Children, there was a notorious criminal in a city. Every day at 7 p.m., he would come and loiter at a particular street corner, where he would accost and insult the women and young girls who passed. Out of fear, no woman would pass that way after sunset; they would hide behind the closed doors of their houses. Several years passed like this, and then, one day, the criminal suddenly died. However, even after his death, the women of that area continued to remain indoors after sunset. Perplexed, some people asked why no one was venturing outside. The women responded, “When he was alive, we could see him with our own eyes. We knew when and where he was standing. But now it’s his ghost that is assaulting us. So, now, he can attack us anywhere, at any time! Being subtle, he is more powerful and pervasive.” Similar is the case with today’s socio-religious divisions. Even in olden times, the caste system and other socio-religious divisions existed in various cultures. Back then, such divisions were out in the open, for one and all to see. Today, on the other hand, we speak as if we are extremely aware of the importance of religious unity and equality, but within us hatred and the desire for revenge continue to rage. In olden times, the problems were predominantly on the gross level, but now they are on the subtle level, and for that very reason they are more powerful and pervasive. In fact, Religion is a constraint created by humans. At birth, we had no conditioning or limitations regarding religion or language. These have been taught to us, conditioning us over time. Just as a small plant needs a fence, this conditioning is necessary to a certain extent. Once the seedling grows into a tree, it transcends the need for the fence. Similarly, we must be able to go beyond our religious conditioning and become ‘unconditional.’ There are three things that make a human humane: 1) The intense desire to know the meaning and depth of life through discriminative thinking; 2) The miraculous ability to give Love; 3) The power to be joyful and to give joy to others. Religion should help people realize all three of these. Only then will religion and humans become complete. Whereas mahatmas give importance to spiritual values, their followers often give more importance to institutions and organizations. As a result, the very religions that were meant to spread peace and tranquillity by threading people together in a garland of love have become the cause of war and conflict. Due to our ignorance and limited perspective, we are confining the mahatmas within the tiny cages of religion. In their name, we have locked ourselves inside the prison of the ego, and have proceeded to inflate our egos and fight with one another. If this continues, understanding and collaboration will forever remain a mirage. In reality, the principles of love, compassion and unity are at the heart of all religious teachings. Christianity says, “Love thy neighbour as thyself.” Hinduism says, “We should pray that others may have what we want for ourselves.” Islam says, “If your enemy’s donkey falls ill, you must take care of it.” Judaism says, “Hating one’s neighbour is equal to hating one’s self.” Though expressed in different ways, the principle conveyed here is the same. The import of all these sayings is that: As the same Atma abides in all things, we must see and serve all as one. It is people’s distorted intellect that makes them interpret these principles in a limited way. It is only after seeing all the feuding done in the name of religion taking place all around us that Amma says this. Amma’s not saying this in order to hurt anyone. Children, we must lead our lives with a spirit of mutual love and brotherhood. This is Amma’s wish. May the Lord bless everyone for this! --Amma
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 03:49:26 +0000