- 4 -
I feel as if time had stopped, to listen to me talk to myself
at the crossroads of my life, time too wants answers it had not found yet
I wonder, am I talking to myself, or am I talking to time?
Am I talking to myself, or my past, present and future?
Are my questions only mine, or have they been sought before?
Are my questions relevant today, will they be tomorrow?
Till time continues to flow, humankind will need to face these questions
I am not the only one asking these questions, time is asking them with me
every day, in every era, there have been crossroads, and there will be crossroads
So if you wish to face your past and present,
so turn towards your dilemmas and find your answers within yourselves
a voice will speak to you, the voice of reason, the voice of your heart, the voice of God
and find the answers to your questions, which have bothered you perpetuity
Yet, I am unable to stand up
something held me back from action
I still do not understand the use of action
I still do not know, what action might convert to
I know you want neither materialistic pleasures nor fame nor heaven
Look beyond happiness sadness profit loss victory defeat
Till now I spoke in terms of knowledge and wisdom
which can look through life
and can reach to the depth of truth to understand the voice of its soul
But maybe you got lost in its immortality
So weight this moment on the scales of treatment and behavioral duty
even then, you shall reach the same conclusion
Decide your action on the basis of your behavioral duty
you will reach the same conclusion, that your action in your duty is essential
The only reason why you are indecisive
is because you are judging this moment from a personal stance
This is the bond of love; this is the root of your misery
And this is why this coward, disgraced and dastardly grief is neither in your well being
not in the welfare of the society
This grief is neither good for the present, nor the future
Do not be swayed in these hopes of benefit and loss
only do your duty
Duty itself is holy, pure and good for the society
Action itself is the fruit
But if you mix your own benefits in social welfare then that action of yours
will be impure and wretched
So walk on the path of selfless action
because the result of the action is not in your hands
So perform your duty, and do not worry about the fruit it bears
I wonder, how is this selfless action possible?
the vision of the result is the motivation for action
So if the vision of the result is not present
then why would I do anything at all?
You shall do anything, because deedless life is not possible
You will do something
Either you’ll eat, or you shall stay hungry
You shall feed, or you shall starve
Or you shall perform your duty, or you shall not
These are the only options you have,
but the results of your deeds are not in your hands
Your rights end on the boundaries of your decisions and deeds
the results of the deeds are not in your hands
Even if you wish to win, it would not result in you winning
you might lose too
But, if you are not attracted towards victory, then defeat too wont scare you
If you think that victory and defeat do not matter
yet you shall perform your acts because it is your duty
then there arises no question of the glory of victory or sorrow of defeat
And the man who is neither happy in victory nor sad in defeat
only that man is unmoved in all circumstances
So, do not think of the rewards or loses of your actions
do what you can do, that is, your duty
Understand this, that you have only the options of action and inaction
but the scope of your rights end with your deeds
The result of the actions is not your right
You may be a great thinker,
but if the truth does not match to your ideas in the slightest
then you are wrong
Your rights are on your understandings; your rights are on your theories
but you have no right on the truth
Good men never cross the boundaries of their rights
So be firm in your actions
Because the efficiency of your actions, is Yog
Yog! What is Yog?
Yog is the efficiency of deeds
Rejection of attractions is efficiency of deeds
Being free of attractions and performing your duties is the efficiency of deeds
Being steady in both victory and defeat is efficiency of deeds
I find myself intrigued
till yesterday, I faced these confusions of action and procrastination
Were these answers always within me?
or has divine light today shined on me
These are answers, I find within
answers I have known all along
Is it something new I’ve been told
or has my soul carried this knowledge from time immemorial
Perhaps till yesterday, the noise of the world blocked out this knowledge from me
but today, I hear myself in silence
So was the world my enemy till now, or was I myself mine?
But right now, I cannot stop to think this
right now, I am the medium this divine energy flows to the world
So this is not the time to stop myself and ponder away
this is the time, to do my duty of the medium I am
So I turn to myself again, and ask the signs
of an ideal man steady in action
I wish to be one, but I do not know the traits of one
How does he behave, how does he communicate?
