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The Voice Of Jesus* SADHU VASWANI Christmas is a child of an Eastern festival. Jesus was a Master of the East. His message is a gift of the East to the West. With what reverent love they celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem, the white city of his birth! The church bells peal in solemn sweetness. The pilgrims are not Christians only but, also, Jews and Muslims: and the sacred spot where the Infant lay is marked by a star. Christmas dawns with music and incense and prayers and the peasant shepherd boys may be seen going up Bethlehem with zamooras or flutes on their lips, paying homage to him who was born almost two thousand years ago. Historically examined, Dec. 25 is not the birthday of Jesus. There are scholars who hold that Jesus was born on January 6. Some fix the birthdate as January 4. But spiritual values are not fettered by dates. Christmas celebrates the coming into this world of a unique person. Jesus opened a new epoch in human history: and the Christ-shakti is increasing with the process of the suns. *December 25 is the sacred Christmas Day.
The age of Jesus was one of expectancy. Over the West was a veil of the dark night. After the conquests of Alexander, Greece was in decadence: Rome was intoxicated with the imperialism of her Caesars. In India and in China alone existed an atmosphere of culture and refined living. In India had appeared Ashoka who impressed his great Guru’s vision of peace and brotherhood upon the
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people. In China had appeared Mencius, the great sage, who said: “In the kitchens of the rich there is meat, but the people are famine-pinched”. In China, too, taught the great rishi, Mo-Ti, who declared: “If love could be made universal, the world would be happy.” The poor in Greece and Rome and Palestine and many other countries were unhappy, and cried for a saviour, a deliverer. Jesus came with the gospel of love. Jesus mixed with the poor and outcast. Jesus gave a message which emphasised that the Kingdom of God was not for the rich and proud of purse but for the poor and lowly. Men have worshipped God as King and Judge and Creator; in the Great Day to be, God will be worshipped as brother of the poor, brother of the broken, bleeding ones of humanity. Regarding the birth of Jesus, many traditions and stories have grown round this sacred name. Some of these stories cannot be historically established: yet they have a poetic value. The tradition that Jesus was born in an out-house, a stable to which animals strayed, is an artistic and moving incident and signifies, among other things, Jesus’ sense of kinship with brother animals. The story of the shepherds
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paying homage to infant Jesus is, also, fragrant. The story of the wise men of the East bringing their precious gifts to the Babe cannot be historically established, yet is very pretty. The story of the coming of shepherds to child Jesus enshrines a truth on which we should do well to meditate: it means that poor, simple men, the shepherds, were the first to get the news of the birth of Jesus. Only the poor in spirit hear the message of the Lord, for they feel the need of spiritual life. Religion is for those who feel the need, not for the self-satisfied. The other story, that of the bringing of gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense by the three wise men of the East to infant Jesus is, also, symbolic: gold stands for wisdom or intuition, myrrh for faith and frankincense for aspiration. And these three we must place at the feet of the Lord: so may our lives be beautified and spiritualised! Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem means “home of bread.” A significant name. Disciples of Jesus loved to call him the “Bread of Life.” I recall, in this connection, the saying of Jesus: “I am come that ye may have life and have it abundantly.”
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His sayings are so simple and so profound! Jesus was an artist and a thinker. He was a rishi who saw the universe with the eyes of poet and the soul of a seer. His sayings have a value at once for the student of literature and the student of spiritual life. They have a beauty and wealth of wisdom which make them immortal in the temple of literature. Four things have specially impressed me about his life: (i) its simplicity, (ii) its depth, (iii) its beauty and (iv) its shakti. Jesus was simple as a child, yet profound as a seer; and in Jesus was the soul of an artist, a poet. Jesus, too, is a centre of shakti: it has shaped history and moulded civilisations and created new values. The shakti is not exhausted: it grows from more to more. The voice of Jesus has been speaking through the centuries: “Come into the Kingdom of Heaven by selling all ye have!” Men have shrunk from the message: the voice is not silenced. They crucify his body: they cannot bury him: they cannot silence his Voice. At one time, crowds follow him in Jerusalem. Crowds are eager to touch the hem of his garment: they long to have a darshan of this new man with a
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new message and a new power — this mystic shakti — man of Nazareth. He heals the sick: he serves the poor: he loves the fallen and the lowly. And when priests and officials co-operate to crucify him, he sends up from the very Cross of agony the cry of his heart: “Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Not until he passes away, do his disciples — fishermen and craftsmen — realise the beauty of their Master’s life. They recall his gentle, gracious figure. And gradually it dawns upon them that Jesus was not merely a good man, that he was not merely a fine ethical teacher, that he was something more even than a prophet. Jesus, they realise, was a vehicle of the very Christ of God. Jesus they now adore as the Revealer and Redeemer. The Revealer, the Light-bringer: for in him they see God. “I am the Light of the world.” The Redeemer: for in him they see the Saviour of humanity. The supreme teaching of Jesus is his doctrine of love. Silent, sacrificial love was incarnated in Jesus. This Love became flesh and blood in that Blessed life and moved amongst men. Alas! They met love with hate. Yet love will triumph: for hate destroys, but love is the creative life of humanity.
