Articles

• Efficiency in Action
• Freewill versus Destiny
• The Leader
• We Must
• Youth Alone Can

 

Efficiency in Action

What do we mean by action? How best am I to act? What makes me act and what are the personality layers that express themselves in action? If I know the mechanism of action, I may probably be able to understand the technique and the art of adjusting my personality in such a way that my action falls under the highest type of activity, one that brings about achievement for me as well as for my community.

Today we are all students of science, and we are not ready to accept an idea unless we clearly know the complete mechanism of it. This is the spirit of the modern age. Therefore, when the teachers or the scriptures try to explain that we must work, and that the quality of our work depends upon the beauty of our emotions behind it, we are not ready to accept it. We want to know how these are connected. A little knowledge of the instruments of action and how to act ~n the world outside is necessary. If the mechanism of man as a dynamic creature working in the world is understood, it will be clear how a greater ideal can inspire us to work better.

Mechanism of Action

All living creatures constantly receive external stimuli. The stimuli are called form, touch, smell, taste and sound. These five different types of stimuli reach us through our sense organs. We cannot remain even a single second in the world without receiving stimuli. Through the eyes every form enters; through the ears sounds enter; through the nose smell enters; through the tongue, taste enters; and through the skin, touch enters. Thus, through the sense organs various objects of the world enter into us, inviting us to react to them.

The instrument or mechanism within man that receives and processes the stimuli is called the mind. If our mind is not attentive, but wanders to some other idea, we cannot hear what is said to us. If we are worried or preoccupied, we cannot see, for our mind is engaged with the worry and so cannot receive the stimuli. The mind cannot come to a decision; it only receives the stimuli and then submits it to a higher authority, called the intellect, the judging faculty. The intellect judges how we are to react to situations and what responses we must make. The final decision comes from the intellect.

The intellect cannot judge haphazardly. Everyone's intellect comes to a judgment depending upon his vasanas, or impressions of his past experiences. Past experiences control, direct, regulate and discipline our present reactions to the world, because our intellectual judgments are coloured by their past experiences. For example, if a bottle of whisky is put before a devout Brahmin and a drunkard, the latter would grab the bottle while the former would shun it. The bottle itself is not the source of attraction or repulsion. The quality of vasanas in an individual's intellect determines the attraction to or repulsion from objects. The ideas and ideals that we already have in our intellect condition the intellect's judgment as to how it should tackle the stimuli that have been received by the mind.

Thus, the outer world enters through the sense organs into the mind, the mind receives the stimuli and awaits the intellect's judgment, the intellect judges the stimuli according to the existing vasanas that control it, and when the judgment is passed, the order to act is sent back to the mind. The mind is not only a receiving clerk but also a dispatching clerk. According to the orders passed by the intellect, the mind regulates the proper muscles to act in the world outside. All this happens instantaneously.

The intellect must come to a judgment. But how I judge the situation is different from how you will judge the situation. Our judgments will be different because the ideas and ideals that I am inspired by and those that you are inspired by-the various vasanas under which we work-are different. Furthermore, the reactions of one individual differ from moment to moment. Each individual acts differently at different times, even though the circumstances remain the same. These reactions are determined by the type of ideals with which we work in the world.

Expressing Ideals in Action

Every day we face decisions and temptations. Although we may have high ideals, if our conviction is weak, we compromise easily. Supposing you see a man walking in front of you in a busy street downtown. You see his wallet slip out of his pocket. The man is preoccupied and he is unaware that his wallet has fallen. Supposing you pick up the wallet and realize that it is full of money. Will you think, 'Should I put it in my pocket? No one has seen me. Should I keep it, or should I call the man and return his wallet? What should I do?’ You have complete freedom to either keep the wallet or to return it to the man. What determines your response? Your intentions, your ideals, your education all determine your decision. If at that time your negative tendencies are stronger, the wallet will slip quietly into your pocket, and you will try to justify it, saying, 'See, for the past month I have been pleading with God to help me somehow. Honest men are always protected by God. When He wants to give, He gives it on the sidewalks of downtown!' Thus you justify yourself.

However, if you are a cultured man of real education and understanding, of sympathy and concern for others, you will immediately visualize the tragic picture 6fthis man returning home to his wife and children, having lost his wallet. It is a painful scene indeed. It makes you think, 'Let me help him. Ordinarily I cannot afford to give so much money in charity, but here is his own money, and it is certainly charity now in return it to him. 0 Lord, you have given me a chance to help someone in need and therefore I will call him and return his wallet to him.' Before the man can thank you, you disappear, and with a growing sense of satisfaction at having done a heroic deed, you go on with your day.

All our actions depend upon the type of ideals in our mind and intellect. The way in which we behave in the world is altered, controlled and regulated by the type of ideals that inspire us. So the question is, how shall we act in the world, how can we improve our actions and gain a greater achievement in life? This cannot be done by working twice as many hours. The idea of the modern commercial world is that if I double my hours, I can double my output. When a machine works six hours, it produces a certain quantity. If it works twelve hours, it can produce double the quantity. But a man's work in society cannot be measured by the hours he works. It is not the quantity of action that matters but the quality. The quality of action is improved only by the ideals that illumine and inspire us. Thus, the nobler the ideals, the greater the shine and beauty of action. The ideals that inspire us at all times to bring out greater efficiency and beauty of action are called noble or moral ideals. Ideals that bring a dispirited and dejected attitude to such an extent that our actions, however efficient they may be, ultimately lead to doom, sorrow and failure are false or immoral ideals.

The spirit of freedom, the spirit of reverence for one's country, and the spirit of sacrifice for the sake of the common good are all inspiring ideals. Under such ideals, mighty men have done great and ennobling activity in the world, and the fruits of their actions are enjoyed by future generations for decades. Thus, the higher the ideal that inspires an individual, the nobler is the action that he performs in the world.

To jump over the wall of a private house with a concealed dagger, to enter through the window, to move stealthily into the house, to see whether anybody is awake by watching the rhythm of the sleeping persons, and then to go to the safe, collect the valuables, and quietly leave is a skilful achievement indeed. It calls for many qualities of the individual to do it efficiently. But what is the product of all this intelligence and courage? From that day onward the thief finds that he is not happy. Instead, his peace and tranquility are gone because of the reactions that come to his mind. His best abilities were put forth into a piece of work inspired by negative thoughts. When the goal in one's mind is selfish, even though the work may be successfully accomplished, it is only a sad act of grand theft.

Our scriptures say that work can bring forth real, enduring results, not merely because of the quantity of effort put forth, but because of the quality of inspiration with which the man has undertaken the work. The greater the ideal, the brighter is the action and the product. Mahatma Gandhi was only a barrister-at-law. He would probably have been a successful advocate looking after only his wife and children. But what would have been the total turnover of his work? The same individual, when inspired by the ideal of his country's freedom, became a different person-a mahatma. He brought about a change in the moral vision of the country and of the political leaders and thinkers of the world. The quality of his work was higher and nobler because of the selfless ideals that inspired him.

