Intelligence is increasing day by day. Men have limitless intelligence, but not even a trace of character. Man has achieved great feats in science and technology. He flies like a bird across the sky. He also has the art of swimming in water like a fish. With all his skills and abilities, man has learnt how to fly like a bird and how to swim like a fish. But man has not learnt how to lead a life of man on earth. After all, there is no use in knowing how to fly and swim if man doesn’t know how to live on earth. For mankind, earth is the basis of sustenance. He should never consider himself intelligent by flying across the sky, leaving the earth which is the very base. All that you talk of or play with, becomes useless once you leave this earth. Today we have many intellectuals who know multiplicity in unity. But we are forgetting the virtues of unity in diversity. Man’s responsibility and prime duty is to know and experience this unity in diversity. But if you view this unity as diversified, then it is sheer foolishness.
A cloth which is one single piece can be cut into many pieces. To unify all these bits of cloth into one is very difficult. We have to recognise the difference between this unity and diversity in this very human life. If you want to have a shirt stitched, you collect a cloth of two meters length. Initially the cloth is just one piece. You go to the tailor. The tailor cuts this cloth into bits. Unless he cuts it he cannot stitch a shirt for you. He cuts the various parts of the cloth so that he can stitch the sleeves, pockets, collar, etc. What is it that cuts the cloth into bits? It is the pair of scissors. The tailor will again make all these bits into one shirt. What is that unifies the bits? It is the needle that unifies all the bits. One is made into many by the pair of scissors. Today, every man is becoming like the scissors, but not like the needle that unifies. Man thinks that he is intelligent. But he must learn that it is not intelligence at all. We ignore the true meaning of intelligence and lead our lives in utter ignorance.
There was once a couple who had one son. The wife would be happy when her husband worked day and night and earned money. But she became angry when he returned home without earning any money. The husband, being humiliated by the wife, could not bear the suffering, and so he went to a Kali temple and prayed, “Mother I cannot bear this suffering any longer. I cannot live with this wife any more. Oh mother! Please see to it that my wife dies soon”. The Goddess said, “Tathastu” (So be it) and the man’s wife died. The son watched this scene. On seeing his mother die, he went to the temple of Kali and prayed to her fervently. Kali Devi manifested Herself there and asked, “Son! What do you want?” He said, “See that my mother is alive again”. The Goddess said, “Tathastu” (So be it), and his mother came back to life. The father prayed for death while the son prayed for life. Thus, if you notice carefully they prayed only for birth and death. This is that great intelligence of man! How fine it would have been if the father would have prayed that his wife gets good qualities and becomes more understanding. The ultimate result of their prayer was only birth and death. Why should you pray? What is the purpose of life? What is the goal of life? What is the aim of life? Human life is considered highly sacred. It is said, ‘Jantunam Nara Janma Duralabham’ (Human life is the rarest of all). Why is it said so? It is not the birth and death that we should pray for. We should show idealism in our life.
The Vice-Chancellor (in a speech prior to Swami’s Discourse) said, “The sons express their gratitude to their parents during the annual ceremony (Shradha ceremony) and shed tears at that moment.” What is the name given to this annual ceremony? It is ‘Tat-Dinam’. They think of their near and dear ones on this day and shed tears as a mark of gratitude and respect. First and foremost, we must express gratitude to our parents. What for? Your head, blood, food and money are your parents’ gifts. Thus we must express our gratitude to them. The day when our parents left us should be remembered and we must shed a tear as a mark of our gratitude to them. This is the responsibility of every child. If you perform such sacred rituals which are a must, later in life you will receive the same in return from your children. Today if you love your parents, then you will be in turn loved by your children. If you deceive your parents today, then you will be deceived by your children later. In this physical, mundane and temporary world, there is bound to be reaction, reflection and resound. None can escape from this. Thus we should preserve the spirit of gratitude in our hearts and set an ideal for others.
Today, the students are more and more intelligent but there is not a trace of virtue in them. One is a hero in studies and zero in character. In studies they secure ‘O’ grades. They secure 100 % marks in the examination. But in the subject of character they don’t secure even a single mark. Three-fourths of life is character. Education without character is useless. Therefore we should develop character. You may be rich, a great intellectual, a high ranking officer or you may be physically strong. But without the strength of the Divine, the rest will be useless.
Source: Respect Your Culture And Heritage, Discourse 5, My Dear Students Volume 4; Divine Discourse delivered on August 18, 1996 at Prasanthi Nilayam
Jai sai ram
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