find out the root of all passions

[Guest guest]

Day by Day with Bhagavan________19462-1-46 Afternoon (continued)Question 4: How am I to deal with my passions? Am I tocheck them or satisfy them? If I follow Bhagavan's methodand ask, `To whom are these passions?' they do not seem todie but grow stronger.Answer: That only shows you are not going about mymethod properly. The right way is to find out the root of allpassions, the source whence they proceed, and get rid of that.If you check the passions, they may get suppressed for themoment, but will appear again. If you satisfy them, they willbe satisfied only for the moment and will again cravesatisfaction. Satisfying desires and thereby trying to root themout is like trying to quench fire by pouring kerosene oil over it.The only way is to find the root of desire and thus remove it.Another visitor asked Bhagavan, "If I try to make the`Who am I?' enquiry, I fall into sleep. What should I do?"Bhagavan: Persist in the enquiry throughout your wakinghours. That would be quite enough. If you keep on makingthe enquiry till you fall asleep, the enquiry will go on duringsleep also. Take up the enquiry again as soon as you wake up.Another visitor asked Bhagavan if it was not necessarythat the varnasrama differences should go if the nation wasto progress.Bhagavan: How can one say whether it is necessary ornot necessary? I never say anything on such subjects. Peopleoften come and ask me for my opinion on varnasrama. If I sayanything they will at once go and publish in the papers, `So andso also is of such and such an opinion.' The same scriptureswhich have laid down varnasrama dharma have alsoproclaimed the oneness of all life and abheda buddhi as theonly reality. Is it possible for anyone to teach a higher truththan the Unity or Oneness of all life? There is no need for anyoneto start reforming the country or the nation before reforminghimself. Each man's first duty is to realise his true nature. Ifafter doing it, he feels like reforming the country or nation, byall means let him take up such reform. Ram Tirtha advertised,`Wanted reformers — but reformers who will reform themselvesfirst.' No two persons in the world can be alike or can act alike.External differences are bound to persist, however hard we maytry to obliterate them. The attempts of so-called social reformers,to do away with such classes or divisions as varnasrama hascreated, have not succeeded, but have only created new divisionsand added a few more castes or classes to the already existingones, such as the Brahmo-Samajists and the Arya-Samajists.The only solution is for each man to realise his true nature.(to be concluded)