Imagine that you suddenly hear your house is on fire. You rush home and find that the entire house is in flames. At that moment you see your wife running out of the house with your child in her arms. You then hear spellbound the thrilling story of how the child was rescued. The child was sleeping upstairs in his room. In panic, everybody ran out of the house, and then the mother remembered the child. She asked the fire department to save the child. The chief, in spite of his forty years' experience, said, 'I'm sorry, no human being can go in and come out alive. The whole house is ablaze. ‘The mother immediately forgot everything, and with superhuman courage ran into the house. She rushed upstairs, took the child, and came out.

After this incident, she would be afraid to go near any fire, but inspired by her great love for her child, she performed a miracle. If this is the potentiality of the human mind, can't she live twenty-four hours of the day as a heroine? She cannot, because she does not have that inspiring goal. An ordinary man may be a coward, but when he is inspired by a great ideal, you find that he miraculously taps a new stream of energy and vitality.

Taking another example, suppose your spouse has fallen seriously ill at home. You cannot take leave of absence from work.Your sister comes to look after your wife during the day, and you take your turn in the night. You serve your wife every night. For months together you do not have a chance to sleep. Yet, out of sheer love for your wife, you do not feel tired. But if your employer says that you must work overtime, you feel like answering, 'Only if you pay me overtime.'

Where did this extra energy come from? Usually by 6 p.m. we are tired, not because of overwork, but because of boredom. On the other hand, when our wife or child is ill, out of love for them we discover new energy which no doctor can explain. If that much energy and efficiency lie concealed in us, what is the secret mechanism by which we can tap them?

Discovering a goal or a vision in life, a great ideal to inspire us, and surrendering oneself to that ideal seem to be the secret behind the new dynamism in our activities. We thereby raise the very standard of activity in us and bring about a greater happiness in the world. Each one will have to discover his or her own goal. There was a time when the ideal was dharma, or religious ideals. Today it is not. Today with the emphasis on technology and raised standards of living, many are inspired to help the poor. This seems to be actively occupying our minds. To serve the underprivileged in the world, to serve one's countrymen, to lift them up, each one of us will have to make his own effort. All efforts cannot be at one point alone; each person can make an impact only from his own position. Thus you can convert your own small office or corner of work into a shrine where you can serve, through your fellow beings, that mighty Lord who is the destiny of the world and who guides it at all times. You alone can discover this new spurt of energy and enthusiasm within yourself. Thereby, your own ideals of work become chastened. You gain an immense amount of reward, not in terms of cash, but in the spirit of joy that arises out of a heart that has done the right action at the right time.

Wrong Responses to the World

Different individuals seem to react to external challenges differently, and these reactions are called actions. One individual acting in the world rises to achievement and success, while another in the same field of work reacts to it so unintelligently that he experiences disastrous sorrows. No doubt, you and I immediately justify our failures, saying that the world is a bad place. We would like to curse somebody for our failure. A bad worker will always blame his performance on his instrument. Similarly, the majority of us are escapists from life, and when we meet with failure we want to attribute it to a cause outside yourselves: 'Nobody was helping me, the world has not given me a fair chance; the environment was not conducive; and so on. But essentially when we analyse our personality, we find that if we fail, if our actions bring about more and more unhappiness to ourselves and the world, it is not because of the world but because of our own wrong responses to challenges from the world.

Success and failure in the world are our own personal successes and failures. The same situation, the same sun, moon and stars, the same climatic conditions, the same flora and fauna, the same city, may be available to all of us. But I fail in the city and become a tragic failure, while you become a successful person in the same city. How is that possible? It is only because I do not know how to meet my challenges and react properly, while you know how to react to them and are therefore able to make the environment conducive to your development and growth.

We find that the responses of an individual depend upon the type of ideas and ideals he has, and the higher the ideals, the greater his inspiration to act in the world. Every individual must discover this deal for himself. Nobody can give it to another. An artist, a scientist, and a freedom fighter all have their ideals. To the extent that we faithfully live up to the great ideals, dedicating ourselves more and more to them, a pure column of energy seems to spring forth from our hearts and we are able to apply that energy to productive activity.

Many people complain that though they have high ideals, they have no enthusiasm to study, to improve themselves, to live a higher life. Why? 'Because we are exhausted by the time we come home from the office. We live far away from work. Early in the morning we have to commute, and by the time we reach office and return home in the evening, we have no more energy left in us.'

I want to say to such people that they should go to a village in India and observe the farmers. Early in the morning, with a plough on his shoulder and two bullocks, the farmer walks to his plot of land. Where is this plot of land? Not one block, but two and a half miles away. There he ploughs from morning until noon and then he eats what he has brought with him. He has been working in the hot sun. Ploughing is a very strenuous work and he feels exhausted, so he rests until 3 p.m. Again, he ploughs from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and then along with the bullocks, with the plough on his shoulder, he walks two and a half miles home. The amount of physical energy that he spends on the field are incomparably greater than that of an office manager. When he reaches home, the farmer takes a bath, eats his dinner, and often joins his friends to sing in full-throated joy. He goes on and on with ecstasy and revels the whole night. Where did he get his energy? If a farmer can have so much energy, why do we get fatigued so easily?

When people complain that they feel tired, I am not trying to prove that they are not tired. They really are tired. But the farmer is not tired, because being tired of life is not caused by physical exertion. Physical exertion cannot tire you, and if at all there is fatigue, a half-hour of rest will revive the physical body. The fatigue that you and I in the cities feel is only mental exhaustion. The moment the manager wakes up he feels worried about his position, about getting more clients, about getting more pay. In the store he feels anxious because the merchant has more money than he does. Whatever he sees makes him feel troubled. Somebody has a Mercedes, he is anxious that he cannot afford one. By the time he reaches the office, his energy has already started to ebb away. Thus he gets mentally exhausted, even though physically he has not done a bit of work.

In the case of the farmer, he leads a simple life and is happy with his simple comforts. When he ploughs with his bullocks, he feels happy because they are his bullocks. He walks two and a half miles dreaming of his fertile land. He ploughs on and on, and as he ploughs he does get physically exhausted, but mentally he is enthusiastic, and therefore he does not feel exhausted. By the time he comes home and takes a bath he has revived or refreshed himself, and there is still a lot of energy in him.

The fatigue that we feel in the modern world is not the fatigue of physical exertion, for with all the modern conveniences, physical exertion is unnecessary. Because of elevators, we need not climb stairs. Because of cars we need not walk. All around us we have comforts to economize our precious energy, and yet we complain that we have no energy at all! Fatigue is caused by mental tension, which is the outcome of having no goal to aspire for. Our goal is only to finish our daily work, somehow or the other, doing as little as possible and getting the maximum pay. This is the extent of our aspirations.

