Human Values

Professor Vedanarayanan teaches Sanskrit to Swami ‘s students. The following article is based on his talk at the Annual Conference of the Northeast Region in May 1998.

It has been said that of the 8.4 million species created by God, mankind is the crown of creation. Bhagavan says that man is more valuable than anything else in the world, because man gives value to all objects. For example, in the material world, a diamond is precious because man assigns its value. One who treasures others is himself or herself valuable. What makes it so? The person is endowed with human values, which Bhagavan names sathya (truth), dharma (right conduct), shanti (peace), prema (love), and ahimsa (non-violence).

What is truth? Bhagavan says truth is that which does not change. We must differentiate between truth and fact. What we call truth is fact. For example, a man wears a blue jacket. You say he is wearing a blue jacket, but he can change clothes. So, this is not truth, but fact. In what manner should one speak the truth? The scriptures say that not only should we speak the truth, we should speak it pleasantly and never utter an unpleasant truth. Today, it seems, we uphold the last part of the statement and forget the rest. Swami says people do not want to speak the truth. What, we ask, is the importance of speaking the truth?

I will exemplify this with a story. In 1964, Swami agreed to visit the home of a devotee for a house warming. Swami said, “I will be there at eight o’clock.” All preparations were made. The throng of devotees who came for Swami’s darshan (sight of a holy man) surprised the host. In his nervousness, he said he had received word that Swami would not arrive until ten o’clock and that all the devotees should come back later. Everyone left. Time passed and there was no sign of Swami until 9:45 when the devotees returned. Around ten o’clock the sound of Swami’s car could be heard approaching. After giving darshan to the devotees, He went into the house. A devotee traveling with Swami told the host that when the car reached the Kaveri Bridge, Swami suddenly asked the driver to stop. The car remained motionless for two hours while Swami sat silently. At five minutes before ten, Swami asked the driver to continue. The host immediately understood that Swami had done this because he had told the devotees that darshan would not occur until ten. He fell at Swami’s feet and asked forgiveness. Swami said, “Who gave you the authority to tell the devotees that Swami would come at ten o’clock?” In order to keep the word of a devotee, God had to change His timing.

Swami’s definition of dharma is love in action. I am reminded of the story of a saint who was bathing in the river Ganges. While standing in the water, he saw a scorpion being carried away by the current. He picked up the scorpion to save it, but instantly, it bit him. The saint dropped the animal back into the water because of the sting. The same thing was repeated several times. Someone watching all this said, “Oh! Foolish monk, don’t you know that scorpions sting? Still you want to save his life.” The monk replied, “I know the scorpion is going to die and it is his nature (dharma) to sting even when he is dying. But my dharma is to show compassion. Is it not a lesson that I am learning from the scorpion? And should I not follow my dharma to save him?”

Again, Bhagavan says dharma should be protected. If you try to destroy it, dharma will, in turn, destroy you. What is dharma? Bhagavan says, “Truth is the greatest dharma.” Swami says bend the body, mend the senses, and end the mind. That is dharma. Another time He said, “Implicit obedience to Swami’s command is dharma.”

When I completed tenth grade, I took an oath never to study Sanskrit again. Today, I am a Sanskrit teacher. After graduating in science, I applied for postgraduate work in Sanskrit. Swami very kindly allowed me to stay in the hostel while I studied at Bangalore University. There were no facilities for postgraduate study in Swami’s college. On the first day of school, I went to Brindavan to get Swami’s padnamaskar (touching Swami’s feet). As I was bending toward his feet, Swami asked what subject I was studying. I said, “Sanskrit,” but Swami replied, “You do philosophy.” I didn’t say anything to Swami, though I wondered why He had mentioned philosophy. In any case, that day I went to the philosophy department, but they had already closed admissions. I had no chance of getting in. The next morning, when I again went for padnamaskar, Swami asked me again what subject I was studying. To my reply, He said, “You do philosophy.” I thought: How can I explain everything to Swami? He doesn’t understand. First I would have to be a graduate in philosophy. Only then could I do my Master’s. Second, I would have to apply; only after an interview with the board, could I be accepted into the program. Finally, I said to Swami, “I haven’t applied.” But he said, “lust go and ask.” Then I asked Swami if I should study by correspondence in the event that I did not get admitted. He said, “Yes. If you don’t get admitted, do it by correspondence.” Because of my basic conviction that if Swami says something, I must obey Him without questioning, I went to the philosophy department and asked the professor if I could join the program. Without batting an eyelid, the professor said, “You are welcome to join.” That evening, I went to Swami in Brindavan. He looked at me mischievously when I told Him I had been admitted to the philosophy department. He said casually, “I told you.” I was not a very good student, but there I was venturing into a new subject at the graduate level.

One day, just before final examination, Swami called me and introduced me to one of the Justices of India (a position in the judiciary with the Government of India). He said, “This boy is doing a master’s in philosophy and he has achieved the first rank.” I was stunned. But mind you, God’s words never fail. When the results came out, by Swami’s grace, my name ranked first in the whole university and I received a gold medal. His sankalpa (Divine will) will be fulfilled.

