The subject of today’s discourse is subjective approach and objective adjustment.

All human approaches and all human emanations are of four stages. That is, we may say that all human expressions are four-staged expressions: the physical world and all physical activities concerned in the physical world, which is known as “Káma” in Saḿskrta; all psychic expressions, including the cruder psychic expressions, including the subtler psychic expressions, are limited within the jurisdiction of the psychic world, both conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious strata, known as “Artha” in Saḿskrta: the third world, the third stage is psycho-spirituality, that is, that which starts from the point situated within the scope of unit psychic world and touches the extremity, lowermost extremity, of the spiritual stratum. This third stage is known as the stage “Dharma”; and the fourth world – the progress, never-ending progress, in the realm of spirituality, known as “Mokśa”, the stage of “Mokśa”.

Now, human approach and different sorts of human march towards different desideratum of life may be divided into two broad categories: one the objective world, and the other the subjective goal. One must remember that, in no sphere of human progress can the objective world be treated as goal. It cannot be, that is, the objective world, or no portion of the objective world, no factor, no microscopic factor, or even the objective world as a whole, cannot be the desideratum. That is, human movement, human progress, cannot have any physical item, not even any psychic item, or any psychic pabulum or pabula as desideratum. It cannot be the culminating point of your march, because the pure physical world and the pure psychic world, they have got certain limitations. That is, you know if the entire physical world is taken as a goal, that physical world has got boundaries. This universe of ours, what to speak of this little planet earth, the entire solar system and the complete form of the entire planetary order, or entire sidereal order, everything is limited, nothing is infinite, in the realm of expression.

This universe is very big but it is not infinite. Why it is not infinite? Whenever there is any creation – creation means movement of different waves of different lengths, and as the waves have got lengths, and lengths are something limited, something functioning within the boundaries of different lines of demarcation, so the expressed universe, it may be very very big, but not infinite.

This expressed world either in the form of different quinquelemental factors – these nebulae, galaxies, meteors, and so many celestial bodies – all have got their limitations. And they cannot go beyond their limitations. If they try to go beyond their limitations, they will either arrive at a diluted stage and lose this, their own identities, or if they try to escape the boundaries, boundary of limitations, then, due to internal clash, there will be an immense release of energy which will destroy its structure. So, our physical world, it is very big, but it is not infinite.

If something is accepted as the only object of adoration, or as the only object of meditation, or as the only projection of unit mind, then the mind will also be transformed into that object, take the form of that object, will be metamorphosed into that object. And it is the wont of the mind to take the shape of its object. So, while coming into contact with the physical world we should remember that we have to utilize each and every particle of this physical world for the good, for the welfare, of humanity, but this physical world cannot be our goal. Human physical entity is a creation of this physical world. In the process of introversion this human body has been created, starting from ordinary protozoa and ending in this complicated human structure, this complicated metazoa. But I say there must be adjustment, objective adjustment.

The objective world is not only this physical world, the psychic world is also an objective world. In our psychic world, in the realm of our microcosm, or our microcosmic mind, whatever we think is nothing but a concentrated form of our ectoplasmic structure. It is our internal projection, or extro-internal projection. Now, whatever we think, either as an internal projection, or as an extro-internal projection, are certainly limited psychic objects. And, if those limited psychic objects, or any limited psychic object, is accepted as the only object of life, as the only object of adoration, or as the only object of meditation, or as the only object of aspiration, what will happen? You will have to take the form of that object, you cannot move forward. So, no psychic object can be your goal of life. All your psychic objects are to be utilized in serving the living society. Why should your love be restricted amongst humans? You have to love each and everybody which is an expression of Paramapuruśa.

I said that there should be an objective adjustment, that is, there should be an adjustment amongst so many physical objects, amongst so many psychic objects, and also between psychic objects and physical objects. And all the properties of human beings, all the qualifications and wonts of human beings, both in physical stratum and in psychic stratum, should have proper adjustment amongst themselves. Suppose a man has got physical strength, but strength is in arms not in feet. Another man has got strength in feet but not much strength in arms; in the society there must be an adjustment. The man having strength in arms may do good hammering but the man having strength in legs may do good cycling. So, there should be an adjustment between the two kinds of physical strengths. Similarly, a man has got a brain in mathematics and another man has got a brain in chemistry. Society should make an adjustment; the man having brain in mathematics should be utilized in that line; a man having brain, say, in chemistry, should be utilized in that line. So, in the objective world there must be proper adjustment. And that’s why I said ours (our philosophy) should have an objective adjustment, adjustment amongst so many objects of physical world, amongst so many objects of psychic world, and also between objects of physical and objects of psychic world. And this will create a perfect human society in collective level, and this will create a perfect human being in individual world.

In Saḿskrta, this stage of physicality is known as “Káma”. “Káma” means “to fulfil worldly desires”. In the worldly sphere we have got so many wants and we will have to fulfil those wants, we’ll have to satisfy those wants, quench those thirsts. And for this purpose, human society should undergo proper training and utilize all the potentialities in a proper way. But that is not the goal of life.

Similarly, on the psychic level there are so many wants, so many thirsts, so many hungers. Human mind is always hungry – it wants to know this, it wants to know that. These desires are to be fulfilled by proper psychic actions, proper education, proper sanctification. But there, also, is not the goal of life. And these things, these satisfactions, cannot give you permanent peace, because, I have already said, the physical world and the psychic world, are both limited. Their limitations cannot give you complete composure. And you cannot have equilibrium, or equipoise, if your goal is this physical or psychic world.

