English Translation of Baba's speech May4th afternoon - Part III

[Guest guest]

So all of you should perform charity in some way or other. Charity

should be performed without rhyme or reason. You should not be

performing it for name and fame. Take the example of Vinobha Bhave.

Once he went to Kanchi Paramaachaarya and said, " I am 90 years old, I

have given away in charity lots of land and cattle, but still I don't

have peace of mind. " Paramaachaaryar replied, " There is a God who

takes care of the small insects behind rocks and birds and other

beasts in the forest. To whomever you gave things in charity, God has

the power to provide for them too. Your ignorance that you did

something is the obstacle to your peace of mind. "

 

" Its not me who is performing the charities. I am just a custodian of

God's money. " , whoever performs charities with this thought in mind,

then that action becomes a penance. That's real charity. That's why

the all-knowing Arunagiri Naathar gave three courses of action for

you to tread the right path. He said, " O mind, if you don't want to

lose your way, I will give a few courses of action you should take.

Don't hide anything that you have, keep giving it to others. " It will

keep growing like the water in a well. He continues, " Don't do bad

things. Keep thinking about Muruga. " Muruga is Venkatachalapathy, He

is Ambal, He is everything. In this world there is only one God.

Whichever God you believe in, think that he is also a personification

of rest of the Gods.

 

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa also says the same thing. Ishta Deivam (God

that you like) is a like a husband to a good wife. Just because you

want to love your husband, you don't need to hate your in-laws. So he

says, " Keep the Ishta Devata as your husband and rest of the Gods as

other relatives. "

 

These are aspects, which you can put to practice in your life. You

don't need to do anything big. Let's say you bought some peanuts for

50 paise (penny) to pass your time. You should share at least a few

of the peanuts with someone who is in poverty. You don't need to give

it on your own. If a person asks for it, you can give it. I have done

like that many times. I used to travel in 7B route bus that plies

from West Annanagar. When someone came begging, I bought some peanuts

and gave it to him. He said, " If you have money, give me. Did I ask

you for peanuts? " That guy wants to drink liquor in the night. Why

does he need peanuts!

 

Now you find that beggars are giving loans to others at interest. So

even begging has become a business nowadays. If you go to a signal

light in Mount Road where the cars usually stop, you will find a very

young baby, weighing probably 700 gms. A lady would have put the baby

on a mat and would be begging for it. If that lady were really

interested in the welfare of the kid, would she let the child get

exposed to the heat? Should she not be working as a maid or some

other job to take care of the baby? By begging she gets Rs.100

everyday. If you tell such people that you can find them a job, they

will say, " Why don't you mind your own business? "

 

I have seen many such people. I am a good person but not a gullible

person. Before I help someone, I think practically. Then you get you

know how decrepit this world is. When I was in Annanagar, a healthy

young man around 22 yrs old, came to my house and said, " Please give

me something. " I replied, " I will get you a job, why don't you come

with me? " I took him to a teashop in shopping center nearby, gave him

Rs. 5 (dime) so that he could buy some bread and tea. Since I had

some chores to complete, I left him there for sometime. When I came

back, he had disappeared. The tea kiosk owner said, " The moment you

left the place, he returned his tea and took back the money and went

away. " This is how the world is today.

 

Have pity but don't be gullible. I conduct free marriages because

people complain often that marriages are very expensive. I offer a

nice hall with all facilities to conduct marriages. I also offered to

cater up to 200 people free and donate the thirumangalyam (ornament

worn by bride commemorating the marriage). I said that I would

provide for bride and bridegroom's dresses too. I began this

practice in Neelangarai and it grew in a big way. At one point I

always used to have 50 thirumangalyams with me. Someone would bring a

wedding invitation and I would give him the thirumangalyam. After

half an hour someone would come to me and say, " The person whom you

gave the mangalyam, pawned it in a shop and took the money. " The

invitation would not even be for a marriage in his household. It was

someone else's invitation. So there are people to cheat you all the

time. Then I introduced the rule that marriages should be performed

in my premises. I have a church, temple and mosque. So I am open to

all religions. Whatever kind of marriage you want, I have the

facilities to perform it in that manner. But people still cheat.