The story does not end here. When I went to Puttaparthi, Bhagavan asked me to teach Sanskrit to the senior students. Although I had learned the language, I did not have enough knowledge to teach the All India Central Board syllabus to the senior students. But I believe that when Swami asks us to do something, we should not refuse. So, I wrote a letter to Swami. Please give me any other subject to teach, I said, which I can study, understand and teach the children. Sanskrit is like Greek to me. But I do not want to go against Your command. If You are very particular that I should teach Sanskrit, then please allow me to teach the lower classes because I do not want to experiment on the senior boys. Swami took the letter and kept quiet, so I believed the matter had been resolved. A month later, the principal asked Swami to appoint a Sanskrit teacher for the school. Swami pointed at me and said, “I have already appointed one and he is sitting right there.” Then He told me to come closer and asked me to take the position. As I looked at Him piteously, He relented and said, “All right. Teach only the lower classes.” I must add that once I started teaching, whenever I found a word difficult, the meaning would flash into my mind. As for the students, they scored 100% in their Board exams. This is God’s grace; He makes us the instrument, but we must obey Him implicitly. Implicit obedience is dharma.

Swami says that love practiced in understanding is real peace. People hold atom bombs in their hands and shout, “I want peace.” How can they have peace? They can only have pieces. Swami says, “’l’ is the ego, ‘want’ is the desire. Remove ego and desire, and peace is already there.” I am reminded of an episode from the Mahabharata when Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, goes to Dharamraja and asks him why he is not fighting for his rights. Dharamraja replies, “Oh Draupadi! Forgiveness and forbearance are the greatest strengths. These qualities are the brilliance of the brilliant one; how can we lose that? So, Draupadi, please do not lose your calm.”

Socrates was always busy preaching to his students. He would ignore the constant verbal onslaught of his wife. One day, unable to bear this, his wife took a bucket of water and poured it on him. Socrates calmly said to his students, “Every day I used to have thunder, but today, there is rain as well.” Bhagavan says, “When a person has no peace of mind, how can he have happiness?” He further adds, “What is the shape of worry?” to which He replies, “It is mentally created fear alone.”

Bhagavan says love in thought is non-violence. Always pray for the happiness and comfort of others. That good feeling itself is non-violence. Why are these five values important? So that there can be purity in thought, word and deed. It is said that one who has unity of thought, word and deed is a mahatma (great soul). Because of this, Swami lays a great deal of stress on the five values: truth, right action, peace, love and non-violence. In vedantic parlance, to achieve God or attain spirituality, three steps are necessary: Gather knowledge, examine for yourself, and finally become one with Him. similarly, Swami says there are four stages in one’s journey toward God: sameepaya, salokaya, sarupaya, and sayujaya. First, become close to Swami; second, have His vision always in your eyes; third, let God permeate your very thoughts; and finally, become one with Him. Jesus Christ said the same thing: “I am the messenger of God, I am the Son of God, I and my Father are one.”

Once Bhagavan wrote a beautiful letter to the students in which He said, “God you think, God you are. Dust you think, dust you are. Verily thoughts are things. As you think, so you become. What you sow, so you reap.” Thoughts have so much power. If we think that we are useless and good for nothing, we will become that. If we think we are the sons of immortality, we are that. What is required to come closer to God? Bhagavan says it is very important to keep good company. If a person is educated, but he is wicked, we should abandon him. For example, a snake adorned with jewels is still poisonous. Bhagavan says, “Run away from the company of the bad. It is a must to be in the company of the good.” Swami lays much stress on this because the company we keep influences our minds. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna says, “Oh! Krishna. This mind I am unable to control; it is unyielding and I consider its control as difficult as controlling the wind.” Krishna replies, “Oh! Mighty armed one! The moving mind is the most difficult to control and the only way to do it is by constant practice and detachment.” The constant practice we have to do is namasmarana (repetition of the name of God).

The mind is like a devil. This point, Bhagavan illustrates with a story. A man asked God for a servant and God gave him the devil, with the warning that he should always be kept busy with work. Since the man felt he had a lot of work, he agreed. But the devil finished all the work in no time at all. To save himself, the man asked him to go up and down a pole, since there was no other work for him. We too have to keep our minds busy like the devil by doing namasmarana. Since the mind can work on only one thing at a time, if we make it repeat God’s name, it will not dwell on other things. Second, Krishna recommends detachment from our actions. He says that whatever you do, offer it to the Lord; otherwise, it becomes destiny. Bhagavan says, “Sow an action, reap a tendency; sow a tendency, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Our destiny lies in our actions.

Adishankara (a 17th century philosopher saint of India) said in Bhaj Govindam, “Oh foolish one! Always think of Govinda. When you are a child, you spend your time playing; in youth, you run after the other sex, and when you grow old, you are tormented by worries. So, when do you have the time to think of Govinda? Don’t waste your time. Always concentrate on Govinda.” We are so fortunate that We have living and loving Divinity among us. He is always there to show us the path. He is the loving Mother and Father always looking after our needs.