MAI-ISM BOOK (EDITION 1952)

MAI-ISM BOOK (EDITION 1952)
AUTHOR: MAI SWARUP MAI MARKAND

Sunday, October 23, 2022

Paras 519 to 581 of Maiism book

 MAI-ISM



PART III



CHAPTER IX



Mai offers to Modern Hindus seeking a Revised Revived Renovated Neo-Hinduism




Jay Mai Jay Mai Jay Mai



519. We are now entering the conclusion part. The Founder has expressed his own views about what a true religion should be and what are religious reformer has to be busy about. He has dealt at full length about this in his two volumes of Mai Sahasranama. He is so very extremely anxious to know, how many of the so very innumerable persons blessing the world with their choicest benedictions, have made a detailed study of where we were, and where we are and what should be done to set the religious world on right lines. Let God be in heavens, we shall agree to intern Him there if the world determined, but how many eyes are opened enough to see. We have already become animals, and are on our way to be enslaved by Satan, more and more as each day passes. The world has been getting more and more drowned in miseries and calamities. Can we do anything ourselves? Let God's part be left to be played at His own sweet Will, but what about them that have been so graciously gifted by God, to think about things themselves ?? Let there be a failure, the most humiliating failure, but let them and the world have the satisfaction, that they have done their best. Even God's help to the men that have tried their sweating best, is many times much greater, than to them that have been sitting hand folded, asking God to do everything for them and the world.


People that have no eyes to mark the degeneration, physical, moral, social, religious, spiritual, will refuse to see things even when their eyelids are pulled. If the pupils themselves have got inverted what can the poor eye-lid-puller do ?? But, in a word, it is high time, all religious highly intellectual and originality gifted souls should unite and put their heads together, to find out some easy way. Each one's Ashram or math cannot continue to be taken as one's whole world. There must be intercommunications and sympathetic exchanges, and some eleventh thing must come forth, out of the ten ablest things.


The task today for a religious reformer ( as stated by the Founder in Mai Sahasranama ) is hard in a hundred ways. The first and foremost work is that he has to make the world realise that it can not be happy without religion. He has to strengthen the belief both ways.  Not only showing how Religion has come to the aid of mankind, but how highest civilisations not based on Religion have been swept away, under the degenerating and decaying influences of Time. For the modern age, a mere statement of his about a Truth is not enough. He has to introduce the Universal outlook in every individual Religion. He has to consolidate the wisdom of the past, extracting its essence to the irreducible minimum size. He has to sift out the gold dust and establish proper values for essentials and non-essentials of every Religion. He has to break monopolies. He has to minimize abuse and exploitation. He has to raise the general level of spiritual understanding, divine knowledge, plain living and high thinking.  He has to strengthen the cultural moral background. He has to root out all mischiefs in the name of Religion. He has to lay down the best and efficacious life routine.  He has to think out best solutions of all new burning questions that crop up as times advance. He has to consider various thirsts and hungers. He has to introduce safety valves and breaks, for the good governance of the society and family life. He has to sublimate the energies the various passions. He has to suggest methods of equalisation, to fill in the voids below a certain minimum living standard. He has to lay down certain standards for every gradation in life, to prevent enormous increases and the very disappearance of any standard whatsoever, which results in turbulent discontent and rebelliousness and disparity, and the rushing in of degeneration. He has to interweave consideration of this world below and the other above. He has to create the recognition of the sameness of The Creator, The Created and The Creation. He has to open the world's Eye to the same One Life, animating one and all.  



520. The religious ideal which can suit the modern world is one that can take the whole humanity in its embrace, which can respect and give a free play to Conscience, Reason, Experience and Science, which would allow every man to live well and teach letting others live well, which will ensure a perfect freedom for every soul to work out its own salvation in its own way, which will teach maintaining sense of proportion and proper evaluation of essentials and non-essentials of a religion, which would develop the faculty of judging all actions and actors, not by their positional values, but by the tests of the fundamental truths they satisfy, which would guide without intimidation and mental enslavement, which would make one free from the poison of the over-consciousness of superiority and inferiority of man to man, and lastly, which would develop the spirit of practical sisterhood and brotherhood in the daily routine of life.



521. A popular religion to suit the modern world should have the following characteristics :



(1 ) Religion must have a definite form and should not be an idealistic, incomprehensible, chaos-creating, airy and hazy something. 


(2) Religion should not be a source of superstition.


 (3) Relation of man to man must be hundred times much better. Be we first a man, then a brother and thereafter alone, a religious man.


(4) Religion should be recognised to mean the essence and the experience of life lived.


(5) Everyone should be and should be considered under the direct protection and guidance of God.


(6) Preachers should be witnesses and not lawyers and professors.


(7)  As few limitations as possible should be set on the conception of God and on the innocent harmless and free latitude and living of men.


(8) All adornments and adjuncts should be gradually slackened and even removed, as soon as,  at the stage when they are found to be obstructive, is reached.


(9) Religion should be accommodative, constructive and progressive. Religion must provide for pruning from age to age.


 522. (A) Mai-ism is the psychological religion for one and all of any religion or no religion without caste, creed or colour. There can be a Hindu Mai-ist, a Mohamedan-Mai-ist, a Christian Mai-ist and so on. With full reverence to and while following one's own religion, one can be a Mai-ist. Mai-ism is one's own personal religion to be adopted after the age of discretion and not one's ancestral religion of one's birth.


( B ) Under Mai-ism, there is no place, by its very postulates, for the condemnation of Harijans as ' Untouchables, Woman's subjugation by Man or condemnation by routine religion as " Narakasya Dwaram "( Hell's Gate ) has no room, as every Mai-ist is expected to look upon every woman ( except his own wife )  as representative form of Mother and as under Mai-ism the co-operation of man and woman in the Mother worship is the highest spiritualising force. The spirit underlying the words " Heathen ", " Kafir ", " Mlechcha " " Durvan ", etc., has no existence under Mai-ism.


(C) One who does not believe in God, but who do believe in the common-tie of Humanity and practises service and extends Love to all, is a " Mai-ist ",


(D) The six tenets of Mai-ism are:-


1) God is more merciful when approached as Mother;


2) Mother is mother of all, without caste, creed or colour;


3) Mother smiles, on one's trying to love All, to one's best;


4) Mother saves, on one's trying to serve All, with one's best;


5) Mother showers Her Grace, on one's devotion to Her.


6) Mother serves, on one's living the life of universal Love and Service, with Devotion to Her and Unconditional Cheerful Self-Surrender to Mother's Divine Will.


(E) BASIC BELIEFS OF A MAI-IST ARE : - 


(1) Unity of all Religions.


(2) Universal relation of all human beings as members of One Family.


(3) No Communalism. No Provincialism. No Nationalism and No Racialism.


(4) For Mother's Love, Grace, Devotion and Mercy, the daily practice of universal sisterhood and brotherhood, is an indispensable requirement.


(5) Everyone must have the right of selecting one's own line of evolution.


(6) Precise evaluation of essentials and non-essentials of one's religiosity, with test-stones of fundamental and eternal truths.


(7) Religion not to be permitted being made a cause for disunion, domination, prejudice, exploitation or superstition, and not to fail respecting science, reason, conscience, experience, human psychology and individual merits and demerits.


(8) One's superiority to be least thought of, being trivial, transitory, circumstantial and not single-handedly earned.


(9) Not making most of the little differences of high and low, which are often prejudicial, and sometimes even imaginary.


(10) One's cheerfulness never to be lost as nothing is irreparable or unachievable under Mother's Grace.


(11) Be ever optimistic. The highest difference between man and man is nothing compared to what Mother's Grace can make in a moment. A sinner can be a saint at the second moment and a saint may turn out to be a devil after a day.


(12) Destruction is for re-construction, doubting for believing, evil for good,  sinfulness for sinlessness.


(13) Rise above all superstitions. There is no 'Choo-Mantar'(magic) for a true Mai-ist, except the repetition of  ' Jai Mai', Guru's Grace, Mother's Mercy, one's own highest exertion, and the world's sympathy.


(14) Mai-ist's highest initial grounding - Motherhood of God, Universality.


Mai-ist's highest life-maxims - Love, Service, Devotion, unconditional and cheerful self- Surrender to Mother's Divine Will.


Some of the practical measures for practical Mai-ists are : - 


(1) Holding common prayers, Bhajans or Kirtans of God in any name or form and of any saints or devotees, holding classes, delivering lectures and undertaking tours for the general spiritual uplift.


(2) Introducing common prayers in Schools, Colleges and in masses.


(3) Holding Mother worship, personal or impersonal in any form, as may be agreed upon by one and all.


(4) Convening social of sisters or brothers or combined or of families, without caste, creed or colour.


(5) Promulgation of common religious and allied literature and encouragement of studies of all religions by individuals of different religions. Publication of extracts from sacred books of all religions.


(6) Helping poor or bereaved families, deserving students, orphanages, opening celibate Mai-ist Schools, starting widow-homes, offering medical aid to the needy, guiding wedded pairs to-wards spiritual matrimonial living, praying for the peace of the departing or departed souls etc.


(7) Promotion of immensely practical universal sisterhood and brotherhood in daily life.


(8) Abolition of racial, national, provincial, social and religious prejudices and intercession for bringing about honourable peace and equitable compromise.


(9)  Constructing, opening or encouraging to open Mother's Lodges, temples, Homes and Colonies under any denomination religious, national or communal, of any people, in any place.


The process of evolution of Mother's followers on attainment of Guru's Grace and Mother's Mercy is as under : - 


(1) Acquisition of merit ( Punya ) by doing religious acts , Japa, worship, charity, services etc. which will lead in the first instance to the fulfillment of all legitimate and moral desires, next to patience and proofness, and then to the appreciation of the virtuous, religious and saintly people and their ways of living.


(2)  The actions and qualities of Love, Service, Devotion and Self-surrender having fairly matured by practice, Mother will so bring about circumstances and opportunities that the follower will be lifted up from his routine and worldly life and will be ushered into the company of virtuous, religious, devotional and saintly people.


(3) Constant contact of religious people and their Service, their Imitation and their Grace will create a proper understanding of good and evil, truth and untruth, righteousness and unrighteousness etc. , and these will introduce one to Godliness after sufficient practice and disciplinary training in goodness, virtue etc.


(4) This introduction to godliness will ultimately result in the great liking for godliness, virtuous, devotional, unselfish and higher living and finally in the germination of Love towards God.


(5) Devotion to and Love of God will perfect the true understanding about soul-knowledge and will bring the Supreme Self of God and the individual self of the follower much nearer, through faith and conviction strengthened by Mother, often through miraculous Grace.


(6) Love of God will result in the Love to God's creation.


(7) Feeling the finger or hand of God in all arrangements, getting the sight of God occasionally, feeling oneness with God on self-surrender and the inward satisfaction of  ' having been accepted '.


(8) Establishing a perpetual relation with God and helping God in all grand work with the Power and Love which God is pleased to confer.


(9) Merging in Mother.


523. The Founder's greatest point of sorrowful observation is, there is no systematization, although the richest substance of true religiosity is here in India and with Hindus, in profuse abundance. Right understanding in its absolute essence and practise is hopelessly missing. Discretion and discrimination about the dispensable and indispensable elements or significant or insignificant factors is conspicuous by its absence.   


524. Founder gives a funny worldly instance. Once a Revenue Commissioner called the office of a Province and instructed the officers in every detail, breaking his head for a week. He was joyful, he had done unprecedented work. A grand dinner was given to him. Just by way of a casual dinner talk, he asked one of the most intelligent deputy collectors," So you have grasped all my viewpoints, -preambles and working methods. How would you value the crop of a garden, with or without well and a purely agricultural land ?" The Dy. C. replied," Sir, don't worry about that. During your annual inspection, everything is set right by your assistants and the office runs again with new vigour and zeal de-novo."


525. This is the repeated history of Hindus. Someone spiritual Master visits this Hindu world, being deputed by Mother. He sets things right. Things go well for a negligible period and the religious world is again looking for second Paramahamsa or Second Swami Vivekananda to set matters right again.



526. I know of one instance of a son being born to a lady and he was the only son in her large family. He was carried on the waist by his mother until he was six years of age. Another instance where the mother would come up when all are on their seats to dine, to her above teens' son, take up his dish and mix up Dal and Bhat and powder his millet bread to be dipped in milk for him. 



