Madálasá is one of the great personalities of Indian history. She left two important messages for her son. The first one was “Shun all sorts of company in your life. If you are unable to do that you should only keep the company of pious people.” The second message was, “Avoid all kinds of desires in your life. If you are unable to do that, you should cherish only one desire, the desire for salvation.”

This desire for salvation has been encouraged in Indian and indeed in many other scriptures. However, it is better not to ask Parama Puruśa for anything. Without cherishing any desire in one’s mind, one should proceed towards Him. If at all one cannot do that, then one may pray to Parama Puruśa, “Oh Lord, lead my intellect along the path of benevolence. Keep my intellect united with the Supreme Benevolence.” In the Gáyattri Mantra, otherwise known as the Savitr Rk of the Rgveda, the same thing has been said:

Oṋḿ bhúrbhuvah svah tat saviturvareńyaḿ bhargadevasya dhiimahi.

“I meditate on the supreme effulgence of Parama Puruśa so that He will lead my intellect along the right path: the path of virtue”.

Parama Puruśa controls everything. If He wishes, He can easily guide the intellect along the path of well-being; Indeed, one prays to Him with this expectation in mind. “Vareńyam” means “pújańiiyam”, the one who should be worshipped; “bharga” means “effulgence” (jyoti), “dhiimahi” means “we meditate”; “na dhiyo” means “our intellect”; and pracodayát means “guide me”. So the overall meaning of the sloka is, “We meditate on the effulgence of the creator of the seven strata of this universe because He is the Supreme Controller”. As He has created this little mind of mine – and if He blesses me – He will certainly be able to guide my intellect along the path of well-being. We meditate on Him with the expectation that He will guide our intellect properly. Some scriptures also say that one should not ask Parama Puruśa for anything. But if one is unable to desist from asking, one may ask only one thing; “Oh Lord, please guide my intellect properly”.

All the clashes, all the doubts and all the violence that shake human society, are the result of one defect; misguided intellect; that is, the intellect which disconnected from the Supreme Benevolence, does not proceed along the virtuous path. This results in negative expressions being manifested. Unless there is a change in the human mind, no permanent solution to any problem can be found. By exerting circumstantial pressure we can discipline immoralists, exploiters and antisocial elements, but this is not the permanent solution. Collective efforts in this regard will always continue, but simultaneously we must strive to arouse benevolent thoughts in the human mind so that people are encouraged to move along the right path, uniting their intellect with the spirit of benevolence. Only one approach will not do - both are required. One is temporary, the other, permanent. Those who entreat Parama Puruśa to endow them with a benevolent intellect are sure to prosper; their progress is a must. Those who have never prayed in such a way, nor are praying thus at present, nor are likely to do so in future, should also be inspired to unite their intellect with the Supreme Benevolence. This is our social dharma. If we fail to do that, it means that our social dharma has become distorted. So the propagation of dharma is a social duty. It is not the sole responsibility of any one individual, but is the collective duty of all honest people. In a sloka in the Vedas it has been said;

Ya eko’varńo bahudháshaktiyogád varńanenekán nihitártho dadhati
Vicaeti cánte vishvamádao sa devah sa no buddhyá shubhayá saḿyunaktu.

When there was nothing, when this colorful universe was not created, Parama Puruśa, the colorless entity, was ever present. He exists now and will also exist in future. With His many powers, He has created this colourful world. At the beginning of creation He was a lone entity, and at the end of creation He will also remain alone.

What should we ask from Parama Puruśa? He already knows what the individual and collective needs are. He is associated with each individual through His “ota yoga” (yoga of association), and with the entire universe through His “prota yoga” (yoga of pervasive association). Remaining in the midst of all, He gives instructions to all. He knows better than anyone what their own needs are. So what should you ask from that entity who knows your needs better than you? In my opinion, nothing because He thinks about you more than you think about yourself. He understands you more than you understand yourself. However, if you do wish to say something, you should say, “Sha no buddhyá shubhayá saḿyunaktu.” “Let Him unite our intellect with the Supreme Benevolence because the moment we forget Him we move even further away from Him and virtually become animals in human form. And the moment we think about Him we become supreme and superwomen in human form.”

So let us pray to Him that we ever forget Him, that we always remain united with that Supreme Benevolence. Let Him arouse unwavering ideation in us. “Smrti” means “memory” or “recollection” and “dhruvásmrti” means “constant recollection” of Him. One should always remember one thing constantly: Parama Puruśa. This will result in the intellect being constantly full of benevolent thoughts, forever linked with the spirit of benevolence. This and this alone should be the one prayer of human beings.