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The
Creative Principle
How
the Worlds Came into Existence
The two Dimensions of the Divine
are the Manifest and the Unmanifest. The manifested Universe has come from
some Power of the unmanifested Reality. This supreme transcendental
Reality is motionless, immutable, all-perfect. This we have called the
unmanifested Reality, but, in fact, this unmanifested Reality is there
everywhere in the Manifestation. Within the Unmanifest one Portion has
come forth - the manifested Reality, and some Intelligence of the Divine,
called God, the Creator, is maintaining This.
Within us and all around us there
is the blazing Reality of the all-seeing God. We are brought into
existence by the Love of God; we are being sustained by the Delight of
God. The entire Cosmos, all Manifestation, all Matter, all Space is filled
with the infinite Delight of the divine Consciousness.
At every Point, in every Atom,
there is the Centre of this infinite Happiness of the infinite
Consciousness. Not only our inner spiritual Being, but every Nerve and
Bone, every Cell is a Point of the infinite Delight of the infinite
Consciousness. Therefore, everything in creation longs for Happiness,
searches for Happiness. Happiness is the Aim of everybody's activity;
Happiness is the Goal of all life.
The whole creation is moving
towards happiness. Why does it search for happiness? Why does it long for
happiness? We search only for that which we have lost, not for something
which we possess. Our nature, which is the infinite Happiness of the
infinite Consciousness, is lost to our experience and understanding, and
therefore we are looking for happiness, searching for happiness.
Man in general is restlessly
conquering the outer world. Though man steps on and walks on the moon, man
is not a grain happier for it, nor has he solved even one millionth of his
problems. He is more miserable for his conquest of the moon; he has new
fears, he has new problems to face.
No matter how much wealth you
have, how many houses and buildings you own in many countries of the
world, or how much beauty, how much physical strength you have, no matter
how fine your senses be and what keen pleasures they bring you - you are
restless and unhappy. Something in your heart creates disturbance, a sense
of want. You will always look for something else. You are condemned to do
so, as long as you are in creation. No matter who you are, whether a poet,
a rich man, a king, a genius, no matter what you are, you will be
perpetually restless. The Spirit in you would have no satisfaction worth
mentioning. You will be always seeking, even if you do not know what you
are seeking. So, all empirical search for happiness is an attempt, an
outward attempt, to regain the happiness that we have lost.
In Reality, in Truth, there is
nothing anywhere except God as infinite creative Consciousness, as Beauty
and infinite Happiness. Matter, mind, life are manifestations derived from
the Consciousness. The human individual, not knowing this Truth, ignorant
of this fact, driven by a sense of multiplicity, finds only the many in
the experience. He does not see God. He sees many things in the world, he
has the experience of the many, and therefore he is constantly exposed to
suffering, for he is in the untruth. What is the Truth? The Truth is
everywhere GOD ALONE. The world is in Him, He is in it, He is the world,
He is more than the world. All is resident in Him. He is the first and the
last Truth.
All creation has emerged from the
Fire of Thought of the Divine, the Fire of creative Intelligence in the
Divine. Thought is present everywhere, even as the dream in the mind of an
individual is a product of thought, even as all the works of the human
individual - whether they are buildings or books, or any other things -
are a product of thought. The infinite Mind, the infinite Intelligence, is
present everywhere, vibrant in all metals, vibrant and active in the mind
of man, in all living forms, vibrant and active everywhere, in every point
of space. The whole matter is vibrant with the Consciousness and
Intelligence of God!
Numberless universes have risen
and disappeared. Let us say, every universe lasts for several millions of
years. After that what happens? Perhaps there is another creation. From
the timeless bosom of the infinite Reality another universe comes into
manifestation. Like thoughts rising and disappearing, like dreams rising
and disappearing, numberless thoughts and dreams rise and disappear in the
infinite Intelligence of the Divine. From where have they come? And where
have they gone? Who bears them? It is the timeless Reality. That Being
which is timeless bears in Itself all time-eternities. Our universe is one
among the countless universes that have risen and disappeared, and there
will be countless numbers of universes in the future. Who is great, this
beautiful universe or That Which has founded the universe, That from Which
this universe has come as a temporary structure which will soon disappear,
even if that 'soon' be millions and millions of years? Certainly the
Creator is the greater.
Let us suppose you are dreaming.
In the dream state you create a magnificent universe, with stars, planets,
and so on. You are supervising what you have created. Suddenly, somebody
comes and wakens you. The moment you open your eyes, all the universe has
dissolved. Where has it gone? Back into your consciousness. Yet you can
create it again. So, when God wants it, He can instantaneously
re-manifest. That infinite Consciousness created billions and billions of
cosmic cycles. When we look at the sky, we see the planets, we see the
stars. Each of these stars is a universe in itself. It is an unimaginable
boundless creation. It is childish to say that the universe is created for
the first time. What was there before this universe came into existence?