When these negative thoughts come, however much money and security we may have, we will still be dissatisfied. Happiness depends not only on the type of work we do, but also on our mental condition, our mental health. Mental health can be maintained only when there is a greater goal to inspire us, and the higher the goal, the greater will be our inspiration. We discover new resources of energy welling up in ourselves to pour out in tireless activity serving the world. Thus, it is necessary that we have a clear and creative goal in life, so that we may look up to that goal and draw inspiration from it. When we have a goal in life, such as the nation's prosperity, or the country's progress, the goal itself inspires us, and the more ,it inspires us, the more we find the required energy for tireless activity. As we discover such a goal and surrender ourselves to it, we unleash a new,

unknown column of energy within ourselves.

Sometimes we feel momentarily inspired by an ideal, but once the source of that inspiration is gone, we are back again in the old lethargy. Where has that energy gone? The energy was with us, but it has been dissipated into various channels and is no longer available for the 'irrigation' of activity.

Dissipation of Energy

We may build a dam and thereby create a reservoir of water, but if this water is not made use of and taken by canals to the land, then the land cannot be benefited by it. In order to make the land more arable, we need water, and for that purpose we build the dam. But this water contained by the dam cannot create crops, unless a canal system directs the water into the various fields. Similarly, by surrendering ourselves to a great goal, we may find a new enthusiasm and energy, but if that enthusiasm or energy is not properly channelized, it either stagnates or dissipates into unproductive activity.

This leakage of energy takes place, according to the masters of the past, through three dissipating channels. One is regrets about the past. For example, an average student decides that he must get a first class in his exam. He studies very hard for it, but as the examination approaches, he thinks, 'I will be satisfied with a pass don't need a first class.' When asked what happened to his determination, he answers, 'I have never received a first class in the past; how can someone like myself ever get a first class?' Thus, the memory of the past has dissipated his confidence and energy. Memories and regrets from the past refer to thoughts such as: 'In the past I have always been inefficient; how can I be efficient now?' Thus, the memories of the past come to disturb us, our new enthusiasm to live a nice life oozes away, and we have no energy for any activity.

A second source of dissipation is anxiety for the future. For example: a boy who has always been a first-class student hopes to get a high .rank in his MA examination. The boy enters the examination hall rather pale, and the examiner thinks it is because of over study. When the question paper reaches the boy he reads it and faints. An examiner rushes to him. The boy says, 'Please give me some water. I feel dizzy, I need to lie down.' What has happened?

The boy thinks, 'Everything is lost. How can I answer fourteen questions, even though I know all the answers, when there is so little time?' In his nervousness, the boy has forgotten to read the instructions. The instructions say: Answer any three questions!

Because of the boy's over-anxiety to get a first class, his efficiency was lost. Many students fail in their exams, not because they haven't studied, but because of such leakages of dynamism, which dissipate their energy and sense of composure. This is why some students fail, even though their teachers expected them to do well. One's success depends upon the mental equanimity with which one acts in the world.

Thus, the dissipation of energy may take place either due to lingering memories of the past or due to anxieties for the future. Even if these two are overcome, the sages of the past say that there is a third cause of dissipation: excitement in the present. You may have noticed some people who sincerely work long hours, yet who give a general impression of being extremely inefficient. No one wants to give work to such a person. He works hard, no doubt, but he cannot come to any decision. In the morning he looks at his desk. The files have already piled up and he is worried about the amount of work. At that time a secretary comes with more files. By the time he takes those files and starts working, he sees a label marked immediate. After reading it he remembers the first file, while the secretary has brought in yet another file. He is worried and dejected. He doesn't know where to begin.

On the other hand, if he has composure and self-confidence, he will realize that he should concentrate on one file at a time, come to a decision, and take action so that at least one file is disposed of. If he goes through them one by one, without becoming excited, there will be some efficiency in his work. But if he succumbs to the excitement of the present, it will dissipate his energy and destroy his efficiency.

There are thus three outlets through which our energy is lost: regrets of the past, unintelligent anxieties concerning the future, and feverish excitement in the present. The great seers of ancient India found that once we discover a goal and surrender ourselves to it, we will find a tremendous energy and inspiration welling up in us. After that we should not allow this energy to be either dissipated in the futile memories of past regrets and failures, or in the imagined sorrows of the future, or in the excitements of the present. We must focus our entire energy on the activity. This is the highest creative action in the world. Thereby, an individual who was until now considered most inefficient finds his way to the highest achievement and success.

Training Our Minds

order to develop this attitude, we need consistent training, because we have already trained our minds in an incorrect way. Not knowing the art of action, we have become master artists in doing things wrongly in life. When each individual does anything wrong, the totality of activity cannot but bring the country to a sorry state.

If, in the socialist pattern, each of us is given a car and we don't know how to drive yet we drive anyway, what would be the condition on the roads? The cars would certainly collide. This seems to be the pattern of the life that we lead. Everyone of us is a vehicle. We know how to go forward. The intellect is a very powerful guide when used correctly, but nobody seems to know how to control the mind's energy and direct it properly, or guide it to the right destination.

There: is too much chaos in our lives-each person is concerned only with himself. Every one of us is intent on reaching a particular goal, but we reach nowhere, instead we end in disaster en route, because we do not know how to control our minds and pour it into positive activities.

When an individual has discovered new energy within himself, when he has learned the art of stopping the dissipation, and he is able to fix his entire energy on the piece of work at hand, a great joy starts welling up in his mind-the joy of the artisan. This joy can be understood only by experiencing it. For an artisan or a worker, crafting something new-whether a toy or an instrument of precision-brings great fulfillment.

No doubt, to a large extent the mechanization of life in this industrial age has robbed us of the joy that the artisan of the past had. In those days, when they made an article of furniture or a piece of sculpture, they had the joyous satisfaction of creating something. Nowadays because of division of labour and automation, the average worker has been looted of his joy of creativity. Instead, an inert, iron monster called the machine produces everything. Furniture is produced by machinery, clothing is produced by machinery. The worker thus does not have the joy of applying his creativity to his work. Instead, he programmes ~d maintains machines. To that extent, the joy of creation has gone out of his life.

However, if we turn our vision in a different direction, certainly the joy of having done the right thing in the right way can be ours. For example, even though typing is considered dreary work, if the typist executes his work neatly, without overtyping or making mistakes, he has his dividend of joy from having done his work well. We can discover a joy in the precision and perfection of the work that we turn out. Whether others recognize it or not, we have the satisfaction that we did our work as well as we could.