There is no difficulty is knowing the ideal man
Like him, free yourself from your desires
and be free of your personal desires
Go beyond happiness and sorrow and be content in yourself
Then you shall neither burn in the fire of sorrow nor shall you wet in the rain of happiness
The ideal man is the person, who stays the same in happiness and sorrow
and none can break this balance of his
When he speaks, then he does not speak from the shallows of happiness or sorrow
but from the depths of his soul
he speaks not of attraction, but of selfless action
He sits within himself, like a tortoise
he is his own fort
Meaning, his senses are in his control
and only that man can control his senses,
who can control his mind
The ordinary man thinks of the object
and the attachment to an object makes him vulnerable
This attraction gives birth to yearning
When the yearning is not satisfied, then anger is born
This anger increases the love for the object
This love takes away the strength to think
When thought is lost, wisdom is destroyed
And when wisdom is destroyed, then the man is destroyed
Your attachment is taking you to the destruction of wisdom
Just think, if one doesn’t have the wisdom then how will he find peace?
He cannot distinguish peace from turmoil
and how can one who cannot distinguish peace from turmoil be happy?
The way gusts of wind disturb the path of a boat,
desires disturb the path of thoughts
Ancient words come back to be
as I think of what I learn
A great slave your mind is to you
but at the same time a terrible master
So keep your senses in your control,
do not come in their control
Listen to me and understand
that when the world sleeps, then a sage awakens
and when the world is awake, the sage sleeps
What are these sleep and awakening?
What are these night and day?
I never spoke of night and day,
I merely spoke of sleep and wake
The wake of the ordinary man, is to earn and enjoy something
this is the aim of his consciousness
If he is hungry then he looks for food
if he is thirsty, he looks for water
if he wants to save himself from seasons, he looks for a house
His thought is for himself
But a sage does not think of objects
he thinks beyond personal hunger and thirst
he does not think of the fruit fallen from the tree,
he thinks of the tree and the forest
The ordinary man needs wood for fuel
so he will cut trees till forest are destroyed
The sage thinks of the importance of forests in nature
he thinks of the balance of nature
of the relationship between forests and nature
So, what is day for the senses of ordinary men
is night for the sage
because he has crossed the boundations of senses
And what is night for the senses of ordinary men
is day for the sage
because in that silence, his sentience rises
The sage thinks of the problems, and also their solutions
And this is what separates him from ordinary men
Truth is beyond the reach of senses
It’s not that the sage does not feel hungry, he does
but he looks beyond his hunger
and thinks, what is the answer to hunger
That is why the day of ordinary man, is the sage’s night
and the one who saves himself from this ordinary man’s night
is the ideal man
Ordinary men are like those rivers, who flow with anxiousness
but they do not know their path
they just flow without a vision because for them, only flowing is their duty
And they let out all their water, all their anxiety in the ocean
Yet, the ocean does not cross the boundaries of its shores
Likewise, the rivers of desires take ordinary men flowing with them
but when they come to a sage, the sage absorbs them
and does not cross the boundaries of his rights
So, you should also be the ocean
The ocean is a sage, the ocean is wise
You should also be wise, because wisdom is right
Startled, I ask my inner voice
if wisdom is right, then why do you suggest this tough path of action
You have confused me,
if wisdom is better than action, then why should I act at all?
Why shouldn’t I turn a sage, and pursue the path of knowledge
I ask for the path of felicity, please show me that path
- 5 -
There are 2 kinds of people in the world
Introverts and extroverts
The introverts try to find God within themselves
this is the Yog of knowledge
And the extroverts try to find God outside themselves
but there’s no recluse from action
Because finding it within is action too
So, these are the only 2 paths
one of knowledge, another of action
So why shouldn’t I walk on the path of knowledge?
But even knowledge is not the path to abandon action and gain success
because life itself is not possible without action
If you have eyes then they will inevitably see
if you have eyelashes then they will inevitably wink
if you have ears then they will inevitably hear
One who stands in the way of senses,
one who forcibly suppresses them and thinks
he is not a Yogi, not wise, he is a living lie
The wise comes to control his senses, not to suppress them
he doesn’t live closing his eyes
The journey of life is not possible without action
People will atleast breathe!
