Valentina: I have a very favourite (if I may call it so) meditation upon Buddha’s Sayings, and that is:
...A man should hasten towards the good, he should restrain his thoughts from evil. If a man is slack in doing what is good, he, by all means, inevitably comes to practice evil and rejoice in evil.
I would say “pathologically rejoice in evil.” What is rejoicing in evil? It is self-justification. It is a pathetic thing, Danny. If ever anyone of you does something which is obviously wrong or absurd or offensive, be sure to quickly say, “I’m sorry.” Very few people are in the state of consciousness that they don’t behave in such a way which requires the “I’m sorry.” Usually there is a bad behaviour which requires to say, “I’m sorry.”
Now what happens? Instead of “I’m sorry,” the man becomes furious, full of hatred, hatred to such an extent that it is impossible to come near him. He is hateful because he is wrong, and he is wrong because he is hateful, and that’s when he starts rejoicing in evil. Instead of repenting and not dwelling upon the evil anymore, he neither repents nor stops the evil. Hence, it is a big tail of consequences. It is not only detrimental for the one who does it, but it is for the whole Cosmos, for each one of us contributes either to the good of the Cosmos or to its poisons. The Cosmos is not a vacuum, it is filled up with both - good and evil, and above both is the Perfection towards which the good is leading.
Thus, the Lord Buddha did not care at all what goes in the invisible world, without first correcting the visible, because He knew that the invisible absorbs our visible conduct, and that we are influenced by the invisible. His main purpose of His holy life was to instill in man that he has to manifest the Spirit here, not when he is dead, - here, now, the Spirit of Goodness which is ever-ready to work now, here.
What is it, - that the Lord would create you and not give His guidance and His Principle?! Just leave you as a Soul-less being? That does not exist even in human morality. So it is just that you don’t want the Good. The Lord continues:
...But if a man commits sin, let him not do it again and again! Let him not set his heart on it! Sorrowful is the accumulation of evil conduct....
Now here again, it is not a condemnation and it is not excommunication from the Good, - it is just statement of fact that it is sorrowful, but it is never too late to turn again to Good.
.If a man does what is good, let him do it again and again. Let him set his heart on it, - happiness is the outcome of good conduct....
An evil-doer sees happiness so long as his evil did not ripen. But when the evil deed has ripened, then does the evil-doer see evil.
And even so a good man sees evil as long as his good deed does not ripen. But when his good deed ripens, then the good man sees only the good in store for him.
And never think lightly of evil, saying that, “it will not come near me.” Even a water pot is filled by the falling of drops of water. A fool becomes full of evil even if he gathers it little by little.
And do not think lightly of good, saying that “it will not come near me.” Even a water pot is filled by the falling of drops of water. A wise man becomes full of goodness even if he gathers it little by little....
So?! Simple? Yes. Difficult? Yes. Beautiful? Yes....
So what is the remedy for evil? Everyone of our disharmonies is an evil, and when we stick to it tenaciously, we are the evil-doer. There is quite a range of it. It starts from seemingly small things, it becomes a habit and it rolls like a snowball, acquiring immense proportions. And then man does not want to admit it, to notice it and hates within himself everything. This is the greatest evil one can think of. So the remedy: the only remedy is to turn to Perfection, first in someone whom you admire, whom you cannot help not admiring and dwelling upon It, consequently, turning within and meditating upon Perfection. I tell you it has to be daily.
Meditation is not at all something fancy, it is just being quiet, being quiet and knowing that you are not such a Soul-less being, that there is, within, something better than outside. And. you remember what was said by the Lord Jesus ? “Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace; in His Presence is fullness of joy. Behold, I am with you always.” If you think about such, even one sentence, you will dispel the confusion.
So the remedy for the evil of which Lord Buddha is aware and is warning you is to approach the Good, the Divine Thing, and to find out which part of the Divine is the best for you, that is to say, which is the easiest way for you to adore and to cultivate, which you can take for your inner Light. You see, guidance, Guru, study, belonging to the certain esoteric school is a great thing, but it is for one purpose - for self-discovery. It is said by all the ancients: “Man, know thyself.” It is not only Socrates, it is everyone, it is only he put it in such form. So when one does realize that there is something which is absolutely unexplored, then one starts meditation. Then we show our life. And again this time the Lord Jesus gave us a very perfect standard: “By their fruit ye shall know them.” If someone will tell you that he prays and then shows himself as a wild beast, would you believe that he prays? If the fruits show that the prayer does not influence life. Would you?