The latter son was only (!) twenty-four years of age. I was a guest at that place. This is a talk of 1902. A modern man won't believe it, nor would the modern lady be anxious to have children even though barren. I suppressed my surprise and mild laughter, but inquired in a sweet language sympathetically, " Do you help him thus daily, or, is there any reason to-day ?" The mother understood, smiled in her sleeves, and humorously replied with the pride of a mother that would do anything for her son, " Daily for the last so many years, since he got his teeth." Where has gone this joy today? 



527. Hinduism is the most favourite and yet most over fondled child of Mother. Whether Mother fondles the child too much, or the child is extremely obstinate and extracts Mother's love, I can't say. But, no doubt, it is a unique child, and Mother's love for that child is also equally unique. 



528. There is a traditional story. There were two idlers (brothers) in the Ashram of Ramdass Swami, the Guru of Shivaji. They would be doing no duty, nothing whatsoever of the work of the Ashram. They would be simply sitting in front of the Swami and go on talking and praising while worshipping, and doing all the things that can be done without moving their limbs. Even during the waving of the light, they won't stand up. All other disciples were getting wrathful and complaining to Swamiji, "These two never do even the smallest of work and go on simply talking and eating." Swami tried his best to persuade other disciples, not to mind. But finally, the pressure was too great. They were asked to work but they won't. Finally, both of them were driven away with one day's bread as Bhatha (Tiffin). 



    They left the Ashram and sat under the nearest tree keeping their tiffin before them. Swamiji naturally inquired, which place did they go to? Disciples said, "Where are they going?" "They are just sitting under a tree with their tiffins before them. Just here outside our compound. They have not even eaten their bread yet. " 



    Three days passed the same story. Swami went that night there, all alone, with Kalian (his best disciple), and began to hear their talk, unseen. Said one to another. " Today is the fourth day. I think Swamiji must come tonight to take care of us and take us back. " The other said, " you might be hungry, you take your tiffin and my share also. You are hungry for the past three days." " But then, why don't you take? Let us eat together." " No. No. I have a conviction, Swamiji might have no sleep for these three nights. Should I be so ungrateful? It is only a matter of a favourable turn of our fate and a suitable adjustment, which must, of course, take its own minimum time. Someday, Swamiji will get angry with the very same disciples, because of his having had no sleep for nights together. Swamiji will be chafing because disciples are right in their demand. So he can't scold them, but the merciful milky heart of Swamiji won't leave him at peace, till he hears either we are gone out of sight, and therefore out of mind, or taken back." The other said, " I think, anyway he must come here at least tonight." Ramdas Swamy laughed outright and disclosed himself. All the disciples, not finding their Guru, had followed and they also laughed outright. Said Swamy, "These two are nice teachers of what Ideal Self-surrender and invocation of mercifulness, going beyond dry and stern justice, can be. If all of you have no objection, I may take them back to our Ashrama as best specimens of self-surrendered souls." 



529. That is the Hindu mind. It lives on the mercifulness of Mother, though extremely few believe and visualise that most concealed truth. It reaps the fruit of its conviction about the highest never-failing-mercifulness of Mother, which few other religionists have. A Hindu mind is like that of a multi-millionaire lady's son living abroad and serving. He is every year advised not to spend more than what he earns. Every year he writes, he has run into debts. Mother's advice to be economical and living within his earning, Mother's scolding on getting a letter from the son that the Marwaris are at his doors, Mother's coming down and soundly thrashing him with every scolding after clearing off all debts, and giving him a substantial amount to spend, Mother's strongest warning not to run into debts, Mother's swearing that the next time he commits blunder, she will herself ask the Marwaris to take him to the civil jail. - All this is a never-failing annual DIVALI programme during every Ashvin Navratri period. No change. Neither in the son nor in the Mother. 



530. The Founder says children will remain ever demanding and ever ungrateful, and Mother will remain ever-giving and ever-merciful. Believe me or not, the last story of stories for Hindus is that and that alone. Let Hindus be westernised, northernised or southernised. So long as they have this last remedy of their conviction about Mother's Mercifulness, they will come up even though pressed to the lowest point of extinction. Saints are sorry when this much even is not there. 



    Propitiate God as Mother, Mother of all, with love, service, devotion and self-surrender. Let things come and go, as Mother desires. Be busy with whatever religion you have, revere it, follow it, preach it, make necessary sacrifice for it. Act exactly in the manner all spiritually wiser than you do; observe it. Don't raise a discordant note. Fight, flatter, do whatever the world requires you to do, but only as a hireling.



    In your heart of hearts, although your routine-religion be anything, let your true religion be the simplest and shortest, safest and smallest, speediest and surest Mai-ism. If you want a religion of only one word, it is that of Sharanagati, (self-surrender). 



531. Just we talk of the river as the very same river, say Ganges or Narmada, to-day or fifty years before or after, but the waters that are there at a particular time are not the same, even five minutes after, it is that way that Hinduism should be understood by wise men. Modifications, additions and alterations and the eliminations are bound to be there and there have been, if people have the cool-mindedness to impartially study the whole history of Hinduism, as is the case with every Religion. 



    The substance of the past history of Hindu Religion, is that whenever the widest water-courses of Hinduism have gone over wrong grounds or gone stagnant or got polluted, Mother has arranged that a portion thereof has made a diversion and run along a different track, receiving and imbibing new elements from new lands, new landscapes, new environments and new ranges of hills and mountains. Further, these waters that have made a departure have either rejoined and enriched the parental source or have taken a different independent name and form. Substantially for them that make no dogmatic superficial differences and who are universal-minded, it is no difference greater than that of two or more dry constituents mixed together or kept separately to be mixed up when required. The future therefore about the departed waters rejoining or assuming a different name, depends not so much on some inherent differences of principles, truths, etc., as on how people respond at a particularly critical moment. 



    Whenever a Religion deteriorates, the first thing is that people begin to feel the need for some substantial and drastic reform. They do their best to move the religion-custodians. If these are either sleeping or selfish, the people on disappointment try to set things right themselves. When that becomes unfeasible, one by one gets disobedient and rebellious and begins to leave the fold, living as one likes with only a nominal allegiance to the Religion. Matters are however not mended by mere running away. The only way to set a thing right is to set it right. Nothing short of it can stop the growing discontent. If people are fortunate enough, Mother's Grace showers and someone comes forth with practical suggestions of some changes to set things right. In the first place, he is tooth and nail opposed. If he at all survives, then there are two possibilities arising. Either he is accepted as one of the reformers of the parental religion, or he is neglected and discarded. Every reformer worth the name had his own reasons to differ from the general then-prevalent trend and understanding about Religion. Not only that, but there were thousands believing as he did and expressed. It then depended on the people of that particular age, when the apparent differences were at their highest heat, whether the new ideals, principles, customs and beliefs were accepted or allowed to take their own independent course, of a new name and a new form. 



532. We do not talk about the present age, in which most everyone is entirely indifferent about Hindu Religion or about those few that have a great love for their religion but have accepted a particular aspect, which they take to be the only form of Hinduism. Hinduism as a whole i.e., the One Religion, as it has shown its traits and characteristics since centuries past, has often shown greatest wisdom and the highest virtue of tolerance and of even acceptance of whatever was found worthy of an adoption from other sources as well, and has greatly enriched itself in the past. 



533. Of all Religions, Hinduism has the softest corner for the Motherhood of God. As so often stated, Mai-ism aspires to reinstall and rejuvenate Hindu Mother in Her True Universal, Merciful and Motherly aspect. Mai-ism maintains the full integrity of Hinduism, as any other religion. Mai-ism only adds, one further requirement viz., that whenever higher issues of a universal welfare are under consideration, the individual aspect of each religion must take a secondary place in the requirements of the all-embracing and all are welfare-aspiring major parental religion of the Universal Mother. 



534. Regarding giving free latitude to the followers of a religion, in the matters of subsidiary customs and conventions, times have already turned the Hindu life; and the Hindu world has under the new contagion of materialism, gone disobedient and disregardful. Why not agree to a graceful compromise when retreat with slaps after slaps is the inevitable result?? Mai-ism proposes to give the freest latitude to all in social living, so long as the fundamental universal Divine Laws are not infringed. One must be extremely alert and watchful, about the ground on which one stands and the nature of the material he handles. His valour lies in doing his best to confirm and strengthen the ground and in making the handled material, very tactfully, better. Neither contempt or compulsion, nor resentment, nor dead routine can help. Constructiveness and not condemnation - can alone take us out of the whirl. 



535. Wise men have to accommodate themselves to the times to survive the overthrowing dashful violent waves, knocking down and smashing the shorelines. Sometimes a little promptitude in granting a lenient view saves situations. It is better to be a little less religious than to be entirely irreligious. If a certain sacred fire which has been for centuries kept alive with sandalwood only, gets famished and faded because no sandalwood offerings come forth, should that sacred fire be not maintained by permitting less costly or usual burning materials? Should it be allowed to cool down to ashes?? No. Keep the Fire alive. It will again see the originally glorious day of Sandalwood-burning. These are crucial and critical moments. Better to give in a little than lose all. If the religious charm is retained, though weak, better times of original strength are sure to return.


536. We are again in a line with the point of the original aim and object of this Compilation. The final facts are that the Founder resides, at Mother's Lotus Feet, confined within the four walls of his "Mai Niwas", on Saraswati Road, Santa Cruz West Bombay [ Mumbai ] except when he goes out to Ahmedabad or any other outside place. He is a huge correspondent and believes in teaching religiosity, through correspondence and personal discussion of the smallest details of life and living. People go to him for spiritual understanding and he deals with inquirers in sittings lasting sometimes for five or six hours at a stretch, preferably by night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. If none turns up, he would be praying and communing with Mother for those hours.


His personal routine has been reduced to a minimum.  He would be found praying or preaching or writing letters or hearing the distresses of people and giving them instructions as to the ways of removal of miseries.



537. Although in the finality of things, he believes, as he so often humorously says, man's highest exertion does not result in anything substantial compared to what Mother's Grace can do, he dislikes the parasitic mentality and is extremely emphatic on the point of self-reliance, self-help and self-exertion. Says Founder, granting that you honestly are capable of doing nothing, remain grateful, be busy with Mother's glorification. Be helping Mother to keep Her Universe and children-folk happy, honest, virtuous, God-fearing and God-loving. We go to someone's house, we don't know about cooking. We at least sit by the side and talk to the Mother-hostess, although she is doing everything. That is Upaasanaa (side sitting). While Mother is preparing things for you, you be at least sitting by Her side and expressing your gratitude. If you want her to serve you,  when you are seated in the midst of pleasures fully occupied with the world and worldliness, you are making your Mother hostess your most obedient maid-servant.



538. Founder says, there are these things that are expected of you if you honestly believe you can do nothing. One thing is: Be absorbed in Her and constantly meditating on Her. If that can't be done, the second thing is, at least be busy with activities connected with Her. If that too can't be done, be at least dedicating some type of service, even though it be mechanical, either of your physical body, your mental faculties or your financial favourable position. If that too can't be done, be at least glorifying Her name and expressing your gratefulness to Her. This much on the side of action and activity.


On the side of your thinking, be humility itself. When you have to exert, you escape by saying,


" Who am I to do? What at the best can I do ?" You put all your burden on Mother. When it comes to the realisation, you say," I did it", and claim the full ownership of the fruits, without dedicating even the smallest fraction thereof, neither the credit of action nor the ownership of the fruit, to Mother. Mentally renounce the very idea of your authorship or actorship or ownership.  Don't continue the contact, not even the memory thereof.  To give a homely illustration, you possess a field, you create a mango grove therein. You are seeing that the trees are cared for and are made to yield a maximum number of best quality. You labour and pluck all the mangoes and stake them on the ground. You intend carting them to your home the next day. Your brothers, knowing these things, remove them, in the night itself. Here you have an occasion of renouncing ownership of the field, authorship of the mango grove, actorship of the mango heap. You have to develop;"Nothing is mine ", " Not only the fruit but also the attachment to the fruits." You should not be even signing and saying," The mangoes were of the wonderfully pleasant type, etc. No attachment, not even the memory of the whole happening.



539. Let these three ideas be at least fully developed: (1) I am the doer of nothing (2) Nothing belongs to me (3) I am capable of doing nothing.