If there is a scent or stench in the environment,
then he is subject to experience it
If there is a song or sound or clamor near him
then his ears won’t wait for his permission to hear it
That is why one who keeps his senses in balance
one who keeps his senses within the boundaries of rationality
one who turns them towards action and shows them the path of action
only he is supreme
He understands his options and uses his willpower
and, doing fated tasks is better than doing nothing
Now this is true that eyes see
but what they see and what they do not see is determined by the wise himself
He does not give complete freedom to his eyes to see
to his ears to hear or to his legs to walk
At this point of options,
the difference between wise and ordinary is realised
that is why action is essential,
because it is impossible for the body to live without it
But act like the wise
Perform your duties like an oblation
because action is an oblation
and its source is the indestructible universe
and so the path of action goes straight to the universe
And so, the man who does not contribute in the universal cycle
his life becomes valueless
Do not go towards that worthlessness
One who thinks only of his problems is a sinner
so come out of this web of fascination and realize your duties and follow them
The desire of the fruit of action is the obstacle in the way
The aspiration of the fruit of action is the rock around one’s neck
which does not allow them to come above their own surface
This cuts the person from the society
and pushes him in the marsh of personal gain or personal loss
The society is not within you, you are in the society
so consider public charity and public welfare as your primal duty
because what will be good for the society will also prove good for you
The action for public charity will bring you success
Personal benefit is the foundation of sin
because it strays the person for self-accomplishments
And do not forget that you are a great man
and people will see you as an ideal and follow you on the path of lust and greed
because the behavior of a great man predictably becomes a parable
Take me for instance
There is nothing in the 3 worlds which is essential for me to do
and there is nothing in the 3 worlds which I wish to attain, and I cannot
yet I speak to you, performing my duty
showing that, proving that it is possible to live with selfless action
I’m startled, what is this voice saying to me
at this point the voice talking to me seems to have changed
as if it is not me, but someone else speaking
But who? I don’t understand. None but God can speak in this manner
None other can say that there is nothing in the 3 worlds
which they wish to attain, and cannot
It says there is nothing in the 3 worlds worth doing for it
yet, it is acting
That if it does not act, then the world will see it as an example
and will denunciate action and the action-cycle will stop
And if it is stopped then society will be destroyed
and it will be held responsible for this destruction
These words couldn’t have been made in my mind
these are not the words of any ordinary or special man
Even if a learned sage uttered them,
it would still be called a display of arrogance
Yet, this voice did not seem to speak in arrogance at all
This scares me,
If this voice asks me to battle now,
then forgetting all my weaknesses even I would arm myself
So will I act now? I know the answer to this question
but acting out of time is not my right
God did not want me to step up yet,
and I was not going to leave the present I was experiencing
So I wait for my future to be born from the present
This wait is also my action
So I return to the voice which talks to me about my battles
Even ordinary men act, but only with the vision of their own greed
the action of the wise is selfless,
to preserve the balance of the world, for public welfare
So do not take any burden on your soul
dedicate your actions to me and fight your battles
Even death in the part of duty is celebratory
even the most heinous acts on the path of duty do not sin you
because following your duty is sin ridden
Those who are a part of your action become noble,
so will you on your path of action
So follow your duty, because the path of righteousness cannot be the path of sin
When you speak of sin then tell me,
why is man compelled to sin sometimes
what compels him?
He is compelled by his lust; he is compelled by his selfishness
he is compelled to sin by his anger, by his affection
recognize these enemies
The way smoke covers fire, or dust covers mirror, or Moon covers Sun
wisdom is covered by lust, anger and desire
The fire of lust and greed destroy wisdom,
and is the enemy of the wise
Purify the fire, cleanse the mirror,
and moderate your senses
to kill these enemies of wisdom and knowledge
Senses are superior to objects, and the mind is superior to the senses
Wisdom is superior to mind, and the soul is superior to wisdom
So worry for the soul, and try to rise above the body, senses, mind and wisdom
You are my friend, and my disciple, so I wish to tell you that knowledge
which has been lost for a long time
But in the beginning of the universe, I gave this to the Sun
and the Sun gave it to Adam, who gave it to the first king
What am I hearing! Knowledge to the Sun?
But I and surely this voice I hear are of the modern day
and the Sun is ancient
so how could this knowledge have been given to the Sun
at the beginning of the Universe?