Chapter 1	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

Today’s topic of discussion is “The Ever-Expanding Domain of the Microcosm”. The domains of all microcosms are not equal. It also cannot be said that they are all expanding in all spheres: because certain microcosms according to their destination or goal are losing their psychic dimensions – they are gradually becoming smaller and smaller. As their psychic dimensions are shrinking, their existences are also becoming crude. As a result, they are gradually losing the opportunities for their psychic receptivity. But it may still be said that whatever microcosmic entity a person possessed in the prehistoric period, it used to function within a very narrow sphere.

In the most ancient times, in the very first stage of manifestation, human beings, like animals, used to roam about the whole day worrying either about food or how to find the means to protect themselves from their enemies. They had no other tasks to do than this. Through clash and cohesion the area of microcosmic mind gradually began to develop and the human body as the vehicle of microcosm also gradually became very complex. Now, the interesting aspect of this is that the container of microcosm, the human body – although it became more and more complex with increasingly complex permutations and combinations of the five elements (páiṋcabhaotika) – did not increase its physical power; rather, on the contrary, it lost some of its physical strength. As the nervous system developed, the hands and legs, teeth and nails lost some of their strength, and the eyesight also became weaker. But all these fundamental developments in microcosm occurred through sheer clash and cohesion – and the microcosmic area also expanded, as did its vitality.

In those ancient times people were divided into small groups or clans. During the daytime they used to come down to the plains and at dusk they used to climb up in the trees or on hillocks. With whatever materials they could gather, they used to bind their small huts in the tops of trees, just as birds build their nests. Even today people in the colloquial language, specially in Bengali, do not say “build a house”; they say “binding a home”.

As the struggle of life intensified, human beings also began to think more deeply about various matters; and with this their nervous systems also developed to fulfil the requirements of their expanding psychic domain. This transformation of their nervous system was also reflected in their skin and other parts of their bodies. The people of one clan used to treat the people of other clans who lived on different hilltops or trees, as their enemies. Thus people began to identify themselves by their particular lineage on the basis of their habitation and locality. And with or without cause, one group would start fighting with another group. The more their groupism and numbers increased, the more conflict developed, and with these clashes, the activity of their psychic sphere also began to intensify.

I have said that no true progress can occur in the psychic or in the physical realm of the five elements (páiṋcabhaotika); progress occurs only in the spiritual sphere. But due to the expansion of the dimensions of their mental realm, human beings became very active. One of the many reasons for their hectic activity was the increasing distrust among human beings. In those times this distrust found its outlet in open fighting and clash; but not today. Today human beings’ thoughts, words and deeds never coincide. In civilized language what we call, “diplomacy” is also increasingly practised. As a result, people have lost their tranquillity; with the increasing rate of excitement, peace is lost. What is the overall consequence of this phenomenon? Mental disorders have become rampant – more and more people are becoming insane. Not only that, a plethora of doctrines and ideologies are proliferating among the people of the world today.

Let me give you an example. Buddha did not leave behind anything in writing. As a result of this lapse, great differences in opinion developed among the bhikkus (monks) some time after his death. Two groups of bhikkus emerged – Sthaviravádii, the southern school of Buddhist doctrine, and Mahásáḿghika (the northern school), which later on became known as “Hiinayána” and “Maháyána” respectively. But that was not the end of it. Innumerable branches and sub-branches emerged, countless philosophies of Sthaviraváda, Vijiṋánaváda, Shúnyaváda, Mahásukhaváda, and Atisukaváda. Each one of these groups became so engrossed in their own ideologies, doctrines and subdoctrines that they did not have any time to do any constructive work: they were always engaged in vindicating their own doctrines and maligning others’. In other words, they strayed far from their original ethics and objectives. This state of affairs which began to develop in the Buddhist age is still occurring – and not only in the Buddhist sects. It is also continuing in all respects, in all spheres of life. Wherever there are two individuals there emerge two parties. Conflicts between ideologies have become unavoidable, and have become the order of the day. The reason for this is that human beings have progressed in the mental sphere but not in the spiritual sphere. The spiritual goal is one. But in the absence of this unitary goal, factionalism emerged. Factionalism does not mean only groupism; it is also a conflict of doctrines. And it will prevail until human beings accept a singular goal in the process of synthesis. “Stop, stop – do not quarrel – there is no use of fighting – peace, peace” – uttering all these good words will not do; it will stop no one. Peace may come for the time being, but it will not be permanent; like an ash-covered spark, unrest will again flair up. If human beings want to save themselves from this catastrophe, the only way is to march forward towards a single goal. Humanity must be guided to follow the path of synthesis and not the path of analysis.

There is also a lack of amity among human beings. The cause of this lack of amity is the same: an outlook which is not synthetic but only analytic, compels people to see the differences and bring divisions among different nations. In the one human race there are Aryans, Negroes, and Mongolians. Among the Aryans there are Mediterraneans, Nordics, Alpines – also there are subdivisions of Latins and non-Latins. An analytic perspective brings divisions, and divisive tendencies create impediments to peace. The only way out now to save human beings from destroying tranquillity is to adopt the path of synthesis; there is no other way than this.

Some people declare that evolved human intellect developed religion in order to bring about human welfare. Those who utter these words are civilized and noble people and are entitled to deliver such sermons. But I do not use such polished language, as I am always frank in speaking. I must say clearly that, while “welfare” might be a factor behind the development of religion, the motive for indulging in factionalism was more evident. If welfare to people was the actual aim, then people should not have allowed themselves to be accused of perpetrating falsehood. I do not want to hurt anybody’s feelings nor do I intend to do so. Yet I will say openly that in many scriptures there are some statements which are not at all logical. These sayings will be nullified if they are only tested and rubbed on the touchstone of humanism. Therefore if something is to be done for human welfare, the path of synthesis should be followed, and not that of analysis. “Your God is the only God. You are His blessed sons and daughters, and others will burn in hellfire.” By these sermons, unity among human beings can never be achieved. The human entity exists within the boundaries of time, space and person. While remaining within the scope of time, space and person, people should endeavour to go beyond, to transcend these limitations and march on towards the Infinite. There is no other alternative to reach the goal of the Infinite than following the path of synthesis, than evolving a synthetic consciousness. Thus one will have to adopt the way of mysticism, to break free from the bondages of limitation and merge with the Infinite. There is no alternative.

But this is not happening now. The limited human beings have kept themselves confined in smaller and smaller areas, resulting in the emergence of different types of “isms”. In each area, people inhabiting a particular country have a particular identity. And not only do they have a particular identification, they are also unable to accept as their own, other people who have a different identity. As long as they are unable to counteract this phenomenon by adopting the path of synthesis, peace in human society cannot be established. Continually mouthing the empty slogan, “peace, peace,” is nothing but a hollow sham. Actually, cutting the roots of a tree and then pouring water on its top will yield no result. Emphasis must be placed on the fundamental unity, through the path of synthesis and not the path of analysis. Human beings must march forward by cherishing noble values and ideas. When people will try to bring about unity among human beings, they will have to realize the valuable treasure of their existential stamina, and then that stamina will be properly expressed. And the spontaneous expression of that stamina will lead them along the path of synthesis. Therefore human beings will have to learn and understand many things, and they will have to establish themselves in the Supreme One, together with all. They must bring all people to the same platform, and in doing so, they will have to make enormous progress in the field of thought.

Thus it is also imperative to develop language as the vehicle of thought. In human society today, language is undeveloped; the vocabularies of the world’s languages are very poor. In the German, English and Saḿskrtá language, we do not find more than five hundred thousand words, including all the groups, sub-groups, suffixes and prefixes. Most languages still suffer from this deficiency. The fact that our vocabularies are very poor and dull generally escapes our attention. If we do pay attention, the expression of our thought process will develop, and with that development, we will be able to embrace all within one and the same Entity.

In India the largest vocabulary is in the Bengali Language, with about one hundred and twenty-five thousand words. The second richest language in India is the Gujarati language, which has ninety-two thousand words. Amongst the most developed species of apes, there are only about eight hundred words or sounds, whereas there are about nine hundred words among the most backward human tribes. What difference is there, then, between these undeveloped humans and the apes? Practically speaking, there is none. Yet those people who possess only about nine hundred words in their vocabulary – we could not bring them near to us. We could not do so because we did not follow the path of synthesis, and now we are suffering the consequences: presently distrust amongst human beings is rampant.

So those people who have an expanded vocabulary should come forward to help those people with undeveloped vocabularies so that they may become more eloquent in their expression. It is our duty to make them more expressive, but this we did not do. That is, we did not direct the ever-expanding domain of microcosm towards the goal of welfare; instead, we used it for our own advantage. Because we took an analytic approach, human treatises and scriptures could not become as progressive as they should have been. Likewise, in archaeological research, we have made few inroads; many old scripts are yet to be deciphered. Even now many scriptures remain entirely unread and unknown. The methodology of studying and teaching different histories, geographies, philosophies, etc. is yet to be evolved. And yet our intellect is developing well. This is not a matter of glory – rather it is a most inglorious chapter of our failure.

How much progress has been made in the sphere of social science? Whatever progress we have made, to whatever extent, we have utilized for our own selfish interest and welfare, and thus we have used this social progress to bring about harm to ourselves. And what is the result? Today the materialist scientists of the world have become the objects of fear for the human race, lest they invent and produce various types of lethal bombs.

And in the field of science, what is known to be the most developed subject – applied psychology – has not been really cultivated. As a consequence the number of insane people has increased in most of the countries of the world. We have not been able to bring these people under proper medical treatment; we have not given them proper love and affection, for we followed the path of analysis, not the path of synthesis. During the long 15,000-year-old course of human civilization, we have followed only occasionally, and for short periods, the path of synthesis. Most of the time, by following the path of analysis and neglect, we have lost the great opportunity to build a noble society. Human beings, by their inborn instinct, have love for beautiful and subtle things. They appreciate and seek to cultivate what is beautiful and subtle in their internal and external lives, and in the world of ideas. This love for art is the fundament of the aesthetic science (nandana vijiṋána). Yet we have shattered this science of aesthetics by stamping doctrines upon it. We could have very well utilized this aesthetic science for our welfare through our developed wisdom, and based on this aesthetic science we could have guided human beings to follow the path of synthesis which, alas, we did not do.

I will say that people with developed intellects have been able to realize that the domain of their intelligence is gradually expanding. They ought to have taken it as their foremost duty to refine this aesthetic science and, by the untiring and impartial cultivation of knowledge, to create further avenues for its expression. This aesthetic science uplifts humanity from the dust of this worldly abode to taste and feel the subtler worlds. Therefore every effort must be made to develop aesthetic science – a task not at all beyond the capacity of human beings. As I said before, the periphery of intelligence of human beings along with their knowledge is ever-expanding. The domain of their wisdom is also widening very steadily and rapidly. Now is the time to garner great achievements in their physical and mental spheres. And the cultivation of knowledge should go on side by side with aesthetic science.

Therefore let all the various human scripts be studied and developed impartially, and let the result be utilized in the cause of aesthetic science. Then human beings will certainly achieve rapid progress; the conflict between states, between societies and between races will cease in no time. They must march ahead vigorously with firm steps, keeping a synthetic goal ever before them. “Caraeveti, caraeveti” – “March forward, march forward”. This should be the slogan of today’s humanity.

Chapter 2	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

Today’s subject is “Dogma and Human Intellect.” What is the human intellect for? A human body has three functions: its crude physical movement and physical progress, its intellectual progress, and its spiritual progress. So far as intellect is concerned, it has two duties: to think and to remember.

What do we mean by “thinking”? What is thinking? The human mind is a collection of ectoplasmic stuff. And whenever we create any figure [in the mind] with the help of that ectoplasmic stuff, we say it is a thought – that we are thinking. To think means, then, to speak internally, and according to what we speak, we create a figure.

Although different inferences have got different implications for the human mind, the more important, rather, the two most important, inferences are visuality and audibility. What we create in the mind, we speak mentally and at the same time we hear mentally. “I’ll go to Delhi.” – when you think like this, you utter this sentence mentally: “I – will – go – to – Delhi.” And you hear mentally the sound “I – will – go – to – Delhi.” And at that time mentally you see the picture of Delhi, either a projection of the actual external Delhi or an imaginary figure of Delhi that you created.

Now, what we think, sometimes we think from the extro-internal projections and sometimes from the memory. When we see an elephant [externally], at that same moment we see it mentally; and when we see it mentally, then we feel that we are actually seeing the elephant. And sometimes without seeing an elephant you can remember an elephant. That is, in your memory you can create an elephant. It is an act of re-creation.

Now, human knowledge or knowing is divided into two portions; that is, the compartmentalized object may be of two types – one direct and the other taken from memory.

It is said that knowledge or the knowing faculty is infinite. Then, if the knowing faculty is infinite, is the human brain or human cranium infinite? No, certainly not. The cranium is something finite, something very little. And the human brain, although it has immense potentialities, is finite. Its qualities are very big, but not infinite.

Human thought-waves and human knowledge may be directed towards two objects. One is the objective psychic stance, and the other is the objecto-subjective spiritual stance. When it is the objective psychic stance, then as a result of that objective movement on the psychic level, what happens? The mind becomes bigger and bigger. And in order to serve the purpose of the mind, both the nerve-cells and the nerve-fibres of the human brain also become stronger and bigger. As a result of this enlargement of the nerve-cells, what will happen? In the future, the human cranium will become bigger, and limbs and other parts of the body will become lean and thin. But it is also a desired future for humanity, because when the mind will be developed, what will happen? Spiritual progress will be easier.