Let us sit down and explain our position.  Mother is prepared for any compromise, but we are hopelessly out and out bankrupt in every way.  Not even the mental expression of gratitude ??? That is most despicable.



540. Founder says: This "neither here nor there " class of half-baked shards of earthen pots is most tiresome, troublesome to deal with; and that the average modern Hindu is. He is neither a Westerner nor an Easterner. He is neither an atheist nor a theist. He is neither a full-fledged Gyani nor an all-renouncing devotee. He is neither worldly nor the world-renounced. He is what he likes to be, as suits him best to serve his own Self. He is a crude obnoxious offensive mixture of everything. He has a love for material enjoyments as a westerner. When the question of exerting, therefore, comes up, he is an easterner and says, " we shall eat less but let us earn with ease and live God-dedication living". When a boy or a girl is out for selecting his wife, or husband, he or she wants the full latitude and freedom and right of a choice as a westerner. When the question of maintaining and taking care of the son's wife and cradling his children comes, he is again an easterner. When one has to be a guest, he is an Easterner; when one has to receive a guest, he is a westerner and he shouts, " are all hotels burnt ?".


    In a word, since the contact with the west, he is bringing in God, Religion, duty, virtue, morality, whenever he wants and is shelving all things wound up in a packet, whenever he does not want. He is more for seeing that others deal with him as truly religious men should, whereas he should live as an undisturbed irresponsible free-lancer. The whole mischief leading to the most hopeless degeneration is here. No self-control and highest vehemence against being placed under any control. He can't escape the control of Government, and there also, flouting the law is most common and most practised. No discipline. No practice. No exercise of any kind that would lead to a development of the higher life. Selfishness has been most shamelessly strutting in the streets with the drunken-ness of equality and liberty, elbowing out every consideration of truth, justice, goodness, personal worth, status, capacity, etc.


    How mere nothings we are!! How much degenerated!! How ill-equipped !! to help ourselves in living an easy peaceful life !! The world is full of cries for peace. With so much bleeding experience, the world has not been able to find the direction which, if patiently pursued, will lead the world to peace and happiness. Why? The world is deceitful even in its cries for peace. It wants peace and happiness, without leaving an inch of its ground of selfishness and of rebelliousness against the Divine laws. It is the cry and weeping of a murderer when the constable approaches him to catch. The world wants peace and happiness while being allowed to be left to play any havoc as it likes. The experiences of the past are not yet enough, or rather, the tempest of desires and the darkness of ignorance is too frightful and thick. Or rather, with the fullest understanding, the rebelliousness is too emphatic. The mother says to a boisterous boy, binding him up with a rope "you have beaten my other children to bleeding; you beg pardon and promise not to repeat the atrocities again; I let you loose, not otherwise." The boy does not agree to that, does feel the pains of punishment and is weeping and shouting " Peace, Peace. Happiness." Let him pronounce " Pardon " and Peace will be there. Let him declare his allegiance and agree to obey Her " Halt "; and " Happiness " will be there.


    What is the present status of ours? Each man has learnt the art of being a dead wall to all others. None can know what is passing within each fortress. He wants all others to be entirely in the dark regarding his motives and intentions and his moves and moments. Language has ceased to command any trust whatsoever, for that is being shaped and used as one likes, without any relevance to the actualities. The presiding deity of the language and speech-world that can enforce truth-speaking has been hurled down. The speech is used, not for true communication, but for creating misunderstandings and perversions, to serve the wretched and wicked self. On a study of speech and action, one sees it in no time, that lie and falsehood have established their universal mastery, affording as they do, best and easiest escape (of course with fewest exceptions). One feels inclined to suspect, if there is any remnant of the world yet left, that knows that lie and falsehood are bad. Falsehood-utterance has become as automatic as breathing itself. Going to the thought-world, there too, the mastery of every cunningness has been reached. When language failed to create trust, people took the sinister and secret devilish ways that Intellect could create. There too, the saturation point was reached. The chances of the more intellectual persons to exploit the less gifted ones have been exhausted. Even children are showing the mightiest and deepest intellect in the matter of self-interest, self-security, self-pleasure and self-preservation and self-mastery. None could be cheated through language because each one takes another to be a liar, though not without courtesy and hypocrisy. None believes what another says, and none remains less intelligent to be caught up in the intellectual snares. All the worldly dealings have become like a serpent going to a serpent, and a pickpocket thrusting his hand into the empty pocket of another pickpocket. The language and speech-world has become full of poison, and the thought-world has become an ocean of devilish saltish waters of animosity and hatred, with dangerous depths and tempestuous waves.


    Wherefrom can peace and happiness originate and proceed? To continue, which can be the third stage of still further degeneration ?? That stage is that of squeezing out the helpless. The helpless man too is not committing the error of not detecting the lie or not foreseeing the intellectual snare, but with open eyes, he curses his misfortune of being unhelpably helpless. Next, Helplessness goes on being created. You are made to move and made to leave your anchors and are pushed, although not tempted, to fall in the pit of helplessness.


    That stage of degeneration too has almost gone. People don't believe your speech, don't victimize themselves in intellectual snares, they develop the wisdom of preferring suffering to failing in your devilish hands out of helplessness. What next then, thereafter?? Last comes the terrible thing- the Brutal Force: " I want to snatch your things. I want to hurt you. I want to dispossess you. I want the money in your bank to be mine. I want to enslave you". "Why"?. " Because that is my wish. Because I am stronger than you. Because I can hurt you. I can even do away with your life". " Let us fight it out with every atrocity and bloodshed. You do your worst. I am doing my worst. "All these things are there, only speechlessly." Each man approaches another and makes his any demand at the point of a bayonet, and with a pistol held against the forehead. " Do as I command, or see, here you go." The world has banished all relationship except that of the Master and Slave. There is no true sweetness, that is not selfish hypocritic and full of inward hatred. The sweetness, which a slave has to use to live or gain his object and the sweetness which the Master is pleased to dramatise as a pleasure, pastime and a mockery. Everyone is for getting a tight grip mastery with possession over all around him. There is nothing like justice or goodness and nothing like an appreciation of mercy or a gratefulness for goodness shown. Where is any room for gratefulness, when goodness itself is believed and viewed as weakness and conquered-ness? The stronger merely dictates his terms, does not brook any dissenting voice, does not want to be disturbed by any symptom of disobedience. The stronger wants the weaker to be constantly in memory of the worst that he is capable of inflicting for even the smallest disinclination to obey and to act as a pawn in his chess-game playing. The principle of the survival of the fittest holds true, once that all sense of justice and truth, morals, virtue and religiosity are burnt up in an incinerator. What a gluttonous hunger has captured everyone that lives?? Hunger for pelf and power, with passion and pride!! Each one wants another's self-surrender, more intense than we had ever approached even our God with. With the pride of God, everyone is heard to say, "Leave it to me", or "Don't worry" (Krishna's last words to Arjun), to anyone whom he has got into his clutches ; and he does not surely put an end to all the worry by cutting the throat itself. In any dealing whatsoever, as soon as there is the slightest shadow of any human being, the poison of one nature or another pours in.


541. There is an end to all hopefulness about the possible reformation of the world through morality and religion, unless a strong spiritual wave sweeps out all the present devilishness and unless there is a huge sacrifice by preachers of morality and religion, rich supporters and host of volunteers.T he greatest blunder of misunderstanding is, that whereas every smallest work requires an effort service and sacrifice, religiosity and morality have been expected to take care of themselves. It is a difficult task but has to be done. The happiest day would be the one when these muddy waters of adulterated western and eastern cultures settle down with water and clay separated. Let each one decide his own path and follow it, but let him belong to any one class or another. of culture, customs, life, outlook and ways of living, non-acceptance or acceptance of morality and religion, etc. Let one class leave another unaffected, undisturbed, unhampered and unmolested and let each class progress on its own selected path.


What is the master-mentality mostly prevalent today ?  Everyone thinks he is entitled to highest happiness, from the biggest to the beggar and that he is justified to take up all means and measures, fair or foul to have it.  There should be nothing like an outward or inward control. Is this not a contradiction in itself ??


Peter can't be rich without robbing Paul. These sorts of beliefs can result in nothing else except the stronger crushing and wiping out the weaker. Why not utilise the strength of the stronger to help the weaker, giving him the return of the higher nature? If, with these beliefs the world were to be happy, it would have been happier and happier, ere long. These theories enamour people because they see the favourable side. They do not see the reveres position. They are again not natural. Everyone wants to swallow the weaker but is not prepared to be swallowed up by the stronger. That shows the unnaturalness of the new thinking mentality on its very face. If people smilingly accept the principle of justice in the stronger swallowing the weaker, on both sides, equally and unmurmuringly, there remains no need of courts, rulers, morality and religion. But that is not so. We should have eyes to see things in their most natural forms.


Although some few may be in a better exceptional position of being stronger and taking care of themselves, the major portion of mankind requires protection.  Even the strongest man welcomes the protection for himself when he gets weak and for the weaker ones he loves or leaves after him. People do want safety, security and stability, controlled, governed and regulated by a much a higher force than one's own individual strength. You can not have that benefit, unless you yourself take an undertaking of maintaining the balance, by your personal control and discipline of strictly following the justice requirements in your own living. If you don't, there is always stronger than the strongest. On that undertaking alone by each one in a society, can depend the happy running of that particular society. Then alone the equilibrium of the world, consisting of millions of men, of different types and situations and circumstances, each one having someone who is more intellectual, more strong and more equipped, can be maintained.


The cry for equality is another similar humbug. None wants to share his happiness with millions of others, less happy than himself. Each one wants to utilise the principle of equality to claim his share in the matter of others in better position and situation than oneself. The plainest thing is everyone is for "more", more of a power, prosperity, peace, comfort, happiness and not for any particular axiomatic principle of truth, to be applied on both sides and all sides, favourably and adversely.


The task of setting things right is surely a difficult one; but that is not because of any inherent difficulty in the task itself, but because the fire of desire and determination, and the right of true illumination and continued consciousness, constitutional action, is entirely absent. It has been nobody's work, with interest and a responsible watchfulness to be anxious about the all-told degeneration of a whole community, nation or Hindu world itself, with its invisible acceleration.


That can be and should legitimately be a duty assignable to the religious custodians of a nation, provided they are helped and obeyed by the followers of a religion, that are true to their religion.



542. Where can peace and happiness be found ?? The problem has been so often tackled and solved and again has got clouded and been lost and again tried and tackled anew, during the world's eternity in the past. The human animal dives and daubs itself in the mud-pond of the world, being infatuated with its mirage-ful waters, gets sickened after some time, thinks of divinity, washes itself under the spiritual springs, gets again tempted to the mud pond; and the alternate stages of divinity and brutality go round, for eternity. 


The word "brutal force" is again incomplete and misleading. Bless the day when the so-called brutal human world turns to be only an animal world. An animal has only an instinct. It does not go beyond the satisfaction of its little pleasure. A dog eats away your food, a cat sips away your milk, a goat chews away your plant and a donkey spoils your velvet carpet in the compound by rolling thereon. An ass enters any field as its own but leaves the field as soon as its hunger is finished. An animal knows only one thing - the immediate satisfaction of its hunger, though at any cost. But how little are we harassed, though in midst of them? What is their maximum demand, mischief and oppression?? Little or nothing, when compared with human beings.


Men are between deities and animals. They come down from being deity-like to be man-like. Their further stage of animal-like-ness is only quite a short passing phase. Just a stage of the few moments between one garment of yours and another, when you change them. Man immediately turns to be Satan-like after only counted moments of his animal-like-ness. Where can the whole development of Intellect and Will that he has passed through, while rising from the animal-ness to man-ness, go ?? He has receded two steps, only to take a much higher jump.


The satanic man speaks more wisely than deities themselves and acts more brutally than the animals themselves. The greatest masterpiece of his intellect is seen in the creation of perversions and delusions which keep the world in everlasting enslavement, ignorance and impenetrable darkness.


He spreads his thickest veil of blackness and casts his net to catch every fish that he can lay his hold on. He keeps on devising and executing plans and schemes that would keep the world spellbound and infatuated, and that would maintain his standing power over one and all, forever. More than three-fourths of this world is ruled by Satan and such Satan-like souls that look like merciful, straight and well-wishing benevolent deities.


Mother save Her surrendered sons from the clutches of Satanic souls !!


