“MAY YOUR HEARTS BLOSSOM”

[Guest guest]

….. faith and alertness are needed in Today's World….

 

BY H.H Mata Amritanandamayi

Excerpts from H.H Mata Amritanandamayi's Speech delievered at the

Parliament of World's religious in Chicago in September 1993

 

 

 

These days, our faith is like an artificial limb. It has no vitality.

We have no heartfelt connection with faith, for it has not been

ingrained properly into our lives.

 

This is a scientific age. Intellect and reason have reached great

heights. But surprisingly, the most intellectually developed people

still have great faith and reliance only in cars, TVs, houses and

computers – all of which could stop functioning and perish at any

moment. We are deeply attached to these things and to the small

comforts they offer. If they are damaged or destroyed, we hastily

engage ourselves in repairing them. Yet we do not realize that it is

actually we who are most urgently in need of repairs. For we have

lost faith in ourselves. We have lost faith in the heart and its

tender feelings. A man who shows great patience in repairing his

computer and TV, shows no patience in returning the notes that are

off-key in his own life.

 

Darkness is slowly enveloping the world. It is a pitiful scene we see

all around. Having dissipated all their energy and vitality by

running after objects of pleasure, people are collapsing. Man has

gone beyond the reasonable limits set by nature. This does not mean

that one should not enjoy the pleasures of the world. That is all

right. But understand this great truth, the enjoyment and happiness

you get from sensual pleasures and worldly objects are only a minute

reflection of the infinite bliss which comes from within your own

self. Know that your true nature is bliss. Just as today's

newspaper

will become tomorrow's waste paper, that which gives happiness

today

can easily become the source of tomorrow's despair. To understand

this truth while living in the world is what religion teaches us.

 

The mind can be compared to a pendulum. Like the incessant movement

of clock's pendulum, the pendulum of the minds swings

intermittently

from happiness to sorrow and back again. When the pendulum of the

clock moves to one extreme, it is only gaining enough momentum to

swing back to the other end. Likewise, when the pendulum of the mind

moves towards happiness, it is only gaining the momentum to reach the

other pole of sorrow. Real peace and happiness can be experienced

only when the pendulum of the mind stops swinging altogether. This

state of perfect stillness is verily the essence of life.

 

Religion asks us to be constantly alert. A bird perched on a small

twig is aware that at any moment, with the slightest breeze, the twig

beneath it might break. So the bird is ever on the alert, ready to

fly. Likewise, all of us are leaning on the objects of the world,

which can collapse at any moment. People ask, "Are you then

telling

us to abandon this world, to go to a secluded place and sit idle with

our eyes closed?" No, that is not so. Be not lazy and lethargic.

Perform your duties in the world. Engage yourselves in work. You can

work to acquire wealth and to enjoy life, but try to remember that

all this acquiring, possessing and preserving is like keeping a comb

for a bald headed. Irrespective of time and place, death will defeat

us, snatching away all that we have. At the time of death, we sill

have to leave everything. Nothing or no one will come to our aid.

Therefore, religion advises us:"Understand that the purpose of

this

precious life is not only to nourish your body, but to evolve to the

state of Perfection."

 

If a person lives a life knowing and understanding, the ephemeral

nature of the world, he or she can still lovingly embrace life,

without breaking down or losing all courage whenever difficulties

arise. A person who does not know how to swim, is at the mercy of a

turbulent ocean. Its waves can easily overpower him and pull him own

into the depths. However, to play in the ocean is a delightful game

for a person who knows how to swim. He cannot easily be tossed about

the waves.

 

IN a similar manner, the diverse and contradictory nature of life is

a delightful play for one who is aware of life's ever-changing

nature. He can smilingly welcome both the negative and positive

experiences of life with equal vision. But for those who do not have

the awareness, life becomes an unbearable burden, filled with sorrow.

True religious principles give us the strength and the courage to

confront the difficult situations of life with a calm and balanced

min. Religion paves the way towards embracing this life with even

greater joy, zest and confidence. For one who is truly imbibed the

principles of religion, life is like the joyful play of an innocent

child.

 

Today's world tries to evaluate the religious principles by

observing

the actions of certain individuals, performed in the name of

religion. They then judge the whole religion based on the misdeeds of

a few. This is like discarding the baby with the baby water. It is

like condemning all medicines and doctors for the wrong prescription

given by a single doctor. Individuals are sometimes good and

sometimes bad. They have weakness that you see in them on the

principles of religion.

 

It is the practice of religious principles that fills human life with

vitality and energy. Without religion and faith, life on earth would

be empty. Like a corpse adorned with an exquisite costume, the beauty

and pleasures of life would only be superficial. Without religion,

our minds become numbed and barren. It is only because people have

imbibed at least a little bit of religion and spirituality that there

is still some beauty, vitality and harmony in our lives.