Student: No, Guru.
Valentina: I wouldn’t either, because prayer is very holy, it has to influence you somewhat. If someone will tell you that he is in deep meditation everyday, and suddenly will start acting in the most absurd way, like a lunatic, would you believe he is meditating?
Student: No, Guru.
Valentina: Neither would I. So that’s why the Lord said, “By their fruit ye shall know them.” Not by their words and promises, resolutions, resolves, - by the truth. And I will tell you that if someone will say, “I belong to the greatest organization,” and then you will ask, “What does this organization teach you?”
“Oh, it is synthesis of Yoga, it is meditation on Krishna,” or, “It is Teachings of Jesus.”
And you will observe the organization, and you will concentrate upon the fruits, - you will know whether it is true or not. It is most of the time that big organized Ashram is in danger of developing an industry. Why Ashram? Any kind of religious institution, a church, a temple, etc., - the moment it becomes an institution, there are numerous officials, and they have to have prestige, and they have to have wages, and they have innumerable cares. And the seeking of the spiritual things for themselves becomes very remote. Well, this danger is here also, Danny, everywhere, - people are the same everywhere. I do not allow such things. It does not mean that they do not exist in the mentality of people. People would rather, if they would be given an option, start enlarging the gardens and the mansions and the comforts and the prestige and the pomp and the vainglory, all in the name of, they would say, “Lakshmi.” But, my dear, “By their fruit, ye shall know them.” You understand?
Student: Yes, Guru.
Valentina: It is a great temptation. True enough, that when one is putting efforts into the increase of harmony in whatever way, then things are flowing to you. I will say (and I often tell you all) that I do not move my finger in order to increase the material prosperity, but it flows.
I bow to the ground with utmost humility and gratitude, but I don’t look for it, I don’t seek it. You understand?
Student: Yes, Guru.
Valentina: Here it is Thomas-‛a-Kempis who said it. He says, “Let the things serve you, but do not serve them.” And in the Bhagavad Gita it is said, “That which comes to you without an effort is yours; after which you have to run is not yours.” Remember?
Student: No, Guru.
Valentina: Well, I paraphrased, it’s not quite in these words. He says, “A sage does not waste his energy in vain pursuits, he gratefully takes that which comes.” So these are my Principles, my Child, which should be the Principles of everyone who is with me. The first step that every student and every earnest devotee must take is to set up a method for yourself, selecting that which is suitable for your temperament. Consult with me whether it is good or not for you, I will be able to help you very much.
You have to acquire a certain little system of your own, of spiritual Sadhana, because only reading the books, or listening to my meditation in the morning, and at night, making resolves or talking eloquently, writing big letters with big words, - it will get you nowhere. It takes people, usually, years and years to come just to this kind of a theoretical subscription, using quotes and all these things. Even this takes a long time to acquire, a certain theoretical interest, but then comes the time when you have to start practicing and to stick to your own way of either love or wisdom or service, and keep it pretty secret, because, usually, one who prays for five minutes, writes a long letter to me describing the mystical experiences, or the intenseness of prayer. Show it to me in your life, will you?! I’ll believe you by your fruit. Okay?
Student: Yes, Guru.
Valentina: So that’s what it is, my Child. The time comes when you have to practice Good, and when you have your good method, you can concretize it. I will give you an example. For instance, supposing you fell. The gross man falls grossly; the subtle man falls subtly. Every saint, - do you remember Dobrotolubye, how they used to lament about the slightest violation of the purity, do you remember?
Student: Yes, Guru.
Valentina: Okay. Well, this is the subtle fall, - when the Ideal is set very high, the method of approaching it is chiseled very precisely and then the least little thing is even as a wind in the desert, it scorches. For a fool and, for a gross person, it has to be something scandalous in order that he sees that he was wrong. Whoever you are, on whatever rung you are, if you did fail the Principle, the point is then to start doing the repair immediately and see that you get the result. Do not drop your repair, and stick to your one method - repair yourself. And then go to the positive thing. See what is your difficulty and overcome it. There is no such thing that cannot be repaired or healed, because God: is the Principle and the Principle does not change. Sometime, somewhere, someone achieved some kind of a result in some kind of a difficulty, and if you will take millions upon millions of people who tried to do it, you will see that probably there is not a single problem or illness of any kind - mental, physical, spiritual - which was not healed in the name of the Principle. So you have to take one difficulty at a time and remove it with utmost faith and not be satisfied till it is removed. And that is what in Dobrotolubye it is said, that you are so darn busy removing things which are offensive to Christ that you have no time to use on fools.
