|
Know all people as thy brethren and treat
them as such. In this world all religions
and groups desire that each of its members
should call the rest as brothers; if women,
sisters. This has become so common because all
of them believe that we are all born of one
source and in another sense we are all going to
the same common source. So we can be brothers,
because, of our origin from God or One God, and
we are all brothers because, we are going
towards one God or Goal. The usual meaning, of
course, is an extension of our being born of the
same mother and father. In a world where truth
and non-possession are prevailing it is clear
that brotherhood involves participation in the
common good life, but in our world today since
possessiveness and desire are governing our
minds and thoughts, brotherliness is forgotten,
and to speak of brotherhood is to be in conflict
and rivalry.
In a discussion among Satsangis over Master's
way of treating and addressing everyone as
'brother' or 'sister' in accordance with
Commandment No.6 of Natural Path, the Master
himself pointed out, "we have to know all as
brethren because they are really so in relation
to the Father Almighty, whom we constantly
remember and get nearer by knowing and treating
them as such. Actually treating everybody as
'brother' creates an atmosphere of peace in ones
own heart and all around, which is so essential
for the abhyasi's own spiritual progress, and
creates conditions for the progress all around".
Therefore, when we speak of treating every
person as a brother it is in respect of helping
him to reach the One supreme or Ultimate Goal in
all manner of ways. We must see in him a soul
striving for peace and inward growth and union
with God.
When speaking about the seventh Granthi in
the Anantki-Oer, Shri Ramchandraji has spoken of
its being in the Brahmanda and that all rishis
(including Durvasa) get their powers from it and
passed it on for work in the world
(pinda-pradesh). Brotherhood may mean that one
out of love wishes to impose transformation in
another also, and thus bring lot of misery or
weeping to all people, even with good
intentions. Force cannot enforce the change but
for a brief while; and therefore this power
cannot be used at all for change unless by God
himself and most probably Rishis use it as
instruments of God alone.
Brotherhood in a subtle sense means to change
in a spiritual way or satvically the heart
itself and make it seek inward peace and
spiritual growth. This service must be done
without harshness or cruelty but dispassionately
and consistently. An Abhyasi must help others to
come to Abhyas and participate in the peace that
this practice grants even on the first day.
There is in every one undoubtedly the fraternal
feeling and this comes out most when one has
achieved some good or some deep sorrow. The
former requires sharing as much as the latter.
Most people require to be congratulated or
condoled. Indeed all persons require to be
condoned or excused their sins also on the same
basis, appealing to the basic principle of
humanity, (to err is human, to forgive is
divine) and sympathy and so on. The great
teachers of mankind have always insisted upon
this fraternal aspect of all reality and this is
not limited to human beings alone but also
animals and plants which have gone further down
in the process of grossening. It is true some of
them are ascending and some are moving downwards
(urdhvamukha and adhomukha) which are by Sri
Krishna equated almost with the daivic and
asuric prakritis. Obviously those who plead for
the fraternity confuse between these two and
think that all mankind is one and has one
direction, and that whilst both have the forms
of men they have different directions for ascent
(for the ascent to the one appears descent to
the other).
How then can it be said that all persons were
to be treated as brethren? The truth is that the
ancients considered them to be brothers but
brothers in opposition rather than in
conjunction and unity. It is just possible that
because of their opposition they make this
world-process move either way and without this
conflict there can be no world at all. The
Antharmukha and Bahirmukha or Pratyak and
Paranmukha beings are indeed our problem of the
original evil, the struggle of God and Satan and
so on. Avatars undertaken for the purpose of
restoring dharma had invariably been through
Divine Force or battle for conversion or
transformation of the Asura and Rakshasa through
Danda (punishment). Sama, Dana, Danda, Bhedha
are the four means, of converting creatures to
the dharma. By persuasion, by gifts and by
dialectical argument and lastly by force or
punishment men have been educated. Perhaps we
may see clearly that these four ways are
suitable to four types of men or all may be
required in some cases. Fraternity will be
imperilled if only force is used. These methods
are all political, and social, and hardly
spiritual. But it may be said that these methods
are not all fraternity-encouraging.
Brotherhood concept thus has entirely to be
removed from its social setting and turned to
spiritual assistance and without any
distinction. In spiritual life it is necessary
to discover the nature of man and accordingly
offer assistance as elder brothers on the path.
Master calls all his followers or disciples
associates, those who are associated with him
for the great work of liberation of man or
oneself and therefore offering free service to
all those who aspire to know their nature. This
fraternity is in service and realized through
service of every one in the same spirit that
animates one's own spiritual aspiration.
The whole world is one and it is one of the
greatest ideals of the human race to achieve
this fraternity of all races. Mostly thanks to
the growth of science and the impact of man on
man, we are realizing that despite the divergent
tendencies of certain types of men every where,
the human being is seeking to get over the
threat to its very existence. A world government
is being thought of as the most feasible method
of saving humanity itself from self-destruction
and annihilation that means annihilation of all
life itself on this planet thanks to science.
But fraternity is not capable of being merely
realized by the mere concepts of economic equal
distribution or even by the removal of all those
conditions that breed war and strife and
rivalry. Spiritual disruption that has been
underway has to be removed and spiritual unity
has to be forged in the hearts of men as well as
in their ideologies. It is surely a great thing
that though materialism has scored victories, it
is not so much matter but ideology that moved it
to such expansion of its claims for equality and
fraternity of all peoples everywhere, though
people have been reckoned as human when they
conform to the theory of working class or the
proletariat. We are passing out of that rigid
limitation of work to manual labour, but we are
already in the equation of work with clerical
and supervising. Unless real education becomes
in its true spiritual sense possible,
brotherhood will remain an idle concept and an
ideal that can only be spoken of and cannot be
practised.
So in our Samstha we do not make it a
catch-phrase. It is a working concept for
self-education and growth of all abhyasis and
leads to sharing in Ultimate Grace and
transformation of ourselves into Divine nature.
Spiritual force is all that we can have for
mutual help and transformation. We must pray to
God for the welfare of all creation Lokah
Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. The compassion of
Buddha or Ashoka is not so much for the physical
and the economic miseries of mankind as for the
spiritual distortion and perversion of man which
they sought to rectify as brothers of man and
all creation. The true passion of the Guru and
God is precisely this effort which they take for
saving the souls from wandering into the
wilderness of materialism. Pray for the change
of all men towards the Divine and seek to assist
all to change themselves. God alone is our
refuge and guide and power to lead us to that
society of spiritual brotherhood all the time
and forever.
|