And the other psychic approach is objecto-subjective, or you may say, the subjecto-objective spiritual stance. In that case, you withdraw different mental faculties or propensities and make them pinnacled. And when those mental faculties are apexed, then what do you do? You offer that pinnacled human mind at the altar of the supreme spirituality. This is the spiritual approach.

Now, if anyone says that in human life knowledge has little value or no value, that person will not be cent percent correct. In spiritual progress, if the knowledge, or the course of knowledge, or the avenue of knowledge, is subjective physicality, then in that case the progress may be delayed, but it will not be blocked forever. For intellectuals, spiritual progress is always delayed, and the reason is this – that their intellectual body goes on increasing, but for want of the apexed mentality, the goal remains far away. But when the intellectual body is highly enlarged, it is sure to become one with the Macrocosm. And when this enlarged ectoplasmic structure becomes one with the Cosmic ectoplasmic structure, certainly a person will feel his oneness with the Supreme.

For spiritual aspirants, this type of intellectual progress may be meaningless, may be treated as superfluous; but for the all-round progress of human society, for human society as a whole, this type of intellectual progress cannot be discouraged, must not be discouraged; rather it should be encouraged.

I want that our boys and girls who are intellectually developed, or who want intellectual development, should encourage this intellectual progress of human society, which will finally help human society in all types of progress. I hope you boys and you girls will feel, will realize, the utility of intellectual progress, and start your RU [Renaissance Universal] clubs in all towns and even in all big villages of the world.

Chapter 3	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

The fundamental difference between Art and Science is that one is movement towards finer sentiments, and the other is a rational expression, with each and every stage having cause and effect.

What is Art? You do so many things. If you do these things in a fine way, in a subtle style, then within that style, they come within the scope of Art, as in the art of saying, and writing languages.

When you are doing something along a rational line or on the basis of logic, and at the same time, you are drawing attention to cause and effect, it is Science.

In this world, everything comes within the scope of causality. Nothing in this world is non-causal. What we can detect by seeing has got some causal factor. You see sugar. What is the cause of sugar? The cause of sugar is sugar cane or sugar beet. Where sugar cane or sugar beet is the cause, sugar is the effect. Then, where sugar cane or sugar beet is the effect, the seed is the cause. So, in all spheres of life, there is a cause.

What is science? Science means, that which is based on rationality and pays proper attention to cause and effect. About 2000 years ago, one philosopher named Maharśi Kańáda said,

Kárańábhávátkáryábhávah

“Where there is no causal factor, there cannot be any effect.”

Spiritual practice comes within the scope of Science. The first scientist who invented this spiritual science was Lord Shiva who was born about 7000 years ago. The name of His spouse was Párvatii. In Old China, Párvatii was known as Tárá. Now, this spiritual science was divided into two portions – two compartments just like two wings of a bird. One portion was known as Nigama, the other portion, Ágama. The questions of Párvatii were known as Nigama, and the replies of Shiva were known as Ágama.

Once Párvatii asked Shiva, “Oh Lord, in different spheres of life, we see there are certain fixed minimum qualifications. Before becoming a doctor, a person must be a medical graduate. That graduation in medical science is the minimum qualification for becoming a physician. In all different walks of life, there are certain minimum qualifications. Now, according to this science of spirituality, what is the minimum qualification? There must be some minimum qualification.”

Shiva said:

[[Átmajiṋ́ánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaekasádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.]]

[Self-knowledge is the greatest means to attain salvation. People are born as human beings due to their past good saḿskáras, but to attain non-qualified liberation they will have to attain self-knowledge.]

In the process of introversion – the introversial march of this created world, everything moves from crude to subtle. What happens? Due to eternal clash and cohesion in the material world, primitive protozoa or protozoic cells develop. And as a result of further clash and cohesion, these protozoic cells get converted into different metazoic structures. And finally, these metazoic structures, maintaining a standard of intellectuality, take the forms of human beings. In other living creatures, other living forms, there is intellectuality, but it lacks intuition. In the case of human beings, there is intellectuality, and there is also intuitional faculty. Human beings have a peculiar nature. Certain portions of their minds are conscious and certain portions are unconscious. And therein lie all the potentialities [[of intuition]]. Lord Shiva said, when one acquires the human form and develops devotion, that is the minimum, final, and only qualification.

Everyone should remember that when there is human body, then that human body by dint of its devotion, is able to attain the Supreme Stance, the Divine Stance. Nobody is inferior or superior to others; it is the birth-right of all humans to attain that non-attributional stance, which is the Supreme Goal, the Supreme Desideratum. There cannot be any distinction of caste, creed, race, or academic qualifications. The man who has acquired immense educational wealth may lag behind if [[there is want]] of devotion, and an illiterate man can attain the Supreme Status or the Supreme position if there is devotion in him. This was the reply of Shiva.

I told you that the old Chinese name of Párvatii was Tárá. Tárá asked Shiva how one is to know that devotion is the only way, and how, when one feels that devotion is the only way, one can devote one’s all possibilities, potentiality, and stamina in developing devotion. When one devotes everything to Parama Puruśa, those devoted propensities of the human mind make a man a devotee, and his faculties are then known as devotion. The collective name of these propensities [[goaded]] unto the Parama Puruśa [[is]] devotion because they are devoted to Him.

Shiva said,

[[Átmajiṋánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaekasádhanam
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.]]

Now, what is Átmajiṋánam? Then He answered Párvatii’s question. Shiva said,

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánaḿ jiṋánányanyáni yánitu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni sárasyanaeva bodhanát.

I am using Saḿskrta slokas and not Páli because Páli may not be intelligible to you. Saḿskrta is better understood. That is why I am using Saḿskrta slokas.

When a man knows something, what is the actional side of knowing? The science of knowing is but the internal projection of external vibration; introversial projection of external feeling, external vibration, is known as knowledge. In philosophical language, you may say that knowledge means subjectivization of objectivities. A certain portion of your mind is the knower, and a certain portion of your mind is metamorphosed into the known when you are knowing something external.

But when you are to know yourself, i.e. in Self-realization, what are you to do? Your knower portion is the subjective mind who is seeing the elephant, who is seeing the cow, but it is not seeing itself. It is seeing so many things, but it is not seeing itself. So what is Átmajiṋánam, what is self-realization? Self-realization is when one sees one’s subjective entity with the vibrative faculty of one’s Spirit, of one’s Consciousness.

So Shiva says that the actual knowledge is knowing one’s Self, knowing the subjective portion. There are certain defective philosophies which think that the material world is everything. When matter becomes everything, then matter becomes the goal of life. And consequently human existence, human consciousness, subjective portion of the human mind, everything will become like earth and stone. That’s why such a philosophy is detrimental to human development. Reverend Karl Marx preached that defective philosophy. You should keep your mind free from the bindings and fetters of such a defective philosophy because it is anti-human – [[not only]] anti-human, it is most detrimental to the human existence and human development. You should never forget this.

Now, Shiva says that this self-realization, when the subjective portion of the mind is metamorphosed into Consciousness, is the proper knowledge. Other knowledge is of no avail.

Átmajiṋánaḿ vidurjiṋánam [[jiṋánányanyáni yánitu;
Táni jiṋánávabhásáni . . .]]

You, students of science, know that in a shadow, there are two portions – the umbra portion, and the penumbra portion. Here Lord Shiva says that neither the umbra nor the penumbra are the actual jiṋánam. He says, all objective knowledge, where knowing means subjectivization of objectivity, is actually not knowledge. There lies the umbra and penumbra of shadows. By seeing the umbra and penumbra, you cannot have a proper idea of the actual thing. There is a lichee tree, there is a guava tree. By seeing the shadows, you can’t understand which is the shadow of the Lichee tree and which is the shadow of the Guava tree. You have to see the original tree. This was the reply given by Lord Shiva who started this spiritual science.

The question asked by Párvatii was, “Oh Lord, there are so many people who say, ‘This is a holy place, that place is an unholy place.’ They go on moving throughout the world in search of so many Tiirthas, places of pilgrimage. What should be the correct approach?”

Shiva said,

Idaḿ Tiirthaḿidaḿ Tiirthaḿ Bhramanti Támasájanáh
Átmatiirthaḿ na Jánanti kat́haḿ Mokśo Varánáne.

“Oh my Lord, so many people are moving throughout the world, they do not know that the highest Tiirtha (Tiirtha means place of pilgrimage) lies [[coverted]] within their very existence. One needn’t go elsewhere in search of Tiirtha”.

Just now, I have told you that, in the case of physical knowledge, external or extroversial knowledge, the process of knowledge means subjectivization of external desideratum. But in the case of true knowledge, as explained by Lord Shiva, what happens? The very subjective mind is metamorphosed into Consciousness, Átma, the supreme knowing entity. So when the final goal, the Supreme Desideratum is metamorphosed into the Supreme knowing Entity, the Supreme “I” that is the best Tiirtha, rather, the only Tiirtha, that lies [[coverted]] within your “I” feeling.

Each and every man has the feeling that “I exist”. This feeling of “I exist” is the final form of the expressed world. Behind that final form of the expressed world, there lies [[coverted]] the Supreme Consciousness, the Átmá. So, átmá is the best tiirtha. Átmá is the Supreme Tiirtha. Rather Átmá is the only tiirtha.

You are all spiritual aspirants. You should remember that your movement is not from subtle to crude, but from crude to subtle. [[But]] you must not neglect this crude world, because your existence is being nourished by this crude world. That is why you should pay your proper respect to the crude world also. That is why I say, ours is a subjective approach through objective adjustment. [[You should remember this fact.]]

Chapter 4	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

As the sphere of knowledge increases, many secrets of the world do not remain secret. Yoga is such a secret. It is a cult, and by dint of practising this cult one comes in contact with the causal factors of many secrets. About seven thousand years ago a great yogi, Sadáshiva, systematized different branches of yoga. His spouse, Párvatii, was also a yoginii; and for the welfare of the entire human society Lord Shiva and Párvatii tried their best to create a practical cult. The questions placed before Shiva by Párvatii and the answers given by Shiva to Párvatii collectively form the shástras [scriptures].

Now, many important questions of the human mind were placed before Shiva. These questions, that is, the question portion, was known as nigama, and the answer portion, ágama. The collective name of ágama and nigama is Tantra.

Once upon a time Párvatii asked Shiva, “O Lord, for many duties, many posts, there are prescribed minimum qualifications; for this job the minimum qualification will be this or that. But for attaining salvation what are the minimum qualifications?” Shiva said that the minimum qualification for the attainment of salvation is nothing but a human body and a human mind. That is enough. There is no racial bar, no colour bar, no regional bar, nor any bar of any other type. He said:

Átmajiṋánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaekasádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

[Self-knowledge, Párvatii, is the greatest means to attain salvation. People are born as human beings due to their past good saḿskáras, but to attain non-qualified liberation they will have to attain Self-knowledge.]

“For attainment of salvation one should know oneself, and by knowing oneself one attains salvation.” Now, let us see what knowing is, and what knowing oneself is – what Self-realization is. The human mind has got three types of movement. The first type is extro-internal projection, that is, an external object moving towards the inner side of existence. The second type is intro-external. The sentiment comes from the inner side and is expressed in the physical world. And the third one is the movement of the mind towards the Spirit.

Now generally “to know” means subjectivization of external objectivity. When the external object becomes one with the objective portion of the mind, that is, takes place in the objective compartment of the mind, it is called knowing or knowledge. And what is self-knowledge or self-realization? In this case the mind knows the spirit, that is, the movement of the mind is towards spirit. Now, how can the mind know the spirit when the Supreme Spirit, Parama Puruśa, Parama Pitá [Supreme Father], the Supreme Entity, is the Omniscient Entity, is the only Omniscient Entity of this world? The Supreme Entity, Parama Puruśa, is omniscient. He not only sees what you do, He also sees what you think, what you are contemplating, what the thought-waves of your mind are. Then He is omniscient, and you are His object. He sees what you do. He is the subject, you are the object. Then how can the mind know Him? That is, how can the mind be the subject and He be the object? He sees your mind; how can your mind see Him? How can your mind accept Him as the object and your mind be the subject? Yes, there lies the secret. What is the secret? It is that whatever you are doing, whatever you are thinking, you should always remember that that action of yours, those thoughts of yours, are being witnessed by Him. If you remember this, He remains the subject and you remain the object.

But what happens? Because you are always thinking of Parama Puruśa, indirectly He also becomes the object; although actually He is the subject and you are the object, because He is the all-witnessing faculty. And this is a very clever policy of devotees. Devotees are very clever; not only clever, they are very cunning. Because with their developed mind, pinnacled mind, pinnacled intellect, they bring the Supreme Entity within the periphery of their minds. So the path of devotion or the path of spirituality is for those who are extremely cunning and clever. And those who think that Parama Puruśa is not seeing them are the most foolish amongst the fools.

Lord Shiva said that the minimum qualification is a human mind and a human body, and with the help of this human mind and human body one may attain salvation. One may come in His contact; because it is only the human mind that can think that Parama Puruśa is witnessing all one’s activities and all one’s thoughts. When one is established in this stance, it is said that one has attained salvation.

