Religion is a mere word if it is not applied in life. When truth and righteousness become involuntary habit patterns and conduct in the life of a person, that is applied religion.
It should be clearly borne in mind that applied religion does not mean a kind of watered down religion but making the true, pure and transcendental religion flow in every detail of life or making every movement of our thought and action responsive and responsible to the principles of essential religion.
The highest teaching of the Vedas is that the law of sacrifice is the highest law in the universe. This is taught through the symbology of the Purusa-sukta of the Rg Veda. The Supreme Being sacrificed himself to bring forth this creation and through his continuing sacrifice it is sustained. Through the principle of sacrifice, the Supreme Being proliferates Himself into the beings of this visible world in which we live, move and have our being. The implication is: now if we intend to reach the Supreme Being in whom alone is all self-fulfillment, we too must follow the law of sacrifice, and thus reach from the gross to the subtle, from the visible to the invisible, from the conditioned to the unconditioned.
This journey need not be dreary. It can be wholesome, gratifying and all-compensating if we pursue this law of sacrifice through righteous living. This may be called the sacramental view of life.
This sacrificial-cum-sacramental view of life constitutes the Vedic way of life. And the whole past of this heritage, Sri Rama quintessentially embodies in a manner which can be understood and accepted without nervous strain by every man or woman of average endowments. In this sense, Rama is the saviour of all.
… benign weapon was his pleasing word prefaced by a smile. Rama would not use harsh words even when wrongly addressed.
…Last but not the least comes Rama’s devotion to truth. Rama did not speak twice; once he spoke, he carried out it out and he did not go back upon his word. Nothing in the world, no weight of authority, no lilt of language, no persuasion of sentiment, no fear of uncertainty, no prospect of insecurity could influence Rama to deviate from truth.
….
He calls them low, avaricious, cruel and criminal, who knowingly resort to untruth in any form; low, because such a person cannot find the higher path; avaricious, because he is devoid of self-control; cruel, because he inflicts great pain and suffering on himself and others; criminal, because he does the worst dacoity, dacoity on the welfare of society.
Rama said he would never forsake Truth and Dharma, for any prize here or hereafter, and the first things we are ready to drop under the slightest provocation or temptation are Truth and Dharma.
“One arrow, one woman and one word” – these three constitute the personality of Rama.
Let us be truthful in thought, word and deed, then prosperity on all levels will be around the corner.
…infinitely more we would gain – and there is the greatest need for this gain as we are called upon to live through the most demanding times of history – if we would practice the five simple principles of applied religion which Rama taught by living:
1. Purity of personal life
2. Strength and fearlessness
3. Ethical conduct through all situations of life.
4. Sacrificial and sacramental living
5. Truthfulness
Excerpts from “Sri Rama, the Supreme Exemplifier of Applied Religion”, Editorial, Prabuddha Bharata, April 1970.
It should be clearly borne in mind that applied religion does not mean a kind of watered down religion but making the true, pure and transcendental religion flow in every detail of life or making every movement of our thought and action responsive and responsible to the principles of essential religion.
The highest teaching of the Vedas is that the law of sacrifice is the highest law in the universe. This is taught through the symbology of the Purusa-sukta of the Rg Veda. The Supreme Being sacrificed himself to bring forth this creation and through his continuing sacrifice it is sustained. Through the principle of sacrifice, the Supreme Being proliferates Himself into the beings of this visible world in which we live, move and have our being. The implication is: now if we intend to reach the Supreme Being in whom alone is all self-fulfillment, we too must follow the law of sacrifice, and thus reach from the gross to the subtle, from the visible to the invisible, from the conditioned to the unconditioned.
This journey need not be dreary. It can be wholesome, gratifying and all-compensating if we pursue this law of sacrifice through righteous living. This may be called the sacramental view of life.
This sacrificial-cum-sacramental view of life constitutes the Vedic way of life. And the whole past of this heritage, Sri Rama quintessentially embodies in a manner which can be understood and accepted without nervous strain by every man or woman of average endowments. In this sense, Rama is the saviour of all.
… benign weapon was his pleasing word prefaced by a smile. Rama would not use harsh words even when wrongly addressed.
…Last but not the least comes Rama’s devotion to truth. Rama did not speak twice; once he spoke, he carried out it out and he did not go back upon his word. Nothing in the world, no weight of authority, no lilt of language, no persuasion of sentiment, no fear of uncertainty, no prospect of insecurity could influence Rama to deviate from truth.
….
He calls them low, avaricious, cruel and criminal, who knowingly resort to untruth in any form; low, because such a person cannot find the higher path; avaricious, because he is devoid of self-control; cruel, because he inflicts great pain and suffering on himself and others; criminal, because he does the worst dacoity, dacoity on the welfare of society.
Rama said he would never forsake Truth and Dharma, for any prize here or hereafter, and the first things we are ready to drop under the slightest provocation or temptation are Truth and Dharma.
“One arrow, one woman and one word” – these three constitute the personality of Rama.
Let us be truthful in thought, word and deed, then prosperity on all levels will be around the corner.
…infinitely more we would gain – and there is the greatest need for this gain as we are called upon to live through the most demanding times of history – if we would practice the five simple principles of applied religion which Rama taught by living:
1. Purity of personal life
2. Strength and fearlessness
3. Ethical conduct through all situations of life.
4. Sacrificial and sacramental living
5. Truthfulness
Excerpts from “Sri Rama, the Supreme Exemplifier of Applied Religion”, Editorial, Prabuddha Bharata, April 1970.
No comments:
Post a Comment