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This world is adrift in a sea of ignorance. The blind are leading the blind, and the deaf are teaching the dumb. Nobody sees what they are doing to themselves. The teachers and preachers have lots to say and many odd ideas to convey, but they do not know how to listen.
Human beings are prisoners of their own ego and imagination. They know how to put on a show, but they don’t know how to practice. They know how to perform and how to teach others to conform, but they do not know how to reform themselves and become real human beings.
The changes have to come from within. Samsara is outside; it is external to the Self. Those who look outside for fulfillment become contaminated by the lies and half-truths. Only the one who remains self-contained becomes sure of him Self and realizes his True Nature. Others wander in the dark and try to find their way with the neon light of personality. Their aire of self-confidence is polluted and unhealthy, and they are soon found to be choking on the thick smog of their own artificiality.
The Supreme Self is All Pervading and unaffected by the world of the selfish. But the living self, the embodied soul—the man, woman, and child—is affected. When you enter into the world of samsara, the world of suckers, you become drained of your vital force if you associate with the vile and loathsome persons. You need to protect yourself from those who would harm you and your loved ones. You need to be aware and alert and realistic. You are living in the world of matter, and this matter is not an illusion. It is the substance of which consequences are made. For every action there is interaction; for every interaction, there is reaction. No one escapes the results of his or her actions. The world of samsara has no beginning and no end. The cycles of time are beginningless. Before this Creation there existed another, and when this one is finished, another will appear. There is neither a beginning nor end to this sequence.
Our mind and body are precious resources. We shouldn’t waste them in frivolous pursuits, like trying to plant a garden in a gravel pit. Many human beings have emotional holes that are deeper than the deepest granite quarry. If you dive into the waters of that quarry, you are likely to get cut or killed by the sharp rocks. Some people express their emotional hang-ups with sharp words, others use sweet ones, but both hurt the same.
Before the seeds can be planted the ground must be loosened and made ready. But if the ground is frozen, no seeds can take root. Still, we may spread some seeds, knowing the sun will one day melt the ice. Someday, people will begin to open their eyes and ears. The perennial wisdom will melt their images, and their minds will again become fertile ground in which noble thoughts will sprout, and good deeds will blossom.
It is necessary to keep our feet on the ground, otherwise we will never reap the harvest of our heart’s longing. We can’t live in an imaginary world of make-believe love and false promises. Our soul, the core of our being, is pulling us to the center. If we go off on a tangent and get swept away by our imagination, or the vain imaginings of others, we will never realize the essence of Reality and will never taste the nectar of immortality (AMRITAM).
Each and every soul is an infinitesimal being. Only the Supreme Self is infinite. When we realize that our soul (ATMAN) is pervaded by the All-Pervading Supreme Spirit (PARAMATMAN), and that there is none equal to or comparable to Him, we begin to realize our true nature and become the humble servant of the Absolute. Only then can we serve the pure, undiluted Truth to the starving souls in the world of samsara. Until then, we remain victims and perpetrators of the famine of ignorance that has swept across the face of the earth.
Spiritual nourishment is found in the words of wisdom that spring from the hearts of those noble souls who have surrendered their ego. Others who knowingly or unknowingly enhance their ego become bereft of common sense and starve to death in the world of samsara. That is, while building up their spiritual ego in the world of samsara (as so many teachers and preachers do) they become spiritually dead—they stop growing spiritually and become entombed in their own mausoleums (temples, churches, synagogues, etc.). Pitiable is their plight, and pathetic is their condition. It is pitiable, because many do not see what they are doing to themselves, and we should have compassion upon them and speak the truth that they may be awakened. It is pathetic because many know better, but do not practice better, they hear but do not listen, they pain but do not change.
We should all learn from the mistakes of others, and from our own. This is the way of the wise. The wise change, they do not complain. The wise learn, they do not burn. Many people have been burned by the world of samsara. Many are now being burned alive. More will be burned in the future. Those who are sensitive to the Truth will listen and learn. Those who put wisdom into practice will no longer be cheated by mind and ego and will remain established in Pure Consciousness.