University lectures

Realisation, revelation and perfection¹

With your kind permission I wish to say that this is my fourth visit to Harvard University. In 1969 I spoke on The Vedanta Philosophy_; in 1971 on _The Upanishads: The Crown of India’s Soul_; last year on _The Glowing Consciousness of Vedic Truth_; and now my fourth talk will be on _Realisation, Revelation and Perfection. Since I am a spiritual seeker, a seeker of the highest transcendental Truth, the subject of today’s talk is one with which my heart and soul are intimately familiar.

Realisation, revelation and perfection. The animal in us has realised that destruction is perfection. The human in us has realised that partition or separation is perfection. The divine in us has realised that transformation of our human nature is perfection. The Supreme in us has realised that manifestation of our inner divinity and reality is perfection.

Destruction is power. Separation or partition is power. Transformation is power. Manifestation is power. Destruction-power is the animal revelation. Separation-power is the human revelation. Transformation-power is the divine revelation. And manifestation-power is the supreme revelation.

As we advance in our spiritual life we come to realise that destruction-power is abominable and separation-power is deplorable; but transformation-power is admirable and manifestation-power, the divine manifestation-power, is most adorable.

A sincere and genuine seeker goes deep within and discovers the truth that animal life is sheer futility; human life, if it does not aspire, is stark stupidity; divine life is immediate necessity; and spiritual life is our deathless and birthless immortality.

For God-realisation we need aspiration-cry.
For God-revelation we need dedication-smile.
For God-manifestation we need patience-wisdom.

Aspiration is a perfect stranger to rejection. It accepts everything within and without. Then the things that have to be transformed it transforms on the strength of its climbing cry.

Dedication is a perfect stranger to calculation. When a sincere seeker dedicates himself to the right cause, to the inner goal, he forgets how to calculate. He goes far beyond the domain of calculation. His dedication is self-giving, soulful giving, unconditional giving of what he has and what he is.

Patience is a perfect stranger to imperfection. When aspiration and dedication loom large in our spiritual life, patience, our third friend, plays its role most satisfactorily. Patience and God’s infinite Compassion play together and dance together. At that time we see that our teeming imperfections are ready to be transformed into perfect Perfection.

God-realisation is like climbing up a tree. God-revelation is climbing up and down the tree time and again at God’s choice Hour. Perfection is offering the fruits of the tree to the world at large.

Love, always love. When we love soulfully, realisation does not and cannot remain a far cry. When we serve and serve devotedly, revelation cannot remain a far cry. When we unconditionally become the transcendental Truth and Reality, God-manifestation does not and cannot remain a far cry.

Sri Krishna realised God, the absolute Supreme. After he had realised the Lord Supreme he became God the eternal Lover and God the eternal Beloved. The Christ realised God the transcendental Father. On the strength of his supreme realisation he declared, “I and my Father are one.” The Christ became the universal brother. We too, if we are humble and sincere seekers, can realise God the absolute Supreme. After realising God the Supreme Pilot we can become universal servers of Truth and Light.

Realisation tells us who God is. Revelation tells us what we can do for God. Manifestation and perfection tell us what God does for us and what we do for God.

Who is God? God is our inner cry and God is our outer smile. He cries with us and for us on earth. He smiles with us and at us in Heaven. God is at once our heart’s eternal Lover and our soul’s Supreme Beloved.

What can we do for God? We can do one thing and that is to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a chimerical mist. It is a reality within us trying to come to the fore and reveal itself for God-manifestation on earth.

What God does for us is simple, spontaneous, illumining and fulfilling. He liberates us from our teeming imperfections with His unconditional and transcendental Compassion. And what we can do for God is equally simple, spontaneous, illumining and fulfilling. On the strength of our heart’s constant inner mounting cry we can try to make Him smile, smile with joy at His creation vast.