543. "What is the way to truly know what a man truly is? " The answer is "contact". You can know what really a man is, only when you have seen and lived with him. Otherwise, he changes his colours like a chameleon and you do not know his natural colour. The contact is helpful in deciding the true nature of man, for this reason, that he cannot all the hours be on alert and on mere artificial grounds. When you study a man on having the contact, marking subtle points of contrasts and similarities of different words thoughts actions you so to say form your own notion about the man, on the basis of reliable experienced facts about him. So many different scattered actions synchronize. Some do not but you arrive at a fair idea of man's real nature.


A man who knows all the languages most proficiently cannot be traced regarding his lineage, but if you are with him all the while, you will find him out, especially when he speaks something during his sleep-dreams.


544. I so anxiously wish readers may understand my heart. It is not that I am feeling a joy in belittling the present age. Just the reverse of it. I feel for the modern men. They are ten per cent what they make themselves to be, but ninety per cent what so many other factors have made them be.


I am not a faddist of Religion. Religion is for man, more than that men are for Religion. The ultimate aim of Religion is to make man better and happier. Nor am I worrying about getting a world of flatterers and courtiers around my MOTHER. I am all the while raising a clarion call to all of them, whom Mother has gifted powers, to do their little best to take up necessary measures to enable this very world of ours, being reinstalled on lines that lead it to be better and happier. If there is no Truth, where is the trust; and if there is no justice, where is the safety ? If there is no cognition of mercy where is gratefulness ? ? If there is no mature understanding about right and wrong, if there is nothing like obeying the voice of one's conscience, if there is nothing like feeling pleasure in giving and in discharging one's duties, if there is nothing as developing strength to stand against temptations, if there is nothing like repentance for wrong things done, if there is nothing like responsibility, if there is nothing like directing the Intellect and the Will towards goodness and universality, if there is nothing like practising the controlling of passions and the curbing of wild desires, if there is nothing like properly directing our senses to their legitimate objects in a harmless manner, if there is nothing like formation of good habits, if there is no censorship over our speech, imagination and movement, if we have no idea of what is vice and virtue, if we don't exert to develop our good character, if we don't regulate our behaviour to suit the smooth running of the society around us, if we don't try to learn and assimilate wisdom, if we don't want to be accommodative, if we don't try to minimise our pride, lust, wrathfulness, greed, envy and infatuation, if we have no benevolence, gentleness and contentment, where will the world be drifting and where is then any hope of seeing better days of bliss peace and happiness ? ? Do we want a nation of Independent Animals ? ? Everyone driving his brakeless motor to the pinnacle of the highest hell of his desires, reaching it, and with an overtopping, falling in the Reaction Ocean behind the hell?



545. Let us now be returning to the restricted subject of religion, how people take it and how do they deal with it, because all that has been stated as necessary for being done through Religion, can be done only with the help of the world itself, through co-operation and means of men, money and material.



    It is extremely desirable that India, now an Independent Nation, should introduce the system of preparing a record of life lived by people, in a particular period of say 30 to 50 years. This record should be containing information, about the different activities and moralities and religiosities, and principal features of the social life, the individual life, family life, remarkable instances of helps, friendships, enmities, charities likes and dislikes, services and sacrifices, sentiments and fashions, change in beliefs, customs, traditions and cultural manifestations, transitions in types of activities and mentalities etc , in addition to the usual collection of facts, as at present under census statistics.



    Only the study of the past can guide and help a nation to form its future. In spite of our loudest cries about our past civilisation, which are surely deserved and justified,  we have no recorded and connected history of any nature. We know only how our grandfathers lived and died because we personally saw them. Regarding our great grandfathers, we are entirely in the oblivion. Would a man of today or tomorrow believe, our great grandfathers were not beggars as of today, bent to make out every pie out of what Nature gave them so bountifully, or what the abuse of intellect could have given? 



    Let me at least make a beginning of such a record here. Before 1914, we used to roll in plentifulness regarding food, and quite happy about the real necessities of life. There were so many instances of poor relations staying with rich ones for months and years and even for lives. Fruits like mangoes were freely distributed in streets and among acquaintances. It was a dishonour for any zamindar to sell fruits. Buildings of rich people were available at nominal rents, with no greed of return, just for being "taken care of'. Rich people sent over bags of grains and packets of clothes to poor people without causing any humiliation, in an unknown manner. Sugarcane field-owners and coconut trees' and fruit-owners invited all, and gave an established right to any passer-by, to take as much juice or eat as many sugarcanes and fruits as he liked. Women during pregnancy would get all ornaments to wear, owned by all relations and class-people. A poor man would be helped to defray the expenses of a marriage of his children, with helpful solid presents to him by all around. A poor man will have dainty dishes to eat in castle-dinners, or at rich man's places for about a hundred days in a year.



    What honesty! What charity! What a belief, what I earn is not mine or of my wife and children alone!! What a trustworthiness?? What a magnanimity? The modern man lets loose the fireworks of his rotten rebellious hot-headed excuses. A millionaire of today is more beggarly to a needy stranger than an ordinary villager of the past with a hand-to-mouth living. It is no use giving reasons which explain, how we have degenerated, the stages of our degeneration, as the causes and justifications of the same. How does not explain, why at least does. Let there be the record of the history of Hindus, about what our forefathers were and what we are, without any paraphernalia of justifications.



    To be a debtor, cheat or a misappropriator was the greatest dishonour; conscience-pricks and social belittlement punished people more smartingly and effectively than the law courts. Creditors maintained every respect of their debtors on one hand; and, on the other, even grandsons repaid the debts of their grandfathers and family, together with interest. No rich man dined alone; and in towns, you would so often find, rich men themselves walking over to their destinations on foot, and lending their carriages to some needy relations or acquaintances. People took pleasure in giving, serving and sacrificing. People had their personal harmless pride as the best men of their society, regarding goodness, virtue, morality and charity. People, so to say, cared for their personal honours, family traditions and ancestral greatness. So many poor people enjoyed music, sight-seeing, medicines etc., free, provided they had the humility, reverence, goodness and straightforwardness. The poor had practically a legitimate right and share of enjoyment in the fundamentals of human requirements, in the richness of the rich.  The poor never envied the rich, because the rich parted with a substantial portion of their richness, and on the top thereof, maintained an appearance of social equality. The rich showed humility, although sometimes affected and attributed their greatness to their prarabdha, and not to intellectual or financial greatness.



    Such were the great grandfathers of the modern money-mendicants, who are simply the formations and conglomerates of selfishness from their nails to the highest head-hair.



    Will the modern man believe this fact? A rich man known for his religious piety and supernatural powers was once visited by a poor lady, who approached him with a request, to permit her to rub a piece of iron with his sacred feet, as she learnt that that would be turned into gold.



    The rich man was staggered. He said "Let me have that piece and go to the worship and prayer room. You are right, but only partly. Iron turns into gold, but not on rubbing it with the feet of a poor sinful man like me.  That belief is true, in respect of the image I worship."  He went into the prayer room, took out his own gold equal to the weight of the iron piece, and handed it over to the lady. Satans of to-day call this a folly. There has been a pinching bankruptcy of even appreciators of goodness, virtue and charity.



    If there is no recorded faithful history, what remains for the posterity is the natural and justified attitude of a disgustful disbelief and an outright denial. If there is no recorded history of generations to generations, where is the ideal to follow, and the inspiration and basic material to judge our amelioration and deterioration? Unless we have an idea of a superior living or superior powers and working capacities, etc., and unless we have a conviction and a realism, where is the remotest chance of even a desire to become better, with the urge and confidence of "what someone man has done in the past, any man can surely do, in the present." ?? It is only on the still waters of a faithfully represented history of lives lived, that the sheep (?) can find an inspirational proof of its being really a cub of the lion-race. Stories, cinemas and novels can't help you to elevate your character and practical life. They are all works of imagination only, sometimes of some intellectual genius absorbed in wine and women. You must have seen or at least heard or read about living persons and the work they left behind them, who actually lived a life of virtue, suffering, service and sacrifice, humility, charity and philanthropic activity with benevolence. For the modern world, we want a lot of new literature about psychology, character, lives and memories of great men in details, biographies and autobiographies.


546. The centuries-old Hinduistic view about maintaining Religion, as far as its financial aspect is concerned, is that Religious Institutes and personages are to be maintained by rich persons, or public as of the type of Mahajans, or certain large groups of communities, or sometimes by the charitable co-operation and patronage of Government. The underlying principle was a very sound one, so long as everything went straight in the chalked-out channels. Rich people would give nourishment. Institutes, or say, Mahatmas or saints would take care of the general public and the poor. Their blessings would make rich people richer and happier. The whole merry-go-round was happily and smoothly running. Charity was voluntary. There was ample provision for religious institutes and saints in its own way. There were public Dharmashallas and public religious feeding-houses. A Hindu saint was content with a bit of bread and a piece of rag.


     The new contagion of the western idea is democracy. You have to pay for what you get, and will pay only if you get. You have to contribute your quota towards the maintenance of an Institute which you utilise for your spiritual benefit. None would enter a club of which he is not a subscribing member. That is a fair and square mentality for the western or westernized minds. With Hindus, the conflict of contradictory beliefs has resulted in a great handicap for religious progress.


547. Founder says: He has this as the substance of his experience, here. With the advent of the western civilization, even a multi-millionaire became a mendicant, so far as passing over anything to another was concerned, because even the whole wealth of the world does not now suffice for his pleasures. People do want religious institutes and preachers and advisers, helpers and consolers, etc. Only thing is, someone else should have the idea of supporting them. They are to be merely receivers of benefits. This is in a way most natural with the original Hindu ideals. Religiosity or sacred learning gets poisoned, as soon as the idea of money-getting or money-losing poison touches it.


     Founder says: When in the highest fervour of devotion, any saint hands over his books to a devotee, (and a true devotee is mostly a poor one), how can he wipe out every work done, with the poison of a demand of its price?? On the other hand, a rich man that goes to him as a religious friend, to quote an actual instance, on being treated according to his status with a lunch costing rupees three, comes forth to pay a two-anna-piece, the nominal price of a pamphlet, which he presents him with. His face is glowing with the idea, "I would not take a pamphlet copy free, as others do. I will straightaway pay it off." Poor people, (not exactly poor, but people who have the receiving mentality), would start with condemnation of the very idea of embittering religiosity with money-making or money-demanding attitude. A rich man would be expecting praises for having paid off his two annas for the copy, although possessing lacs!! What was expected of him was "Send your printers' bill to me for your next pamphlet" or a cheque of a substantial amount for other publications. How to find the finance and how to make two ends meet for religious new progress?


     Founder says : If you have no interest, no concern, be you happy ; but if you are intimately associated with an Institute, deriving its benefits, it is quite an embarrassing position, to have an army of the so-called poor people in the above sense, on one side, and rich people priding themselves on paying off their two anna piece, on the other.


548. There are several points of wrong mentalities, which the Founder has come across, and which have shocked him on being smitten with a contrast between the talked-over and the actual religiosity of the Hindu world.


     A demand of some return for some great relief received from Mother, on the Founder's exerting hard and the consequent removing of some unbearable hardship, to be used only for the furtherance of an Institute, or for assisting a religious person in his religious work, is called begging !!!


     The logic underlying the mentality has been explained above: "Religious help is to be always free." Because religious help is invaluable just like the saving of a drowning man, therefore it is expected to be rendered and is valued as valueless. What is invaluable soon gets depreciated to be valueless, if the feeling of gratitude dies.


     Founder says: You save a rich man's son from being sentenced, you see that a discarded daughter is received in her husband's home, you avert a danger of any disappointed person prepared to commit suicide, by your constant day and night praying to Mother for maintaining his mental equilibrium. Do anything, even helping a rich man to get over an incurable disease, or, speaking in terms of money itself, to get thousands. Die for them, but a word about contributing to the sacred cause of religious furtherance is called BEGGARY. This modern mentality must change.



549. Founder says : This idea of "religious service must be entirely free," be it of any significance, is so deep-rooted, that I have not been surprised on excavation of the lowest layers of several Hindu minds, to find that even the best saints are standing in their innermost heart of hearts, as nothing more than their dependents, (though surely to be revered), as persons living on charities of so many like themselves. The natural feeling is, with most of the donors, that of a patroniser. That is the most natural conclusion on acceptance of the said principle because logically, he thinks himself entitled to a higher class and recognition than others, who get that advantage free. The religious belief, once so very genuine and the mentality of "the saints oblige us by accepting"- has erelong disappeared.


