Engrossed in the Business of Life, Man earns just the Samskaras

A merchant calculates the debit and credit at the end of a week or month or year and draws up the balance sheet, to arrive at one figure - his earnings. So too, in this business of life, everything ends in some bit of net earnings, all the giving and taking concludes. At the very end of life, it is the small quantity that will come into the memory. Those experiences that persist to the very last moment, the two or three that well up into consciousness when one recalls all that has happened in life, these are the real sustainers, the genuine achievements.

This does not mean that all other acts and all other experiences have been a waste. Forgetting them means only that their work has been accomplished and their value realized.

When business is done with thousands of rupees, one's heart freezes if a loss of a few thousands is sustained; the heart leaps in joy, when a few thousands are gained. Such is the story of the business of life. If at the point of death, one yearns to cater to the tongue, it is proof that throughout life the tongue has to be the master. If at the point of death, the woman remembers the child and seeks to fondle it, the Samskara of child-love has been predominant, all through life. It proves that all other experiences have been thrown into oblivion.

Thus, of the Samskaras of life, some one or other, stronger than the rest, stand out to the last. Life is like that; this has to be learnt. The net result of all this living and toiling is that which comes to memory at the last moment of life. Therefore, direct the entire current of life towards the acquisition of that Samskara which you feel best for the last moment. Fix your attention upon it, day and night. The feeling that dominates the moment of death works with great force in the coming life. This truth must guide man for the journey of this life too, for Samskaras are the wherewithal for this journey, as well as for the journey after this.

Therefore, from tomorrow, keep always before the eye of memory, death which is inevitable, and engage yourself in the journey of life, with good wishes for all, with strict adherence to truth, seeking always the company of the good, and with the mind always fixed on the Lord. Live, avoiding evil deeds, and hateful and harmful thoughts, and do not get attached to the world. If you live thus, your last moment will be pure, sweet and blessed. Disciplined striving throughout life is needed to ensure this consummation. The mind has to be turned over to good samskaras. Everyone must examine himself rigorously and spot out his defects and struggle to correct them. When man realises his own defects and uncovers them, it is like being reborn. He then starts anew, from a new boyhood. This is the genuine moment of awakening.

Life is eternally stalked by Death. But, yet, man does not tolerate the very mention of the word "Death". It is deemed inauspicious to hear that word, though, however insufferable the word, every living thing is every moment proceeding nearer and nearer that event. Intent on a journey and having purchased a ticket for the same, if you enter a train, whether you sit quiet or lie down or read or meditate, the train takes you willy-nilly to the destination. So too, each living thing has at birth received a ticket to Death and has come on a journey; so, whatever your struggles and safeguards and precautions, the Place has to be reached some day. Whatever is uncertain, Death is certain. It is impossible to change that Law.

Man has taught the eye, the ear and the tongue, the luxury of constant novelty; now, he has to teach them the opposite tendencies. The mind has to be turned towards the good; the activities of every minute have to be examined from that standpoint. Each such deed is the stroke of a chisel, by which the rock of human personality is being shaped. A wrong stroke may spoil and disfigure the rock. Therefore even the tiniest of acts has to be done with great care and devotion.

For a drowning man, even a reed is some support. So too, to a person struggling in the Sea of Samsara, a few good words spoken by some one might be of great help. No good deed can go waste; no, not even a bad deed, for, that too has its consequence. So, strive to avoid the slightest trace of evil activity; keep your eyes pure, fill your ears with the words of God and the stories of Godly Deeds, do not allow them to listen to calumny. Use the tongue for uttering good words and kind and true words. Let it always remind you of God. Such constant effort must grant you victory. It is to earn these holy Samskaras that one has to maintain the flow of high thoughts and feelings, uninterrupted.

The hands should be used to perform good deeds. Have the Lord's name within, and the practice of Swadharma without. With the hand busy with Seva, let your mind be engrossed in all this - there is no harm. When the rains pour on the mountain peaks and the water hurries down the sides, no river emerges therefrom. When however the waters flow in a single direction, first a brook, then a stream, then a torrent, and finally, a flooded river is formed, and the rains reach the sea. Water that runs in one direction reaches the sea; water flowing in four directions gets dissipated and lost. Samskaras are of this type. Of what use are they, if they merely come and go, this way today and that way, the next? The holy stream of good samskaras must flow full and steady along the fields 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. But, does this mean that the twenty blows were of no avail? No. Each of those twenty strokes contributed its share to the final success; the final result was the cumulative effect of all the twenty-one. So too, the mind is engaged in a struggle with the world, both internal and external. Needless to say success might not always be your lot. But man can attain ever-lasting bliss by getting immersed in good works and by saturating the mind with the love of God. Infuse every moment of life with that love. Then evil tendencies dare not hamper the path. Since his mind ever dwells with the Lord, he will be drawn automatically towards good deeds only. The object of all Sadhana is the destruction of the mind and some day, some one good deed will succeed in destroying it, just as the twenty-first blow broke the stone. For this triumph, all the good deeds done in the past have contributed; each little thing counts; no good deed is a waste.

While struggling in the spiritual field, you should take Parameswara Himself as your protector. To instill courage in the child, the mother persuades it to walk a few steps and turn about, but she will not allow it to loose balance, she hurries from behind it and catches it ere it falls. Ishwara too has His Eyes fixed on the Jivi. He has in his hand the string of the kite which is man; sometimes, he may give it a pull, sometimes, he may loosen the hold; but whatever He does, be confident and carefree, for it is He that holds the string. That faith ever present, that feeling hardening into a Samskara, will fill you with Premarasa.

The string is the bond of Love and Grace. The kite or Jivi is thus bound to Ishwara. You must do and earn auspicious Samskaras in order that the bond of Love and Grace may exist and get tightened.

The Samskaras make or mar the Jivi; they are the steps which take all Jivis to the goal. Samskaras make the Jivi wade through loss and grief. Through good Samskaras alone can man attain the Lord. So, every Jivi has to be wholly engaged in Sathkarma. Sathkarma is the authentic Puja. It is the best form of remembering the Lord. It is the highest Bhajan. It spreads love, without distinction and difference. It is service done as the duty of the Jivi.