The artists who have been able to put their head and heart where their hands work have discovered the joy of samadhi, a joy of religious ecstasy, because when the physical, mental, and emotional personalities become integrated, the individual is closer to perfection, closer to the actual experience of joy welling up from within, and in that atmosphere of joy the individual is capable of achieving his best. Anyone who has a hobby can very easily understand this. A hobby means a physical activity wherein the head and heart act in unison. When the hand is doing something and the head and the heart are involved, the individual says that it is a recreation, a hobby for him. One man says playing cricket from morning to evening is recreation. Yet another man playing tennis or football calls that recreation. If they are asked to exert that much to help their neighbour, they will resist. But in spite of a great amount of energy and perspiration spent in a tennis court, football ground or cricket field, they come away saying that they feel revived. ­

In summer vacations, some south Indian teenagers go to north India for a holiday. They sightsee the whole day and walk along deserted roads in the midday heat. The local people are afraid of sunstroke. When they look out of their windows, they see these teenagers walking without any protection. They wonder, 'How is it that they are walking in the sun?' They close their windows with the assumption that south India is probably hotter and therefore these boys are walking comfortably. But the teenagers don't know that it is hot. They are living in a realm of their own! They have come to the north to sightsee, and however uncomfortable the heat is, it is fun for them because their purpose is to enjoy the holiday. Thus, walking in the hottest sun, sleeping in railway stations, catching any train and suffering in many ways is an enjoyable adventure, for their head and heart are where their physical bodies are.

After the teenagers have returned home, if the old grandfather were to ask one of them to get something from the corner store, the boy will complain that the sun is too hot! He forgets that when the temperature was at 114°F he was walking five miles on the tarred roads of Agra, enjoying himself all the way. Here the temperature is 80°F and he feels too hot to go out for his grandfather.

You and I feel disappointed and dejected in life not because there is no meaningful work in the world. It is because we have not found an activity that integrates our body, mind and intellect. To work in this way is the art of living that has been described in the Vedas, especially in the Bhagavad Gita.

Thus, to sum up, according to the great teachers, we should discover a goal to draw our inspiration from. Once we have found that goal or ideal, whether it is political, economic or spiritual, a new enthusiasm wells up in us. When there is enthusiasm, sincerity, ardour, and consistency of purpose automatically follow. Next, we should channelize our energy to achieve our goal without dissipating it through up intelligent regrets of the past, futile imagination of the future, or frenzied excitement of the present. If we work in the world with our head, heart and hands fully integrated, the very work gains a stamp of efficiency and beauty. Our reward is indescribable fulfillment and joy.

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Freewill versus Destiny

The study of ethics presupposes that we can assert our will over our lower impulses. We cannot be held morally responsible for actions that are out of our control or not within our capacity to change. A moral system must be based upon an understanding of the nature of mankind and its capacity for change. Vedanta's theory of karma examines this issue of free will versus destiny.

The Law of Karma

The law of karma has often been confused with the law of destiny, when actually there is a great deal of difference between the two. Had the Vedantic law of karma been equal to the law of destiny, Hindu civilization would have long ago perished, as have all the ancient civilizations through history. The law of destiny has a corroding effect upon the human heart, and those who depend entirely upon it to guide them become weak-minded, passive human beings.

Those who believe in predestination, or that all actions and events have been determined since the beginning of creation, deny any personal responsibility for their actions, hiding under the cloak of fatalism-asserting that since they were fated to act thus, they are not to be held morally responsible for their low actions.

On the other hand, a people believing in and living up to the law of karma become dynamic citizens and spiritual giants. The law of karma is based upon the conclusion that this life is not an end in itself but is just an incident in the eternal existence of each of us. Each one of us is unique and each one's life is different from another's. The destiny of one is obviously different from that of another. Had this been the very first and the last of our births and had we all entered the world as equal, justice would have necessitated that we all have a similar experience of life.

Whenever we inquire into the differences among human beings, we arrive at the conclusion that, having risen from different causes, each of us should manifest as a different effect. Effects depend upon their causes. This life which we live is only one of our incarnations, according to the law of karma. From birth to death and from death to birth, the cycle goes on, but we do not appreciate it or understand it because we view life from a very circumscribed point of view.

.We think that life means only the period spent by us from our birth to our death, and what we experience during this interval is the sum total of life. But let us for a moment take the example of a picture painted on a canvas. In order to see the entire picture painted on it, we have to step back some distance and only then can we get the entire view, the rhythm of the colours, the beauty of the shapes, and so on. Similarly, when life is viewed 6:um a close perspective, we feel that it is illogical and unrhythmic. But when we stand back 6:um our present life in detachment and try to view the whole of life in its entirety, we can begin to perceive a vast harmony 'and perfection.

Some of us blame the Creator for the sorrow or sin in our lives, and despair by saying that the sorrows have been fated to us. The Vedantins teach differently. It is important that we understand that there is a rhythm in the universe, that the planets move regularly, that the stars ride in their appointed paths, and that the natural laws never deviate from nature. Everywhere we can discover the law of 'rhythm (rtu), and everything conforms to that law. Why then, in the case of human life, do we say that there is no logic or reason in it?

Destiny (Prarabdha)

Each human being represents the various effects arising from different causes. The causes being different, the effects are different. Thus, every action of the past has its own reaction, and each of us must have a treasury of all these past reactions. This accumulation of reactions is called the sanchita karma. We should understand that after having lived the fruits allotted for the present life, called prarabdha, each person, while departing from life, takes the next form according to the pattern ordained by the ripened karmas in the total sanchita karma.

Let me explain it more clearly. Suppose I have a plot of land divided into orchards. In one, I plant coconut seedlings; in the second, apples; and in the third, mangoes. In order to germinate, grow and yield fruit, each seed must take its own time. Similarly, each action takes its own allotted time to fructify. Every action has its own reaction; certain actions give their reactions immediately, while others give their reactions after an interval.

To live out the reactions of our past actions, each of us needs to experience certain joys and sorrows, and in order to bring forth these required experiences, each must have a definite field, or loka, of his own experiences. The generally accepted meaning of the word loka is 'the world'. Etymologically, loka means 'a field of experience'. In the discussion of karma, loka means the special, private realm in which I live my subjective experiences.

Again, people misunderstand the real meaning of prarabdha when they use it to mean all the failure, impotence and selfishness in their character. If we are to be guided by this delusion that all our actions are predetermined, then in every act of ours there is no room for self-improvement through effort. There are some who justify their actions by saying, 'I have no faith in a Higher Good, and it is my prarabdha, so why should I try to live a noble, moral life? 'This is a self-defeating concept based on a defeatist mentality.

But then, where does this self-effort, purushartha, come in if prarabdha orders every situation? We have been given limited freedom by nature. For example, we cannot bend a piece of thick metal, but supposing the metal is beaten out and made into a chain-it then becomes pliable. Similarly, when a cow is tied to a rope in the centre of a pasture, it is not free to graze the entire field but can move freely only within the circle drawn by the rope. Similarly, although we have taken this form to live out a fixed prarabdha, we can reach the supreme goal of life by applying our pure motives and intelligent discrimination to harness the freedom allowed us from moment to moment.