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The Message Of The Gita* DADA J. P. VASWANI
The message of the Gita was given by Sri Krishna to a young man, Arjuna. Arjuna was young in spirit and rich in idealism. Does not Arjuna represent the youths of India, the youths of the world? To the youths of the world hath the Gita spoken, century after century: “We live, today, in a broken, bleeding world. We shall build a new, *Dec.25 is sacred as Gita Jayanti Day.
a better, and a more radiant world!” Yes — we shall build a new, a better, a happier world, if we stand beneath the flag of the Lord and work as soldiers in His army of light, eager to do His Will. The Gita calls us to be soldiers in the army of the Lord. Renouncing ambition and sordid selfishness and all
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thoughts of fame and name and earthly greatness, let us take our stand on the field of life as soldiers of the Lord. There are burdens to be borne. There are wrongs to be righted. There are problems to be solved. There are new secrets to be unravelled, new truths to be discovered. Soldiers of the ideal — soldiers of service and sacrifice — are needed. “Look!” says Sadhu Vaswani, “Krishna stands holding in His hands the Flag and He calls you to stand beneath it! Be soldiers of the spirit! Be soldiers of truth and love, of service and sacrifice! The Gita speaks of three ways, three margas — the karma marga, the way of selfless action the gnana marga, the way of wisdom; and the bhakti marga, the way of devotion. There are many ways: the Goal is one! The ways are as many as are the souls of men, because of differences in temperament and mental and spiritual equipment. And the Gita teaches that all the ways lead the seeker to the One Supreme. “On whatever path men approach Me,” says the Lord in the Gita, “on that I go to meet them, for all the paths are Mine, verily Mine!” The Gita is singularly free from sectarianism. “I am in every religion,” says the Lord, “as
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a thread through a string of pearls.” The Gita is a world-scripture with a world message. It is a timeless message. Though the message was delivered five thousand years ago, it has much to teach us, who are children of a later and larger growth, sons and daughters of an excited, agitated age. The emphasis in the teaching of the Gita is on life, not words. Do not merely chant the slokas of the Gita, but bear witness to the great teaching in deeds of daily living. Therefore, live a dedicated life. The model man of the Gita is he who beholds the light shining in the heart within, but not, on that account, withdraws himself from the world. He devotes himself to a life of duty — the duty of his daily task, the duty he owes to his family, community, country, humanity, the duty he owes to birds and animals, for he realises that birds and animals, too, are man’s younger brothers and sisters in the One family of creation. He does his duty in love: he does his work in a spirit of detachment. Love must be blended with detachment. For naked must the swimmer dive into the sea to find the pearl. He who would find the “pearl
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of great price” should live in the world, stripping himself of all attachment. Beautiful are the words of a Sufi singer: Penance and pilgrimage, Fasting and rituals, Learning and scholarship, Avail little! The Goal is attained When the two stream Of love and renunciation Mingle, flowing together into the sea! From the mingling of love and renunciation arises inward light. It leads the seeker on! Today, a number of “spiritual teachers”, alike in India and outside, tell their disciples that for God-realisation, renunciation is not necessary. It is like telling them that they can eat their cake and have it, too. We must not forget that God is a “jealous God.” He must have all our attention. So Jesus said: “You cannot serve two Masters.” Without renunciation there can be no spiritual progress. True renunciation is inner. You are not asked to renounce the world and dwell in the depths of a tapobana, a forest of meditation, or on the peak of a hill. Live in the world, but be attached to no form, no finite thing. Live in a spirit of detachment, knowing that no
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one, nothing belongs to you, that you belong to God. Do your daily works, attend to your daily tasks, but do not forget God for a single moment. “Love God and do what you like,” said St. Augustine. And it was a Sufi mystic who said: “The true saint goes in and out amongst the people and eats and sleeps with them and buys and sells in the market and marries and takes part in social intercourse, and never forgets God for a single moment.” To Maharishi Raman there came a seeker who said: “I desire to live in solitude where I can find all I want with ease, so that I may devote all my time to meditation. Is such a desire good or bad?” The Maharishi answered: “Such thoughts will bestow a janma (re-incarnation) for their fulfillment. What does it matter where and how you are placed? The essential point is that the mind must always remain in its Source. There is nothing external which is not also internal. The mind is all. If the mind is active, even solitude becomes like a marketplace. There is no use closing your eyes. Close the mental eye and all will be right.” True renunciation is “closing the mental eye.” It is an inner attitude of the mind. Raja Janak
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lived in a palace but regarded nothing as his own. He was a man of true renunciation. To him came, one day, a sanyasi who outwardly had renounced the world and put on an ochre robe. Seeing Janak surrounded by pomp and grandeur, the sanyasi thought to himself: “How could this man, living as he does, in the midst of luxury, have attained God?” Just then was heard a cry: “The palace is on fire!” Immediately, the sanyasi ran out to save his loincloth which he had washed and hung on a rope to dry. When he returned, he was astonished to find Janak sitting unconcerned. The sanyasi said: “O king, did you not hear that the palace was on fire? How is it, then, that you sit here as though nothing has happened?” Raja Janak quietly answered: “What is mine is with me: it cannot be burnt by an outer conflagration.” Raja Janak was a man of true renunciation. True renunciation is detachment from (1) things; (2) forms; and (3) one’s own self. The great German mystic, Meister Eckhart, said: “Whoso has three things is beloved of God. The first is riddance of goods, the second of friends, and the third is riddance of self.”
