The difficult call of dear love || Acharya Prashant (2018)
Video Information: Vishranti Shivir, 02.12.2018, Goa, India
Context:
~ How to be honest about your state?
~ How one can believe that he will reach the destination?
~ How to drop concepts?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Context:
~ How to be honest about your state?
~ How one can believe that he will reach the destination?
~ How to drop concepts?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Transcript
00:00 Acharya Ji, Pranam.
00:09 Today I realize that without love in my heart, I cannot find joy in my life.
00:15 However wonderful my external situations are, just listening to and singing a Kabir bhajan
00:27 brings me so much joy, love and tears.
00:30 I really want to know this love, what it means to stay in truth.
00:36 Please hold my hand and help me to reach there.
00:41 Please do not leave me even if I stumble and fail.
00:48 Now I'm wanting to taste it.
00:58 It's actually easy.
01:07 You don't have to go too far.
01:12 You don't have to go any far.
01:25 Start from that which is close to you.
01:38 Start from the faintest flicker available to you even if you are in deep darkness.
01:56 Something must be available.
02:03 And that something is your only hope and a very sufficient support.
02:27 Start from there.
02:30 There is nobody whose life is so barren that there is not even a faint ray of truth in
02:55 it.
02:56 To each of us, irrespective of our conditions, some hope, some support, some light is provided.
03:20 Use that.
03:33 It may not appear scintillating, brilliant, overpowering.
03:51 It may not announce itself as the ultimate thing for you.
04:09 But still, it is that which would redeem you.
04:18 And you have no other way but to be committed to that little thing.
04:28 Why do we ignore that little thing?
04:31 Two reasons.
04:33 First, because it is not explosively radiant.
04:43 It is just a faint flicker.
04:47 So it is not very distinguishable from the various kinds of darknesses within and without.
05:09 It does not shine very brightly.
05:12 It is not easy to spot it.
05:16 That's the first reason.
05:18 And the second reason is, we have concepts about absolute luminosity.
05:33 And we live in constant expectation of nothing short of that.
05:42 And we believe that when help would come, it would arrive in a huge chariot carrying
05:59 some effulgent God and the God would descend and declare himself to me.
06:13 And then I would know that help has arrived.
06:22 So compared to this picture of help, compared to this concept of brightness, the little
06:34 ray actually available to you appears very insignificant, very dim, fit to be contemptuously
06:47 ignored and so you ignore it.
06:53 It's a part of the ego, you see.
07:02 The ego considers itself eligible to receive the highest help.
07:12 It wants an extreme.
07:14 If help is coming to me, the highest help should come to me.
07:19 If light is coming to me, then the very sun should land in my courtyard.
07:38 And when help even flickers, they are not welcome.
07:50 Because they are so small.
07:53 And I consider myself quite big.
07:58 What does this big one have to do with small helps?
08:08 So even those who are expectant of help and demanding help might go through their entire
08:20 lives actually refusing help.
08:24 And why would they refuse help?
08:28 Because help is not coming in the glorious way you demand it to come.
08:41 So you keep refusing it.
08:42 You don't even acknowledge it.
08:46 You don't even say that you refused help.
08:48 You say, "It never came to me."
08:56 And the real helper keeps wondering, "But help did come to you.
09:01 Help was sent to you.
09:03 You turned it back."
09:04 Don't keep demanding the loveliest.
09:30 Just start with that which is lovely.
09:34 Fine.
09:37 You don't find anything lovely about your world?
09:43 Everything is ugly?
09:46 Then start with that which is the least ugly.
09:56 Hold it firmly.
09:58 Follow it.
10:04 Commit yourselves to it.
10:15 And then this thing which is just about lovely will take you to something a little more lovely
10:31 than itself.
10:37 You have stepped upon the next rung.
10:44 And when you hold the hand of that which is lovelier than the one preceding it, then it
10:54 brings you to something that is just a bit more lovelier than the preceding thing.
11:05 And so on and so forth you keep graduating.