There are so many created beings. These quinquelemental factors of the world – air, water, earth – they are also of Cosmic creation, but their mind is in an inert condition. It cannot function. In the case of protozoa, there is mind, but it is guided only by instincts, inborn instincts. In the case of plants, there is mind, but the mind is guided by inborn instincts, there is no independent thought in them. In the case of animals, in the case of metazoa, there is inborn instinct, but no independent thought. But in the case of developed metazoa, developed animals, there is a bit of independent mind, and amongst those developed metazoa, those who come in contact with human beings, as a result of clash and cohesion in the intellectual world and in inter-cellular structure, their minds develop a bit – as in the case of dogs, monkeys and so on. They have got a bit developed mind because of their coming in close contact with human beings.

But in the case of human beings, the mind is very developed, and with this developed mind one can feel that whatever one does, whatever one thinks, is always being witnessed by Parama Puruśa. Nobody can do anything secretly.

Now, everything is a creation of the Supreme Father; but in the course of introversion, as a result of clash and cohesion, the mind develops, and the stage of man, the stage of humans, is the most developed stage in the process of introversion. So human beings are blessed beings because they can feel the charm and love and all-pervading existence of the Supreme Lord.

You are all human beings. You are all dignified human beings. Forget all fissiparous tendencies that sometimes function within the human mind. Remember, you are the loving children of Parama Puruśa, and your goal is Parama Puruśa. Your goal is the Supreme Entity. Yours is a subjective approach through objective adjustment. Your movement is towards the Supreme Entity. But while moving towards the Supreme Entity, you are to do all your worldly duties in the social, economic and all other spheres. That is, your hands should be engaged in worldly duties, and your mind should be moving towards the Supreme Entity.

Chapter 5	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

[I have told you] that nothing is insignificant in this world. Each and every sound has got its meaning. We may or may not know the meaning, but the meaning is there. Similarly, each and every syllable has got its meaning. Each and every word has got its meaning. And what is a sentence? A sentence is a collection of words. Each and every sentence has got its own significance.

If we say, “God is one,” “Parama Puruśa is one,” that “one” denotes a particular pointedness. If we say “two”, although “two” denotes two points, still the psychology is the same. If we say “He is finite,” it is a particular psychic projection, and if we say “He is infinite,” it is also a psychic projection. For a philosophic ideology there is little difference between finite and infinite, because both are different projections of the same mind. Still we say that Parama Puruśa is one, and we also say that He is infinite. We say He is one because we can come in His contact, we can ensconce ourselves in Him, only when our mind becomes one. That is why we say, just to satisfy our sentiment, that He is one, He is a Singular Entity. We say He is infinite, because His wonts are fathomless, we cannot count them. There are so many qualifications and attributions in Him that we fail to count. That is why we say He is infinite.

He is sourceless, He is non-causal. Everything in our universe is causal. Everything is guided by, controlled by, the theory of cause and effect. This theory of cause and effect was propounded by Maharshi Kanada long ago. As per this theory, the effect of a particular cause becomes the cause of the next stage; that is, an effect is the cause of the following stage, a cause is the effect of the previous stage. In this world, everything is causal. If we go to the root, if we can touch the rudimental entity, we get the cause, we get the subtler entity. The cause is generally subtler than the effect. And in this way we come to a particular point wherefrom we cannot go onwards, we cannot move onwards. We cannot get the still subtler entity, we cannot get the causal entity. Such a stage is reached where our mind becomes non-existent. From the cruder physical entities, if we go inwards, we get the subtler mind. If we go inner, we get still subtler mind, and so on. But when we reach the primordial stage of mind, we cannot move further inward, that is, we cannot get the causal entity. So if one tries to go beyond the seed of the mind, one cannot go, cannot move, because all these measurements are done by the mind. Actions are of the mind.

What is time? Time is psychic measurement of the motivity of action. So everywhere the psychic body must be present.

Regarding Parama Puruśa, our mind fails to measure His arena, our mind fails to touch Him in the rudimental stage, and that is why we say He is non-causal, He is causeless. When one comes in contact with Him, when one loves Him sincerely, one may ask Him, “O Parama Puruśa, what is Your cause?” Before that, one cannot know it. So His cause is known only to His devotees and to nobody else. That Supreme Entity who is beyond the periphery of the microcosm, is the creator of the microcosm. So when a microcosm is to know Him, the microcosm is to become one with His Macrocosm.

That Macrocosm creates so many things, so many varieties, within the jurisdiction of That, of Its infinite wonts. And this universe of varieties is nothing but some psychic crudifications of His supreme stuff. Units exist within His jurisdiction, and He is within each and every pore of the unit. That is why He is all-pervading. And He is not only within, but without, outside. That is why He is within you, He is outside you, He is all-pervading and He is all-covering. When one enlarges one’s jurisdiction as a microcosm, when one’s nucleus coincides with the nucleus of the Supreme, one becomes one with the Supreme.

And in order to do it, what is one to do? One is to increase the periphery of one’s mind. And how is one to enlarge the periphery of one’s mind? By a constant fight against all limitedness, against all physical limitedness and against all psychic dogmas.

Physical limitedness – You know, this physical world, although it is very big, is not infinite, because it is a limited projection of the Macrocosm. The entity that has got boundaries cannot be infinite. So our universe with so many planets and so many galaxies, is very big, but not infinite.

Similarly, in the psychic realm, if there is an idea, that idea may be big, but if that idea is surrounded by boundary lines, and no microcosm is allowed to go beyond those boundary lines, that idea is called dogma. Dogma seals the future of the human intellect. So the man, the spiritual aspirant, who wants to establish himself in the supreme stance, must fight against dogmas. In the realms of philosophy, economics, history, archaeology, sociology and all other branches of science and humanities, dogma is a dangerous factor.

You boys, you girls, you the spiritual aspirants, must always remember that you must never surrender at the altar of dogma. In the past, dogma committed so many nuisances, dogma created so many fissiparous tendencies in this human society. Your slogan should be “Dogma – No more! Dogma – No more!” Establish yourselves above the boundaries of dogma, and be established in the excellence of human glory.

Chapter 6	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

You know, in this universe nothing is fixed, nothing is stationary. Everything is on the move, everything has to move. Cessation of movement means death. We know that in a stagnant pond nothing but weeds grow. When weeds grow, the growth of important plants becomes retarded or impeded. That is why we must not give encouragement to stagnancy or immobility of any sort, under any circumstances.

The most essential factor of the human mind is its movement. The Cosmic Mind also is in constant movement. Now, movement can be of two types: extro-internal and intro-external. There should be a perfect balance between these two types of psychic movement. As long as the balance between the two types is maintained, one’s mind is established in equilibrium and equipoise; the mind in this state of balance is recognized as the greatest treasure of human society.

The movement of the human mind arises first in the physical sphere and then shifts towards the psychic sphere. In the second stage the mind moves in the purely psychic sphere. Then, thirdly, the movement is in the psycho-spiritual sphere. And fourthly the movement is in the purely spiritual sphere. When the mind moves, starting from the physical sphere right up to the spiritual sphere, one will have to maintain a balance between extro-internal and intro-external movements of mind. That is why Lord Sadáshiva said: Caturtho samatábhávo [“The fourth requirement for success is equanimity of mind”].⁽¹⁾ In order to attain success in life, especially in spiritual life, the fourth indispensable factor is balance of mind, samatábhávo. In other words, one must maintain the state of psychic equilibrium. In its absence, no progress in any sphere is possible, not even in the spiritual sphere.

As far as you are concerned, you must never encourage any superiority complex, inferiority complex, fear complex, defeatist complex, etc. You are the very children of Parama Puruśa. Hence you are not inferior to anyone. You must not encourage any inferiority complex, for you are the members of the highest and noblest family. I have told you that your Father is the most revered Entity of the universe. Likewise you should not encourage any superiority complex, for this entire universe is the creation of the Supreme Father. No one in this universe is inferior to you. All the created beings of this universe inherit a common patrimony. Therefore it would not be proper for anyone to encourage a superiority complex.

In the same way, you must not give indulgence to any fear complex. Why should you be afraid of anyone? When the Supreme Entity, the Supreme Father Himself, is your constant companion, then why should you fear anyone? You must not be afraid of anyone – neither any human being, nor any theory, nor any doctrine, nor any dogma.

Perhaps you know what “dogma” means. “Dogma” means an idea around which some line is drawn, beyond which it is prohibited to go. “You will have to accept this doctrine, you cannot go beyond it.” This sort of restrictive idea is called a dogma. You should never be afraid of any dogma of this sort. You should also see that no sort of fear complex ever grips your mind. Remember, you are not alone in this world. Not only on this planet; nowhere are you alone. This entire universe is pervaded by Parama Puruśa. We are always sitting on His very lap, we are always sleeping on His lap. Then why should we be afraid of anyone?

Next comes the defeatist complex, or complex of hopelessness. This sort of complex should never be encouraged either. Your path of movement towards Parama Puruśa is always unbarred. So why should you submit to any defeatist complex or complex of hopelessness? The path of your journey towards the Supreme Entity is wide open. Hence, there is no question of defeat for you. So how can the idea of defeat arise?

Now, where lies the greatest fulfilment of human existence? Human existence is an ideological flow. The starting-point of this flow is the supreme positivity, and after passing through the supreme negativity, you will again return to the supreme positivity. In other words, you move forward in your evolution from the stage of crude animality towards subtler humanity. Your final destination is extremely glorious, crowned with supreme effulgence. So where is the scope for you to be afraid of defeat of any sort?

Nothing in this universe is insignificant, and every expression of this universe carries significance. You boys and you girls, every one of you is a VIP – a very important person.

Footnotes

(1) Phaliśyatiiti vishvásah siddherprathama lakśańam;
Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam.
Caturtho samatábhávo paiṋcamendriyanigrahah;
Śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro saptamaḿ naeva vidyate.
–Shiva Saḿhitá

(There are seven requirements for success in any mission. The first is firm determination: “I must succeed.” The second is reverence. The third is guru pújá, or constant remembrance of one’s spiritual master. The fourth is equanimity of mind. The fifth is control of the senses. The sixth is a balanced diet. The seventh – There is no seventh requirement.)

–Eds.

Chapter 7	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

Are art, music and supra-aesthetic science inseparable? To proclaim the glories of Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Consciousness, in a loud voice is termed kiirtana. The Saḿskrta root verb kirtt means to "utter something loudly so that others may also hear it"; thus kiirtana means to proclaim the glories of the Lord loudly for all to hear.

Now the question is, does Parama Puruśa really want people to sing His glories? He never tells anyone to do kiirtana for Him: then why should people do kiirtana? There is a subtle science behind kiirtana. Human beings always want to proceed from the crude to the subtle in all spheres of life: they always seek the subtle amidst the crude, and in the subtle they always seek the subtlest – this is how they advance towards greater and greater subtlety.

Primitive human beings in the distant past used to appreciate the harmony of music; they also liked to dance in joy. But the music of the people of the prehistoric age was extremely crude, and so was their style of dance. However, their urge to seek the subtle amidst the crude was very great, and thus in the process they evolved various kinds of rhythmic dance, and various styles of rhythms. Similarly, they came to appreciate subtle aesthetic beauty in melody as well, by bringing songs within a definite system and introducing various rágas and rágińiis. This was largely done by Sadáshiva. Later a perfect blending of song and dance through tála (metre) was developed. It was Shiva who first introduced the particular dance of tańd́ava, and His wife Párvatii who developed another special dance known as lalita lásya. This is how, in the process of the artistic endeavour to advance from the crude to the subtle, people developed the science which is called aesthetic science; and as a result of this subtle development, people no longer appreciated the cruder expressions of life.

Once upon a time people preferred baked or roasted food; in fact, in ancient times they used to eat everything baked or roasted, for they did not know how to cook at all. Gradually they developed the art of cooking by adding spices, and thus they learned how to prepare special and delicious dishes like ghańt́a, shukto, etc. [various delectable food preparations]. Once they experienced the taste of something subtle, they no longer appreciated anything prepared crudely. Similarly, once people had heard something rhythmic and melodious, they could no longer appreciate any crude song or music.

Previously people only watched silent films, but once the "talkies" were introduced, they no longer appreciated those silent movies. Nowadays if silent films are shown in any cinema of a city, even free of charge, there is hardly any gathering – people would much rather go elsewhere, making polite excuses. But at cinemas where contemporary films are shown, people rush to purchase tickets even on the black market.

Thus the general psychology is that once people experience something subtle, they automatically discard the crude. This continuous progress from the crude to the subtle, and from the subtle to the subtlest aspects of life, comes within the scope of aesthetic science, and in this process of movement ultimately we reach a state in which our refined tastes, refined feelings, and refined expressions transport us into the realm of Eternal Beauty. Then those who attain such a state will no longer possess the ability or capacity to taste the beauty of anything: the beauty of music or the beauty of dance will no longer remain an object of experience for them; because at that time they will have attained a state so intoxicated with joy that they will lose their limited identity, and thus their ability to experience anything. This exalted state beyond even aesthetic science is called mohana vijiṋána or supra-aesthetic science. That is, those who are enthralled with delight can no longer experience anything at all, because their very entitative rhythm is almost lost.

The diverse schools of music or dance that people have developed so far, and the many more varied branches of music and dance that will be developed in future, are all meant to provide joy to people through aesthetic science. But kiirtana was first invented by devotees to give joy to Parama Puruśa, and in the process of pleasing and delighting Parama Puruśa, the devotees lost themselves. Thus kiirtana belongs to the category of supra-aesthetic science.