And I will end with my other very favourite saying of the Lord Buddha: “Do not mingle with the fools.” This is not haughty, this is not putting you into the privileged, sagely position and another one into inferior position. Everyone has a fool for himself. Even a fool, the foolishest of the fools, [Smiles] has another fool who is even more foolish! So turn around and see who is dangerous for you, and know how to overcome the influence. Not necessarily run away, but sometimes crucify yourself. Expose yourself to a fool, not for entertaining with him, but for overcoming your own foolishness. Okay?!
Student: Yes, Guru.
Valentina: Amen.
Student: Thank You, Guru.
(May 6, 1982 Thurs. Morning)
May 7, 2010
Valentina: This is a very favourite of mine again.
... The fool who knows his foolishness is wise at least to the extent that he knows that much, but a fool who thinks himself wise is a fool indeed.
If a fool be associated with a wise man all his life, he will not perceive the Truth, even as a spoon does not perceive the taste of soup. (It does not matter how long, it’s just no result. - S-V)
But if a thoughtful, intelligent man be associated with a wise man, he will soon perceive the Truth, even as the tongue perceives the taste of soup.
Now this is, of course, very significant. The Lord again speaks in short axioms, things which precisely the fools will not respond to deeply. A fool with many degrees from the university will question even, “Could the Lord Buddha speak like that? It is so simple, it’s probably one of His disciples, maybe somebody afterwards said that. How come that Buddha would be bothered about such plain sayings?” Well, my dear fool with degrees, Lord Buddha is dealing with the facts about life and not the opinions about them. The most interesting fact is that people really can be divided into two categories, and that is, the totally unconcentrated, inattentive, - those He calls fools; and those who are attentive, receptive, sensitive, perceptive, concentrated, - those He calls wise or at least intelligent.
How can you tell fundamentally the intelligent from the unintelligent? The intelligent looks for the essence, the unintelligent for details. That’s one of the fundamental things. The intelligent is aware of what he is doing or saying; the unintelligent is not. Does it mean that intelligent or wise speaks only the words of wisdom? No, because the intelligent and the wise are in the midst of life which is full of ignorance, so sometimes, in order to be courteous, empathetic, friendly, they have to support the topics which are not of their choice, but they are aware of it. Whereas the fool is carried away immediately and is never aware that he is partaking of something which is not essential.
And the Lord says:
...Fools of little understanding, being enemies to themselves, wander about doing evil deeds which bear bitter fruits.
That deed is not well done which, having been done, brings remorse, whose reward one receives weeping and with a tearful countenance.
Well, this again is such a simple axiomatic statement, but if you meditate upon it, it opens to you avenues of wisdom and makes you aware of currents within yourself and outside yourself.
Again, fools are those who have little understanding, and they are enemies to themselves. How come? They are enemies to themselves, because they accumulate the unnecessary words, unnecessary deeds, unnecessary feelings which burden them and deprive them of peace. And every act which is done without consideration of the consequence is slightly evil, but the one which is deliberately done for the gratification of one’s senses at the expense of somebody is doubly or triply evil. All this results in the perpetual cause and effect.
...But that deed is well done which, having been done, does not bring remorse, whose reward one receives delighted and happy.
And there are many such deeds. If something is done for the purpose of increasing the harmony, - now, for instance, there are a lot of charitable people. Charitability also is measured by foolishness or wisdom. Sometimes people do the things in charity only because of vanity, and this is no charity then. Sometimes things are done mechanically, mostly because we give away that which we don’t need ourselves. Well, such things do not bring happiness and do not bring harmony, but that deed is well done which does bring you harmony and peace, and usually these are the spontaneous deeds. It requires again great alertness and intelligence and sensitivity. It is not because you feel like doing it, but because at this moment something strikes you that there is somewhere the need for it or the response for it. And you immediately rush doing it, not because that satisfies you, but because it has to be done. Well that leaves you at peace. Whenever we do something, say something, think something, give something without thinking of ourselves, but are doing it because it has to be done for the fulfillment of harmony, that leaves you with peace, that does not have any bad after-effects whatsoever.