549 A. Please don't be petty-minded and think this to be an outflow of a personal injustice. I am striving hard, for a change in the mentality of the whole modern religious world. Don't be dazzled with the richness of a few counted saints. Study the problem deeply. A quotation from one of the worshipped saint's life will open eyes. " People came to me in crowds and asked for instructions. People came and made me talk for three days and nights, without giving me a moment's rest. They did not even ask me whether I had eaten".


     If modern Hindus want to burn their religion, I am ready to be the fore-runner with fire mud-pot. Please note, he is the dearest son. But if not, then burn this new mentality. " We to reap " and " some to sow." With blind selfishness, the world, refusing to provide for the barest minimum for saints has driven many helpless but determined teachers to the need of creating networks of advertisers and canvassers. The world has created a class of cheaters, on starving its teachers.


     In one final word, the mentality of " religion and religious service must be free," untenable in this modern money-souled age, must be burnt and buried.


     I am sure, India can't survive without Religion. And therefore, I am cruelly hammering.


550. Founder says: Another point of a remarkable mentality is that an average Hindu has no high ambition about a propaganda work. He has the least of a missionary mentality. It is more than enough, that the Saint or Mahatma whom they revere is not sleeping hungry, and is not exposed to heat and cold, and is not without his loin-cloth.


     It must be said, this is quite an honest mentality with some few and not simply an excuse for not giving. Surely there are some that give with an honest understanding, viz., that the saints need nothing, but that they must support them, for their own "punyam" and future welfare. That the saints need nothing is a genuine belief with some sincerely religious people. Re: religious activity, they have no belief in significant results on undertaking religious activities. That accounts for absolutely no anti-action and a vigorous campaign against proselytism when Christian missionaries and Mohamadan converts were busy.


551. It looks as if a Hindu, in his heart of hearts, although he is neck-dipped in every activity to attain his materialistic happiness, has, as it were, a conviction, unseen by himself- "Not even a straw can be broken into two pieces without the will and sanction of Divine Mother."


552. Hindus have been reaping the richest fruits of that conviction. They themselves have not known it, nor have saints spoken in so many clear words, about that conviction being the final reason why Hindus, in spite of their vices and weaknesses, degeneration and degradation, have withstood onslaughts of centuries and have stood proudly on their lofty pedestals, while other nations and civilisations have disappeared and become extinct.


553. Founder says: Understand, analyse, see-through and through. Your salvation key is your self- surrendered spirit, in spite of whatever you be, divine or undivine, and gone to any stage of unrighteousness or even wickedness. That is the religion of religions which lays the highest emphasis on Love, Service, Devotion and unconditional cheerful Self-surrender.

554. The Founder says: The very first qualification for true religiosity is humility. You can't practice and progress in religion unless you fully understand where your weakness is.  Your humility alone can show you that, or embolden your teacher to show you that. Religion is setting right every wrong element of your mind and body, heart and head. One who is therefore sincerely desirous of attaining true religiosity should have humility enough to consider no detail, however trivial, as below his introspection and analysis. A whole machinery comes to a deadlock, because a small nail is missing or wrongly placed, or ceasing to do its proper function. If you wish to repair your huge machinery of heart and head, to make it most efficient and acceptable by the Almighty, there is nothing that is too trivial for you to think about and to mend. You must first feel you are empty. How can one who thinks himself filled up, acquire more ??


555. Founder asks and says: Am I out-pouring prideful venom? when I describe these things? No. That mentality of some saints- "You are the best people. We are the best. There is nothing to be found fault with you or to be set right. There is nothing of imperfection with you and us. You go on laying envelopes of currency notes at our feet. We go on blessing you with Narayan Narayan"- all that can lead you nowhere. Religious improvement actually requires hard work to be done, with a lot of suffering and practising and with patience and perseverance.


 556. One harmonium-owner went to a renounced saintly repairer with his instrument, and with folded hands said to him thus: "I have come to you after seeing many repairers. They ask Rs. 25. I am prepared to give even Rs. 50 and that too in advance, but, I want one thing, I do not like to answer any questions, and do not wish that they may touch my instrument. You repair it without touching or even seeing it." The saint (the repairer) smiles in his heart, "Here is one more fool." He does not lose his temper at the folly, uses sparing words and often keeps a never-breaking silence. He speaks one word, "How?". Says the owner, "You simply blow it with your breath." The saint blows his breath, the owner believes, it has been repaired and takes it back. He never plays music. For years, the prideful and jubilant impression is there. "I have a perfectly repaired instrument." "I am the customer (disciple) of such and such a well-known repairer (saint)". There is no occasion to find and no eye to see that it is not repaired. Because there is nothing like self-analysis. If some outsiders bluntly point out it is not in working order, with blind faith, it is believed it was perfected but was subsequently, somehow later only, recently, spoiled, by a climate change. There is nothing to be unhappy about it. Go to the repairer again. He will blow his breath again, and again it will be perfected.


557. Founder says: I am in no way belittling the practice. I am only trying to show the higher step. People who go to saints for "darshan" and their elevation are many times much better than neck-dipped world-worms. But the still higher thing is something else.


558. A disciple who approaches his Guru for hearing his praises is a doomed man. For a substantial improvement he should ask his Guru, "what are my wrong points and foibles and vices and weaknesses?" and try to eradicate them.


559. My ardent desire, and, therefore, underlying my explaining these things in such trivial details, is to bring about the points of wrong mentalities, which prevent our religious progress.


560. Founder says: I wish, people have a chart before their eyes as to the religious and irreligious mentalities, before they seriously think of a religious improvement of self. Most of the people, however, believe in blow-breath-repairs, currency notes in covers and words of blessings. Let them be happy in their own ways and beliefs,


561. Founder says: "I am placing on record my experience because I believe, no amount of breath-blowing can mend matters unless the wrong mentalities are mended. Of course, there is an exceptional Royal route, viz., God's or Guru's Grace. But that can be for few exceptions, and not for all. Only the stationmaster's son can directly enter the booking-room and get his ticket. Others have to be in a line outside and wait for their turn. We are here talking about the ordinary running of things.


562. When one with some miraculous powers decides, in view of the above response of the world, that he should introduce and accept the mercantile element in its most modest form, leaving entirely to the Grace-recipient how to remunerate for the Grace, there again the said story holds. Making brilliant manifestations and professions of love and reverence and of life-long gratitude, and giving lavish promises to start with, and to be forgetting everything after the calamity disappears!! Some are still-more-advanced in all types of trickeries, to evade fulfilment of their promises. A patent trick is this. Yes, my calamity is removed, but I propose to give that amount promised to you, in a charitable hospital or in some Ashram or in a certain Mataji's temple. Here, the most advanced educated man prefers to be considered a fool, to serve his selfishness.


     What more modest name can be for him?? If a big merchant has several shops, one of cloth, one of hardware, does he take the cloth from the cloth shop and make payment in the hardware shop? It is most wonderful, how even most educated persons talk such foolish things, and they do not see the impropriety underlying.


     It is not a folly. It is wickedness, parading under the name of a folly. It is only a matter of common-sense. The fact is, he wants to take advantage of the delicate mentality inseparable from true religiosity. Religious relationship can't go down to the level of the mean under-hand trickeries of a money-making business-mentality.


563. Please note, I am only explaining the embarrassing situation in a matter of finance, for a new entrant in the realm of religion, as a reformer. In India, the agree-ability of circumstances for any religious reform is this, in brief. Those who are Gadipatis like the Maharajahs of the Vaishnava sect, they never think of the advancing times. It is no part of their duty to help the world to being more religious. At best, their duty is to continuously play the same part, which has come down to them from the times of their forefathers. Immense wealth, which is rightly claimable for being utilized for a public religionisation, being the collection from the public itself for the religious welfare of posterity, lies interred there. That is one class, the richest class.


564. There is another class which is for dittoing the past and playing the same gramophone records, blankly refusing to even look at the changed condition and the burning questions of today.   They live in an ideal world of Vedas, Gitas and Puranas and refuse to descend even one step to study the actual state of facts and try to solve the perplexing questions of the modern life. this class is fairly rich, but it prefers Idealisms. Vyakhans, platform thunderings, Kathas, temple going, Geeta reading etc. are more than enough in their eyes, for people to be religious.


565. There is still another class of high souls, who believe in fearful awe-inspiring distance, silence and unapproachability. To have a darshan would more than enough to make a man perfect - the breath blowing class.


566. Inferior varieties, we are not referring to. There is a class which consists of some living on superstitions and fears of human nature, some on avariciousness, some on religious ignorance of the rich educated class that has left all contact with religious routine, some on the blind faith of the illiterates, etc.  


567. Neither Blessed Shri Ramakrishna nor Swami Vivekanand belonged to any of these classes and therefore their troubles were comparatively much greater.


Founder says: Let me explain the whole situation in still deeper layers The reputed phenomenon for Hinduism is, periodical setting right by the descent of most divine illustrious religious souls, from time to time. During the interregnum, the Hindu religious mind is taciturn. The new successor, as it were to add to his glory and that of the Mother who sends him, is always a self-made man. He twinkles and sheds his brightest illumination, as it were, in spite of absolutely no help of the people of his age and even opposition. Hinduism is the best training ground, or a religious high soul, not only because of its best inheritance but of the most troublesome elements in the Hindu society, that would not fail to make every effort to crush down anything, that crops up as anew. The new man shines, in spite of any deadening anti-action. That develops him to be and proves him to be really great. In a country, where even street going people discuss religion and philosophy, the tests are bound to be much harder than anywhere else.


Studying the problem from a cynic worldly view, Hinduism and Hindu society are vast oceans of all varieties of philosophies and human natures, but side by side with the best people of highest type there are the worst people of the lowest type as well, in India. There are highest religious souls, that have sacrificed their everything for the sake of religion and there are shrewdest exploiters of religion too. Comparatively that range with other nations is small Study the whole past history. The terrible fight between deities and demons was and is only here.


568. Just laugh with me when I ask, what business King Parikshit had to place a dead serpent around the neck of a poor innocent silent Muni, who had not offended King Parikshit in any way ?? We find the plot arrangement of a villain, side by side with every hero.  ( I am not calling anyone a villain ).Rama sent away his beloved Seeta, to pass Her sorrowful years in a forest simply because some hopeless washer-man spoke something nonsensical. Pandavas had their worst enemies in their very cousins, the Kauravas themselves, who had planned to burn them alive. Draupadi was ill-treated in a way that should put whole nation boasting about its civilisation, to shame. Meera was harassed like a hell and sent a poison cup. So also was Narsimha Mehta. The same story we have of Tukaram and Gynaeshwar. Practise thinking like a free unbiased impartial thinker without well froggism. there is a worldly view and judgment and a spiritual one and both views are correct. The governing final truth is that the spiritual view and the object to be achieved guides decides and brings about the worldly apparent blamable happenings and movements.


569. As a westerner, one will not be surprised if irreligious people call Rama to be cruel husband, or Duryodhan and Kauravas to be savage people, devoid of any civilisation, as any true civilisation must mean a respectful womankind and a pity for the defenceless and poor. Aswathaamaa killed harmless sons of Draupadi. From a worldly judgement, I would not fail to say at least this much that, whereas there are best saints in Hinduism, there are worst devils as well. Just take the most ordinary matter in an independent way of looking. We always boast, Hindu priestcraft is the cheapest of all religions. A Hindu saint satisfies himself with a fistful of rice and armful of cloth. Well, that speaks most creditably about the Hindu saints, but does that not also indirectly convey the idea, how poor is the financial support that these saints receive from the public, to further the cause of religiosity? Just see Christianity. If anyone comes forth to dedicate his life to the cause of religion, how people lay all their wealth and comforts and equipments at their feet ?? What is the Hindu charity to Hindus themselves, compared to what  Christians have spent in schools and hospitals, over Hindus and non-Christians? 


