PROF ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG: BABA'S CONVERSATION WITH STUDENTS.-PART-10-B

June 30, 2008

PROF ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG: BABA'S CONVERSATION WITH STUDENTS.PART-10 JANUARY 15TH, 2003 continue

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Monday, June 30, 2008 1:31 PM

"Ramchand Chugani" <rgcjpView contact details

Pomp and Dignity

There is a word, darja, which means ‘with all pomp and show’ and a second word, theevi, which means ‘with all dignity.’

Then I said, “Swami, with this darja and theevi, with this pomp and dignity, if I cannot be like that here, where else can I be like that?”

Swami was watching me keenly. Then I thought it was time to just take a chance and try to make it a little lighter. So I said, “Swami, what is the difference between darja, pomp and show, and theevi, dignity? What is the difference? Are they one and the same?”

Then Bhagavan said, “What is darja outside is reflected as theevi inside. The pomp and show is outside, while the dignity is inside. It shows up like that. All that is seen outside is darja and what is then projected onto the TV, television, is theevi. The theevi is the TV.”

Do you understand the beautiful pun with these little words? Therefore, the theevi or dignity is like TV, while darja or pomp and show are the scene shot from the outside.

“Wonderful, Swami. Very nice, very nice. I'm so happy.”

“He’s Your Product”

Then He called the Principal of Brindavan College, the youngest principal of the campuses, a former student of Swami’s university.

He asked me, “How is he?”

I said, “Swami, he’s a gem of a boy.”

Then He asked, “How do you know?”

“For the simple reason that he is Your product. I came here when I was 45. I came to You at 45, half-spoiled, whereas this boy is Your product, 100 percent pure.”

“Hmm, good.”

“You Are Beyond Age”

Then Swami said, “How about Me?”

“Swami, You have no age. I came here at the age of 45, while this boy came to You at a young age. You want me to tell You how old You are? You have no age. You are beyond age.”

Then our good God gave me a beautiful smile and said, “How do you know?” (Laughter)

Then I said, “Swami, I know many people who have told me, ‘Swami has performed my marriage,’ ‘Swami has performed my son’s marriage,’ ‘Swami has named my great-grandson.’ We are all getting older, but Swami is so young. So You are beyond age.”

“It’s okay, okay.”

“I Have No Worries”

But then He made a remark that is very important: “If you are also like Me, you can be beyond time.”

“Swami, like You? What do You mean by that?”

He said, “I have no worries, chinthalu. I have no thoughts, nothing. I have no worries, chinthalu. If you have no chinthalu or worries, you can also be young like Me.”

“Swami, why do people become old?”

“Worries will make you look aged. Worries are responsible for old age. If you have no worries, you can look like Me.”

How wonderful would it be if we were also free from worries. The more we want to be free from worries, the more we get worried. Let the sleeping dogs lie so we don’t have to wake them up!

“PrasHanti Nilayam is Paradise”

And then there was a special mention. Some gentleman said, “Swami, January 14th happens to be Vaikuntha Ekadasi. Not only does Vaikuntha Ekadasi fall on that day, but Sankranthi as well.”

Vaikuntha Ekadasi is a celebration, an occasion to offer worship to all the deities at the same time. God is one; deities are many -- agreed? There is a difference between God and a deity -- agreed? Lakshmi is a deity. Saraswathi is a deity. Durga is a deity. Kali, Durga - these are all deities; but the Divinity is one and the same. Is that clear? So Vaikuntha Ekadasi is an occasion when we pay our obeisance to all the deities on the same day. Vaikuntha means heaven.

Then I said, “Swami, if that is so, this Prashanti Nilayam is Vaikuntha, paradise. This is that very heaven.”

He asked, “How do you know?”

“I know because, as long as I'm here, I'm not worried,” I said. “The moment I go out, worries chase me and haunt me. The worriless state, the thoughtless state, is paradise. I experience that very heaven here. So this is paradise.”

Ideal and Command

And then I said, “Swami, what an ideal You have set before us. The ideal that we too should be free from thoughts and worries -- what an adarsam, ideal, You are.”

