Picture

Music grows and glows.
Musician dives and becomes.

— photo by Sarama

My aspiration¹

I am an aspirant; I aspire. When I aspire, I radiate: my entire being radiates, my physical reality radiates, my whole face radiates. The seekers around me get inspiration from my radiation, and my radiation serves them by increasing their aspiration. In this way, with my aspiration I offer a special service to those who are around me.

My aspiration is my illumination. I illumine my own unlit, dark and obscure parts. I illumine my own ignorance-life, and those fellow-travellers who are around me get illumination from my illumination. In this way my illumination serves those seekers who are around me by helping to illumine their unlit and obscure lives.

My aspiration is my realisation. When I aspire, I see that there was a time when I cheerfully and madly danced a dance of division. In those days I wanted division to reign supreme in my entire life. “I” and “my”: these were the two songs I knew then. But now, in my aspiration-life, I see that division cannot solve my problems. It is only my union, my oneness with the Source, the life-tree, the perennial tree which through Eternity has been growing inside my heart, which can and will solve all my problems. My oneness tells me that there is only one Source, and to that Source all human beings and the entire creation belong. In oneness founded on a solid basis I get satisfaction far beyond my imagination.

My aspiration is my perfection. Perfection is my self-transcendence experience. At every moment, by virtue of my aspiration, I transcend my previous heights, and each time I transcend I get new inspiration. My inner being, my entire being, is inundated with new inspiration and with a new dawn. Perfection is my constant self-transcendence to satisfy the seeker in me and to satisfy my Beloved Supreme.

Aspiration is torture: so says my lethargic body. Aspiration is pressure: so says my unruly, restless vital. Aspiration is terror: so says my doubting and suspecting mind. Aspiration is pleasure: so says my crying heart. Aspiration is leisure: so says my loving soul. And finally, my Lord Supreme says that aspiration is nothing short of treasure. Out of His infinite Bounty He tells me that my aspiration is not only my treasure but also His treasure.

My desire-life unconsciously wanted to destroy me, my reality-existence. My aspiration-life consciously wants to employ me and make me perfect so that I can serve my Beloved Supreme constantly in His own way. My Beloved Supreme compassionately tells me that He will give me what He has and what He is: infinite Compassion. I tell Him that I shall give Him what I have and what I am: a tiny drop of devotion. He accepts what I give Him lovingly, smilingly and unconditionally. I accept what He gives me devotedly, soulfully and unreservedly.

I meditate²

I meditate.
I meditate not out of curiosity.
I meditate out of necessity.
I meditate not out of fear.
I meditate out of love.
I meditate not out of possessiveness.
I meditate out of selflessness.
I meditate on God not because God is great.
I meditate on God because God is good.
I meditate on God not because God will give me everything I want.
I meditate on God because God will give me only the things that I need.

Some people think that I am not practical, while others think that I am not sincere. Still others think that I am stupid. We all know that criticism is the order of the day. Such being the case, how can I expect to be an exception? Again, in all sincerity I must tell the world that perfection is still a far cry in my life. I have made an inner promise: I shall fear no criticism when I am right. I shall ignore no criticism when I am wrong.

There is a special reason why I meditate. I love to converse with God. He is such a charming conversationalist, and I am a charmed listener. I am my heart’s hunger-cry. God is His Heart’s Feast-Smile.

When I do not meditate, conscience torments me, joy deserts me, peace hides from me and satisfaction ignores me. When I meditate, God’s blue Eye blesses me, God’s green Heart embraces me, God’s red Feet shelter me.

Meditation is the flowering of my confidence in myself and my confidence in God. I have no confidence in human beings precisely because I know them and precisely because I do not know them. I have complete confidence in God not because of my helpless life, but because of my sleepless heart. I have complete confidence in myself not because God is my only choice, but because He is always His unconditional Boon.

I meditate to unlearn and to learn. I meditate to unlearn my earth-bound mind-education. I meditate to learn my Heaven-free heart-aspiration.

Early in the morning, when I hear God’s Voice, I open my inspired eyes and meditate. During my morning meditation God says to me, “My child, go and prove to the world that you are all for Me.” Late at night, when I hear God’s Voice, I close my tired eyes and meditate. During my night meditation God says to me, “My child, lo and behold, you are of Me unmistakably and eternally.”

