Once the Gopikas went to Krishna. The Lord, seeing the Gopikas arrive, pretended to be asleep. The Gopikas realised the Divine play of Krishna and one of them said, “If He is sleeping, we can wake Him up, but how are we to awaken Him when He is pretending to sleep?” In the world too, those who are sleeping can be awakened, but none can awaken those who pretend to be asleep. Today Satya and Dharma are followed only by pretention. But practice is essential. All sacred texts are meant for practice and not for mere reading. Every truth learnt should be spoken, and righteousness should be practiced. Speech is performed by the tongue and practice, by hands. But it is the mind that unifies both tongue and hand. And true Dharma exists where there is perfect coordination between all the parts of a body or all parts of a society. Once there is unity, there is purity, and when purity develops Divinity emerges. Our heart is a single-chaired sofa. But this chair is not like a musical chair or a double sofa. It is single-seater. When truth has entered the heart, nothing else should be allowed to enter in it. And once there is Dharma in it, then no one can try to enter your heart. When both truth and righteousness are temporary in your heart you cannot call yourself a human being. We only deserve to be called human beings when there is unity in thought, word and deed. The human quality is acquired only when there is this unity. This is true Dharma.
At the time of Sita’s marriage, King Janaka asked Rama to follow Sita in all aspects of righteousness and wealth (Dharme Cha, Arthe Cha, Kame Cha…). What is this Dharma? Is it the outer worldly Dharma or the internal Dharma which is more important? Rama said, “From worldly point of view, your enjoyment is my enjoyment, my Dharma is your Dharma and your likes are my likes. Accepting this is right. But I will not proceed with the inner content of this Dharma. If following the Dharma of society, I have to sacrifice Sita, I will sacrifice her, but I will not sacrifice Dharma”. Because of the comment of a washer man that Sita stayed for ten months in Lanka, Rama gave her up. Because there was some talk in the society, He gave up Sita. He followed the Samaja Dharma (the duty of the society) and the Rajya Dharma (the duty of a king).
It is said ‘Satyam Vada’ – speak the truth. Rama always abided by truth, not only His words, but also the promises given by his father. It is said, ‘Atmavai Putra Namasi’ – The father takes birth in the form of his son. So he becomes his own son. Rama is not different from Dasharatha. Hence, the word given by Dasharatha is not different from the word given by Rama. Since both are the same, Rama fulfilled His father’s promise. This is true Dharma. Rama Rajya is not Raga Rajya (the rule of attachment), but it is Tyaga Rajya (the rule of sacrifice).
We should help every person and every individual. At every point of time and under all circumstances, we should sing the glory of God (Sarvada Sarvakaleshu, Sarvatra Rama Chintanam). You cannot say that God is present here and not present there. Wherever you see you find truth and righteousness. Hence you should follow truth and righteousness.
Since ancient times, you find Rama’s temple in every village. In the land of Bharat, a hand that does not do charity and a person who does not know the glory of Rama, doesn’t exist. That which delights us is Rama (Raminchyate Iti Ramaha). All are attracted to this Rama. It is not merely the name of Dasharatha’s son but it is the name of our heart. The spirit is called Rama; hence Rama is often called as Atmarama. It is the spirit of the father that takes the form of the son later. The principle of Atma in the father and the son is one and the same. We have to know this Dharma and tread along this path.
We may not do many things, but we should not take back the promises that we have given. We should undertake actions that satisfy our conscience. Then only will our life be truly meaningful. Veda Vyas composed the 18 Puranas. Each text is as big as a pillow! Who can go through all these 18 texts? There may not be the time or the lifespan to read these texts in this Kali Yuga. Life span in this Kali Yuga is very less, whereas in Dwapara Yuga people lived for longer years. At the time of Mahabharata war Krishna was aged 76 and Arjuna was 74. On the other side Bhishma, who was the commander-in-chief of the Kauravas, was 112 years old. In Dwapara Yuga people were young even at the age of 70. But today even at the age of 17 people are becoming old! Why were the people looking so young in those days? Sacredness and the sanctity of their hearts was the cause for their young age. These are represented by the three ‘Ps’. The first ‘P’ is purity, second one is patience and the last is perseverance. Because of these three Ps people in the Dwapara Yuga were ever young and evergreen.
Therefore, we must cultivate such sacred feelings, follow Dharma and propagate it and share it with everyone. In this Kali Yuga, there are so many changes. One has to go through so many difficulties to think about the Lord. To construct temples you have to fight with people. Why should there be fights for the construction of temples? We should encourage those people who build temples. With this spirit of tolerance, our life would be redeemed.
Source: Satya and Dharma, Discourse 13, My Dear Students Volume 4; Divine Discourse on July 24, 1996 at Prasanthi Nilayam
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