Darshan On Answering Questions

Darshan On Answering Questions

July 06, 1977 am

BAPUJI:

Why do you put this cap on, Bapuji is asking?

Even the words create disturbances.

Everything that we have is disturbance.

The truth is that it is appropriate for me to answer the questions that are really troubling you.

It is true, equally true that I tell you what I know would be useful for you.

There is a reason for that.

The reason for that is that I’m also a traveler of the same path that you are following.

And then because I have I have followed this path I know the difficulties that have come on my path.

And it is possible that you may have to go through the same difficulties.

So it is appropriate that I may try to direct your attention to the solutions of your problems.

And it can also happen that the many questions that appear to you may be coming from only one problem.

So if I talk about one solution, by solving that one problem you may find answer to all your problems.

Suppose wife says to her husband that in our home we don’t have this, we don’t have this, we don’t have that, we don’t have this.

There is only one answer to all these wants.

Lakshmi Devi, money, green energy.

All these questions and problems come out of lack of money.

Now if you get the money, then many problems will be solved.

So I will show you such a solution that will resolve many, many of your problems.

I’ll tell you the most important sentence from Upanishads, scriptures.

This has been known in the past to the past great masters, it has been known to the present great masters, and the future ones will have to know about it.

And this one is most popular and well accepted in India, this sentence.

Upanishads, Darshans, Gita, Vedas, these are the big storehouses of experiences.

I believe that all questions that ever were in anyone’s mind ever in the past, that are arising now or that will ever arise, the solutions for all those questions are in those books.

Those books are written after thousands of years of study.

Here you study asanas today and you begin to teach as a teacher somewhere else.

Your experience could be this much.

While the experiences of the rishis, means the yogis of India, are of many years.

Which is that truth?

Whatever you receive from that, distribute to your family, to the society, to the nation and to the entire world, some of it must be distributed.

You like to be rich, don’t you?

Only when you can give something you are the richest man.

If you cannot give it to your family, to your society, to nation, that is a form of poverty.

Whether we earn or receive we must make parts, and some portions we keep for ourselves, and other portions we share.

From this we derive a principle.

What is that principle?

We have the desire to collect things.

Possessiveness, sorry, that is more correct, we have a possessiveness.

Whoever gives it to us, we are very eager to receive it and we go on collecting it.

We go on increasing our collection.

Once the leaders of the devas, or the divine beings, leaders of the mankind and leaders of the demons collected together.

Then they discussed as to where we make mistakes and what we should do to correct them.

They found that we should know our mistakes.

The eye sees everyone, but it doesn’t see itself.

We can see others’ faults but we cannot see our own.

If we want to see our own eyes we will have to take a mirror in our hand.

Eye sees by itself.

So everyone thought, “What should we do to find out our mistakes?”

Just as for an individual there is a mirror to see himself, so for the spiritual to see oneself, one inner self or there is guru or the well-wisher.

So they all got together and they decided that they should go to the father of the universe, Brahma, the Creator.

All humbly approached him.

They bowed down at his feet.

Brahmaji asked, what is the reason for your coming?

They said, “We have one questions and we have come to find the answer from you.

We won’t take much of your time.

Just tell is in short what is it we should do.

Tell us as to what we should do to correct our mistakes.”

Brahmaji simply said one word, one letter.

And there was a big stock of message in it.

That letter or that word was “da.”

And he said everything was included in “da”.

Everybody hear the word “da,” means in English “d.”

Then they all got the answer.

Everybody bowed and went back to their palaces.

The devas are very prosperous, so they remain surrounded by their prosperity and happiness.

There special activity is that the Upsarads [?], the divine beings, are dancing and singing.

That is what happens in the kingdom of devas.

That’s all they do, have fun.

The devas here do the same thing.

Now they got the message from the letter da, that we should control, so they got the message that all these activities that they are indulging in, they must control it.

So they made the meaning of da to be control.

The second group was the demons who were very violent and cruel, without mercy.

So their meaning of da was, they felt that they’re very cruel and merciless and violent so they should have mercy.

The man, they thought they were collecting too much money so they said they should give donation, means dan [?].

