“In one of the
“The story does not proceed further to
tell us how the sober and staid gentleman managed the consequent situation,
when the irate householder opened the door and demanded to know the reason for
the intrusion.
“Suffice for us to know that each one
of us is in the position and predicament of the gentleman on the mat. They who
brought you into this trouble-tossed world have made themselves effectively
scarce and you are the one facing the music the grammar for which was not set
by you. You have to start in an as-is-where-is condition and you have no
alternative to making the most of a bad bargain. This analysis of the
situation, however doleful it might be, has to be accepted by you for drawing
up any meaningful plan for future action.
“As a first step, realize that there
is no use blaming the previous generation. Your forebears went along the beaten
track and they knew not the long-term effect of their own activities. The
pressure of Evolution coerced them to bring forth offspring so as to shoulder
part of their own burden of imprints. Their ignorance of the purpose of life
was invincible but you are not that badly positioned, are you? Otherwise you
would not be sitting here in this sat-sang while the rest of the world
is watching illusory scenes on the TV screen not having realized that worldly
life itself is a grand illusion!
“You have been told here that the
reason for your birth with a fixed life-span was the need thrust on you to
clear the imprints you were saddled with at the time of conception as
embryo. That was the heap of sanchita karma to which, in the years of your
ignorance of the purpose of life, you added your own quota which is prarabdha karma. Ignorance is no excuse even
in the eyes of man-made Law (which is proverbially an ass, biting from the front and kicking from
behind!). Can you shirk responsibility for the part of karma which is your own
creation? When you have got to own up to that, why not shoulder the inherited
segment too with good grace? Anyway you have no choice in the matter! You
cannot wish away your sanchita karma
even as you cannot alter your height or complexion.
“At this point do you hear Jesus the
Christ telling you, ‘Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto
his stature?’
Face the fact that you have to carry your own cross, right up to Calvary.
Your kith and kin, your near and dear are not empowered to borrow the burden,
even for a brief while.
“Having been
convinced that there is no point in blaming others, put on a cheerful
demeanour. A task would be less burdensome if you do it willingly. Have
I not told you about a horse that had to carry a load of grass on its back? It
moaned and groaned on the journey until midday when the bundle of grass was
flung before it for its feed. Having made a neat meal of the grass the horse
resumed its travel with a spring in its gait. It was still carrying the load of
grass but this time not on its back but inside its stomach. Having made the commodity its own, it was no
longer feeling it as a burden. Likewise make the sanchita
karma your own and it will no longer harass you.
“Having decided not to hold anyone
else responsible for your being on this Earth, extend the philosophy to all the
aspects of day-to-day life. If you are Accounts Officer and your assistant has
made a mistake in drafting or totaling, correct the error and carry on without
throwing a fit. When your assistant sees the corrected version, he would
himself realize where he slipped up and be grateful to you for your magnanimity
in not pointing out it openly.
“As a next step avoid entertaining
Expectations with reference to those around you. It is in the nature of
Expectations that not all of them will be fulfilled. That would lead to the
breeding of grievances, big and small, in your mind. Grievances are eroders of peace.
“If you have to point out another
person’s mistake for his future guidance, do so after assuring yourself that
there is not even a tinge of spite in your mind. Also devise beforehand a
method which the defaulter can adopt on his own for correct
work. I had a sub-editor once who could never check the spelling of the
word ‘Consciousness’ aright despite striving on his part; either one ‘s’ or one
‘c’ used to be left out in the page-proof sent for my clearance. As a last
resort, I told him to count the number of letters in the word every time. It
should come to ‘13’ I pointed out to him. Thereafter he never made a mistake.
“While teaching Arithmetic to a
school-child do you know that the product of two figures could be checked for
correctness by a simple addition-method? For example 12 multiplied by 8 is 96. The product when reduced to a single digit by
addition would be 9+6 = 15, 1+5 = 6. As for the components, 1+2=3 which when
multiplied by 8 yields 24 which reduces to 2+4=6. This is the same as the final
figure for the product and so the multiplication has been done correctly. I had
occasion to teach this method to a Tuition Master in Chennai who remained
grateful for the help to the end of his days.
“Now that you have come to attend these
programmes of Practical philosophy, whether out of curiosity or spiritual
earnestness, you would find that you are becoming more receptive and creative.
On the lines indicated by me evolve your own plan of action to conserve your
peace under all circumstances by taking total responsibility for every
situation you find yourselves in.
“The sober and staid gentleman of
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