What is it?³

Meditation: what is it?
Peace of mind.

Peace of mind: what is it?
Self-giving.

Self-giving: what is it?
God-becoming.

God-becoming: what is it?
The beginning of a new journey.

The beginning of a new journey: what is it?
A transcending Eternity.

A transcending Eternity: what is it?
An increasing Infinity.

An increasing Infinity: what is it?
A fulfilling Immortality.

A fulfilling Immortality: what is it?
It is something that I have and I am.

What have I?
A birthless and deathless smile.

What am I?
A sleepless and breathless cry.

Letters

Daniel K. Inouye

DANIEL K. INOUYE
HAWAII

United States Senate

ROOM 105, RUSSELL SENATE BUILDING
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20310
(202) 224-3924

December 4, 1979

Dear Sri Chinmoy:

I wish to express my warmest aloha and best wishes to you on the occasion of your visit to Hawaii.

Your efforts to promote world peace through diplomacy, cultural understanding and spiritual harmony are well known and appreciated throughout the world. Indeed, many have greatly benefited from the knowledge and wisdom you have shared.

It is gratifying to know that the Hawaiian Islands — which have given happiness and joy to so many visitors — may contribute to your work.

As one who has personally admired the inspiration you have provided, please know that you have my sincerest hopes for much continued success.

Aloha,

DANIEL K. INOUYE
United States Senator

Cec Heftel

COMMITTEE ON
WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEES:
HEALTH
OVERSIGHT

CECIL "CEC" HEFTEL

1ST DISTRICT, HAWAII

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington D.C. 20515

December 13, 1979

Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose
2438 16th Avenue
San Francisco, California 94116

Dear Sri Chinmoy:

I understand you will be visiting Hawaii shortly, and I did want to welcome you to our beautiful and unique islands.

I know our students will be most interested in your lectures and you will be enchanted with our scenery, our trade winds, and our Aloha spirit.

With best wishes,
CEC HEFTEL

CH:mis

Daniel K. Akaka

DANIEL K. AKAKA
SECOND DISTRICT, HAWAII

COMMITEES:
AGRICULTURE
MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington D.C. 20515

December 27, 1979

Mr. Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose
2438 l6th Avenue
San Francisco, California 94116

Dear Sri Chinmoy:

May I take this means of extending my warmest aloha to you on the occasion of your visit to Hawaii.

It is indeed a rare privilege to have a man of your stature in our islands. Your achievements in literature, music, and the arts have provided a lasting treasure for our generation and those to come. Equally important are your accomplishments in international relations, and your tireless efforts on behalf of the United Nations in promoting peace and brotherhood throughout the world. We have much to thank you for and trust that you will continue your cultural and educational contributions.

We are honored to have you in Hawaii, and I hope that your stay is an enjoyable and fruitful one.

Aloha pumehana,

DANIEL K. AKAKA
Member of Congress

George R. Ariyoshi

GEORGE R. ARIYOSHI
GOVERNOR

EXECUTIVE CHAMBERS
HONOLULU

December 28, 1979

Mr. Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose
c/o The Pacific Monarch
142 Uluniu Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815

Dear Mr. Sri Chinmoy:

Mr. J. Cliff Watts, Jr., your public relations coordinator, has informed me of your visit to Hawaii, December 19 through January 9, and has requested that I prepare a letter of welcome to you. I am pleased to comply.

Hawaii extends its greetings to all visitors, recognizing in each an individual person meriting our aloha and best wishes. We are especially pleased when persons of distinguished accomplishment pass through our Islands, offering their wisdom and insights in various ways to our Island people.

We trust that your stay in our State will be pleasant and will bring you memories to be treasured for years to come.

With warm personal regards, I remain,

Yours very truly,

George R. Ariyoshi

Ten Thousand Flower-Flames

They cannot wait for me

On her way to see the Lord Supreme
Mother-Earth cannot wait for me
Because
I am too proud.

On his way to see the Lord Supreme
Father-Heaven cannot wait for me
Because
I am too impure.

On its way to see the Lord Supreme
My soul-bird cannot wait for me
Because
I am too slow.