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The man of renunciation, having rid himself of “self ”, lives for others. His heart flows in a ceaseless stream of sympathy to the poor and broken ones, the forsaken and forlorn, and to birds and animals. He lives to serve, beholding his own self in those he seeks to serve. Of such a one, Sri Krishna says in the Gita: “He is the supreme yogi to whom the pleasure or pain of others is his own pleasure and pain.” Thus lived Sadhu Vaswani till the last day of his earthly life. He was the very picture of renunciation. Having renounced all, he announced the Eternal. He looked on all as his own self. He regarded nothing in this world as being separate from him and endeavoured to bring joy into the lives of those that came to him for help and healing and wholeness. Their happiness was his happiness: their sorrows were his sorrows. Every creature was, to him, an image of the King of Beauty. One morning, Sadhu Vaswani spoke to us of the teaching of the Gita concerning the atman, the spirit. The true man is the atman, he said, not the body. And the atman cannot be destroyed. Death is
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an experience not of the atman, but of the body. The atman is deathless, indestructible, and eternal. It is the body that dies: it is the form that perishes. The atman ever lives. So be not afraid of death, nor grieve over the passing away of your dear ones. This teaching Sadhu Vaswani gave us in the morning. During the course of the day, he was called to the side of a mother who was disconsolate with grief. Her only son had died in an air-crash. She wept unending tears of sorrow. As Sadhu Vaswani met her, he too shed tears. Later, we put to him the question: “You taught us, in the morning, that we must not grieve over the passing away of our dear ones, for there is no death. Our dear ones live in the Life Undying. How is it, then, that you shed tears as you sat in the presence of the bereaved mother?” Sadhu Vaswani answered: “As I sat by the side of the mother, I felt I was the mother!” Such was the secret of Sadhu Vaswani’s life — identification with others. The others were not apart from him: they were a part of him. The pleasure or pain of others was his own pleasure or pain. He was the “supreme yogi” of the Gita.
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For years together, Sadhu Vaswani, through precept and example, interpreted the teaching of the Gita and meditated on its sublime thought. He became one with the Gita. To many of us, indeed, he was a living Gita. On meeting him, people exclaimed: “Here is an embodiment of the Gita.” The Gita, the Song of the Lord, is essentially a Song of Life. It shows how man (the jiva) — who lives a life of separation, may be united with the Source. Man has been separated from the Eternal in whom is his Home: hence his restlessness. There is restlessness in all our work — even in our so-called “service”. Therefore, our service does not bless it becomes a bondage. “Can the sound of the word ‘service’ deceive the Lord?” asked Maharishi Raman. “Does He not know? Is He waiting for these people’s service? And Swami Sivananda said: God does not want precious presents. Many people spend millions of rupees in opening hospitals and feeding houses. But they do not give their hearts.” Travelling across the centuries comes the word of the Lord: This be my word Supreme to Thee,
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O Arjuna! Let go the rites and writ duties; Come to Me for single refuge! Bring thy heart to Me! Fix thy thoughts on Me! Serve Me! Worship Me! Cling in faith and love and reverence to Me! So shalt thou come to Me! And I shall free thee From the bondage of sin! Walking the way of “loving surrender”, man may reach God and be one with Him. Today, he lives in separation. Why was he separated? When was he separated? How was he separated? Who knows? Who can tell? But there is a path which man may take to retrace his steps back to the Homeland, where is his true Peace. And the Gita speaks to us of this Path, this Way. The Way is to be trodden, not spoken about. Step by step, must man move on the path, until the wanderer reaches his Home. Three important words need to be noted. The first is the atman, the Spirit, our true Home. The second is Prakriti, the cosmos, in which we find ourselves. And the third is Yoga, the way walking which the jiva may return to the true Homeland. The jiva is in exile here. We all are in exile. Our Home
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is elsewhere: and this Home is calling us. Our Home is the spirit — the atman of the Gita, the “Kingdom of Heaven” of Jesus. Coming into this world of name and form, entering into the dimensions of space and time, the jiva has got entangled. There is the play between Purusha and Prakriti, says the Gita. And the play goes on! The jiva has got entangled in the play. How may the jiva get out of it to reach his Home? How? By Yoga, says the Gita. The Gita is a textbook of Yoga. “Yoga” literally, means “union.” It is the way of union, reunion, and the way which we may tread to be reunited with the Sources. The Gita has an answer to the problems and perplexities of the modern world. The problems of social, national and international reconstruction will not be solved without an appreciation of those deeper values of life which, the Gita shows are the very structure of reality. A new Indian nation, a new social order, a new civilisation must be built on the essential teachings of the Gita. The wisdom of the Gita is the hope of a new humanity.
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Rishi Dayaram Gidumal* SADHU VASWANI The call comes to me on December 7, year after year, to meditate anew on Rishi Dayaram. Tears touch my eyes as I stand in his presence and reflect on his life. It was a Risen Life — risen anew to beauty, reverence, silence and realisation. We dwelt in Sindh, and he stayed in Bombay — this great one who loved and served Sindh as only a few have served her. In silence he dwelt in Bandra. Not a few of us spoke unkindly of him, not knowing, then, of the true nobility of his nature: he answered us not a word. This heart bowed down to him even in that day of our trial and said to him: “Bless me and bless us all, and blame not any one; for they know not what they say.” One of the truly great ones was Rishi Dayaram. The source of true greatness is humility. To be humble is to renounce self. To be humble is to realise that we have no good in us but only nothingness: he loved to think of himself as “zero”. “One act of true humility,” said St. Teresa whom Rishi Dayaram loved to read and meditate upon, “is of more worth to God than all
the knowledge in the whole world.” Knowledge he had in abundance: he was, perhaps, the richest in knowledge and culture among the sons of modern Sindh. But he was richer in humility than in knowledge. Of the wealth of the world he had more than many of the rich men in Sindh: but he knew how to spend his wealth in service of the poor and lowly. And he gave in secret, his left hand not knowing what his right hand gave. “See thou tell no man,” said Jesus to a leper whom he had cleansed. “See thou tell no man,” said Rishi Dayaram as he gave twelve hundred rupees to an
*December 7 is sacred as the Birth Anniversary of Rishi Dayaram Gidumal.
