one 0 he great thmkers of America and of the world, and e most brilliant and distinguished jewel of Harvard eggs by Harvard students for lecturing agamst slavery Only 25 or 30 religion m America attacked the . ° Evolution and enforced the banning of books or a question of blammg this or that nation wo?l^ .fr ^ In the modern seate nf T?r> ^ we ever come to occupy the The men better, may do even worse brothers no human they are of f great ideals and mental powers life For +Vi ^ ^ victims of the modem way of Irnot^a^ psychology behmd extreme nationalism pnmitivJ savage man’s totem or the pnmitive man s devotion to his huntmg ground age LhonLnrc't ^""^nc^closely the mind of an aver- expression for a called a patriot (a euphemistic tribal savaffe +n °^cm man with the mentality of the iribal savage to whom his tribe is his God) you will THE EVILS OF THIS WORLD 191 find that in his political dealings with a foreigner, he often has an uneasy thought, a lurking suspicion, or an unconscious fear, that the foreigner is not a full friend but a potential enemy , and that when the cold war becomes hot, the foreigner may any day kill him and consume his substance How many value the ultimate decencies of things, the large meanings of life that lie beyond the bounds of material attam- ments ’ This is how modem society converts to baseness the angelic mind given by God to man at his birth In the last war, both Hitler and his opponents thought that God was on their respective sides. Can there be a more outrageous sacrilege of God by man ’ Can there be a worse blasphemy than dragging down God from His Fatherhood of all mankmd to be on the side of the murderers of his children ’ Selfishness, individual or national, often makes man blind to Truth The “New York Herald Tribune” of 20-4-54 writing regarding the attitude of concerned parties with reference to the armistice in Korea, said — “The point is neither side trusted the promises of the other and yet a cease-fire was agreed upon when each side was able to hold a physical position which made it improbable that the cease-fire would be broken ” This is the shocking truth Neither trusted the promise, the solemn word of honour of the other. What IS the value of life, of untold wealth, of political power and even destructive weapons, if words of honour are suspect as mere deceptions and lies When during the 2nd Round Table Conference m London, proposals were made to separate the Harijans from the Hindu fold by creating a separate electorate for them, Mahatma Gandhi said that he would lay down his life rather than allow such a fissure to develop When on his return to India from London he was imprisoned and the attempt was revived to create a separate electorate for the Hanjans, Gandhiji though in jail, started a fast to 192 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE implement his words, even by death, to prevent the mischief from being earned out He was dying day by day, yet he would not give up the fast It continued with unabatmg deteimination He broke it only after a compiomise was reached which conformed with the principle for which he was striving This IS Gandhian truth This is how Gandhism was made In America, Europe and many other parts of the world, men are speaking of Gandhism, of establish- ing Gandhism But Gandhism can’t come without adhermg to truth even when such adherence means loss of all worldly things precious to you — life, property, nationalism The fiivolities which on many occasions characterise discussions in the UN — ^the world's highest AssenAbly, damp hopes for the establishment of a brotherhood of mankind Men are too eager to score a so-called point against their opponent by quirks or tricks of thought, forgetting that the UN. is not a debating society or 1 ard table for scoring points, but an organisation meinber must so act, talk and behave that nahnti attract man to man and unite nation with nation governments and directed trrara \ per cent of our activities is that tW political power, in order the West newer pleasures In been^or religion have also 6^1? Christianity condemn- Sid was fe?t w ^ the state, heivertfs^^r'^^^^ beu-boy, from the high of the West grew and fln f religious centres they were nnt tVia flourished in piety only where Vedic and Vedan+ of political power The and Gandhi—none^o/Sfff'' Buddha, Confucius, Christ anam none of them sought political power. When THE EVILS OF THIS WORLD Clinstianity sought political power, it lo6t much of its original spiritual appeal The decline today of Gandhism in many citadels of power damps enthusiasm 'This is always the case when a religious or ethical ideal becomes subservient to political power Politics as it is today, is parochial patriotism It is devotion to a number of men living m a particular geographical area Parochialism is evil , and politics, when it is parochial, trains us in evil I have already told you that man has two lives, the higher and the lower, the godly and bestial His mmd and habits are formed by instinct, heredity and the circumstances in which he is bom and brought up Where a man’s godly side is so matured and strengthened as to keep his bestial side withm its proper bounds, man does not stray from right conduct Fed with Avidya (Nescience), or, if you prefer it, having drunk deep of the waters of Lethe, the child for- gets his divine origin and dalbes with the dehghts of his animal life. The more he favours his animal nature, the more he traffics in the commerce of the flesh, the harder becomes his struggle to regain the Paradise which he has lost Amongst millions, only one or two evei strive to regam the lost paradise , and of thousands of such struggling men, just a few actually regain it Such IS the consequence of allowing the animal in man to overgrow the spirit Em — ^Why is it that men allow their ungodly side to overgrow the godly one D You are repeating the same question in different words I tell you agam that this, our misfortune or rather our shame, is due to the fault of myself, yourself, our social institutions and our governments Some more, some less, but the governments most of all In a good government, ^ every man should have sufficient trainmg and time"* But leisure or training will not come ■ ^ f and the I 13 194 ; INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE wealthy are restricted to the minimum requirements of food and clothing If we want to save the world from headlong degeneration, there should be an effective ban on the production and use of all luxury articles, and penal laws against the waste of food and cloth In that event, there would be no waste on luxuries and extra- vagances and the surplus of the rich can go voluntarily to relieve distress, to spread education and other benefits , 3ust as the savings of the frugal among men have been used to establish charitable and educational institutions Societies and governments should so direct affairs and provide facilities that there will be all round physi- cal and moral improvement of every individual Just as in time of war there is an all-out drive by the entire machinery and resources of the state and society for victory, 3ust as that ob3ect becomes for the time bemg the be-all and end-all of governmental life and activity , so also helping every man to attain true knowledge through action and reflection should be the aim and ob3ect of_all societies and governments The ideal today is to live better than others, which means actively reducmg others to lower levels or passively suffermg them to remam there You will not improve, and the world will not improve, so long as men of learning and power do not live as equals with all the rest of their human brothers They must stoop to raise others That is the one great lesson taught by the hves of Buddha, Christ and Gandhi Till that consummation comes, the ungodly side Of mankind will flourish, while the godly side will be stunted or suppressed Places for drinking, gamblmg and whoring are great polluters of the people Yet governments in different parts of the world, mstead of stampmg them out, encourage and license them If there were no brothels, or similar vicious places, a child would not see or learn this kmd of evil It is because the callous men m governments allow them to exist that the child sees them and learns INDIVIDUAL MUST FIRST IMPROVE HIMSELF 195 from them If we look at our own transgressions, we have to be ashamed of their magnitude And surely there are bigger sinners than ourselves ' Such sins could not multiply if governments were not helping or tolerating them CHAPTER n. Individual Must First Improve Himself In the training we get in our nurseries and societies, the more we learn evil, the more we lose the paradise that as God’s children we bring with us at our births Those of us who are awakened to our heavenly heritage again struggle to regain the lost Paradise You will thus see that the greater our knowledge of evil, the lower must we sink , and the harder must our struggle be to rise higher to regain our lost paradise It is a vicious circle, widening more and ever more But since societies and governments in many parts of the world are now what they are, pampering the physical and starving the moral , and since they will remain so for a long time yet, the individual who wishes well for himself and the world must find out some way of redeemmg himself from the encircling gloom , and then remake the world around him, so that the sins in iL already so heavy, do not further multiply To regain the paradise of the innocence, honesty, integrity and equanimity of Vedic days, which we have lost by our association with and participation in the bog of the world, we must struggle through to the other side E — ^How can we regain it’ D By action Life means activity In plants, in animals, in men, so long there is life, there is activity Seeing, hearing, feeling, eatmg, all are activities Even in sleep there is an activity of some physical parts So willy-nilly all of have to work But the swine which dallies in the mire also works and is happy in dallying 196 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE The pig and pariah deg also work in search of food and are satisfied by their mouthfuls of filth The bullock, the dunce, the savage, the cannibal, work The drunkard, the profligate, the cheat, the cut-throat, all work But surely such work can t gam paradise And if such acts can’t gam paradise for the individuals concerned, similar acts by any society or nation cannot build a paradise or a better earth So to gam heaven we must do such work, and do it in such manner, as will facilitate the attamment of heaven It is by so doing that learnmg comes and wis- dom grows But although we know m a general way what is good and what is bad, complicated situations and grim problems often arise, m which it becomes difficult to discern our duty To do right, the earnest hian of action struggles to know right from wrong In this varied struggle, vexa- tious and puzzling events and thoughts abound , moments o great crisis, of “to be or not to be” often come Great and small, prince and pauper are alike distressed by such problems, though history records and literature rarna ises a few 3ust a few only, of the doings of the g ea ones Will Ram go to the forest, a penniless \ the family reputation of adhering IX fv. k ^ costs Or will he prefer to enjoy life with his sweet Sita and with his good people, proud m th^vi^^ empire which was the richest \ hill his kinsmen, he tak^fn ^®^,^'hers and regain his lost Kingdom, or will the land ° 1 "' his evil cousins rule n 1 Buddha prefer his sweet Yasodhara and Wm gocd’’Bm to INDIVIDUAL MUST FIRST IMPROVE HIMSELF 197 a tiny little band of physical manikins relying on their nonviolent strength Or will he eat the humble pie of slavery Will Caesar cross the Rubicon Will Hamlet end his valuable life, shamed by his mother's conduct ’ Will England entei into a war with Germany Shall a husband turn out his wife for a wrong word, a sour face cr a bitter look or for something more serious Shall a student, mortified by his failure in the University Examination, continue, or leave his studies Should a budding politician take to communism or socialism or other ‘isms’*^ What harm is there in wearing a pious visage, if that will brmg riches or power ’ Shall a man return’ an insult with injury, a wound with kilhng Shall a youth commit suicide through disappointment in love or for the sudden failure of his bank ? Such problems arise in the breasts of countless young men today At such a moment conflicting feelings and irreconcilable thoughts tear and torment men Thrown into a welter of clashing ideologies, hemmed in by insistent doubts and fears, the forlorn soul cannot comprehend the ‘malignant’ world He would even sometimes prefer a solitary ceU within prison bars to his physical frame’s freedom He feels that his being is m a “state of insurrection Wp falls asunder into fragments Divided and riven, he bewir L lot and curses hrs fate llie solution and sacrifice demanded from him at the moment seem to his confused mind beyond his powers Placed in the m!^dst of chaos, where aU seems lost, his powers of ^dement fail Wrong or hasty judgments, matters petty ir,d trivial “trifles light as air”, bring upon hun terrible calamities Othello’s sight of a handker- eW brings Desdemona’s death Prithviraj’s bringmg Q^niiikta led Jayachandra to seek the aid of foreign- f^res^taM m India’s thousand years of slavery “d ,^Srfd moral and material loss When a man is efd into a maze of conflictmg ideas of duties to the sea? to society, to the nation, to mankmd, to religion. 198 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE to God, what should he do Should ho he dcu n baffled and defeated, or should he rise up and fight the battle out? But even if he is not a quitter, but a fighter, for what should he fight and why'' These arc pertinent questions Em — ^What can a man, little as he is, do m such crisis D —Man is not a little being as you seem to think Man IS the King of creation He is "Amritasya Putra — son of immortality He is “Priyosi Me’' God’s most beloved in creation "removed from the developed brute a God in the germ ” All times and forces have attended his birth Immense are his capacities If a tiny banyan seed, smaller than a mustard seed, which can be blown several yards by a mere puff of the breath, can grow to be the monarch of the wood-world which we see in the Shibpur gardens of Calcutta, can defy winds and storms , and can provide happiness by feeding with its fruits and by giving shelter m its body to millions of lives, man can do much more, immeasurably more The banyan seed has no brain, no intelligence, no memory, no imagination Man has ail these advantages All Nature has blest him with its powers He has before him the entire history and intellectual wealth of man’s existence on this earth for a million years He has a brain that can take m, remember, think and project He has the guidance of others’ experience and many other facilities to improve upon the past His voice can reach from one end of the world to the other As many men have done before, man can even now turn the tide of history Most men are unaware of the worth of their lives, of their potential divinity and powers Mahatma Gandhi, whom none in the world could defeat by arguments, was m his school days so shy that he used to shun the company of his fellow students Little IS known of Christ till he became about 30 years old Einstem was almost a dunce in his school days COOLHEADEDNESS ESSENTIAL 199 ShakespGar6 is said to havG lived in his early years by poaching deer. Lenin, disfigured by a squint, was known m his early years only as an erratic chess-player Later he became one ot the world’s greatest revolutionaries Upton Smclair, one of the world’s best writers, had to pass long years m want and hunger H G Wells was a petty clerk in a shop Hitler was an unsuccessful painter Ramsay Macdonald who became the Prime Minister of England was apprenticed to a shoe maker in his boyhood Lord Reading, who became the Viceroy of India, was a cabin boy in his youth I can give more instances , but those I have mentioned establish the point that it is in you yourself that the best of earth’s life is manifested, in you the highest truths of God and nature are revealed, in you all life and nonlife on earth is focussed, and from you, the worth cf then existence radiates You are endowed with God’s own characteristics of “Sat” — Existence, “Chit,” knowledge and “Ananda” — bliss Therefore you must not forget your possibilities and though you must have bread to live, you must not live by bread alone Those who aim to attain the highest happmess open to man, ought to, nay more, must, be ready to strive and struggle Action means struggle, overcoming obstacles, defeating opponents It is God’s mercy that human life is a continuous war between the forces of good and the forces of evil None need escape it From the moment man can think and act for himself till his death, he is always faced, in the smallest as well as in the greatest things of life with the alternatives— right and wrong, good and evil, higher good and lesser good, lasting good and temporary good Spiritual impulses pull him one way , physical ones pull him the other way CHAPTER m Coolheadedness Essential As you all know, success always depends on right 3 udgment and appropriate action When a man is play- ing a game of football or tennis he has to judge the 200 INDIA’S MESSAGD OF PEACE situation correctly and modulate the stroke propoition- ately A military cotmnander,' a political leader, religious reformer, a physician and a lawyer must ]udg circumstances If his judgment be over-shoots or under-shoots, his cause will fail- bimiiatiy when a man is confronted in life with the Kind ot problems which we have mentioned, he must weigh them, consider the circumstances properly, and decide his action To make a correct judgment, his head must be cool, his mind must be unaffected by the storms raging around him He must not be complacent over his own defects and he must be unruffled by animosity, anger, affection or other emotions which tend to influence and warp men’s judgments In one word, he should be a “Sthitaprajnya ” Em —What is “Sthitaprajnya” ’ D — Sthitaprajnya is a man who is always serene he IS always content m the quietude of the soul with- out being swept off his feet by the passions of the flesh He views pleasure and pain with equanimity He is devoid of affection, fear or anger Knowing that m spite of his strict vigil, the rebellious senses may overpower him, he subjugates them and remains fixed on God, steadied m hjs wisdom If man gives thought to sensual indulgence that very thought creates, by vibrations of unseen atoms a connecting chain between the mmd and the object cf passion Such association creates, in its turn, a passion to possess , the passion leads to hot chase, the hot chase becomes a delusive infatuation, the delu- sion distorts his outlook With his outlook obscured, his powers of judgment fail, and he is ultimately baffled and defeated Knowing this, the serene-souled man, without Stoic contempt, Zen aversion or Ccitholic surrender, permits his senses to have their legitimate play within their needed bounds, while he holds the reins ever them, himseffl resting calm in the tranquilhty of his soul Being in internal peace and calm, the ills COOLHEADEDNLSS ESSENTIAL 201 of life fail to foil him Monarch of mental peace, his judgment remains umvarped The man of ungoverned will and unfixed mind has no wisdom fixed to nothing good, he never reflects on anything Because he never concentrates on some fixed good, his mind roves and roams and has no peace Having no poise or peace, compass or focus whence can he have happiness Indulging the various senses as they rage m him, he is overpowered by them like a boat in the gale But he who has mastery over his senses, has calm wisdom, just as the ocean, though swept by storm, is always calm m the depths. One who can thus be calm and equable lord of his senses, free from longings, from pride and vanity, enjoys Brahma nir- vana, the blessedness and bliss of God’s own peace, even when he is throum into life's most desperate straits Such a man is called Sthitaprajnya The judgments of such a man, even when he is confronted with intricate problems, are seldom unsound Knowledge acquired but not utilised is like a load of perfume carried by a donkey When ill-used, it becomes a menace to society, as is the knowledge used m making the Atom and Hydrogen bombs To use knowledge well means to use it for the betterment of the individual and all around him One can’t be better without the ability to make better judg- ments and to do better deeds The world we live in is not a desert island, such as was found by Robinson Crusoe There are others in this world who want to live and to be happy, just as we do In the hurly-burly of struggles for rights, we must do the right thing We must do unto others as we wish to be done by The cycle or mutuality of giving and taking , sacrifice by us for another, and sacrifice by that other for us, is the law of life It IS the wholesome law of the family, of society, of the country, of the United Nations and of all mankind If you drink milk without giving the cow adequate food, you steal her produce If you enjoy the benefits of a family, club, school, college, society, 202 INDIA'S MCSSAGL Of PEACi: Ministry or other organisation, you must make a proper return for what you receive from it If you are an elected or appointed servant of the public, and you do not work conscientiously in return for what you take m the shape of salary and allowances from the public coffeis, you steal from the public , you become a thief “Tairdattaan Apradaayebhya Yo bhunkte stcna eba Sa '' “He that eats without adequate return of work is a thief ” (Gita) If you make a promise at election time, and thereby induce the voters to believe your represen- tations so that, acting on that belief, they elect you , and if after being elected, ycu do not fulfil your pro- mise and do not implement your representations, you become a cheat and a deceiver Swine do not look up to those who feed them An elected man who does not look to the interests of those who elected him, and is busy in pursuing his selfish interests, is no better than a swine even if the census classifies him as a human being You must make adequate return for what you take or get If you are receiving benefits fiom a school or college as a student or teacher, you must not be party to any impure or violent activities— strikes, etc, as may reputation To do so is an act of ingratitude, unexpiable sin “For doers of wrong to anTsnph thieves, for violators of vows and such others, there are atonements But for the Sfes "S Educational institutions are overwear ^ If 5 Hindu students (SAEASWATTi hers, her by those that'^defile ner temple is nothing less than hypocnsy CHAPTER IV Tm «>.s Earth a-^eussod till now wThave LundTh”l-°* HEAVENLY PEACE & HAPPINESS AVAILABLE ON THIS EARTH 203 I Human life has an aim Ona may call this th6 end or ideal or goal of life n This goal IS high happiness in Happiness vanes according to a man’s know- ledge of the world oi his spiritual doctrine or philosophy of life JV We have however found that (i) Physical happiness cannot be the highest happiness and that it cannot be the aim of life (ii) Mental happiness such as one gets by building castles in the air, by pride, victory over an enemy or elation following flattery and the like, cannot be the highest happiness V True happiness is spiritual happiness The highest spiritual happiness is the goal cf life Now we want to know clearly what exactly spiiitual happiness is Is it happmess to be found in heaven only ’’ D — Heaven as pictured by the different religions or mythologies is only a replica of this earth mintts its miseries In the Gita Shnkrishna disapproves the hunger for such heaven (Kaamatmaanah Swargaparaah) because as described, it is a place where, without toil or trouble, you can have plenty of sensuous enjoy- ment, food, clothes, dancing, music and so forth There IS no risk, no danger, no death Such a place may be quite charming to unthmkmg simpletons But can you imagine joy without sorrow, happiness without misery, good without evil ’ Do you think that the best of the soul’s virtues, such as heroism, self-confidence, man- liness, charity and fellow-feeling can grow in a place where the pleasures of the senses eternally surround you, without toil or travail on your part‘d Tell me honestly if you could bear for more than a few weeks or months having the best of everything m food, clothes, ease and other bodily comforts, without any change or any effort , without any risk to be braved, any danger to be faced — ^no labour, no sweat, no stimulus to 204 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE endeavour How long can you enjoy a game of cards or football or tennis in which you are playing with babies and scoring always to your advantage ’ Physical manliness grows by subduing the physical inertia of your body Spiritual manliness grows by subduing the enemy of spirituality lying inside yourself, the evil in you So if you live in a place where you have no oppor- tunity of contactmg evil, how can you grow the courage to conquer it ’ To grow in life you must live in a place where there are Dwandas-pairs of opposites such as good and evil, happiness and misery, till your individual spirit is dissolved like ice dissolving into water, or like a wave disappearing into the sea And which man of this earth, with his gross and physical human bcdy, could enter the heavens as con- ceived How could any man interview the gods or see with his physical eyes God Hunself, and further how could he return to this earth and speak to mankind of his interviews and experiences there’ Ram and Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster Confucius, Buddha, Christ, Mohammad— not one of them has said that he went to heaven and saw thmgs there Who then went to heaven from amongst the Hmdus, Buddhists, Zoroastnans, Christians, Musluns and other believers m heaven and acuiaul^?