Then Bhagavan said, “It is not simple adarsam. It is My aadesam, My command to you.”

Aadesam is command, while adarsam is ideal.

This drives home a point that Swami, the ideal or adarsam, has aadesam, His command, behind it as an example for us to follow and emulate.

Finally Swami said, “That’s why I say to you that My life is My message.”

His life is ideal, adarsam. His message is the command, aadesam.

Self-Satisfaction

“Swami, somehow we get satisfaction -- call it psychological -- by doing things that are appreciated by others. When I do something that wins the admiration or appreciation of everybody, I have satisfaction, right? Is this samthrupthi, satisfaction?”

Swami said, “Atma Samthrupthi or Self-satisfaction is more important than the appreciation by others. Atma Samthrupthi, Self-satisfaction, is more important than the admiration or applause by any quarter from outside.”

With that, the 12th January 2003 conversation ended. Now we can go back to the earlier dates like we‘ve been doing all along.

Globalisation and the Standard of Living

As usual that day, after the interviews in the evening He came out slowly, walking majestically, adjusting His hair in a beautiful style that is unique and inimitable. He sat there nicely and started speaking to us.

He just asked, “You had a meeting at the college today?”

“Yes, Swami. We had a meeting this morning.”

“What was the topic?”

“Swami, an expert spoke on globalisation.”

“Oh, I see. Why globalisation?”

“Swami, globalisation is very necessary to improve our standard of living.”

Bhagavan said, “You are wrong. The standard of living does not need to be improved. Therefore, globalisation is not proper. It is the quality of life, it is the standard of life, which is much more important than the standard of living.”

Standard Of Living and Danger

Then He used two words. One word that He used was ‘pramana,’ which means standard. “If you go by the pramana, standard of living, you will be met with pramaada. Pramaada means danger. If you go by these standards, you’ll be met with dangers. So, see that you don’t face any pramaada or danger in life by not following the pramana or standard of living.” That’s what Bhagavan said.

“Swami, we say, ‘This country is great and that country is rich because of its affluence, abundance and prosperity.’ Doesn’t that indicate the per capita income of that country?”

Swami said, “No. What is the national standard of life? The national standard of life is the integration of the entire organic world, all beings, animals, plants and natural resources. Integration of all these together constitutes the national standards, not simply the externals.”

Then I reflected upon what He had said. Today we have so many global problems: the greenhouse effect, the ozone holes, the pollution, etc. All these problems exist because of the lack of integration of natural resources. We kill the animal world; therefore, the wildlife is suffering a lot. We kill or uproot all the big trees; hence, we face an air pollution problem today.

Bhagavan says that integration of all living beings -- plants, animals and birds -- living together in perfect harmony, constitutes the standard of a nation, but not just in terms of economy, comforts, conveniences and luxury. That’s how He built the subject. These points have been bothering the environmental biologists and ecologists all over the world.

“Modernity is Limitation”

Then I said, “Swami, if we don’t make use of all these modern amenities, can I call myself a modern man? I think I am modern, ultramodern, by making use of all these natural resources. If I don’t tap these natural resources, how can I be modern?”

Bhagavan said, “No, no, no, no! Modernity is not exploitation. Modernity is limitation. Modernity is making use of natural resources in a limited way, without disfiguring them or without killing them altogether. That’s what modernity is.”

“Swami, all right. Somehow in this modern age, naturally the standard of living will certainly increase. Yes, in earlier times we did not make use of toothpaste and a toothbrush. However, modern man uses toothpaste and a toothbrush. Gas stoves and such things like heaters weren’t available in earlier times. Today, people are making use of all these gadgets. Don’t you think so? So, naturally the standard of living goes up with modernity, without any special effort.”

We should note this next point.

Baba said, “Modern life, or what you call ‘modernity’, is not the latest style of living. Modernity lies in putting a ceiling on our desires. Control of one’s own desires is modernity, not leading a life of limitless desires.”

What a wonderful definition, which only He could give and which we can certainly emulate.

Ram ChuganiKobe, JapanrgcjpRam ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp