I will not take much of your time I now. There is a revolution in the world today, in each and every country. It has, however, not achieved its purpose, which is that man should become man. If man becomes man, in the true sense of the word, he can, all alone, shake the whole world. Archimedes, who discovered the law of gravity, wanted to get the center of gravity of the universe so that he could shake the whole world. But the poor fellow couldn't get it.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came in Bengal. His chant was Hari bole, "Say Hari" [the Lord]. He had realized Hari or God within; his whole body gave out radiation of Hari; and on his lips was the chant, Hari bole, uttered from the abundance of a heart overflowing with the love of Hari. He went to a dhobi ghat [washerman's place] and said to a dhobi [washerman], "Hari bole." The dhobi kept silent. Again he said, "Hari bole." The dhobi thought he must be a mendicant asking for alms, and he remained silent. Chaitanya repeated his chant: "Hari bole." The dhobi said, "I will not say it." "You will have to say it!" said Chaitanya. The dhobi thought, this fellow will not leave me alone, so he said it: "Hari bole." Now, when Chaitanya uttered the words "Hari bole" they were charged with the power of realization; so the dhobi left his work and took up the unending chant, "Hari bole, Hari bole, Hari bole". His companions asked him, "What has happened to you, brother?" "Hari bole, Hari bole," the continuous chant went on, hearing which the other dhobis also started chanting, "Hari bole, Hari bole, Hari bole..."
Do you know what is at the back of it all? Be an example of what you preach. Your life should emit rays of ideal manhood; people who come into contact with you should feel the radiation. But first you have to become man, in the true sense of the word. If you take just a few steps towards that, you I will find that you have unlimited potential of manmaking. The revolution today is of the world, not of man. If you have true love in your heart and your goal is true, you will give out the same radiation. You may address a gathering, of thousands, they will all agree with you.
Today people are after religions; each stands for his own religious formation. And they all have the same teachings. But we do not live up to these teachings and therefore they have little effect on us. If we speak with a true heart there will be radiation; it will have its effect on others. It is a question of charging. The words may be the same as used by others, but they will have charging in them. Unless we live up to what we preach, our words will have no effect on others. With all the lectures, recitations from scriptures, organizations and social formations, exhortations from intellectuals, that man should become man, where do we stand? How many ideal men have we produced so far? During my Western tour I gave a talk wherein I said that there should be a revolution aimed against the shortcomings of our thoughts and actions: a spiritual revolution.
Now, dear brothers, all that you have heard today - the whole thing has been put before you so beautifully. Do we really feel the necessity of this thing? If so, we should start acting on it from this very moment. If we would do that, we would surely become man - a true man - and all those who come in contact with us will be influenced by us. A few words from a man like that will have greater effect than all the lengthy lectures. Gandhi Ji and others like him who lived up to their ideals - their ordinary words had great impact on the listeners. Today our words have no effect. We give recitations from the scriptures and talk learnedly, without effect. What was there in the words "Hari bole"? They had the radiation, the charging of realization. All of you assembled here can become Ambassadors of Truth; it is not so difficult to do that. The center of gravity is in you, you have only to awaken it. That will happen when there is no conflict between our thoughts, speech, and actions: when we do not profess one thing and do something else. We preach lofty ideals on pulpit and platform, but act differently in private: indulging in the same vices - backbiting, enmity, hatred, narrow-mindedness - which we condemn so eloquently in public. Heart speaks to heart; words spoken from the depth of the heart will move the heart of the listener.
To put the whole thing in a nutshell: if we wish to see all mankind become man in the true sense, we should start with our own self; we should become men first. What is an ideal man? He is an embodiment of love; he has realized himself and realized God; he sees the Light of God immanent in every form. He who sees that Light manifest in all will naturally have love and respect for everyone; he will like to serve all; he will not cheat or exploit anyone. I just now mentioned the need for a spiritual revolution to bring about this transformation; and this revolution can only be brought about by a man of realization. Live the life. There is enough food for thought available; we read so many books, hear so many lectures, but how many true men are there? The more we have of such pure men, true men, the more effect we will have on people.
What little understanding I got by sitting at the feet of my Master, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, I am giving out to you. He loved all, even atheists. Once when he was posted at Murree Hills, an atheist who was suffering from tuberculosis and was advised to sojourn in the hills by his doctors, came to Murree Hills. He knocked at every door for accommodation, but found them all closed; nobody was willing to take him in. First, because of the highly infectious disease he was suffering from, and also because he did not believe in God. He came to the residence of Hazur Maharaj Ji, who was away on duty at the time. He asked the housekeeper for accommodation, and was refused. It so happened that Hazur Maharaj Ji was just then returning home and saw the man being turned away from his house. He asked the housekeeper about it, and was told that it was a tuberculosis patient asking for accommodation whom nobody was willing to take in. "And what did you say?" asked Hazur. "I also refused him, for he was an atheist," said the housekeeper. Hazur Maharaj told him, "Look here, this man may not know that God resides in him, but we know it, don't we? Please give him accommodation."
The words of a man of realization have an impact on others. It comes through radiation. There is no need to speak; the whole thing is done through radiation. You have said so much about me; but I have yet to become a complete man. I have taken a few steps in that direction; and what little understanding I got through the grace of God and the grace of Hazur Maharaj Ji and the opportunity that I got to live up to that - the whole credit for that goes to my Master. If you find anything good in me, that again is due to his grace.
There is nothing new in what I am saying to you. What is required is life behind the words, as with Chaitanya and "Hari bole." Guru Nanak used to go into Samadhi repeating the words Sat Kartar. It comes from the unity of thought and action. There should be no conflict between speech and action, practice and profession. So if you want to really live, then you should yourself become man first, put your own house in order, before you set out to reform others. If you take one step forward with sincerity of purpose, God overhead will extend a thousand hands to help you on your way. I thank you all for having given so much of your time and for giving me this opportunity to speak to you once again.
This is the way to succeed in achieving your purpose of becoming a man. In the West it was this very thing that attracted them - radiation through action, i.e., life lived according to precepts. It is the same old teachings; there is nothing new in all that is being given out to you. Digest it. Food that is well digested gives one strength; undigested food will come out through vomiting or it will rot and cause disease. All this bigotry and narrow-mindedness, selfishness and exploitation of man by man, is due to not doing what we say and profess. We only say; we do not do.
With these words I thank you all once again. The great men here who spoke to you this evening have put these things so beautifully before you. They would like you to live up to them. Let each man become a center unto himself. He should develop and progress physically, intellectually and spiritually, and reach the ultimate goal: merge into the Absolute from where he came. I want you all here assembled to become Ambassadors of Truth: to know yourselves first and then to know God; and through radiation, change others. Thank you.
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