^ himself’ And heaven being one, if it was It ^here be varying versions of nf tVio -I ^ m m the man-made religions of f fiP^9 different heavens for men muS ^ S be dilferent heavens, l^P different Gods, one for each ’ Be- and A nil!'' ^be birth of Hinduism, ff fx sted If heaven is there, Wharfs ats natoe”® ' a punishment, for too brief A ^irmg mortal in an all haws can ApTA'^ ®^^^b God and His e so unjust as to condemn man to HnAVi:\’LY PD\CC & HAPPINCSS AVAILABLE ON THIS EARTH 205 eternal su/Tering foi a little sin committed during a fevered existence on this little earth, which compared with the vast creation is less than a millionth part of 3 gram of sand To stray to a lighter vein Those Christians and Muslims and otheis who cannot do without meat, and believe that the best meat is served m heaven, fail to see that as there is no death in heaven, meat cannot be available there. And if there be no meat, a meatless heaven will haidly appeal to a meateater, just as a heaven without opium will hai'dly appeal to an opium eater Heaven as described by the different religions or mythologies is only an Imperial palace providing all sensual enjoyments, somewhat more refined than those of this earth It is a glaring instance of the wish being the father of thought It is however impossible for me, or for any other man, to say what realities he beyond human compre- hension , and to assert that in the Infinite Universe, there can be no heaven, in the sense of a holy region where God in some form yet unknown to us, is keeping the capital of His Infinite State What I submit is that the view of the Universe m which we hve and what the future holds for us are very important matters , and in matters so vital we should cease to believe or behave like unthinking simpletons living on mental sops E — What, then, is spiritual happiness ’ D — Since it is now scientifically established that there are in the Universe not merely three spheres— earth, heaven and hell as previously believed, but more spheres than there are sands in all the seas of this earth, it is simply impossible for man, with his brief sp^n of life, to reach the city of God by scientific researches in the material field To visuahse that hallowed bourne, scientific researches should be pursued in the spiritual field a!lso E — Has any endeavour been made to do this‘s 206 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE D “According to our Vedanta, heaven in the sense of that which can provide high happiness, is actually within man himself Since there is God withm man, there is also an epitome of his golden city within every man The Lord in the Gita says “My abode is in the nearts of all — “Sarbasyaaham hridi sannibista ” Man -can find heaven on this earth “Ihaibatairjitah Swarga” Christ said “The Kingdom of God is within you” If we can reach this kmgdom within us, we may find that it IS not different from the highest abode of God Suppose you put a porous vessel in the sea with its brim slightly above the surface Through the pores of the vessel the water within the vessel and the water in the sea are in communication Now if you put your finger into the water mside the vessel, you simultane- ously touch the water of the sea And if a grain of salt or sugar is put into the vessel, so that it dissolves, it IS simultaneously melted and merged into the water of the sea What we need to know is what man is just now, this very moment , not what he will be after death You must know what true life means, appraise your potentialities and then so coordinate and use them that you reach your destmy I have already told you of the view of modern Scientists that the basic thmg in the Universe is not matter but thought Accordmg to Indian Philosophers, it is the Atman, of which thought is an expression In the English language there is no equivalent of Atman The word ‘soul’ means, accordmg to Chamber’s English Dictionary, that part of man, which thinks, feels, desires, etc , the seat of life and intellect But Atman means much mere than these According to us Atman is the underlying Divine Reality m man It is an inseparable part of the ParamcLtmci — which' is always enjoying supreme blessedness and bliss That which thinks, feels and desires in man is not the Atman, but the mmd HEAVENLY PEACE & HAPPINESS AVAILABLE ON THIS EARTH 207 which like the moon deriving its light from the sun, derives its powers from the Atman The English word ‘soul’ has been used by most men as an equivalent of Atman I have therefore used the word soul m such a sense To know this Atman, we have to make researches in the spiritual field There is however one thing to be borne m mind. On the material side, people other than the successful scientist can en]oy the benefits of his researches On the spiritual side, each man has to make a search himself to reach heaven and realise God within him, oy his own conscious endeavours and struggles, of course with such guidance as may be available to him To know more the individual has to become more, has to orepaie himself to receive higher knowledge .Em —So heaven as pictured m the mythologies of religion, is only wishful thinking A kingdom of heaven is there within us Won’t you tell us about the nature of this heaven and how it is to be gained ? D —You are already aware of the scientific view that molecules and atoms are bottled waves of energy, and that energy is the radiation of thought Do you remember playing m childhood with a horse-shoe magnet and a needle‘s Both are masses of bottled waves, in the scientists’ language The magnet, how- ever, has in It a kmd of energy which sends invisible waves to the needle and drags the needle to itself Our eyes, ears and other sense-organs are masses of bottled energy Through the brain and the sense-organs, the mind pi ejects waves to the outside world The ear-, record the humming of bees, the nose the fragrance of flowers and eyes the colours of the scenery and the like You know that the lens of a photographer can catch a glimpse and transmit that glimpse to the sensitive film on which the image is impressed Similarly the images made by your eyes,, ears and other sense-crgans are 208 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE transmitted through the brain to your minds where they become impressed CHAPTER V. Mind and the Power behind it. According to the Sankhya philosophy of India, the mind IS a phase of energy which is not bottled into the basic structures of matter. When energy" IS SO bottled it becomes the five Tanmatras, i e Rupa Rasa, Gandha, Shabda, Sparsha, etc (Beauty, Taste, Smell, Sound, Touch) These Tanmatras by their per- mutations and combmations become the 92 or rather 93 primary elements known to modern scientists , these by further permutations and combmations become the five gross elements — earth, water, light, air and ether As I told you just now, the human mind, which is a phase of unbottled energy, projects or radiates itself and sends waves of energy through the brain and sense- organs When the sense-organs the eyes, ears and the like — do not function, as m the case of a man who from his birth IS stone deaf or completely bhnd, the waves can’t be sent a.yid therefore the mind of such a blind and deaf man has no sense of music, colour and the like You may note here that the sense-organs and the brain cannot function without the mmd Men are some- times found sleeping with their eyes open But because the mmd is not functioning, they can’t see Lovers intensely eymg their beloved are deaf to the footsteps or words of others In Kalidasa’s Shakuntala, the heroine could not hear Durbasa’s questions or curses Now remember the case of the magnet It drags the needle to it and it can not shake it oS But you can separate the two In the case of man, there is a power (Indian thinkers call it Budhi) which weighs and measures, compares and distinguishes, the images of the mind, allows some to stay and shakes off others MIND AND THE POWER BEHIND IT 209 (Like the shepherd separating the sheep from the goats Matthew XXV-S2) What remain there form om memories Our mental world is a series of memories Now before the power behind the mind is sufficiently strengthened, as in the cases of a child, an idiot and so forth, his elders mediate and provide the budding mind with such images only as they choose In addition, the child by his lively curiosity imbibes other ideas from the air around him I have already told you how the baby gradually loses the universal mind with which he IS born Now make an experiment You have now your mind, your brain, ears and eyes through which the mind is sending waves as usual. Please close your eyes for a while, and check the mind from proceedmg with its current thought and impell it to make a contrary thought You find that the mind can be diverted from Its wonted rut Why ’ Because there is another power in you which can control the mind This power is viewed in different aspects or phases by psychologists who give different names to them We need not enter into deep waters in the matter In place of two entities, body and mind, let us now note another entity, i e the power that stands behind the mind and controls it Em ' — ^How can we know this power D — In bodily exercise, we expend physical strength which we already possess, and by such expenditure we get more. Similarly in mental exercises, we must spend some mental energy to get more from the mental world E —What are these mental exercises’ D —I will tell you Now, when we take physical exercise say when we play football, hockey or what is the central fact in these games ’ Where should our attention be focussed ’ Should it be on me legs or hands or faces of the players or should it be on e ball’ E — Of course , on the ball 210 ’ INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE D —If instead of keeping his eye on the ball and kicking it, a player who is only looking at the uniforms of his opponents or of the spectators, misses the ball and kicks the air, is he not ridiculed E — ^He must be D — a cricketer instead of catching the flying ball catches air, does he not fail ’ E — Of course D — We have seen already that our spirit or soul is the central fact of our lives Therefore in our mental exercises we must keep our attention on this souL If instead of catching the soul, we catch unimportant things, like the cricketer’s catching the air, will not our behaviour be equally ridiculous? So in the spiritual field we have to keep our atten- tion on the soul E — ^Now, keeping our attention on the soul, what should we do D — ^Let us proceed step by step Take the case of a lake You can’t see the bottom of the lake if the surface is agitated by waves or wavelets Nor can you see it if the water has lost its origmal transparency by being mixed with mud and other elements Similarly, when the mind has lost its transparency by getting mixed up with a hundred things, or is agitated by dis- turbmg feelings and emotions, you can’t see the “self” or “Soul” behmd it If, however, the waters of the lake are tranquil and clear, we can see the bottom You can compare the human soul with the bottom of the lake and the waters of the lake with the mind To see the human soul, we have not only to purify the mmd which has been encrusted with myriads of impressions — fears, tendencies, propensities, hopes, affec- tions and the like — ^but also to make it completely pure and calm Now jn a lake, there are deposits of sand and 'mud and other debris overlaying the original MIND AND THE POWER BEHIND IT 211 bottom These deposits are the dregs that were in the water We can’t see the real bottom of the lake without removing these encrustations Similarly we can’t see the true nature of our soul without removing the ‘Samskaras’ — the tendencies and propensities that have accumulated at the lower level of our minds They accumulated during our past lives and also m this life from our birth If we could make a list of them, we should be appalled at their number As you know, the ghats, the portions of the pond which are used by bathers and others, do not carry any layer of mud, and the bot- tom there is clearly visible But on either side of it, the unused bed bears mud In other words, when dirty deposits are not allowed to stay or adhere, the bottom remains clear In the case of the human mind, where impurities are not permitted to come or stay, the soul IS easily visible In other cases the impurities, the Samskaras will have to be cleared in order to see the soul If they be not cleared, like the mud m the pond, they themselves will be mistaken for the real soul Seekers of physical and mere mental pleasures such as hedonists and utilitarians (that preach '‘Rinam Kritwa Ghritam Pibet” “eat and drmk milk and honey, even if it be by borrowing without any desire to repay”) mistake the accumulated mass of such tendencies for the real self of man Now to perform the mental exercise, we have to know how the mmd works If you observe, you will find the mmd working in two ways, (1) gathering knowledge, whether right and wrong The wrong know- ledge is sometimes due to the illusion created by words, (2) remembenng things By proper exercise functions of the mind can be regulated and controlled We can stop the mmd from gathering wrong knowledge> we can save it, from the delusion of words and we can cultivate memory. The first function of the mmd as noted by us js the gathering of knowledge I have told you how the mmd 212 INDIA'S MESSAGC Of PEACf, 'pro]ects through the brain and senses to catch know- ledge from the external world and how^ the knowledge grasped by the senses goes thiough the brain and makes impressions on the mind and forms our mental life Tt IS m this world of images built by the mind that we all of us (excepting the spiritual saints) live To make this mental world pure, the mind must bring only un- defiled and undefiling knowledge The obstacle to acquiring only healthy knowledge is our Vasanas, — mental ruts or tendencies (habits) already formed On account of the Vasanas the mind like the fly seeking filth or the bee seeking honey, piojects the senses unto our accustomed ruts The waking mind cannot remain vacant for a second Every moment some idea springs into it So unless the wave of a good idea is raised there, the wave of a bad idea will immediately occupy the mind This raising of good and bad waves is within the power of man And if, somehow, successive waves of good ideas are continuously raised, bad waves will not find any opportunity to arise I have read somewhere a story in Western mytho- logy There was a god occupying a certain temple For some reason that god’s devotees were dissatisfied with him, but without bringing another god to occupy the temple, they drove him out And the moment he was driven out, nine ghosts immediately rushed in and occupied the temple This is literally true of the human mind If no good ideas be raised, bad ideas rush into our mmds and occupy it Any one can experiment this for himself and see the truth To revert to the subject The successive waves of consistently good ideas will remove the debris (Sams- karas) accumulated at the bottom of the mmd This done, the rays of the soul will be visible The position may also be illustrated by the example of a lantern of which the glass chimney has become dirty The light IS there , clear the chimney and the light will burst forth and shine on the surroundings MIND AND THE POWER BEHIND IT 213 So the first exercise of the mind is to form in the mind only the waves of good ideas and thus prevent bad ideas from entering into it Em • — Can you help us in making a practical experiment ’ D — ^Let us try If you know anything of the cinema, you know that every one of the movements— walking, waving the hand and the like, which we see on the screen, is not the reflection of one single photograph One waving of the hand, in fact, is the rapidly succeeding images of several photographs And if you see on the screen a man sitting quietxy for a rmnute, that also is not the reflection of one photograph, but is a succession of reflections of large number of photographs The projector of the cinema is continuously shifting the film and projecting the pictures Similarly our mind m its waking state is continuously creating waves of thoughts As the cinema projector produces one quiet posture by successive similar photographs on the film, so also the mind, to concentrate on one idea, must create successive waves of that one idea by making a yajnya or sacrifice of other waves Now close your eyes and select any idea that is dearest and most sacred to you— Rama, Krishna, Kali, Buddha, Christ on the Cross, Mohammad preaching, Tao sending his effulgence, the sun spreadmg his gold, the moon sheddmg her light from a cloudless sky or the face of your wife, mother, father, teacher, political or social or religious hero or ideal man Fixing your mind on this image, try to eliminate the other waves and create successive waves of this one idea only as long as you can Don’t allow any other idea to enter the mmd You find that m spite of your hardest attempts other ideas— the colour of an orange, the song of the cuckoo, a tear in your coat, the needle and the thread to mend it, a harsh word spoken by somebody and so on, are mushrooming up Mark how these ideas are coming one after the offier, not all simultaneously In other 214 INDIA’S MESSAGE Of PEACE words, the imnd is making waves of different ideas one after the other Some of these waves arc of the nature of tmy ripples dying out soon; some othcis appear longer lived, but are repetitions This continuity of the same kind of waves happens unconsciously in the case of physical love E — ^This IS literal truth p —Now in such cases of concentration of the mmd the whole of our existence converges unto that one single idea of love. Olhei ideas are unconsciously sacrificed The mind creates waves only of that idea Nothing else pleases it The Duke Orsino in Shakes- peare’s “Twelfth Night” can think of nothing else Even “music”, “the food of love” does not please him His mind has become one-pointed Why? Because love is a very powerful force, which makes the mind conti- nuously create waves of that one thing only CHAPTER VI. Physical Love can be Transformed into Spiritual If physical love is so powerful, spiritual love is very much more so The life of Tulsidas is an example of this truth He was almost crazy about his wife He used to be restless in her absence His wife had to go on one occasion to her father’s house Tulsidas could not bear her absence In the darkness of the night, he swam across the river that separated him from his wife, went to her father’s house, and reached it at dead of night when all the household was asleep None answered his knock He was so mad with love, that m scalmg the wall to reach the bed-room of his wife, he used as his support a big boa constrictor without realising that it was a snake Next day his virtuous wife chided him for his infatuation and told him that if mstead of endangermg his life for the fleshly love of a woman who must one day die, he would seek the PHYSICAL LOVE CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO SPIRITUAL 215 spiritual love of Rama, — the Paramatma who pervades her Atma also, his love would be much nobler and purer This was a God-sent experience, and from that moment onwards Tulsidas sacrificed his physical love, sought the love of Rama — God, the oversoul His writ- ings are full of that enchanting love of God To the billions of Hindus who have lived in the‘ last four centuries and to those that are living now, his work has been an unfailing solace in life’s sicknesses and aches No other saint or writer has unfolded to the unlettered masses of India the unique treasures of the Ramayana The original of this uplifting Epic, though composed more than four thousand years ago, seems to have few equals in portraying the sweetness of home life, womanly love, virtue, devotion, parental aiTection, filial duty, brotherly faithfulness, the ruler’s solicitude for the ruled, the subjects’ devotion to the king, an heir- apparent’s ideal courage in abandoning an Empire for a spiritual cause with all humility , and, above all, the unfaltering adherence to Truth at all costs The transla- tion of just a few of its passages will show how great the ideals depicted in the work are — ■ Says Sita to Rama — '‘As the shadow to the substance To her Lord is faithful wife And she parts not from her consort Till she parts with fleetmg life Says Rama to Kaikeyi, who sought his banishment for fourteen years "Speak thy word, “exclaimed the hero, And my purpose shall not fail, Rama serves his father’s mandate and his bosom shall not quail, Poisoned cup or death untimely,— whatsoever be the decree. 