Daily Offerings from Alokda

A group of young and old had gathered ashore the sea. They had never seen the sea before, only read and heard about it. Soon a discussion followed. One who had neither read nor heard much simply exclaimed at the marvellous sight before him: “vow! What a vast expanse of water. Who can ever measure it?” Another who was well-versed with books on sea rushed into impress by his erudition, “oh, you seem to be quite ignorant. Actually, quite a few have ventured but two among these, truly bravest among them tried to sail across the entire sea. Of these only one returned after ten long years. And of the other, one knows not the fate whether he was drowned or drifted to some friendly or hostile isle”.

Surprised by his knowledge one turned to ask: ”is it true that the sea has many riches in its store?”

“I don’t know exactly what riches the sea has”, replied another eager to join the conversation and contribute his bit as well, “but I have heard through word of mouth that there are some rare jewels in its depths”

“And some dangerous creatures as well”, said another unable to resist, “the kind of which we do not see on land or near the shores”.

And the knowledge able man again: ”oh he is talking of sharks and whales”.
“And mermaids too”, said one who was simple and full of wonder among them. And he added with a solemn religion tone, “And these mermaids can grant you boons of many kinds and pearls and riches if you would pray to them.” A knowledgeable scientist whose scientific books had not mentioned anything about mermaids and boons strongly ridiculed these stories as fiction and imaginations.

Soon the group of men divided into two camps. One was with the scientist and argued against the mermaids and boons. The other was with the simple credulous man who joined him even to pray to the mermaids for these treasures. This religious man had learnt a few incantations from his grandfather written in some sacred text thousands of years old. This grandfather himself who had never seen a mermaid or even the sea and died a penniless man had in turn learnt this formula from his great grand father who in turn from his great grand father and so on and so forth.

While all this was going on, a third group broke away from both and tried to philosophically reason out about the sea and its various possibilities. These again divided into several sects and sub-sects, some argued that the sea had nothing in its depths since they could see nothing, neither whales and sharks nor mermaids and pearls. He felt this speculations was a waste of time. All that the sea has are some fishes and turtles and all that one can know and needs to know is how to ply a boat on the waves and how to cast a net to catch the fish and crabs and prawns. Others ridiculed the shallowness of this group who could see nothing beyond the tip of their nose and immediate utility. Still others simply said “ Lets stop arguing and just enjoy this lovely sight and the beautiful sunrise”. All however agreed on one thing that none knows fully about the sea and none an ever know. Even they doubted if the story of the lone sailor crossing the sea itself was not a hoax. Yet none would venture to find out lest they met the unknown fate of the other sailor. A known insecurity is better than an unknown certainty, they thought.

And as they thus debated and discussed some tired and weary of the stories and philosophy of theories and dogmas of proofs and doubts of arguments and counter-arguments of joy and the wonder and fear of the dangerous waves slept off. The others too followed these to the world of dreams with familiar lands and faces love. Some dreamt of the roaring sea and the storms that sweep the surface. Yet others dreamt of unknown far off isles inhibited by strange and unknown people.

But one youth among them kept awake, Unknown to others he was building a boat whole night. And when the sun rose and there was daybreak once again nothing had changed in the life of these men except for him who was young in spirit. Unseen to the eyes of those left behind on the shore he had sailed off to the delight of danger with faith and courage as his companions. They saw him not again and pondered over his fate. But the youth had gone far into the deeps gathering pearls and delighted playing with storm with the lightning stars as his guide. When the winds blew softly, he conversed with mermaids who informed him to keep clean of the dangerous waters and hostile isles. And as he moved on pressed by a need in his soul, a hope stole through the heart of those left behind. A hope that the storms can be weathered and the rough waves tamed and the great sea conquered.

Alok Pandey

The Master was taking a stroll in the garden. The group of disciples surrounded him like bees around a flower that had turned the Light and Power of the sun into a sweet and strengthening nectar for their thirsty struggling souls.

Feeling the mood of the moment, one among them asked as to how come in this world of beauty there came to dwell evil and suffering. The Master became pensive and took them to a nearby place where the gardener had just thrown some seeds into the ground. Pointing to the soil and the seed below it he asked them why must the seed of this beautiful flower destined to partake of the sun be put underneath the soil into a dark space and breath the waste and the mire and rot on the surface and struggle to reach the top against the heavy resistance of the earth.