Now the question may be asked, what is supra-aesthetic science? To put it precisely, it is the endeavour to ensconce the microcosmic entity, the individual entitative rhythm, in the eternal being, the infinite rhythm of Parama Puruśa. So among all forms of saḿgiita, kiirtana is the best; and saḿgiita means dance, song and instrumental music – all three. So kiirtana is not just song. Dance is also a part of it, and instrumental music is also a part of it. This combination of dance, song and insrtumental music creates such a pure and heavenly atmosphere that what happens to a person? A person will forget himself or herself. This is the charm, the excellence, of kiirtana. So those who are truly intelligent should certainly do kiirtana. So those who are truly intelligent should certainly do kiirtana either in public, or – if they feel rather shy – in private.

Chapter 8	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

The philosophers of the past used to say that human beings are rational animals. They used to believe that the only difference between humans and animals was that the former were endowed with rationality and that latter were not. While it is true that humans are rational beings, it is not true that animals are completely devoid of rationality. You must have noticed that domesticated dogs certainly have some sort of rationality, and that they are guided by more than just natural instinct. By coming in close contact with human beings, a dog learns a lot. It learns what to do, when to do and how to do. This is a kind of rationality. Hence, it is not proper to say that humans are rational animals. In doing so one does not do justice to human beings. Yet, the philosophers of the past argued along these lines.

Here a question crops up – what is the difference between animals and plants? Primarily, plants are stationary, whereas animals are mobile. With the gradual evolution of the minds of plants, a time comes, a stage comes, when plants reach their highest point of evolution. But for animals, this is the lowest point. There are some well-known plants which catch their prey and kill it. They extend their branches and sub-branches, grab hold of their nearby prey, then eat it. To a great extent, these plants behave like animals. In some other plants, floral nectar is produced in the flowers. It attracts hundreds of insects, which hover around the centre of the flower and suck up the sweet honey. The flowers of some such plants gradually close around the unsuspecting insects and devour them. This kind of plant cannot ordinarily be put into the category of plants, because such behaviour resembles that of animals. Such plants are not mobile – this is the only difference. However, there are some aquatic weeds, grasses and creepers which are also able to move. They go drifting from one place to another in lakes, rivers and the sea, stopping wherever they can to get the maximum food. Hence, it is more accurate to call these plants mobile rather than immobile.

There is a water plant called the water hyacinth which is like this. You probably know that the water hyacinth first sprouts in water, has large leaves like spinach leaves, and is spread throughout India. It can certainly be called mobile. Some eighty years ago the Commissioner of Dhaka, Mr. Lee, visited South America. There he noticed some blue flowers in a big pond. Mrs. Lee liked these flowers very much, so she brought some back and planted them around the official residence in Dhaka. From there they spread all over India. In Hindi, such plants are known as shośa. They are also known as jalakumbhi in different parts of the country.

As plant life progresses on the path of evolution, it reaches a terminal point, and there animal life commences. Animal life also reaches a similar terminal point, and there human life begins. Until now, even with much research, the culminating point of animal evolution and the starting point of human evolution has not been discovered. Through more research, one day human beings will certainly discover this missing link. When this unknown link is discovered, enormous changes will occur in the field of genetics, and revolutionary changes will take place in the world of medicine.

There is also a great deal of difference between human beings and animals. That is, human beings are inquisitive by nature, and they want to learn and understand everything. This is a fact. While explaining the difference between plants and animals, I do not think that we would say that an animal is a moving plant. No, we would not say this. Likewise, we should not say that human beings are rational animals. Human beings are human beings. Why should we hurt human sentiments by calling human beings rational animals? One who is born a human being today, even a person who has engaged in sinful acts, will become a great person in the future if they follow disciplined habits, so why should we call human beings rational animals? Hence, the opinion of the philosophers of the past cannot be accepted because it is illogical. Moreover, rationality is not the only speciality of human beings.

There are some special common attributes of plants, animals and human beings which can be termed their Práńa Dharma or Jiivan Dharma. Práńa Dharma has more meaning than Jiivan Dharma. Inactivity, rest, the need for security, reproduction and death are common characteristics of plants, animals and human beings. The physical bodies of all three are also dependent on food and water. These are characteristics of all living beings. Wherever there is life, these characteristics will exist.

Besides this, plants have some additional attributes. For example, only plants can gather vitality from inside the earth. Neither human beings nor animals can do this. Plants can even gather food from the atmosphere and give some food to it. (Human beings can also do this, but not as much.) Because plants perform this kind of work, we can say that they have their own speciality called “plant dharma.” This is the speciality of plants. There is also another attribute of the plants – they drink with their feet. It is because of this unique quality that trees are called pádapa in Saḿskrta. The same word means “that which sprouts from the earth.” Mahaiiruha means “that which comes up from underneath the soil.”

Likewise, animals also have some special characteristics. On the basis of these characteristics, different categories of animals have been made. For example, some animals are carnivorous and others are graminivorous. Carnivorous animals eat meat, fish and eggs. According to the laws of nature, canine teeth are necessary for chewing meat properly. Carnivorous animals such as cats, dogs, tigers and lions possess canine teeth, but cows, monkeys, elephants, wild asses, etc. do not possess canine teeth. Nature does not want them to eat meat. But what do greedy human beings do? Even though they do not possess canine teeth, they cook or boil meat so that they can eat it. This is done out of greed. According to the laws of nature, human beings are not carnivorous. So, if they eat meat they will catch numerous diseases. Vegetarians generally suffer from fewer diseases than non-vegetarians because they are more habituated to following natural laws. You must have noticed that those who violate the laws of nature and become non-vegetarian, even though they do not possess canine teeth, have peculiar eating habits. Sometimes it even seems as if non-vegetarians eat like dogs. Non-vegetarians have trouble chewing meat properly because of the absence of canine teeth.

There are also other categories of animals. For instance, some animals are gregarious and others are not. The tiger is not a gregarious animal – it prefers to move alone. Goats are not gregarious, but sheep, elephants and lambs are. Human beings are social beings. They do not like to remain in isolation. Besides this, animals are also guided by natural instincts. I once told you about an animal called the octopus which lives under the sea. It has eight legs, therefore it is called an “octopus.” In Latin “octo” means eight. Crabs are one of its favourite foods. In Saḿskrta a crab is known as “karkat́a” and in Latin “cancer.” The pain caused by the bite of a crab and experienced in the disease known as cancer are very similar, therefore the disease cancer was named after the Latin word for crab. As the octopus lives beneath the sea, it is able to see other creatures near the surface. When it catches sight of a crab, it rises up from the depths and devours it. The octopus does not understand that a creature like the crab, with eight or ten legs, may enjoy playing in the sea. It only knows that crabs are delicious food. If you make some crabs unconscious and take them to the bottom of the sea so that an octopus will see them, the octopus will not be able to tell whether the crabs are edible or not because they are immobile. Hence, the octopus will not attack or eat them. These are the expressions of natural instinct. In Saḿskrta also, you can call these expressions natural instincts.

Human beings remain under the control of natural instincts until their nature is properly developed. In infancy and childhood, human beings do everything out of natural instinct. For example, when children get hungry they start crying so that their mothers will understand that they want something to eat and drink. They suck the breasts of their mothers to get milk due to natural instinct. There is no need to teach children this.

[[The evolution of human beings began with the apeman and then the proto-apeman. Next came the Australopithecine, followed by its branches and sub-branches, including proto-man. One branch of proto-man were the ancestors of human beings, and another branch were the ancestor of chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans.⁽¹⁾ None of the proto-man group have any external tail, though they have a tail inside the body.]] A foetus in the early stage of pregnancy from an animal in this group will have a tail, but later the tail becomes shorter rather than longer. In the hoary past, there was some resemblance amongst primitive human beings, chimpanzees and orang-utans. The former group developed intellectually, but the latter group did not. Hence, the former group evolved into human beings, while the latter group remained at the animal stage.

Natural instincts did not vanish with the advent of human beings. Have you seen monkeys quarrel? They chatter and show their teeth. Human beings also behave like this when they quarrel in anger. However, monkeys are entirely dominated by instinct – they have not lost any of their natural instincts. How did primitive apemen behave? They used to live in trees, and because of this the word monkey means shákhámrga in Saḿskrta. In Marathi, the word mrga means any wild animal. Hence, mrga-carma means the skin of any wild animal, not only the skin of deer, although deer are certainly included in mrga. Apemen used to grasp the branches of a tree, just as monkeys still do. This natural instinct is also evident in human beings when infants keep their hands closed. If monkeys are afraid or quarrel with other monkeys, they catch hold of a branch very tightly so that they will not fall. When human beings are gripped with fear or ready to fight against an enemy, they also clench their fists very tightly. These are examples of natural instincts.

In the course of time, instincts were less influential in human beings than in janwars or animals, so human beings evolved into a separate species. Human beings are not animals but jandars or living beings. In the Persian language the suffix dar is used to indicate possession. One is called jandar or living in the sense that one possesses life. If jan is used in the same sense and war is added, it becomes janwar or animal. Janwar and jandar are not the same. In some cases the suffix gar is also used. For instance, jadugar means magician, saudagar means businessman, etc. The speciality of human beings is that they are endowed with rationality, which is part of manav dharma or human dharma.

Plants follow plant dharma and animals follow animal dharma. Thus, plants and animals follow their own particular dharma, and there is nothing wrong in this. Tigers may attack and kill human beings, but this is not their fault. However, if human beings consume beef, then they are following animal dharma. Human beings have to follow their own dharma. The speciality of human beings is rationality, and because of this rationality there are four aspects of human dharma. Human being move ahead through these four aspects. And those who progress through these four aspects can be described as following the path of human dharma. Thus, there are three dharmas – plant dharma, animal dharma and human dharma.

Another name for human dharma is Bhágavata Dharma. Bhagavat Dharma contains no divisions like the division between Hindus and Muslims. This dharma is for all human beings. It makes no distinctions based on isms – it is for the entire humanity. That is why we raise the slogans, “Mánava mánava ek hyáy” (All humans are one) and, “Mánav ká dharma ek hyáy” (The dharma of humans is one.) This dharma alone is Adi Dharma, Sanátan Dharma or Eternal Dharma. Bhagavat Dharma has four aspects – vistára or expansion, rasa or flow, sevá or service and tadsthiti or attainment of the supreme stance. The fundamental aim of Bhagavat Dharma is vistára – that is, psychic expansion. But in order for human beings to expand their minds, they have to realize that they are one with the supernatural cosmic flow. They have to move ahead remaining connected with the cosmic flow – merging their pleasure and pain, hopes and aspirations with the cosmic rhythm. So human beings have to move ahead, move forward, keeping pace with the cosmic flow. This alone is known as the rása liila or the cosmic dance of Parama Puruśa. Taking part in this rása liila, human beings have to move ahead towards their goal. An indivisible cosmic rhythm which started from beginningless time marches ahead to infinity. No creature can remain away from this internal divine flow.

The third aspect is sevá or service. In the life of animals, there is no scope for service. There is only scope for mutual transaction, or what we call commodity transaction.

Phela kaŕi mákho tel.

[Pay money and take the goods.]

This is the policy. Perhaps you know the story of the kumiir, which is called makar in Saḿskrta, crocodile in English and magarmaccha in Hindi. The crocodile is a carnivorous creature. Although it likes to stay in water, it is not an aquatic animal. It enters the water to catch its prey, and after devouring its prey it returns to the bank and lies quietly with its mouth open. Small birds often come and eat the pieces of meat stuck between the teeth of the crocodile. What is the result? The birds get their food and the teeth of the crocodile are cleaned. At that time the crocodile does not close its mouth, or else the birds would be killed. This is a commercial transaction.

Human beings alone have the speciality of service. At the time of doing service, the motive must be that I shall give but not take. Service is one-sided. When human beings donate something, they do not expect anything in return. For example, if you give something to a beggar, you do not expect anything in return. Furthermore, once you have donated something, you forget about it. This is the speciality of human beings. However, some people make donations for other reasons. For instance, suppose a man donates a hundred thousand rupees to a charity. At night he will not be able to sleep because he is continuously thinking that in the morning he will get up and read in the newspaper that he, Chatumal Dakuram Batpari, donated a large amount of money for the public welfare. You should not behave like this. Once you donate something, you should forget about it immediately. A donation is one-way. If you offer flowers to Parama Puruśa, and at the same time you say mentally, “Parama Puruśa, my son has just appeared in his exams, so you must see that he passes very well. Also, my daughter must get a good husband and a good house. And I should be victorious in the court case against my cousin, etc.” – this will not do. You have to offer yourself without expecting anything in return. If you offer yourself completely at that time, you will attain the highest benefit. You will become one with Parama Puruśa, you will become Parama Puruśa. But if you keep one paise out of a rupee, you cannot get oneness with Parama Puruśa because of that one paise. Hence if you want to offer yourself, offer yourself cent per cent. This alone is known as service.

The fourth aspect of human dharma is tadsthiti. In the long run, human beings have to become one with Parama Puruśa. This is not the case with animals. Hence in the Giitá it is said:

“O human beings – bear in mind that you have attained a human frame, a human mind. Hence, you have to follow human dharma. Be firmly established in it. Even if you meet death while following this dharma, even then it is well and good. But never follow paradharma. That is very dangerous; very, very horrible. This paradharma is the dharma of plants and animals. Humans must not follow this kind of dharma.”