216 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE To his king and to his father Rama yields obedience free, Speak my father’s royal promise, hold me by his promise tied, Rama speaks and shall not falter, for his lips have never lied ” Cold and clear Kaikeyi’s accents fell as falls the hunter’s knife “Listen then to word of promise and redeem it with thy life, Wounded erst by foes immortal, saved by Queen Kaikeyi’s care. Two great boons your father plighted and his royal words were fair, I have sought their due fulfilment, — brightly shines my Bharat’s star Bharat shall be Heir and Regent, Rama shall be banished far ; If thy father’s royal mandate thou wouldst hst and honour still. Fourteen years in Dandak’s forest live and wander at thy will. Seven years and seven, my Rama, thou shalt in the 3ungle dwell. Bark of trees shall be thy raiment and thy home the hermit’s celL Over fair Kosala’s empire let my princely Bharat reign. With his cars and steeds and tuskers, wealth -and gold and armed men. Tender-hearted is the monarch, age and sorrow dim his eye. And the Anguish of a father checks his speech and purpose high PHYSICAL LOVE CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO SPIRITUAL 217 For the love he bears thee, Rama, cruel vow he may not speak, I have spoke his will and mandate and thy true obedience seek ” Calmly Rama heard the mandate, grief nor anger touched Ins heart. Calmly from his father’s Empire and his home prepared to part Says Lakshman to Rama — If my elder and his lady to the pathless forests wend, Armed with bow and ample quiver Lakshman will on them attend Dearer far to me those woodlands where my elder Rama dwells, Than the homes of bright immortals where perennial bliss prevails * ^ And Kausalya — (Rama’s mother) “And she wept the tears of sadness when with sweet obeisance due Spake with hands in meekness folded, Rama ‘ ever good and true , Says Rama to his mother — “Sorrow not, my loving mother, trust in virtue s changeless beam, Swift will fly the years of exile like a brief and transient dream Girt by faithful friends, and forces, blest by , righteous Gods above, INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Thou shalt see thy son returning to thy bosom and thy love (The Citizens lament) Man and boy and maid and matron followed Rama with their eye, As the thirsty seek the water when the parched fields are dry Chnging to the rapid chariot, by its side, before. behind, Thionging men and wailmg women wept for Rama — good and kind , "Draw the reins, benign Sumantra, slowly slowly drive the car We would once more see our Rama, banished long and banished far, Bharat implores Rama to come back and be king — With noble tears Bharat beseeched Dasaratha’s son ^ ^ “Me with queens and loyal sub3ects supplicate thy noble grace, Rule Over Raghu’s ancient empire, noblest son of Raghu’s race , For our ancient Law ordaineth and Duty makes it plain, Eldest-born succeeds his father as the kmg of earth and mam, ^ ❖ V Rama replies — “But I may not,” answered Rama, “seek Ayodhya’s ancient ttoone. For a righteous father’s mandate a duteous son may not disown. PFH'SICAL L0\^ CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO SPIRITUAL 219 And I may not, gentle brother, break the word of promise given, To a king and to a father, who is now a saint in heaven Thou must take the throne, my brother, thou must guard our people well, Praying for mankind's good, in the forests, I shall dwell The Ramayana is not likely to be all fiction Tliere might be a substratum of history in it The giving away of an Empue, the best then known, is no small yajnya (sacrifice) for a spiritual cause In this mad world, we find son killing father, brother killmg brother, friend killing friend for the lure of property How many of us can with love and humility abandon our small possessions (in fact make yajnya of them) and go to the wilderness to keep our father’s word‘d Remember the ideals of life then and the ideals of life now What a difference is there between those days and our “civilised” times ’ Let us revert to our theme When you closed your eyes, you found that you could make a wave of higher thought, thus neutralising a lesser one What does it show ’ It proves that there are two classes of forces m us and that one can neutralise the other It should now be evident to you that the character of our life, and our happiness will depend upon the nature of the waves that we make If the waves are for physical or mental good, we will have respectively physical or mental happmess ; if the waves be for spin- tual happiness, we will have spiritual happiness Lentoy —But the waves dealing with food, clothes and other forms of physical happiness are so easy and natural , whereas the creation of spiritual waves is hard work 220 INDIA'S MCSSAGC 01 PEACL D —No, dear Lentoy, you arc m error Creating waves for physical pleasure has become cosy on account of our long practice Can you recollect the number of times you have eaten food, said things, seen sights, hoard others speaking Can you count the number of times you fell on the ground in your boyhood before you were steady on your feet ? It is long practice that has made these things so easy What is important to note is this, that if you can make one good wave in order to neutralise a bad one, it proves that you can make more such waves If you can make more such waves, you can form the habit of making them, so that they will become effortless and automatic In the beginning every new thing seems difficult The first attempts at swimming or cycling are always discouraging But later the actions become automatic Just as sloth, av/e or impatience are obstructions to perfection in the bodily field, so also are they in the spiritual field On the spiritual side also the creation of better waves, by suppressing the upsurge of worse ones, becomes by prac- tice at first easier and later automatic The creation of waves of truth and non-violence in the mind of Gandhiji had become, by long practice part of his nature They had become so automatic that he simply could not deviate to untruth, or to violence Thus it was the love for man became automatic with St Francis, and with many others While we were talking a cow-man of the Ashram came running to us and announced the birth of a male calf to an Ashram cow Dadaji stopped and pondered a while then asked us to come and see the cow He said ‘Just see how the cow is bcking the dirt from the body of the calf Can any scientist ever create a cow scientihcalJy with a propensity to do this'!’ Let us watch this scene and think how it helps us to appreciate the point of what we were talkmg about See the wonderful perseverance of the calf m his attempts 4o stand on his legs See how he is trying ito rase on his PHYSICAL LOVE CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO SPIRITUAL 221 hind legs and falling backwards bumping his head or tumbling sideways See how he is agam and again trying undeterred by a dozen falls Now see how after falling and rising a hundred tunes he has steadied his feet and is hobbling to reach the mother’s udder Now if this brute creature is undismayed by the hundred falls of his soft body on hard ground, if it is undiscouraged by repeated failures, don’t you think we men can do better, a milhon times better If you nnly try, you will find that the raising of godly waves in the mind to the exclusion of ungodly ones, will not be difficult after some steady practice Let us stop here today Each one of you select •a dear and sacred idea of your own and try to sacrifice your other ideas and create waves of that idea, when- ever you are free and alone When we meet next for discussion, you shall tell me ycur experience But one thing — do not shift from one idea to another That will mar the process Adhere to the one you select — ^Rama Krishna, Kali, Tao, Jehovah, Zoroaster, Buddha, Christ, JVIohammad, Mahavira, Nanak, Chaitanya, Ramakrishna or any other, you like Grip it as tightly as you can 'God be with you all PART V CHAPTER I. Purifying the Mmd In pursuance of Dadaji’s advice each of us tried hard to control the thoughts which surged up promis- cuously in our minds . but although in theory this control had seemed simple, we found that m actual practice it was hard work The compulsion of habit betrayed us into raising unwanted thought-waves Alien ideas kept crowding in Not even for a single minute could any one of us keep the same wave of thought to the exclusion of all others So when we met next time, we told Dadaji of our failures and he said — D — ^Yes, it IS not easy. Em — Should we abandon the quest’ D —The man who fears such an attempt is a coward , he who puts forth his best and either succeeds or fails IS a hero I saw my fault, looked towards the others, and, with their approval said Em — ^You are right Dadaji We must try Could you run over the process again from the start ’ D —Now, suppose we are visiting a big modem city, say Calcutta, London or New York We find electric fans, lights, railways, radios and many other thmgs, all worked by electricity An ignorant rustic IS astonished to find millions of lights going on or off, railways working, lifts nsmg, radios playing and so on He asks how all this happens Until he goes to the power-house and has its working explained to him, he reinains bewildered To find the explanation, he must ^^ui the places where all that he sees is worked by electricity, and must come to the power-house itself PURIFYING THE MIND 223 Similarly to know the working of our bodies and minds we must go from the outside to the centre of power in us, and understand it and its method of work- ing To help you to reach the Atman, let me give you the views of Indian thinkers in the form of a Diagram 1 Soul=Atman (Part of Universal Soul = Par amatma) radiating energy 2 Budhi — ^The distinguishing aspect of the mmd, with the “ego ” 3 Manah — The receivmg and reflecting— thmkmg, feehng and willing aspects of the imnd. 4, Indriyas— Ihe senses— xvot the physical organs but the sense faculties 5 Tanmatras— The affections of the senses 6 The human body 7 The gross material Universe See Gita III— 42 and 43 VII— 4 and 5 Remember that the Diagram may be an imagmary one Consider the diagram as a top or as a spiral sprmg 224 INDIA’S MCSSAGD Of !Tj\CC You may consider the soul ns the olccti ic flame of a torch spreading its light in ever-widening circles According to our Vedanta, the innermost circle stands for Atman (soul) which is an epitome of the Oversoul — Paramatma — Biahma — Om The other cir- cles stand for Praknti The three circles, second, third and fourth represent different aspects of the mind, with their Samaskaras, i e obsessions oi mass of accu- mulated tendencies all yet unbottled energy The fifth stands for energy m the process of becoming bottled up into structural matter The sixth and seventh circles are for bottled up energy, le energy which has become matter The source of everything is the energy of the soul, the power-house within us You may consider jn this connection Robert Browning’s description — Truth IS within ourselves; it takes no rise From outward things, whate’er you may believe / There is an inmost centre in us all. Where truth abides m fulness , and around. Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it m, This perfect, clear perception — which is truth A baffling and perverting carnal mesh Binds it, and makes all error , and to KNOW Rather consists in opening out a way Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape, Than m effectmg entry for a light Supposed to be without Therefore set free the soul alike in all. Discovering the true laws by which the flesh Accloys the spirit PURIFYING THE MIND 225 Now remember the illustration of the lake If the waters are tioubled or opaque, you can’t see the bottom Similarly if the layers around the soul as shown in the diagiam, are agitated or impure, you can’t see the soul Now consider another aspect Take the case of an electric bulb in a torch Paint different parts of the bulb in diffeient colouis— red, blue, green, yellow, etc, ^nd flash the torch The light passing through the ■differently coloured poi tions of the bulb will be different Similarly the puie and the transparent energy of the soul passes thiough our individual minds and acts in the external world according to the colours of the mind You may have heard that certain skin and other diseases can be cured with sunrays which are made to pass through differently coloured pieces of glass For parti- cular diseases, particular colours are necessary Consider the reveise case In the eyes of a man suffer- ing from jaundice, the impression made by external objects IS yellow It is not the colour of the objects It IS the colour of the sense organ the eye An Ignorant mind behind the eye — say the mind of a small child— thinks that outer objects have become yellow. Thus we become optimistic and pessimistic, forgiving ■or revengeful, according to the mental coiours that our minds take from the outside world Imagine that while you are sitting quietly, somebody behind you gives you a blow You are annoyed because your mind s impres- sion IS that he is an enemy or unfriendly person But if when you look back you find him to be a very dear friend, you lose your annoyance Your face, which was red with anger, now wears a pleasant smile The same physical blow causes diametrically opposite reactions in you, according to the colours in which your mmd views the striker Gandhiji uttered the wor s “Hey Ram” when the bullets struck him The expression may be translated as “’Thy will ’ Father,” though no quite faithfully It was because Gandhi ji’s mind saw 226 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE his murderer not as a foe but as God pervading hiin» that he could say this The human mind passes, as a medium dees, the soul’s energy to the outside world, and it also makes a record of the things of the outside woild and builds therefrom our mental life If this medium is distorted, it will distort the soul’s light passing through it and falling on the outside world It will also receive dis- torted impressions of the outside woild and mislead us into assessing the outside world incorrectly We average men of the world live in this impression — world built by the mind. You will thus see that our first task is to cleanse and steady the mind in order, firstly, that the soul’s light, passing it undefiled, may fall on the outside world m its pristine purity , and secondly, that the impres- sions which the mmd forms of the outside world may not be distorted You know how all religions and all real leaders of mankind enjoin us to cleanse and calm the mind I do not know of any religion or of any moral leader who has advised or would advise any one to make his mind turbulent or distracted The prescriptions given differ according to the mental and physical climates, according to the flawless or faulty diagnoses made of the situation Nevertheless all emphasise the importance of purity and steadiness of mmd To raise your moral stature, to attain the highest happiness of life, to visuahse your supreme soul, the first and mdis- pensable condition js to cleanse the mmd of all impurities, to cure it of the obsessional neurosis and to steady it so that it will not be upset by the heaviest storms This is the essential task Now that you know the im^rative necessity of the endeavour, and understand from a diagram the working of our inside life, you must pursue the quest of purifying the turbid mmd Ori- ginal^ the mmd was pure Since it has been made NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 227 impure and unruly, it can be remade pure and obedient Every man can so remake his own He has withm himself the power to remake it. He has only to exercise his power By the experiment you yourself made a few days back, you could and you did neutralise a bad wave by a good wave It is because the task is new and the mind is undisciplined that you fear to face the task Yet remember that children never cheerfully learn even so essential a thmg as the alphabet, although every one knows how essential it is, and how easy and automatic its use becomes after practice The matenally-civihsed man of the twentieth century, wielding immense influence over nature, is but a child m the domam of spirituality It is natural for him to “whme and creep” to this new school But the birth of the United Nations, the numerous peace-parleys and other noble endeavours now taking place in differ- ent parts of the world, are signs of the beginning of a golden dawn after hideous darkness You have only to go through the needed discipline to reach the gates of this new dawn Just as every kind of skill-swimming, cycling, box- ing, and the like — has its special training and discipline, so too the search for spiritual life has its essential training and discipline. CHAPTER H Need of Spiritual Disciplines E —What are they ’ D — I will list them as — 1 Devotion to God 2 Truthfulness 3 Nonviolence in thought, word and deed This includes 228 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE (i) Love-the turning of the other cheek. Cii) Not to live on the toil of someone else (ill) Not to possess more than you need or more than the average human brother has This means the renunciation of worldly possession, and the sacrifice of luxury, the great obstacle Excessive possession brings laziness and thoughtlessness (iv) There must be no depriving another of what he has (v) No killing, even in religious or national wars (vi) Tolerance for otheis’ views particularly in religion , 4 Fearlessness 5 Continence 6 Study, practice and meditation making the mind one-pomted, by Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi Em — terrifying list, Dada 3 i D — ^For the individual, conquest of his mind is greater than the conquest of mount Everest and dis- covery of his soul is greater than the discovery of America To desire something without pa 3 ang its full price is dishonesty And then, isn’t full effort equal to full victory even though the objective success be partial ’ E — ^It IS so Now will you explain the disciplines m detail D —Please call to mmd our discussion about God 1 Devotion to God We have found scientific support for our conclusion that the first thing that existed in the Universe is Energy which can think and everythmg else has come from it Matter is the materialised form of that energy (Remember the diagram of the human soul and body ) Smce the ultimate thmg is a thmking Power (expressed by the symbol Om according to Hindu thinkers), we NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 229 must always bear m mind this Ultimate Reality, and live our entire life in devotion to this Reality By devotion to God, I mean devotion to the Ultimate Reality which IS immanent in everything while it transcends also everything You can see God And when you see God nothing will deflect you from your devotion to God 2 Truthfulness While we were discussing heaven, I told you of the Hindu conception of truth, which is complete conformity to facts You must i elate facts and incidents as they are No exception is allowed Outside talk or behaviout must faithfully represent the inside heart and feelings. Soul, heart, mind, brain and body all should synchronise. “Moralists may blame or praise, prosperity may favour or frown, death may come now or later, the path of truth must never be deviated from ” Remember the incident of Nachiketa’s talks with Yama which I told you during our discussion on ‘Death ’ The lesson of the story is that truth is to be sought at the cost of all earthly possessions and pleasures — wealth, women, power, fame, everythmg— and that truth can be had only when it is preferred to all these other thmgs You have already heard how Rama sacnflced the greatest empire that existed, and went to the forest as a mendicant, merely to maintain the truth of the pledge given by his father, even though m his old age his father would have been happy to go back on it Rama’s family was long known for absolute and unqualified truthful- ness One of his ancestors, Hanschandra, gave the whole of his kingdom and even parted with his dearest wife and son, to fulfil the promise, made to a Saint, that he would deprive himself of all that he had Such are the conceptions of truth end truthfulness You can reach the truest truth, your soul, and then the Oversoul-God, by making true every particle of your 230 INDIA’S MCSSAGC Of FUCf. flesh, blood and bone, 3 ust as a piece of coni attains the character of file when each of its particles is made red- hot If in politics, diplomacy oi any other field, you deviate from truth, your doing so is ‘ to sit by the flesh- pots of Egypt and eat to the full ” (Exodus XVI-3 ) And according to cut discovery of the mental v.orld. the making of a wave of falsehood m the mind is to add to the massed layer of evils in our mind and thereby to delay the proper functioning of the power-house within us 3 otv-violence in thought, word and deed The best way to realise the significance of this great truth IS to study the incidents of Gandhiji’s life without predilection or prejudice The indispensable condition of achieving non-violence in thought, word and deed IS the fearless practice of truthfulness, with the sincerest love for your opponent and leadmess to turn the other cheek You must never raise ideas or thoughts of violence in your mind, and if ever any violent idea emerges, you must counter it immediately with an idea of non-violence, love, charity, generosity, fellow-feeling and the like as the occasion needs Non-violence should be practised until it becomes automatic To take another’s life for the sake of one’s own is the law of the brute If man regards himself as higher than the brute, he must follow a higher law To give one’s life for another and to bear one another’s burden IS that higher law In a world weary of wars and animosities, man can redeem mankind only by cons- ciously suffering for others, by sharing another’s misery, by bleeding for another’s wounds The passive suffering of the slave, the coward or the weak is not nonviolence ^‘^■'^olence is sustained heroism, nobler and more difficult than the bravery of the soldier who at the spur of applause or excitement goes to the front, and there, compelled by circumstances, braves death NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 231 A man who is nonviolent realises that all men have not the same opportunity or capacity, and are by their very nature erring and limited He therefore forgives the faults of others and sees only their good He has no misanthropic thought, word or action His words are gentle, full of solace, mspiration and encouragement He believes that each individual has divinity in him •and can be made to evince his divmity if he is rightly piersuaded and trained It follows from this that nonviolence means complete selflessness and full regard for all life It forbids the infliction of m]ury, it forbids killing, even m wars for