Page 40 Home | First | Previous | Next

Many and many an idea takes shape in the human heart; they wander to the very ends of the eight directions. Some of these are mutually supporting; some are mutually destructive. But without leaving them free, they must all be canalised and disciplined to subserve some high purpose. Then only can you be established in Santhi. You must have the cleverness needed for this canalisation. It is not merely cleverness in the use of external things; it lies more in the control and subjugation of the mental faculties: This is essential for the blossoming of the Atma. For understanding the faculties of your own mind, you must move with elders experienced in that line or in the sublimation of the vagaries of the mind.

Until you intelligently fix upon a certain direction for all your thoughts and activities, you will be only building shadowy castles in the air and roaming about in them. Why, even your senses will be pursuing contradictory paths and distracting your attention to such an extent, that you cannot easily come to a decision regarding the ideal. They make you feel that their paths are the best; but, you should always strive to change the course of the senses and the imagination, to subjects and desires that are conducive to the ideal, whatever be the difficulty, however serious the crisis. That is the sign of real intelligence; that is the road to real Santhi.

Every one has, by virtue of human nature itself, the discrimination needed to strive for the ideal. You should not allow the slightest idea of neglect to hinder you, or stand in your way. The Santhi based on Jnana can arise only out of actual experience; the end and the consequence of each and every act is and must be Jnana. The Progress of the individual consists in activity, done with discrimination.

Take one small example: Even if a person has all the means of comfortable travel through the grace of the Lord, namely, cars, planes or other conveniences, he has perforce to walk, in spite of everything, for the sake of his health! So too, whoever he is, whatever the Sadhana he is engaged in, he has perforce to experience the activity and learn the consequence himself for the sake of his mental health! Otherwise, mental weakness cannot be cured.

In order to achieve this, one must move with experienced men and men who are basic supports of the good life. One must grasp the Reality with their help and experience the Reality oneself. Then only can Peace be established in the personality.

Next