Social Gatheka Number 20

The hustle and bustle of life leaves very little time to man to think of his general condition. The only news he receives in life is from newspapers, and so he depends upon the papers to have some idea, and the intoxication of life leaves him very little time to think about the real meaning of life. When one looks around one and considers the condition of nations today, we find in spite of all the progress there is an ill feeling arising among nations. Friendship exists only for self-interest. One nation thinks about its own interest whether it has to deal with friend or enemy. And if we consider the world as a body, we could say that a poison has been put in the heart, owing to the feeling of hatred which arises from every person toward every other.

No period like this is to be traced in the history of the world, this age has accomplished a much greater destruction that ever before. It reminds one of a spider, which weaves its web in order to get comfort, but it cannot get out of the web, it has made itself. And if we go to the root of the subject we see all these disasters, all this disorder has been caused by a spirit of materialism. Money seems to be the only gain and aim. It is undeniable that when one is continually thinking of such a subject all one's thoughts and energy will go in that direction. And in the end perhaps man awakes and finds that all his life he has given his thoughts to something which does not last, which does not even exist and is only an illusion.

No doubt this pessimism is a bridge from one optimism to another. This may be called disinterestedness: Vairagya. It is not the man who leaves the world, but the one who lives in the world understanding the difficulties and troubles that belong to humanity, who is great. It is he who sees, not his little self, but the whole. Jesus Christ says, 'think of your fellow men, love your fellow men.' And what do we see today? Difficulties arising between masters and workmen; peace conferences where nothing can be decided concerning peace. And all this because this point of view is not there, the point of view that, 'I will do for you and you will do for me.' 'No,' says everyone, 'I will do for myself and you will do from yourself.'

To serve one another, to love one another, to work for one another, that should be the aim of live, which man has lost hold of altogether. Look at the central theme of the education of today. Only a short time is given to the child to prepare him for the kingliness of life and the freedom of the spirit. And every year the child's intellectual burden is getting heavier, and the older the child grows the more he sees life before him as ocean which he has to cross, as something dark awaiting him. And later on, the child, having becomes man, gives all his time to work, to his office, and there is even no time for love or friendship, and yet, after all, he cannot even take all these things with him. After sacrificing all his life to these things, what has he really gained? By his external life in the world the complications of life have increased.

The more laws are given the more prisons are filled with criminals; the more contracts are signed the less peace and brotherhood are to be found among men; something more genuine in human life seems to be neglected. And yet no man is deprived of this human inheritance. There is a treasure in himself which has to be found. There is a religion which should have helped man on. The authorities of religion have very often failed to uphold the inner qualities of their religion. The question is not what religion one follows, but to live one's religion. When religion has lost its hold on inner life and faith, there is nothing else. Many people, especially among the intellectual ones, have lost their religion, and among the younger ones there are a good many who even fear the name of God.

Now what is needed today? It is the education which will teach humanity to feel the essence of their religion in everyday life. Man is not put on this earth to be an angle. He need not be praying in church all day long, nor go into the wilderness. He has only to understand life better. He must learn to take a certain time in the day to think about his own life and doings. He must ask himself: 'have I done an honest deed today? Have I proved myself worthy, in that place, in that capacity?' In this way one can make one's everyday life a prayer. Among politicians, doctors, lawyers, merchants it might be possible to have love as the battery behind every deed, every action and a sense of harmony behind all these doings.

We need today the religion of tolerance. In daily life we all cannot meet on the same ground, being so different, being in different capacities and different states of evolution, and with different tasks. In the homes we are not on the same state of evolution. So if we had not tolerance, no desire to forgive, we should never bring harmony into our soul. For to live in the world is not easy, every moment of the day demands a victory. If there is anything to learn it is this tolerance, and by teaching this simple religion of tolerance to one another we are helping the world. It is no use keeping the idea that the world is going from bad to worse. That germ of disease will spread and bring greater consequences. Every man's being is good, in the depth of his heart there is something certainly good.

There are teachings about healings, but the best way is the way of character healing, healing one's own character and instead of accomplishing miracle, in this way one's whole life becomes a miracle. The lack of religion today has created a strange belief in speaking with ghosts, fairies, etc., or about things one does not, nor can understand. But this has very little to do with religion. The bible is full of simple things, one would be happy if one could accomplish one of these things. There has been a great deal of demand for getting knowledge on occult powers etc. But what has man reached with all his intellectuality but the destruction of his brother?

The need of the world today is not of learning, but how to become considerate to one another. To try to find out in what way happiness can be brought about, and so to realize that peace which is the longing of every soul and to impart it to others, so attaining our life's goal, the sublimity of life.