so-called rehgious, or national causes Neither religious nor national ties can restrict its universal and humane operation The lives of the birds, beasts and plants may not be injured except for plain necessity When a man has attained the stage of nonviolence, he IS afraid of none upon this earth just as the Brahmin Dandi did not fear Alexander’s threat to behead him, and remained unmoved by the proffered gifts The power of true nonviolence is incalculable, as proved by ■the lives of Christ and Gandhi The organised military might of the biggest Empire of their days were but mere trifles before their steeled and quiet courage to die without killmg The air and atmosphere of the world, impregnated by their holy thoughts, are still ■outlasting their individual lives, purifying and hearten- ing with saving grace billions on biUions of human existences in all parts of the world True strength nomes from an unconquerable will, not from a mountain of flesh Among beasts the killer is great Among men the conscious sufferers are great The “noblesse oblige" •of human dignity necessitates the adoption of a law of existence higher than the law of the Jungle That law is the law of the cross, not of the A or H bomb Nonviolence is not content to rest on its high ideal To be authentic it needs thoiough practice, with vigi- lance even in the smallest details Nonviolence has to 232 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE be lived And unless one lives it, and honestly tries to live it, all talk about it is humbug There is talk of Gandhian nonviolenf'e now m all parts of the worlds But how many are there who are actually living it'^ Even here in India, its home land, how many are practising it fully now ’ While giving a list of the dis- ciplines, I told you of the implications of nonviolence Its indispensable requisite is sacnfice to the cause, seek- ing not piivilege but poverty , controlling the Camish instinct for possession of properly or power (social, political or religious) with supreme faith in the Lord's solicitude for His humblest devotee and a determination not to think of the morrow When you willingly and cheerfully sacrifice all your property you will soon find that disentanglement even from your own few properties will bring to you the joy of all the world bemg yours Similar is the Nada- Todo view of St Juan de la Cruz of Spam Nada — nothing, Todo — everything — ^meamng leave everything and you will have everything 4 Fearlessness (Includes absence of doubt and com- plete free will) Fear is an unbalanced state of the mind brought about by real or imagined danger When caught by it, the mstinct of self-preservation makes man prepare and adopt defences, sometimes pathological ^ It deludes the mind, distorts vision, warps judgment and often results in huge waste of energy m random behaviour The average civilised man is now more fearful than the average savage Why ’ Because Governments in all parts of the civilised world exercise today more power over the citizen Not only that They sometimes confuse or distort his mind by enormous propaganda about non-existing evils and intensify his fear. Hitler’s fear of Jews, which maddened his followers into cruel mhuman behaviour is an instance NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 235 To distinguish between real and imaginary peril , to destroy its cause with cool courage and wise action ^ there is no other way than to teach the nation that God IS benign and to tram the nation in Sthita-prajnyata (stead 3 rmmdedness) as advised in Gita To free the individual, from regimented thought and stereotyped behaviour, governmental fetters over his mmd should be more and more removed The more unfettered he is, the more responsibility will he feel , he will find the need and benefit of cultivating steadymmdedness, as he pursues his destmy Mr Harvey Dey Says “Some years ago Sir Farquhar Buzzard, the King’s physician, said that in Britam alone 10,000,000 working weeks were lost each year through nervous diseases, and that one in 14 of the working population suffer from nervous diseases to the extent of needing treat- ment Since then nervous disorders have increased Dr. William Tenger, an authority on the disease, says that arthritis starts in the mind and that one in every eight ■who go to him with rheumatism are mind cases Dr Walter C Alvarez of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, author of Nervous Indigestion, says that m 507^ of indigestion cases nothing wrong can be found with the digestive tract The patients are victims of worry, fear, anxiety or some other corroding emotion The world is nfe with fear of one form or another fear of the hydrogen bomb , of war, illness, loss of work The best cure of all is to interest yourself in others worse off than you, and so forget about youiself, or realize how many people there aie who are so much worse off than yourself Tlie rich suffer far worse from emotional trouble than do the poor , they ha\ e so much time on their hands and little to do ” 234 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Now if you analyse, you will find that doubt is a kind of fear It is an obstacle When we go to the market, and find ourselves unable to select our require- ments, we often accept the vendor’s recommendation o£ a particular commodity When we are physically sick we believe what physicians (genume or otherwise) tell us We sometimes believe even astrologers When we do not know the road to a particular place, we provi- sionally accept the road which someone else indicates But in moral and spiritual matters, it is very rarely that we believe what experienced elders or saints say We become either scoffers or sceptics when they pomt •out the way Yet even if we do not put final faith in them, it IS desirable that, as in other matters, we should at least provisionally believe those whom we find to be unselfish and of good-will, livmg up to their principles If after testing their advice you find it to be unsound you may reject it But without a provisional belief and a subsequent test you will get nowhere Remember. Emeham that it is the doubt of your latent powers that was urging you to commit suicide It is the revival of behef m your abilities that saved you Free Will — Slavery, you know, kills manhood When the Romans left England, the people pleaded to their Roman masters not to leave them to the mercy of the barbarian invaders on one side and the ragmg sea on the other Mental slavery is worse than its physical counter-part fPhe man of free-will can snap the bends of physical slavery , but if the will has become enslaved, God help him Em — ^Is there no way of gaming freedom ’ D —Of course there is Of all the countries m the world, it IS perhaps in India only that the way of culti- vatmg true free-will has been scientifically studied and practised The free-will of hedonism, of Laissez-Faire, of Socialism, Communism, Capitalism or even of Demo- cracy, cannot be true free-will The very fact of ‘ism NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 233 makes it subservient to the physical (including the political) plane, and it cannot be called free True free- will IS that which is not bound to anything that is transient. If it is bound by physical (including political or social) ties, how can you call it free-will It is not different from the fettered instinct of the bug, and the flea, the ant and the bee, which build their empires, exercise a limited will, live in it and then die This cannot be the free-will of man, the Son of God For true free-will, you have to hberate your mind from the association of all the transient things which conscript or confine it. Now remember our past discussion about the way in which the human mind works, with the energy (light) coming to it from the soul, the power-house within us The sure way to create free-will is to create in the mind waves of ideas as contained m expressions like — Om, Soham (I am He), Tattwamasi — (Thou art that), ‘T and my Father are one" and similar others Dr Jung, the greatest living psychologist, says *‘Among all my patients in the second half of hfe — that IS to say, over 35— there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life. It is safe to say that every one of them fell ill because he had lost that winch living religions of every age have given to their followers and none of them have been really healed who did not regain this religious outlook ” You will often find that the atlieist youth becomes later an agnostic and in old age a believer in God The lower happiness depending on lower knowledge must be subordinated to higher happmess, which comes from higher and better knowledge This can be achiev- ed only by free-will, which is not a slave of any fascination of this earth 236 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE But you can’t imagine free-will, without fearless- ness I do not think there is any race or society where the virtue of fearlessness does not rank high It is one of the greatest virtues of man It is a virtue which uplifts and ennobles not only the fearless individual but it radiates to others round him and uplifts them also Fearlessness, however, should not be confused* with fool-hardiness, fire-eating or dare-devilry, nor with* military heroism By fearlessness is meant that atti- tude of the mind which has no fear for any man, how- ever high he may be, or fear of any material loss-life, property, power, anything Such fearlessness comes when man views the universe as a vast co-operative society and holds himself a partner of it He is then liberated from his littleness, from his cut-off-ness from God This is the secret of true free-will and fearlessness y anmadanyannaasti Kasmaantu Bibhemi Dwitiyaad Bai Bhayam Bhaveti “Why should I fear There is none other than me* (meaning my soul is a part of the world soul) Fear arises only when you posit another ” Brihad Aaranyaka Upanishad Ananda Brhmano Bidwaan Na bibheti “He who knows the bliss of union with eternal Brahma has no fear whatsoever” Taittiriya Upanishad Yada-Etasmin-Abhayam Pratistham Bindite-Sobhayam Gato Bhabati “When the soul dwells in the Oversoul he has no- more any fear” Taittinya Upanishad 5 BTahmacharya-Continence Sexual lust is the greatest bondage of man’s animal na ure, and unless regulated, makes man behave worse NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 237 than beast For the beast, on account of its instinct, 4oes not exceed natural limits, and is thus saved But the man who cannot control lust soon causes his own ruin, along with that of all with or under him Lust devastates homes, families, nations, empires and civilisa- tions Love-intrigues among the rulers of different countries aie instances of this awful fact Lust is such a powerful force that it disregards barriers of race, religion, colour and even enmities between families and nations Put the fascination exerted by Helen or Cleopatra on one pan of the scale, and the ruin of Greek or Roman civilisation, with the moral nihihsm that followed each, on the other, and ponder You can only say “What egregious fools these mortals were The lives of all the great leaders of mankind prove that without chastity with its capacity to promote physical ability, tremendous intellectual energy, and spiritual strength, you cannot attain honour or virtue Most educated men indulge their sensual instincts and are sapped of powers which can be used to foster their latent genius But when man consciously controls the sensual instinct and transmutes the energy thus saved into social or spiritual advancement, he becomes, as it were, recreated — a new chapter in his life begins, the banner of a new faith is unfurled The life of Tulsidas, as I have told you, is an mstance of the im- mense power that comes when the vital energy is devoted to spiritual search Even in worldy affairs its conversion brmgs no small benefit. Look at our Nehru bearmg the baffling problems of 400 million people, working continuously in India’s hot and enervatmg climate day in and day out, without bemg sick even for half an hour. Leaders m other parts of the world today have sustained their health and leadership in proportion to their mastery over sensual instmcts It is an mdis- pensable virtue in any human society worth the name Once this vice is suspected m a leader, his fall is immediate 238 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACh In your case, Emeham, consider what would have been your health and fate if while possessed of your riches and living a life of luxury, you had become a victim to lust E — ^Perhaps I should not be living today In my case, the marriage vow restrained me But what do you. think are the ways to gain effective control over sen- suality D — ^You have already given the answer, — a vow and a determmation to keep it But I will give you some helpful advice for subjugating sensual instincts First, you must realise the great value of chastity — its power to keep the body healthy, the brain strong and the mmd in full workmg order There is no walk of life, no profession, no occupation, in which chastity wiU not contribute to success The wonderful power to resist icy cold and scorching heat of the completely nude Naga Sanyasis of India is due to their Brahmacharya You may call them fanatics in other respects , but Brahmacharya is the secret of then power The second point is to eliminate all excitmg food and dnnk Food forms the mind, behaviour and character of mdividuals, and smce individuals make races and civihsations, food is a great factor in building the character of nations and civilisations Generally speaking meat-eating animals, men and nations are aggressive Just as hemp, opium, liquor, and medicines create in our bodies and minds reactions accordmg to their varymg properties, so do varieties of food, drmk, and drugs have their correspondmg reactions That is why physicians prescribe a sick man’s diet I am not a specialist and cannot say which food is good for con- tinence That will depend on many factors, such as the condition cf the body, the occupation of the individual, the climate of the place and so on But I can give some general observations on the subject NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 239 In the animal kingdom we find that the flesh-eating species are more aggressive and cruel than those sub- sisting on vegetable food If you go to a Zoo, you can see how the meat-eating wolf is always restless and continuously running about Compare him with the ruminating cow, lying m calm dignity Amongst man- kind, non-aggressiveness as a national characteristic applies more to India than to any other nation In her long history of over seven thousand years, she has never snatched an inch of foreign land As Marshal Tito said when he visited India in 1954-55 “In her long history India has not caused tears to anybody ” Christ’s teaching of turnmg the other cheek is perhaps followed m actual practice more by the Hindus than by Christians Tins is perhaps due to the Hmdu-view that vegetarianism is sacied and meat-eating is profane The determination not to moure any form of life IS the sign of man’s emancipation from the animal in him The craving for animal food is sanctified in the west by the theological doctrme of man’s lordship over other animals But you may consider in this connec- tion what Dean Inge says — “The great discovery of the nmeteenth century that we are of one blood with lower animals, has created new ethical obhgations which have not yet penetrated the public conscience ” If you wish to lift your human sense to a higher and broader plane — to an all-life sense, you must realise the fraternal link that exists between man and animals and do unto them as you do unto youi human neighbours. Since you have no power to create a being, you have no right to destroy one It seems to me that if we are to maintain continence, rich spiced and exciting food should be avoided The seeker of God should eat to live in full health and not dig his spiritual grave by his animal teeth Next to care in choosing food, we should practise looking upon women as belonging to the same class of 240 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE beings as our mother Except to one who is no better than a brute, a mother is always a unique embodiment of virtue She kindles the noblest feelings of reverence. To regard women as mothers is to nullify the germina- tion of the sensual instinct Hindu seers have suggested that after the birth of the first son (which is necessary to prolong the race) a wife should be regarded and treated as a mother by the true seeker of God To the sceptic this may seem prudery But in India instances of the practice of the ideal are not rare It is in India alone, perhaps, that the wife is regarded and addressed as a goddess (Devi) But apart from this extreme view, to regard other women as one’s own mother is a healthy practice both for individual and social good You may have observed the Indian way of addressmg all girls as mothers The Hindu reverence to womanhood is avowed every year in the Puja by the recitation of Vidyaasamastaa Stavadevi bhedaa Striyahsamastaa sakalaa jagatsu Twaikayaa puritamambametat Kaate stuti stavyaparaa Parokti “Mother ’ all the branches of learnmg — arts, sciences and philosophies are filled full by thee So are all women of the world Who else is there, Mother, apart from Thee in these, for me to bow and pray Another important thing is to avoid association with anything that is lewd and lustful— persons, films, books, and the like And when you have to be m the company of women it is preferable to look reverentially at their feet except when there is the need to talk with them. NEED OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 241 The habit of looking at their feet will generate respect for them Some suggest that when the devil comes, one should engage in some hard physical work which brings per- spiration, or plunge into cold water and bathe for a long time A very efficacious way also, is to reverse the impulse by transferring it to a person, place or thing considered holy, and to create continuous waves m the new direc- tion A practical form of this is to do Japa, le, re- petition of a sacred word or formula, or to pray to God till the devil is routed 6. Study, practice and meditation. Our one word for it is Tapas, which means unflagging spiritual pursuit After intellectual argument, reasoning and philosophising, the decision made must be stead- fastly followed up by earnest and unremittmg practice, even though its consequences to person or property be grim, awing or alarming For a concrete example of recent times, remember Gandhiji’s fastmg in the cause of the Harijans By the study of written or printed words our minds come in contact with the mind of the author The author has transferred his feehngs into the writmgs and the writmgs now convey the feelmg to us So if you read a novel or see a film depictmg lewd mcidents m a brothel, your mind associates with the lewdness, although you are not physically present at the scene If a man actually visits a brothel, it is the mmd that is first infected Bodily corruption can be cleaned by soap or cured by medicine But corruption of the mmd re- mains and the contagion spreads to others around you 242 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE So all our study should be of good things and good books, such as will keep our mind associated with higher and better minds mirrored in their writings CHAPTER m Theory and Practice. Dada^i contmued I have already told you that you must regulate the waves of thought that arise in your mind This can be done by making good waves m order to abort bad ones If you can. do this, you will gradually purify and steady your imnd When the mmd becomes transparent and steady, you will become conscious of your real nature and of the great reserve of power that you have To be conscious of one’s power is no small gam The novice who succeeds in riding a cycle for a few yards, or m swimmmg in deep water for a little distance, feels an exhilaration generated by the discovery of his previously unknown latent powers The 3oy of discovermg holy sprmgs in the mward sanctuary of one’s own self is not small The self-confidence which it brmgs is a sure foundation for further progress But to be efficient you must practise And what is practice‘s It is repeated endeavour, m spite of failure You may not succeed at once in killmg the unspiritual waves crowdmg mto your mind Let the success be for two seconds on the first day, three seconds next day or even next week Progress may be small but progress it IS nevertheless It is undoubtedly an advance from zero-pomt The begmnmg is bound to be difficult, even alarmmg But remember the case of the cow-calf On tlie first day of its buth, it falls a hundred times before it can steady its feet But on the second day it can run so swiftly that it may overtake a car going twenty miles an hour So what is needed is sustamed and determined effort After steady practice, efficiency is attamed THEORY AND PRACTICE 243 Think of a blindfolded typist or harmonium player If, by steady practice the eyeless fingers of mere flesh and bone can be made to avoid the wrong keys, by steady practice the knowing mind can surely be made to avoid bad thought waves Indeed the very secret of raising the mental waves necessary to touch-type accurately is to aYoid contrary waves From this you will see the need of busying the -mind with acts of worship, prayer, charity, tellmg of beads, Japa (repetition of sacred names or words — such as God, Om, etc ) The child who has succeeded m cycling or swimming a few yards steals time to practise mere and more Once you taste the 3oy of worship and prayer, you will begin to make time even in your busiest moment to perform these acts not only at the fixed hours but even more frequently Further, rehgious and charitable activity will, without stram upon the mind, and unconsciously, as it were, help the mind to create good waves only, so that bad ones find no place The result will astomsh and delight you In the world’s turmoil and fitfulness, your own perplexities will be gone, you will experience new joy, harmony and a supreme calmness You will hunger more for the blessed life and be fiUed with it “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled ” You will be awakened to a hfe of “Christ-conscious- hess ” The fever and fret, the bustle and worry of the affairs of yoUr 'daily life. Whether of family, business or public life. Will vanish Your rebelhous senses and non-co-operating ‘selves’ will now co-operate willingly in the common good Your life and Conduct may even have important bearing on your‘ fellow beings and indeed on Society- YOur “Sthitabra jnyata”' will enable you to 244 INDIA'S MCSSAGF OF PLACi: judge situations and solve problems correctly Your collected and canalised mind will increase your memory and powers of compichension You will become more and more efficient as a student, teacher, lawyer. Doctor, Minister, business man — whatevci you may be Your happiness as an individual, as a family man, as a member of society and of the oiganisations to which you belong, and as a citizen of the world will mciease You will like other people other people will like you You will add