[Part
Six] Now
as to your question - 'self' and what it is? The inner man sitting in you, the
unseen power or the spirit that supplies the motor-power to all the senses and
the sense-organs of perception and locomotion activating all for the benefit of
the real I you I in you, the 'indweller' in the body as apart from the body, is
the I self. I When once you realize that 'self' by a regular process of
self-analysis, then alone you will see that very 'self' of yours reflected in
others around you. Your first and foremost duty therefore is to know and
realize the essential 'self' as distinct from its trappings. With this first-hand realization alone, you will be
in a position to render any real and useful service to your fellow-beings, in
the strict sense of the term. You will know more and more of the exact and
intrinsic nature of 'service' in
proportion to the degree you are able to extricate your 'self' first from the body and the bodily adjuncts and then
from the astral and the causal raiments and stand apart as a Pure Spirit
embracing the totality of existence itself. All these matters besides many
another will then stand revealed of themselves and by themselves. The reasoning
is of help to just a little extent in understanding the theory side only; but
if it is carried on beyond proper bounds, it becomes a bar to further progress,
as mind and intellect have both to be transcended for revelation of this
'self.' You should therefore, for the present, try to be content with the
practices assigned to you, with loving devotion, leaving everything else to the
care of the Master-power that will do
for you all you desire, in a way unpredictable by the human understanding. The
highest service and devotion one can offer to the Master is to live a life full of sublime dedication and piety,
and remain attuned with holy Naam by regular, faithful and accurate
meditations. Love is the panacea for all ills of life -- physical, moral and
intellectual. The divine love of the Master surpasses all disciplines and
austerities undertaken at the intellectual level. It is a rare subject
concerning more with the heart than head. Loving devotion and dedication to the
Master is the stepping stone to
progress on the spiritual way. When you step over the intellect by complete
mergence of your will with His Divine Will, you taste the real elixir of life. |