How had the British captured our country at that time? Our population then was 480 million. When? 50 years back. How many people from Britain had come? Taking into account all the people of all the classes, they were not even 5 million. Such a small number of people conquered such a big country like India with such huge population. How? Indians had cheated themselves for money. They submitted themselves for the sake of money. They had become lazy dull heads. Thus they swallowed the whole of India as if it was an Idli! Our men were like mighty elephants. Just as an elephant does not know its strength, the Indians also didn’t know their strength. A mighty elephant submits itself to the iron rod of the mahout. Why? Because it is not aware of its intelligence. Likewise every man and student has got lots of power and energy. You can achieve anything in any amount of time. If you will it, you will certainly do it. You can achieve anything. But man is not making any attempt to bring out that latent energy stored in him. If a bird wills, it can fly miles and miles at a stretch. If it does not want to fly it cannot go forward. Ant, even though it is very small it can walk miles and miles.
The Experience of Tyagaraja
It was Tyagaraja who said, “Rama you are in an ant and even in Brahma, You are in Shiva and Keshava. You have installed Yourself there, full of love. Please protect me.” Who are Shiva and Keshava? Man himself is Shiva and Keshava. The one with life is Shiva (auspicious), the one without life is Shava (corpse). Everything is Divine power – walking, talking, reading, writing; everything is Divine.
At one time the same Tyagaraja was disgusted. The elder brother of Tyagaraja, Raghunatha, had thrown the idol of Rama into the river Kaveri. Tyagaraja said, “Rama, why should I suffer? Don’t I have devotion towards You? Is it that You don’t have any power in You? If I have devotion, would You ever leave me? If You had the power, would You have made me suffer?” He gave a scope for ego to creep into him. He felt, ‘Rama has no power. I have devotion and always think of You. I worship You throughout the day, every moment. Thus I have devotion. But You have no power Rama.’ It is said, ‘When one cannot dance properly, he will blame the drum!’ Then he prayed later. He realised that he had committed a mistake. Rama is highly powerful. Then he said, “Will a monkey be able to cross the ocean? Can he ever be tied to a mortar? Will the consort Lakshmi Devi love Him? Will Lakshmana serve Him? Will the highly intelligent Bharata serve You? How mighty is the glory and strength of Rama?” He continued to think, ‘How could a monkey cross the ocean? That monkey could cross the ocean only because it chanted Your name, Rama. Who is Lakshmi? She is the Goddess of wealth whom everyone worships. There is none who does not worship Lakshmi Devi. Even a mad one will pray for wealth! Will such a Lakshmi Devi love You? If You had no power why should she serve You? How great is Your strength Rama! We are fools that we don’t realise Your strength. My feeling is so narrow, thus I could collect only that much of Your grace. Let me widen my thinking and I will receive more grace from You.’
Importance of Culture
God is love. Live in love. If you have to fill your heart and mind with God’s love than you must widen the vessel of your heart to receive it. The mistake is in the education system that is making the heart and mind narrow. There are no moral, spiritual and ethical values taught to the students. A scholar of ancient wisdom has a son. The boy has learnt all the daily prayers such as Sandhya Vandanam, Gayatri Mantram, etc. from his fathers and does them every day. Tell me your company and I shall tell you what you are. The boy had bad company at one point of time. The bad company made him ask his father that he be sent to America because his friends were also going. The father said, “Son you cannot follow our tradition and culture over there. If you start offering prayers over there people will make fun of you and laugh at you. Better you don’t go.” But the foolish fellow was determined to go. He was the only son. Attachments to wealth (Dhaneshana), wife (Dhareshana) and child (Putreshana) will strangle man to death. Out of disgust the father conceded to the son’s request. He went to Delhi, got his passport and visa. He got them both and was to leave next day. The father said, “Son, wherever you may go, our family deity is there. You should think of our family deity always. Chant the Gayatri Mantra every day. Never forget it any day.” He wanted to reach America some way or the other as if it was verily heaven! There is nothing worse than such adoration for a foreign land. India is such a virtuous and sacred land. It is the land of redemption, liberation and sacrifice. Elsewhere life is very artificial. He wanted to go and experience. The father took a promise from his son that he must offer his morning and evening prayers every day (Sandhya Vandanam), whatever maybe the situation at that time and also told him that he must never forget the family deity. He made a promise because he was in a hurry to go. He spent five years in America. He even forgot the language of his country. He couldn’t speak in Telugu which was his mother tongue on the phone when he called up his parents. He was speaking some unknown language. Mother didn’t know this language since she was a lady of tradition. He told his father on the phone in English that he wanted to stay there for five more years. He hadn’t completed the study for which he had gone all the way there. He was only spending the money sent to him by his parents. It is said in Telugu, ‘A barber who has no work to do starts shaving the head of a cat!’ Since he didn’t find anybody there, so a cat became his client! The boy was spending the time like this. His father sent a telegram stating that his mother was very serious; otherwise the son wouldn’t have returned. Out of fear whether father would send money or not, he came back. The parents were happy that their son was back. In every letter he used to write all lies that he was remembering the Gayatri. The father received him at the airport.
He took his son to the temple of Kali as he had done it before the son left. He wanted the blessings of Kali before they reached home. When the father asked the son do Namaskara to Kali, the boy said “How are you Madam?” to Mother Kali! The father was shocked at what the son had picked up there. He got angry and said that he was not his son and told him to get out of his sight. Couldn’t the son have said Devi or Goddess? Instead he went and said ‘Madam’. Is this human quality? These are the qualities of a demon.
You cannot be a human in spite of all your education. The students are becoming like this today. First of all, moral values must be imbibed into a child. Without them, there is no life at all. The country is full of problems because of the absence of morality in society. What is needed today is ‘Daiva Preeti, Paapa Bheeti, Sangha Neeti’ – Love for God, Fear of sin and Morality in Society. Inspite of your high education, never lose faith in God. The person who has lost faith in God is equal to a corpse. The skin of a dead tiger is useful. There are some people who eat the flesh of some dead animals. Their skin is also useful for making footwear. But after the death of a man his body is worthless and useless. The skin is useless. In this human life, you must earn a good reputation for yourself. Lead an ideal life. You can acquire this reputation by increasing you love for God and only God. That love will encompass everything.
Source: Discourse 6, My Dear Students Volume 4; Divine Discourse delivered on August 18, 1996 at Prasanthi Nilayam
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