We have come into this world to enjoy and suffer for our past karmas, through the circumstances ordered by our prarabdha. There is provision for us to discriminate and act rightly. For example, is there not a certain amount of freedom of choice involved in deciding whether to go to a cinema or to a temple? At every moment of life there is a challenge posed by the question, 'Shall I do this or shall I do that? 'Two distinct paths are open to us, the path of the good and the path of the pleasant. We find ourselves at every moment standing at the junction of these two paths. Often we are at a loss to decide which path to pursue. There is a tussle between the devil and the God in us at such a moment of trial. By adopting the path of the pleasant, we can get immediate but short-lived rewards, whereas by adopting the path of the good, we can gain the long-term goal, our full satisfaction.

Imagine the mind to be made up of soft matter. As each thought passes through it, an impression, like a scratch, is left on it. When similar thoughts are repeated, the small scratch deepens into a channel. Every subsequent thought has a tendency to flow through that ready­made thought-channel. Thus, if the impression, or the channel, was produced by good thoughts, then a good character is maintained and strengthened by the subsequent thoughts flowing irresistibly in that direction.

Let us take another example. Examine the working of the human mind. If you have a tendency to get angry and want to overcome that tendency, you should first of all feel repentant about it. Then you will have already suppressed the anger to some extent. Of course, pent-up anger will burst forth at a later date if you merely suppress it. But if you are intelligent, you should divert that energy to some other profitable direction. You should not succumb by meekly saying, 'It is my prarabdha to get angry.'

Carve out a new channel ill' your mind with repeated good thoughts. Repeat to yourself, 'I love all; or’ I am very tolerant.' Go on repeating the suggestive thoughts, and in a short time you will observe that you have no anger at all in your mental make-up.

First of all, we should be aware of our weaknesses. We must be fully aware of them. We are essentially the very composition of our minds. When we perform some actions repeatedly, our minds get fixed with certain impressions. The quality of our experiences depends upon the quality of the mind that undergoes the experience. The mind, being what it is, is conditioned by the various impressions that it has gathered in its different stages of life. Thus, when we

control and chasten the motives and thoughts in our minds, we purify the mind itself.

Free Will (Purushartha)

At each moment of our life, we are not only living the fruits of our past actions, but also creating those for tomorrow. Similarly, at each moment we are preparing ourselves for the lives yet to come. Prarabdha is caused by the actions done in the past. Thus, if our prarabdha is a sorrowful one now, let us perform such acts today that can determine a happier life for us in the future.

The law of destiny does not explain to us how, even while we live the preordained and prarabdha-controlled pattern of circumstances, we can have in the immediate moments a freedom to create afresh (purushartha). This positive approach is an essential part of the law of karma.

A happier tomorrow is built only when we assert our will to live a divine life today. Religion asks us to entertain and live such values of life so that while living them we are able to create an ordered life, full of joys, in the future. Follow the righteous path of the good; avoid the by-lanes of the crooked, the unrighteous path of the pleasant. We must start and constantly keep on the right path to reach the goal of supreme good. If our course is in the right direction, we shall certainly reach our destination.

Yet another way of looking at the question of free will versus fate is by reviewing life in the light of the flow of time, wherein the future, through the present, is ever becoming the past. Anything that is now in the future must in time arrive to become the present and before long will pass on into the past.

We have already noted that the human intellect cannot rest without seeking the cause of things, but we generally do not take full advantage of this causation-hunting urge in us. If we search for the causes of our present life, we shall discover certain facts that reveal to us the inner meaning and the deep significance of the law of karma.

From the seed the tree grows; the seed is the cause and the tree is the effect. From cotton cloth is made: cotton is the cause, and cloth is the effect. Now, in all conceivable examples, the cause is anterior with reference to time, like the father of a child, and the effect is posterior, like the child born. The father was in existent before the child was born. Cause is thus that which was, and the effect is that which is. The past causes the present: the present will therefore, cause the future!

In short, it is said that the future is not a mystery, an unknown miracle that we must wait to see unfolded. The past modified in the present alone is the future. The things to come are not ordered by; mere continuity of the past. This freedom to modify the past and thereby create a future for better or for worse is called purushartha or self-effort.

To illustrate: a log floating down a river will move at the same speed at which the river flows, but if the log is fitted with a motor and manned by an intelligent driver, the log will have an independent movement of its own, although conditioned by the flow of the river. Let's assume that the waters of the river are moving at two miles an hour. When the speedometer on the log shows ten mile an hour, the log will move at twelve miles an hour down the river but only eight miles an hour if it goes upstream. The flow of the river will always be there; but because of the motor and the intelligence of the driver, the log has a limited freedom of movement now.

The plant and the animal kingdoms move just as the log the floats down the river, directed and guid8d by their inborn instincl and impulses. But we, having reached the human level, have acquire a reasoning capacity and a discriminative faculty. Using these two we can steer the ship of life safely to our destination, the higher go: we have set for ourselves.

To consider therefore, that the present is but a product of past actions (prarabdha) is undignified: to recognize that the future only a product of present actions (purushartha) is equally unintelligent there is no slavery, nor is there complete freedom. There is however a limited freedom, which, if used intelligently, can redeem us from all entanglements.

Thus, the law of karma, when understood correctly, is the greatest force of vitality in Vedantic philosophy. It makes us the architects of our own future. We are not helpless pawns in the hands of a mighty tyrant. If we are weak or sorrowful, it is solely because of our own willful actions. In our ignorance, we may have pursued certain negative values of life in the past, and their fruits have reared up now to give us the pattern of circumstances we are living today.

Still, take heart. By living rightly today the divine values of love, kindness, tolerance and mercy, you will ensure a more noble pattern for you; future. By honest introspection, you can detect your wrong tendencies and eliminate them through constant, deliberate effort. Develop positive thinking and thus come to be the creator of your own future life. Then only will lasting success be yours.

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The Leader

In every organization-political, industrial or commercial, secular or sacred-the real fire is supplied and maintained by its leader. He is the c'1lptain, the one in the top cabin who steers the ship and has, due to his position, a better vision than those who sweat and labour in the belly of the ship, in its machine room.

The leader must have vision, and yet a visionary can never be a leader. The leader must see ahead and at a safe speed steer clear of all obstacles and put the sails up in the most advantageous winds and take the ship under his command to the required harbour.

A true leader should give his serious attention continuously to fostering a spirit of teamwork. Selfishness in team members breaks the spirit of collectivity and there soon arise personal groups, based on caste or creed or 'native place' whose narrow interests bring continuous conflicts into the organization.

. When we look around, with scientific detachment, we clearly see three main types of organization:

1) An institution based entirely upon the power, strength or wealth of the executives. They dictate to everyone and often such institutions grow and quickly expand. These are autocratic institutions. The person at the top soon gets a crazy sense of self-importance, and his arrogant attitudes and dictatorial efforts are felt by the others below as insufferable tyranny. The institution crumbles!

2) The second type of organization is what is very popular with people of our times--often heard of but rarely seen-the democratic institutions. Here the organization is created to fulfill certain demands and desires of its members, and so long as the members are satisfied they limp on making a lot of noise but really accomplishing nothing great, except, of course, satisfying the demands of the members. The moment a fair section of the members are dissatisfied, the organization crumbles. It gets destroyed by its own few dissatisfied members: enemies within plan and destroy it.