to the glories and magnificence of this world We Hindus believe that by long research certain sounds and combination of sounds have been discovered which have the power of generating spiritual ideas They come under the category of Mantras You may scoff at the notion But it is an every-day experience that angry words create anger in us, lovmg words create love in us, descriptions of misery and sorrows bring tears to our eyes Desdemona fell in love with the dark skinned Othello by hearmg from his lips his deeds of heroism and valour Read Milton’s Comus, his Paradise Lost or his Paradise Regained Your mind will fluctuate according to the shifting scenes Why Should it not be possible then for certain sounds and combination of sounds to generate spiritual feelings in Our Vedantists prescribe Japa-repetition of the word'“Om” To begm with, we may repeat it in our mmd but ultimately it should be uttered soundlessly accompamed with meditation on its meanmg To call to rhmd a thought, you need a word With- out words and sentences you can’t thmk or progress methodically So there must be a word But “words Without thoughts to heaven never go ” Therefore while the word is used, the thought of the word should be present Letters and words are, corned by human bemgs But Indian thinkers advise that their commg should be MULAADHAARA SWAADHISTHAANA BtSHUDDHA SAHASRAARA THEORY AND PRACTICE 245 phonetic and faithfully representative of the waves which emerge from the different centres of our physical body when we utter a sound or a word See the diagram 246 INDIA'S MCSSAGL Of Fb\a- showing the centres fiom v'hich sounds of the different groups of Dovanagan letters are supposed to emerge. The woid Om as written in English is foi the Dova* nagan AUM The O of Om is to be pionounccd like OA m OAT but with a little diawl The Devnnagan A. U and M are supposed to represent three aspects of Primordial Energy — cieation, preservat’on and transfor- mation Now try to pronounce it slowly You find that as you open the lips, the uttering begins from the tip of the tongue, travels to its root and then rolls forward on the palate to the point fiom wheie it had begun and then, as it ends, the lips become dosed This word is a symbol not of an Embodied Being, but of the Primal Unembodied One who becomes many in manifestation, maintains all and transforms all If repeated with a consciousness of its potent significance, It baptises the heart to a belief in the eternity of the world Remember the scientific view that there was thought in the beginning and that matter is bottled thought — in other words, thought made tangible As such, it is not improbable that thought, when accom- panied by physical movement can vivify by vibrations the slumbering or embodied thought m the physical body, ]ust as we can revivify the corpse-like body of a man in deep, deathlike sleep, by appeals to his senses It IS believed that by Japa (repetition) of the word Om, the vibration on the lips travels to the heart, and then to all parts of the being, brain, body, mind, soul It inspires the finite with a belief of its unity with the Infinite All obstacles, all barriers between us and God, our finite sense of littleness in time and space, are destroyed Thou becomes That Consciousness of Unity with the Supreme generates great self-confidence, bles^ sedness and bliss, just as, in the material plane, there comes not a little self-confidence and happiness to a poor man whose close relationship with a great man like a Head of State, is established by marriage or kinship THEORY AND PRACTICE m I have told you of the efficacy of the expression Om -None need import Hinduism into it Om came mto existence long before the birth of Hmduism And if any non-Hindu scents danger in it, he may repeat a -symbolic expression appealmg to his own faith As I have already told you, the expression Om is believed by Hindus to possess spiritual potential pro- vided its meaning and implications are understood and Imbibed, and that it is repeated v/ith the needed purity of intention inside and outside. On one who does not hnow its meaning and implications it will have no •effect, just as the word crucifixion or the sweetest west- ern musical composition will make no impression on a person ignorant of the life of Christ or of western music. People who do not know that the Hindu Deity Kali IS worshipped as a sjunbol of eternal time (Kala), the energy of Creation — (Shakti) , the unity of the affirma- tive and negative sides of existence — love and hatred, attachment and aversion, exuberant life and cold death, promising future and dead past , may scoff at us for worshipping as mother a nude creature wearing a gar- land of human heads and protruding a red tongue It as the symbol of creation that kills to recreate Creation with inhering destruction is the mother of all that lives All other creatures experience fear when a lioness suddenly appears before them, but the hungry lion-cub IS delighted to be near her To view the deadly aspect of creation as, mother brings a peace and quiet to the troubled soul of the believer Your study therefore should be only of such things as will incline you towards the goal of life and will bring out the angel and the god in you Since the habit of moving in mental ruts is slavery to the mind, you must exercise and develop the faculty of discrimination in your study. Man indulges in evanescent sense-pleasures because of his Ignorance of higher happiness Therefore to know 248 INDIA’S MESSAGC Of PIIAO: and to pursue higher happiness, you linve to^ practise discrimination The animal does rot discriminate be- tween nakedness and decency It is by developing the faculty of constant discrimination that you can discern the higher fiom the lower Evcrytime you do a thing, you have to consider whether there is anything better And if you find that there is something better, you must abandon the lesser foi the grcalei Veil after veil will thus be lifted and yet there will still be a veil till you merge in the Over-Soul Just as you can’t go to the highei step of a ladder without leaving the lower one, so you can’t grip a higher truth unless you abandon a lesser one For the unity of the married couple, the individual paitners idiosyncrasies must be subordinated For the higher lealm of the family, the married couples’ clashing rights must be abandoned For the good of the village the family interest, for the good of the nation, the village interest, and'for the good of mankind all clashing national rights, privileges, interests must be subordinated , and to reach the soul you must abandon that which is against the soul It IS everybody’s experience that until the higher or better thing or idea is known, high seems highest The highest is known only when the matter is further pursued beyond the mere high It is m this way life must ne led But if you only study the theory, and do not put it into practice, you will become vam and egoistic You will only talk wisdom, you will point to others the uphill way of vir- tue, but you yourself will contmue wadmg m the mire. Lack of practice in rightly using nev/ly — acquired know- ledge IS the bane of modern man His heart is not catchmg up with the progress made by his bram Disgusted by this failure, some thinkers in the West have suggested that science should be given a holiday for ten years or so THEORY AND PRACTICE 249 The process of studying higher truths, and leading our life according to those which are freshly discovered is called by us destruction of Avidya by Vidya, of Maya by Gyanam You can gam the highest happmess only by gaining the highest knowledge and actmg in accordance with it You have to discrimmate between love and hatred, truth and falsehood, charity and cruelty, fearlessness and cowardice, nonviolence and violence, sacrifice and ag- gression and act accordmgly, avoiding Avidya, — ignor- ance — and association of the mmd with the low Without disassociating yourself from the lower plane, you cannot perceive the higher light By constant mental discrunmation of the higher from the lower, better from worse, and by acting accordingly, association with the lower ceases, ignorance vamshes, the higher light is gamed Human life is a pilgrim’s progress to the city of God, won by crossmg obstacles one after another, with knowledge and determination As you cross the first obstacle, you will see a new sky and your self- confidence will increase You v^ill rejoice that after all your searchmgs here, there and everywhere for the highest happmess of life and the path to it, you have now found cut that all lies within yourself, that you are set on the right road, and that the first obstacle that seemed insurmountable is already conquered As you progress, the buffets of the world, bodily ailments and mental suffering will pain you no more You will accelerate your mental pace, just as children, agog with expectation, walk more swiftly as they see m the distance the place to which they aie eagerly hastenmg As you leave off the lower world (the gross physical attachment) and near God’s city (the kmgdom of heaven withm you) the last remnants of doubt will go You will find that the world is not one of doubt and despair but of hope and that salvation lies within your grasp You 250 INDIA S MCSSAGL Of PDACL have only to utilize youi spn ilual powers The process of discernment thus piactised will enable you to discern the highest and best in you “God’s lamp, close to your breast” which is “free fiom all allcclions passions, feelings and poweis ” Remember the illustiations I gave you cf the electric bulb and the horseshoe magnet If you cover up the glass of the electric bulb with a thick coat of coal tar, the electric wire cannot send its light beyond the coat- ing , if you surround the magnet with steel, it cannot send out its energies Thcrefoie your education should be such as will unveil not obscuic, the power-house — the soul — within you In other words, your study should be such as to awaken m you a hunger for better knowledge , and to develop the faculty to will and act rightly and efficiently, to distinguish and discern the permanent from the evanescent, to concentrate on the essential by detaching yourself from the unessential And wherever possible, words and formulas believed to be efficacious, such as ‘Om,’ ‘Om Tat Sat,’ ‘Soham', ^Blessed be Thy name,’ ‘Alla Ho Akbar’, etc , should be repeated, so that their spiritual significance may per- meate even material flesh and bone As I have told you they ara also thought — ^but thought-made materiaL They behave differently because of their material nature. Hike a water-pump worked by power, they should be primed Priming by itself is nothing But without it, the efficacy of the pump does not come into play Meditation When pre-occupied by sense-pleasures and distrac- tions man has little time to study life and to lead it in a proper way As we know, modem youth is mostly unthinkmg, pre-occupied with unnecessary sensations, led by the nose, as it were by others Precious ore is not found on the surface or in shallow pits To reach the sanctum within you, you must concentrate with single-minded attention and perseverance, digging deep and deeper till you reach the source Instead of THEORY AND PRACTICE, 251 dissipating the mind over too many fields, you must hold fast to one great principle. It is a waste of energy to be a 3ack of many trades, instead of being master of one There is a pithy verse in India that even God when he scatters his mind too much on the mundane, becomes but a King Log Ekaa Bhaar]yaa Prakhara Mukharaa Chanchalaacha dwitiyaa Putropyoko bhubonavijayi Manmotho. durnivaarah Sheshasajyaa basati-]aladhau Baahano pannagaari Smaaram Smaaram Swagrihacharitam • Darubhuto Muraari It means that the God of mythology has two queens, VIZ Prospenty and Learning Prosperity is too fickle to stay at one abode and Learning often lapses into pedagogy Their differences often disconcert the Lord One of his progeny, the god of lust, is uncontrollable and is alienating the world from Hun God’s home is on the rough seas His bed is made of serpents There is nothing strange in such a God, constantly worried by his domestic affairs, turning out into a King Log E * — What IS the easy and practical way, Dadaji, of canalising the diffused mind ’ D — ^To go to temples, churches and musjids, to read sacred books to be happy with the happy and to be sincerely sorrowful with the sad, to delight in another’s virtue and to pity without hatred the wickedness of another. Such practices will create in you a current of humane and charitable tendencies You .should use them to help the poor and the distressed so far as you can Hero worship will awaken the heroism m yourself , worship of God will awaken the godhead m you- Your 252 INDIA’S MCSSAGL OP PI -AO numan soul being a pail of the God-Soul, all the poten- tialities are theic You can wal e up any you choose by appropriate thought and activity After this preliminary preparation and discipline, you should meditate on the idea uhich appeals to you most— the idea m whose pursuit you will persevere spontaneously and ardently Before you exercise vour freedom of will to meditate on an idea, you should undergo some preliminary dis- cipline in such ways as I have suggested and also m other ways possible for you The danger is that when the soul’s energy comes to the mind, it can be used, unless it becomes undistrrtcd by the practice of discipline, to make incorrect and dis- torted records of the outside world As I have told you so many times, the waves of the rnmd arc created by the mmd with the energy which comes to it from the soul And our mental world is the senes of our memories— the impressions imprinted on the mind Man makes his own mental world As such man is marred or made by the way the soul’s energy is used by his mind If it creates bad waves or less worthy waves because of ignorance or indiscipline man becomes bad or less worthy To avoid this, you must use the soul’s energy coming to your mind to create worthy and ennobling waves As you know, we seek the highest spiritual happi- ness Spiritual happiness can be of our spiiit or of out soul To en]oy spiritual happiness, we must know the spirit m us To know it, we have to turn the mmd inwards, reversmg its tendency to go outward to the external world The mind, turned inwards, must be made to raise good, moral, spiritual waves When, by these continuously raised spiritual waves, the mind is cleaned of impurities and becomes tiansparent, the soul’s l^ht is no more obstructed And when man visualises tills light he becomes conscious of the power-house. THEORY AND PRACTICE 253 the self-effulgent spark of God, within himself Realisa- tion of this link gives him unmeasurable self-confidence and solace. When the mind is cleansed of its impurities and becomes transparent, you will first catch a glimpse of the halo or radiance of the soul As your progress becomes more and more rapid, a moment will come when you will find that you are not your base body, not even your mind, but you are soul, perfect punty, light and happiness You will Jt>ing Manobudhiahankaara Chittaadinaaham Na Shrotram Na Jihwaa Nacha Ghraananetram Nacha Byomabhumirna-tejohnavaayuh Chidaanandarupah Shiboham Shiboham Let me versify it in English “Mind nor its grotto-world no longer am I, Neither weaver nor weigher of its waves From bonds of taste, touch, sound, smell or sight Freed am I, freed from time and space, ether and air, Now one with the Father, I am everlastmg blessedness and bhss It is the attainment of this attitude of the heart and soul that IS meant or implied by such words and phrases as — (1) Reahsing'the soul — (2) “Know thyself (3) To thine own self be true-(4) To realise God ^^5?“ (5) To feel that “I and my Father are one — (6) Mukti- Mokshyam-meanmg hberation or emmcipation that is merely earthly — (7) Kaibalya-meanmg P detachment or high aloofness from all that Y (8) Laya or Leenata-meaning dissolution of the devotee m the Father-(9) “Soham” meaning I ^ H^) “Tattwamasi” meaning Thou art That (11) Brahma 254 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE Nirvana (of the Gita) meaning annihilation of all earth- ly desires and surrendering oneself wholly to God (Nirvana means extinction like the extinguishing of a light)— (12) Nirvana of Buddhism meaning the state of the mmd when all earthly desires have been extinguish- ed— (13) The constructing of the spiritual man over the physical and the psychic— (14) Salvation-Emancipa- tion-Attamment of heaven, etc To attam the highest happiness by reachmg this stage, the highest knowledge is necessary Without higher knowledge there will be no mchnation to liberate yourself from the lower knowledge and its bondage. If the electric light mside a house remains switched o2 and you have no key to open the box, the house may remain dark for a thousand years But the moment you switch on, the light bursts forth and illuminates everything Similarly, the moment your mmd and body receive the true hght of the soul, every- thing in you will be lighted 'up Remove the prison- walls of the soul, the sanskaras — ^the coloured coats of the mind — the mass of obsessions — and all m you will be knowledge, the darkness accumulated m the past of this life and of previous lives, will vanish'' Just as all thmgs can be easily found m a fully lighted room, the solution of all the problems of life will now be easily found out by such high knowledge CHAPTER IV Releasing the Soul’s Light. E —How can we release the true light 'of the Soul ’ D — By Pranayam— Regulation of breathing The accustomed way of dhe mmd is to go outward to the external world To go to the kingdom of light, inat IS to know thyself”, the mmd, has to be turned inward Remember the diagram of, the mind, and act accordingly if ,you so act,i success will come You RELEASING THE SOUL’S LIGHT 255 will know the self and then en3oy the peace and bhss that the knowledge brings with it By knowing, we become wise , by becommg wise we become happy. Remember our discussion about Satchidaananda The body and the mind react on each other Even the physical calls of nature distract the mind Con- versely, even when there is no call from nature, the mind can make the body so act When you are greatly terrified or otherwise mentally agitated there is rapid respiration When you are perfectly calm and quiet there is no rapid mhalaticn or exhalation You will find after a little practice that when the breathing is regulated and steadied, dissonant feelings perish and a self-assurmg calm of the mind is attained Therefore to be Sthitaprajnya, or serene-soul ed, you must cultivate even and unobstructed breathmg by doing Pranayam regularly When breath stops, life goes and with it the self — the spirit, the soul also departs What does it mean ’ It shows that breath is the link that joins our two natures— animal and godly (the A.surik and the Daibik), the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul You can understand from this how important a function of life, breathmg is Breath bemg so essential a part of our existence it is unwise, if not foohsh, to let it drift or go astray Just as a regulated organisa- tion works better and is more efficient m attaining its end, so also regulated breath makes life better and more efficient Prana means breath and Ayama means regulation Pranayam is regulation of , breath There is a vast literature in India for practising this discipline The Gita and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali give the substance of it “The Serpent Power” a big volume of over 500 pages (in English) by Sir John Woodroffe of England deals with some aspects of this great science. 256 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE It IS a difficult science full of risks to health unless undertaken under competent instruction I will explain to you from personal expenence covering a period of not less than ten years, five exer- cises They are simple and if practised regularly bring mcredible benefit EXERCISE I Time — Most suitable is sunrise, midday, sunset, midnight , after a bath or wash or wipmg off the perspiration, etc of the body with a towel The busy man of today's life may not be able to follow this timmg He may make his own time but with this condition that the exercise should be taken at least three hours after a heavy meal or one hour after a cup of tea, coffee, milk or other soft drink. Alcohol m any form is taboo Smokmg will hamper progress n Place — Sohtary seashore or bank of a river flowmg at the foot of a mountam are ideal spots Next any other quiet place or a quiet room m the house kept as a Chapel and used for worship, prayer, and other rehgious purposes and for domg Pranayam Next wherever you may be at the time suitable to you for the exercise m Asana— Posture This IS an important step in the Practice. The relevant literature prescribes many I have found the Lotus Pose (Padmasan) to be the best Pranayam done in this posture for an hour at least daily is said to be efficacious in controlling the mstinct of sex My expenence has confirmed it In this pose you have to sit cross-legged on a folded rug or woollen scarf laid over the floor or other hard smooth surface Wear a scarf, Lungi or napkin sufficiently long to loosely encircle the waist and cover the upper RELEASING THE SOUL’S LIGHT 25/ part with a wrapper Sit spreading out your legs, then keep the right leg on the left thigh and the left leg upon the right thigh with the soles upturned and the two heels not more than two mches apart keeping the root of the generative limb below — and between them The backbone must be kept erect and the body be rested on the fleshy muscles of the hips and thighs The two knees should touch the surface, the right hand should be placed on the right knee and the left hand on the left knee with upturned palms, straight- ened fingers, the thumb touching the base of the little finger Keep the vision of the closed or slightly opened eyes at the spot between the two eyebrows People who are not used to sit cross-legged will in the begmmng feel difficulty in mastering this posture But where there is a will the difficulty will gradually dissolve Determmed minds do marvellous physical feats in the Circus shows I began sitting on Padmasan in 1946 in my fifty-third year, when the muscles had become hardened and stiff. Nevertheless I mastered it within about six months (See page 245) Another posture which was tried by me is easier Sit in a kneeling fashion as the Mohammedan brethren do at their prayers, keep the toes of the two legs close to each other but the heels about six mches apart so that the hips rest between them To prevent aching of the knees and toes you may use a cushion The spine must be kept erect For people wearing trousers this pose IS more suitable I have, however, m my limited experience, found Pranayam in Padmasan to be more conducive to concentration. There are other postures but I have not tned them. The seeker may study the literature on the subject and select any suitable to him But even without resorting to any prescribed Asana one can practise Pranayam in any posture suitable to 258 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE him. wherein he can, without altering his position, continue for about an hour and keep the