Prof Anil Kumar's Question and Answers All good people suffer? and other Q N A.

[Guest guest]

by what standards you declare yourself to be good? So, all good people

suffer. Why? Last year, this question was put to Bhagavan. (By the way, for

the benefit of English-speaking people, I may

say that by the time of His Birthday, I would like to have all these questions

published in book form as well as those things spoken about by Bhagavan on the

verandah. For your benefit, I am in the process of getting them translated into

English.) This question was put to Bhagavan: “All good people suffer. Why?”

 

Arial Unicode MS; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Bhagavan said, "You think that they are

suffering. But they don't feel they are suffering." Understand this point:

You think that they are suffering, but they never feel suffering. They don't

think they are suffering at all. But they appear to be suffering. As you know,

Jesus Christ was on the cross, at the moment of tests and turmoil, at a time of

challenge, and heavily bleeding. He prayed, “God, O God, O Father in Heaven,

they know not what they do. Forgive

them!” He prayed for their pardon! “Let these people be excused. They do not

know what they do.” Is it possible for an ordinary man to pray for his

executers, to pray for those people who nailed Him on the cross? Is it

possible? We think He was suffering, but He was not suffering.

justify">Gandhiji, a man who used non-violent means to bring about India’s

independence, was jailed. We think Gandhiji, the father of the Nation, was

suffering, but he never felt he was suffering. No, he never felt so. We

thought that Prahlada, the saintly son of the king of the three worlds, was

suffering. Actually, he was laughing and singing. If there were any suffering

there, perhaps it was for God, as He had to rescue him everywhere. God had to

save Prahlada. If there is anybody suffering, it can only be God, because He

has to save us all the time. We commit so many mistakes. He has to excuse us,

and He has to save us from all possible threats and dangers. So we don't need

to suffer, because He is there to take care of us.

Arial">Therefore, when you say that all good people suffer, it is only your

imagination. Their goodness lies in bearing that suffering. Their goodness lies

in resisting that suffering. Their goodness lies in still holding on to their

principles and convictions very firmly, even at the time of suffering. That is

their greatness. 99

deed in terms of its inner meaning.”">“Explain harmony in thought, word and deed

in terms of its inner meaning.” In terms of its inner meaning - thought, word

and deed, yes! The words that I speak and spell out, those acts are visible. The

thought is entertained in the mind. The thought will find its expression by word

and action. I cannot speak without thought. If thought does not produce the

word, I am a mad man. We say that he doesn't know what he is saying. What does

it mean? When there is no thought behind it, one is mental, psychotic. If there

are no thoughts

behind an action, the actions are going to be foolish. The actions will land you

in total failure. Thought is the promoter of word and action. Then, what is

the source of thought? The source of thought is the Self, the Atma. The source

of thought is Self, Consciousness. Awareness is the source of thought. Once we

are aware of the Awareness, the thought comes out of it. This thought produces

speech. This thought directs, reflects, manifests, by way of action. Because

we are not aware of it, because we do not know the source of thought, we are

confused. When we speak, we are not conscious of our speech. When we act, we

are not sure of our actions. Sometimes, our motives are questionable. Once we

know that the source of thought is the Self, these things are neatly solved.

Then, no thought or thoughtlessness is Divinity. Thoughtlessness is Divine.

Withdrawal of thought is Amanaska, ‘no mind’. The withdrawal of thought, mano

laya, merging of the mind in the Absolute, this annihilation is Divinity.

>From that no-thought state, we come to the individual self. After all, there

are two states: one, the Cosmic Self, and the other, the individual self. The

Cosmic Self is no thought. The individual self is the seed of thought. Then the

thought expresses in word or action. I think I am clear. The Cosmic Self is

something like a

thermal power station. The individual self is like a transformer. The mind is

like a meter. The body is like an electric light bulb. The electricity is the

action. Therefore my friends, the source is the Cosmic Self, which is

thoughtless, which manifests and proceeds into this world in the form of

individual self, out of which thought is born. This expresses itself by way of

word and deed. Therefore, the unity from within can be established by being

aware of the Cosmic Self, the Paramatman - the Universal Soul, the Parabrahman

- God. 98 “How is the spiritual heart connected with the mind in the body,

in terms of feeling, thinking and action? How do I

connect them for a better life?” “The mind and heart, how are they to be

linked?” Swami gave the answer a long time ago. We should know the

distinction between the mind and the heart. The memory,

the intelligence, knowledge, recapitulation, and all secular knowledge, all the

information of the outer world, all this is in our head. The head is the seat

of learning. The head is the seat of knowledge. The head is the centre of

worldly information. The heart is the seat of wisdom. The heart is the

centre of intuition, not intelligence. The heart is the centre of awareness.