Perhaps another universe. What was there before that? Perhaps some other
manifestation. What was there before that? You can go on questioning, and
you will find endless numbers of universes that have risen and
disappeared.
Not all the creation is important
- all these worlds are mere expressions of the Divine. These expressions
are not important. The Creator of all these expressions is all-important!
Expressions come and go; the creative Spirit behind is eternal and
perpetual. The whole universe is like a fleeting dream in the Mind of God.
Such dreams He had by the millions, and such dreams He will have
endlessly. Such dreams come and go. What is all-important is the Divine
Itself, the supreme creative Spirit.
Man
in the Creation
Man is an externalization of
Consciousness. The divine Intelligence in the human individual, with the
help of which we perceive colours and everything, with the help of which
the intelligence of man is functioning, this divine Reality in the human
individual which is the source of all our experience - this is the same as
the supreme divine Reality! That is to say: this Reality of the Divine in
the human individual which is sustaining all experiences - be it a
perception of colour, or hearing a sound, or responding to human love -
this Being which makes all these experiences possible - that is the same
as the divine Reality, the absolute Existence.
The human individual is a
structure of the infinite superconscious Being, caught up in the network
of self-ignorance. Man is an ontological being, not a physical being. He
is a natural being seen empirically, seen psychologically and materially.
But this natural being is only an outer structure in which the
ontological, the super-conscious Being is resident and indwelling. Man is
primarily a creative Spirit, for he is made in the Image of the Divine.
God's very Nature is supreme Creativity. He is the supreme Genius, He is
the Source of all genius. In every man is the highest creative Principle.
From that Principle, with this Principle the supreme Divinity has
fashioned all the universes and filled all these universes with all kinds
of wealth and values.
The highest Principle is
unfortunately imperceptible to the human physical eye, and unfortunately
also imperceptible to the perceiving intelligence in man. Yet that
ultimate Principle can be experienced by the very faculty by which a great
scientist discovers new things; with that very faculty by which the poet
creates new words and new images and awakens new emotions; by that very
faculty with which a businessman becomes more efficient; by that very
faculty by which a thinker becomes a genius; by that very capacity by
which a great writer becomes the greatest writer, a great inventor the
greatest inventor. What is that faculty? It is the meditating capacity,
the contemplating capacity. Even God
Himself brings all the universe into existence by contemplation.
How does the poet create? How
does the sculptor shape new forms? How does the scientist discover
something new? How does the engineer construct something extraordinary and
unique in the history of engineering? By contemplation, by deep thought.
How does Homer or a great epic writer bring the whole story into
existence? Through contemplation. By contemplation God makes manifest the
whole creation, even as the poet or a great creator, a creative artist in
any field, brings magnificent phenomena into being. The capacity to obtain
and present greatest thoughts is a gift of the Intelligence of the Spirit.
A capacity of poetic expression, a capacity for a creative life are
expressions or gifts of the Spirit within. This marvellous Presence of the
Divine is in everyone, and it is a great blessing to grow ever more
conscious of this fact.
There is a unique building,
extraordinary for its structure, extraordinary even in its details,
extremely complex. How did this wonderful building come into existence? It
is the projection of the architect, the designer.
God projects this universe through contemplation.
Through contemplation the aim is
attained; through contemplation new things are discovered; through
contemplation something is brought into being, something is obtained. It
is a capacity that has to be developed. It can be developed; everybody can
be contemplative. In fact, everyone is contemplative. Meditation is as
pervasive as life; wherever there is life, even in a unicellular organism,
there is concentration, meditation, contemplation. It is a natural
capacity with which you are born. By this very capacity you can experience
God, you can know the Truth. There is no other way of knowing the Truth.
An all-creative Spirit is present
everywhere. It is in the crystals, in the sea, in the sand, in the wind,
in all forms of life. Look at Nature; it constantly changes itself, forms
itself, expresses itself, presents new beauties, survives destruction and
puts forth newer and newer forms of expression. It is the creative
Intelligence of the Divine that is ensouling all Nature. It is the
creative Intelligence of the Divine that is always present within you,
constantly ready to serve you, to help you conquer situations and make
progress. All is created by God in Himself, with His own Image of Peace,
Happiness, Perfection, Beauty, Harmony, Order, Fullness. To see anything
other than God is to be punished, is to be human, is to be conditioned, is
to be ignorant. Man in the world does not experience God; therefore, he is
exposed to suffering, is limited in knowledge, knows death, experiences
diseases, makes a tremendous waste of life's resources. For this reason
the knowledge of the Divine is of supreme importance. It changes our life,
it dwells in our intelligence and guides it to higher and higher stages of
evolution. It is the secret of true happiness.
Life in the physical body is
temporary; everything that it seeks after is also temporary. Anything
temporary, no matter how pleasant it can be, no matter what it promises,
is something that is going to fail us. Even if you have everything that
the creation can offer you, you will still be wanting; though there is
nothing missing, there still is discontentment in you, still there is some
frustration, some fundamental and residual restlessness. Therefore, wisdom
compels the seeking and earnest heart to shift its central interest on the
Creator.
There is infinite celestial Music
within you! And that is why you are restlessly seeking for delights of
music. And even if you were Bach, you would struggle and strive greater
melodies. That which is in you is infinite Harmony, infinite Melody, and
you shall not find satisfaction until you have discovered that which is in
you. All the wonderful music produced in the world is the enjoyment of the
endless Music within. Where is the end of the striving after musical
perfection in a great musician? Only in the endless Music, in the infinite
Music. Till then musicians will always be born in the world - each greater
than the preceding one - yet they will be striving after greater and
greater perfection in the field of music. In this tendency each reveals
that there is infinite Harmony and Melody and Music within himself.
There is endless Light within
man; and in his tendency to seek after light, the light of knowledge, in
his search for wisdom, in his search for perfection, he reveals what is
within him. Even a carpenter wants to be perfect, the ironsmith wants to
be perfect, the cobbler wants to be perfect, everybody wants to be perfect
- be it in the field of work, in the field of their knowledge, in the
field of their skills, or in the field of the entire life. Perfection is
what every man aims at and thus reveals what is hidden within himself:
infinite Perfection.
There is endless knowledge within
you. All your outer striving for knowledge, for ever more knowledge, is an
apologetic attempt to arrive at the endless Knowledge within you. There is
endless Peace within you; and therefore you shall never be satisfied -
however much peace may be given - until you discover and experience the
endless Peace within you which is God, which is the Truth.
All human problems can ultimately
be reduced to the simple fact that there is deep in your soul something
great which is satisfied by nothing, which could be satisfied only by
infinite Joy, infinite Love, infinite Life, infinite Knowledge, infinite
Beauty and Power which are characteristic and natural attributes of the
divine Spirit within you. This greatest Being is your real Life of life.
That has to be befriended. The greater your contact with the Divine, the
more blessed you are, the more wonderful you are, the more peaceful you
are. Eternal life is given to you in consequence of your close relations
to the Divine.
All science is purely aiming at
the conquest of creation. On account of that it is absolutely unable to
grant man peace or wisdom worth the name. All science, therefore, fails
us. Nothing in creation can satisfy us, can solve the fundamental problems
of life, the riddles of life, can grant us Immortality, everlasting Peace,
creative Intelligence, everlasting Joy. No matter what the sciences gain
for us, it is something within creation; and nothing in creation is of any
value where the fundamental questions of life and soul are concerned.
Science says: we will create new energy. But in creating new energy also
new problems will be created. We are not happy for the petrol we have,
though it brings us much comfort. And when petrol comes to an end, you are
miserable. You produce another energy, and you will produce it from some
other resources in creation. Again that comes to an end, creating new
problems. Nothing in creation can satisfy the heart of man. So, all
sciences from this standpoint are useless, are more a disservice than a
service; but any science that turns its attention to the Creator is a
great science, an immortal science, leading to the conscious experience of
the Immortal, leading us to sources and resources which are inexhaustible.
Biology pertains to creation, physics pertains to creation, economics, all
social sciences, all material sciences pertain to creation. These will not
help us ultimately. Seek for that knowledge which is not pertaining to
creation but pertaining to the Creator.
Science has enabled man to step
on the moon but has completely destroyed the environment; it has destroyed
the earth, its natural resources, its pure air, everything it has
destroyed. That which seems to be a blessing turns out to be a curse.
There are problems above problems. Nothing in creation has the real
solution to the problems of life. The
solution to the problems of life lies in only one place: in the Hands of
the Creator.
The doctor is within the
creation, and he has not the solution to the problems of life. He is
himself worried; his ability to help is limited. The rich man has not the
solution to the problems of life. The most beautiful person, or the most
gifted person, the most desired person has no solution to the serious
problems of life. Nothing in creation, not all its beauty, not all its
wealth nor all its resources can make you a little happier. If they make
you a little happy, quickly that happiness is overcome by other problems.
Even if you embrace the whole creation as your personal possession, you
shall never be happy.
Perhaps the birds all over the
world join together to make perpetual music for you; all the beautiful
rivers and the seas of the world may wash your feet in honour of you -
even then you will not be happy. Perhaps all the factories around the
world will be busy producing whatever you want - even then you will not be
happy. Perhaps all people, all mankind become poets and begin to write
praises of you - even then your heart will find no rest and peace. While
your face smiles at the praises that man can give you, secretly the heart
within is being torn by its own sorrow.
The problems of life resolve
themselves the moment we learn to dwell consciously in the Creator. From
one point of view we are already living in the Creator, but we are not
conscious of it. If all could grow conscious of this fact that we live,
move and have our being in the Creator, then everyone would lose the
limitations of being a creature. Everyone would then subsist in
unbreakable peace and joy, wisdom and freedom. Consciously to live, move
and have our being in the Creator, in oneness with the One, is the key and
the solution to the riddle of human life.
How to experience everything as
one? How to live in an ecstatic, all-absorbing God-Consciousness? We must
be in a position to think like God, feel like God, live like God, before
we can realize and express His infinite Perfection, Peace, Beauty, Light.
How does God think, how does God feel, how does God work? Human feeling is
limited, narrow, conditioned, relative, troubled. God's feeling is
unlimited, all-perfect, untroubled. Human love is limited, mixed up with
dislike and hatred, governed by conditions, time and space. God's Love is
unlimited. Therefore, you must constantly seek to express unlimitedness.
It is true, physical conditions make it impossible for us to serve every
son of the earth, and we are only able to serve our own children; but we
should include all other children at least in our thoughts and prayers and
feelings. When we are walking in the street, let us say in our hearts:
"May all humanity be peaceful, may all be blessed; may there be peace and
happiness and joy and progress everywhere on earth."
Let our life be a continued
festival of pouring blessings, peace, happiness, joy, strength upon the
world. Let us also bless and have the greatest goodwill and love for
creatures and beings which are invisible, and also for beings who are in
other worlds. Let us breathe a blessing and a thought of peace and love
even for children who are not yet born and who will be born a thousand
years later on earth.
The
Universe as a Projection of the Divine
All manifestation is a projection
of God Himself! He is maintaining this entire creation. He closes His
Eyes, He dissolves the creation, and He can re-create it, re-manifest it
instantly if He likes. And nobody is really destroyed, because all is
re-absorbed into the divine Existence, into the Consciousness Divine. This
is the scheme of creation.
It is God appearing as the
universe! Do not be deceived by the appearances but experience the
Substance. And the Substance is of the nature of infinite Light, infinite
Peace, Joy, Power, Grace, Beauty which is appearing as the world, as the
people around, as the sounds, as the colours. All this external life is a
manifestation of the Divine and, therefore, divine. This, if perverted,
one mistakes for the whole of the Reality, the whole of the Divinity, and
one plunges into this by forgetting the original fact that there is
something above this and beyond this. And what is this external life? Only
a partial expression of the Divine. Momentarily, for the human mind there
is appearing something called 'the world'. In Truth, there is no such
thing as the world - there is only a nameless, formless, all-wonderful
divine Consciousness. We assume the world to be an expression of the
Divine. And through the world the Divine has to be experienced. And when
the Divine is experienced, one has to express into this world something of
the treasures of the Divine. This is the philosophy of our institution.
All creatures are God manifest,
edged into limitation. And these limitations are further worsened by a
personality, constructed as a result of these limitations, which are the
psychic being, the unconsciousness and the outer mind. The physical body
of man, man's organism, is such that it permits this God to present
Himself in man, to see Himself, experience Himself and know Himself. For
this reason he is superior to all creatures. It is, therefore, a very rare
gift to have a physical human body; it is the first great gift of God.
Through the body man can achieve the Perfection of the omnipresent God.
Remember the Truth: everywhere there is space only for God! The world is
created by God and is a field of experience of God; it is a stage on which
we can attain unending Peace, Happiness, Power, Knowledge, Wisdom, Beauty.
There are several invisible
worlds interpenetrating this visible universe. The subtlest of all worlds
is the Divine Itself. It is penetrating everything, is sustaining
everything by being the inner Essence in everything. And this Essence in
everything is so subtle, so supra-electronic, so sensitive, so rich in
capacities, that being in everything It feeds everything, sustains
everything and develops highest capacities. If you know this, you will
always have a background feeling that all matter is vibrant with the
Presence of the Divine. It takes a scientist to discover that all is
formed of energy. And it takes a Truth-seer, a God-knower, to discover
that all is the bearer of the Divine.
Man, in a state of highest purity
and when touched by the Grace of God, experiences the outer world as God,
as Reality, as a structure of the divine Being. The difference in
experiencing the world - whether materially or spiritually - lies in the
inner vision. When our inner vision is divine, exalted, spiritual, then we
see another world, a wonderful divine Presence everywhere in the world.
To be touched by the Grace of God
is the same as to possess the Wisdom of God. You are constantly filled
with a strange inner joy, a continual inner peace, inner light and love.
You are perpetually creative, even though you may not do anything. Your
Spirit is active, is expressive. Blessings flow from your heart to the
whole creation. You perceive the Divine everywhere. The Presence of the
Divine is constantly felt in all living things, it is felt in the whole
sky, all around you. The Presence of the Divine is incessantly
acknowledged by you, within and without. You live in the Face of the
Divine, under the Eyes of the Divine. It is then that you become a
perpetual blessing to all creation. No matter that you do not talk to
anyone, or may not even be serving anyone, it is yet completely true that
you are a great blessing to every creature; you are a perpetual blessing
to the whole creation. Then you are filled with Light of the divine
Presence, you are full of the Wisdom of God, you are full of the creative
Knowledge of God.
You then lead a beautiful and
blessed life which is not only beautiful and blessed for yourself but for
thousands - for the very air around you, for the whole space around you,
for all invisible creatures around you, for all visible things around you.
You can contribute to reaching this goal by being always in a spiritual
state of consciousness. Be always aware that God is surrounding you; that
you are never separated from Him; that He is all-seeing, all-merciful and
all-blessing; that you are in Him, and He is in you; that your only duty
is to express wisdom, express love, express goodness, express good
actions. Develop your aspirations and your faith. Always bless the world;
always be in a positive state, in a state made up of faith; feel the
all-seeing Divinity within and around you. And if you continue your
spiritual practices, your capacities are endless and unlimited.
The whole cosmos is tied to every
individual in the universe. If somebody hits you on the toe, you feel it
at once; and if somebody touches your head, at once you feel it, because
the whole body is an organic whole. Nobody can touch any stone, or dry
leaf, or any being or person in the world without the whole cosmos feeling
it. It is not poetry but a fact that, when a good man or devotee of the
Divine is walking by, secretly the whole Nature, material and immaterial,
animate and inanimate, delights. The whole Nature is indebted to him,
because he releases into Nature most harmonious, unifying, integrating,
uplifting influences. In mythology you find people saying: "Oh, tree, be
my witness!" Sometimes, in mythology you find that even matter, the earth,
is made to be witness. It is not poetry but a scientific fact that there
is an all-seeing Intelligence even in inanimate matter and of which matter
does not know; likewise as in man there is the all-knowing divine Reality
of which man himself knows nothing.
Even in minerals the infinite
divine Presence is existent. It is present with all Its Perfection, with
all Its Omniscience, Its Omnipotence and Omnipresence. It is behind there
as the central Witness and as the rudimentary Soul. This Soul in the
mineral grows, develops and becomes a feeling in the plant; therein is the
animal's lust and greed, hatred and jealousy. In man there are all these,
plus will-power, plus many faculties and capabilities. The human kingdom
is the crown of creation and, therefore, the supreme value and importance
of human life.
How to define each stage of
evolution: mineral, plant, animal, man? What is the difference from one
step to another? The difference is of material nature. Alongside the
material differences, there are differences in life form. Alongside the
life form differences, there are structural, organic and mental
differences as well as differences in consciousness. Man's brain organism
is so developed that it makes other faculties, which are absent in the
lower animals, come into operation. In that way the fullest expression of
the latent consciousness, the latent life in many-sided expression is made
possible to the extent where every innovation, improvisation, insight,
imagination in man can be implemented and his experience enriched, thus
enriching everything. So, it is a difference in the structure through
which the latent consciousness and life express themselves. In the man
stage the structure and basis permitting life and consciousness to come
into expression are so far developed that here man is supreme in creation.
All
is Consciousness
We do not live in a material
universe but in a spiritual universe. All matter can be converted into
energy; all energy can be converted into Consciousness. Two forms of this
Consciousness are matter and mind. Matter is a manifestation of
Consciousness, in Consciousness, as Consciousness. And there is on the
other hand the mind.
This, too, is Consciousness. So,
everywhere there is Consciousness. By Consciousness we mean that which
transcends even this empirical awareness. It is absolute Consciousness.
God is absolute Intelligence, absolute Awareness, absolute Consciousness.
The human awareness is limited; there are conditions in which it flows.
The supreme divine Consciousness
is present everywhere in all its infinite Perfection. There is in you a
Divinity which is supremely perfect. All your spiritual progress pertains
only to your outer individual being and to your soul; it has no relation
to the Infinite. That is already there in the individual in you,
unaffected by the individual and its limitations and bondages. It is the
soul that evolves until it realizes its background: the infinite
all-perfect Being. Then it becomes one with the Divine, at the human stage
and beyond the human stage. Evolution is only possible for that which is
limited; that which is unlimited cannot evolve, it is already fully
evolved, perfect.
