|
|
|
God to Man and Man to God GOD-REALIZATION is the endless end of creation, and the timeless consummation and fructification of unbinding Karma. If the self takes an incarnation after God-realization, it is not as an ego-mind, but as the embodiment of the universal mind; so that it is not, like the reincarnating ego-mind, subject to the bondage of Karma. Ordinary man takes an incarnation under the irresistible impulsion of creation but the God-man reincarnates by free and spontaneous arising of compassion for those who are still in the world of illusion and bondage. The descent of a God-realized one is fundamentally different from the incarnation of souls in bondage. Free and unbinding give and take Those who have not realized God are still in the domain of duality; their dealings of mutual give and take create the chains of Karmic debts and dues, from which there is no escape in duality. But the God-man, dwelling in the consciousness of unity, has no such chains, and is thus able to contribute towards the emancipation of others still in ignorance. For the God-man there is none excluded from his own being, he sees himself in every one; he freely gives and freely takes without creating binding for himself or others. Any person who accepts without reserve the bounty which the God-man showers creates a link that will stand until he attains the goal of freedom and God-realization. Any person who serves the God-man, offering his life and possessions in his service, creates a link that will be a means of spiritual progress. Indeed, even opposition to the work of the God-man is a beginning to the journey that leads God-ward: while opposing the God-man, the soul is establishing contact with him. Thus everyone who voluntarily or involuntarily comes within the orbit of the God-man's activities becomes subject to a spiritual impetus. The work of the God-man The work of the God-man is fundamentally different from that of the priest. It is characteristic of the priests of established religions to attach importance to forms, rituals and conformity with rules, and since they are not themselves free from selfishness, narrowness or ignorance, they may exploit the weak and credulous by holding before them the fear of hell or hope of heaven. The God-man having entered for ever into the eternal life of love, purity, universality and understanding is concerned to bring about the unfoldment of the spirit in all whom he helps. There are those who are themselves in ignorance, who because they have read or listened to the words of a God-man may out of self-delusion or in deliberate selfishness use the same language as he and they may try to imitate the God-man in his way of life; but by the very nature of their spiritual limitations they cannot imitate the God-man in understanding, bliss, or power. If out of self-delusion or hypocrisy they pose as a God-man, their self-delusion or pretense becomes evident in their lives. There are those who believe themselves to be what they are not, and think they know when they do not; when they are sincere they are not to be blamed, though they may become a source of danger to others, and should be recognized for what they are. The hypocrite knows that he does not know, and his pretense creates serious Karmic binding for himself; though he is a source of danger to the weak and the credulous, he cannot continue with his deceit. God-man can play the role of the aspirant In his universal work, the God-man has infinite adaptability. he is not attached to any one method of helping others; he does not follow rules or precedents but is a law to himself. He can rise to any occasion and play any necessary role without being bound by it. A spiritual aspirant cannot act as one who has attained perfection, since the perfect one is inimitable, but the perfect one can for the benefit of others act as an aspirant. One who has passed the highest academic examination, can write alphabets for teaching children, but children cannot do what he can do. For showing others the way to divinity, the God-man may play the role of a devotee of God; he may play the role of a Bhakta so that others may know the way. He is not bound to any particular role, and can adjust his technique to the needs of those who seek his guidance. Whatever he does is for the good of others; for him, there is nothing more to obtain. Maya used to annihilate Maya Not only is the God-man not bound to any technique of spiritual help, he is not bound to conventional standards. He is beyond good and evil; but though he may appear to be lawless, what he does is for the good of others. He uses different methods for different persons. lie has no self-interest or personal motive, and is always inspired by the compassion that seeks the well-being of others. He uses Maya to draw his disciples out of Maya, and adopts very different workings for his spiritual task. Nor are his methods always the same with the same person. He may do what shocks others because it runs counter to their expectations; this is intended for a spiritual purpose. The God-man may seem to be harsh with certain persons who contact him; but onlookers do not know the internal situation and cannot have a right understanding of his behaviour. In fact his sternness may be demanded by the spiritual requirements of the situation in the interests of those to whom he is harsh. We have an analogy in an expert swimmer who saves a drowning person. He may have to hit the drowning man on the head to minimize the danger in which he is likely to involve his helper. So the sternness of the God-man is to secure the spiritual well-being of others. Shortening the stages of false consciousness The soul in bondage is caught in the universe, and the universe is illusion; but since there is no end to illusion he is likely to be held indefinitely within its mazes. The God-man can help to cut short the different stages of false consciousness by revealing the Truth. Through illusion the soul gathers experiences of the opposites. Where there is duality, there is a possibility of restoring balance through the opposite. For example, the experience of being a murderer is counterbalanced by the experience of being murdered; and the experience of being a king, is counterbalanced by the experience of being a beggar. But the soul may wander from one opposite to the other without putting an end to its false consciousness. The God-man can help the soul to perceive the Truth, cutting short the working of illusion. The God-man helps the soul in bondage by sowing in him the seed of God-realization, but every process of growth takes time. There is, however, a qualification of this statement to be made. The help of the God-man is more effective than the help that any advanced aspirant may give. When an aspirant helps, he can take a person up only to the point that he himself has reached; and even this limited help becomes effective gradually, with the result that the person who ascends through such help has to stay in the first plane for a long time, in the second plane a long time, and so on. When the God-man chooses to help a person, he may take the aspirant to the seventh plane in one jump, though in that jump the person has to traverse all the intermediate planes. By taking a person to the seventh plane, the God-man makes him equal to himself, and the person who thus attains the highest spiritual status becomes himself a God-man. This transmission of spiritual knowledge is comparable to the lighting of one lamp from another. The lamp that has been lighted is as capable of giving light as the original lamp itself; and there is no difference between them. The God-man is like the banyan tree, which grows large and mighty, giving shade and shelter to travellers and protecting them from sun, rain and storm; in the fullness of its growth its descending branches strike deep into the ground to create in due time another full-grown banyan tree, which also becomes not only large and mighty, but has the same potential power to create banyan trees. The God-man arouses the God-man latent in others. Lord and Servant The God-man may be said to be the Lord and Servant of the Universe at one and the same time. He showers spiritual bounty on all in measureless abundance, and as one who bears the burden of all and helps them through spiritual difficulties, he is the Servant of the Universe. Just as he is Lord and Servant in one, so he is the supreme lover and the matchless Beloved. The love, which he gives or receives frees the soul from ignorance. In giving love, he gives it to himself in other forms, and in receiving love, he receives what has been awakened through his own grace, showered on all. The grace of the God-man is like rain which falls on all lands, barren and fertile, but fructifies only in the lands that have been rendered fertile through toil. |
|
|