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American who had to leave for America in obedience to a call to see his old, dying mother in the United States. And Rishi Dayaram had compassion on the poor and served them with a rich heart. He had compassion on the toilers of life: he had compassion on the bird and the beast: he identified himself with the cry of thousands of men and women who asked for daily bread. His commentaries on the Gita, Sri Jap Sahib, Sri Sukhmani Sahib and the Yogashastra — all written in sweet lyrical Sindhi — are not mere books steeped in scholarship from page to page but are, indeed, radiant with the wisdom of a seer and sage. A book — the latest he wrote — is dear to me more than words may tell. This book, too, is written in Sindhi: the book is one of the richest treasures in Sindhi literature. The book is named Chabuka or “Whips” for the “Mind”. The book is in five volumes. The closing section of volume 1 is radiant with the light of a mystic and a lover of God. A few words from this section in Sindhi may, I think, be translated into English thus: [1] What right have I to teach? My realisation is so poor and weak!
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And I see not yet the One Beloved In every corner of my heart! [2] Late have I found Thee, Lord! But Thou, I know, wilt give Thy grace to me And Thou wilt bless this pilgrimage! [3] A traveller am I — A pilgrim to Thee. I but tell a little Of the Path which I have trodden. [4] This only may I tell That though the roads are many The Faith is one! That Faith is Thou, O Lord! [5] And in this Faith, I see At once the Guru Granth, The Holy Upanishads, And Masnavi of Iran! [6] And all the Saints And Sages of the West — One is the Essence of all! And the secret of all is One! In the memory of Rishi Dayaram I hear some echoes of the great Sufi songs of Sindh. And in the music of his love and loving message, I hear the song of the Vedic bards and the sages who have inspired the thought and life of beloved Bharata.
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The Upanishads AND The Laws Of Life SADHU VASWANI
I wish to regard the Upanishads from the point of view not of theology but of Literature.
Another collection is the Hebrew Bible charged with the idea that the universe is fundamentally righteous.
A careful study of these ancient books will indicate that they are a contribution to world literature. There are a few collections which we may regard as the great Literary Scriptures of the world which are not of local or provincial interest, but have a universal value.
Another great Literary Scripture is the Quran — a book whose literary beauty and grace made a powerful appeal to the people of Arabia. Sovereignty of God and democracy of believers are the two great ideas beautifully set forth in the Quran. The Prophet was an artist and his exposition of these two ideas is well worth a study by the modern man.
One of these collections expresses the Hellenic genius; Greek classics articulate an ideal concerning the civic spirit sounding, again and again, the note that the duty of the individual is to subordinate himself to his nation state.
Another great Literary Scripture is Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. The Upanishads have a place in the world’s great literary
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Scriptures. Not without reason have the Upanishads fascinated men in different countries and at different times; one of them was Dara, the brilliant Mughal Prince. He was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan. From Akbar, his great grandfather, Dara inherited a taste for spiritual matters. Dara came, too, under the influence of Sufi poets and fakirs. He saw the harmony of Islam and the Hindu faith. He was entitled to the Mughal throne; but his younger brother, Aurangzeb slew Dara and changed the course of Indian history. Akbar’s dream and Dara’s hope of reconciliation, between the two great faiths of the Mughal Empire — Islam and Hinduism — perished: and India is still a battle ground of creeds and forms of faith. Dara was a lover of Hindu literature and Hindu philosophy: at Dara’s court lived Jagannatha Pandita — a famous singer of Sanskrit lyrics. Dara was a scholarly and broadminded prince. He brought together a few renowned scholars to translate the Upanishads into Persian. Latin and German translations of the Upanishads followed. Schopenhauer, the great German thinker, was fond of the Upanishads: the
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German philosophical world was influenced by them; some developments of NeoGerman Idealism were due, unfortunately to a perversion of the Upanishadic doctrine of Will of Man. Whereas the Upanishads ask us to develop our will and the power of thought and to use them in the service of the Universe, some neo-idealists of Germany clamoured for the “will to power”, the will to dominate, and Europe was plunged into a terrific world war. What is the meaning of the word ‘Upanishad’? The word may be interpreted in more than one way. Radically the word means ‘sitting down near’: we are thus taken to the far off times when education demanded no elaborate external machinery, and no costly buildings, when the big classes of today were unknown and the pupils sat near the teacher, sat down round him, in fellowship with the guru, sat on the ground in nature’s lap, receiving lectures not in closed doors as to-day but in the open air, and growing physically, morally, spiritually through daily communion with the sages and rishis and with Nature’s wonder and beauty. The word ‘Upanishad’ radically means, also, “what destroys” — prejudice and ignorance — conveying thus the
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idea that he who seeks knowledge must rise above prejudice and secure a catholic outlook on life. So it was that the Hindu scholars rejoiced to sit at the feet of the Greeks to learn astronomy and moved out to enrich their minds with the knowledge and experiences of the Non-aryan. The total number of Upanishads is, according to one estimate, 1180: of these 108, we are told, have survived the shock of centuries and have been translated into more than one language. Some tell us, wrongly I submit, that the Upanishads are infected with asceticism and other-worldism and that they have at best only a speculative, theoretic interest. It is true there are in the Upanishads many things of speculative interest. Again, there are in these ancient Books matters bearing upon the psychology of the sub-conscious — a matter not of speculative interest but of deep practical value. In these ancient books, too, I admit, there are passages which are to me at present, enigmatic. But the books, viewed as a whole, are charged, through and through, with a message which is fundamentally practical and is, I believe, of vital value to the modern man. Those who talk of the other – worldism of the Upanishads forget that many of