11:11 That's the way.
11:14 And that's an easy way because you can start out right now.
11:27 Do not search for God absolute to love.
11:33 Given who you are, given your littleness, how will you ever welcome, acknowledge, tolerate
11:50 God absolute?
11:57 Just begin with whatever Godly is available to you right now.
12:07 Take that as your God.
12:14 Take that as your God.
12:15 Worship it.
12:18 And this God, that is God only relatively, will one day take you to God absolute.
12:38 But if you just continue to wait, then you may just keep waiting.
12:53 This is the reason saints have very practically said that they do not care much for the absolute
13:05 truth.
13:13 They rather care more for the one who can help them
13:30 in this mortal land in a very mortal way.
13:51 And that is love.
14:15 India has had this tradition and it's there in the entire world.
14:25 If you can locate even the footsteps of the prophet or the saint or the teacher, then
14:42 that place becomes a teerth, a center of pilgrimage.
14:57 Bharat could not get Ram to return to Ayodhya.
15:01 So Ram's sandals were worshipped.
15:07 And this has been a very useful way.
15:13 Do not wait for God absolute.
15:16 Worship whatsoever is available to you.
15:24 Because the absolute is not going to come down.
15:28 And you have limited time.
15:31 You better start off using whatever you have.
15:42 So here in Goa, they have preserved the mortal remains of a saint.
15:58 A few here, the body.
16:11 And this works.
16:15 That's love.
16:23 To be so very enamored by the sun that you keep watching the moon all night.
16:41 Knowing fully well that you cannot watch the sun, you don't have it in your eyes.
16:46 It is not within your mortal capacity to stare at the sun.
16:59 You keep watching the moon all night.
17:02 That's love.
17:09 And hence those who have worshipped light have written great poems to the beauty of
17:21 the moon.
17:22 Knowing fully well that the light of the moon is actually the light of the sun.
17:32 They say, "We love light and though the source of light is the sun, but we can't have the
17:45 sun."
17:46 So, in fact, practically, the moon is more lovable to us.
17:58 Because at least we can look at the moon.
18:03 We can have it.
18:07 There is peace.
18:08 There is coolness.
18:21 Moon is the one who brings the sun's light to you in a way you can write poems about.
18:44 Love is not pure written.
18:48 Love is practical.
19:02 Either you can go crazy after the moon or you can spend all your life trying to develop
19:09 eyes that will lock horns with the sun.
19:18 What do you prefer?
19:20 The moon.
19:22 And the moon is something you already have.
19:27 Start.
19:30 Start.
19:32 There is nobody who does not have the moon.
19:44 Just that some people have a full moon, some have a crescent, some have half a moon, and
20:00 some have a barely visible arc.
20:11 Not everybody has something.
20:15 Start from there.
20:16 That's your sun.
20:21 Also, mind you, all moons have imperfections.
20:40 That is another reason why man keeps waiting for the sun rather than start off with the
20:46 moon.
20:49 Because moons have imperfections.
20:55 And those imperfections are very visible because moons can be stared at.
21:03 Maybe the suns too have their imperfections, but they are never exposed.
21:12 Why?
21:13 Because you can anyway never look directly at the sun and say, "Ah, there I see some
21:21 kind of a dark spot."
21:28 Moons can always be accused of being less than perfect.
21:35 Now, don't use that as an alibi.
21:46 Don't say, "No, no, no.
21:47 I would rather wait for the sun.
21:49 This moon is carrying spots."
21:53 What are you in love with?
21:58 Light or spots?
22:01 Light.
22:03 So why can't you ignore the spots?
22:08 Light is there and spots are there.
22:10 What would you rather look at?
22:12 Depends on what are you in love with.
22:17 If you keep talking of the spots and the darkness, what does that show?
22:23 That instead of the light, you are actually more concerned with the spots and then you
22:31 can have nothing.
22:35 Then you will be a professional fault finder all your life.
22:40 And there are many such people.