 570. It has been put forth as an argument that India is poor. This argument is simply nonsense. If we judge the charitableness on the basis of percentage , where comes in  the question of poverty ? Judge the Charity of Hindus to the cause of their religion on the basis of their earning; you will surely find it to be extremely poor. Statistic can be easily prepared .The fact of facts is , a Hindu mind wants religion free.With most of them , anything in disagreement with that most convenient belief is a strange and almost a shocking idea. Do westernized Hindu not know that in America religious lectures are actually paid for ??  Let your payment be not in dollars , but in Rupees if you are poor , and let them be in the multiple of tens instead of hundreds. I consider it to be entirely false and deceitful argument.We see people around us enjoying their life quite lavishly and yet not prepared to part a single coin for the religious service they receive. The very idea "We should not receive free service" is not there. The further idea of financing for the furtherance of religion is, so to say, a yet  foreign one , and charity has been all along is only voluntary. When times have changed, there should be  a change in that centuries old mentality as well. A large public fund with an organisation , for religious improvement, must come forth , in this democratic age .Formerly, people and public loved to serve religion. There was innocent pride of greatness in helping religion, there was belief , charity would bring more money , peace and happiness.People revered donors  and the public and society would bring  influence on rich people and capable individuals.  If a religious mendicant, especially a sanyaasin, slept hungry in a village, it was a matter of meanest shamefulness for the whole village.  We are sick of false arguments. Do not bring in old days' cheapness and present days' dearth. Don't foolishly talk ( as I have heard educated men) about olden three seers of ghee  for a Rupee and present rate of three Rupees a seer.Just compare the religious meagre and modest demand , with a 30 Rs, ticket for a "jalsa" being unavailable , or your expenses in cinemas, hotels, race courses ,marriage processions, toilette, clothing, pleasure-trips, etc.


571. The flaw is there. The argument of poverty is not entirely baseless. To put it correctly, the religious world i.e. the world that would consider it a pleasure and a duty to spend their money on religion is surely poor. That is the experience of almost every religious man. Rich in the heart is poor in purse. Rich persons do not feel the need for religion. whenever in some exceptional moments they do, that is the only rare occasion of helplessness for them to make some charity.


572. Just let us enter into details of this question. Just take a pie in a Rupee as a charity for a religion. Does that not come to this, that every group of two hundred families, there can be provision for religious preceptor living like an average man of that group?? And how few people there are, who would come forth to serve a group religiously, dedicating their life to the said purpose, if that nomadic tribe of religious mendicants and cheats is out of mind? Surely, the latter type will never agree to be serving the society in a stabilised manner.


573. The fact of facts is, people resent paying any money for a religious purpose, and in spite of all tallest talks and boasts, they are not prepared to give thereto, even the smallest footing, as a recurring regular item in their so many avenues of outgoings, of their daily routine expenses.


To explain matters in greater details, a man earning Rs. 500 per month, will not be sorry for more than five minutes on his losing a fiver, but if he has to give, say, Rupees two per month, he feels as if a Himalayan mountain has crushed him. If he has to do that under great pressure, he will do it for two or three months, and then stop. 


So there, there, a change is required to be brought about. The Satan is there to whisper to him," the expense is neither for me nor for my family, not for any comfort or pleasure, not for any substantial return.Religious instruction, advice, is no cost price commodity. It does not cost the preacher to be giving the benefit of his religious experience of his divine knowledge or the kindling of devotion through contact, etc. The benefits must be granted and received gratis" .What little they should inevitably require, there are so many others, except myself, to give. "


574. The old arrangement was best. Let a religious worker leave his anything and dedicate himself for religious welfare to the public and society. Let him leave on the other hand absolutely nothing like worry, for whatever he desires for the sake of furthering the religion.


575. If a temple is to be constructed, material contractors will supply free materials and labour class will finish up the work more speedily than any private construction. That was the spirit of helping religion and religiosity. If there is an entire change in the mentality, there must also be a corresponding change in the method of financing religion.


575 [ A ] Let me strongly state it for my readers, That I have not burnt my midnight oil and passed over checks to the Press for petty minded or perverted visioned or dull-headed persons. He is a great fool, who concludes, I am giving vent to my discontentedness, on not having the required success, especially in finance. Neither the world is going to die nor the Religion, at least in India. Today or after decades or even after centuries, an overhauling change must come and surely someone is to be born, who has no other desire and ambition of his life than that of re-arranging the religious beliefs, customs and ways of living Hindu society.  I am putting all my experience on record, not simply for religious thinkers of the present, but also the future - for him or for them. Let someone have an idea, of what a predecessor of his mentality, but the later of the much poorer stuff than himself, experienced about the world. I am here thrashing out the psychological aspect of religion, for them who want to work in that direction, in future. I throw off all constraints here and write with quite an impersonal mind.


The religious potentiality of Hindus, sure, I have found to be wonderfully great, but the whole method of tackling religion has become most ill-disciplined, unsystematic, indefinite, chaotic, full of contradictions, insincere, hypocritic, superficial and colder than a corpse. My first advice to my Hindu brothers is "First of all, wipe out that notion, every Hindu is bound to be religious." For some time, let the practice and study of religion have no higher value than any obscure study, as of say " mining and metallurgy " or " meteorology".That will sweep out all hypocrisy, exploitation and mischief, in the name of religion, one stroke of which, undone and wipes away the work of twenty day and night workers. Do learned superficial thinkers want me to prove this, by showing that one can burn in less than five days, any construction that took five years to build?


Don't be dropping with despondency, even if under the process of elimination. You remain, say, only thirty out of the whole population of thirty crores. Your thirty will again caret a new nation of many times much superior souls numbering over thirty crores, but once for all get rid of these ghosts, who pull down during the night what you have constructed during the day. Inefficiency of any religion arises from the greed of numerical strength and making it compulsory from the father to the children. If after the reaching the years of discretion anyone voluntary desires from his or her heart to be religious, welcome him or her. How is the world going to stop in its working even if there is not a single man on earth who believes in God?? Don't worry on that score.Mother's Message of Mai-ism says," Mai-ism is one's own personal religion to be adopted after the age of discretion and not one's own personal religion. "


If a girl marries a new husband on her every birthday, or someone marries a cousin or even a sister it is no business of your to pass a word of condemnation or censure. You have a right only to say" You are not one of us. We can not allow ourselves and our child children to associate with you and yours." That is all and nothing beyond it. No indefiniteness. No haziness. no contradiction. As great a clarity as the rules and regulations of any society, to which every one of the members has a consent and to which no addition can be made without  ( not the majority's), everyone's consent. No democratic mischief of majority in Institution of lifelong consequences and inherited interests. Neither compel nor pull anyone in the matter of religious observances beyond his beliefs and convictions and beyond his readiness and agreement to the observances, nor permit him to be talking and boasting about hundreds of things which he calls " as of his religion " but of which he has not one atom in action. Give every person a society of his own views and plane. Leave it entirely to everyone , to choose what he can call as his religion and to what he would remain honestly and promise fully and morally bound. Let legal codes protect the Ideals.


Late Bro. A.S. Mundkur who has translated " Founder's Psalms " had become Mai-ist in an extremely interesting way. The Founder and Mr. Mundkur  were together  for only an official duty, for five days. The Founder had gone to scrutinise his "award" of acquired lands . They stayed in adjoining blocks of the Nipani Travellers' Bungalow . One Friday night Mr.M entered F's room and expressed his greatest surprise on finding him sitting before Mai's picture in worship. What do I see !! Do you believe in Religion after so much learning and free thinking and contact with up to date things ? I hate Religion. The greatest humbug that has worked horrors on this world," F was equally staggered at such a contempt. Both were pulled into a serious discussion. M let loose his contempt, in never stopping mail trains and specials , bout the weakness and abuse points of Hinduism. He won't to stop to hear a counter reply. After he had finished, F cool mindedly told him," You are right in whatever imputations you have made , but let me have my say."  "Is there any God or not ?" " Yes, but not ...." " Do you think for smooth running of the world , there must be some law. "  " Surely but not such foolish......"  Well suppose you  were a legislator , what would you have let down ?" " Nothing, nothing , absolutely nothing , only live without hurting others with Love. Help others as best you can with Service. Remember your Creator , who has created such a happy , beautiful  and man-serving world and live always cheerfully, taking life as it comes. "


The F asked," If Religion means this," M got wrathfully wild " Don't try to pull me .I am not a child I am fifty two , my friend ?I have studied all religions  and have had long discussions with  Swamis, Moulvis and Reverends ." F smiled to bring M's wrathfulness down. " But supposing some religion means what you say". " I know there is none ". "Suppose some new religion come forth !!"  In fully respectful but convinced manner, he began to leave the room saying with the highest emphasis,"Impossible".F told him he had to go that night  to Belguam to conduct a worship.M was too generous and offered his car for a distance of over 30 miles and back. He smiled and taunted F with a pleasant vengeance, " Please excuse me.I am personally telling you. That is my religion , to save your immense travelling  trouble by giving you my car ". He could not contain and repeated " That is my religion. Not going to a temple but sparing one's car for a carrying a coolie fallen from a scaffold in front of you to hospital." F smiled ," If you don't mind , will you please have a glance at this book of mine.?" He accepted it and the Founder thanked him. The F returned the next morning . As he entered the compound  , forgetting his position as a Collector, he came running and shouting " jay mai , Jay Mai", and opened the motor door like  a brother. Founder was surprised " What has happened to you ?" said the M, "Conversion in a night."  Universal !! No bitterness of individual religions !! Religion itself means Love and Service !! What what what so do you boldly say !! Even if  a man does not believe  in the  existence of God  you call such a man Religious !! if he lives a life of Love and Service !! Has any religion said so in such a explicit bold terms !! Founder said with the highest joy," It is not this humble creature who can dare say like that . It is Jay Mai that has shown that condescension  to the suffering world, out of Her Mercifulness for Her children, in this new age."


Founder says"  Let the patient in his last days eat whatever he likes . If he takes these six Mai-ism pills , he will be saved. " Founder in the most deplorable condition of religion and religiosity  takes the attitude of an examiner, who asks ," Which chapter do you know best ? Which question scan you best answer ? You give me the questions I may ask you with and answer them with your very text books before you. I don't want to lock up my University and Colleges." " Tomorrow most brilliant scholars will come forth, if these survive."


No longer the present delusion and chaos. Let us know how many of these crores  don't want God and don't want religion. Let various proposals come forth from different religious thinkers and groups of different mentalities saying "Let so much alone mean religion, and we are prepared to abide by that much, with the tenacity of a staunchly religious man."


There should be no startling , at a large number of sub religions. , each one strictly followed by its followers , would be many times much  superior to India with an Idealistic , hazy, indefinite, one Major Religion in name, , neither in belief, nor in action , nor in life.


I do appreciate the practical hardship and difficulty. A man may think in one way toady  and his views may change tommorow . The wisest foresight is to do define your religion as broadly as can . Don't be retreating step after step with the world's slaps. It is not merely a defeat but a source and a cause of contempt and of mutual hatred between the binder and the bound.


Mai-ism brings down six thousand six hundred and sixty six things to six things only. Six things are also reduced to three trios,[1] Humanity, Love and Service [2] Mother, Devotion and Self Surrender and [3]  God, Guru and disciple.  Take up any trio and fire on. Mother speed you. No handicaps of what to dine, when to bathe, whom not to touch, which temple, which river , which pilgrimage place , whom to marry, which saint, which priest, etc. etc.


Founder says," For all other matters , ask your Mother yourself. [ Page 30 of Mai Sahasranama ] , when in a fully serious and devotional mood. Consult your Guru if you have one and chalk out your line of action, in which you don't infringed your selected principles, with Love and Service, devotion and Self Surrender." Founder says," I have nothing else to lay down as a compulsory measure."


The Founder sums up with saying ," I can not conceive of any greater delusion when superficial thinkers consider my teachings to be inimical to Hinduism. Those who have fully imbibed the true spirit of Hinduism  and have a deep experience and insight will see that I am driving horse determined to go westward  and ready to be flogged  to death , but not turn eastward , in the west itself as it likes. But finally, to take its breath out with westward running till it most unconsciously finds , it has returned home in the east.


See deep, think deep. My effort is for the unwilling horse to make him drink water. I have to deal with  a nation that has religiously turned as . It has no pride and no sacrificing readiness for either its ancestry or its religion. It has  no sense for  a black spot about its legitimacy or illegitimacy of its culture and civilisation. Some communities or individuals may go in for a better foreign seeds , with absolutely no value attached  to the genuineness or otherwise. Some  would die for the culture or civiliastion of their own ancestors, World is various coloured.