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the rishis who composed them were ‘householders’ — men rich in practical wisdom; the rishis were practical idealists; and they taught their pupils not as armchair academicians but as, Seers of the secret of life. The teaching embodied in these books was given to students — the majority of whom were, in due course, to become householders themselves. The Great Ones who gave the teaching enshrined in the Upanishads were men who realised the developmental character of society and civilization. Life is, in these books, represented as a growing tree — anticipating thus what we call, today, “the organic conception of society.” The Upanishads have, I submit, a message for the modern mind. They speak of the Laws of Life. Four of them — the four fundamental laws of life, as I call them — have a special value, for the youths of India. They must learn to live a life of obedience to these laws if, indeed, India is to fulfil the obligations imposed on her by destiny to help the modern movement of culture and civilization. One of these laws is the Law of Veracity. Our public life will assuredly be poor in the measure in which it tramples on truth and purity. Our civilisation alas! is full of conventional lies. We
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often forget that we live in a glasshouse: the world has a knack of finding us out in the long run. I ask young men to worship the Truth that is God, in the teeth of the world’s opposition; and though they be poor, their word will be honoured and their influence will not pass away. The rishis in ancient India, taught the students to bear witness to Truth, unafraid of the world. Another law the Upanishads affirm, is the law of Dharma. To do one’s dharma is to be Brahman like. What is Brahman? The answer given in the Upanishads is: Brahman (God) is Ananda (the spirit of Joy). God is Joy, Love-joy; and our dharma is to communicate joy to those we meet. Look around you! Look into your homes, your schools and colleges, your shops and
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temples; examine your activities and organisations; do you see therein the spirit of joy? Look at the intellectual faces of your students; do they feel the joy of knowledge? If not, give them teachers of the true type — men of scholarship and sympathy and idealism — teachers who will not be mere officials, but who will press their pupils to their hearts and know that in blessing their students they themselves are blessed. Look at your streets and see the labourers — homeless, comfortless, sometimes breadless; are they happy? Look into your homes invaded by cruel customs, into your temples, once the centres of spiritual life; do you see joy dwelling therein? Examine the condition of peasants and of India’s masses; are they happy?
SWADHARMA SADHU VASWANI
The world is a stage. You have a part to play: this “part” is your “duty,” — swadharma! Have no other thought in your action. You will then be free from fear and doubt. Falter not! “Talk less and paint more!” said Goethe. Go on with your “work” and be unconcerned with the “result”. Some will praise thee, some will blame: do the right and sing His Name! Your “work”, “duty”, “swadharma,” is what the World-will means for you!
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Astrology And Death DADA J. P. VASWANI
A question has been put to me: “Can astrology predict the exact time of death?� To this, my answer is: The stars indicate: they do not compel. Astrology can only tell you the time when death is likely to occur. You must not forget that, that which is threatened does not necessarily befall. Further, astrology does not necessarily befall. Further, astrology is not like arithmetic. A sum in arithmetic can have only one answer. In astrology, so many factors are involved that it is quite likely that the astrologer whom you have consulted,
has not considered all these factors, with the result that his calculations may be far from correct. Astrology is more of an art than a science, and much depends upon the astrologer who prepared your horoscope and the one who reads it. Let me say, however, that in every horoscope there are periods when death is likely to occur. And if you are forewarned, you can be very careful and so can avoid death. I have known cases in which the faith and will-power of the person concerned, or someone close to him, have helped the
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person to tide over the crisis. Once the period is crossed over, conditions become normal, until another such period enters your life. To sum up, there are periods when the soul is likely to leave the body, but is not necessarily bound to do so. We must not adopt a fatalistic attitude and lie down and die, just because the planets happen to be adverse. Man is more, infinitely more than planetary influences. A question has been put to me: “What is the age at which man should wish to die?” There are some who believe with the great French writer, Anatole France, that man should die in the prime of his youth. Anatole France taught that man should live like a butterfly and, drinking beauty, quickly die. I believe otherwise. The teaching has been given to us that man should attain to maturity before he leaves the physical body. The physical body is had not without great labour. In each incarnation, we have to undergo periods of infancy, childhood, and youth, before we can attain full maturity of our faculties. Therefore, we must not wish to die at an early age, but aspire to
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attain at least the biblical age of three score years and ten. It is only when the body becomes old or diseased or otherwise uninhabitable, that we should wish for the release which death brings to the soul. Until such time, we should continue to use the body as an instrument for our spiritual evolution. Therefore, we should strive to keep the body pure and clean and strong and, with every breath of our being, praise the Lord and sing His Holy Name, and dedicate the body to the service of God and His suffering children.
