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Part V : Morality
You ask me: Do you think it is a bad thing to be moral?
No. I do not consider it bad to be moral but I do consider the
illusion of being moral bad. It gets in the way of real morality.
pway05
Give the body abundant love and it becomes alive vital; its slumbering
potential is awakened. But please remember I am not speaking of
debauchery or of abstinence. Neither the debauchee nor the abstainer
loves his body in the way I mean.
The debauchee shows his contempt for his body through his lack
of self-restraint. Out of his disdain for his body he is inclined
to abuse it. The abstainer has recoiled to the other extreme,
but he is equally hostile to the body. Of course, the two have
gone in different directions. The abstainer harasses his body
in the name of self-control, in the name of renunciation; the
other harasses his in the name of licentiousness. But neither
feels any thankfulness to the body; neither has any love for the
body. One of the characteristic features of a healthy mental equilibrium
is a positive and a loving attitude towards the body. harassing
the body in any way is an indication of a mind that is unhealthy,
of a mind that is sick.
It all boils down to the fact that there are two kinds of mental
infirmities that can plague a man. One is unrestrained enjoyment;
the other, thoughtless renunciation. This is why the libertine
can so easily make an about-face and dive into renunciation so
fully. What a shame he cannot just stop in the middle! It is very
unfortunate it is so easy to proceed from one illness to another.
These unbalanced people have taught us much. They have taught
us that the body is an enemy, that we have to fight with it. And
the religions have become obsessed with the body because of these
harmful teachings. But this is to be expected; to be opposed to
the body requires focusing a great deal of attention on it.
I say that if you wish to go beyond the body, to rise above
the body, do not fight with it, do not allow any hostility towards
it to grow in you. Love your body. Seek its friendship. The body
is not your enemy; it is an instrument, a wonderful tool to be
used. You have to stretch out the hand of friendship to anything
you wish to use. And above all else you have to extend a friendly
hand towards your own body. It is a marvelous example of God's
expertise as a skilled craftsman. It is a ladder laden with secrets
that can lead you to God.
Only a mad man fights with a ladder instead of climbing its
rungs, but unfortunately we live in a world of such madmen. Beware
of them. It is very difficult to assess the havoc they have wrought
amongst us.
You have no idea of the thousands of secrets that lie hidden
in this body that has been naturally bestowed upon you. If you
were able to learn the secrets of your own body alone you would
possess the key to the endless mystery of the universal soul.
This body is so small and yet how many wonderful mysteries it
conceals! The mind is hidden in the body. The soul is hidden in
the mind. God is hidden in the soul....
Your attitude towards the body must be one of deep understanding
and sympathy. You must have enough awareness to look upon it with
friendliness and to protect it. It is your fellow traveler on
a long, uphill journey; it shares your joys and your sorrows.
It is an instrument, a means, a ladder. And so to me it is impossible
for any man with even a single iota of sense to be cruel to it,
to enter into any sort of conflict with it whatsoever....
But do not stop with the body. Go deeper still. The physical
body in only the starting point of our journey towards love of
the self. If you move deeper you will encounter the mind. You
have to love it too; you have to seek its friendship as well.
Man is normally only aware of these two levels of his being -
the body and the mind - but if you wish to rise above them or
go deeper than them you have to learn how to use them. long06
From meditation to observation, from observation to knowledge,
from knowledge to freedom - this is the path. This is the path
of religion, of yoga. I want you to understand this path and to
walk along it. Then you will know the alchemy of the transformation
of conduct by inner revolution. Then you will realize that religion,
not morality, is the fundamental thing and that morality flows
out of religion. It is not morality but religion that is the sadhana
to be practiced. Morality follows in the wake of religion like
the tracks of the wheels of a bullock-cart follow the cart. If
this becomes clear to you, you will see a very great truth, and
a great illusion will be dispersed.
I look at the transformation of mankind from the standpoint
of this inner revolution, of this penetration of the unconscious
by the conscious. On the basis of this knowledge a new man can
be brought into being and the foundations of a new culture and
a new humanity can be laid. Such a man, one that has been awakened
by self-knowledge, is naturally moral. He does not have to cultivate
morality. Neither is it the result of his actions nor of his endeavors.
It radiates from him as light radiates from a lamp. His good conduct
is not based on opposition to his unconscious mind but comes out
of the fullness of his inner being. He does everything with his
total being. There is neither duality nor multiplicity in him,
but unity. Such a man is integrated; such a man is free of duality.
And the divine music one hears when one has gone beyond all
conflicts and shackles is neither of this world nor of this space.
There is a timeless symphony, a blissful note, that reverberates
in us at that moment of peace, innocence and freedom from all
discord. The very rhythm of this music brings one in tune with
the infinite.
To me, this realization is God. pway04
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