This meditation can also go in a still subtler realm. There are fools and there are intelligent people who are praying. And please, I am using the word “fool” in Buddha’s parlance, because it is a rather unkind definition of a human being and it makes a stamp. I would not do it myself, but He does it, and because He is Buddha and because He is so scientific and so removed from personal judgment, I use this word as His word.
So the prayer of the foolish man is, again, self-assertive. It is usually, first of all, awareness that “I am praying.” “Oh, I prayed, I got up at Brahmamuhurta and I prayed.” Okay, you did?! Then why is it that your prayer doesn’t give you peace? Why do you behave like you do? Because, usually, a person who talks about such things in such a way, ostentatiously or sentimentally, immediately reveals it in his countenance and in his deeds that there is no result. And if there is no result after the prayer, then, of course, it is a foolish prayer made by a fool. Why is that? Because such fools are filled to the brim with the human judgments about themselves and about their prayers to such an extent that they are unable to listen to the withinness as Christ suggested: “You have to pray in secret and the reward will be given you openly.” Well, because they don’t have it, the prayer is also foolish. In other words, just as they do not derive any benefit from associating with the wise man, even if they live the whole life with him, because they are even like a spoon, - the same is the reason why they do not derive any benefit from associating with the Invisible Wisdom, because they are like a spoon, - there is no sensitivity of the aliveness of the tongue.
And the good man, the intelligent man (what is “good” in this sense is attentive, concentrated, alert), - when he is praying, he goes to his mental closet,” kellia, leaving outside everything - negativities or opinions about himself, about his conditions, etc. And when he walks out from his kellia, he is a different man. You can tell, he doesn’t have to tell you, “Oh, you know, at Brahmamuhurta I was praying, I had visions.” He won’t tell you anything, because it is secret. But you can tell by his face, or by his energetic gait, or by his quick decisions, that something influenced him rightly. It means praying aright, because the peace comes then. If we continue to feel the worry and to feel about ourselves all the time and not about the peace which we are contacting, then we will be talking much about it, but we did not get anything, like trying to see the sunshine through the dark curtain.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. God bless you.
---
[Later, Satsang with another student. Our Holy Mother again reads from the Dhammapada]
Valentina reads:
... If a fool be associated with a wise man even all his life, he does not perceive the Truth from that wise man, even as a spoon does not perceive the taste of soup.
But if a thoughtful man, attentive man, concentrated man, be associated with a wise man, even for a minute, he will very soon perceive the Truth, even as the tongue (and not the spoon) perceives the taste of food.
Now this is very significant. It is almost humourously obvious. A fool misses the point all the time. And regardless how much time the fool is spending in the proximity of the Wisdom, how can he be influenced? How can the spoon be influenced or any thick object? It has to have flexibility of intelligence in order to receive the Wisdom or, for that matter, anything worthy.
So the Lord does not say, “You are bad, because you are foolish, and you are good, because you are intelligent,” He just says that there are intelligent people and there are fools. And among intelligent, there are devoted people and there are indifferent. And among devoted people, there are again people who are devoted with all their heart or just a little bit. He just simply gives you “food” for your material in order that you can become attentive, precisely attentive.
What do these little meditations amount to? Just a test to your sense of wisdom or love of wisdom. Now most people would read it and say, “Well, how true.” That’s all and forget it, but precisely, they are fools, even if they think that they are not, because everyone who is “educated” and knows how to read and write and how to read and write many, many abstruse things, sometimes would even think, “What a plain statement. I wonder if it belongs to Buddha? It’s probably somebody afterwards said.” There are such fools but about them Buddha says precisely, “You’re a fool.” Because a fool, among many other things, wastes his time and the time of other people by totally unessential questions. The fool is that kind of a man who does not grasp the essence, who is always in details which do not exist, - he makes them. So how can such a one perceive the taste of a good meal? Not possible, right?
Okay, then how to become an attentive man? That’s a question. By being interested. But again, we say fools are not interested. “But then, let’s leave them,” says the Lord. That’s another way of doing things. If you are in the category of fools, then stay away from Wisdom and enjoy your foolishness. And if someone wants Wisdom, let him not bother trying to convert you. One never can pull anybody forcefully, it is all voluntary.
And here is another one about the fools:
...Fools of little understanding, being enemies to themselves, wander about doing evil deeds which bear bitter fruits.