spine perfectly erect from beginning to the end PRANAYAM PRACTICES Study thoroughly Chapter VI of the Gita and if possible commit to memory verses 9 to 29 Exercise I (A) Take your seat Lift your right hand from the knee where it is restmg Press the right nostril with the front of your right thumb so as to close it effectively Inhale through the left nostril slowly imagining all the while that the best, brightest and holiest of rays emanating from God (or your prophet) are entermg into you with the inhaled air and are illumining what m you is dark and sanctifying \vhat in you is impure or tainted Inhale as long as you can till you feel discomfort (B) Then close the left nostril effectively with the ]oined front tips of the ring finger and the little finger, open the right nostril and exhale slowly through it depressing the stomach area as much as possible As you exhale imagine that all that was low or impure or banal in you is passing out with the air and God’s glory that you inhaled has stayed within and sanctifying everything inside you After the air is evacuated (C) Inhale through the right nostril imaginmg as pointed out in (A) above (D) Exhale through the left nostril imagmmg as pointed out in (B) above Treat the four processes (A), (B), (C), and (D) as one round Practise 5 oi 6 rounds at every sittmg This is a prelimmary exercise which will make breath- ing unobstiucted You should do two to four sittings daily at intervals of not less than three hours tiU you RELEASING THE SOUL’S LIGHT 259 get unobstructed breathing in a fortnight, a month or two months or more After you attain unobstructed breathing you can begin the real Pranayam For doing so study the 6 chakras or plexuses given at page 245 Exercise II {E) Remember our discussion that God is to be conceived not only as Infinite and Omnipresent but also as the minutest of the minute Imagine that a spark of God m a very minute form and bearmg the image of God is situated at the base of your lowest plexus and is spreading out bright rays of holiness on all sides 3 ust as the rising sun spreads rays of light You may imagine the colour to be crimson rosy or golden Close the right nostril and as you inhale through the left nostril imagine that that effulgent spark of God is rising from plexus to plexus bathing you in His glory, razing out youi mdividualness and melting you into the Universal Whole After the glorious spark has reached the sixth plexus lying be- tw’een the eye brows take Him further up to the crown of the head and feel that you are now filled full of God and His glory Inhale thus through the left nostril till you count 7 or 14 or 21 or 28 (giving an equal period to each of the 6 plexuses and one to the crown) imagining the rising of the Spark of God as mentioned above After the mhahng is done, exhale through the self- same left nostril (keeping the right nostril closed as before) as slowly as twice the time taken in inhaling would be requiied to exhale and empty the air inhaled In other words if you have inhaled till you counted 7 or 14, exhale till you finish counting 14 or 28 While exhaling depress the stomach gradually and feel that your individualness or ego sense that kept you sepaiated from the Universal sense or Univeisal soul has melted 260 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE away and become merged in the Universe like a gram of salt or sugar melting and merging in the sea, or like a small wave disappearing into the sea from which it arose Treat inhaling once and exhaling once as one round (F) After doing 1 to 6 rounds thus in the left nostril, close the left nostril and inhale thus and exhale thus in the right nostril an equal number of lounds Exercise III Inhale through the left nostril as in 11(E) but instead of exhaling through the left nostril, exhale through the right nostril with sunilar imaginations and giving to the exhaling double the time occupied in inhaling Aftei exhahng through the right nostril, inhale through the same (right) nostril and exhale through the left nostril Then again inhale through the left and exhale through the right You may gradually rise from 1 to 6 rounds Exercise IV Inhale through both the nostrils and exhale through both the nostrils imagining as above and giving to the exhaling double the time taken in inhaling Here also you may rise from 1 to 6 rounds Exercise V Inhale by both the nostrils imagining as above till you count 7 or 14 or 21 or 28 and more Close both the nostrils effectively — right nostril by the right thumb and left nostril by the tips of the ring finger and the little finger and hold the breath Feel yourself to be completely melted away and merged m the Universal Soul or the Ethereal Ocean After retaining the breath four times the period taken in inhalmg, exhale in double the tune taken in inhalmg in other words keep the proportion of inhaling, retention RELEASING THE SOUL’S LIGHT 261 and exhaling as 142 Treat the three processes of inhaling, retention and exhalation as one round and day to day or week to week rise from 1 to 12 rounds or more according to age and capacity After each exercise take some rest, to recover normal breathing Practise these exercises gradually, going to the next after the prior one is thoroughly mastered and so go higher up This will not be harmful To practise more advanced breathing you must study relevant literature and consult Yogis or other men experienced m the subject After Pranayam do not bathe, or eat, or take any hard physical exercise for at least half an hour. After you succeed in canalising the mind (it may take you months or years , the progress will depend on your faith, zeal and perseverance) devote half an hour or one hour to concentrate the mind, only on the lowest plexus After you have succeeded m a month, two months or more in concentrating on the lowest plexus so as to be unaware of your surroundings just as an mtense lover m the physical plane is, concentrate on the next higher plexus and so go higher up The happi- ness of getting the new vision, may hurry you to reach the highest Don’t do so Do not be impatient Your impatience now, will bring repentance later Consoli- date the gained ground by at least three months' practice of three sittmgs daily, and then go to the higher When all the energies usually dissipated by the sense-organs — the eye, ear, tongue, nose are focussed upon the soul, regulaVly and repeatedly, the sense-organs themselves lose their appetite for external pleasures Thus are they disentangled from their bondage This IS known as withdrawal of the senses (Pratyahara) Dharana, or concentration on the subject grows as Pratyahara develops You may also fix your attention on the person or idea or thing which is holiest oi dearest 262 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE to you— Om, Brahma, Ram, Krishna, Chaitanya, Tao Zoroaster, Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Mohammad, Maha- bira, Ramkrishna or any other Next is Dhyana or meditation When your attention is affixed to the chosen holy object (remember how the Cinema Projector pro- jects a succession of the same postures m a series on the film, thus producing a quiet pose or phase) you must project continuously the same wave of thought towards the holy object on which you have fixed your attention When all the energies of the physical body (includ- ing the sense-organs) and all the energies of the mind, attention, meditation and the like, all harmoniously co-operate in converging on the soul, calmness reigns above restlessness and man reaches the Kingdom of Light Absolute truth solves all problems The race is now won, the mhentance is gained, the highest happi- ness available to mortal man is secured This is full light and purity The boundary between knowing and becoming has disappeared You are “Tattwamasi”, you are “Soham”, “You and the Father are one” you are in supreme peace, blessedness and bliss You will spon- taneously say “Blessed am I, that I was born” CHAPTER V Recapitulation E — -Dadaji, we are so happy to know this Can you give us a short summary of all you have said ’ D -—The subject is such that the summary, instead of being short, may contain repetitions in extenso and may also bring in new ideas and illustrations All — We would welcome it D —I will try To attain the true aim of life, knowledge of truth the eternal, as distinguished from untruth the non-eternal in us, is needed Happiness ^ problem is solved, when truth is known Archimedes was so happy when he found truth in his RECAPITULATION 263 bath that forgetting his nakedness, he ran through the public street The Truth in us is the soul The highest happiness of the soul is our true happiness and the aim of life So we must know the soul In other words you must “ know thyself ” To “ Know Thyself '' you must remove the wall that separates thy “self,” the “ soul,” from you This wall or obstruction, is the colour accumulated by your mind which originally was without any colour Remember the coloured glass bulb of the electric torch Remember the illustration of the lake It is only after the water is calmed and purified, that you can see the bottom But there are still the obsessions, the accumulated sand and mud deposits which you must clear away So also to see the soul, you must remove the massed accumulation of the tendencies of the mind in the past So long as the samskaras remain, the mind will work according to the proclivities (Vasanas) of the samskaras But after you remove the samskaras, you will see the soul m its true nature and your mind will act according to the desires of the soul Remember how the cinema piojector has to pro- ]ect similar pictures in rapid succession to produce one pose on the screen So in the mind, you must raise in rapid succession similar waves, which can be concen- trated on the object — the soul The gleams of the soul are seen by concentration of mind To gam concentration theie must be (1) faith (2) valour, (3) illumination and (4) recollectedness- Suc- cess depends on the intensity of enthusiasm, endeavour and energy, on hoping hard, on holding on to the yearning Concentration can also be acquired by deep devotion to God or by the repetition (Japa) of Om oi other words and formulas sacred to you The obstacles to continued or regularly periodical concentration are . 264 INDIA’S MESSAGC OF PEACE (1) sickness, (2) grief, (3) inertia, (4) doubt, (5) want of enthusiasm, (6) sloth, (7) craving for sense- pleasures, (8) wrong ideals, (9) impatience at failing to attain concentration after only short practice, (10) turning away from the little progress already made and (11) shifting from one ob 3 ect to another The mind is erratic. The samskaras make it break away into the accustomed ruts (vasanas) Tame the vicious stallion by riding it hard in the way oppo- site to its desires Tame the shrew by leading her against her proclivities Lead the wanton mind first in the world’s beaten paths (traditions) Rejoice with the happy, sorrow with the miserable, perform acts of worship and charity Thus the mind will be first canal- ised, then cured of its impurities, and then calmed When servants of the house have their way and act as if they were masters, the master becomes miser- able When the master rules them there is order, peace and happiness When the physical senses rule, the soul withers, but when the senses of the body are kept under control, the soul grows and man becomes happy The Yamas and Niyamas, etc of Vedanta, the Apangrah and other Tapas of the Gita, the Shilas of Buddhism, the Commandments of Moses, the Sermon on the Mount of Christ, the Fiqr and Shukr of Islam, ‘returning injury with justice’ of Lao Tse, ‘rewarding injury with kindness’ of Confucius, the prolonged fasts, lymg over nails, standing on one leg or fixing one arm for years by Sadhus, Jam abstinences, Zoroa- strian rules of conduct , the practices of flagellation and castration by some Western monks, all are methods for disciplining the body and the mmd against temptations, of which the world is so full In different parts of the Gita necessary disciplines nave been pomted out in detail * * , Ch xvn— 8, 9, 10 , 15, 16 , Ch XVI3I RCCAPlTUI^\TION 265 Here is St Bernard’s Monastic system of Discipline showing the ladder rising upwards and warning against the fall downwards 12 an attitude of pious prostration 11 short, sensible and sub- dued speech 10 abstinence from fre- quent laughter 9. reticence until ques- tioned 8 observance of ordinary monastic rule 7 belief in and statement of inferiority to others 6 admission and acknow- ledgment of unworthi- ness 5 confession of sms 4 endurance of hardship in spirit of obedience ' 3 obedient submission to a superior 2 forbearance to press personal desire 1. constant abstinence from sin from fear of God Descent an attitude of vain curio- sity 1 an unbalanced state of mind 2 silly, unreasonable merri- ment 3 conceit shown in excessive talking 4 Eccentricity and sense of self-importance 5 self-importance claiming special piety 6 presumptuous readiness to undertake anything 7 excuse for wrong-doing 8 unreal confession, resent- ment of discipline 9 rebellion against the ruler and the brethren 10 liberty to sm 11 habitual transgression in contempt of God 12 Ascent St Bernard regards ‘^humility as the way” towards Christ , and pnde as the way from Christ "Humility IS the virtue which enables a man to see himself in 266 INDIA’S MESSAGE OP PEACE his true colours and thereby to discovci his worth- lessness” When the physical and psychic sides are thus controlled, the spirit in man floweis The soul or spirit is not a visible structure Like butter in the milk, it is present everywhere m the body Just as we chum the milk to get the butter, the bodv and the mind have to be churned, so to say, by exeicises of discipline to visualise the radiation of the soul in us Besides, to visualise the Almighty, your own might must be ade- quately mcreased by discipline. A new bom babe can’t endure the midday summer sun of India, nor can you endure a ten million candle power light A drop of water separated from the ocean soon dries up But the imseparated particle romps and rolls, smgs and roars with the waves Misery comes when man imagmes a false isolation of himself from the whole Happiness comes when man liberates him- self from his imagined isolation and feels himself to be a part of the whole All — Can you tell us, Dada3i, how we can remove our false isolation and be happy D — Sit quietly, close your eyes and imagine that you are a part of the Umverse, and as such a sharer of the happmesses at the moment of all the mothers in creation kissmg their children , lovers loving their be- loveds , martyrs loving their faith , worshippers communmg with God , devotees joining in holy hosannas issuing from other throats , children playmg , cuckoo’s notes and mghtmgale’s melodies filling the earth and sky , the gods and angels moving m choirs and hymnmg God to the accompaniment of divine tunes rising from golden harps , the happiness of being m ^e company of Ram, Krishna, Confucius, Buddha, Chaitanya, Christ, Mohammad, Nanak, Ramkrishna, Gandhi and all other great and good souls of the world , of being in affectionate ties with the spirits of all your RECAPITULATION 267 noble ancestois who aie all blessing you, the happiness of owning all the lehgious and philosophical treasures of the world and all that is good, noble and beautiful on earth Mentally expand your individual mind to your sense of family then to the sense of identification with your village town district province, nation step by step , then to jmui identification with ail mankind, all life sense, ail that exists , then from earth to heaven and to the billions and billions of stars whose abundance and grandeur far transcends the fictions ever known Personify the whole as a living Being enjoying all these happinesses and consider yourself to be a part of this Grandest Being as in fact you are Now try seriously Begin the blissful theme Make waves, expanding yourself mentally, imagine the scenes, imagme the happinesses and like a drop sharing the mightiness of the ocean share the magnificence of the Universe, and feel yourself to be a part and parcel of Its gloiy Em ‘—All of us have striven to make good waves as you advised We did not succeed fully , but the little experience we got was wholly exhilarating Dadaji —When you try next, it wiU be better You can’t know the taste of the’ king of fruits the Indian Lungra mango without actually contacting i with your tongue Similarly without actually uniting your soul with the expanding scenes and ultimately with the world-soul (Paramatmaa) you cant enjoy the ecstatic happiness which unity gives If "you ^ happiness you must go through the prescribed disci- pline m order to gam contact with the world-soul To do so, you must by sustained endeavour, develop the qualityless sameness (Saadharmya) wi e you strive cheerfully each day will rectify the errors of the yesterday, and enhance your growth The hydrogen m water must separated from the oxygen in order to emerge as hydrogen The spin tual m man must nse above the unsp.ritual m h,m 268 INDIES MESSAGC Or PEACE so that it may emerge into the universal spirit When it thus emerges, the “Divine Rebirth” — the resurrection of Christ — ^the mokshya of Hinduism, the salvation of Christianity and the Hirvana of Buddhism, takes place For this attainment the seeker of God must bear the cross m his body and mind In other words, without discipline, man cannot resurrect himself from living a life in the flesh Eveiy man who is practising the higher truths of life is resurrecting himself from a lower plane of existence When the atheist youth be- comes a believer in old age he is resurrected to a higher level You must not mortify the flesh or crush nature You must, by discipline, integrate your fleshly and personal existence with a higher world by leaving the mire, mstead of continuing to wade in it like a pig, after you have known it to be mire Rama’s leaving his kmgdom , Nachiketa’s refusal to accept the worldly gifts offered by Yama , Buddha’s leaving his wife, child and the pleasures of the palace , Jesus Christ’s refusal to accept Satan’s offer of power, possession, wealth even when he was alone and unfriended in want and hunger , Tulsidas’s leaving the physical love for his wife for the love of Ram (Paramatmaa) , Mahatma Gandhi’s leaving his profession, his confession of ‘Himalayan' blunders, his staking of his life on fasts for the higher causes and prmciples adopted by him , are illustrations Religious practices are disciplines The truest test of a man’s rehgion is how he utilises his moments of solitude If we use our solitary moments in plotting our gam or another’s loss, we become traitors not only to our religion and our society but also to our own selves As already found by us, since there was thought in the beginning, there must have been the source of thought, before thought arose This source of thought IS Brahma — God, a ray of which is there in us This ray m us is covered up by our samskaras — obsessions, piled up by our unholy deeds These unholy deeds are the out-come of our unholy thoughts— -unholy waves RECAPITULATION 269 raised by us If instead of clearing away the accumu- lated dust, we create a fresh unholy wave by plottmg another’s ill, we construct yet another layer to obstruct the divine ray and thus become traitors to our own selves And since our own selves are only rays of God, to be traitors to the ray of God is to become at the same moment traitors to God Himself The ray of a flame is no other than the flame itself So discipline is necessary to remove the piled up debus — the samskaras Pranayam and Yoga are scientific dis- ciplines which have been tried, tested and found to be efficacious Every vocation, profession or skill has its special discipline Even Cinema Stars, who earn millions, have to undergo discipline in the shape of the regulated diet and exercises which keep them fit for their 30b Tremendous labour falls to the swimmer and the cyclist who compete in a race Great risks are taken by motor- cyclists who compete Only year before last in an International motor race, a little mistake and a swerv- ing from the track by one competitor killed many spectators The brave youths intending to travel m Sputniks, etc to the Mars and other planets are now going through very austere discipline The footballer, cricketer, wrestler and boxer exercise for long years and decades 3ust to earn the happiness of winning a game with or without prize Do you know what incredible labours were devoted by the famous Curie couple to discover ‘radium’— the substance so-called for its having been discovered by tracing radiation to its source ’ Now if to discover radium the Curie couple laboured so hard, would you grudge the time and abour the greatett heppmets evaitabU OT th.5 Gcirtli ^ 1? — Dadaii, you have given us a summary of the theory ttat there is a concealed power-house within \ 270 INDIA’S ML^^ACr or PfAC 1 us— the soul whose hiRhc^^l ht-ppine^-. U is to be ro< united with God You h.ivc ah.o udd uo of th** need oC discipline Will you now kp e us nn f {luull y ronew' summaiy oC the piacticc by v.hich this concealed pov, c r- housc, the soul, can be iclcascd to rise forth its full energy D — ^This piacticc depends on (1) peisevermg stiugglc. (2) the slud> of spnsiual hteratuie. (3) dedicating yoiu all to the cause — the uUi* mate cause of the world — God Remember the tare and thought which you devoted to lui nmg o\ ( i m > our mind plan aftei plan to escape fiom the Mental Exercise — the study of spiritual lore, the recita- tion of sacred literature, the repetition of sacred words and formulas, will bring you the purifsnng association of holy lives and great minds You will participate m their wisdom and power, m their affection and in their goodwill (3) Devotion to God — and the search for Him, will accelerate the pace of your pilgrimage You will visualise more and more clearly the glory flashmg from the city of God, and eventually you will be merged in the Oversoul, God (4) Ta meditate, you should adopt a firm, easy and relaxed posture sucfi as will not distract you from concentrating upon the soul Just as you have to control the eye and ear to avoid wrong and distracting scenes and sounds, just as you do not allow them to run wild, so also you must not allow your breath to run wild You have to regulate it You must have realised by now that the greatest of life’s great secrets lies here It is this — ^The mdividual himself can make or mar his fate Howsoever poor, destitute or miserable a man may be, he can build a better future for himself “As a man thmketh, so shall =pSamoham Sarbabhutesu Namey dwesyosti na priyah Gita IX-29 276 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE he be” If a man makes selfish thought-waves, he will be selfish If he makes good v;aves in his mind, he will be good If he makes hardworking, improving, flourishing, ennobling, waves he will work hard, rise, improve, flourish and ennoble himself If he makes contrary waves he will suffer It is foolish and useless to blame others for our ills Every one of our ills is the outcome of our own evil waves raised m the remote or recent past “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also leap” (N T