Merged into the Divine, having
become one with the One, the soul is completely absorbed in the
Consciousness of the One. This Consciousness is omnipresent, omnipotent,
omniscient. Aware of the Omnipotence of God within him, above him, around
him, there is no reason for man to fear anything, to feel weak at any
time; it is impossible for him to think anything wrong, feel anything
wrong, make any mistakes. His mind is made to understand, experience and
express this Omnipotence of the Divinity within him. When we are absorbed
in the Consciousness of the One, where is anything that can confront us,
limit us, distress us.
The million varieties of things
that you see in the world are formed by one Being: GOD - with His own
Substance, in His own Substance, in Himself, of Himself. If you do not see
Him there, you are in the field of untruth, you are materialistic, you are
sensuous, you are limited, you are cut off from infinite Happiness, Peace,
Power, Beauty. When you do not live in God, you are in the field of
untruth, you are in a world which is deprived of true light; you then are
a source of unhappiness to yourself and to others, though your works are
admired by human beings. Therefore, do your best in order to be in tune
with the world of God. See everywhere what there is: the Presence of the
Divine.
There is nothing wrong in
planting beautiful rose plants; but if you do not see God in them and also
in the hands that are planting and also in the earth and all around - you
are in the field of untruth. You are exposing yourself to difficulties,
and there is much danger for you.
Since the whole universe is also
of psychic substance, it can be transformed by the psychical principle in
man. Everything can appear to him as he wants it. If he wants everything
to be peaceful, he can experience it to be peaceful. If he wants to
experience everything as the Divine, he can experience everything as the
Divine. But if his mental state is too low and primitive - though the
highest Reality is present everywhere behind the psychical veil of the
universe - he will experience only unhappiness, misery, problems,
difficulties, trials. Even as the mountain and the iron poles in the dream
are nothing but made of psychical structure and not actually material,
though they seem to be material - even so all the universe external is
made of psychical structure, not material, though it seems to be material.
The following story may
illustrate the above said: In a corner of the studio of a great artist
there was a wonderful black stone. All the inmates of the house of the
sculptor have been always referring to it as 'the stone'. One day the
sculptor has carved of it a beautiful image of a woman. From that day the
sculptor and the inmates of that house have been always calling it 'the
woman'. They have been always observing it, looking at it as a woman, even
talking of it as 'the woman'. The idea that it is 'the woman' has gone
deeply into their unconscious mind. There was no trace of any thought that
it was and is only a stone. All that had happened to the stone was that a
little of its shape has been disturbed. The stone as such had disappeared
for them, and to them it is 'the woman'. In truth it is the same stone, it
is nothing but a stone.
Even so the human mind takes the
appearances as world, refers to it as 'the world', suffers by it or
perceives pleasures in it, while the Truth is: it is nothing but God
Himself! God alone is all that is, within, around, everywhere. All this is
God Himself, as the woman, as the stone. Even as the woman is nothing but
the stone itself in another shape, so is the world God Himself in another
shape. The human mind has mistaken God for the world, as the sculptor and
the others in that house have mistaken the stone for the woman. All
problems begin to arise the moment you forget that
the world is nothing but God Himself.
The
Divinity in Man
Man is not merely a creature
among many creatures in creation but the bearer of the Creator in
creation! And therefore, by that very reason, supremely great. He is
greater than the creation. Without that Creator he is nothing more than a
dry and broken reed. It is the Presence of the Creator in the inner Spirit
of man that makes him greater than the creation. With that much of
greatness that you bear in your soul, why have you to beg about for small
solutions of the created universe?
Creature that you are, you are
greater than creation! Is that not a paradox, a puzzle? You are not even
stronger than a pebble, yet you are greater than the creation! What makes
this possible for you? The mere fact that the Creator dwells in your inner
being. By this reason you are infinitely greater than the creation, no
matter how great the creation is, how valuable everything within creation
be...
Look at the great emperors of the
world in the last two thousand years. Each thought he would make himself
happy by conquering new lands, by having much wealth, by having many
pleasures. Almost every emperor had everything that he wanted, but few
mortals were more miserable than those emperors, and few have met a death
that they have met with.
This is the most wonderful thing
about you: though you are yourself a product of the product that the
universe is, you carry in yourself the Creator! This is the one factor
which elevates you above the universe. As long as this is so, you are,
theoretically at least, assured of total freedom from the limitations that
the universe imposes on you. You can make this a practical fact by your
personal striving. The Creator is infinitely greater than everything that
is created; He is within you while all the time transcending you.
Let us say, in a bottle there is
space or air. Though the air is inside the bottle, there is also air
outside the bottle, it transcends the boundaries of the bottle. Even so
the Spirit, called the Creator, while dwelling in your inner being,
transcends the limitations of your body, of your mind, of every
psychological principle in you. This fact makes you the crown of creation;
it sets on you unending dignity and makes
you heir to everything the Divine has!