3) All long-surviving institutions are organized upon the basis of mutual love and respect for the leader, a sense of reverence for the very programme for which the institution works. Here the organization is based upon harmony. This sense of harmony and cohesiveness can arise only when all members are truly inspired with the goal set up by the institution and work dedicatedly to achieve it. Such organizations alone can stand firm against all strains from without, because within them they have a team of strong members holding together and functioning as many hands but as one head-and-heart.

The members, office-bearers and executives of such an organization work in a single spirit of joyous excitement, from which unity of purpose, tireless enthusiasm, cheerful pursuit and such other virtues arise. This is referred to in the Gita as Karma- Yoga ­functioning in the yajna spirit. It is ego and its selfish desires in our hearts that compel us to break the homogeneous harmony and the joyful rhythm in the day-to-day working of the institution. Unless the members are dedicated to the idea for which the institution strives, the best in them cannot stream forth to enrich the total achievement of the institution.

What we have so far discussed gives us a clue to understanding the causes behind the continuous progress of a flourishing institution, which undertakes stupendous tasks and spreads great blessings all around for its members and for the community as a whole.

A mere volume of rules or some spectacular performance by an individual (or individuals) in an organization cannot by themselves help the organization to serve the community for a long time. And when that organization serves and manages only for profit, the institution never survives for any length of time. Like weeds they spread and flourish and are gone with the seasonal rains. There must be a unison of objectives and ideas. Each must know what they are collectively striving to achieve and in that great scheme of achievement, which exactly is the part each is responsible for.

If an individual's objective or idea is got in unison with the organization, he will be very unhappy and if he is not booted out unceremoniously he may wreck the melody of work within the institution. If the objectives and ideas of the members are harmonious with the aims and objects of the institution, the place becomes a temple of joy-in-work and the result can be seen as blessings upon all.

In many institutions discord starts mainly due to lack of proper and effective communication. It is indeed a delicate art. Secretive manipulations spread fears and discontent, but too open a system of communication is also dangerous for the growth of an organization.

The Panchatantra beautifully expresses this art of communication.

It says:

Some things a man must say to his wife. Some to his friends; some to his sons.

All these are trusted people, but, he should never tell everything to everyone!

We must, therefore, use our discrimination at all times in communicating information. Never put your foot in your mouth!

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We Must

Enthusiasm is the very fuel in all great men. With inexhaustible ardour for whatever they undertake to accomplish, they generate an extraordinary drive for action. In spiritual self-improvement and in cultural and spiritual service to the nation, people must discover in themselves the secret of invoking this force of true and flawless enthusiasm.

Pessimists have no enthusiasm at all for anything they do. They always consider life empty, men hopeless, situations tragic and circumstances going diabolically against them. They complain and groan at life. They are angry with everyone around them, against everything that is happening, opposed to every dream, unwilling to act, negligent in duty, and buried in their own imaginary sorrows and defeats. Such people can discover no enthusiasm even to live.

As opposed to, these pessimists are the hopeful, cheerful, dynamic and ever-enthusiastic optimists. Optimists are generally of two kinds-the wise and the otherwise. An intelligent optimist believes that the world tends to be good and beautiful and he works diligently to make it so. He has an innately sweet disposition, refined through careful cultivation of looking for only the good in life, and he finds what he seeks! Every successful discovery expands his enthusiasm to search for more, and he thus goes from joy to joy, gaining in himself and giving to others, achieving for the world and sharing with all. His enthusiasm not only supplies him with a secret pep in his own life, but by its spirited contagion he comes to thrill all around him with his sunny nature and ardent warmth in work.

Even when we work with full optimism and good cheer, most of us detect our zeal languishing now and then, and some of us have a cruel knack of leaving the field at once-strewn with our half­ done efforts-and of searching elsewhere for some new springs of enthusiasm. When this is repeated we are apt to find, at the end of our life, a ~t desert land of half-hearted acts, partial accomplishments, and unfinished programmes, all littered with miserable failures, and tearful losses-altogether a sheer, dreadful waste.

In such people the flow of enthusiasm is not constant only because they are too impatient. The really great have both the enthusiasm to work and the good sense to wait. Their fervour to work consistently and their patience to await the harvest keeps them all the time intelligently confident and optimistically sure that right results will follow right efforts everywhere in life. Under these attitudes, enthusiasm never sinks in their bosom but sustains them through all their trials and exertions, threats and challenges, and doubts and despair. Patient self-application-with all enthusiasm-in a joyous mood of healthy optimism is the secret 'plan-of-action' of all great men.

Life is a death-long discipline. Constant and alert vigilance over our own thoughts and actions is the stiff price we are compelled to pay for the greater achievements and finer accomplishments in life. Introspection adds polish and verve to our attentive personality to smartly detect the rise of false thoughts, dangerous moods, careless words and inglorious actions. Our alertness gives us the poise to discern whenever we go wrong and the calm courage to correct.

Once we have caught the melody of life and its unerring rhythm, the personality in us becomes fully tuned and ready to initiate great activities. Without such adjustments, and without deliberately cultivating this inner deftness through conscious discipline, any servant of society will bring but more confusion, invite more sinners, and attract more distress into his fields of endeavour.

Regular and ardent prayer, ending with deep and steady meditation alone can unfold enthusiasm, patience, and the inner sharpness to detect and avoid false tones in thought, word, and action. Through prayer and meditation, let us come to feel our oneness with the Infinite Lord. Consciousness of the Presence of the Supreme Power in ourselves need not necessarily spell egoism. Our mental assets must be as real and as readily available for our enjoyment as our money, lands and other material prosperity.

Let us recognize and feel the inexhaustible power in the Self. Let us thereafter apply it entirely, with patience and enthusiasm, to the great and worthy purpose of reviving our culture among our people. Let us not worry about recognition or reward; let us be more anxious about the quality of our work. Let us realize that work is rendered joyous by the very beauty of patient and perfect performance. Let us purify ourselves for great actions, through prayer and meditation, regular and sincere: we must.

Systematically, therefore, we must train and discipline the mind for right thinking and correct, diligent activity. Right thinking is a habit that can be cultivated. Substitution of positive thoughts and flooding the mind with creative ideas are methods by which we can flush out the floor of the mind, littered as it is now with the filth of incomplete thoughts and decaying ideas. Having recognized a thought to be negative or wrong, do not waste time in upholstering it to look neat and attractive, but reject it immediately and totally the power of right thinking expels all false thoughts and induces healthy conceptions.

