Prema Vahini

It is a matter of general knowledge that men are immersed in multifarious activities; through these, men carry out various undertakings. If one takes count of such activities, one will conclude that they need more time than even the allotted twenty-four hours per day. Drinking, eating, reading, writing, walking, sitting and besides these, dreams, passions, hatred, pride and praise, joys and sorrows—all types of activities go on without end. They fill up the span of life. These activities are all intimately attached to the mind. This makes life a mere collection of samskaras, i.e., activities and their impact on character.

There are two types of activities—good and bad. The effect of both on the life of man is evident. The acts of boyhood, like the writing on boyhood’s slates, fade out from the memory. When the events of one’s own boyhood are thus consigned to oblivion, how can the events of one’s past life be retained in the memory? Leaving this point aside, even all the events that happened in the present life itself cannot be brought back to memory, and it will be wrong to infer that in this life, only such events as are remembered have happened. The acts and activities that have transpired and the consequential knowledge and experience acquired are manifold. But they and their consequences fade out from the memory, leaving a residue of just a few at the end. At night when retiring to sleep, if one tries to recollect the deeds of daytime, all will not hail into memory. Those which are clear, those which are deeply embedded inside, these alone can be recalled. Everything that took place, from the insignificant to the significant, all the words spoken, will not come up, when summoned.

When such is the case with the events of a single day, when we remember only those events that caused us joy or pain, what shall be said of the events of a week, or a month, or a year? Only the chief events are registered clearly; the rest turn hazy and disappear. These few are the samskaras.

Performing innumerable deeds, gathering vast experience and knowledge, learning a wide variety of lessons from a wide variety of activities, only a few, a mere four or five, that are strong and deep-rooted, remain as moola dhanam (Primary Capital), for man.

Engaged in the business of life, man earns only these samskaras. A merchant calculates the debit and credit of his transactions at the end of a week, or month, or year and draws up the balance sheet to arrive at one figure—his earnings or debts. So too, in this business of life, samskaras of various types make up the debit and credit figures but, ultimately, everything reduces itself to a small quantity. At the very end of life, it is this small quantity which will come to memory. Those experiences that persist to the very last moment, the two or three outstanding ones that rise into the consciousness when one recalls all that has happened in one’s life, these are the real sustainers, the genuine achievements.

This does not mean that all other deeds, and all other experiences are a waste. Forgetting them means only that their work has been accomplished.

When business is done with thousands of rupees, the heart freezes if a loss of a few thousands is suffered; the heart leaps in joy when a few thousands are gained. It is the same in the business of life also. If at the point of death, one seeks to cater to the tongue, it is proof that throughout life, the tongue has been allowed to be the master. If at the point of death, the mother remembers the child, we can infer that the samskara of child love has been strong, all through her life. It proves that all other experiences have been thrown into oblivion.

Thus, of the samskaras of life, someone or other, stronger than the rest, stands out unto the last. Life is like that; this has to be learnt. The net result of life’s activities is that which comes to memory at the last moment of life. Therefore, whatever samskara you desire should be strong and uppermost at the time of death, towards that samskara and its acquisition, the entire current of life should be directed. Day and night, attention should be fixed on it. The feeling that dominates the moment of death works with great force, in the coming life. This truth must be taken by man as the guiding maxim for the journey of life, as the wherewithal for this journey, as well as the journey after this.

Therefore, from tomorrow, keep always before memory’s eye the inevitable death, and engage yourselves in the journey of life with good wishes for all, with strict adherence to speaking truth, seeking always the company of the good and with the mind always fixed on the Lord. Live without giving room to evil deeds, thoughts of hatred and harm, and the delusive attachment to the world. Then, your last moment will be pure, sweet, and blessed. Disciplined striving throughout life’s career is needed to ensure this consummation. For this, the mind has to be turned over to good samskaras. Each must examine himself rigorously, spot out his defects and strive to correct them. When man realizes his own defects and uncovers them, it is like being reborn; man then starts out from a new boyhood. This is, for man, the real awakening.

Life is eternally stalked by death; but yet, man does not tolerate even the utterance of the word ‘Death’ within his hearing! What a folly! To hear the word ‘Death’ during an auspicious occasion is considered inauspicious, but, however insufferable the word, is not every living thing, at every step, approaching nearer and nearer to Death? Intent on a journey, and having bought a ticket, if a person enters a train, whether he sits quiet, or lies down, the train takes him along willy-nilly to the destination. So too, each living thing has, at birth, received a ticket to a place named ‘Death.’ So, whatever your struggles and safeguards, the place has to be reached someday. Whatever is uncertain, ‘Death’ indeed is certain. It is impossible to change this Law.