That’s also very significant. How can you tell the fool? By little understanding. Now here again, what is meant by little understanding? Little understanding of those things which give Wisdom. There are many fools who think that they are extremely smart, and they are smart, but smartness is not intelligence. Smart businessmen, the smart even inventor of some gimmicks, - they can be still fools, because they spend their time on unnecessary things. The one who spends time on unnecessary things is a fool - one of the definitions. What are necessary things? Necessary things are those things which put everything in order in your mind. For instance, something bothers you about not being done well. Go ahead, spend some time and correct its, You lost the object, you can’t trace it, and that’s in the back of your mind all the time. Well, do it, discover it, put it there where it has to be put and acquire peace. This is a homely example of what is the right understanding. The right understanding is to eliminate every trace of unquiet, mental discomfort. And, of course, when it goes into the deeper and more serious regions, your little or big understanding reveals itself at once. The big understanding looks for the essence and aims at it; the little understanding goes around and about and omits the essence.
So definitely a fool is he who omits and escapes the essence, and such a one is an enemy to himself. How come? So come that he has no discrimination, and so he does the wrong things all the time. What are the wrong things? The wrong things are those which bring the wrong results. “By their fruit ye shall know them!” The wrong things are those which hurt. The wrong things are those which have to be afterwards corrected. Even the small things as misplacing a thing is the wrong thing, - it has to be corrected. But still, if you know how to correct it, you very quickly correct it.
So the Lord says:
... The deed is not well done which, when having been done, brings remorse, whose reward one receives weeping and with tearful countenance.
Again here is science and statement of the Law. If you did something and are ashamed of it, or are unquiet about it, or are repenting about it, or are aware that it is a zig-zag, naturally you will weep and you will have a tearful countenance.
But that deed is well done which, having been done, does not bring remorse, whose reward one receives delighted and happy.
If you give in charity, if you say the right word to the right man at the right time, you, indeed, don’t have to be sorrowful about it, it gives you happiness. Or if you perform things with the remembrance of the higher Justice and the higher Peace and the higher Harmony, and sort of do it for these Ideals, then how can you be unhappy? As yesterday I said (you listen, please, to that noon Satsang) - that everything has to be dedicated to the Divine Mother. It sounds also like a slogan, everyone heard it, but it isn’t when you are practicing it. It is a sort of a disposition. Sometimes we have to do very unpleasant things or very boring or very tiring things. Well, if you do it just as a part of your duty, simply duty towards the general harmony and say, “Well, it has to be done, I’m placed here to do it, please accept it, whoever now is in charge in the Invisible,” you will feel the smile in your face, because this is the deed well done. There are small things which can be well done, there are smaller and there are atomically tiny things, and if they are neglected and done badly, you are committing evil, for precisely such things are not noticed. A little neglect here, a little compromise there, lo and behold, there is an evil waiting for you. The same thing is true about doing a little dedication here, a little smile while doing something unpleasant there, a little overcoming of something which is otherwise causing lots of discussion, and you are contributing to the smooth go-on and go- ahead things.
This also can be taken into still subtler realm, and that is how a fool is praying and how an intelligent man is praying. The fool always thinks that the fact that he is praying is enough. And by “praying” he means the repetition of a ready-made formula, his own or from the scriptures. And then he is surprised that his prayers are never answered. Why is that? Because it is a fool who is doing it, and his mind is filled with only his human judgments about himself and about the other people, about the circumstances and, therefore, they are unable to listen to the hidden voice, still small, which is in secret, and they cannot receive the reward from that, because they are not in secret, they are all the time outside. And God says very plainly that those receive the reward who pray silently, and it then is coming to them openly.
And the intelligent man, on the contrary, stops his worries, his calculations, his ready-made slogans when he prays and just calms himself and becomes naturally humble. He puts his “new person” into the prayer, he does not bring his own stuff when he is trying to commune. He is just not worrying about the programs or about the turmoils, nonsenses of all kinds and noises of all kinds. That’s what Christ meant when He said to put the new wine into the old bottles. So this is the intelligent man, he does not bother with the old bottles, he bothers with the new wine. And the fool tries to superimpose his answer upon the problem, dictating God without letting go the problem, all the time thinking about the problem. You cannot see the sunshine if you look through the thick, black curtain, can you?!
So that’s it - the fool, the intelligent, the enlightened - all the degrees. Om Sakti! So be it! Amen!
Student: Thank You, Guru.
(May 7, 1982 Fri. Morning)