In the Giitá, Shrii Krśńa said something more. He said that if human dharma causes pain and torture, and if paradharma (plant or animal dharma) is easily performed and results in a bed of roses being spread out before you, even then it is preferable to follow human dharma. Human beings should strictly avoid paradharma under all circumstances.

Footnotes

(1) [[Compare with the author’s “Human Society is One and Indivisible – 1”, “The Great Exceptions”, “Sambhúti and Mahásambhúti” and (in Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours, 2007) “Creation and Evolution of the Animal World – Life of Aquatic Creatures”, topic on A Sweet Lyrical Interpretation of the Evolution of the Living World. –Trans.]]

Chapter 9	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

Human beings come onto this earth for a very short period, and within this short period they are required to complete everything. So there is a great deal of work to be done, but the time is very short. Thus intelligent people make the best use of every moment of their time – wasting one’s time is the height of foolishness. No human being on this earth will remain for long, and the very goal of human life is to attain the Supreme Stance. Human beings while moving forward towards that Goal which is fixed before their minds, will have to perform many interrelated works. That is why it is said, Keep one hand on the feet of Parama Puruśa, and with the other hand do your mundane duties. Let the mind be constantly attached to Parama Puruśa. And while performing one’s mundane duties one should always remember that these duties are also the task of Parama Puruśa. This very earth in which we are living is also a creation of Parama Puruśa, so to serve this world means to serve the children of the Cosmic Father. When someone takes care of the children of another family, which mother or father will not be satisfied to see that someone is caring for their children? So Parama Puruśa will certainly be pleased with those who serve His children. While discharging their mundane duties, they must remember that these duties are not intended for their personal interest; their only purpose is to serve Parama Puruśa. Is there any end to the mundane duties in the world?

However, the goal of all sorts of mundane duties is that human beings should live in this world in such a way that no one exploits others, no one causes misery to others. If there is less exploitation in the external world there will be less misery also; and in that case people will get more time to pursue their spiritual practices. Then human beings will attain the supreme state of spiritual fulfilment in life. If there is severe exploitation in the society, human attention is drawn towards that; and as a result their attention is diverted from their main goal. Then there arises some slackness in the path of their spiritual endeavour to realize Parama Puruśa. That is why you should remember that if a spiritual human society is to be built, human beings must be spared from exploitation and injustice. There should be proper arrangements for ensuring food, clothes, accommodation, education, and medical treatment for each and every human being. Those of you who want to establish righteousness and create virtuous people in this world, your bounden duty is to lay the foundation of a healthy society within a very short period. If all of you will work collectively in this effort, then it will not take a very long time; rather it will be accomplished very quickly.

I want that the present distressed condition of Chattisgarh should come to an end, and it should have a very bright future. Let the people from other parts of the world come here and learn how far the people here have achieved progress, and in which ways they are going to bring about progress in other spheres of life. Let the light of Chattisgarh be ever effulgent, like a luminous star in human society, so that all may learn and be benefited by it.

Chapter 10	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

We have come again to Anandanagar after a long time. Anandanagar is the nucleus of this universe. It is not merely the physical Anandanagar, it is also the Anandanagar of our inner heart. We will have to build it in all possible ways, we will have to take all steps for its rapid development so that it can show light to the entire universe.

But why should this be done so rapidly? Because human beings do not live by material objects alone; they also have their práńa dharma (their vital inner essence). Even if they are provided with all their material needs – their food, clothes, and all necessary requirements, they will die an inglorious death if they are detached from their práńa dharma. Anandanagar will provide that ancient eternal vital force. Thus it must be developed in all respects. This brooks no delay: to delay means to impair the cultural progress of the entire human society. We will not allow this to happen. Thus we must build Anandanagar in all ways.

Anandanagar has a unique glory, and that glory has developed out of the great sacrifice of many noble souls. Let Ananda nagar provide guidance to the entire universe in spiritual practice, service, sacrifice, renunciation, and culture. This is what we should pray for, and this is the reason that we should build Anandanagar and help it radiate light to the universal humanity. This is what I want.

After a long, long time, we have assembled here together again. What can be more joyful than this? When I entered Anandanagar, I was overwhelmed with joy. When I was looking at you, I could hardly restrain myself – I felt so happy, and I think that you, too, felt the same, because we have been able to again come and sit together here. What can be more delightful than this?

Each of the objects in the world has a vehicle, a medium. Let Anandanagar be the medium of our cultural progress; let us try to build Anandanagar and its adjoining villages in all respects – economically, socially and culturally. Any work which is difficult for one person to accomplish is not difficult for many people to perform. A bundle of sticks is a burden if one person carries it, but if it is divided amongst many, it becomes only a light load. Similarly if we all work together unitedly, it will not be difficult to establish Anandanagar as an ideal cultural and spiritual centre. Let us dedicate ourselves to this noble task from this very moment.

Chapter 11	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

Nothing in this world is without a cause: there is a cause behind everything. All the entities emanate from one particular starting point, and end in a particular culminating point. They emanated from a causal factor, and they rush towards the effect factor. Thus nothing in this universe is static; in each and everything there is latent mobility. Where there is no mobility, the existence of an entity remains unsubstantiated. So wherever there is existence, there is bound to be some mobility.

If there is a tree, it is obvious that there was a seed. But wherever there is a seed, it cannot be said that it will become a tree. Human beings move on: the impetus for their forward movement is derived from their previous stage, and the goal of their movement, as well as the strength for this movement, is Parama Puruśa.

Human beings have to move, and move on ceaselessly. When they are endowed with the strength of movement, they will have to move in a proper manner. Where there is strength, that strength must be properly utilized. One must not slip into slumber, allowing this strength to remain inert. Parama Puruśa has given this power to be utilized. The knowledge of the learned, the strength of the strong, the intelligence of the intellectuals – all these faculties have been given not to be merely preserved but to be utilized. Those persons who do not utilize their faculties have no right to ask for anything from the Lord, and those who misuse their faculties are also doomed to destruction. The misuse of one’s qualities not only brings harm to the world, but it also exhausts one’s own inherent strength. You have seen with your own eyes that in the past certain powerful persons thought, in their extreme vanity, that they could make or break anything. They perpetrated indescribable tortures and atrocities on Ananda Marga. But even in the face of such torments, Ananda Marga held its head high. There is no power in the universe, in the heaven or in the underworld, which can annihilate Ananda Marga, because Ananda Marga is established on the solid foundation of rationality and righteousness. If those wicked forces engage in fight with Ananda Marga, they will themselves be pulverized: they will be crushed like ants.

Human beings steeped in their vanity of power and ego, sometimes betray their bitter hostility; but then when they later repent for their misdeeds, their repentance is to no avail, because destiny has already taken its course. You know, there was a person who wielded enormous power; and in his or her sky-kissing arrogance, that person used to think, “I can do anything and everything.” But what that person did not know was that one of the names of Lord Naráyana is “the Stealer of Vanity” (Darpahárii). He does not tolerate anyone’s vanity – He grinds it into dust. You must continue to work, and whatever strength and intelligence and spiritual power you possess, you must continue to utilize and move ahead. No one has come in this world to remain motionless. Everyone will have to move, and move they must.

You know the story of the Vedic rśi Rohita. He was a great scholar of ancient days, but because of his vast scholarship there was great vanity in him. He thought to himself, “What is the necessity of work? It is better to idly while away my time.” His father was also a great rśi. He noticed this defective thinking of his son and told him,

Kalao shayáno bhavati saiṋjihánastu Dvápara;
Uttiśt́han Tretá bhavati Krataḿ sampadyate carań.

“All the creatures in this world come to perform some deeds; no one has come to remain motionless, certainly not to waste their time lazily sitting and sleeping.” How beautiful is the face of a person, glistening with the sweat of hard labour! Even the king of the gods would consider himself fortunate to have such a person as his companion. Such a person deserves to be recognized as a great personality, as a superior human being.

Thus I say, Caraeveti, caraeveti – move ahead, move ahead. Do not be motionless or waste your time in sleep. It is not at all proper to waste one’s valuable time in lazily sitting or sleeping. As long as people sleep, their fortune also sleeps. When they awake and think to rise up, their fortune also begins to awaken. The moment they sit up, their fortune also rises; and as soon as they start moving, their fortune also advances. So everyone has to move forward along the path of righteousness, while fighting against wrongs and injustices. While moving one must move in an intelligent manner, in a righteous way, struggling against evil with the vow to protect the good and innocent.

Those who are not moving and are not endeavouring to discover their own true selves, are steeped in dark inertness. It should be understood that in their lives, it is the age of Kali Yuga (the Iron Age or the age of static darkness). When one sleeps in the darkness of ignorance, that is the state of Kali Yuga. Though they have attained a human form, for them it is of no avail. Kali Yuga has no other meaning than this. And the person who suddenly comes to his or her senses thinks “What am I doing? Even after attaining a human form, I am just wasting my time in utter negligence. I am not utilizing the human body, the human intellect, the human wisdom with which I have been endowed.” When this awareness dawns in the human mind, it should be understood that one’s life is now entering Dvápara Yuga (the Age of Copper).

Immediately after this awakening, when people spring into action and think, “Now I must wake up and start my work,” then their lives are entering Tretá Yuga (the Age of Silver). And when they start moving forward, their lives enter Satya Yuga, the Golden Age. Thus Kali Yuga, Dvápara Yuga, Tretá Yuga and Satya Yuga in fact do not exist in the external world; they lie embedded in the very psychology of human beings.

Chapter 12	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

One thing that should be remembered is that in this universe nothing is useless or meaningless. Each word, each existence has a certain meaning; perhaps that meaning is not known to you, but whether you know it or not, there is a meaning. Take for example the colour white. You see white colour with your eyes; the vibration of this colour enters your brain, and there this vibration emits a sound wave, “dhab, dhab, dhab.” From this sound came the Saḿskrtá root verb dhav, and from this root verb came words like dhavala (“white” in Saḿskrta) and dhavlá (“white” in Hindi). So you see, from a particular acoustic vibration has evolved a word with a particular meaning.

On the north of this land of Mithila stands the Himalayas; to the west the Nárayańii-Gańd́aka river; in the south the Ganges, and to the east, the old Kaoshii river. The ancient name for Mithila was Videha. When the Aryans first entered India from Central Asia to the west, in the first stage they advanced up to Allahabad, and then they proceeded to Varanasi. In Central Asia there was neither sufficient land nor water; but after arriving in India they found that the land there was very fertile; there were plenty of resources for food, clothing, etc. Thus they first named the country Jambudviipa (“an island with an abundance of stones of the colour of blackberries”) and later renamed it Bháratvarsa. The root verb bhr means “to feed” or “to maintain”; ta means “that which helps in expansion”, and varśa means “land”. So the name Bháratvarsa means “the land where there is an abundance of resources for existence and expansion.”

However, as the Aryans advanced eastward from Varanasi, they noticed that the people of the eastern regions did not lag behind in culture. Some minor clashes occurred between the indigenous population and the advancing Aryans; and the Aryans’ sense of superiority and vanity of culture was increasingly deflated as they moved eastward from Allahabad.

Allahabad was originally named Prayága; pra means “well” and yága means “activity”; so Prayága means “the place where the different activities of life are performed in a very nice way.” After coming to Varanasi, the Aryans found it futile to fight with the virtuous people there, because the entire land was a Tantrik area. So they declared that those who would advance eastwards would be degenerated. The purpose behind this declaration was to prevent people from moving eastward in order to avoid any struggle with the people of eastern India; for such a struggle would certainly mean the Aryans’ defeat. Thus Mithila, Magadha, Bengal and Assam were declared as non-Aryan land, and all Aryans were prohibited from going there.

But the land of Mithila was extremely fertile, and the Aryans were greedy to possess it. So the Aryans were in a dilemma: whether or not to advance and occupy the land. Those of them who crossed the Sarayu river and entered the non-Aryan land were declared to be of an inferior caste; they were called Sarayúpáŕii Bráhman. But as their greed increased more and more, they crossed the Naráyánii Gańd́aka and entered Mithila. Those who came to Mithila became quite prosperous, and those who stayed behind began to feel extremely envious. So they declared that those who crossed the river were of an inferior caste.

The inhabitants of Mithila were of Aryan-Austriko-Mongoloid stock. Those who crossed the Naráyánii-Gańd́aka river were hated by the others, and behind this psychology of hatred was the instinct of greed. In those days there was a rule that during the period of performance of a sacrifice, five scholars were required to be present: one of them was a scholar of the Atharva Veda who was called Bráhmana; another was a scholar of the Yajur Veda who was called Adhvarju; one was a scholar of the Sáma Veda called Udgáta, and the fourth was a scholar of the Rg Veda who was called Rtvika. The supervisor of all the four scholars was called Hotá. In those days the land of Mithila was called Videha. The king of Videha declared that if the people perform yajiṋas or sacrifices, they would become holy (ignorant people think like this). The king thought, “Well, I will perform a sacrifice according to the injunctions of the Vedas, and then people can no longer declare this country as unholy, non-Aryan land.” So he assembled three prominent hotás or sacrificial supervisors, and performed the sacrifice; and thus the land where the sacrifice was performed with the help of those three hotás became known as Trihotriiyabhúmi. Gradually the word became transformed into Tirhotiiyabhumi in Mágadhii Prákrta, and in old Maethilii it became Tirhut. So the second name of Mithila became Tirhut. The king who performed the sacrifice was King Mithi, and in Saḿskrtá the root verb la means “to hold”; so Mithi + la + suffix d́a + t́á (feminine suffix) = Mithilá. Thus Mithila means, “the land which holds, or which is held by, King Mithi”. This is the history of Mithila in a nutshell.