 

Those were times when a program called Devanila was being shown. A

man came to me and said, " I have come all the way from Delhi. I have

been to places like Rameshwaram and Madurai. I am running short of

money now. I need Rs. 1000 ($20) to get back to Delhi. So I have left

all my relatives in the Railway station and come to you. My local

relatives reside in Kottivaakkam. When I went to their house to get

help, it was locked. Then someone said you would be able to help me.

I will return it as soon as I get to Delhi. " I called someone

immediately and said, " Go to the address, which this gentleman

referred to and check whether the house is locked. If its true, go

with this gentleman to Central station (Railway station), buy him 5

tickets to Delhi, pack some food for them and get back. " Within half

an hour that person disappeared.

So even if you want to do good, you will face such circumstances. But

we can't abstain from doing good just because of these kinds of

incidents. There could be someone needing genuine help. A couple of

days back I had been to Tirupati. I met a group of 5 people who

looked very poor. They said they did not have money to get back to

their village. I knew it was true and gave them Rs.20 (40c). They

can't reach their destination with that money. I could have given

them the entire amount, but the people should understand about their

improper planning.

 

A rich man undertook to go to Sabarimala. His Guru had said that for

those 48 days (period of austerity), he should beg and eat food and

not eat food prepared in his house. When the rich man tried to follow

his Guru's orders, he came to know the real value of money. We keep

thinking that world depends on us. Get 5 packs of idli (steamed balls

of lentil and rice flour) and try to give it to someone hungry, you

will never find any takers. Similarly, try to distribute your old

dresses, you may have to walk for up to 3 hours to find someone who

would accept it. There is some divine math of give and take. The

person whom you owe something only will come to accept what you

offer. I learnt this from my experience. There is a minute planning

of God in everything in this world.

 

I used to ponder about why acts of charities and how certain

businesses take place in this world. You would have seen someone

having a monkey, dress it up and show feats to people on the streets

to earn money. It would turn out that the monkey owed something to

that person in the last life. It could not get itself born as a

human, it was born as a monkey. At the same time it had to return

whatever it owed. That's the reason for it to perform feats and earn

money for its owner. Same with the parrot astrologers and the cattle

that you own.

 

We don't know about the give and take accounts that exist. It not

only exists in money matters but also in relationships. Some wives

complain that their husband does not love them. I know why the

husband behaves like that. You have not shown love to your husband in

the last life, you have no bank balance. Even in love there is give

and take. If you have showered love in previous births you will get

it back, else it is not going to come back. You will also see

instances where the wife will behave lovingly to her husband, but her

husband will never reciprocate. She would be good looking too but the

husband will be going after other ladies. That's because the husband

has got some connection with the other lady in his life. We can't do

anything about these things.

 

If you come to know of all these things, you have become a Gnani.

Don't expect anything in this world. If you get something its fine,

if you don't get something don't think about it. That's because there

are prior relationships in emotional and materialistic aspects of

life. Once you know this you won't care about anything else. Wife

won't think her husband does not love her and viceversa. She would

say that it was all that was due to her. Now because you take the

world seriously, you are under stress. Don't take it seriously, it is

just a passing phase of experiences that are due to you. It is a

harvest of your left over dues.

 

A person who does not expect anything out of this world will always

be happy. I don't have any expectations. Neither do I expect. I don't

grieve over anything. I behave the same with all individuals. All of

you come to me because of past connection. Why should you all spend

so much money travel such long distances and come to me on a Sunday?

That's because we have some outstanding balances between us from

previous births. So if you come to me I have to do something good to

you. You have come to me to settle those balances.

 

Some people remain with me for a long time, some disappear after a

short stint of relationship with me after their job is done. The

reason is still the same. Those who have more goodness in their

balance will stay with me for a longer time, others will leave me

quickly. Sometimes we mahaans speak admonishingly to some people to

elevate them spiritually. We know that even spirituality is a big

maya. No one knows my worth. I have to somehow convince you of my

powers, even go to the extent of begging you to come to me and then

do good to you. This is very difficult to understand.

 

(To be continued...)