Satsang
is such a holy thing that if you immerse yourself in it, you will
definitely be liberated. But only if you dive in. Before you dive in the
water, you take off your clothes. In the same way, we have clothed
ourselves in confusion and impurities and wrong thinking. Until we take
off these `clothes' how can we dive into the river of satsang?www.manavdharam.org
Now
you have the same chance as Arjuna had, as Hanuman had, as Dharmdas
had, as Tulsidas had. We have the same chance now to enter the gates of
spirituality, yet we let this golden opportunity slip through our
fingers. So awaken the humanity within yourself and let its light
illumine the whole world. It is easy to get trapped in social prejudice.
It is very easy to fragment society and it is done very quickly, but
will this bring peace to the world? No, It will only cause fighting and
more fighting.
www.manavdharam.org
When
Angulimal the bandit saw Lord Buddha coming along the road, he was very
happy. He said, "Now I have a victim. I'll kill you and cut off your
fingers to add to my collection." Buddha replied, "Brother, you may kill
me. I won't stop you, but first break off one leaf from the tree and
give it to me." Angulimal reached up and broke off the whole branch, and
gave it to Buddha saying, "Here, take it. I have fulfilled your last
request." Buddha took one leaf and said, "Listen, I asked for only one
leaf, and I've taken it, so put this branch back on the tree." Angulimal
replied, "I can hardly stick the branch back on the tree." So Buddha
explained, "If you can't put it back, then what right did you have to
break it in the first place? I only asked for a single leaf." Angulimal
was disturbed by this. He had never heard anything like it. All he had
ever heard was "might is right." So when Buddha said to him, "If you
can't give anything to anyone, what right do you have to take from
them," his ideas completely changed and he surrendered to Buddha asking
him for shelter. And that murderer became a monk. So
we should think about this. We can easily hurt someone, but then so can
a lion or a bull, so if we act like this we are no better than animals.
In other words, if we can't give love, what right do we have to torment
others? The enlightened souls gave this advice: once you have received
love, spread it around; if you are honoured, then honour others. If you
have received Knowledge, spread it to others.www.manavdharam.org
So
why is a Spiritual Teacher necessary? When something is written down,
many people study it. When you study something, you understand it
according to your own IQ, according to your mental capacity. Words can
be twisted and changed. If spiritual knowledge could be transcribed on
paper it could get twisted and perverted. That is why Knowledge has to
be given by a living soul to another living soul. Only a living Master
can convey that Knowledge to another living soul, and that makes it a
living Knowledge. It makes the Knowledge alive. If you transcribe
anything into books, you make it dead.www.manavdharam.org
Vedas,
Upanishads, Bible, Gita and Koran have been available to us for a long
time now, so why does mankind still need saints and spiritual Masters?
It seems to indicate that unless and until man can experience spiritual
Knowledge for himself, there will always be a need for realized Teachers
in this world. In other words, we need the help of enlightened Masters
because we don't understand the deeper meaning of the scriptures. When
you read scriptures, you shouldn't just read the words, but also go into
their meaning. But you can understand the scriptures only when you have
spiritual insight. That is why Christ said, "I have not come to destroy
the scriptures, but to fulfil them."www.manavdharam.org
Why
is the Knowledge secret? Because cheap things are rarely pure. Goods
sold in the market can be adulterated. Similarly, this Knowledge is kept
secret so that it won't get contaminated or diluted, so that only a
true seeker, a sincere aspirant, will find it. And the spiritual Master
holds the key.www.manavdharam.org
A
saint can bring the devotee close to God. But people go on pilgrimages
to shrines and then go home. Why do they put God so far away from
themselves? If He is omnipresent, why go only to a certain place to see
Him? If the Lord is omnipresent, if He is the indwelling Reality, why
have we enshrined Him so far away? Why isn't He close to us? So saints
give the spiritual knowledge which brings the devotee into the presence
of God.www.manavdharam.org
Why
do we need a Guru? Just think about this - whatever learning or skills
we have now, we learned through some kind of teacher. You need someone's
help to learn how to read. Children are sent to school to learn
something. Even when we started walking, we needed someone to hold our
hand and guide us. When a child learns to ride a bicycle, someone has to
hold it for him and show him how to keep his balance. He falls over
several times, but through practice learns how to balance and then has
no difficulty at all in riding. And when it comes to spirituality, to
getting the Knowledge which leads to salvation, a Teacher is essential,
too. The scriptures are quite firm on this point.www.manavdharam.org