‘To throw its roots deep’, said one. ‘To cast off its hard shell’ said another.

The Master smiled and exclaimed ‘That’s the answer to your question. Suffering is like the waste and the mire and Evil like the darkness and the resistance that man’s soul must face so that it can also throw its roots deep into the earth and its surface crust soften in due time. The surface crust is the ego-self, that source of all evil and suffering. When inner being is ready by the pressure of the world forces, when it has cast its roots deep and strong, then the ego-self slowly dissolves and the deeper soul emerges into Light and Freedom. It is delivered out of the womb of darkness and is ready for a new adventure into Light and its climb towards the sun. But if the seed is stripped bare of its hard crust prematurely and exposed too early to the light of the sun and the immense freedom of space then it may simply burn off and be blown away by the strong winds before its roots have steadied it. So also what we call error and evil and suffering are simply necessary intermediary steps and stages in man’s ascending growth towards Light and Freedom.’

‘What then is sin and what then is virtue and good’, enquired another.

The Master observed as he moved from one flowering tree to another: ‘Look at the buds, their petals closed upon each other, their fragrance trapped inside. That is the first stage of the flower. It is as if it was trying to not only feel and hold but also to capture and possess the light it so badly needs and to keep the fragrance to its solitary self that is meant to be its gift to the world. So also with man. Selfishness is the only sin since it induces man to try and appropriate things for its solitary self and give out nothing in return to the world. The result is that it remains dark inside and closed outside. But a time comes when the bud begins to trust the Light that it feels and opens out to it and all that surrounds it in a spontaneous gesture of self-giving. And, lo and behold! – its self-giving is instantly rewarded by the fullness of its bloom and its generous uncalculating gift of fragrance turns into sweet nectar inside. Man is selfish in his early stages of growth but soon he must realise that selfishness is a trap since it prevents him from getting the very thing that he most needs and wants. With this awakening and the pressure of Light and its own secret nature there comes in him the trust and the confidence to open out and reach out and give itself first to the world around it which alone he sees with his half open eyes and then to the sun that it begins to perceive as its eternal source, the secret master of its journey, the fosterer who turns all things to honey within him. Then man becomes a link between the earth and the heaven.’ Then with a mystic pause he added, ‘Selfishness too, that origin of all sin, is a preliminary stage in human growth. This too must pass away as man begins to trust God within and His play around and gives himself freely to both or rather to God and His play in the world.’

The Master sat down quietly on a little rocky promontary in the garden, his gaze as if fixed into infinity, his look encompassing the whole of space in a single glance, his heart one with all things in their eternal essence. And the disciples sat around him wondering whom to admire, the sweet fragrance of the flowers that gave themselves generously to everything around them or like the earth that shared the joy and the struggle and the sorrow of all things giving shelter and place to each thing that must wait for its season to turn ripe and to blossom emerging out of the darkness into the Light, or like the sun that gave itself to the creation and though far and high beyond the reach of earth and its creatures yet was the secret source and support of all. And as they thus contemplated their inner and outer gaze was fixed upon the Master who was to earth and men, at once the flower and the earth and the sun.

Alok Pandey

The Master had the deepest love and compassion for the struggling soul of man upon earth but his compassion was not blinded and he seldom seemed to encourage acts of charity and philanthropy of the kind practiced by rich men. He neither discouraged nor encouraged it. But in general he observed that it had little to do with true spiritual growth and did not want people to confuse one for the other.

On being asked he would simply reply, – “What does humanity needs most, – food and comfort for the body or release from the bondage of Ignorance by the growing Light of his soul?”

When questioned whether a poor man can think of God, he would laugh and say with the ring of experience that it is often the poor whose hearts are more open to God than the rich ones. Too much money was not necessarily a sign of some special Grace. Rather it was often a curse, for it put the man into so many traps and bonds that made it even more difficult to break than if he were less privileged materially.” But he agreed that spirituality had little do with riches or poverty and a rich man as well as a poor one may be deeply spiritual if they have arrived at the inner readiness. Only it made it more difficult for the rich to turn to God.

“So should one discard one’s wealth if it comes in the way of our spiritual progress?”