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The Roots Of Life* SADHU VASWANI The little ones are ailing: The widows, the aged and the weak Are falling, falling beneath the stroke Of the fever* which afflicts Beloved India’s cities, East and West And North and South, and now doth spread On to the village folk! The winds are rough: The winds are wailing! I look at yon wistful trees: I see the leaves are falling: The birds have ceased their singing. Yet are not the roots of Life Much deeper than the dark? Do I err in seeing the village folk? Freed of fever’s grip? Bright roses, too, I see will bloom again: And birds of hope will sing again! I see Beloved Sindh And Beloved Bharat blended into one: I see the nations and the races knit Together in hope and faith and love: I see them in reverence bend At Thy Shrine, O Holy One, Who art the Bridge betwixt East and West. In this one Faith I live day by day: My Faith art Thou! And Thou dost not fail! Thou art the Guardian and the God Of earth and heaven, of stars and seas!
*This poem was written when the epidemic of influenza was spreading throughout the towns and villages of India, inflaming the bodies of men, women and children with high fever. No medicine seemed to have any effect. And to members of his “Fellowship” Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani repeatedly said: “Sing the Holy Name! It is the cure of all ills!”
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The Science Of Health SADHU VASWANI The Body was meant to be a temple of the spirit. Therefore a temple of harmony. For the Spirit is Harmony. Health is Harmony. Very few attain to it. The outer body and the inner bodies must be rightly adjusted to one another. The problem of health is the problem of harmony between inner bodies and the outer body. In the West, the laws of the outer body have been studied with care; and of the medical science developed in Europe, we in this country have to learn much to make our towns and villages sanitary. The West has, so far, known little of the science of the inner bodies. In India this science has been studied by some of her great seers. The physical is not merely material. In a profound sense,
pure matter is pure nothing. The modern theory of matter is electronic, not atomic. There are atoms within atoms. Atoms are composed of electrons — of positive and negative units of electricity. And electricity is, to me, a shining symbol of the spirit. There are interactions between the outer body and the inner bodies. Thoughts and desires have a much greater influence on health than most are aware of. Let me give a few hints as to this building up of health on this basis of harmony between the outer and the inner: (1) Nature: Absorb health vibrations from the Spirit of Nature. Drugs do little. Trees send out vibrations. Palm trees have a beneficial effect on my health. I love to live in a house surrounded by
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palm trees. The health value of gardens and children’s parks cannot be overestimated. They are the lungs of a city. Sun rays do good. In Germany, the idea of sunbaths is being popularised. We in this country are fortunate to have a glorious sun. Daily bath in the sun for 15 minutes should do us great good. In England they have built up a Solarium; and there are bottled rays of the sun to heal patients suffering from several diseases. In India we have what is infinitely better than a solarium — we have the glorious Sun; but we do not realise its rich value. Let the rays of the sun kiss your body: it will become healthy and vital. Health vibrations, also, come from air and water, earth and sea. Nature is a kind mother. Go to Her for healing and let doctors
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co-operate with Her in treating patients. (2) Prana— Purify your prana. Modern medical science will, I believe, recognise the importance of prana in the coming days. Hindu psychologists speak of the pranamaya kosha: this must be purified. Hence the value of scientific pranayam. It builds up nerve strength. (3) Diet — Flesh foods may build up fat but not a radiant body. Their uncleanliness must have disturbed the refined aesthetic sense of the ancient Hindus. I object to animal foods on (1) humanitarian, (2) aesthetic, and (3) hygienic grounds. Simple diet is the best. In these days so many suffer from overeating. Luxuries and some of what we call “comforts” do harm to health, as they do to our inner growth.
7 KEYS FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL AWAKENING 1. Learn who you are beyond your ego identity. 2. Realize that enlightenment is not a destination. 3. Allow yourself to be vulnerable to release stored pain. 4. Stop seeking external validation and accept yourself. 5. Cut energetic cords with people who have hurt you through forgiveness. 6. Discover a purpose that is deeper than your ego desires. 7. Practice balancing your inner masculine and feminine energies.
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LAUGH YOUR WAY TO HEALTH Mom: Look here, Girish. You must always play with clever and intelligent kids. Girish: That’s not possible, mom. Mom: Why not? Girish: Because their moms also tell them the same thing. *** Husband: Why are you after me to look for a new house? You were perfectly happy with it when we came to live here. Wife: Of course this is a nice house. It’s just that I am tired of fighting with the same neighbours for the last three years. *** Ramesh: I must rush home, otherwise my wife will sit around without eating. Bunty: Lucky guy! Your wife waits to eat with you. Ramesh: Oh, she has to wait.. I have to first go and cook the food! *** Miser to wife: Let’s eat out today. Wife: How nice. Which restaurant shall we go to? Miser: Who said anything about a restaurant? There is such a beautiful moon outside — let’s eat in the backyard. ***
Lawyer: Have you got enough cash with you for paying my fee? Thief: No. I am sorry. I do not have any cash but I have a new Mercedes car. Lawyer: All right, that is fine. I will take your case. Now, tell me what is the charge against you? Thief: Stealing a new Mercedes Car. *** Boss: What is your name? Interviewee: Shall I tell you in Urdu, English or Hindi? Boss : Tell me in all three languages. Interviewee : Well, in Urdu it is ‘Paigam’, in English it is ‘Message’ and in Hindi it is ‘Sandesh’ Kumar. *** “Is your husband in?” asked the caller. “Yes, he’s in”, replied the wife. “Good. Then perhaps I’ll get the money he owes me.” “Don’t get too hopeful”, smiled the wife knowingly. “If my husband had any money he wouldn’t be in.” *** Ajit: Are you exercising to lose weight? Sujit: Of course I am – I go horse-riding every day. ***
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Children’s Corner HIDDEN-PICTURE PUZZLE Can you find a pencil, a piggy bank, a top, a drum, an apple, 3 candy canes, a ball, 2 blocks, a tugboat, a pair of mittens, and 2 gingerbread men that Santa has hidden?