A new friend

O my body, for you I have brought
A new friend: simplicity.

O my vital, for you I have brought
A new friend: sincerity.

O my mind, for you I have brought
A new friend: serenity.

O my heart, for you I have brought
A new friend: purity.

O my life, for you I have brought
A new friend: humility.

O my soul, for you I have brought
A new friend: my surrender-seed.

O my God, for you I have brought
A new friend: my perfection-fruit.

Three things I love

Three things I really love:
I love my body’s shadow,
I love my life’s meadow,
I love my soul’s plateau.

A new name

At last my searching mind
Has a new name: emptiness.

At last my crying heart
Has a new name: selflessness.

At last my smiling life
Has a new name: oneness.

At last my loving soul
Has a new name: fullness.

Where my journey begins

Where the cloud-reason ends
My journey begins.

Where the doubt-poison ends
My goal begins.

Loving you

My Lord, loving You
Means
Living once again.

My Lord, loving You
Means
Freedom from ignorance-chain.

My Lord, loving You
Means
Smiling in oneness-reign.

They know not

Fear knows not
How to sleep.

Hope knows not
How to die.

Gratitude knows not
How to live.

Perfection knows not
How to grow.

Satisfaction knows not
Flow to dawn.

Can this be true?

Can this be true?
No desire binds me.
No temptation haunts me.
No imperfection blights me.
Can this be true?

Life is nothing but this

My day tells me that life
Is nothing but a worrying mind.

My night tells me that life
Is nothing but a crying heart.

My God tells me that life
Is nothing but a loving smile.

Picture

The core of India's light

//[Continued from previous issues]//

Kirti

Fame

Fame is almost always beyond control. It is like the wagging tail of a monkey that rarely can be tamed.

Kirtana

Singing the glory of God

Singing the glory of God we liberate the animal in the human, illumine the human in the divine and fulfil the divine in the Supreme.

Kha

Sky

A bad thought compels my life to cry while walking along a thorny road. A good thought helps my heart to fly in the uncharted freedom-sky.

Katha

Story

Each individual is an inimitable story written by our compassionate Fate-Maker.

Karta

Doer

When I do not pray and meditate, each thought is an unconscious action. When I pray and meditate, each thought is a conscious doer.

Kartavya

Duty

A moment of earthly duty gets the unimaginable honour of shaking hands with a day of heavenly beauty.

[To be continued]

Picture

Story

The punishment is compassion

In India there was a Muslim mendicant who had a certain amount of occult power. His name was Bajit Bastami. In Chittagong there is a special place where many Muslims worship him. Even the Hindus have tremendous love for him. When I was quite young I went to this place to see his tomb, and also to see something else. There was a pond near his tomb, and in the pond there were fifteen or twenty very large turtles. Those turtles were actually human beings once upon a time. It is absolutely true. Bajit Bastami got angry at them because they were not nice to him, so he turned them into turtles. Do you think this is all a cock and bull story? No, I am not telling a cock and bull story. That kind of power some people really do have.

Bajit Bastami turned them into turtles and gave them all names: Rajali, Majali, Pujali and so on. He said that when the time came, he would turn them into human beings once again, but not ordinary human beings. He would turn them into great human beings. Because they were going through such a severe punishment, his compassion would work later on, and at that time they would become great human beings. But this is only an introduction to the story I want to tell. This story is different.

Once at midnight Bajit Bastami was walking along the street praying and meditating when he saw a man playing on a flute. He was heavily drunk, but he was playing extremely well. Since the flutist was playing most melodious haunting tunes, people gathered around him. But when they started appreciating him, he insulted them using very foul language. Some people cursed him and left, while others, in spite of being scolded and insulted, stayed there. They were enjoying the fun, and the man was playing very well, so they didn’t take him seriously, since he was obviously drunk.

As soon as the musician saw Bajit he started insulting him, and this time he used the filthiest, absolutely the most foul tongue. Bajit was annoyed and said, “You stop using these kinds of words.”