Everything that is visible in the
universe is nothing compared to that which is within you! What is without
you? The whole universe, the sun and the moon and the stars, the planets,
the entire cosmos - all this is outside you. But what is outside you - no
matter if it be immeasurable space, or endless mountains of gold and
diamonds, or endless seas of milk and butter and honey, no matter what it
is, what power it is, what value it is - all this is smaller than what is
within you. What is within you is always the greater. If you can conceive
of something very great, be sure that there is something greater than
that, and that is within you. What could be that marvellous thing? It is
the Divine, God, the Creator! It is this fact that is the cause for your
restlessness. You are conscious of something great, but you are not
definite about what it is. You hunger for something great, but you do not
know what it is.
The waters of the world can be
exhausted - but nothing can exhaust the resources in the creative
Intelligence of the Creator. All resources in the Creator are
inexhaustible, unlimited. Use them unlimitedly, endlessly, still they are
endless and unlimited. Inexhaustible resources - be it in water, in power
or energy, be it in intelligence, in genius or life, be it in art or
beauty, in peace, freedom, happiness, in all you can think of - are in the
Creator.
Though God produces endless
numbers of geniuses, numberless universes, His Wisdom and His creative
Capacities do not wane. He has endless possibilities. Countless numbers of
universes like this may appear and disappear. Scientists say, many stars
have already died, though they are still visible to us. Many universes
have already disappeared, and many more are on the way to disappear. What
is this mysterious intelligence from which all this emerges? God, a mighty
Presence, present within every man, in all creation, while at the same
time transcending creation. It is not caught up in the universe which It
has projected. It is always infinitely greater than the universe.
Man, as he is constituted, seems
to be a helpless, tiny creature in this gigantic world of gigantic powers
and forces. Yet such a man has the highest redeeming Principle in him, the
whole of the Creator is in him. The Image of God is not different from God
Himself, it is one and the same; there are no two Gods. This Divinity
holds the key to all our problems. It is the true and the final and
consummate fulfilment of life.
Turn to the Creator, and you will
find numberless inner resources serving you. No matter what energy science
can create in consequence of the best functioning of the best genius of
the best scientist - it will have an end, it will be accompanied by
problems. Yet no one can exhaust the love in your heart, no one can
exhaust the peace in your heart, no one can exhaust the joy, the beauty,
the knowledge in your being if you have contacted the Creator. The earlier
you recognize this fact, the more noble, dignified, valuable your life
becomes. All that you need to do every day is to turn a little of your
thoughts towards the Divine, the Creator, and, when possible, devote a
little time to Him, do some selfless service, seek to develop your love
and extend it to creation. How valuable your life is, how wonderful you
are, rests upon how profitably you use every hour of your life for the
acquisition of this Wisdom of God. It is the knowledge of this boundless,
all-witnessing, all-knowing, all-creative Intelligence that adds a new and
boundless worth to your life. Without such a knowledge life is worthless,
is deprived of its real dignity; therefore, knowledge of the Divine is the
fundamental necessity.
Be an embodiment of the Wisdom of
God! Be full of the knowledge of God, walk as an embodiment of the
knowledge of God - and you will have a thousand blessings. You will have
perpetual peace, you will have endless resources. You are independent in
your happiness and, therefore, can make others happy. Others can profit
from you, depend upon your wisdom, derive strength from your wisdom, find
new outlooks and inspiration in their lives through your wisdom. It even
may be that through your aid they come closer to God and become themselves
independent sources of strength and peace and joy for others.
You have a thousand ways out of
creation open for you, ways out of the limitations which are
characteristic of creation. Many great men of God have established in many
conditions and circumstances and situations of life relations with the
Creator. As a housewife you may become the greatest creature among the
creatures in the universe by the kind of relations you establish with the
Divine. Every little thought devoted to the Divine enriches you in a
manner as nothing in creation can enrich you, even if you possess the
whole of it. Therefore, wisdom tells us: turn to the Divine! You have
twenty-four hours in a day. Devote at least twenty seconds or twenty
minutes to the Divine, and you will be richer for it; you will be more
peaceful for it; you will find new channels struck in order that the
resources from the Creator may come into you - the creature within the
creation. These channels will constantly feed you with inexhaustible
resources. The creature within creation that man is owes himself the duty
of somehow discovering the Creator and establishing relations with Him, of
discovering the Divine and establishing relation with It.
Wherever you may be, in whatever
circumstances you may be, just think of the Creator - and you will find
the Creator thinking of you a thousand times! He has a million hearts, and
He has one boundless Heart of infinite and inexhaustible Love. Every
little thought concerning the Creator compels the Creator to think of you
a thousand times. Thus you will be led from one reality to another, until
you discover that which is the greatest of all greatest things: the Truth,
the Timeless, the Infinite, the Eternal, the Divine, the Absolute! If you
befriend that Divinity, you attain eternal life, you are liberated from
the hold of the universe. Everything that is within the universe is
subject to the conditions which have formed the universe, and these
conditions tyrannize the human spirit. Man longs for peace, and peace is
nowhere to be found.
