Saturday, April 20, 2013

(Apr 20, 2013) The Awakening Message


(The inaugural message given at the 24th All India Divine Life Conference held at the Convention Hall of the Ashoka Hotel,
New Delhi, on 29th of December, 1973)

Mankind today may be said to be in a state of complacence, in a kind of slumber, which is mistaken for a consciousness of progress and cultural advancement. Are we in a fool's paradise imagining that we are well off, not knowing what will happen to us in the future?

In the consciousness of the world of objects, of persons and things, and human relations, we are rarely conscious of our own selves. The very force behind the argument of the materialist is the reality of matter, the stability of the world as it is perceived by the senses, the realism of sensory perception.

If the whole world is only material, then the very knowledge of the existence and operation of material forces will itself be a work of matter. Matter is unconscious. Matter cannot know matter. It would be a self-contradiction of the whole position to argue that matter can be conscious of matter. Who knows the existence of matter? Who knows that the world exists?

You must have heard of the magnificence of a person called Ravana in ancient times. He terrified even the gods, as they say. And the austere, barefooted, single person called Rama could face this immensity of material power called Ravana. Ravana had no moral strength. He had only the material force with him, the power of quantity. He had no qualitative worth in his personality. There was no substance. It was essenceless. That was the life that Ravana lived, Hiranyakasipu lived, and the materialists live. They appear to be powerful, but they have no strength. So, develop this inner strength in you which is not material but which is the controller of material forces. It is the discoverer of the element of matter. And you are superior to the entire quantitative power of the material world.

The purpose of this conference is, therefore, to awaken our consciousness to a state of its own self-consciousness. We are in a world of total ignorance, darkness and misconception. We have no idea of our own selves; we do not know what we are made of; we do not know what our relationship is with the world and human society. We do not know what will happen to us tomorrow, or the next moment. We are controlled by forces over which we have absolutely no power or restrictive capacity. Our greatness is our simple ignorance!

Should we continue the animal state of life and existence, of breathing, eating, sleeping and procreating? We have the same fear and insecurity as the animals have. Material possession and material comfort do not distinguish man from animal. Man has to become man in order that he may accelerate his progress to a state which is superhuman.

The electricity that we have, the power over matter that we seem to possess and the physical comforts, all these do not make man. Man is a character, an attitude, a conduct, a system of values and a state of consciousness. And, if this achievement is far from us, are we human beings? Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj gave this message of universal awakening. He came to the world to shake up man from the sleep of ignorance. Now our eyes have been opened and we can see things as they really are.

The Intelligence of the cosmos is far superior to the reflected intelligence of the human beings. The evolution is not complete. Man is to become a superman, a divine being. Declare, "Vasudhaiva kutumbakam: My family is the whole world; I belong to the cosmos.

The world is one, knowledge is one, the aim of humanity is one, and we need not dub ourselves as religionists, creedists, philosophers, spiritualists, Mahatmas, Sadhakas, etc. Let us call ourselves pure human beings who aspire for the glory of mankind as a whole. And this glorious destination of mankind is single. As rivers enter the single ocean, all values of life shall commingle in the ocean of that Eternity, that Infinity, that Supreme Repository of absolute value. The whole of mankind is a single whole. Let us invoke the blessing of the Almighty who is the only Reality before us and who is the glorious destination, the magnificent Goal of mankind, of the whole universe.

Continue to read:
The Awakening Message”  from spiritual import of Religious Festivals by Swami Krishnananda
Essence of Divine Life” by Swami Sivananda

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