 

The Declining state of Religion

Religion contains the essential principles of life by which egotism

and narrow mindedness are eliminated. But sometimes, due to the lack

of proper understanding, the same religion becomes a breeding ground

for these negative qualities. As a result of egotism, narrow

mindedness and competition, quarrels arise. They arise because people

have failed to imbibe the essence of religion.

 

Today, there are thousands who are ready to die for their religion,

but none who are willing to live by its principles. People do not

realize that religion is something to be lived. They forget that it

has to be applied and practiced in our ay to day lives.

 

"My religion is the best! My religion is the best!" says one.

"No,

its my religion that's the best and greatest!" says another.

Thus,

the clamour continues. Because of this narrow vision and all the envy

that exists, the true essence and message of religion is lost to the

people.

 

Thinking of the present day quarrels which exist among religions,

Amma is reminded of a story. Once, there were two patients staying in

separate wards of the same hospital, and each one of them was being

cared for by relatives. The patients were very ill and both were

desperately crying out in pain. A relative of each went to obtain

some urgently needed medication. Upon returning to the hospital, they

met in a narrow doorway which could accommodate only one person at a

time. Each person wanted to go through before the other, and neither

of them would give way. Both insisted on being first, and a big

quarrel ensued. While the patients were screaming in unbearable pain,

their relatives continued to fight, each one still clutching the

medicine in his hand. We often find the followers of different

religious enacting the roles of these two relatives. Blinded by the

external trappings of their faith, they fail to grasp its true

essence and spirit. Instead of moving towards God, in the name of

religion they actually drag themselves down.

 

This is the pitiful state of religion in the modern age. Owing to

this unyielding and arrogantly competitive attitude, people have

neither patience nor forbearance, and have lost their capacity to

love.

 

All members of a family will probably not be of the same nature or

mental caliber. There may be one person who acts and speaks without

discrimination who gets extremely angry, thereby upsetting the entire

household. But in the same family there may be one person whose

nature is quiet and calm. He might be a person who is endowed with

humility, sharp discrimination and great clarity of vision. Now the

question is, who or what maintains the integrity and harmony of that

family? Without much deliberation, one can easily reply that it is

the latter's qualities of humility, discrimination and goodness

that

hold the family and its members together. One person's anger an

lack

of discrimination is balanced by another person's calmness,

humility

and prudence. Had the characteristics of the angry, indiscriminate

family member prevailed, the family would have disintegrated long

ago. Likewise, even though today's world is confronting a great

threat, it is the patience, love, compassion, self-sacrifice and

humility of the mahatmas ( Great Souls ) which sustain and preserve

the harmony and integrity of the world. The darkness of our age can

be completely eliminated if, in each family, there is at least one

member who is dedicated and willing to adhere to the essential

principles of true religion.

 

When we truly imbibe the spirit of religion, the sorrow and suffering

of others becomes our own. Compassion arises and we are able to

sympathize with the pain an suffering of others. Only through the

experience of oneness with the Self can we feel real compassion and

concern.

 

Amma will tell a story. A person who lived in an apartment was

suffering from cancer. Because of his affliction, he was crying and

was in intense pain. He was so poor that he did not have enough money

to buy a painkiller for a little relief from the agonizing pain. At

the same time, in the adjacent apartment, another person was engaged

in wanton enjoyment, seeking pleasure in alcohol, rugs and through

his association with women. If he had used the money he was wasting

on destroying himself to help the poor man next door, the suffering

of the sick man would have been migitated. Furthermore, his own self

destructive tendencies an selfishness would have ended. To show

compassion towards the poor and suffering people, that is our duty to

Go. Only such Love, compassion and consideration would lead to

harmony in the world.

 

If we accidentally happen to poke our eye with our own finger, do we

punish the finger? No. We simply try to soothe the pain. Why do we

not punish the finger? Because both are part of us, both are ours. We

see ourselves in both the eye and the finger. In the same way we

should be able to see ourselves, our own Self, in all beings. If we

do this, we can easily forgive the mistakes of others. To be able to

love and forgive others, seeing ourselves in them seeing their faults

as our own faults, that is the true spirit of religion.

 

Gold is in itself beautiful, lustrous and precious. But if it also ha

fragrance, how much more would be its value and charm! Meditation and

religious or spiritual practices are indeed valuable. But if along

with meditation and worship, one also has compassion for one's

fellow

men, it is like gold with a fragrance, something incredibly special

and unique.

 

Religion is the secret of life. It teaches us to love, to serve, to

forgive, to endure, and to interact with our brothers and sisters

with empathy and compassion. Avaita (non-duality) is a purely

subjective experience. But in daily life it may be expressed as love

and compassion. This is the great lesson taught by the great saints

and sages in India, the exponents of Santana Dharma.