“How about using it divinely”, the Master would say. “It is easier to discard a difficulty rather than transform it and turn it into an opportunity to serve God’s purpose in the world. If God has given us wealth we should turn it for the good of the world, but not through blind pity but as guided by the Divine Vision.”

“By distributing it to the poor,” asked one unable to get the true import of the Master’s statement.

“No that is the worst way since it would encourage lethargy and stifle the heart and soul of another who receives money as charity. Wealth that is received without any effort often leads to its misuse except in the rare few.” The Master replied.

“So should one build hospitals and schools for free and for the poor?” asked another.

“And increase diseases and the ills that modern education brings with its almost exclusive emphasis on man as a biological entity whose only goal is to survive!” quipped the Master. He went on to add, – “there is no use repeating the past follies blindly. What humanity needs most is a new vision in the mind, a new hope and faith in his heart, a new impulse and will to live for greater aims and deeper goals. Instead of opening hospitals and multiplying diseases why not find out the root cause of human maladies and the master remedy. We need educational institutions that can embody the new Light.”

“But that is a vision,” complained another. “How can I use my wealth to further a vision?” he asked.

“Surely wealth will not give you the new vision for that can only come through personal growth,” the Master responded. “But if you have sympathy for the new vision and one has wealth then it can be put at its service. For to express this new vision upon earth and reach it out to the many who are still blind, you need both, men of vision who can carry it afar and also men of action to organize it. So also you need men of wealth to create new institutions and support old ones that would embody this new Light. That indeed is the best service that one can render for earth through wealth.”

A rich man proud of his philanthropy asked what the Master thought about those rich people who spent a lot of money on charity.

The Master had a hearty laugh and remarked, – “It is often like the case of a robber sharing a little of his loot with those whom he has looted and thereby assuage his guilt and flatter his ego.” But then not wanting to disappoint the man he added, – “Well if a rich man wants to distribute money or open hospitals that is his business and if he has nothing more to give and no other vision to uphold, then let him do that especially if that be his calling. But he should not think that he is doing something very great to solve the problem of humanity or that what he is doing is greater than the poor man is quietly seeking God in his hermitage.”

“But don’t the hermitage and the ashrams also need money? And is it not a waste of life for a young man to spend the prime of his youth doing nothing except seeking God and live on the wealth of others when he could earn that wealth for himself and be independent,” asked the rich man again unwilling to give up.
“And what makes you feel that the young man seeking God is doing nothing. Try doing it and you will understand that it is far more difficult to seek God than to earn bagfuls of money.” The Master calmly replied.

The rich man would not concede, – “But why should others support his quest, to whose benefit when he could easily earn.”

The Master became serious to see the degree of human resistance to Light. He responded: “The young man seeking God is doing a great benefit to the society. Firstly, he is earning spiritual wealth that the others are not ready to earn. Once he earns it he to shares this inner wealth with others as the great Masters and their erstwhile disciples do. In fact their gift is much more than the money that you give for their needs. You look after their physical needs while they look after your spiritual needs. So who is the gainer?”

“But such disciples and such Masters are few ad far between, what about the others. Are they not parasites upon society,” he argued one last time.

“On the contrary even the failures in the spiritual path do a service to mankind for they at least keep the fire of the soul alive by their sheer effort. And when even one succeeds he makes it easier for many others to follow. Even if he does not speak about it his mere presence brings the earth in contact with forces of Harmony and Peace and Light. He is like a silent dynamo that energises the earth and rejuvenates its sick body by digging out from our nature’s deeps the streams that sooth and heal man’s mind and heart and soul. They are like beacon Lights if not Lighthouses for man to follow on the dangerous roads of destiny to the great discovery that awaits us all one day. The seeker of Light is the spearhead in this eternal collective quest of man who makes the way for others to follow and even if he falls he becomes a brick to bridge the way towards the future. Do you then still feel with the superficial thinkers that the spiritual man is simply a do-nothing or is it simply that his great contribution goes unnoticed and he cares little for it either.” The words of the Master fell upon listening ears and the earth suddenly woke up to fresh and sublime memories that stirred in its silent deeps, memories of spiritual heroes and martyrs whose life was a burning example and without whom this world would long have sunk to perdition or gone to blazes.