Man has taught ever-changing luxury to the tongue, the eye and the ear. Now, he has to apply his mind to teach them the opposite tendencies. Right from a young age, the mind has to be turned towards good with one-pointed steadfastness. The activities of every minute have to be examined whether they are good. Each such deed is the stroke of a chisel, by which the rock of human life is being shaped. A wrong stroke brings harm and spoils the rock. Therefore, even the tiniest of tasks has to be executed with vigilant circumspection.

For a drowning man, even a reed is a support. So too, for a person immersed in the sea of samsara (worldly life), a few good words spoken by someone might form a great support in life. No good deed is a waste; and no bad deed too will go to waste, for that too has its consequence. So, ceaselessly strive to avoid the least evil activity, to keep your eyes pure, to fill your ears with the words of God and godly deeds and not allow them to listen to words of calumny, to use the tongue for uttering good words alone, for true speech alone, and always to remind you of God. Such constant effort must end in victory. It is to earn these holy samskaras that one has to maintain an uninterrupted flow of high thoughts and feelings in one’s mind.

The hands should be employed in the performance of pure deeds. The Lord’s name within, the practice of svadharma (individual morality and duties) without, the hand engaged in seva activities, the mind engrossed in all this—such has to be the daily round. When the rains that pour on mountain peaks rush downwards in all directions, no river emerges therefrom. When, however, the waters flow all in one direction, first a brook, then a stream, then a torrent, and finally as it gets fuller and fuller, a flooded waterway is formed, and the rains reach the sea. Water that runs in one direction reaches the sea; water that runs in all four directions proceeds some distance and soon gets soaked and lost. Samskaras are also of this kind. Of what use are they, if they merely come and go, this way and that? The holy stream of good samskaras should flow, ever along the field of holy thoughts and finally, abide in the great Ocean of Bliss at the moment of Death. Worthy indeed is he who reaches such a Goal!

Twenty hammer-strokes might not succeed in breaking a stone; the twenty-first stroke might break it. Does this mean that the first twenty blows were of no avail? No. Each of those earlier strokes has a share in the success of the final one. Similarly, the mind is engaged in a struggle with the vast world, both internal and external. Needless to say, success might not always be achieved. But, man can attain everlasting bliss, by steadily getting immersed in good works and by saturating his mind with the love of God, and by spreading that love over every moment of life and action. Then, evil tendencies dare never hamper his path. Consequent on the perpetual dwelling of the mind with the Lord, he will automatically and effortlessly perform only good deeds. In this condition, some one good deed acts like that final blow, to destroy the mind itself! For this release from the mind, all the good deeds ceaselessly done in the past have helped; they cannot therefore be considered useless; they all have contributed to the ultimate success. In this struggle, one should believe that Parameshwara Himself is the Protector.

To instill courage in the child the mother induces it to walk a few steps and turn about, but she will not allow it to fall. If it totters and is about to fall, she hurries from behind and catches it up in her arms. Ishwara too, has His eyes always fixed on the jeeva. He has in His hand the string, tied to the kite, called man. Sometimes He may give it a pull, sometimes He may let it loose, but whatever He does, cultivate a sense of security, remembering that the string is in His hands. If that faith, ever present, that samskara ever remembered, Ishwara will keep the prema pasha, the string of Love and Grace, and the kite, the jeeva, always together and unbroken and pulls the jeeva towards Him. This is what is meant by ‘reaching the goal.’ One must do and earn good samskaras through many births to win and strengthen that pasha (string) of Love and Grace.

Thus, samskaras are the cause for the formation of the jeeva. Also, they are the bases on which all jeevas depend for taking them to their goal. The jeeva that has emerged with many samskaras, wade through many a loss and grief, and finally, through sat (Good) samskaras alone, attains the Lord. To arrive at that goal, every jeeva has to live wholly engaged in satkarma (Good works). Those satkarmas are puja (Worship), smarana (remembrance of the Lord), bhajans (singing devotional songs), sarvajana samana prema (Equal feeling of love for all) and paropakara deeksha (Engaging in dedicated selfless service). Carry out such karmas; revel uninterruptedly in the thoughts of the Lord; this is the pleasant royal road to reach the goal.