Chapter 13	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

The inhabitants of Mithila are of Aryan-Austrico-Mongoloid stock. The percentage of Aryan blood is less than the percentage of Austric and Mongoloid blood. It is natural that the number of dark-complexioned people should be more than that of the fair-complexioned people. These are the original inhabitants of Mithila.

Different countries have different kinds of pronunciation. For example, the Chinese people cannot pronounce the sound “r” properly. In Mithila also there is a special kind of pronunciation; the saḿvrta style of pronunciation is more common than the vivrta style. For instance, in certain parts of India ka, kha, ga and gha are pronounced somewhat like ká, khá, gá and ghá, which is commonly known as the vivrta style of pronunciation. In some places it is pronounced as ko, kho go, and gho. This is called tiryak style of pronunciation. Another speciality of the pronunciation in Mithila is that the vowel sounds ending in long “ii” become changed into short “i”, and the last vowel is pronounced before the consonant; for instance, mát́ii is pronounced as máit́. Similarly pánii is pronounced as páin.

Mithila is situated in the eastern part of India. The system of astrological calculation of western India and that of Mithila are not the same. Those of you who are the students of geography know that the time of a clock changes according to the longitude of a place. In those days saptasindhu (the land of the seven rivers) was the centre of the land of the Aryans, The system of astrological calculation will not apply in Mithila.

After coming to Benares the Aryans found that the Tantrik system of astrological calculation was in vogue there. Further eastward, that is in Mithila, the system of calculation was supposed to be different. So the almanac that was used in the Mithila area did not conform to that of northern India or Varanasi – Mithila has its own almanac. In the Patna and Gaya areas of Magadha, the Varanasi almanac can be used, but not in Mithila. There the tirhutii almanac was in wide use, because Mithila is situated in the eastern part of India, at a different longitude, and as such it should, and does, have its own almanac.

Due to ethnic differences, it is natural that there should also be some difference in social systems and customs, and in fact there were different social customs in the Mithila area. Manu was an illustrious author of social treatises among the Aryans. The social code written by Manu was popular throughout India, but the people of Mithila found that some alterations were necessary according to local situations. Thus in Manu’s social code there were certain local variations. For example, the Tamil variation of Manu’s social code which has certain specialities of its own, is popular in Tamilnadu and Madras. The second variation is that of Maharashtra, with its own distinct specialities as well. The third variation is that of the Punjab. According to Mann’s social code, sons are entitled to paternal property; but according to the Punjabi variation, although sons have the birthright to their paternal property, they cannot claim it during their fathers’ lifetime. This is the speciality of the Punjab school of Manu’s social code. The fourth variation is that of Varanasi, and the fifth is that of Mithila. Mithila has its own code of inheritance which is prevalent from the Naráyánii Gand́haka to the Kaoshii river. Thus we see that in all respects Mithila has its own specialities.

In ancient India three scripts arose upon the death of Bráhmii and Kharośt́hi scripts. The Sárada script was used to the northwest of Allahabad; the scholars of Kashmir even today write Saḿskrtá in Sáradá scripts. To the southwest of Allahabad the Náradá script is used; for example, in Gujarat, in Rajasthan, etc.; and those who use this script are known as Nágara Brahmins. The Brahmins of Gujarat are called Nágara Brahmins, and their script is known as Nágrii script. The script which is used east of Allahabad – that is, in Bihar, Bengal, Assam and Orissa – is known as Kut́ilá script. All this took place about 3000 years ago. Naturally the Mithila script of Tirhut script is Kut́ilá script. All the rock inscriptions or copper inscriptions which have been unearthed in these areas are all written in the Kut́ilá script. Thus this proves that Mithila has all along had its own script and its own alphabet.

All this indicates that Mithila had all the special characteristics that an independent state should have. Thus you, the children of the present-day Mithila, should remember that even five or six thousand years ago there was a great civilization at Mithila, and it was a pre-Aryan civilization: that is, it existed even before the Aryans migrated to India. Thus you can easily understand how ancient was the civilization of Mithila.

Prior to the Aryan migration to India, the ideas of the common people were based on the science of Tantra. Tantra means the practical process of intuitional science, of spiritual realization; it does not mean any external rituals. The very land of Mithila is the land of Tantra. Here the Nyaya school of philosophy attained prominence only 700 years ago, but prior to that, Tantra enjoyed the dominant position. According to Buddhist Tantra, this Mithila school of Tantra had a close relation to that of China, Kamrup, Bengal, and Kashmir. It is one of the very ancient traditions of Tantra.

The people of Mithila are very rational-minded and intellectual by disposition. There was no differentiation of caste among them even as far back as in the post-Buddhist age. The discrimination of caste arose during the British rule, and it was injected in people’s minds for political reasons. These matters of caste are not very old. You must completely root out these sorts of discriminatory feelings arising from external sources and try to become people of elevated standard, as your ancestors were.

Now I would like to say a few words about language. This discourse will be incomplete if nothing is said about the history of the Mithila language. According to the system of astrological calculations, sometimes people’s longevity is counted at 108 years, and sometimes 120 years. The first system is known as áśt́ottariiya, and the second one is called vitwshottariiya. Similarly, each language emerges after 1000 years and a script emerges after 2000 years. Here script means letters (ABC, etc). About 4000 years ago, the Aryan or Vedic language died, and in its wake emerged its seven daughters. In eastern India, that is, east of Allahabad, appeared the Magadhi Prákrta. In central north India arose the Shaorasenii Prákrta; in central west India arose Paeshácii Prákrta; in the far-off Northwestern Frontier Province, Páshcháttya Prákrta; in Sind and Baluchistan, Pahlavii Prákrta in Rajasthan, west Madhya-Pradesh and Gujarat, Málavii Prákrta; and Maháráśtra and Goa, Maháráśt́rii Prákrta. Prakrta language means “people’s language”; that is, the language of the common masses. Lord Buddha and Lord Maháviira preached their religions in eastern India using the Magadhii Prákrta, which many people call Pali language. One thousand years after its birth, Magadhii Prákrta also died a natural death, because as I have said earlier, the average lifespan of any language is roughly one thousand years. Magadhii Prákrta left behind its two daughter, eastern demi-Magadhii and western demi-Magadhii. One thousand years later, these languages also died out. The languages born out of this eastern demi-Magadhii are still alive; Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Angika and Maethilii. Western demi-Magadhii also left behind two daughters, Magahi and Bhojpuri.

The languages descended from eastern demi-Magadhii have certain characteristics. One is that the sound ca appears at the end of a verb, for instance, ham jáyche (“I am going”) in Angika, ham jáycham in Maethilii, ámi yácchi in Bengali, mo jáyche in Assamese, and mu áuchi in Oriya. Similarly, there is the sound la as the verb ending in the past tense; for example, for “I went”: ham gáylii in Angika, ham gáyliiye in Maethilii, ámi gelám in Bengali, man galo in Assammese. Similarly, in the future tense, the va sound occurs as a verb ending; for example, ham jáybo in Angika, ham jaybae in Maethilii, ámi jábo in Bengali. In this way in the two languages of western demi-Magadhii, Magahi and Bhojpuri, there is the sound -la in the past tense, for instance, tun gaila in Angika, tun gailun in Maethilii. But in the present tense there is no ca sound. In Magahi people say ham jáhii, in Bhojpuri hamjátahii. That is, in the verb endings of the present tense, ca is not used at all.

Thus this Maethilii language is born from the Vedic language, which left behind two daughters – eastern demi-Magadhii and western demi-Magadhii, and Maethilii belongs to the eastern demi-Magadhii group. This language is approximately 1200 years old. Sometimes a language has a number of branches or dialects. Even in the villages there are differences between the spoken or colloquial languages. Maethilii language has three main dialects. One is Kaoshii dialect of Saharśá: in this dialect people pronounce chae instead of aich. In pure Maethilii the word bat́uk is used for a minor boy, whereas in the Kaoshii dialect people say bedrá. There are some local variations like this.

The second dialect is Madhubanii dialect, which is spoken in central Mithila; this is the standard Maethilii, in which books are written. The third dialect of Maethilii language is Bajjaká Maethilii. The western part of Mithila, that is Muzzafurpur and Hazipur regions, was previously known as Vajrabhumá. This is the reason why the local language of this area is known as Vajiká Maethilii. There are some minor differences between Vajiká, Maethilii and standard Maethilii; for example, in standard Maethilii the word chatha is used, but in Vajiká Maethilii hathii is used. In some places there is difference in the use of words, also; for instance, in standard Maethilii, sugar cane is called kushiyár, but in Vajiká Maethilii it is called ukh. In Vajiká Maethilii, guava is called amrud, but in standard Maethilii it is latám. All the words are Maethilii, but there are local variations in the spoken dialects.

Maethilii language also has a history behind it; in fact, it can be said that the Maethilii language has the oldest history of all the Saḿskrta-derived languages in India. The most ancient language is Tamil, about 3500 years old, and Maethilii is the second most ancient. This language is at least 1200 to 1300 years old, and its literature is 900 years old.

Chapter 14	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

When the Aryans first entered India, their first colony was Saptasindhu, “the land of the seven rivers,” which is nowadays known as the Punjab. The seven rivers are: Shatadru (Sutlej in English), Irávatii (Ravi), Vipáshá (Biás), Chandrabhagá (Chenub), Vitastá (Jhalúm), Sindus (Indus), and Kabul. Then the Aryans advanced up to the Jamuna river, that is, up to Harayáná (Haritdhánya – Hariyahánna – Hariyahánna – Harihána). In the third stage the Aryans moved to Prayága (Pra means well or ideal, and yága means action; so Prayága means a place where all kinds of activities are properly performed. Thereafter the Aryans reached Káshi (Benares); the last colony of the Aryans was Káshi. The original inhabitants of this area were mainly Austrics, but there were some Mongolians and Aryans also. So the ancient inhabitants of Kashi as a whole were Aryo-Austrico-Mongoloids.

The boundaries of a particular country, state or province are always subject to change. The recognized boundaries of the kingdom of Kashi were Prayága in the west, Náráyanii Gańd́aka in the east, the Himalayas in the north, and the Vindhyas in the south. The original name of this territory was the kingdom of Kashi, and its capital was the city of Kashi. One of the kings of this kingdom was King Bhoja. People used to say that Kashi is a holy place, and thus it should not become the capital city; so King Bhoja shifted the capital and called it Bhojpura. Thus the language of this area was known as Bhojpuri after King Bhoja and his capital Bhojpura. This Bhojpuri language belongs to the eastern demi-Magadhi Prákrta. All the languages of east India are derived from Magadhii Prákrta, which the Buddhists call the Pali language. You know that the average lifespan of a language is 1000 years; so when eastern Mágadhii Prákrta died after 1000 years, there arose two languages: eastern demi-Magadhii and western demi-Mágadhii. One of the common characteristics of these languages is that, in the endings of the verbs in the past tense there is sound “la”: samajh gaila (“have you understood?” in Bhojpuri); and in the future tense there is ba sound (ham jaiba in Bhojpuri, ámi jabo in Bengali. In the present tense in eastern demi-Magadhii Prákrti, the sound ca is used. For example, ham jáychii in Aungika, mo jáucho in Mithila, ami jácchi in Bengali, and mun jauchi in Oriya. But in the western demi-Magadhii languages, that is, Magahi and Bhojpuri, the ca sound is not used in the present tense. For instance, in ham játarahalbáhi (“I am going” in Bhojpuri) and ham játahi in Magahi, there is no ca sound. This is the recognized system in western demi-Magadhii.

Each language usually has several dialects. In Bhojpuri also there are three dialects: 1) Árrah dialect 2) Varanasi dialect which is also called Kashika dialect 3) Campárań dialect. The ancient name of Campárań was Campakárańya. There is very little difference amongst Campárań dialect, Árráh dialect, and Varanasi dialect. For instance, in some places people say báńii, in other places, bátii, and still in others khátiir or lah or báde. These minor local variations can be found, and although Bhojpuri is an east Indian language, it is slightly influenced by Shaorasenii Prákrta.

In some areas there is also some difference in the verb endings, but not in all cases. For instances, karatá and karatiiyá, gaila and gailun. These are the specialities of Bhojpuri. Its pronunciation is saḿvrta, that is, the pronunciation of a word ends in -a sound, as in manda. As the people of this area belong to Aryo-Austrico-Mongoloid stock, there are numerous Saḿskrta words in the language; but the system of pronunciation is different from that of Saḿskrta. History shows that during the last phase of the Aryan colonisation, the Aryan influence in Northern India was totally obliterated: that is, from other side of the Náráyańii-Gańd́aka or on the Shon river, the Aryan influence became altogether extinct. But in the Bhojpur area the Aryan and Austrik influence was fully retained. The Mongolian influence was minimal.

From the economic point of view the soil of this area is extremely fertile, but the local people are very poor. The people are industrious, and the soil is fertile, but the local people are extremely poor. What is the reason? Because there is tremendous exploitation in the area. Nowadays education is being developed, and the task of the educated boys and girls of this area is to free their land from exploitation as soon as possible. The land is not poor – only the people are poor. If the land is not poor, why should the people be poor? There should not be poverty among the people at all in this area. So it is your bounden duty to make this beautiful fertile land free from exploitation.