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DOT-TO-DOT PUZZLE Whose North Pole dwelling can this be? Connect the dots to see.
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RECIPES FOR THE MONTH FRUITY CHOCO SQUARES
Ingredients: Marie Biscuits (crushed, tiny pieces)............ 200 gm Black raisins (kishmish) ............................. 1/4 cup Cooking chocolate - cut into small pieces.... 200 gm Cream (tetra pack)...................................... 100 gm Vanilla essence............................................. 1/2 tsp Strawberries.......................................3-4 or 1 Kiwi Method: 1. Crush biscuits and mix essence with it. Add raisins. 2. Heat cream on very low heat in a heavybottomed pan. Add chocolate. Mix well till chocolate melts. Remove from fire and stir well to make a smooth sauce. Mix a little more than half of the sauce with the crushed biscuits, just enough to bind the mixture nicely. 3. Line a loaf tin with aluminum foil with the foil extending above the tin. Put the mixture into it. Press and level it with your hands. Cover with foil on the sides. Keep in the freezer for 10 minutes till set. 4. Transfer the set biscuits on a wire rack. Place a plate underneath the rack. Heat the remaining sauce, if need be add a tbsp of water and pour on the set biscuit mixture. Level the sauce on the sides with palette knife and keep it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set. Cut into 2” square pieces and decorate it with any sliced of fresh fruit of your choice & serve chilled.
HYDERABADI COOKIES Ingredients: Plain flour (maida)................................... 1 ½ cups Tooty Fruity................................................ 1 ½ tbsp Rose syrup.....................................4 tbsp or to taste Sodium bicarbonate (mitha soda).................. ¼ tsp White butter................................................. 1/3 cup Method: 1. Mix flour with soda. 2. Beat butter well. 3. Add flour, rose syrup and Tooty Fruity to the butter. Mix well to form a soft dough. 4. Roll dough between 2 sheets of plastic paper to 1/4” thickness. Cut into squares. 5. Bake cookies in a moderate oven at 160° C for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.
MOLTEN CHOCO CUP CAKES
Ingredients: Flour (maida) ........................... 175 gm (1 ¾ cups) Baking powder ........................................... 1 ½ tsp Sodium bicarbonate (mitha soda) ................. ¾ tsp Yellow salted butter (60 gm) softened............1 tbsp Powdered sugar (100 gm) .............................¾ cup Milk ................................................................½ cup Orange squash or orange crush.....................½ cup Chocolate Filling: 1. 3/4 cup (150 gm) cream, preferably tetra pack 2. 100 gm dark cooking chocolate - cut into tiny pieces (1 cup) Method: 1. Sieve flour, baking powder and Sodium bicarbonate.
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2. Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add half of the flour and half of the milk. Mix well and add the remaining flour. Add remaining milk. Beat well till light and fluffy. 3. Add orange squash or crush and mix just once or twice with a spoon to get a soft dropping consistency. Do not beat. 4. Line a muffin pan (tray) with paper cups. Spoon mixture into them filling them ¾ only. Bake at 180 degrees C for 25-30 minutes till golden and firm on the top. Keep aside. 5. For filling, heat cream in a small heavy bottomed pan, on low heat (do not boil). Add chocolate & heat, stirring continuously for a minute, till chocolate melts and you get a smooth paste. Keep aside to come to room temperature and become slightly thick. 6. Cut out a small circle from the bottom of each muffin. Keep the cap aside. Scoop out the cake slightly. Fill with chocolate filling. Replace the cap again to close the muffin. Keep aside till serving time. Do not refrigerate. 7. To serve, invert the muffins on a serving platter which should be micro-proof. Now you have the muffins with top side up. Warm in a microwave for 10-15 seconds. Serve.
KAKORI KEBAB Ingredients: Lauki........................................1 (1 ½ cups grated) - peel and grate, discard the centre seedy portion Big potato - boiled and mashed............................ 1 Whole wheat bread - grind to get crumbs.... 2 slices Ginger Garlic Paste...........................................1 tsp Green chillies - very finely chopped....................3-4 Green coriander - very finely chopped...........4 tbsp Cumin roasted (bhuna jeera)...........................2 tsp Salt...................................................................2 tsp Chilli Powder....................................................1 tsp Dry mango powder (amchoor).................¼ - ½ tsp Method: 1. Mix all ingredients, making a slightly stiff paste. Check seasoning. 2. Cover the grill rack with aluminum foil. Rub oil on it. 3. Press kebab mixture into finger-shaped kebabs on a pencil. Pull out the pencil. Cook in a tandoor or grill for about 8-10 minutes or till golden brown. Turn side and again grill for 5-7 minutes.