So first one they thought they should so daman [?], then second one, the group of demons, thought they should do daiya [?], and third one, they said they should give dan or charity.

But whatever we give is not charity.

If you go to a shop and you buy something and you pay for it, is that a donation?

That’s not a donation.

That is simply the price for the commodities.

So remember that wherever we give, everywhere we are not giving a donation.

When we give a donation at the time of bowing down to a guru, it is known as “dakshana.”

It is a special custom in India to offer, when you bow down.

When somebody does a labor for us what we give him is called the payment for his labor.

When we become pleased by someone and if we give them something that is the donation, that is gift.

Gift is better.

In India everybody goes in the temple for the darshan.

In there they have a charity box, and whenever the devotee goes there for darshan they put in it the gift of penny to thousands of rupees.

Whatever the individual offers to God or to guru has no other value, it must be considered that he’s simply offering his love.

Whenever you offer the money to that, that should not be considered a big charity or anything like that.

We desire that we receive a lot.

Is there any trick to receive a lot?

Yes, there is.

God is very merciful.

He is very generous.

When a farmer sows one seed and then when the big tree comes out of it, God gives many, many seeds out of one seed.

His condition is, give me one seed, I will give you thousands of them.

This is the key.

This is the answer for it.

If you want to receive something from God, then first give, and whatever you give, it will come back many fold.

When the farmer sows the seeds in his field, they are not wasted.

BAPUJI:

It is my experience that the farmers of India are very generous.

Here just as, instead of one flour, you bring the whole flour plant.

So the same way in India, when he offers rice to his guru, he fills a big bag full of rice and puts it beside him because his mind is very generous.

If I put three or four grains of rice on my guru, that is almost a shame on me.

So after giving the donation of two or three muns [?], you know, 80 pounds of rice or so, and then he offers the two or three grains of rice on him.

Why is he doing this?

It’s because his mind is very generous, because he puts one grain in the field and he takes thousands of grains out of it.

So he’s connected with the generosity of God and receiving that flow he continues to give it, that same flow of generosity.

Then when we give someone, it is not a donation, what is the true charity and what is true donation?

Let us think about that.

The one to whom we do not even know and such a person is suffering, in whatever manner we help him is considered donation or charity.

In India there are three types of charity recognized.

First one is “sattvic,” means pure, “rajasic” means desire for return, “tamasic” is really the negative for wrong purposes.

As soon as we give someone, in our minds comes the idea that he may also return something back to us.

That is a contract, that is exchange.

That is not proper.

There should be no desire of any return from it.

So just as we offer, whatever we offer to God and guru, similarly this donation should be offered.

When we give a sattvic, means pure donation, pure charity, the memories last for a lifetime.

Even though the law is that you should forget it.

But the very nature of such donation is such that it keeps coming back to your mind and it just provides you the sattvic joy, the pure joy.

And this brings him one kind of a joy.

The donation should not be given by making it announced.

It should be given secretly.

God provides the light to the sun, to the moon, but you can’t see him.

God creates lots of greens and food from the earth, but he himself is hidden.

You can’t see God himself, neither do you see His hands.

Simply you see the flow of His offering.

How clever He is.

If He is our father, shouldn’t we bring his qualities in our life?

If we are like God Himself, then only we could be called His sons, otherwise we could be called demons, even though they are also the sons of God.

There are many different forms of charity and donation.

To describe all that in one hour is not enough for me.

Sometimes an individual may not give money, but give their time.

Then also such a beautiful work can be done.

I’ll give you occasion regarding that.

There were huts of poor people at the edge of one town.

In one of the huts a poor old lady with disease was laying on her bed.

She had two children.

The son was blind and he was about 14 years old.

And the daughter was 12 years old.

Both children were very unhappy.

There was no food in the house.

The mother was very sick.

Both the children were sitting by the side of the mother, one on the left, one on the right.

They were staring at the mother’s face.

Mother said in her fickle voice, “My children, I’m alright.

You just go in the city and I will just do chanting.”

Mother had not taken any food for the last three days.

These children were not unhappy about being hungry themselves.