Galatians VI-7) So you have to begin the pilgrimage from where you are Now after we disperse, sit somewhere all alone and make waves of thought forgiving your worst personal and national enemies You will feel purified, much more purified, indeed, than you feel after your body has taken a bath The pilgrim to the kingdom of God finds many obstacles to surmount The greatest is “Avidya”, Ignorance And the greatest ignorance is the ignorance of the mind You may read ten thousand books deahng with all the philosophies of life and all the arts and sciences . you may attend any number of lectures, hold high degrees and titles, you may visit different lands and know all the peoples on earth , and you may attain the highest place of power and wealth in the state , but after all these you can be sure at last of two thmgs only , that is, your own existence , and that the attam- ment of your destiny is the concern of yourself and of nobody else — ^for your deliverance it is you who must will, think, and do As such, if you do not know who you are, what the world about you is, what the world withm you is,* how your mind is made , what is the nature of the * old-University system of India modern systems aim too much at teaching pupils the contents of and neglect the training to help them uncover and nVi* ‘^^Psclties of their own , they omit to impress that of ifs requires life s daily vigilance — daily scrutiny RECAPITULATION 277 Power-House within you, how it works, what is your location and function in the cosmos, in other words what is the destiny of your life and what is the way to attam it , you profit nothing from all your learning, possession or power “What is a man profited, if he gam the whole world and lose his own soul” (N T Mathew XVI-26) If your learning brings you only sufficient or even more than sufficient, food, clothes, sex-mdulgence and sleep, it gives you no more than what the animals of the zoo receive A racehorse IS scientifically examined, fed, and receives the best groommg and medical attendance Not one of his needs is neglected Is he thereby higher in status than the poorest man on this earth ’ Would any man prefer to be a well-fed, well-groomed, well-attended, sleek and happy, horse or pig’ There is something which dis- tmguishes man sharply from the animal world That somethmg is the human mind It is unique It can comprehend the whole creation from the minutest posi- trons and neutrons to the vast infinity which has billions of stars, some havmg diameters of hundreds q£ niilhons of miles and more ^A7hat can be a more unpardonable omission than not to know and use this great repository of power withm yourselves’ You hold it in the very palm of your hand, and yet you do not know or strive to know its immense capabilities Can you imagme a worse derehction of duty, a worse folly a greater sm’ You must know the nature and working of this priceless possession in you You should read such books as will help you open up the treasures within yourself— your innate powers and latent potentiahties— that will remmd you of your high destmy and the way to attain it Reading, noting, marking m red and blue, summarising, revising and thus digesting one or two such books will bring you more benefit than the poring over one thousand volumes of exciting or escapist stories 278 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE You must learn what to learn and how to learn There is an English adage that you can lead a boy to college but you can’t make him think To create the habit of thmking some British Universities insist on the students’ producing at least one original essay every week You must also ponder the immensity of the Universe and its minutest structures, because most, if not all, our theories m religion, ethics, sociology, politics and philosophies of hfe are based on old views of the cosmos Our belief that the Universe consisted only of thiee regions — earth, heaven and hell and that the sun, moon and stars are there only to subserve us, is no longer true In the light of our new knowledge, we must, as part of this gieat Universe, revise our ideas of religions and philosophies of life and attune them to the mmd animating the Universe Unless we do so, our lives may run contrary to the world purpose , we may fall hell-ward mstead of rising heaven-ward To conform our purpose to the world purpose we must know (1) That God wants us to be happy So all of us seek happiness Just as we seek the 3oy of returning home to meet our beloved by freeing ourselves from the bondages of the place where we may be, our soul longs for the joy of returnmg to its own home — the universal soul, and meeting its beloved-God by freeing itself from the bondages of the mdividuahstic and separatist ego The ultimate aim of human birth is to attain the ecstasy of soul’s return to and unity with the World-Soul It is a difficult concept but is not mere fantasy It is an ideal attainable here and now, on this earth It is actually realised when the needed disci- pline IS practised It is called Mokshya, Nirbana and salvation In other words man can be “Jivanmukta ” (2) This is the final goal Meanwhile according to our lights we seek smaller or larger happmess , and m the selection and securing of them we meet with RECAPITULATION 279 problems of life Each one of us has to face and solve problems in almost everyone of our ma3or actions These problems arise because we have two natures— physical and spiritual The prephenomenal self was spiritual It has become so gross and degenerate that in the practical life of man it behaves like an enemy of its progenitor— the spirit This is illustrated by the story that Satan once an angel, turned out a fell enemy of his own progenitor — God and quarrelled with Him to usurp His powers The Hindu Puranic stories of Daityas (Issue of gods) fighting with gods to share their powers have the same idea behmd them (3) That since we have to solve the problems for our spiritual benefit, we must always bear in mind the distinction between our spiritual and physical lives, and seek solutions which will bring more and more spiritual happiness, even at the cost of physical plea- sures We must think to select and to choose, to affirm and to reject In other words, we must rise from the level of “what is” to the level of “what ought to be” To do so we must be cool-headed, steady-mmded and serene-souled In short, we must be Sthitaprajnya (4) How can we rise from the range of ‘what is’ to ‘what ought to be’ and how can we be Sthitaprajnya ’ By work Life is work Eating and drinking are also work But what work do we need for our enter- prise Before the power to distinguish one work from another according to its efficacy to promote spiritual welfare is developed, and before you become Sthita- prajnya, the work that comes to you naturally by birth and other surrounding circumstances (Sahajam)* even if it be that of a sweeper, should be undertaken and performed with earnestness, devotion and perseverance (Satata yuktaanaam) If you do so wisdom will be given unto you (Dadaami budhijogtoi) * Shrikrishna did not hate or neglect his father’s profession of tending cows 280 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE (5) If, however, instead of viewing your work as the primary thing, you hanker after the reward, know- ledge to distinguish the right from the wrong work will not come to you The hard working member of a family does not bother what the loving head of the family will give him The honest and sincere employee m a factory does not bother how much his conscientious manager will give him God is far more vigilant, just and sympathetic than the head of a family or the manager of a factory So regard the material fruits of your labour as secondary If you do so wisdom is sure to come to you (6) But you must be efficient m your work , and to be this, you must undergo discipline, just as sports- men and men of skill have to do To discipline the mmd, absolute solitude is needed A lover seeks soli- tude, and experiences full happiness with his beloved only when the two are alone If you want God, you must seek sohtude shutting out the impacts of the outside world for at least some minutes daily, and be alone to commune with the Alone He is Alone and without quality — (Kebalo Nirgunascha) In order that you may be reaUy alone, to shun the company of others IS not enough You must shun the company of obses- sions of your own mmd — ^the “wucked whispers” and anti-God thoughts surgmg up there like unruly waves or burgling like gangsters to rob your peace You must also be Dwandaatita— free from feeling the company of your own limbs This can be done by Pranayam-Yoga (7) You will get results Heabng will come in accordance with the urgency felt and intensity of sustained practice Nevertheless before full victory is gained, even m course of the progress, gleams of the Soul will be visible which will encourage you to acce- lerate your pace All this promise is there in the power-house within you To teach you this I have taken you through long discussions of the soul’s knowledge and workings , I RECAPITULATION 281 have repeated the important things until you may have wearied of them All — No, Dadaji, we are not wearied These repeti- tions were necessary to hammer the thmgs home to us D — ^Thank you But remember that knowledge is not enough As it comes, it must be practised It must be lived If a man has gathered and stored in his head all the wisdom of centuries but has practised none, his knowledge is like a load of perfume borne by an ass The thief, the cheat, the murderer know in theory the virtues of truth, honesty and fellow feel- ing But they do not practise them and are not therefore benefited Like animals they live for their belly “Be not of those v/hose God is their belly” (N. T Philippians III-19) To live the good life, as I have told you, you need not wait for another to join with you Soul force grows by firmness, not by numbers A determined moral man can hallow his fight for the right and cure the evils of a whole Empire, as Gandhiji did To develop the power of your soul you need not call meetings, form missions or associa- tions, make speeches or pass resolutions Buddha or Christ never did so It rests with you and you alone And since it rests solely 'with you, your first practical step is to free yourself from earthly trammels and bondages-property, authority and the like and renounc- ing your will to God, free yourself from all thought of the morrow This will be the acid test of your faith in yourseK and in your God This is the way to transcend the distracting many and to reach the solacing One If you can't at once dispossess yourself of all you have, you must begm to do so The beginning may be very humble If you deny yourself on the first day one cigarette out of the ten or twenty which you are accustomed to smoke, and give its value to a deserving poor, it will be a step forward On the second day, deny yourself two, and so on Only when the corisurm ination of complete self-denial comes will you be freed 282 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE from buidens, and your progress on the road of light from man to God will be swift When there are no more bonds of iron or gold or silk, no more puerile or inglorious thoughts or ideas, and you regard yourself only as an instrument of the divine will, (Nimitta) a high detachment and a holy indifference to all that is ephemeral and unreal will be reached With a determined perseverance to reach the best of human life, you will radiate an aura round you which sanctifies all coming within it The mun- dane life on earth will thus become spiritualised and will brmg heaven near to those around you, so that human birth becomes recognised, not as a sm, but as an opportunity for erring mortals to gam the divinity of Godhead Time waits for none It is flying The years, months, days, hours and mmutes of our past lives are all gone, gone for ever Not a second can you call back What is gone without bemg used for the best is lost, an unpardonable national and international waste, a misuse of God’s sacred gifts to us Let us then arise and wake Let us set ourselves to the task of life Let us march with vigour, fervour and faith The goal is meant to be ours It shall be ours All Dear Dadaji, what we need now is surely a plan of life that can be followed not in the days when spiritual advancement was less difficult, but m these modem times, when a man has to earn his livmg, to support his family, to play his part as a citizen m great national and international affairs Can you give us such a plan’ D —Here are some quite practical mles — G) You must wake up from sleep exactly at 4 A M 0 create the habit, first use an alarm clock As sleep reaks, think of God and he on your left side Withm about a minute you will breathe more through your RECAPITULATION 283 right nostril Wliile lying thus, imagine a picture of God, or your favourite deity prophet — ^Ram, Krishna, Buddha Confucius, Zoroaster, Christ, Mohammad, Mahavira, Guru Nanak, Chaitanya, Ramkrishna or some person you think of as samtly and holy — your teacher, father, mother, and mentally ask his or her blessing (2) Rub your face with your right palm and recite — (a) Om or Soham or Om. Tat Sat or Tat Twa- masi or (b) Om Namo Naaraayanaaya or (c) Om Nomo Bha-ga-ba-te Vaasudebaaya or (d) Om Namo Brahmanya debaaya Gobraah- mana hitaayacha Jagaddhitaaya Krishnaaya Gobmdaaya Namoh Namah or (e) Thy will be done or (f) Allah-ho Akbar or (g) any other word or phrase or formula sacred to you Thus reciting and facing the East get up First put your right foot on the ground, then your left , then resolving that you will use the day for the moral ^d spiritual improvement of yourself and the world, step forward with the right foot and walk (3) Wash your mouth, rmse your teeth, then drmic a tumblerful (about a pound) of cold or tepid water, preferably cold, if health and climatic conditions permit and relieve nature (4) Rub your body briskly with the palm of your hands to vivify the skin and pores Do some physica exercise for about five minutes Then walk about for some five minutes (5) Bathe or wash, or wipe your body with a wet towel and then with a dry one 284 INDIA’S A4E35AGE OF PEACE (6) After this toilet, do pranayam Begin, if pos- sible 3 ust when the sun is rising If the mild rays of the sun fall on your face and body, so much the better (7j Then dress Your clothes should not be very tight, but should be loose, so that God’s air and light may reach your body as much as possible, although m cold seasons or countries you may need tighter clothing But m no case should the clothes be showy or gaudy Smce the practitioner has to universalise his mmd, his food and clothes ought not be greatly superioi to those of his ordinary human brother All luxury is a sm against suffermg humamty, — the "Daridranaaraayan” — God in the poor Anythmg more than is actually needed to keep body and mind fit is luxury Give away to others what you used to spend on luxury But a man can’t be a samt all at once If as a man of the world you have to wear the imiform prescribed for your employment, you should wear it As you advance in the way of God, you will automatically cast off such rules and then leave them altogether 8 Food should not be stimulating, as I have already said (smoking, drinking alcohol and other wasteful practices are an obstacle in the search for God) Fresh fruit and milk are the best food for climates hke India’s The time for food must depend on the nature of your occupation 9 Just before you take your breakfast, make some sacrifice for suffering humanity It may be a penny, a handful of rice, a shce of bread, the price of a cigarette, anything but it must be done in a spirit of self-denial Keep a box with a hole and drop coins into it every day The amount should increase from day to day The stages may be small, but there should be contmu- ous rise This will prepaie the mind to summon courage to free yourself from all the shackles of iron and gold, bmdmg us in the forms of earthly possessions and power In the beginning the prospect may alaim you, but you will find that a moment will come when RECAPITULATION 285 you will be happy to go on Ram, Buddha, Christ, St Theresa, St Francis of Assisi, Chaitanya, Gandhi and many others have done it, not with long faces, but with divine peace and bliss And you will yourseK feel after som.c time that the supreme moment is commg 10 Speak the literal truth even if it costs you all you have This practice will give you marvellous powers, wonderful self-confidence and complete fear- lessness 11 You must be non-violent towards all in every one of your thoughts, words and deeds Do not mind the criticisms, the abuse, or even the blows of others In ignorance men wrong their fellows Whenever you are hurt in your feelings or your body, remember that Basudeb and Debaki were harassed for singing hjunns of God ; that Socrates was killed by a democratic state for teaching advanced philosophy , that Christ was crucified for seeking to upraise the ignorant and poor, that Gahleo risked being burnt alive for proclaiming the truth that the e^rth moves round the sun, that Abraham Lincoln, the redeemer of slavery was murdered by a fanatic , and that Gandhi] i, the maker of free India, was shot dead by one made free by him If someone abuses or hurts you, bear the ignorance of the human brother, calhng to mind how insignificant you are compared with the giant souls who were not spared from injury or death and who, while suffering at the hands of their tormentors, prayed for their good 12. Before you go to bed, at 9 PM, you must devote at least ten mmutes to surveying the day’s deeds, notmg down your deviations, from the routine, and whether you have regressed or progressed in your pilgrimage to God After that, read some holy literature or sing slowly some hymn, or discuss, if you like, some holy subject 286 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE and go to bed with a heart grateful to God for the^ gifts He has outpoured on you and for enabling you to' pass the day according to your routine For one who does this regularly, with faith and zeal, a glorious future and a happy pilgrimage to God, is assured As you progress, new vistas — ^pleasant, purifying, and ennoblmg, will by God’s grace open up to you. You will find the world to be a place not of petrifying pessimism but of happiness, blessedness and bliss CHAPTER VI Problem of War and its Solution All — Dada]!, war with its threat of devastating bombs IS the major problem of mankmd now Could you suggest anything efficacious to secure peace in the world D — ^In the present context, the problem of war and peace can no longer be left for solution to national and mternational leaders of power pohtics It has new- become every mdividual’s personal problem By the very nature of thmgs, political leaders who have to wield power get used to wielding it Wielding power over others means deprivmg others of some of their own power And the tendency to deprive people of ones own land of power breeds a tendency to deprive peoples of other lands of power-(political, economic and otherwise) Wars do not just happen They have causes So long as love of, and greed for, pohtical power prevail, mankind can’t be freed from the scourge cf war and its helhsh horrors All — ^Is there no way out ’ ^As I have said, this has become an individual problem And smee it is an mdividual problem, each one o£ us must mdividually reform ourselves by castmg away all greed for possession and power If you and PROBLEM OF WAR AND ITS SOLUTION 287 I change, our surroundings will change If cur surround- ings change, the circles will widen more and more and the world will ultimately change You may think that it is a long process But theie IS no doubt that it is the surest way Being the surest, it must be taken as the shortest And m my view, it IS the only effective process In this path you need not. as I have told you, wait for another to join you You need not call meetings, make speeches, pass resolutions, form ententes alliances, associations, organisations and ko on Not that these thmgs are useless Political leaders use them But the individual man who honest- ly desires his peace, his neighbour’s peace, and his human brother’s and sister’s peace, need not wait for them He should set himself to the task like “ as the heart desireth the water-brooks, so my soul shall pant alter Thee, O God” (O T Psalms XLIII-1) If we do so there can be no doubt that there will be peace on earth and glory to God All — Since there was thought m the beginning, as we have found, would you advise us to start a wave of thought amongst mankind, for the prevention of war ’ D — Certainly, I would But you must know that the outcome will be in accordance with the sincerity behind it Mere paper appeals will bring little All — ^We agree Could you suggest a method to produce a climate of opmion against war 'i' D —Let each elector or taxpayer in the world send to the head of his country’s Government, an appeal, signing'it m solitude with full sincerity and a piayer to God to grant peace to mankmd An Aw^oX (A duplicate is given at the end ) To The Prime Munster (or President) Sm, Even in America, the richest country of the world, poverty is the rule rather than exception The fabulous wealth of the nation is m the hands of only 288 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE a few men, while the lov/est fifth of the population have to make ends meet with a meagre 3 per cent of it Social discontent prevails in all grades of life Accoidmg to the lindings of the Agricultural Labour Enquiry of 1954 held in India, the average an- nual income of an agricultural family of five persons IS only Rs 447/-, i e about £28, or 112 dollars It works out to Rs ‘^0/-, le less than £6 or 22 dollars per head This, divided by 365 days comes to less than four annas or about four pence per day In Orissa, the poorest State m India the average income is said to be Rs 75/- per year per head, that is, about three pence per day The income of an average agriculturist in Orissa will be still less It is on such a meagre allowance that the producers of a nation’s sustenance have to meet their own elementary needs of food, wear, and resi- dence, while always exposed to dangers and disease They toil at their work in freezmg cold, bummg heat and pouring ram, while the wealthy hve at ease Lord Boyd Orr said, recently that half the world’s population IS undernourished and one-sixth on the verge of starvation The talk of world peace or human brotherhood whilst such poverty prevails among large masses of mankind is futile , to discuss the Charter of human rights, in the United Nations Assembly or outside it, is tragic irony I feel that much of mankind’s ills are due to the sm of many in power livmg and behavmg today, m diSerent countries, not as servants but as Imperiahst masters of the people Out of the country’s resources gathered from hardearned incomes of the electorate some of them appropriate many tunes the mcome of the average elector To call such a system as de- mocracy IS a he Such a lie proceeds from wrong to wrong to defend itself by conceahng its immorality Lies at the top infect the lower ranks CAUSE OF DIFF. BETWEENT MAN STMAN & NATION & NATION 289 “ ^It has-been found that if the money -spent and the property wasted in the last world war had been divided amongst mankind, each individual mcludmg the new bom and the old would have got, m his share, not less than Rs 30,000/-, ie about 8,000 dollars or £200 pounds. If we add to it the money and property lost in the first world war (1914-18), the share of each individual would increase by about fifty per cent more. This awful waste i^ a crime agamst humanity. There must-be no repeti- tion of such -folly. - ' - ' ' To help m creatmg the International climate for a Tastmg peace we entreat you, -Sir, as head of our government, to reduce economic inequalities in our own country, and to press upon the UN. the urgency of plannmg and issuing effective directives to “ every country for at least ten per cent reduction of mihtary expenditure year by year; and for giving adequate publicity to the process. ^ Yours truly, ' - Dt: 1.