The Initiative is ours

Madame Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, in a talk given at Manav Kendra on 2 April, 1973, discusses the fruits of True Discipleship. The talk is translated from the Hindi.

I am very grateful that on this auspicious occasion I am here among you all, and can also benefit from Maharaj Ji’s talk,¹ which was a very elixir of life.

We live in a fantastic world, which changes every second; not hour by hour, or by month, or by decade, but second by second is it changing. At this very moment, who knows how many new inventions are taking birth? New things are being discovered and new phases are being expressed. Through the intellect, man is gaining such power in his hands as will have far-reaching effects. However, the principal reason why man is separated from his happiness is the ignorance – and therefore lack of use – of that Power which is a God-given blessing, and which exists within each one of us.

You all will remember the story from Hindu mythology when the various gods were at loggerheads, and they decided to churn the ocean and raise all the treasures from its depths. The distribution of these treasures was done alternately, turn and turn about, first to one side and then the other, and many wonderful things came out of the ocean and were distributed in turn. Finally, two things were left, and when they came up one was poison and the other was the Water of Life. Now this started a grand argument, for all the gods desired the Water of Life and no one wanted the poison.

In this present age, we have a similar situation. God has given us that ability or power, which works through mind or intellect, and which can be used as a water of life or as a poison – for good or for evil. If we so determine, we can make a new world with that water of life power: such a world where happiness would reign and all men would live in righteousness, free from diversities, enjoying the basic rights of our heritage. Unfortunately, so far the situation is the reverse: we have got the power of a destructive poison in our hands, and you can see for yourselves how that power is being used by what is happening all over the world. Happiness will only be ours when we stop misusing this power, and instead use it to further the progress of man – towards further development of man’s potential goodness and greatness.

What is the difference between a Sant and an ordinary man? Outwardly there is no obvious difference. A man can choose to throw away those things which cause his downfall, and create things to uplift himself; the guidance for this has been given us by the past Gurus and through Their teachings. If we do not wish to act on that guidance, then what progress can be made? He is a Sant Who is in perfect control of Himself; and each and every one of us should become like that. We live in this country, a smaller version of the larger world; and within our own Bharat (India) we have many different customs, religions, types of food, modes of dress, and so on, just as there are in the world. We say we are independent; but I see no True Independence.

Yes, we have gained freedom from foreign rule, and we rule ourselves; but what does independence mean in true terms – in God’s terms? When the real independence is born in us, will we not consider all men as One? Will we not serve one another, and through service to man go forward?

Maharaj Ji has started this Manav Kendra. Everyone who comes here should try to understand this Oneness of all men, irrespective of religion, dress, food, and language, etc. These varieties can add strength; it is not necessary that each man should live exactly alike. What is necessary is a common yearning within all of us to uplift ourselves, and thereby uplift our country; and furthermore to thereby influence and uplift the rest of the world – to raise it from its fallen state. It is only possible to achieve this if each person looks within himself to find his weaknesses and endeavours to remove them. What is the use of going to Sants and Sadhus – Maharaj Ji will forgive me if I say anything wrong – but what is the use of going to a Guru if you do not take the benefit of that and put it to the best use? This is the question. If you would only take one small drop of the Amrit (Elixir or Water of Life) you have been given here, and distribute that among ten or twenty others, by the influence of the change it has wrought in you, the world would start to change – to become a wonderful place in which to live, with higher morals. It is of no use just to hear through the ears – the words must reach the heart, that we may act upon them.

It is true we realise that some Higher Power is the real Doer and not us, call that by any Name we choose, and that that Power is making us dance like puppets on strings; but if we as individuals do not crave to change for the better, He will not help us, and we will continue creating our own misery. Maharaj Ji has come here, has come down to the level of man, and with all His strength He is uplifting mankind; but we must also help ourselves. We must raise ourselves above the disunion among us.

What differences are there, really? God did not make them. All Men of Truth Who have come to this earth to help it, have told us that the foundation of all religion is Love. Without Love in the heart, no individual can progress. Self-interest, pride, envy, are all huge obstacles in our path. If we say we have love, we should first test it – this must not be a love for one or ten people, but it must be limitless, to embrace all people – and that kind of Love will help you to forge ahead and help others along your way recover from their fallen state.

I humbly ask you to spread what you are learning here, and the example you see here. This teaching should be spread everywhere so that in Maharaj Ji’s life-time He may see the success of His mission. This will only happen when we work in all sincerity and faith, regardless of whether we be Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsee, Sikh, or any other religious denomination. No matter what we are, we are all One. Every human being has the same desires – I also. We want our children to be happy, we want our village or town to live in peace, we want the necessities of life, food, water, etc. No matter what religion we follow, we all desire these things. But, if we expand in Love, we will want them not only for our family, but for our whole country, and then for all peoples of the world. If by a little effort I keep on trying, I will succeed. History shows us – we can see also from the Vedas and Upanishads – that when a man becomes determined, regardless of how difficult or large the work may be, he can succeed.

For instance, when Mahatma Gandhi started his work in Bharat, many people laughed at him and asked how one frail naked man could possibly hope to overcome such a powerful group of people, without arms or anything else? But the people of India did come to support him, and he did succeed, and the foreign rule was removed, as we all know. So we can make the effort to remove from our hearts all those things which make us slaves, and also affect others around us.

India has a great heritage – a grave responsibility – I do not say this just because I am a daughter of Bharat, but I have the faith that we can do good if we want to. We have our leaders, our Guru, we can listen to Their direction – we can show the world our noble aim and purpose. Great things are in our hands. We can use our own intellect, or we can enlist the knowledge of advanced countries – but we should use this to act for the good of mankind; we can help to uplift this world in which we were born – by all means.

They say that this is Kali Yuga. It is Kali Yuga, the meaning of which is an age when all righteousness is disregarded and there is wrongdoing and disrespect toward one another. It is unfortunate that this wave of unrighteousness is in our midst, but in India great personalities have been born – no other country in the world has had such good fortune – we know their names and we know the history of their lives, which are there as example and guidance. Are our hands and feet chained, that we cannot move forward? Why do we not break down that which is in ourselves which is doing harm not only to us, but to others, and to the country as a whole?

So today, dear brothers and sisters, take a solemn vow: the greatest work we can do is to serve man. If you serve one man even, then in God’s eyes you have done good work. Everyone cannot be great, but each can do his small part. No work is really small which is done with the heart. With all sincerity, do all your actions with a view to benefiting someone. If you throw a small pebble into a lake, the ripples from that go on increasing and spreading out. In the same way, each good thought we send out into the world will disseminate amazingly. We should all accomplish our dharma – and this will also help Maharaj Ji in His Great Mission.

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Footnote: 1) That is ‘Integration through Self-Knowledge.’ Mme Pandit refers to the Master throughout as ‘Maharaj Ji,’ which is the customary way He is addressed in India.