They were very unhappy because mother had not taken food for the last three days.

The blind boy used to play sitar.

He was singing also.

He used to sit in some spot in the city and sing and he used to receive some money.

The child thought that today if I get just enough money to buy two oranges and two or three other fruits, that will be enough to eat so that mother can feed herself.

Both brother and sister started.

They came on the big wide road on the city.

There they spread a little cloth that was for people to throw some money there, offer them some money.

Then the child started adjusting the strings.

Then he started singing the name of the Lord, bhajan.

People were passing by.

Some of them were stopping also.

They were going away offering one penny or two pennies.

One bhajan was completed.

The blind boy slowly asked the sister, “Have we received anything?”

The sister told in a great disappointment, “We have received three or four pasas,” means pennies.

At that time one young man was listening to their conversation.

So the child said, “It would be good if we can make some more money so that we can get some fruits and oranges for mother.”

This young man heard these words.

The pain in the heart of these two children touched his heart and he put his hand in his pocket.

He notes of hundreds and tens and fives.

He started thinking which note should he give to them.

After thinking for a short time, he closed his wallet and put it back in his pocket.

He got some other idea.

He told to this boy, “Give me your sitar.”

The boy was surprised.

“Why is he asking for my sitar?”

And yet the boy gave his sitar to him.

This young man was going in silken clothes and from his appearance you could see that he may be very rich man.

And he sat right next to that boy and he started playing sitar.

He was the most famous sitar player of India.

That sitar was ordinary.

How could a beggar have a good sitar?

But it is the sitarist or musician who brings the great music out of even an ordinary instrument.

He had played such beautiful music that within two or three minutes, 300 to 500 people had gathered there.

As he played more and more, the greater and greater crowd gathered there.

Many people recognized who he was.

Some gave $5, some 5, 10, somebody 100, and there was a pile of dollar bills, or rupees, or whatever you want to call.

Boy and the girl, they both became very happy.

This boy was so happy, not because of the money, but he was so engrossed in the music that the music was so beautiful.

The boy was often touching the body of this young man.

And this expert musician, as soon as he felt touched, he would take his hand off the music and tap him little bit on his back and again will get back to the music.

He used to take his hand off the sitar at such a spot that the music was becoming even more beautiful.

Lots of money was collected.

Then he finished playing his sitar and then folded his hands in front of the crowd.

“You have done a great favor to me, because you have heard me lovingly.

I have given many concerts of music, but I haven’t had as much joy as I have found in this concert.”

And people left.

This little girl told her brother often that we have received lots of money.

“Even if he gives us one not it’s enough.”

This young man said, this musician said, “I’m going to give you all these notes.”

She said, “All this?

So much?”

This child who is used to seeing one or two rupees, when she finds 5,000 rupees, how can she believe that this is all mine, and where would she keep that in her hut?

Then the young man asked, “Where do you live?”

This boy was greatly pleased, or he was enchanted by his music.

“You play so beautiful, if I know like that.”

This young man took him to his chest, hugged him and said, “My brother, I’m going to teach you the music.

I’ll definitely teach you the music.”

What a beautiful charity.

He gave a little bit of time, he didn’t give the money.

This young man took this money to the old mother and said, “Keep all the money in the bank and use it for your maintenance and I’m going to take the child with me and I’m going to teach him music.

He’s good at it and I’ll have to teach him more.”

Mother was thinking that I’m seeing him in some dream.

She thanked that young man very much and that young man took that child in his neater place.

He kept him in his residence and taught him regularly.

After short time, that boy became a great artist.

We can also do such many charitable work.

If there is someone suffering from disease, we can serve him.

In that we are doing something for others with our body.

If somebody’s suffering, we give them solace, kind words.

Whether we are rich or poor, whether we are educated or not, in some way or other we could be of help to the society.

Why the offerings to the guru considered to be the offerings of love?

Suppose the son grows up and earns a lot, then if he says to mother, “Give me the list of everything, all the favors that you have done to me so I can pay you the bill.”

Then mother listed that, “I kept you in the tummy for nine months, no charge.

I did this for you when you were baby, no charge.