- Village or _ . ' ' r Town — A _ 2. State — _ } - ' - 3. Country— CHAFER Vil. *- Cause of Differences Between Man and- Man and - - t * ^Nation and Nation. - - “ - Em-— Da(la 3 v,:x^e-must do so. We want to know one thing more.^'^mce God has created ''all men, why' are there' differences hetweeh man and man and be- tween"' nation and nation' which 'lead to 'quarrels and wars ? . . . ~ D. The difference betw^een man and-m^ and between .nation ^'d' nation Is due to ' the ' difference between the stages, of development' in their minds and 7P0 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE bctv een the amount of information which they possess. Churchill and Attlee, both lovers of England often diltered Vinoba and Nehru both ardent servants of mankind differ in their work and outlook, Tiiero are occasions when two eminent 3 udges sitting on the same bench and admmistermg the same lav. differ — one says ‘yes’, while the other says ‘no’ to the same question and each thinks that he is right Differences there must be in this world There- fore one must not be too hard on the USSR for their iron cuiiam Like a tender plant needing a fence, a rev. ideology needs protection from onslaught before It lias become sturdy enough to withstand or repel it. V. ithout the iron curtain Russia, which was a back- v.nid country, inhabited by a large number of diverse ju oples. speaking different dialects and livmg different v..'os of hfc. could not have been so strictly organised and i conomically advanced as to become one of the t^.o gieal powers of the world today, although only 5 dtendes back it was defeated most ignomimously at ih*' hand-, of u smaller country like Japan Lenin was not foe but father—a stern and strict father of the Soviet And v.ho can question the rightness of up- Idtmr ih*' ira* .es from their poverty and ignorance’ 1 l(. aching of Christianity, of Islam, of imduism and of all other true religions amchernte the lot of the poor and the v.ord religion, the fanatic belief in ne rrechnnical practice of nlunls, might Bui the raring of the lowly and the tho cssonlial functions of nil religions, there, even if some of the methods trdir.rry c.tiren a child to bo guided h mi ng ground of many exploiters — Ml I Kive heard from visitors that in •'•'id- in some citie-., one side of 1 on/ foro‘gn country' : and the other CAUSE OF DIFF. BETWEEN MAN & MAN & NATION & NATION 291 side to another nation , that m Hong Kong fallen women would at one time thrust themselves on you unless they were bodily removed from your precincts China gave to mankind, among other things, the making and use of paper, printing from moveable types and the Mariner’s Compass All these have helped the growth and spread of human knowledge in all parts of the world. Without the cementing forces of Communism and the drive to uplift the diseased and disinherited who could unite this vast country of over six hundred million people, torn by internal strifes often fomented and fed by foreigners ’ Thinking minds in all parts of the world will re- verence for generations Sun Yat Sen, Mao Tse Tung and Chou-En-Lai, the makers of modern China. American capitalism also need not make us despair. The ‘Point Four’ policy of the US has helped the mental, moral and economic improvement of millions of men and women in different parts of the world The common people there, as in other parts of the World, are generous and God-feanng Many thinking men of America realismg the sin of dropping atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki addressed m 1954 a letter to the Japanese people ex- pressing their shame and regret for the same Presi- dent Eisenhower, though a military man, is doing not a little in the cause of peace and giving aid to undeveloped and under-developed parts of the world Many Ame- ricans rendered invaluable help to India in regainmg her lost freedom Akbar Dadaji, what is your view about the part played by the Arab races m building world civilisation? Dadaji . It is from the lips of a great son of Arabia that a message of peace and brotherhood of mankind went out to distant parts of the World It is the Arab races who carried the torch of knowledge from East ?92 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE to West The discovery of India’s spiritual life by the westra capital event of the last century was facilitated by the Arab races Nor is Islam’s raising the moral toii^ of large masses of human beings living in the and deserts of the Middle East a small gam to humanity. Before Mohammad (peace be on him) each tribe found glory in robbing the wealth and women of another. It IS this divinised man who refined and raised these wild robbers, and so united them in a common brotherhood that they were masters at one time of practically over the -whole of -Europe and the northern 'and western parts of Asia Kamal Pasha, and many others have done remarkable things to uplift their peoples * _rIf-you make a dispassionate study, you will find that every race and nation - has helped in the fonvard march- of t^e human rmnd r To progress m life, we have to make only good waves in the -^mmd and to think ill of another is- to cause a -set-back in the process In, other words, hafih- ring another" man or nation, by thought, word, of deed, IS really harmmg one’s own self Narrowness" causes intellectual mdigence ^ ^ ‘ All Dada;ii^ "sqme great thinkers and writers shift the responsibility of domg good to mankind -ta the leaders, especially When they say, 'for instance, 'if the leaders of men, would only do this, or only do that, and so forth - - ^ r r -- ' Dadaji But where is mankmd '-apart from“ the individual’ Mankind, a nation, a society, becornea better only when the 'individuals constitutmg it better Human progress cannot, like a ripe frmt, dron -from: the skies or come from the pocket of a leader Tt IS- the ,sum of the individuals’ personal efforts - A better world means better men ^d men can be made better when ' one " mdmdual is first better ^de by, the British people to -.human progress Their latest invention Zeta may draV vast energy iu pa?te ^rf^ted.mgyj3ring plenty^ to the poorm CAUSE OF DIFF BETWEEN MAN & MAN & NATION & NATION 293 GandKi made heroes out of clay because he had first made himself better The head of a school, or college, or Government, or other institution can make the con- stituents of his institution better not by moaning .but by proving his faith by his own action. It- is the cross of Christ that conquered the Roman heart The root then is in every individual" .He must first make- himself better. If you and I make ourselves better, we shall thereby make our surroundings ‘better and accelerate the pace of making all mankind betW You have to begin this work of God immediately and adhere -to it every moment of your life I do not ask you to give what you can’t But you must give all you can To quench a world on fire, you must carry a bucket of water to your nearest conflagration. All • - Dadaji, you have borne with our ignorance and given us your best ‘ " r ’ 'D : And thereby I have increased my own store. All • 'Have you ’ ' ■'D ; Try to share your wisdom with others, and you will find it incredibly increased All * Now that we have known the highest happi- ness of life and the Grand Trunk Road to it, could you 'add- any other advice ? . ' D ’ You must 'strive to reach the House of God and 'join the Banquet of Manna awaitmg you there - It is open to aU men and women of all races and rehgions; of air climes or colours Covers are kept laid there for 'all, the Prince and the pauper, the learned and the lay There is no -ban on any, not even on the outcaste, the 'publican Or' the -sinner Such is the perennial philo- sophy of human hfe. Religion, nation, race, colour, creed, caste, culture, ' language, party— communism, sociahsm, democracy, ' guild; profession, family, wife, children, even your own body are not ultimate ends They are' oiily means to' help us ' attain the- supreme ^d -of our human -birth Narrow religions-, and 294 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE creeds, born of man’s passions, obscure the often they torment the soul What I have told you doe not Dogmas and tenets, forms and ceremonies, are omy details. We must not let the supreme Truth of Ind to be supplanted by them Happiness as I have told you is a subjective attitude It is not an ob 3 ective thing, although objective things help in bringing about pleasures When you buy a good pamting it is the mental making of it your own that generates happiness in you Not that you make a powder of it and mixing it with sugar and water dnnk it to make it your own , but you mentally associate it with yourself It is the linkage imparted into it by you that makes you happy When a man is happy by saying “my grandfather or countryman was a great patriot, leader, king or general” it is the linkage that makes him so Just as an atom m a rose is part of its beauty, just as a tmy speck in the golden sky of a sunlit morning is a part of its glory, you are also a part of the magnificence of the Universe The moment you reahse this close association of yours with all that IS, you cannot but be happy As we have seen before there is an intelligent power within us In our wakmg state this power enjoys physical pleasures through the medium of the body When the body is practically dead m sleep it can enjoy happiness without the medium of the body Let us call this happiness as super-physical The body has limits of time and place But to this Power there is no limitation of time and space It can in the dream state travel in a moment anywhere and can get m a moment anythmg it likes Our remembermg m waking state the experiences of the dream state shows that the self-same Power m us enjoys happiness m both the states As such if m the waking state we can free this Power from the bodjr’s trammels, it can enjoy super-physical happmess even m the wakmg stafe just CAUSE OF DIFR BETWEEN MAN & MAN & NATION & NATION 295 as it does m the dream state The methods of Pranayam and Yoga, tested and verified by thousands of saints and sages of India during the last three thousand years, if not more, are the disciplines by which this faculty can be liberated from the factors of the body, even in the waking state When so emancipated and to the extent it IS emancipated man can attain super-physical peace and bliss, m the waking state also The very fact of our modern "civilisation's" -search for more and more of ever-renewed physical pleasures shows that the real man within us is not satisfied with such froth. He will never be satisfied with transient physical pleasures however many and however best you may mvent and gather You may own the most luxu- rious car, plane or mile-high sky-scraper You may have enough of daintiest food, and costliest wear. Your very shoes may be set with rare rubies and diamonds After a few day’s use they will fall into "abatement and low price". Nay you may even be bored or vexed by such "swallowed baits", Buddha was not >at peace with his palace and all the physical pleasures his father arranged for him. You Emeham, even after your escape from the enemy cell, were not at peace and were eager to meet your beloved Alice A separated lover is sore at heart, discontented and restless till he gets what he wants (the happiness of merging in his beloved) The God-lovmg Purusha in you imprisoned by the separatist and mdividualistic walls constructed by you around Him will make you ever discontented and restless until you get for Him "Paramaananda " E • What IS " Paramaananda ", Dadaji ’ D The highest physical happmess is the lover’s melting away in the beloved The highest spiritual happiness is the individualised Atma’s (human soul’s) dissolving the isolation in His beloved Paramaatmaa m Mri^s or pd\ce Over Soul — ^Universal Con ^ciou^nc^s — God-Brnhmft-~OM^ This is called Paramnanandn, ecstatic blessedness, biis^ and peace When the soul nets Parnmannanda, it is at peace, just as Mahadeb is at peace even when deadly cobras coil around his arms and neck, just ns Samikn Kishi was at peace even when a snake was hung round his neck, and just as the Dandi Brahmin referred to in the episode of Alexander was at peace. The Gita tells us that such happiness is, surpassing bliss, immune from heaviest griefs, wherein harboured nothing else pleases, nothing else is needed -Sukham Aatyantikam , Yasmmstluto na dukhena gurunaapi bichaalyate ; Yam labdhwaachaaparam laabham manyase naadhikam tatah). Knowing all this, if you do not hve up to your wisdom, and do not strive your best to reach the goal, you are then no better than a beast or insect For they do pursue their destiny, though by instinct But you have the free-wiU to pursue or to refrain. The world IS sick today, not because its food, light and air, have suddenly become bad, but because unlike the Brahmin Rishies of ancient India, the learned are not living up to the perefmial wisdom of life of which they are all intellectually aware If you also hold back, “the earthly tabernacle shall weigh down the mind that museth upon many things” (Apocrypha wisdom *oT Solomon IX-15), “you will burn m the furnace oi affliction” (O T Isaiah XLVII) But if you do your utmost, you become a man among men, a hero among heroes, and a god among gods' In you mankind will be upraised and the Father will be glorified “The morning stars shall sing and all the sons of God shall shout for joy”. (O T. Job XXXVHI-?), So, brothers, friends, and comrades never, for a moment, think that you are useless Always remember that Eternity has a meaning m your birth. Nature, has Cause of diff. between man & man & nation & nation 297 a purpose in endowing you with the best of her wealth you are the highest, the noblest and the best on this earth Though frail and fragile in body, you have a god, dormant but potent, lying within you Wake him up and you can exalt yourself to godhood Till a better goal of human life and the means to achieve it are found, let us use the tremendous powers of the well- spring V7ithin us in the way we have discussed To me it seems to be the only way to tiue success m life and the surest way to individual peace and happiness, to family peace and happiness, to national peace and happiness, and International peace and happiness It IS the easiest, speediest and surest way of saving humanity which is now lost, as it were, in a wilderness full of ferocious beasts, and desperately seeks a way of escape. Is your riddle now resolved ? All . Yes, Dadap, it is And we are deeply grateful. D , So, you sons of Immortality, arise, awake and cease not till the goal is reached May God bless you May He bestow His best gifts on you and your country and enable all to attain the highest peace and bliss of life Amntasya Putraa, Uttistatah, Jaagratah Praapyabai aan Nibodliatah Om Shaantih’ Shaantih ! Shaantih ! APPENDIX t I found the costs cf the In dollars to be— Direct Indirect First World War (1914-18) ... 186,333,637,097 Regarding Soldiers Regarding Civilians 33,568,471,280 33,568,471,280 298 INDIA’S MESSAGE OF PEACE The value of property lost on land On sea Loss in Production . War relief Loss to neutrals Grand total of direct and indirect costs Por every enemy killed, the Allies spent about £7,500=about 375,00 dollars=about Rs 112,500/- In the Second World War (1939-45), the cost in dollars was 1,154,000,000,000 Pioperty damage excluding that of China amounted to $ 230,900,000,000 The United States spent $ 317,600,000,000 for materials , Russia $192,000,000,000, United Kingdom— $ 120,000,000,000 , Germany — $ 272,900,000,000 , Italy — $ 94,000,000,000 and Japan — $ 56,000,000,000 In the Second World War 1. Over two crores of young men were killed in battle 2 Over 2^ crores of Women, children and old people were killed in air raids 3 Over 3 crores were wounded, mutilated or mcapa- citated for work 4. Over 2^ crores, were made homeless by air raids 5 Over 3 crores of houses each of which sheltered in the average 5 persons — men and children were reduc- ed to ashes In other words homes of 15 crores of people were destroyed Due to war 15 crores of men became victims of diseases and famines For every German and Japanese kiUed in world war H, the expenditure of U SA. alone was about 29.960.000. 000 6,800,000,000 45.000. 000.000 1,000,000,000 1,750,000,000 337,980,579,657 CAUSE OF DIFF BETWEEN MAN & MAN & NATION & NATION 299 £75,000/- about 3,75,000 dollars = about 11,25,000 rupees If we add the costs incurred by Britain, France, Russia and other countries that were on the side of U SA the cost of every enemy killed might be double of Rs 11,25,000/-, le Rs 22,50,000/- The costs of the war were so tremendous that the en- tire mcome of the Government of India made m a whole year could have lasted only for a day and half At this rate of costs the war continued for over five years, i e about 2,000 days. The population cf the world is calculat- ed to be 230 crores If all the money spent in the war, instead of being burnt there, had been divided amongst the men, women and children of the world each single individual young or old would have got as his share a sum of about Rs 30,000/- which means that a family of b persons including babies in arms would have got in Its share, nearly two lakhs of rupees This calculation I made only on the moneys spent by the fighting Govern- ments of the world, and not the values of the fields destroyed, buildings damaged, gold, silver, books, works of art and other properties of the fighting and non- fighting countries, burnt or otherwise lost If I add the value, the share of every inhabitant of the world — ^the new born babe and the dying old man, would not be less than a lakh of rupees The interest on this Rs 100,000/- at the usual rate of 3h% per annum would be Rs 3,500/- or Rs 300/- or about 100 dollars per month, more than sufficient for a student’s finishing his educa- tion in his own country or abroad with a secure sum of about Rs 300/- per month even thereafter APPENDIX n. Some Evil Effects of Our Today’s "Civilisation” Dr Eusten Chesser is reported to have, written in the British Medical Association’s J ournal that one Briton 300 INDIA'S MESSAGE OF PEACE m 19 IS likely to spend part oi his life m a mental iilstitiltion ; that the spiritual and emotional life of Britain has never been more desolate , that nervousness, anxiety, lack of faith, together with a frantic search foP escape from life, have gained a painful grip over many ' that in 1953, 72,000 people entered mental hospitals and institutions while 5,754 people committed suicide , more- over of every seven diugs dispensed, one was some form of sedative Mr E W F Tomlm, Departmental Director, British Council, London says “In Countries enjoying a ‘high standard of living’ there is marked increase of mental ilhiess ” ABBBNDIX HI Some Painful Facts & Figures- Six million children of God were exterminated during the last World War only because they happened to be Jews In Koiea having a population of thirty million, nearly three million were killed and more than ten million were made homeless- r According to the PEACE NEWS of September 1955, the killing of each German or Japanese, in the last World War cost the tax-payers of America, £75 000- about Rs 11,25,000/-, le more than eleven lakhs of rupees If We add to it the costs incurred by the other warring nations alhed with America, the cost of killing uttt;!two lakhs.”" £160,000-about rup.e. To This maj be slcncrt and sent b^ individuals or Groups APPENDIX ]tV The Prime jMinister (or President) Sir, Even in America, the richest country of the world, poverty is the rule rather than exception The fabulous wealth of the nation is in the hands of only a few men, while the lowest fifth of the population have to make ends meet with a meagre 3 per cent of it Social discontent prevails in all grades of life According to the findings of the Agricultural Labour Enquiry of 1954 held in India, the average annual Income of an agricultural family of five persons is only Rs 447/-, i e about £28 or 112 dollars It works out to Rs 90/-, 1 e less than £C or 22 dollars per head This divided by 3G5 days comes to loss than four annas or about four pence per day In Orissa, the poorest State in India the average income is said to bo Rs 75/- per year per head, that is, about three pence per day. The income of an average agriculturist in Orissa will be still less It is on such a meagre allowance that the producers of a nation's sustenance have to meet their own elementapr needs of food, wear, and residence, while always exposed to dangers and disease They toil at thoir vvork in freezing cold, burning heat and pouring rain, while the wealthy live at ease Lord Boyd Orr said recently that half the woild’s population is undernourished and one-sixth on the verge of starvation The talk of world peace or human brotherhood whilst s’Jch poverty prevails among large masses of mankind is futile , vo discuss the Charter of human rights, in the United Nations Assembly or outside it, is tragic Irony I feel that much of mankind's ills are due to the of in power living and behaving today, in different counmes, not as servants but as Imperialist masters of the people Out of me country's resources gathered from hardearned incomes of tne electrorate some of them appropriate many times the income or the average elector To call such a system democracy is a lie Such a lie proceeds from wrong to wrong to defend itself oy concealing its immorality Lies at the top Infect the lower ranks It has been found that if the money ^ent and wasted in the last world war had been divided each individual including the new bom and the old would na^ got in his share, not less than Rs 30,0TO/-, I e about 8,000 or £200 pounds If we add to it the money and prepay lo^ in the first world war (1914-18). the share of each mdhddual woma increase by about fifty per cent more This awful waste is^a crime against humanity There must be no repetition of such folly To help in creating the International climate for a Jashng peace we entreat you. Sir, as head of our nment, j^duce economic inequalities in our own countp, and to pr^s upon tn ■UJ4 the urgency of planning and issuing eflfective every country for at least ten per cent ’^^duction of miliwy expenditure year by year, and for giving adequate publicity to tn process Yours truly. Dt 1 Village or Town — 2 State — 3 Country —