Look Within – Talks on the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Venkatesananda.

[Guest guest]

If you carefully examine this, you will discover that given a challenge

it becomes narrower and narrower.

 

If there is enough food for everybody, we are all generous; but when

there is not, we no longer think in terms of even this group, we think

in terms of " my " little family, " my " little village.

 

Inevitably, one step more and brother is ready to kill brother.

 

If there are 100 loaves of bread, we can all share it – nice,

marvellous, all brotherhood and sisterhood and what have you!!

 

But if it becomes five loaves – well I begin to see who are my

friends here. If it is 3 loaves, it's even " who are my

indispensible friends, my bosom friends " . If there is only one loaf,

there is me and nobody else.

 

So it's not the world but this " my " that causes trouble.

 

Nobody in the world is honestly and sincerely concerned about death,

about killing – no.

 

" I " and " my " people must be safe and if violence is

necessary in order to ensure that safety, that violence is then

justified. Non violence then becomes violence immediately.

 

As long as I can find a valid reason, it becomes " dharma " –

it becomes sanctioned by religion.

 

Who wrote religion? We did.

 

Who decides the validity of it? We do. What is our authority? The

scripture is our authority – and what is a scripture? That what we

accept as a scripture. A marvellous thing – it goes round in

circles.

 

The circle appears to be terribly secure because, it has no exit; and

you jump into it and you cannot get out of it.

 

Like the quick sands – you jump into it, you are there forever, and

you sink deeper and deeper, all the time thinking that you are more and

more secure.

 

So unfortunately we find that this restricted view seems somehow or the

other to give us a sense of security. It's strange and a terribly

funny thing.

 

A narrow view of life seems to be comfortable and secure – and so

anybody who encourages any kind of `my' feeling – whether it

is `my' community, `my' nation, `my' religion or

`my' family, is sowing seeds of disaster to himself.

To be continued..