What is Mai, if not Hindu Mother Universalized ?? What is the teaching of " cart before the horse" , if not the insistence on Brahmacharya ? What is the underlying essence behind the statement" Any two hundred families can have a saint, if they contribute a pie in a Rupee", except a reminiscence of the past family Guru ?? What is this suggestion of welcoming as many sub religions as come forth, with a strict following, anything else than reformation of castes, but on rationalistic and modern basis  turning castes into so many societies ? with all the latter abuses eliminated and a greater discipline under the modern loved and liked  and agreed to rules and regulations ? If tree seed birth basis is rejected, adopt religion-social basis  but not the ruinous external refinement and money basis.


The Founder says," You lay down the rules by which you will live your life, If there is no desire of any discipline in life, let us know that also, once for all. I will be much happier  to be face to face with bare faced no, than to be in a perpetual delusion of all-fittedness about the real thing of all-emptiness. We know where we are. If one medicine fails , there are so many others , but what is the sense of this dead as to the patient's diagnosis, like or dislike, efficacy or inefficacy of a certain medicine , readiness or un-readiness  to take medicine itself etc. Founder further says" If Pandavas were not sitting with their heads hanging low , the Draupadi of my love for religiosity  had no cause for shouting out herself."


To be bit light, the Founder was once a honorary teacher in a Local Self-Government Class. His pupils loved him and played with him. Once he asked," What is the colour of this chalk-stick ? " All boys said ,"Black". Founder said ," Quite right." " But just see its end, don't see simple lengthwise. Don't you see ? It is not completely black, but blackish blue ? "" Just see now the other end, does it not look bluish green "? Now I cut this into pieces.", don't you see it is whitish yellow ?" " Take this second section now."" It is only whitish" . " Now I take this last piece and tell me , one and all , how does it ? The whole class with  a roaring laughter  and tapping shouted out "purest white ".


That way children have to led and brought home. Your success or failure wholly depends on how far they love you and you are lovable and how far you are prepared to die for them.


The Founder says,"Let me place most subtle observations on record which may keep both new enthusiastic workers in the direction of the Guru Shishya relationship work."


The Founder on English birthday night of 23 - 12 - 1951 (Sunday) when he adds his addendum to the book under print ( 8th Chapter re: Paramahamsa, printed in December 1951 ) makes certain observations :


" I have come to the conclusion, after such a tremendously vast experience, there is no use of teaching, instructing , reading religious books , hearing Kathas etc. I am fully shuddered to tell it. What Guru gives , that much alone the Shishya gets. As many Rupees annas and pies as Guru gives, so many Rupees annas pies  the Shishya get. The rest is all delusion and consolation. I talked for two full hours to Mai Devotees B.C.W. early in the morning and one hour to T.A.D. and M.S.M. in the afternoon , on this subject. I spoke in breaking sentences only and with sighs. With a shudder, I shut my eyes, not to see and hear this truth. The cruel-most truth for the modern world that hates the very idea of Guru.If this is the Finalmost Truth , which Mother reveals to me , finished !!" Spirit alone lives.The erst evaporates and Spirit alone passes from one source to another, only when two containers are joined and  unified to be one.The rest is all temporary turning of a copper coin to look silver-like. A temporary magnetization. A certain period of unification must past before and after the Spirit Transfer.Even the received Spirit  has to become settled , and get mature enough to have its own surviving and increasing power, against radiation and counter-acting forces."


My heart throbs tonight to say and declare " All my labours on them that were not impregnated with the candid and ardent spirit and feeling of  a Shishya towards a Guru, are lost in water (here I sigh).A life long delusion for me and them.


Except whatever was permitted by mother to be given and taken , except what was given with a loving heart of a Guru and received with a grateful heart of a Shishya , the rest was all camphor packets distribution , howsoever detail-fully explained for times without number.  The first proof of purity of heart and of some space being left over and possible being filled up with spirit, i a heart, while impurity  has saturated itself is the sincerity with which a Shishya would approach to a Guru. If there itself , there is nothing but bankruptcy and deception , my brain gets only electric shocks, while trying to find out , what benefits the world is going to derive on merely studying Vedas and Geetas, moving over the pilgrimage places and temples of the whole Bharat Bhumi  and waving the light and ringing the bells fro all the twenty four hours ??


I have found the cause of the In-curability of the disease in spite of armies and armies of Religious doctors and physicians.


Extremely astounding though it may loo, after exhaustive rambling , I come back to the oldest of old truths. " Your benifit is to be measured in terms of oneness with your Guru. The intensity of your oneness. (Let all courtesies die, when the truth has to be stated.) The intensity of your Self-surrender, Love, Service and devotion to your Guru.the period of your contact. the repetition of your Sadhana and time given for settlement and maturity. the rest is all simply the fanning the burnt parts, head and heart, or pampering with  a hand moving over the body of  a typhoid patient, without medicine."


A mother asked her son , to fetch water from pipe.the boy goes with a vessel and shouts ," Mother, I don't get water. " Mother shouts," You  can't get even  a drop, unless you hold your vessel below the pipe. The son holds the vessel below the pipe. Again he shouts "Mother I don't get water." Mother looks . He has not hold it exactly below the spray.spray. Mother shouts,"You can't get it unless you are holding your vessel in the very same straightest line." The son holds in the very straight line . Says he, "Mother, I don't get water."Mother shouts ," hold the vessel inverted."


The Founder says," Don'e expect a single drop, unless, in the first place , you have  a conviction, you are lower than the Guru. The juggleries of sweet words , little small nominal services or treachery scheminess , your cheating with two oranges and three plantains, won't do. Secondly, you be in his straight line .Don't expect the pipe to shift its mouth , to be in line with your vessel. Thirdly, If you are already full of perversion , all teachings turns poisonous like the milk to a serpent. If you turn perverted later , one variety of which is treacherousness  to the Guru himself, even then , you can't continue to carry a single drop.


Everyone can't be a perfect from the first day, nor, if this truth is inelastic , will there be any scope for Mother's Mercy and Guru's Grace. One has however way out" I will be wicked to the whole world but not to my Guru". " I will be thinking and practicing all impurities , but not during the moments I am in presence of my Guru." This much accepted and observed, put the whims  -hurt machine into vigorous action , till the smallest atom of a cat's skin charge becomes a tremendously huge charge.


Tonight I have seen through several stratagems , huge misunderstandings and blindness of the  Shishya world . For the religious benefit of the world , I am referring to them  in smallest details. A good deal of what twinkles and sounds as religiosity is only a parrotry with least deep thinking.


The most common first type of a huge misunderstanding is indicated in this illustration. A young man had fallen sick. His mother shouted " oh God. If you get my son up, I will dedicate an elephant to you. The poor son , honest and sincere shouted out to mother,"  "Mother, let me die. How shall I be able to earn so much ?" The mother said," Speak slowly. Otherwise, God will hear us. I am simply cheating Him. After you are alright , we shall change our living place , so that He would not find our house and us."


Be extremely practical, with no infatuation for personalities and count the number of such instances.

Second variety is , that of Shishyas, who have extremely poor or no idea of the work involved in the spiritual progress. They think as if Guru would cook the rice  and chew the morsels and their hunger will be satisfied.


The third variety has absolutely no desire in any corner of the spiritual progress, but if they have to go to a Guru for the removal of a worldly misery , how can they approach and impress a saint or a Guru, unless they have volumes of of religious talk material ?? They study some enamouring  catch phrases.


The Founder says," One day I laughed heartily over this point. The well-known fourth bowler of his age  ( I am now actually referring  to the dictionary for the spelling of " bowler " )P. Baloo , came to me for some difficulty. As I have stated I am a big cipher in cricket knowledge. But I talked to him about cricket. In whole life , I never talked about it.


" Mother is extremely humorous. She told me during communion ," Just as you were talking  with a sweet smile about a subject , which you know nothing of, and which is not to your test at all, simply out of courtesy for those few moments only , so, is everyone talking to you  about religion for the few minutes they are with you , to carry your favour . You think, as if they all the while in their homes , thinking of nothing except Mai and Mai-ism." I laughed, laughed and laughed. These are " Illuminations " and " Gifts of Grace." They are not some mountainous things.they are simplest things , but you don't get that idea for years together. You are chafing and fuming. As soon as you get the idea, it is like bursting of a big boil , which gave shooting pain till then. You feel a relief and you fall into the happiest sleep.


The fourth variety is " Satyanarayan variety ". After calamity is over, put off the thanks giving with adjournments . What is the difference between giving over the due toady or ten months after ? No. Till the donation is handed over , good relations and sweet eye stand secured , and in the mean while , if there are other calamities , the redress is sure and gets included in the same Bhet. You are a master of yourself. Why promise five hundred , when you want to give actually fifty? Those worldly expert have  the full faith.  They know the intensity of a prayer and success will depend on the financial relief promised.


The fifth variety has been already spoken about, " I have decided to donate my due to another charitable place." The injustice has been referred to before, but a little more laughter here. It is a policy of neither here nor there. "


The sixth variety, also referred to before, is that of Marwari treble counting. If a man has , by mother's Grace prayers and all the necessary exertions of the Mother's man, got Rs. 10000 , and he has paid Rs. 1000 as per his Sankalpa  (sacred vow), he not only calls it a donation , but expects a detail report  as to how they are spent  and a life long special honour of a "donor" to the Institute , whenever he visits.


The seventh variety is to be exerting hard with all intellectual games to establish a mastery, with presentations of service. Be doing nothing substantial but make every appearance of usefulness  and caret impressions all around of being most devoted and rendering hardest service. The proffering of service , taking care not to be rendering any, creates opportunities of knowing all matters and remaining in close contact. Gradually then shove in " I don't know ", " I am not informed " " I was not consulted " " I would have done much better" etc. The scheming intellect has a vast field opened out.


The eighth variety is to make some small or big donation or  call a sum given for thanksgiving  for some calamity gone , a donation in a Marwari manner, and then establish a right of being consulted  regarding all and every management  of the whole concern. This is like  a Mohamedan  variety, in the following illustration. A Mohamedan was travelling with a Bania. The Bania was preparing his hotch-potch under a tree. The Mohamedan from a distance threw some ten grains in the boiling vessel. When the Bania returned after a bath , he was surprised to see that the Mohamedan had touched the hotch-potch and was vacating the contents in his dish. He answered on enquiry," I am finding out my ten grains to which I am entitled. ". the whole content   was evidently gone polluted  and useless for the Hindu.


The ninth variety is that of honest harmless Grace-beggars who don't play any games. They are only for getting all religious benefit without a single wear or tear, even they be rich and rolling in cars. They have made up their philosophy. "Mother wants nothing", " There are so many others who can help."" I don't feel like an inspiration to give." " If Mother wanted anything from me , do you think I could have remained  without giving ??"  What can I do ? I don't get Mother's command to give anything  or to do any thing like a service. " I love the most, this innocent class and the food-seeking class round a saint . There is no worry except only the paying off of the grain merchant's bill.And that little Mother surely arranges through any of Her rich and true devotees.


The tenth variety is of persons , who give  entirely a false story, sometimes even contradictory , regarding the details of their calamity. This variety is the highest head sickening and most repulsive. In the end, some wonderful cat comes out of the bag and there is a sudden frightful rupture.


Coming to the cleverer eleventh variety, the approach itself from the very commencement is a wicked hearted one. The class of ungrateful thieves. Just like a shop-keeper's son employing himself  as a servant in a big shop thinks from the very first day within himself. " After learning up all the tactics , I will take on the hire  this opposite shop and turn all the customers here to me , by a little cheaper rates. " Such people are extremely dexterous. The guru has absolutely no idea  .He teaches his disciple and allows him to learn everything, and then the fellow turns to break and becomes a different man altogether as if he had never met his Guru.  


Here, the perverted and poor notion is responsible. They have absolutely no idea , that in the Divine Realm , Guru Droha , treachery to the Guru  , is the highest religious crime. They think that is only a bluff  and not an unfailing Divine Law.