Chapter 15	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

Each and every language has five fundamental characteristics: The first is that it must have its own verbal forms. For instance, we say in English, “Ram is going”; in Hindi, Ram ja raha hay, and in Saḿskrta, Ramah gacchati. English has its own verb forms, “is going,” Saḿskrta also has its own verb forms – “gacchati”. Páharii Punjábi is also a language because it too has its own verbs – for example, akśa basha or akśaŕa dasha. This is the first characteristic of a language: it has its own verbs.

In Saḿskrtá, there are some verb endings such as -ti (gacchati), -tah (gacchatah), -anti (gacchanti), -si (gacchasi), -thas (gacchathah), and -tha (gacchathá), etc.

The second characteristic of a language is case endings for nouns, for example, “Ram’s sister is eating bread”; in Saḿskrtá we say, Ramasya bhaginii rot́ikáḿ khádati. In Hindi we say Rám rii bhaen rotii kháráhii hay. And in Paháŕii language, Rám ki bhaen rot́ii khándii. In Punjabi language there is a tendency to pronounce in the tirjak style (the “a” sound tends towards the “o” sound). In English “Ram’s” means “of Ram”; in Saḿskrta Ramasya (we add -sya); in Hindi, Ramki; In Páháŕii, Ram rii (the suffix -rii is added). These are called case endings; they vary from language to language, and from the linguistic point of view, every language which has its own case endings deserves to be recognized as a language. In this respect Páháŕii Punjabi is also a language different from Hindi, since both have their different case endings.

The third characteristic of a language is its own pronouns. For example, we say, “He is going to Calcutta.” In Saḿskrtá, Sah kalikátám gacchati. In Hindi, “Vah kalikátá ja raha hay.” In Pahari, Naeśae kalkátta calao jásao. Thus each language has its own pronouns: “he” in English, vah in Hindi, sah in Saḿskrta and sao in Páháŕii. (There is some similarity between Páhárii and Saḿskrta). In this respect Páháŕii is a separate language, not merely a dialect; and Dogrii, too, is also a separate language, as I have told you previously.

The fourth characteristic of a language is that it must have its own vocabulary. Even if a learned person contradicts you in this regard, you should give a firm reply. It is my conviction that all will accept your logical opinion regarding the science of linguistics. Any language which has its own vocabulary has to be recognized as a separate language. Some reputed scholars in Hindi may argue against this; thus you should know the correct reply in advance. Some orthodox supporters of the Hindi language may argue in Hindi, and you will have to give the reply in Hindi. If you speak in English, they may not like to speak with you, because in their opinion English is a foreign language. There are some people who do this to hide their weakness in English. But the strange thing is this – that they send their own children to study in English-medium schools.

The word “wheat” in English is gehun in Hindi and kanaka in Páháŕii, kanakha in Punjabi, and kanaka in Dogrii. In Paeshácii Prákrta the original word was kanaka, from which the other derivatives kanakha, kanakan, etc. have come. From the mother language of Paeshácii Prákrta have emerged the three languages of Dogrii, Páháŕii and Punjabi. For instance, when we say in English, “What is the staple food of the Punjab?” (Usually the article “the” is not used before the name of any particular province; but it is used before Punjab. This is a peculiarity of the English language). The Saḿskrta translation of this sentence will be saptanadasya mukhyánnah godhúmo’sti. In Saḿskrta godhúma means “wheat”, and asti means “is”. (Asti in Sanskrit, ast in Persian. So you see what a great similarity there is between these two languages).

Again, in the Persian language it is said, Hanoj Dehlii dúr ast (“Delhi is still far from here”). Yá dost nist dushmane dushman ast (“He is not my friend, he is the enemy of my enemy”.) In Saḿskrta násti, in Persian nist – what a close similarity! In the same way, there is another word nest nábud (“no solid ground under one’s feet”). The Hindi rendering of the Saḿskrta sentence Saptanadasya mukhyánnah godhúmo’sti will be Gehun Punjáb kámukha khadya, and in Páhárii it will be Ka naki Punjab naedii pradhána, or Kanaka Punjab nadii khás. “Wheat” in English is godhumá in Sanskrit, gehu in Hindi, and kanaka in Páháŕii. Thus these four languages each have their separate vocabularies. And as Páháŕii has its own vocabulary, it should be recognized as a separate language.

The fifth characteristic of a language is that it must have its own literature, classical or folk. Now, when the Páháŕii farmers sing songs at the time of harvesting, are these songs composed in pure Urdu of Lucknow city? Certainly not. They are composed in the farmers’ own Páháŕii language. The songs are their folk literature.

These five above-mentioned characteristics are the essential conditions of a separate language. Thus I say that Páháŕii is a full-fledged language. It is not Hindi, it altogether different. Those who cry out “Hindi, Hindi!” in fact want to forcibly impose the Hindi language on the Páháŕii people so that they will become the slaves of the Hindi-speaking people, just as English was imposed on the Indian people to enslave them. This is a type of psycho-economic exploitation. Try to understand well the implication of this.

Let me make the matter of psycho-economic exploitation even more clear. Suppose a certain Hindi chauvinist has come to see you. When you speak to him, you will certainly speak in Hindi, and so will he. But he is speaking his mother tongue, whereas you are not. Perhaps ungrammatical Hindi words will come out of your mouth. But it is obvious that in your expression there may be some fundamental errors, and the use of words will not be precise and to-the-point. This will create a diffidence in your mind, a kind of inferiority complex, whereas the Hindi-knowing people may suffer from superiority complex. They may think of you, “What a fool he is! He cannot speak with grammatical precision!” But instead if you speak in your own mother tongue, your expression will be grammatically correct. So when you speak Hindi you become somewhat inferior to those Hindi-speaking person and, talking advantage of our inferior position, they may exploit you economically. They should not be given this opportunity of psycho-economic exploitation. If this sort of psycho-economic exploitation is tolerated, if they are given the opportunity to exploit for long, they will become rulers and you will become their subjects. This is how psycho-economic exploitation is perpetrated; in the first stage the exploiters impose inferiority complex in your mind by creating psychic pressure. When your language is suppressed, you will feel mentally inferior and develop some psychic weakness. Taking advantage of this psychic weakness, the exploiters will continue their psycho-economic exploitation. So those who advocate the cause of Hindi thus pave the way for psycho-economic exploitation. Actually they are not your friends.

It is also true that the Hindi language has many dialects; the spoken language varies from district to district. But Páháŕii is not a dialect of Hindi, Páháŕii itself is a language altogether different from Hindi. I hope you have well understood these five characteristics of a language.

So if the Páháŕii-speaking people demand that the Páháŕii language should be used in all spheres of their social life, that will not at all be irrational; in fact, Páháŕii should be used in courts, schools and colleges, in official correspondence, in airports, and in radio stations.

Three scripts can be used writing Páháŕii: the Táḿrii script which is the popular script of this region, Dogrii script which is used in the Dogrii-speaking areas, and Sirmaorii script which is used in the Nahan areas. Devanágrii script is not popular here; it is the script of Gujarat. Hindi is also the script of Gujarat; it has no relation to the script used in this area. The inscriptions on the rocks and stones that can be excavated from this area are not carved in Nágrii script because Nágrii script was never popular in this area. The Táḿrii script is popular in Kinnore area also. This script has some similarly to the Tibetan script. In a mountain cave in Tibet, it is written in Táńrii script, Oṋḿ mane padme hum, oṋḿ mane padme hum. Thus Táḿrii script should be used in writing the Páháŕii language. As I already told you, when the Dogrii language will be used for local purposes, the Dogrii-speaking people will also feel proud. They will think that they, too, have something of their own, that they are not anyone’s slave. If some one contradicts you in this regard, you should give them a fitting reply. Although no written book is available now, yet three or four-hundred-year old books in Dogrii script will certainly be found right in this area. If there are any Saḿskrtá knowing scholars here, they will tell you all about this. There should be many Saḿskrtá-knowing scholars, because wherever there were kings, there were Saḿskrtá schools and Saḿskrtá scholars.

You should search for old manuscripts written on bark or palm leaves. Many manuscripts were written on bark or leaves (bhurjapatra), and I find many bhurja trees all around this area.

As I told you earlier, the old books were not written in Devanágrii script, for this script was imposed from outside. In fact, the Devanágrii script is a script of the Gujarat scholars. As many people are not aware of the exact history, they wrongly think that Devanágrii is the original script for writing Saḿskrtá, but this is not at all the case. Actually Saḿskrtá has no script of its own; so there was a rule that when Saḿskrtá was written, it could be written in any script. Thus Saḿskrtá is always written in the script of the concerning area. It is written in Bengali script in Bengal, and in Tamil script in Madras. It is not written in Devanágárii script in Madras. When the British established universities for higher education, they decided that when Saḿskrtá would be taught in each university, Devanágrii script should be used to write it.

The language of Himachal Pradesh, the local language here, is born out of Paeshácii Prákrta, and Hindi is born of Shoraseni Prákrta. Many people are not aware of this fact. Had they been aware of it, there would not be so much conflict regarding languages and scripts. Even those who are educated and respectable people are also not aware of this fact. Had they known this, they would have certainly conveyed these facts of history to others.

Chapter 16	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Liberation of Intellect”. Every living being, every entity, wants liberation. Unless and until an entity attains liberation, whether in the crude physical sphere or in the subtle sphere, its natural development does not take place. Unless its natural development takes place we cannot obtain detailed knowledge about that entity, and for that reason we cannot achieve maximum utilization of that object.

One of the valuable treasures of human beings is their intellect. Of course, you may say that intuition is more valuable than intellect. It is true, indeed. But the fact is, that intuition is generally a substance of the spiritual world, whereas the domain of intellect is both the crude world and the subtle world. In the spiritual world also, the inspiration from intellect is a very important factor. That is why we cannot ignore the contribution of intellect. If we ignore intellect, we will have to deny the difference between human and non-human beings in the mundane world.

What is intellect? In the process of evolution, when the ahaḿtattva (ego), the subtler form of the citta (elementary mind), has a greater area than that of the citta, then the enlarged area of ahaḿtattva is called buddhi [intellect].

Bodhi [intuition] is different. When the existential “I” feeling, or mahattattva, becomes larger in area than the ahaḿtattva, then the enlarged area of existential “I” feeling is called bodhi (intuition). This intuition establishes the link between the crude world and the subtle world. And as a result of a closer link being established between the subtle and spiritual worlds and as a result of its closer acquaintance with the sweetness of the spiritual world, this intuition guides human beings along the path of spirituality. And for those who have both intellect and intuition, intuition being more colourful and more sweet, intellect becomes somewhat dimmed or lustreless. This is why some people are of the opinion that people of the spiritual world are less intelligent; but the fact is different. It is not that spiritual people are less intelligent, but that to them the intellect, as compared to the intuition, is less colourful. That is why they do not make full utilization of their intellect. They remain always preoccupied with intuition.

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Liberation of Intellect”. Intuition is an inborn faculty of human beings. Thus no effort is necessary for the liberation of intuition. The liberation of intuition comes automatically, without making any effort. But with intellect it is different. Different kinds of blow start coming from all sides on the human intellect, on the natural intellect of human beings. And due to these constant blows, the spontaneous development of intellect becomes thwarted, and consequently it starts degenerating. Human beings have got to be saved, in various ways, from this degeneration of the human spirit. If we do not protect the human intellect from undesirable onslaughts from various directions, then the future of the human race is surely enveloped in cimmerian darkness. To save the human race from that cimmerian darkness is the bounden duty of every individual.

Now a question arises: what is the real nature of intellect? When individual beings develop some kind of “I” feeling after coming in contact with matter, then that initial stage of undeveloped mind is termed the citta. And when there arises a subtler “I” feeling in the citta which does something more than merely establish a link with matter, that is, which acquires the capacity to direct matter according to its own desire, it is termed buddhi [intellect]. So this is the special nature of intellect.

The people of today are utilizing the quinquelemental universe in a better way than did the ancient human beings. With their intellect, people have made hundreds of scientific discoveries; with their intellect, people have learnt much from the practical world. In the future also, they will learn much more and they will do much more with their intellect. But if the spontaneous growth of intellect is stifled, as is happening in certain countries of the world, the individual and collective welfare of humanity will become impossible. In this world there were some people in the past, there are some even today, and there will be some in the future also, who do not want the human race to attain intellectual progress.

Why does this happen? I have already said that the task of intellect is to properly utilize all the properties of the universe, of the expressed world. But there are some selfish people in the world who are not in favour of the maximum utilization of mundane wealth, because they fear the control of the developed intellect over the material forces; and selfish people do not like that. They do not want anyone except themselves or a handful of their own group to attain any progress. Rather they would be happy to see that the individual and collective progress of others gets jeopardized.

Human beings are a kind of living being. Just as they have certain especial physical characteristics, just as they have certain especial psychic characteristics, so they have certain especial arrangements regarding food. Now, if the especial subtle and refined propensities of human beings are developed properly, they will be gradually elevated to the status of divinity.

Simultaneous with the development of especial human characteristics, there emerge certain especial racial characteristics in certain countries at certain times. Self-seeking people do not want the collective intellect of the human race to be utilized for the welfare of the entire human race; rather they, in the name of humanity, want to perpetuate divisive tendencies in society, because if they succeed in creating a rift in human society, that will pave the way for their personal benefit or self-aggrandizement. Thus they concoct various so-called scriptures and formulate all kinds of logic. They maintain to humanity that the different races in this world are not equal. Thus instead of considering the interests of the entire human society, they give preference to the interests of a particular community. This loud-mouthed propaganda in favour of a particular community, this parading of irrational logic, this sort of fallacious argument, all combine to stifle the spontaneous growth of human intellect. This sort of mentality is called dogma. A person who wants to promote others’ welfare, a person who wants to serve the entire humanity, must keep away from dogma. In addition to that, he or she will have to staunchly resist dogma. It is not enough to keep away from something which is considered a veritable sin, it is not enough to lodge only verbal protest against sin – one will have to wage an uncompromising fight against it. This is the greatest criterion of a truly righteous person.