I took care of you, when you did all this mischief, I helped you, no charge.

And put the bill in front of him.

The bill was given to the boy.

The boy was thinking the maximum expense she has encured.

She has given me milk, a lot of milk.

So even if the cows milk, if she had given it the most, I would pay 1,000 rupees and I’ll buy it off.

Is there any mother among you who is willing to take such a bill?

No.

The same way, guru also doesn’t take a bill.

So just as the mother gives the breast milk, so also guru feeds the milk of knowledge.

If he takes the money for that, then the whole world becomes an exchange and then there is nothing left in the world.

Now we’ll change our direction.

It was time of Lord Buddha.

His personality and his charisma had spread throughout so much that everyone who heard his name would lower his head with respect and awe.

One of his disciples came out of the city.

The whole city was the devotee of Lord Buddha.

This devotee of Buddha, this sweet disciple of Buddha, desired to ask the alms in the city.

He had a begging bowl in his hand and he entered the city.

First he entered one street and spoke loudly.

“Give me an offering in the name of Lord Buddha.

Give me an offering in the name of Lord Buddha.

Give me an offering in the name of Lord Buddha.”

From every home of that street many people came out having something in their hands to offer.

They came close to this swami.

Everybody, each one offered their gifts.

This swami looked at

BAPUJI:

But without stopping at anyone of that, he just returned back.

Everyone was standing with their gifts in their hands and he had gone individually to everyone and he had not accepted any one of these gifts.

This swami has come to ask for the alms and we offer him the alms and he is not taking anything, so this troubled them.

He had come to take these alms in the name of Buddha and he didn’t accept anything so they were troubled.

This way this swami moved from one streetto the other throughout the city from morning to evening.

He went into the streets of the rich people.

They had come with the pearls, god, diamonds and emeralds and many other costly metals and so on.

But he did not take anything.

His begging bowl still remained empty.

It was morning, then it was afternoon, then evening and he still found that his begging bowl was empty.

He was feeling pain that, “Why is my begging bowl still empty?”

And others were also very unhappy that this swami has come, he’s asking for the alms, and we are offering him and he will not accept.

What is it?

It was the twilight time and he came to the same gate from where he entered, and yet his begging bowl was empty.

There still he was constantly saying that, “Give me the alms in the name of Lord Buddha.

Give me the alms in the name of Lord Buddha.

Give me the alms in the name of Lord Buddha.”

And he was crying.

With that painful heart even when he went out of the city he was still saying the same words.

He might have walked about 100 steps and he heard a very faint sound, a very feeble sound.

Someone said, “Swami, come here please.”

His ears became alert.

He felt the words like a nectar and his heart felt the peace.

He thought that he would definitely get his alms from this place.

He started walking towards the direction by recognizing the direction from where he heard the sound.

He came and stood near a tree.

The tree was dry.

There was a big hollow in the trunk.

The sound was coming from within that hollow.

Just one hand came out of it.

There was a torn cloth in that hand.

As soon as he saw that cloth, he extended his begging bowl.

At that time that material was offered in that begging bowl.

One who offered this cloth that was one woman.

She was a great devotee of Lord Buddha.

She was hungry from the last three days.

She did not have husband or son.

She had nobody.

She had only one cloth, dress on her body.

She had nothing else to offer.

So hiding her nude body in the hollow of the tree, she had offered that garment by extending her hand outside the trunk.

As soon has he received this garment this swami started saying, “I have received the alms in the name of Lord Buddha.

I have received the alms in the name of Lord Buddha.

I have received the alms in the name of Lord Buddha.”

The garment was such that would not bring any money or value at all, which would not be of any use even.

That was the total surrender.

And this swami was understanding its value.

This is the highest donation.

This is the offering of one’s own soul.

This is the supreme donation.

If we have a lot we can always give a little bit.

One who gives everything that one has, one who gives up even one’s own happiness, one’s joy and everything for others, that is the highest.

Lord likes that.

If you have a desire to share from the collection, you should consider that to be the grace of the Lord.

Whatever you have, share it with the family, with the society, with the country and be happy.

This concludes the lecture.

Everyone relax and be still.