Now, the third item is psycho-spiritual approach, known as “Dharma” in Saḿskrta. I said, here in this third stage, the movement starts in mocrocosmic mind, the movement starts in microcosm, and the culminating point is the lowermost extremity of spirituality. What is this movement? You must have a spiritual goal. You must know what to do, what not to do, how to do, why to do. And for this purpose, the movement is to make the mind pinnacled, apexed, and bring all the propensities to that point, and goad it towards your spiritual goal.

But a man says, I am an ordinary man, how am I to concentrate the mind? How am I to bring all my propensities to a particular point and goad that pointed mind towards the spiritual goal? It is a natural question.

You know, the Universe, Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Cognition, functions with the help of the Supreme Operative Principle. The Operative Principle is actually a blind force, it cannot do anything without the help of Consciousness, without the help of the Cognitive Faculty. Electricity is a crude blind force, but if helped or utilized by the human brain, the human consciousness, it will render so many services. But without the help of human brain, it may have its destructive role. So, these blind forces cannot do anything concrete without the help of consciousness. Similarly in this Universe, in the Universal sphere, there is the Cosmic Cognition, we say Parama Puruśa, the Cosmic Cognitive Faculty, and He functions, He does all His universal duties, all His parental duties, with the help of that blind force. But in units, where the individual consciousness, or individual cognition, is not in a position to control that blind force, that individual will be ejected away from the proper path. And such a thing happens.

Then what to do? One must remember that one’s unit consciousness is a microscopic fraction of that Parama Puruśa, or that Cosmic Consciousness. I have already said that when one unit thinks that “I am a drop of water,” it is a drop of water. And when it thinks that “I am not a drop of water, I am the ocean,” it is the ocean. Similarly, when the unit ensconces itself in the Supreme Excellence it becomes Supreme, it becomes one with the Lord. And when it becomes one with the Lord no obstacle can defeat him.

For this, what is required? For this psycho-spiritual progress, what is required? One needn’t go through all lengths of books. One needn’t go through the library just like a bookworm, just like a worm. No, no. You know white ants – they also take shelter in books, don’t they? Yes. Do you want to be also like that? Do you want to become white ants? Certainly not, certainly not. And if you think that by going through so many books you’ll be a very wise man – No, no, no. today you are learning, tomorrow you are forgetting. Those who are MA in a certain subject or subjects, if I ask them to appear for the examination just now, nobody will come out successful. They have forgotten everything. Chemistry is a mystery, easy to learn, easy to forget. So, it is a very difficult job.

Then what is the way out? What is a man to do? It is said by yogis (they are very clever, not only clever but very cunning, they know how to do and what to do), scholars of the hoary past used to say,

Mathitvá catváro vedán sarvashástrán caeva hi;
Sáraḿtu yogiibhih piitaḿ takraḿ pivanti pańd́itáh.

You know, if you churn the yoghurt, if you churn the curd, what will you get? You will get butter and buttermilk. The better portion becomes what? Butter. And the worst portion – buttermilk. That is, just like water. Now there are so many books and they are just like the ocean. And if you churn them you will also get two things, something like butter and something like buttermilk. Now, after churning those scriptures, those scholars, so-called scholars, who think that by going through these books they will be wise, actually they won’t be wise. Actually they are fools. Because those who are yogis – they eat up the butter portion. And what remains in the share of those scholars? Actually the buttermilk, the curd-water.

So, the best way is the path of devotion, complete surrender. Say “O Lord, I am your creation, I’m a small being, I am a unit being, completely depending on your mercy. I want psycho-spiritual progress, I want to move along the path of psycho-spirituality. Please help me.” And when one wants this aim sincerely, from the core of the heart, certainly it will happen. And that’s why I say nobody is insignificant, nobody is weak, nobody is helpless. The Supreme Lord, Parama Puruśa, is with you, He will always be with you. So, this progress, this psycho-spiritual progress, which is called “Mokśa” in Saḿskrta, is not a very difficult path, is not at all a thorny road. What is it? It is a very easy and very pleasant journey. Depend solely on Him, as a little child depends solely on the mother. This is the third approach.

This third one is the subjective approach. The first two, that is physical and psychic, are objective world, and in that objective [world] you should have adjustment. But in this third world, that is, the psycho-spiritual world, the question of adjustment doesn’t arise because you are on the lap of the Supreme Father and that Supreme Father is an all-pervading entity. He is in the physical world, in each and every pore of the physical world. He is in the psychic world. So when you are on His lap, the question of adjustment doesn’t arise. A question of adjustment arises only in the physical and psychic world.

And the fourth one is the spiritual stage, the stage of spirituality. What is the stage of spirituality? Each and every entity, in physical world, psychic world, and in the world of Dharma, is a metamorphosed form of the Supreme Consciousness. And when everything is a metamorphosed form of the Supreme Entity then one will feel, one is to feel, that everything of this universe is spiritual, nothing is physical or psychic. Everything there is, is the dance of the Cosmic Cognition.

And when one realizes this Supreme Truth, this all-pervading standard of veracity, one gets complete composure, one enjoys the supreme bliss. This is the only way to attain salvation. This is the only way to attain liberation of a permanent nature. There is no other alternative. So you should remember, your life should start from the point of devotion, culminate in the point of devotion. Devotion is the order⁽¹⁾ and devotion is the policy for each and every spiritual aspirant and it is the principle for all intellectual and spiritual-minded people.

Footnotes

(1) Another “devotion” clause seemed to be missing in the magazine version of this discourse. –Eds.