In fact, this is not a difficult process. It is as easy to entertain noble and elevating ideas as it is to suffocate our minds with wrong thoughts and vicious ideals. It may be that at this moment our minds are full of uncreative thoughts, brought therein by our unconscious wrong thinking. Their easy presence, therefore, may make us feel that to entertain wrong thoughts is simple, and to fight them out of their entrenchment is rather difficult. But to a sincere and heroic seeker, this is not very difficult. In fact, it is easy to entertain positive thinking as it brings in its wake harmony, peace, joy and inner realization.

When the thoughts, unswerving, are rendered straight and when their quality and texture thus change, we come to notice that our actions gather a new glow of perfection, a charm of brilliancy. When the actions are more glorious, our life becomes more productive, carrying with it always the sure insignia of success and achievement. When we look out to the life around us, through a mind filled with the light of clear thinking, we also recognize a larger and meaningful significance to life itself.

In sharing our ideas with others, let us remember that it is our own wealth of inner silence that creates the greater contact, for very often it is found that our silence creates an equally deep silence in the listener, and in that silence his confusion is stilled. To create such a silence in the heart of the listener, the speaker must be great, and the listener also must have the spiritual stuff in him sufficiently well brought out. In silence, that which earlier was not clear to the listener becomes suddenly illuminated and vivid. In that inner silence the still small voice of conscience is rendered more eloquent than at other times.

Let us not forget that the greatest forces in nature are all ever silent. Electricity has no noise. Heat is dumb. Floods creep up silently in the night and sweep away the sleeping villages, against which man is helpless. The silent power of Truth, in irresistible efficiency, is constantly at work-without strife, sound or confusion. As devotees of Truth when we work in society, let us make use of this silent might of the ever-conquering Truth. We must learn to be cheerfully silent, gracefully silent, powerfully silent.

If we are conscientious and consistent in our efforts and love, we shall have many, experiences of the efficacy of silence. When all other efforts fail to serve a brother-seeker, then one sits silently next to him the whole evening, without a word passing. Invariably he will cry out at the end of the evening his self conversion, his clearer perception, his changed conviction. This is no magic: this is only because silence always promotes quietness within, and in that quietude all doubts get cleared naturally, automatically.

Finally, the most perfect characteristic in an eminently successful life seems to be integrity-an inflexible, undaunted, firm integrity. And, also, it seems that everyone who has cultivated this trait has drawn from it many an unseen and personal advantage over others who are striving in the same field of achievement.

Once an individual in himself has discovered and fully developed an indomitable integrity, he finds he is master of every challenge, and in all his efforts we observe a self-assurance which is both captivating and rewarding.

Indeed, very few have it, and there is none who is not charmed by it. A man of integrity is accepted, believed, trusted and befriended by all. To attract to oneself such genuine attitudes from others' bosoms is to create and assure a vibrant environment for great undertakings and perhaps, with the others' ready help, a spectacular success. Truly, integrity is a personal asset to man in every field.

The nobility of integrity is not merely in its honour, sincerity and honesty in action, but it is rooted deeper in the quality and beauty of one's own intentions. If the spring of our every thought is pure and if we have the heroism to live unfailingly ever true to the great ideals in ourselves, however impractical and utopian they may be, even in spite of all immediate failures, we still have cultivated integrity.

The personality in us, thereafter, unfolds with a glowing poise, and at each apparent failure encountered, with each insurmountable obstacle met, in each moment of social criticism faced and from all empty laughter endured, we come to strengthen our nobility and reinforce our determination to live the honorable life consistent with our ideal and our goal.

Such individuals alone are the evolvers, all others are mere adapters, compromising with circumstances at every turn and adjusting to the changing patterns of challenges. They may struggle on, as hapless slaves to their habits, but never can they come to dominate the outer field and command the world to march on to the appointed goal or end, chosen by their own vision and will. Only a person of integrity has this power over life and its happenings. Naturally, then, integrity is the essential core of every eminently successful life.

No doubt, every one of us has a covetable ideal, a great goal, or a mighty purpose in our mind and this is noble indeed. But the resolution to live up to it and pursue it continuously wavers at the very sight of the first obstacle. Bhartrihari therefore says that some act till they meet obstacles, others act in spite of obstacles and conquer them, but some act not, fearing the possibility of some obstacle that might arise en route! When the unexpected crosses the path of life, resolution is tested, integrity is put on trial. Often it is tested without any mercy, tried without any charity. Yet, if resolution is rooted in our faith and vision, integrity shall come out successful, and we shall become stronger for the battle.

When a man of integrity thus strides through life's rough path, winning laurels in localized skirmishes with the outer circumstances, a new fire is kindled in him, and with each fulfilled resolution he rises daringly to take up greater resolves upon himself It becomes a progressive self"' disciplining, adding an extra inch to his stature and an added edge to his efficiency.

A straight and dignified man, with his integrity sturdy and serene in both storm and sunshine, is sometimes seen to decay and grow weak and even fall from his high pedestal of strength and glory. In majority of the cases, such falls are due to the unconscious load of negative fears that have stealthily laid their booby-traps in him. If carefully analysed, it will be found that all of them have sprung forth from a lack of clarity in us, a temporary incapacity to overlook some minor disappointment, or a failure to disregard some words or actions of others around. In a weak moment, off guard, any paltry happening can become a stupendous load on our mind. Dragging this dead weight, it is impossible for the man of integrity to maintain his poise and keep his earlier strides.

Therefore we must set up a free flow of forgiveness from within us, so that through that rushing flood we can flush out all our negative and suicidal inner disturbances. More than forgiveness, a man who is building himself up for the highest achievement must have the plentiful ability to forget the follies of others around him, the dishonesty of those who are working with him, and the vulgarities of the members of his team. All cannot have true inspiration; even when they are inspired, all may not have real efficiency in them, or constancy of purpose. Forgive them, and if they continue to be bad, forget about them. The poet Robert Browning says:

Good to forgive Best to forget.

Remember, one of our noblest duties in life is to grow. This is the cry of all evolution. Biological growth was the command in the lower stages of evolution. After having attained manhood, the demand is to grow in our moral stature, in our spiritual worth, in our cultural dignity. This is where study of the scriptures, regular and continuous, and sadhana, constant and sincere, come to serve us. The study of the scriptures clearly points out the goal and the way: sadhana yields to us the energy and vitality to walk the path and explode into the goal.

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Youth Alone Can

From time immemorial the march of history has brought about great changes, of progress or decline, of ups and downs. These reflect the" quality of human endeavour in any particular period of history.

The fundamental truth is that the present situation is a product of the past. The past is modified in the present and becomes the future. The modifications may be degradation or an improvement. Thus, there are examples of a glorious past which on account of the poor contribution of the living generation turned into an inglorious future. There are also examples of a sad past modified into a glorious future by brilliant efforts of the living generation. After the last war, Eastern Europe came under the oppressive rule of Russia and suffered from the 1940s to the 1980s. But this year, they reacted all of a sudden and, by united efforts, overnight they freed themselves from oppression. Germany was divided into two by the Allies after the last war and separated by a wall. Now the wall has crumbled and the will of the people has asserted itself. Rebuilding a united Germany has started. By breaking down the wall and selling it they made more money than had been spent to build the wall!

