Overcome Four Blemishes
Man has to cleanse his mind of four blemishes before he can overcome the disaster that is fast overtaking him. They are ashraddha, krodha, avishwasam, and chinta (want of steady application in work, anger, faltering faith in oneself, and a perpetual sense of worry).
First shraddha (steady interest) and application in the discharge of one’s duty. It is said that the person endowed with shraddha gains jnana (wisdom). How can jnana be won by half-hearted dedication? Youth today are very flighty; they are carried away by fantasies, whims, and fancies. They are reluctant to dive deep into the truth of themselves or the outer world. They run after the sheets of water they perceive in mirages; can glow-worms light a lamp? Frivolities and fancies cannot grant peace and happiness. What is really worthwhile has to be discovered first; then steady effort must follow to gain them.
Krodha (anger) is deadly poison. It affects others by its fumes, manifested through the eye, the tongue, and the hands. The seed of a poison tree sprouts into a poisonous plant, and when it becomes a big tree, its leaves, flowers, and fruits will be certainly poisonous. So, too, the person addicted to anger can only emanate poison through thought, word, and deed. An angry thought is like a pebble thrown into the calm waters of the Manasa–Sarovar (mind-lake) inside man. It creates a circular effect that spreads through the entire lake. Anger is very injurious to the progress of youth. Strive by all means to prevent the poison entering your mental make-up. Cultivate love, kindness, the spirit of seva [service], and encourage all thoughts of co-operation with others. See the divinity in each one, as you must see it in your own selves.
The third handicap is avishwasam (weak faith in oneself). Now you have faith in the body and its appurtenances and not in the inner motivator, the charioteer. That is why faith falters when some minor calamity happens. Contemplate on the impermanence of wealth, fame, worldly friendship, etc. Youth today have faith in unreal, transient, momentary pleasures, and pastimes. They have no knowledge of the eternal, the changeless, the ever blissful. Precious years of life are thus wasted in worthless pursuits. Cultivate faith in the value of seva; believe that love can overcome hatred. Have faith in righteousness and the moral life. This is called dharma (righteousness) since dhara means that which is worn, that which envelops, etc. Do not stray into wrong paths enticed by sensual desires and plans for self-aggrandizement.
The next attitude to overcome is chinta (the habit of sliding into worry and despair). Once this weed takes root in the mind of man, it assumes many forms to assert its hold. Every stage of life is fraught with anxiety; every step in the progress of man is a cause for worry. In fact, birth, death, old age, illness, every one of these multiply worries of their own. How to get sleep is a cause for worry; how to get up from the bed is another worry; the examination causes worry. But these are matters that are not essential. They need not cause so much heart-burning as the problem of removing the fundamental error in the thought process—the ignoring of the Divine that inspires and guides you always and forever.
Jnana (knowledge) is usually associated with two ways of acquisition—the worldly or the material and the spiritual or Brahman path. The worldly path is like a pair of scissors. It cuts knowledge into pieces. The Brahman path is like a needle—it makes the separate parts into One and indivisible. The sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) must be aware of both. When you declare a person to be a jnani (liberated person), he has passed through these two stages.
Divine Discourse at the Brindavan Campus Hostel on December 7, 1978