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4. Sprinkle tandoori or chaat masala on the kebabs and serve with onion rings sprinkled with lemon juice and chaat masala, and lemon wedges.
METHI AMROOD KI SUBZI
Ingredients: Fenugreek greens (methi) - chop leaves finely..... 1 bunch (500 gm) Guavas (amroods)................................................. 1 - cut into 4 pieces, remove seeds and then cut into 1/4” pieces Cumin seeds (jeera)........................................ ½ tsp Dry red chillies - broken........................................ 2 Finely chopped ginger......................................1 tsp Large onion - chopped finely................................ 1 Coriander Powder.............................................1 tsp Turmeric Powder............................................. ¼ tsp Salt to taste..................................................... ½ tsp Garam Masala................................................ ½ tsp Tomato - chopped finely........................................ 1 Oil...................................................................1 tbsp Method: 1. Boil 4 cups water with 2 tsp salt in a kadhai. Add fenugreek leaves and boil for 5-6 minutes on low heat till soft. Drain, refresh in cold water and keep aside. 2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan or kadhai. Add cumin, broken red chillies and chopped ginger. Stir and add the onions. Cook till light brown. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and garam masala. Stir for a minute. 3. Add the tomato and cook for 3-4 minutes on low heat. Add guavas. Stir for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer the masala on low heat for about 5-7 minutes, till well blended and guavas are cooked. 4. Add boiled fenugreek leaves and ¼ tsp salt. Stir fry fenugreek leaves for 5-6 minutes. Serve hot.
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SIMPLE RULES OF HEALTH HOW TO OPEN OR ACTIVATE YOUR CHAKRAS The chakras are energy centers within and around the body. Each chakra is linked to personality traits. Having your chakras properly opened and in balance results in good mental, emotional and spiritual health. Some of people’s chakras are usually not open all the way, it means that they operate just like when they were born. Some of them are also overactive and some are even near closed. Many people’s chakras also flicker, slightly out of alignment, blocked and some of them can even be seen with the wrong colour in them. There are a few different methods we can try to open our chakras and meditation and yoga exercises are the two most common ones. Understand that if we are opening our chakras, there is no need to try to make our overactive chakras become less active. Once all of our chakras are opened, the energy evens out and becomes balanced. When learning how to open your chakras, it is important to start with your first chakra (Root Chakra). To enhance the effect, certain sounds are chanted.
These sounds are from Sanskrit letters.
THE ROOT CHAKRA
Being the foundation of the whole chakra system, the root chakra is a good one to start. Just like when you build a house, you need to start at the bottom. If you feel uncomfortable in many situations, tend to be nervous or fearful, easily feel unwelcome and you don’t trust people around you for no reason, then your root chakra is probably underactive. To activate it, you should do yoga, do some manual housecleaning or walk around the block. Connect yourself with the ground. Other method is to allow the tips of your index finger and your thumb touch,
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after that concentrate on the Root chakra and chant the sound “LAM.”
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concentrate on your Navel chakra and chant the sound “RAM.”
THE SACRAL CHAKRA
THE HEART CHAKRA If you tend to be impassive or unemotional, and are not very open to people around you then your second chakra is probably underactive. To activate it, put both of your hands in your lap, palms up and on top of each other. Make sure your left hand is placed underneath with its palm touching the back of the fingers of your right hand. Let the tips of the thumbs touch. Now concentrate on the third chakra (Sacral chakra) and chant the sound “VAM”.
This chakra is all about love and caring. If it is underactive, you can be very unfriendly and cold. Let the tips of your thumb and index finger touch on both hands. Place your right hand in front of your lower part of breastbone and place your left hand on your left knee. Now concentrate on your Heart chakra and chant the sound “YAM.”
THE THROAT CHAKRA
THE NAVEL CHAKRA When your navel chakra is underactive, you can be very indecisive and passive. Put your hands slightly below your solar plexus, before your stomach. Let the fingers join at the tips but all pointing away from you. Cross your thumbs and straighten your fingers. Now
When this chakra is underactive, you tend to be shy and do not speak so much. If you lie
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often, then the throat chakra is probably being blocked. To open this chakra, cross your fingers on the inside of the hands, without the thumbs. Let your thumbs touch at the tops and pull them slightly up. Now concentrate on your fifth chakra (Throat chakra) and chant the sound “HAM.”
THE CROWN CHAKRA
THE THIRD EYE CHAKRA
For those who are not very spiritual and quite rigid in their thoughts then your crown chakra is probably underactive. To open your eight chakra, lay your hands before your stomach. Let your little fingers pointing up but away from you and touching at their tops. Cross the rest of your fingers with the left thumb underneath the right. Now concentrate on your Crown chakra and chant the sound “NG.”
For those who like to look up to other people to think for you, feel confused easily and relying on beliefs too often, then your sixth chakra is probably underactive. To open the Third Eye Chakra, place your hands before your lower part of the breast. Make your middle fingers straight and touch at the tops, but pointing forward. The rest of the fingers are bended and touch at the upper two phalanges. Your thumbs should point towards you and touch at the tops. Now concentrate on your sixth chakra and chant the sound “OM” or “AUM.”
A word of caution: Meditation for the Crown chakra is not recommended if your first chakra (Root chakra) is not open or strong.
HEALTH TIP After eating an apple, do not have the following: 1. Sour 2. Curd 3. Water 4. Radish