Their perverted mentality is this.  They think they have as good a right  to the God or a Deity , and Guru is only an intermediary nuisance  just like the peon of an officer. He is simply to be kept pleased with  a four anna a pie . " Once we are admitted in, we know how to kick the Guru ." Such people , think themselves within their mind to be much greater than the Guru. Ruling motion is  " That hopeless Pattaawaallaa  peon does not permit me to be face to face  with the Officer. If once I succeed , I know ,  how to put not only the peon  but even the Officer in my pocket. " Such people have absolutely no idea of the Divine working. They rely too much on their intellect  and think they have the last card in their sleeve , of shedding two tears  before God and Guru  with a few words of repentance. They continue again their old very same cheating game. 


The twelfth type is of persons who believe, once they have agreed to do a little something or a patha or a worship , not  a single misery should befall on them  as if Mother has enslaved Herself to them for a few crumbs of prayers etc. They rush on their Guru, get wrathful, abandon all relations with the God and Guru forgetting all life long benefits. 


When they again get kicks and slaps , they return to God and Guru.

The height of ignorance and perversion is sometimes most funny. There is yet no repentance. Only a renewed game . Only a few days back, one person acme to the Founder, after a long disconnection. He most seriously said," I was determined not to come to Mother and to you  but I finally decided . Let there be a Kumata (wicked Mother) , but I should not be  Kuputra (wicked son). Of course, he was seriously hurt in his financial prospects and had a painful setback. But he never bring in his former huge uplifts through Mother's grace or his unfitness  , unfavorable circumstances, worldly enmity, Prarabdha etc. This is the highest height of perversion which the Founder never dreamt during his whole life. Just the reverse of what we have learnt from centuries , taught by Shri Shankaracharya ." So many sons have become wicked but no mother has yet  ever become wicked." The wonder of modern  religious thinking and believing !!!


Please note it once for all I am not talking of some villagers or uneducated or penniless people . My experience has been drawn from  the society of the highest middle class and the highest educations.


I must stop with narrating the varieties . I presume , the readers have deep sense enough  to see that my passion is that of  teaching while I deal with this subject at length.  


It is knowledge of wickedness which help you to know what is righteousness and how to evade slips. It is not even the highest "Brahma" knowledge to be obtained, through the study of innumerable varieties of "This" and getting a conviction " Not this" ?


Yes, the night is over. My labours are amply rewarded , if I am leaving one lesson after me , viz., the indispensability of  a Guru,( be he whomever you select and change him whenever you deiced ), and the strict disciplinary observance of the Guru-Shishya relationship. Otherwise you only a grinding-mill-bullock , you are nowhere. Only remain buried in  delusions and temporary consolations, laughing one day and weeping for one week , endlessly.


If you can't be true, good, just and faithful to one person out of millions , around you , where is then even a phantom of hopefulness ? ? For the results of any solid Sadhana ? ( By Sadhana, I mean the smallest effort  for the achievement of the smallest thing about one's religious progress).  


 What more can a mere child like me convey ?? Sometimes some pencils have not got the whole one lead stick but only small pieces. You mend and mend till you get vexed and throw away the whole pencil. 


The Founder says," There are great teachers , as great as elephants , in contrast with me as an ant. They know Vedas, Brahma Sutras Geetas Upnishads,  Purans, Shad-Darshan, Vedant, Adwaitism Maha Bharats Ramayans, Yogas and what not . What can this illiterate ant of me teach others ? The Founder is satisfied  with so much teaching ." Don't approach your Guru  with lead-pieces-pencils  or oil-spoiled papers." the Founder is not prepared to be crushed , admitting the greatness of all Great Teachers, in his right of saying the above said simplest things. He is prepared to say," There is a sufficient number of persons for whom this teaching of the most elementary Alpha knowledge is indispensable. "


The Founder says," If you have trained yourself to love and serve one person, you can reach a stage when you love and serve all persons  and becpome master of " Atmavat Sarva Bhuteshu  yah Pashyati Sa Pashyati " " he alone sees, who sees himself in all beings". 


The fact of facts is , that the work to be done not of changing individuals  and the world  and the worldly circumstances  to suit you.  The key of yourself has to be worked up with file sand chisels , rubbing out angular irregularities and projections etc. to fit in the lock. If once it has been adjusted to open one lock , that open all the locks of that particular brand. 


576. Somehow to our great misfortune , our own government has not practically  and fully realized the importance of Religion in the character building of  a nation. Britishers maintained a well paid ecclesiastical department. Although that helped  the spread of Christianity, that also helped the spread of a general religiosity. God fearingness is no small virtue for any government to prompt them to spend something reasonable in that direction of annual expenditure as well. Whenever any Government goes in the hands of them that place God, Religion , Morality, Truth and Justice in their pocket , the nation gets doomed. 


577. Government cannot help us. Mahajan system of supporting religion has been abolished. Rich people stand in the line of poor, waiting for praises and flatteries for their two-anna-pieces. The idea of proportion is rejected  by them.  A man getting Rs. 2000 per mensem  wants his donation of Rs. 100 to be tom tommed as a much greater thing than  Rs 50 paid by a man getting Rs. 200 per mensem. In one word, he does not accept religion to be piece and parcel of his obligations and duties on the basis of  the same  standard as that of  his all other usual routine living. 


There is another great drawback in the system of the financing by rich folk. In the age of extreme individualism , saints and religious persons are really meant for the benefit for the whole humanity  get actually monopolized by rich families . Rich people are intent on it  and saints have to succumbed to it  when they are the only substantial  patronizers. It is not likely that saints in course of time bound to be in confinement with the rich families alone that support them  and then their benefits to the public world get practically lost. 


578. Dear Reader!! How shall we be able to cover up all forest land with carpets against thorns? After failures in collective action, let us be satisfied in the end, with our individualistic improvement. To pull on the present world, you require a masterly wickedness, which would hold smaller wickedness in terror, and keep them meek and silent. That is however a contradiction to the inherent nature of goodness required for the spiritual progress. So at one stage or another, a time does arrive when you have to say goodbye to the world. And that is the Vaanprastha life. We may or may not leave home or make vowed declarations of having left the world. One simple Mai-istic  formula for high and low is Bhaagjaanaa (run away), Bhulajaanaa (Forget), Milajaanaa (live in oneness with Guru) and Mitjaanaa (wipe away your individuality). Running away is no cowardice  but a part of wisdom and valour. What is to be discouraged is premature and immature running away, taking you from the frying pan to the fire.  


 Create maximum leisure by reducing your outer wants and activities. Minimize your responsibilities and conserve your energies. Keep yourself in company of superior men, for as many moments of your every day as you can. See that your desires do not pull you out, from your hidden obscure corner shelter .Try to control yourself as much as you can. When you can't, simply suffer , but don't seek remedy, which would in its turn bring up a forest of more formidable evils. Utilize the first opportunity of running away from the temptation again to your safe corner. Set all worldly considerations aside, making their value cipher, if thereby you escape a pit fall or a furtherance of your slipping into the mouth of tigress of devilishness. Be prepared to be called a coward  , a rough man, a rustic , an idiot or even a mad or bad man , a viscous man or even an ungrateful man . People's good opinion or applause about you is nothing in contrast to your own moral degradation.


In life, there are many calamities and trying situations. When one has to weigh worldly benefits and considerations  against one's spiritual elevation or debasement , one must invariable decide in favor of spiritual elevation , fore-going all the worldly calculations  and future prospects. Run away again, at any cost, to your safe corner of quietude, obscurity and harmlessness. 


579. Come what may Don't leave Mother's Lotus Feet. You have a right to the Mother's Feet and Lap. It is enough that you had tried your best not to be pulled out, and that you have again returned. You are again welcome to your safe corner of purity and rest and peace. Run back at the earliest opportunity. Your righteous living must become so interwoven in your life, that whenever you make a departure you are filled with a unique uneasiness and confusion. You must be so guile -lessness-stamped in your face that even the dullest man of the world would detect you out, and force you to be driven back to your corner, with a little suffering. Develop your mind to be so sensitive that you yourself can't remain composed, till you have vomited out your wrong actions, intentions, sins, faults and follies.


I assure you from my personal experience. If you are a devotee, Mother saves you only with a slight reproach and a warning and a little loss. She changes the minds of the people. How rarest thing it is for the world to meet a man, who makes confessions with repentance and resolutions not to repeat the folly? You should feel as a fish out of its waters. Mother is sure to save you if there is a slight weakness and no systematic wickedness, provided there is a burning desire to retrace the steps to your corner. Mother helps you in such cases. most miraculously. It is the Divine Arrangement that saints are harassed by the world, even on false accusations and without rhyme or reason to make them more and more unattached to the world and to be pulled towards God.


A saint's life gives multi coloured silent pictures of multi-minded characters. Often the nearest persons remain in dark about a saint, except at the end, when it is too late to mend. Very often saints have satans hovering over their heads, and angels craving constant association at any cost, at their feet, from the very same inmost environment, that enjoys the unique privilege of the nearest ties.


A saint's avowed goodness, greatness, and Godliness attract all varieties of human nature around him, with an assured fearlessness, friendliness and forgiveness, and there is nothing that gives a more solid spiritual elevation than the closest continued contact with a saint. A miniature world with all that is best and worst in this big world, of human nature, reveals all secrets, in this shortest time- period, provided your approach and attitude is full of love, service, devotion and surrender to your Guru and God.


580. Nip in the bud very vicious thought, wish or action. Let the improvement of others be now, only a side activity or a by-product of your life. Let that infatuation of "duty" go.  A general high sense of duty must be uniform and of the same intensity, and not restricted to wife and children only. Every man has his duty towards God, himself,, Universe, parents, brothers and sisters and neighbours and posterity as well. Wife and children themselves, although fully mature and discreet, never think about the indispensability of your care and protection, as much as, you are dancing about, under the name of duty. Just once make a search of their hearts. You are simply delusioned, by your own desires and infatuation and various urges. You are simply justifying your indulgence with the overwhelming, intimidating, self-delusive word of duty.  Why not be true to yourself and say " I have not risen above infatuation and attachment."? You can't save yourselves and are along throughout life under the delusion  " I must protect them as guardian, otherwise they will have the most miserable fate." You have to play your inevitable part alone, with the least attachment. Every man who has worked hard and gone out of righteousness  has the feeling of disgust at the end , when he finds or rather discovers the real mentalities of them whom he had all along looked upon  as helpless dependents and dying without him  and as ready for every sacrifice for him, when he sees things quite incompatible with his lifelong exertions and expectations. In the case of workers for religion and world's welfare, that is also prearrangement when Mother makes some to be an instrument for the particular work for humanity. After maturity of restlessness, dispassion and non-attachment, you have to escape at the first available opportunity.


581. That is the way of the world and that is the way of true saints. The world's way is: " catch the server, worship him, raise him to skies, so long as he serves," and the world continues to serve. When that ceases " dash him to the ground and shoe-beat him. The saint's way is "Get you minimum. Surrender yourself to the lowest. If you get entangled, take out one thorn with another of the world. Hang up your whole world packet on the neck peg of some Khan Saheb, who is more than   a match for all worldly wicked ones and bolt away."


The North pole and South pole men may meet at the Equator, to satisfy their individual needs and foods. Need satisfied, each one repeals another and return to one's natural residential pole. Make your dependence on the world and your family, even wife and children as minimum as you can. Remain temporarily surrendered to the humblest in the lowliest manner, without sacrificing your character, virtue, devotion and religion. Welcome them and those situations, in clutches whereof your prarabdha places you. But, don't fail to slip away to your corner, at the first chance. The meeting of persons of the opposite persons of opposite poles can be happy for a few hours only. Depart, therefore, with the quickest exchange good grace, memory, and even a craving in the heart of others, to meet you again.


Live in the midst of the world, without catching its colour, with self-surrender to Mother's Divine Will, like a spread up burnt cloth, with all its beauty and designs etc. really turned to ashes. Only thing, don't escape quite prematurely or immaturely, simply because of the worldly agreeability of a loving wife or a decent earning etc.is not there. If you are a failure in this world itself in the matter of undertaking responsibilities, impatiently suffering all  disagree-abilities, in exerting and sweating to keep yourself and your family running in the normal manner etc. then mere saffron robe and head tonsure can't help you to conquer your internal enemies and climb the staircase of salvation.


Your living as a householder or a relinquisher of the family life is a matter of much less importance than the reality about how you live every moment of your life itself. You have to pay off your contracted debts and get matured against the triple fires of worldliness. As soon as you are nearing the mark, automatically all the circumstances of life will change, to create a position suited to your new requirements, a good deal in advance of your actually reaching the new higher stage.  



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