The same thing applies to economic life also. All the five fundamental factors of this world, including monetary wealth, are all created by Parama Puruśa for the benefit of the entire human race. To remain under the same shelter of Parama Puruśa, to live and grow in proper rhythm, and to make one’s existence successful in all respects, is the birthright of every individual. Of course, there are a few opportunists whose very nature is to exploit their fellow humans. But they will not confess this openly. Rather, by resorting to irrational logic, they say that it is a providential decree for a certain percentage of people to remain neglected forever, that those people are destined to continue their existence of inhuman tortures, and that a handful of people are destined to roll in riches and live in plenty and prosperity. This is also dogma. Those who are intelligent as well as righteous must vehemently protest, and carry on a pactless fight against dogma, because that which throttles the free intellect of human beings is sure to frustrate their intellectual liberation.

A similar thing has happened in the social sphere as well. For instance, some people announced that women are not entitled to spiritual salvation. If women want to attain spiritual emancipation they will have to be reborn as men. What an absurd proposition! All are the progeny of Parama Puruśa; some of them are sons, some are daughters.

Can Parama Puruśa ever decree that only His sons will be entitled to liberation and salvation, and His daughters will not attain it? This is indeed a strange and unnatural proposition; it is sheer villainy. This sort of repulsive logic was injected into human brains by constantly harping on the theme that women have no right to spiritual salvation; and thus the spontaneous intellectual growth of women was impeded. The liberation of their intellect was curbed, and their spiritual progress and social advancement was severely hindered in many countries.

On one side the malevolent forces are keen to establish their professed dogmas, and on the other hand, Parama Puruśa wants the all-round development of human intellect. Hence I call upon you to carry on a ceaseless and pactless fight against dogma. You are sure to be crowned with victory.

Chapter 17	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

In all three worlds – human world, animal world and plant world – there are some common characteristics which determine their respective identities. In spite of that, living beings and plants are not exactly the same. Living beings have certain special duties and distinct characteristics which distinguish them from plants.

Had living beings not possessed these special characteristics, we would not have called them “living beings” but would have called them “plants” The characteristics that are common to animals and plants are also inherent in human beings, but human beings also have certain additional characteristics, without which they would be no different from birds, animals, plants and creepers, etc. It is the bounden duty of each and every human being to awaken and develop their unique characteristics, for upon this depends the excellence of the human race.

Human beings lacking these characteristics are not worthy of the appellation “human” – they should be called something else. No human being wants to become degraded. To prosper in life, to move along the path of development step by step, is the natural desire of all. It is the duty of those accorded a status of excellence to move together with the rest of society. For some to advance far ahead while others lag behind is not at all desirable. If anything like this were to happen, it would not be at all glorious for those who have advanced.

History has been written and is read – it was written in the past; it will be written in the future. But I suggest that in the writing of history there should be a radical change. The history written so far is a history of kings and monarchs. It should be thoroughly overhauled and completely rewritten – rewritten in the interest of humanity and the universal well-being of the human race. If the chronicles of history merely describe who succeeded to the throne and when, who plundered the neighbouring countries or kingdom, and who became a minister, they will be of no importance whatsoever, nor, indeed, of any interest to the common masses. If human beings are to profit from the study of the annals of history, they must reflect the weal and the woe, the hopes and aspirations of the masses.

The annals of human history should show which communities brought about which amount of progress and prosperity in which area of social life and in which part of the world – only such significant events are worthy of being recorded. History should also maintain special records of the trials and tribula tions which confronted human beings, how those trials and tribulations were overcome, how human beings tackled the numerous obstacles to effect greater social development, and so on. Only such history would I call the complete history or complete cultural history of the human race.

The history of the human race should be written according to the inherent special characteristics of human beings. Only then will we know how successful the human beings of the past were in developing their latent noble qualities, and how much they have progressed today. A handful of people out of millions may reach the pinnacle of progress and provide inspiration for thousands of others, but this will not benefit the entire human race. We will have to be particularly persevering to ensure that the special characteristics, that is the innate Dharma, of all people are fully developed. Some people may be dissatisfied with such a writing of history, but from this type of historical analysis people will gain inspiration and derive great strength to move ahead.

Some people say that both sannyasins (renunciates) and householders are required for the smooth running of society. Now the question is, is their Dharma different? Will there be a separate history for each of them? My emphatic answer is, “NO”, because the quadri-dimensional manava dharma (human dharma) is one and the same. It includes: vistara (expansion), rasa (flow), sevá (service) and mokśa (spiritual emancipation). Is the observance of manava (bhagavad) dharma equally obligatory for both the sannyasins and the householders?

The only difference between them is as follows: householders have to care for two families whereas the renunciates have to care for only one. The householders’ two families are their own small family consisting of father, mother, brothers, sisters, husband or wife, sons, daughters, etc. and the larger human family, that is, the entire universe. The householders will have to maintain a balance between both these families.

The householders will have to look after the larger family as well, but for that they may take the assistance of the sannyasins. Sannyasins do not have a small family of their own – their family is the entire universe. In order to maintain that family they, in turn, may take the help of the householders. Therefore it is clear that manava dharma is the same for both the householders and the renunciates.

When we write the history of genuine human progress, the glorious role of both the householders and the renunciates will be written in letters of gold. Only by writing such a history will human beings one day prove not only to this world but to the entire universe, that Parama Puruśa was justified in creating human beings.

Chapter 18	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

Yesterday I said something about history; I said that modern history usually deals with certain very common events such as when a certain king succeeded to the throne, or plundered a neighbouring country, or perpetrated atrocities on his subjects, or died, and so on. What benefit could common people possibly derive from studying such useless information? This is why they have no interest to study this sort of history at all. True history should be a faithful record of the entire human life.

The recognized definition of history is,

Iti hasati ityarthe itihásah.

That is, history is a resplendent reflection of collective life, whose study will be of immense inspiration for future generations. “Iti hasati” literally means, “the glowing example of glorious human dignity.”

Human beings should not be compared to individual flowers, but to an entire flower garden. A flower garden is made up of innumerable varieties of flowers, each with its own fragrance and colours. Human history is like this: the beauty of history lies in its kaleidoscopic variations in spatial, temporal and personal factors. We cannot afford to spoil its characteristics; nor can we forcibly impose a particular type of history on a certain community.

Every individual or community will advance by virtue of its own inner vitality and assist in the collective fulfilment of the entire humanity. This is the true spirit of history. While writing history we will have to consider the various spheres of human life and ensure that proper directions are given for the development of each sphere. For instance, history should focus upon the prevalent educational system, cultural standards, thoughts and ideas, dress, the social condition of women, the role of women in the social and economic spheres, and the socio-economic conditions of the weak and backward communities of the society of a particular age, etc. If any of these aspects are omitted while writing history, it will be incomplete.

There is yet another popular definition of history:

Dharmártha káma mokśártham
Niiti vákya samanvitaḿ
Purávrta katháyuktaḿitihásah pracakśate

That is, only that treatise which increases human beings’ arena of spiritual awareness and thus renders the intellect more subtle, which enhances the knowledge of various branches of art and science – such as literature, fine art, pure science, technology, social science, etc – and which places human beings on a firm foundation, deserves to be called genuine history.

Let us see how people write history or get it written. In most cases history is written in the interest of a particular vested interest. History books are selected in order to establish the glory of a particular era. For example, the heroic tales of the chivalry of the Kśatriyas era, their war-strategies, etc., form the main basis for the writing of the history of the Kśatriya era. History books are filled with eulogies of the bravery and chivalry of the Kśatriyan rulers. Similarly, the history of the Vipra era is full of praises for the glorious deeds of the Vipra leaders, and the history of the Vaeshya era contains an abundance of stories about the glories of the Vaeshyas. While studying such biased history, the readers lose both interest and patience. Besides that, the study of this sort of so-called history injects some kind of dogma in the readers mind, and consequently chokes the development of a spontaneous human intellect.

There should be proper arrangements for the study of history. But that history must be real history, not the history of a particular class, king or minister.

Unfortunately, the biased history is always written according to the dictates of the ruling class of different countries. The study of this biased history is detrimental to society. It should not occur.

You people of today are more enlightened. Your intellectual capacity is no less than anyone else’s. That is why you should write a new history of the human race by your collective endeavour. The history that you will write in future must unequivocally reflect such important factors as how human society has evolved through trials and tribulations; what difficulties were confronted and how human beings overcame them and moved towards their goal with firm steps; and how even today they are advancing by solving numerous problems.

Chapter 19	A Few Problems Solved Part 4

The day before yesterday the subject of discussion in the Renaissance Club was “The Liberation of Intellect”. Now, a question may arise in some minds: when liberation is meant for all human beings, what does the liberation of intellect mean? Intellect is primarily an impersonal or an abstract idea. Can the question of liberation of something which is impersonal, which is only an abstract concept, arise? In this connection my considered opinion is, yes, the liberation of intellect is indeed necessary. In fact whatever is in this universe – crude matter, subtle idea or consciousness – everything needs to be liberated. In the absence of liberation, the natural expression of an object or an individual does not take place. That is, if we want to see the full expression or the total unfoldment of the qualities and capacities that are latent in anything, the liberation of that object or that individual is indispensable.

Human beings long for liberation from the bondage of staticity. Now what is the nature of this liberation? It is not possible to attain liberation from this crude physical body; liberation from the physical body means death. But to attain liberation from the bondage of staticity, one will have to make an effort. The effort to attain liberation from economic bondage, political slavery and all sorts of social dependence in the physical world, is the liberation from staticity in the crude world. In order to attain liberation from worldly bondages of this sort, human beings will have to make conscious efforts.

If a certain country is held in bondage to another country, then that subjugated country will have to wage war in order to attain liberation from the chains of slavery. That is why liberation from worldly bondages is essential for human beings. We have noticed that wherever there is worldly subservience – whether economic, political or social – the proper development of the innate qualities, or the genius of human beings, remains remote. That is why in every sphere of life liberation is necessary; liberation from the bondage of staticity is a must.

Subtler than matter is the mind. From psychic slavery, also, the mind should be liberated. We notice in human society various forms of psychic pressure, numerous ways of exploitation. In order to attain liberation from this exploitation and tyranny, human beings must endeavour for liberation from psychic bondages. The internal urge to attain liberation in every sphere of life is a natural wont of each and every human being.

The essence of the human mind is known as intellect. Intuition cannot be precisely called the essence of mind. In fact, intuition is subtler than the mind, and a very special aspect of human existence. Intuition should be called the eleventh organ or the sixth sense. Discrimination between holy and unholy, permanent and impermanent, pure and impure in the intellectual sphere has a certain yardstick of its own. This yardstick should remain unstained. Due to the bondage of various types of exploitation and tyranny against the intellect in the physical sphere, the human spirit writhes in suppressed agony. Likewise in the mental sphere, the human capacity to think is snatched away. And in the same way in the intellectual sphere, when human beings try to think and act for their spiritual and intellectual unfoldment, various kinds of dogmas arise and create obstacles.

What is dogma? Dogma is a preconceived idea which forbids human beings to outstep the limits of that idea or object. In this situation the human intellect cannot freely function. Some people say, “All right, we may not get the maximum utilization of our intellect, yet we can have at least ten to twenty percent of its services.” My considered opinion is that where there is dogma, even ten to twenty percent of the human intellect cannot be properly utilized; and the meagre amount of intellect used is not something worthwhile. The greatest treasure of human beings is their psychic faculty, or their intellect. When I cannot utilize this precious intellect to its fullest advantage – what more tragic situation could there be than this! So we need the liberation of the human mind, and even before this we need the liberation of the human intellect.

Let me further explain what dogma is. Suppose the intellect wants to follow a particular path; in the meantime dogma comes from all sides and forbids it, “Oh no, no! Don’t take a single step further on that side. If you do, you’ll be burnt in eternal hell-fire. You’ll be doomed to hell for eternity.” When the intellect wants to make the fullest utilization of mundane wealth, dogma comes in and says, as it were, “Oh no – you must not do it. It is harmful for human beings, it is sheer blasphemy. It will lead to the degradation of humanity.”

When the human intellect becomes ardently eager to venture into a new enterprise in the psychic sphere, dogma again comes into the picture and insists, “Oh, no! You must not do like this. It will bring about your ruin.” Thus, in every sphere, at every step, dogma puts a blockade on the human mind, on the human intellect. That is why until we can liberate our intellect from bondages, we cannot make the fullest utilization of that intellect. For the service of humanity, the intellect has to be liberated from all sorts of bondages, from all kinds of dogma, from all manner of unholy influences. Unless that is achieved the human race cannot have a radiant future. If the present humanity wants to herald the advent of a golden dawn they will have to bring about an all-round emancipation of human intellect through a relentless struggle against dogma, backed by unlimited, uninhibited courage. This is why, in all corners of the world and in all directions, one and only one slogan should echo and re-echo from all mouths, “Dogma – No more, no more!”