But the drunk flutist got furious. He approached Bajit and struck him mercilessly on the forehead with his flute. Bajit’s forehead started bleeding, and the drunkard’s flute broke. Bajit went home with his forehead bleeding profusely. By that time he had many, many disciples and followers, and when they saw their Master’s plight they wanted to go and kill this flutist. But Bajit said, “No, no! You can’t do that. Tomorrow morning I will have something for him.” The disciples were very happy that their Master was going to punish the man.

The following morning Bajit asked one of his servants to do him a favour. He gave him some Indian sweetmeats — most delicious — plus a few rupees to take to this man along with a message. The message was that Bajit was extremely sorry that his head was responsible for breaking the man’s flute, and he was sending this money so that the musician could buy a new flute. Also, yesterday he experienced a little bit of the foul tongue of that flutist, so he was sending some sweets, which he hoped would sweeten the flutist’s tongue.

When the flutist received the gifts and heard the message, he simply ran to Bajit’s cottage. All his friends and admirers followed him and fell at Bajit’s feet to be illumined by his forgiveness. In later years they all became Bajit’s extremely good disciples. In this way Bajit transformed some undivine drunkards into aspirants through compassion.

Picture

Compassion-sea and satisfaction-waves

1.

My sweet Lord, I am grateful to You because Your Justice-Light is channelled to me. I am grateful to You because Your Compassion-Height is channelled through me.

2.

My sweet Lord, I was happy because You forgave me. I am happy because I value Your Forgiveness. I shall be happiest because I shall try to deserve Your Forgiveness when I make serious mistakes in the palace of my desire-life and in the heart of my aspiration-life.

3.

A doubting mind resists so that the aspiring heart can conquer it.

4.

Hope feeds the future in us.
Remembrance feeds the past in us.
Cheerfulness feeds the present in us.

5.

In the spiritual life the fear of the doubting mind is worse than the fear of the devouring lion.

6.

Perfection is the satisfaction of the divine in us.
Satisfaction is the aspiration of the human in us.

7.

In the morning you are expected to pray.
In the evening you are expected to wait.
At night you are bound to achieve and smile.

8.

When doubt ends satisfaction begins, truth continues, God smiles.

9.

Do you want to be the victim or do you want to be the victor? If you want to be the victim, then go and possess the world. If you want to become the victor, then stay where you are and renounce the world.

10.

Better to love than to be loved.
Better to serve than to be served.
Better to dance the dance of oneness than to sing the song of togetherness.

11.

Hesitation has to surrender to necessity.
Necessity has to surrender to God’s dispensation.

[To be continued]

Picture

Questions and answers

Question: I would like to know the difference between material selfless service and spiritual selfless service.

Sri Chinmoy: Material selfless service is done in the physical world with the physical consciousness. When you work for someone, for your husband or your son or your relatives, you work with the physical body. You may be doing selfless action for the sake of the Supreme within that person. You may cook for someone or fetch a glass of water or attend someone who is sick, without any result, or even with an adverse result. You are serving him, yet that very person may speak ill of you or find fault with you.

The Bhagavad-Gita says, “Thou hast the right to work, but not to the fruits thereof.” So here in the physical world, with the physical body, you can practise this philosophy by doing Nishkama karma, desireless action. Although you are serving someone most devotedly, most sincerely, with utmost dedication, he may not be satisfied with you. But just because you are receiving an inner inspiration and a pure aspiration to serve that person in the physical world, you are doing it.

Spiritual selfless service takes place in your deep meditation. At that time you have no desires either for yourself or for anyone else. Your selfless service expresses itself like this: “O Supreme, let Thy Will be done.” That is your spiritual selfless service. You know that God will do what is needed for you, for your family and for all of humanity. That is your spiritual selfless service.

If you can constantly pray, not even for peace or light or power or joy — the divine qualities which everybody normally prays for — but only to be one with the Will of God, this is true spiritual selfless service. Of course, it is better to pray for the divine qualities than to pray for the fulfilment of some foolish outer desires. But when you can make the sacrifice of your own will, that is to say, when you no longer feel the need to pray for peace, light, power and all the other divine attributes, at that time you are truly able to say, “I want what God wants.” This is the highest prayer. This is your inner selfless service.