22:44 90% of their waking time is spent finding faults with the world.
22:53 They only keep proving to themselves that they do not know any love.
22:57 Because when you know love, you do not concern yourself with darkness.
23:03 Then your primary concern is light.
23:09 You say, "I am in so much love with light that I don't want to waste time on darkness."
23:16 Who wants to talk about darkness?
23:20 There is so much else to talk about.
23:33 If you really love perfection, then you must set out right now with all your imperfections.
23:52 It's a strange thing.
24:07 The lover of perfection stops having problems with imperfection.
24:28 The ego is so choosy.
24:57 Even in matters of love, it wants to choose the bestest truth.
25:07 It doesn't look at its own state, its own sorry, weak, blemished, dilapidated state.
25:22 It wants to judge the truth.
25:27 I want the perfect truth.
25:28 And who are you?
25:30 Look at yourself.
25:34 Are you eligible for the perfect truth?
25:36 No, that I don't want to talk about.
25:39 I just want the perfect truth.
25:41 Anything short of that, I am not willing to entertain.
25:47 But the thing is, given your state, the perfect truth would be of no help to you.
25:54 You can be helped only by somebody who has a bit of your imperfections.
26:05 But the ego doesn't want to accept imperfections.
26:08 So imperfect it is.
26:24 Like a pig.
26:30 Just emerging from the local sewage bath.
26:49 The aromatic paste of divine soil all over it.
27:05 Walking into the room of a 5 star hotel.
27:16 And complaining to the housekeeping.
27:20 Your linen has that spot there.
27:28 I like my linen to be spotless.
27:35 And sir, who are you?
27:38 Don't you dare ask that question.
27:41 I like my linen spotless.
27:48 I like my linen spotless.
28:08 Be very honest about your state.
28:31 Your difficult predicament.
28:36 Don't be so choosy.
28:42 Accept whatever help that comes to you in whichever form.
28:51 Be grateful for anything that relieves you even a little of your divine soil.
29:17 You cannot afford to doubt.
29:22 How do I believe that I'll reach the destination?
29:24 Don't believe.
29:26 If that helps you.
29:27 It is not a matter of belief or disbelief.
29:32 It's a matter of your situation.
29:38 What option does the thirsty one have?
29:44 Look for water.
29:45 You don't have the luxury of sitting and deliberating whether water exists at all or whether you
29:59 are qualified to reach water.
30:02 Only one thing matters right now.
30:04 You are thirsty.
30:06 If you are thirsty, look around in every way possible.
30:15 No discussion, no conclusion, no concept, no principle matters.
30:19 You are thirsty.
30:21 That's all.
30:25 If conclusions can alleviate your thirst, go ahead.
30:31 Conclude.
30:32 And that's why I'm saying you cannot afford doubt.
30:37 Will doubt quench your thirst?
30:42 Then why are you doubting?
30:48 The thirsty one needs no principles, concepts, discussions.
31:02 But water.
31:12 You are the thirsty one and people come to you and say, "Most thirsty ones die.
31:21 Only one in a million is able to get water and he is called enlightened or rather unwatered."
31:27 So, would you halt your search?
31:40 You have been told that only one in a million reaches enwaterment.
31:46 So why should you continue hunting?
31:54 Just sit down and relax.
31:55 Can you relax in your current condition?
31:59 Can you?
32:01 You cannot afford to.
32:05 So keep searching.
32:07 You have no option.
32:29 You have a loved one and he has met an accident and the doctors say death is certain.
32:39 The only hope is a particular surgery.
32:44 But the probability of success is 0.1%.
32:48 Now would you proceed with the surgery or not?
32:52 You can't afford to not to.
32:55 Even if the probability of success is slim, you still would.
33:01 Go ahead.
33:04 It's you who is in the ICU.
33:12 Give your thumbs up to the doctors and tell them, "I can't afford to.
33:17 I know you all are rascals, fools and I am going under your knife."
33:25 That's the only option.
33:26 What to do?
33:29 [music]