There is only one way you
can find rest and peace and joy and power and strength in life; catch the
Creator! That is your Lover, that is your Father, that is the Soul of your
life, that is the Secret of all satisfaction, that is the supreme creative
Principle! Befriend the Creator, talk to Him, converse with Him, cultivate
relations with Him. He is all-sensitive. Every word of yours is heard by
Him; every thought of yours is seen by Him; every feeling in your heart is
felt by Him. He responds to you in a way that nothing else in the world
can respond to you. Before your own ears can hear your own words, He hears
you. He is closer to your words than your tongue. He is the pervading
Reality, the Intelligence of intelligence, the Space of space, the supreme
creative Principle.
Try to establish in your own way
relations with the Divine Being, with That which is the Greatest of the
greatest, which knows everything everywhere, which is sustaining
everything everywhere, and which is transcending everything everywhere.
Maybe by meditation, or by prayer, or by the noblest conduct, or by
devotion, or by any other method, or by all methods - try to establish
relations with this supreme Creator. Merely to address the Creator is a
great gain. Human history is full of examples of persons who have
conversed with the infinite Peace, who have experienced the eternal Life
while being in the mortal body, who have tasted boundless infinite Power
while yet being helplessly caught up in this physical form. Though being
in the limitations in which we are in this universe, we can still, here
and now, experience That which transcends the universe while sustaining
the universe.
The whole genius of life in
creation lies in its capacity to experience the Creator. Every creature is
richer for a mere awareness of the Creator. The creature is destined to
perish - whether it is a lizard or a fly, a bird or fish, whether it is an
elephant, a lion, a snake, a man, no matter what the creature is - it has
formed a body that perishes. Every creature is a perishable thing; the
whole creation itself is perishable. Though the creation endures beyond
our bodies, though the creation has a longer life than the creatures -
everything is perishable. In this perishability the only way out is to
have a hold on the Creator. To have a hold on the Creator is to lose our
mortality, to lose the fear of death. The possibility of perishing is
taken away the moment we have a hold on the Imperishable, on the Creator.
Not only is the mortality lost and a conscious awareness of immortality
gained, but one also dwells in a perpetual delight, in ever new joy, in
the fullness of joy. Therein is the true satisfaction; therein is the real
rest for man. Nothing in life is a greater goal or is more valuable.
Blessed are those creatures who seek to befriend the Creator.
All that you see or hear or think
of is within creation. The whole creation as such is marked by
perishability, by imperfection; no matter what it is, it shares the
characteristics of the creation which is imperfect. Therefore, it becomes
the duty of everything created to turn towards the Creator, to befriend
the Creator, to reflect upon the Nature of the Creator, to find roads and
ways by which one can contact the Creator, to live in the Creator while
yet living within the creation.
Always try to befriend the
Creator! When all friends in life fail you, this Friend will never fail
you. When wealth fails you, this Wealth will never fail you; it is ever
creative Wealth, it is inexhaustible Wealth. So, wisdom says, keep, if not
both, at least one eye upon the Divine! That would be sufficient to
establish for you every kind of security. It also would be sufficient to
cause in you that wisdom which will awaken a third eye in you that is
constantly focussed on the Divine. From such a focussing you will draw
resources which are non-existent in the whole creation.
What do you need: something in
creation or the Creator Himself? To ask for and to strive after that which
is in creation is asking for and striving after that which is perishable,
something that falls away through your fingers. Every man in the world
strives for something or the other within creation; and he is the greatest
who strives after the Creator Himself. To strive after the Creator, to
make the Creator dwell in our hearts, walk with us, be with us in all
conditions - this is the greatest blessing, this is the ultimate
fulfilment of life, this is to have something which nothing in creation
can ever give. Everything in creation, no matter how precious and valuable
it be, is infinitely less than the Creator.
Liberation ultimate and absolute
is possible because you are not a condemned creature in creation but a
creature bearing the whole of the Creator in yourself! This is the
security and assurance of your total liberation and freedom. For true
freedom, true peace, true joy of life, and for eternal life you have to
turn to the Creator, the highest Principle within the creation, and the
highest Principle transcending all that is created.
May the Divine open in your
blessed lives many ways by which you are in constant contact with the
supreme Creator. May your love and your wisdom secure for you many forms
of relations with the Creator and make your life a thing eternal in the
mortal field, in the field of creation. Even when the creation disappears,
that which is eternal in you remains, has perpetual fulfillment in itself,
ever new fulfilment, absolute fulfilment.
- Swami Omkarananda
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