The heart is the birthplace for human values in life, like truth, sacrifice,

peace and compassion. They all arise in our heart. The memory, intelligence,

statistics, data, computer - that is the head; whereas

compassion, love and peace, these are found in our heart. So, the heart and

the head - I have told you the difference between the two. Now, how to link

them? It is quite simple. When the heart

prompts, when the heart dictates, the mind executes. When the mind executes,

when the mind acts on the dictation, acts on the command of the heart, the life

is in perfect harmony, in perfect unison, in perfect unity, in perfect

co-ordination, in complete integration. If the mind does not agree with the

heart (consciousness or awareness), if the mind declares independence, “Let me

act in my own way! (Laughter) I am quite independent. Keep quiet, heart!”… when

the mind goes on acting in its own way, what happens? Accidents.

0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial Unicode MS; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> If we act

according to the mind, completely neglecting the heart, it means that we are

giving expression to our ego. The mind is the ego, individual consciousness or

individual identification. On the other hand, the heart is cosmic; the heart is

universal; the heart is spiritual. If the mind acts without the background of

the heart, the mind naturally diverts, deviates, digresses and misdirects. This

digression, this misdirection, this wrong perversion is responsible for all the

chaos in our lives. When we are directed by the mind, our life is full of chaos

and confusion.

FONT-FAMILY: Arial Unicode MS; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> On the other hand, if the

heart commands, and the mind acts according to the command of the heart, life

will be peaceful. Life will be spiritual. That’s why Baba says, "The body is a

water bubble. Don't follow the body. The mind is a mad monkey. Don't follow the

mind. Follow your conscience!" That is what your heart is. That is what the

heart is. That is the answer to the question. 97 “I really do not know

why I start crying while singing bhajans. Can you please tell me why this is

happening?” This is happening to the questioner and I have to give a

solution. Well, I am glad about one thing. The question is put to me this way:

“Why am I crying during bhajans?” Good. If you cry at home over something else,

I have no answer. (Laughter) Those answers are purely private and personal, but

this crying during bhajans is a welcome feature. It's positive. Don't say

crying. No! They are tears of joy, Ananda, bliss. In fact, everyone should cry

while singing. Yes! This shedding of tears of joy is not the shedding of tears

of grief. They are not the tears of sadness. They are tears of joy in singing

the glory of God. This is a welcome feature. You can't help it once you become

absorbed in the singing. Usually, when bhajans are going on, your thoughts

will be on the singer: ‘Who is singing?’ (Laughter) Why are you interested in

the singer? When you are interested in the singer, there won’t be tears of joy.

Some people are interested in the instruments. ‘How nice! Who is playing?’

(Laughter) ‘The tabla is nice’, as if the harmonium is awful! (Laughter) Or,

‘The harmonium is nice’, as if the tabla is bad! So, when you concentrate on

the singer, when you think of the instruments, when you think about that sort

of song…No! When you think of the song, singer or instrument, naturally you

cannot identify with the bhajan. You should be the song. You should transform

yourself into the song, such that you are the song. The song is not different

from you. You are the rhythm, you are the beat, you are the melody and you are

the bhajan. Bhajan is not separate from you. Once you identify yourself with

that process of bhajan, tears of joy start rolling unnoticed. You think of Lord

Krishna: ‘Giridhar Gopala, Giridhar Gopala, O Lord Krishna!’ You think of Him,

so naturally tears of joy will start. But if you think of the singer, the

instrument or the song, the joy is gone. Think of the content; think of the

meaning. Be a song onto yourself. Be a melody to yourself. Be the music. Then

you can identify. Then you will understand what bliss is during a bhajan

session. We don't experience bliss during bhajan

because we are separate from the bhajan. I am separate from my bhajan because I

am watching who is sitting around me. I am watching my group or some other

group. But I have not come here for groupism! (Laughter) Some people say,

“Sir, we don't allow them because they don't belong to our group.” I want to

know to which second-rate group you belong! (Laughter) So, you belong to that

group of second-rate fellows. Let’s not concentrate on the groups. Chi! Unity

is Divinity. Groupism is not worth it at all. Sitting for bhajans, I am

conscious of my environment. I am aware of the people around. I watch and

others are watching me. So where is the question of tears of joy? (Laughter)

Close your eyes and understand. Get into the meaning of the song, the melody.

Picture yourself with all the content and the meaning of the bhajan. Then you

become the song itself. You become the music itself. Then the tears of joy

come. That's the answer.

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