Otherwise, if your brother is suffering from fever, you will say, “O God, please cure him." Or if someone is suffering in some other way, you may try, in your meditation, to help him. But does He need your help? You may feel that He does, but in God’s Eyes, the person may not be in need. His illness may be an experience which God wants him to have. So at this time, in your highest meditation, in your deepest concentration, when you are in your most intense aspiration, you will have no desire, either for yourself or for humanity. You will care only for the fulfilment of God’s Will. When you sincerely want to fulfil God for God’s sake, this is true spiritual selfless service.

Question: When will I be conscious of the guidance of the Supreme in all the acts of my life?

Sri Chinmoy: An aspirant will be constantly aware of the Supreme guidance only when he is totally freed from ego, when he feels that he is not the doer, he is not responsible for anything; only God is responsible. When I say that he is not responsible, that doesn’t mean that he can go and steal or kill someone without being held responsible in the Eyes of the Supreme. It means that the Supreme is using him to fulfil His Will on earth.

When you feel that you yourself do not have any will, that God’s Will is your will, when you merge your little ego or your human will into the infinite Will of the Supreme, you will see that you don’t exist as a being separate from Him. You don’t have any individuality. You don’t have any sense of separativity. You become totally one with the Will of the Supreme. When you think of something or do something, you automatically feel that a higher force, an inner force, is guiding you and speaking through you. You yourself will feel, when you are speaking to someone, that you are not talking. Somebody else, a divine force, or your own inner being, is speaking through you. When you are doing something, you will feel that your own divine personality is acting within you through your outer activities.

But the first thing is that one has to efface his ego totally. There should be no ego. Also, there should be no attachment, even for the best. That is to say, if you get upset or frustrated because the infinite Light and infinite Truth are not coming to you all at once, this is a kind of attachment. You have to feel that at God’s Hour, at the Hour of the Supreme, He will give you infinite Peace, Light and the highest Realisation.

At every moment if you can surrender your entire personal will, you will feel the Supreme acting through you. You will have no will of your own, no individual will. If at times the human will comes forward, human ego comes forward, human desire comes forward, immediately throw them into the infinite Will of the Supreme. The very moment that you are aware of having thrown all that you have and all that you are into the infinite Light of the Supreme, you are bound to feel that you have become part and parcel of the Supreme’s Supreme Consciousness. At that time each action of yours will be guided by the Supreme.

I wish to emphasise one thing. If you feel that the Supreme is to be achieved only for the sake of the Supreme, then it becomes very easy to conquer one’s ego and one’s attachment. Everything is easy for an aspirant when the aspirant can feel that the Supreme has to be won only for the sake of the Supreme. Truth for Truth’s sake and God for God’s sake; then all problems will be solved. You will feel and see and be conscious of the Supreme’s guidance at every moment in your life.

Question: What attitude should we take toward religions other than our own?

Sri Chinmoy: Just as God has given us a free choice to follow any path, so we must give freedom to others to follow their own way. There are dozens of roads that lead to God. Each individual has a right to choose the one that suits his temperament, his degree of evolution and his present needs. Tolerance and acceptance are fine. We can go even further, however, and feel that the other person’s religion is as important, as necessary to him, as our own is to us.

True, when we are in a family, it is very difficult to manage when everyone is going along a different path. And there is a great temptation to say, “You are a fool, you are wasting your time going along that path.” But we must give each person the inner freedom to choose his own path. At the same time, we have the right to inspire others with our enthusiasm and devotion to our own path. But if they are not receptive, if they argue with us, it is better to offer them our light silently and inwardly. At night when everyone is sleeping and in a peaceful consciousness, we can place all our sweetest and purest aspiration into the sleeping consciousness of the one whom we want to influence. By acting silently, we may help to bring him towards our path, which we feel to be the best one for him.

You should follow your own path steadfastly, and not worry about shaking hands with another religion until you and the other person have come to your goal. If you yourself go to this temple and that temple, this church and that church, you will never make any progress. You must choose one path and follow it to the end. Then you can shake hands with the followers of other paths. If you try to shake hands in the middle of the path, you will be tempted to break each other’s arms.

Question: In my day-to-day life I meet with people in different circumstances. With these people I have to use tolerance. And when I have to call on tolerance, I suffer afterwards, because I feel that I should see that person in the same light as I see you. But I do not have that capacity. Is this pride or ego?

