Look Within – Talks on the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Venkatesananda

[Guest guest]

It is not as though we are terribly worried about life, starvation,

happiness, unhappiness or disease – for instance, how does your

heart react when you hear that in Vietnam 2000 people were killed?

 

" Ah – silly things, they don't know how to live – lazy

fellows " . Or " over populated – breeding like flies "

 

How do I react if the same thing happens to me, my people or my family?

 

As long as I don't identify myself with that person, group, cult,

community or nation, I don't care, it can go to the hell.

 

As long as my thing is safe and sound, who cares about the others?

 

As a matter of fact, in order to protect what is mine, I am prepared to

destroy what is not mine.

 

So, I am not really non violent, I am not really a peaceful person,

against killing, against death, against suffering, I am even prepared

even to create suffering as long as this thing called " my " is

looked after.

 

This " my " becomes narrower and narrower and narrower and

narrower.

 

If you are involved in farming or business you speak in terms of the

Australians versus somebody else. " I must ensure that all

Australians are happy, are free from want, hunger and poverty " .

 

But if you are not someone involved in national level or if you are

caught up in country like India or Africa, you don't think in terms

of the whole country, but in terms of " my community "

 

If I am a catholic, all Catholics must be alright; if you are a Muslim

– Muslims must be looked after, or a Hindu – Hindus must be

looked after.

 

If I am in India, there are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, but I am no

longer treated as a Hindu – I am a Brahmin, I come from south india

and I come from certain linguistic group or section. So that community

must be alright.

 

For the sake of the welfare of that community I am prepared to sacrifice

the others.

To be continued..