The higher Values of Life

VI

At present, we consider that our bodies are more than everything, knowing full well that we have to leave them. That is no bugbear, I tell you. But the wise man is he who prepares himself for the change that awaits each one of us; no exception to the rule. The man who knows himself is really the wisest man.

We have not cared for that way. Our pursuit has been restricted only to reading the scriptures, and to attending outward observances of certain rituals, ceremonies or forms. Of course, these are the elementary steps we have to take; but that is not the main purpose of our life. What should we do? Just understand the True Purpose of life. What is the Highest Mission of a man? Man is the highest in all creation. He is next to God.

That is what Prophet Mohammed in the Koran says:

God made man and bade the angels bow before him.

So man is higher than even the angels themselves. This is the body, this is the temple of God, in which God resides and you reside. But we have never thought that way. We have simply been looking at the outer man, having outer cleanliness, having good houses to live in and very luxurious furniture. But we have done little or nothing to clean these temples of God – our bodies – from within. We have defiled these temples of God.

And whosoever defiles the temples of God is punished by God:

There can be no cleanliness with an unclean heart.

Cleanliness is next to godliness, of course. We should maintain our bodies clean from outside as well as from inside. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. We must lead ethical lives, pure lives.

What was given out by Christ in His Sermon on the Mount is parallel to the Eightfold Path of the Buddha; and that is parallel with the Yama, Niyama and Sadachar rules of the Hindus. That is the first step that we have to take. Therein we will also find the Inner Way. 

He said:

If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of Light.

We have not understood the teachings of the Masters Who came in the past. If we but learn how to live up to what the scriptures say, we will have peace on earth and peace hereafter, too. We will have the Kingdom of God on earth and also the Kingdom of God in the other world, too.

What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul? 

How do we act in our daily life? From morn till night we are concerned only with the maintenance of the physical bodies of ourselves and of our families. We rise in the morning, answer the call of nature, take some exercise, have a bath, take food and then some go to business, others to their offices, and still others to some sort of labour. The whole day is spent in these pursuits. In the evening we come home. Those married have to take care of their families. Some are sick and need other necessities of life. Some go shopping. At night we take our food and go to sleep. Still others simply eat, drink and make merry. They also go to sleep. That is the usual daily routine we generally have. The next morning the same milling process starts anew. This is how our precious life is frittered away in secondary pursuits. We have no time to attend to the problem and mystery of life.

Masters say:

Well, look here, you have to leave this body one day; it is inevitable. What have you done for that?

We are in great agony. When death overtakes us, we are in agony. If we have seen the fate of a dying man, we must have witnessed the agony of death: crying, having convulsions, etc. No one can help him then. Had he solved the mystery of life, how to leave the body at will, had he known himself by self-analysis, he would have while alive gone through the experience of death, learned how to rise above body consciousness at will, and he would have just risen to the occasion without any agonising pain.

Prophet Mohammed says when the soul leaves the body, the pain that man feels may be likened to the dragging of a thorny bush from the rectum through the nostrils. Some Indian scriptures liken the death pangs to a thousand scorpions stinging together. You have witnessed, all of you, how difficult it is to leave the body. Excepting certain cases – very rare cases – say of heart failure, all others have to pass through that agony. If you know how to leave the body at will, a hundred times a day, the Masters say, then death can have no sting.

We ask people:

Look here, dear friend, how have you developed in the Spiritual Way?

The answer is:

Well, there is no need of it. We will see when we grow old. Let us eat, drink and be merry.

First of all, where is the certainty that you will reach old age? There may be some accident; some disease might overtake you and end your life. Suppose you do reach old age; what then? Your body gives way; your faculties give way; sometimes eyesight is not good; sometimes you are hard of hearing; sometimes you cannot move; sometimes you are bedridden. If you had solved the mystery of life while young, when you had a resolute mind in a strong body, you could have learnt much better.

But you will find you have not paid any heed to this whatsoever. This is the most important, and mostly ignored.

A Muslim Divine says:

The Highest Purpose of a man’s life is to know himself and know God.

Well, what have you done? If you have known so much of your physical and intellectual things, have you paid any heed to know your Inner Self? 

He says: 

Well, what fruit does all that yield? You are a fool. You are not a wise man.

A wise man always tries to understand and prepare himself for tomorrow. He prepares for what is going to happen.