Sant Kabir says – “Sadhu aisa chahiye jaisa soop subhay, saar saar ko gahi rahey thotha deyi udaay” Meaning, he is a ‘sadhu’ who like the winnow separates the grain from the chaff; in other words, he who discards all that is unnecessary and keeps back only the meaningful. India has been a land of seers and saints, sadhus and fakirs, gurus and swamis since times immemorial. If you thought that their number would have dwindled in the 21st century, where religion does not occupy the prominent place it did centuries ago, you are mistaken. However, there is a perceptible difference between the holy men of yore and the majority of the saffron robed god-men of today. From all that we read from our history, it seems that most of the saintly men in the past were genuine seekers who tread the right path themselves and also tried to take others along this path. So many of today’s ‘swamis’ are either downright con-men or start on the right path but lose the way. There would be quite a few true men of God, but as they say ‘once bitten, twice shy’ - we are now wary of them all. We are not able to distinguish between the true and the fake. Many of them get into the news for all the wrong reasons; so naturally, we are hesitant to approach any of them. But does the fault lie only with the ‘god-men’? Aren’t we also to blame, we who bestow on them the power to make fools out of us. We have so many problems in our life, so much of sorrow, disease, heart-break, guilt, that we are always in search of a panacea; we want a quick-fix remedy for our troubles and surrendering to one who has renounced the world looks like the much sought after elixir. Their soothing talk makes perfect sense to us who are … [Read more...]
Give and share- it’s in your nature
‘Let your left hand not know what the right hand is doing’ said Jesus, very relevant in the context of people trying to show off their generosity. Man is a social being and not as individualistic as he is made out to be. But with every passing generation, he is getting to be more and more self-centered though by nature he is helpful, caring and ready to sacrifice his pleasures for a greater cause. With technological advancement, the world as well as man’s mind has become smaller. He is unable to think beyond himself. Man has forgotten his inherent goodness in hedonistic pursuits. When he does behave in an altruistic manner , it is mostly with an ulterior motive-the publicity-hungry, for the news that they will make; the pious, to earn brownie points with God; the egoist, to preen over his charitable work; a business-man, to promote his business; the corrupt, to salvage his conscience; and the God-fearing, in fear of God. It does appear that in an increasingly materialistic world, man has conditioned himself to be selfish, and thinks himself virtuous when he acts selflessly. If I cook for my family, I think it is my duty, but if I were to cook and feed the poor, I think that I am great. If I send my child to school, I am doing what every parent does but if I were to sponsor the education of my maid’s daughter, I feel quite saintly. Looking after your own parents is labouring with love but help your old neighbor with her shopping and you can sense the halo round your head. Charity, kindness to strangers, help to the needy has become more a matter of show and ‘feeling good’ and for the orthodox their way of securing a place in heaven. So when a ‘Miss Universe’ contestant says that she … [Read more...]