Sri Chinmoy: Let us first of all try to understand what tolerance is. There are two kinds of human tolerance. The first type is the tolerance of the weak person for someone else who is stronger. I have to tolerate him because I am helpless. He can strike me or hurt me. I am at his mercy, so I have to tolerate him. This kind of tolerance is really helplessness. This is what often happens in our day-to-day life. The superior lords it over the inferior, and the inferior has no choice but to tolerate this.

The second kind of tolerance is the tolerance of the strong person for someone who is weaker, the mother’s tolerance for the child. Constantly the child is doing something wrong or something foolish, but the mother tolerates it. Why? Because the mother knows that the child is limited; he has not yet developed wisdom. But his limitations are also part of her very existence, and she tolerates them happily.

Beyond these two kinds of human tolerance, when we go deeper, we see the divine tolerance. That divine tolerance cannot be explained in words. It is infinitely stronger and more fulfilling than the human mother’s tolerance, because the divine tolerance houses the whole world of imperfection. This world of ours is full of imperfection. Each person’s imperfection causes suffering in somebody else. People either tolerate each other’s imperfections, or are indifferent to them, or punish them. In God’s case, He will never be indifferent. He may try to show me the right path by giving me an experience which the human vital may take as punishment, but this is not actually punishment. What we call divine tolerance is deeper than this, and before I speak about it, let me first speak about forgiveness.

Do I actually forgive the person who has done something wrong to me, or is my inner divinity totally one with the person who has made a mistake or who is creating a disturbance in my life? If the soul’s oneness with the other person comes to the fore, where is forgiveness? It is oneness. This is what divine tolerance really is.

Now to come back to your question: is human tolerance an act of ego or pride? If we are tolerating someone with a feeling of our own superiority, then we are not identifying ourselves with that person’s present achievement in the process of evolution. This is certainly an act of ego. Spiritual tolerance is nothing but the conscious feeling or awareness of one’s oneness with others. I do not tolerate you because I feel that I am superior and I have capacity while you have none. With a spiritual person, it is not ego that comes to the fore. It is his identification with the other person’s limitations.

This does not mean that if you constantly do things wrong, I will continually identify myself with your wrong actions and imperfections. No. Then you will remain in ignorance constantly. When you do something wrong, I will identify myself with your present development, and tolerate your ignorance, but I will not ignore it or inspire you to continue in this way. By doing that I would merely be embracing ignorance.

If your friend is in ignorance and you identify with him, then immediately you have to raise your consciousness from there. You have to enter into your highest consciousness, which is not ignorance, imperfection and bondage, or you will be caught by the ignorance of your friend. You normally bring down your consciousness somewhat in order to maintain harmony in your ordinary life. But every day without fail you have to go back to your higher consciousness. Otherwise, you will be caught by the low consciousness of the everyday world.

So after you have identified with others, please go back to your own higher consciousness in order to maintain the inner peace, light and joy that you have received from your spiritual life. From that level you can inwardly inspire your friends to accept the higher life, to enter into the deeper existence. This is what spiritual tolerance means.

Question: Sri Chinmoy, last Sunday I read your poem, "The Son". Will you please tell us the story of Judas? Before reading your wonderful poem, I doubted that such a man ever existed. Why was a man permitted to play the role of traitor to the Master?

Sri Chinmoy: It is true that a man by the name of Judas Iscariot did exist and did betray the Christ. But if you think that this betrayal was something that took place all of a sudden, that Judas did it on the spur of the moment and would not otherwise have done it, then I wish to say that this is not correct. It was not a sudden temptation that compelled Judas to do this unthinkable thing. It was preordained in the inner world.

When a spiritual Master enters into the world, there is always a tremendous opposition to him from the world of ignorance. Sometimes spiritual Masters are able to overcome this opposition; at other times they fail. In the case of Jesus, we have to remember that the opposition of the inner world attacked him twice, not once. When Satan attacked him on the mountain, thrusting worldly temptations upon him, it was a tremendous attack. But Christ overcame it; otherwise he would not have become the Christ, but would have consented to become the earthly king of the Jews. If he had become a victim of Satan by doing this, he would have become an ordinary man.