The present suffering is no doubt the product of the past but that does not mean that we have no escape £Tom the past and that we have to continue to suffer. No, it is possible to act in the present so as to bring about a glorious future. To continue the past and the status-quo (present), the old bandicoots are sufficient. The old leaders will continue what the earlier generation had been doing. Do you think that the present government is a change from the earlier one? Was the earlier one a change from the one preceding it? No. There is no point in accusing them as they are all used to continuing the status-quo or even making it worse. Then who is to bring the change?

It is the Youth. That is why I have chosen the subject for today: 'Youth alone can'. Roll up your sleeves and strive to rebuild the country.

The present can change the past by intelligent, well-planned, continuous effort. While thus working, many sacrifices may have to be made. When is it that the community or society has not had to pay in sweat and blood in order to rebuild a better place for the next generation? The amount of sacrifice to be made depends upon the conditions prevailing. Consistent and intelligent effort is called for. But if the youth has no ability to think, to plan, to bring about the necessary changes, and has no consistency of effort, the future cannot be built. It will be sadder than the present.

Therefore, if the youth is to contribute rightly to reshape the present into a more harmonious and happy future, they must have knowledge, and not merely information. The information that you gather from your studies must inspire you to dedicate yourselves for the reconstruction of the present. Then only will life be fulfilled. Animals and birds also make and have little ones, look after them, teach them to look after themselves as they grow. If man also lives only at that level and is engrossed in earning and enjoying himself, he is not in any way different from an animal. But man has the intellect to know what is right, to act rightly to the best of his ability, to gain the joy of fulfillment, and to lead a rewarding life. We always glorify such people-a Mahatma Gandhi and other great men in different fields of activity. They are all people who contributed, significantly for the welfare and progress of the community. They gave more than they got from the world.

See the difference between Ravana and Rama: both were great, but while Ravana was intent on grabbing, acquiring and subduing others, Rama was constantly thinking of the welfare of the people, serving and sacrificing for them. The glory of man is the ability to sacrifice for the sake and benefit of others. We want such young men of perfection, beauty and excellence in every field of work, as it is a highly competitive world that we will enter in the twenty­ first century. A nation cannot be built by third-rate people. Objections are immediately raised. We must help the poor and the backward. The mistakes of the past must no doubt be corrected. But we must not make more mistakes. A mistake cannot be corrected by more mistakes, but only by a logical and intelligent solution. This requires knowledge and wisdom. Mere information will not do. Information must be digested, assimilated and transformed into knowledge. Youth possessing such knowledge will be the true leaders.

It needs a lot of vision, insight, heroism and courage, to live up to what you believe in, the ideal that you have kept before you. That ideal should be chosen uninfluenced by your likes and dislikes, and by keeping your mind open to ideas from others, taking time to examine and criticize your own predilections, and keeping out selfishness. Once you have decided on your goal, hold on to it and put forth consistent efforts. When you work for a great ideal, obstructions are bound to come, for this is the law of life. Nature provides these obstacles to bring out the best and noblest in the individual striving to reach his goal, bringing greater glory to him. This is how one grows.

Mother Ganges comes down from the peaks of the Himalayas and after flowing through an extensive area of the country reaches the Bay of Bengal. Do you think that her journey to the Bay is a smooth one without any obstructions? She encounters many obstructions during the journey. In places where there are no obstacles you are not conscious that there is a river as she is silent. When she encounters any small stones there is a soft musical sound. When bigger rocks are met, there is a bigger sound and some bubbles and froth are seen. She gathers her white sari and goes around the rocks. Where the stone is small she jumps over it with laugher. If she encounters a mountain, she rubs her shoulders at the feet of the mountain and moves along its sides till she comes to the end of the mountain, then goes round and continues her journey till she reaches the Bay. Similarly, you must have a goal and the determination to reach it, despite the obstacles that you are bound to encounter. With each obstacle that you overcome, the greater is your glory, the greater is the sense of fulfillment. It is are warding experience worth all the efforts , thought and planning involved in it. Do not sit back and think that the present leaders can take us forward to a glorious future. No, they can only carryon. This is no doubt necessary. But the revolutionary changes that we seek can be achieved only by enthusiastic, well-disciplined thinkers. The changes that Gorbachev brought about in Russia have been made possible only by the courageous efforts of many dissidents who suffered untold hardships inflicted by the government. They persisted in propagating their views which in the fullness of time, Gorbachev accepted.

So though the present is a product of the past, don't sit down and say it is our fate. Every moment man has freedom to start a new way of life. For this, two things are unavoidable. First, the right thing must be chosen as our goal and for this, a capacity to think properly is necessary. Thereafter, instead of theorizing, you must have the heroism, the large-heartedness, the muscle necessary to live up to your ideals. Look at PraWada. The eight-year-old boy stood firm against the might of the greatest tyrant-his father Hiranyakashipu. The meaning of the word 'Hiranyakashipu' is 'one who is wrapped in jewels', meaning an utter materialist thinking only of money, wealth and power. He banned God in his kingdom and proclaimed himself as the God who only was to be worshipped. But Prahlada had full faith in God and the courage to suffer all the persecution of his father, until the Lord came in the form ofNarasirnha to destroy Hiranyakashipu. So Prahlada by his efforts brought about the destruction of exclusively materialistic policy and installed a higher culture.

So, whenever you want to bring about desirable changes, do not be swayed by propaganda. Think for yourself whether this system of pure materialism and secularism will take us to our cherished goals. With knowledge, start thinking and planning and if you have the heroism to strive, put forth your efforts to reach a greater goal. When Communism had ruled, the communists believed that the highest happiness belonged to them. But after twenty-five years of suffering and privation, things became worse and as they came to know of the relative prosperity in capitalistic countries, they began to long for a change. When the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait and saw the prosperity there as compared with the under-development in their homeland, their eyes were opened. They looted everything in Kuwait and took it to Iraq. Once the army realized the relatively poor conditions in Iraq, they refused to suffer any longer and made demands for improvement in their condition. Everywhere in the world, wherever revolutionary changes have been brought about, it is the youth who have spearheaded the movement for change.

So, friends, it is only the youth that can rewrite the present history into a more pleasant and beautiful future. We may commit mistakes sometimes but then we must provide something for the future youth to do! So let the future youth correct us; as we are correcting the past, let them also have a past to correct. Thus, like a relay race, each generation tries its level best to reach out to the next generation to carry on the change.

So, now we have to turn over a new leaf. We must learn to give up narrow selfishness and have a noble goal. It is not that an-entire generation will do this, but if the leaders and the educated class, with a newly inspired enthusiasm, come to live a nobler life, others will get inspired and follow. Yad yad aacarati sreshtah, tad tad eva itaro janah. As the Gita puts it, consistency of purpose and a spirit of dedication and, if necessary, sacrifice, should characterize the new spirit.

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