Who is Satan? He is the embodiment of ignorance, the embodiment of the lower forces, vital forces. The Buddha, Lord Buddha, was attacked by Mara, the evil hostile force in the form of the lower vital. Buddha did conquer Mara; that is why he became the Buddha, the Enlightened One.

In the case of Jesus Christ, he won the battle the first time. But the second time that ignorance, embodied by Judas, attacked him, he did not defeat it. This was preordained in the inner world. There is a plane of consciousness where we see that this outcome was granted by the highest Supreme. Many circumstances in the inner world led up to this decision.

You have heard of our first Indian Avatar, King Rama, or, as we call him Ramachandra. Ramachandra was the Avatar before Lord Krishna. Rama had an arch-enemy called Ravana, who was the absolute embodiment of ignorance. Ravana abducted Ramachandra’s wife, Sita, and stood totally against King Rama. Ravana was the greatest hostile force incarnated at that time, in that era. You can say that Ravana came into the world specifically to harass Ramachandra. But this is an understatement. He came into the world with the purpose of destroying, or if that was impossible, of delaying the divine evolution on earth. So he stood most powerfully against Ramachandra, whose purpose was exactly the opposite. Rama did conquer Ravana, however, and rid the world of him.

In the case of Christ you may say, “Judas was His disciple. How could his own disciple get the power to do this tremendous evil?” But we have to understand that ignorance was able to enter and occupy the consciousness of a human being who himself wanted to take that role. Judas wanted, consciously and deliberately, to take that role. In the inner world there exist some souls that have been totally enveloped by the destructive vital. They want to become famous or well-known by any means. In the outer world also, we see human beings who want to become famous by any means. They want to be known throughout the world for doing something destructive. They know that people will hate them, but they desire that hatred as long as their notoriety brings them into the limelight.

People who assassinate famous political leaders will often say that their own party or their doctrine is very good and the dead person’s is very bad; this is why they have killed the leader. But in their hearts, those who have killed the Kennedy brothers, Dr. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and other famous people simply wanted to become well-known all over the world overnight. In order to do this they had to kill a person who was well-known. This is how ignorance attacks the individual. It is for their personal sake that they do it, and not for the sake of some belief or doctrine. If they really believed in some other philosophy, they would work for it in an acceptable way. When you see that people are being shot supposedly because of a difference of opinion, it is not really because of the difference of opinion. It is because an individual has surrendered to wild ignorance. He opens himself to this force because he feels that this is the way to make himself known. He realises that his victim will be known as a good man, and he himself will be known as a bad man; but he feels that as long as he is known, even as a murderer, that will be enough for him.

Judas deliberately wanted to accept ignorance and fight against divine knowledge, which was embodied in Jesus Christ. He knew that if he became responsible for the death of Christ, then he would be famous and notorious. Individual weakness is such that very often we hope to do something very great and good, but when it proves impossible, we say, “All right, then let me do something very bad.” We know inwardly that we can conquer the world only with our love, joy, compassion or oneness. But when we are ambitious and we see that we do not have enough capacity, if we do not have the feeling of oneness, what happens? We become victims of frustration, hostility and destructive feelings. With these destructive feelings we try to attack the divine qualities which we secretly admire but do not have.

Jesus as a human being was killed, but not the consciousness of Christ. When ignorance attacks, it kills only the human in us, not the divine, which always remains. But unfortunately what happens is that the divine in us does not get the chance to do its work at the proper time. The attack delays the divine progress. If Christ had not been killed at that time, there would have been another great step forward in human evolution. This progress did come later as a result of the whole Christian teaching, but if Christ had not been killed, it would have taken a purer form, a more direct and powerful form. Again, from the highest point of view, we can say that it was all preordained. We do not blame Judas, the person, but the forces of ignorance which he allowed to seize him most powerfully. These forces were responsible for delaying human evolution.

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Song

Ananda

/Jyoti ananda pranavananda/
/Anahata onkar/
/Sasime asime hiya mandire/
/Sunanda premahar/

Light, delight, cosmic sound-delight,
The soundless sound Aum.
The Heart-temple of the finite and the Infinite
Is adorned with the love-garland-necklace of Eternity’s Bliss infinite.