Swami ji said…
The aplomb and disdain with which we address others — when we are either angry or frustrated with their behaviour- by telling them off arrogantly- “मैं तुम्हें बहुत अच्छी तरह से जानता हूँ…” – might not be the wisest policy to adopt- as this could leave the other person flabbergasted — but, since we are determined to sing our own tune, we fail to see the questioning and astonished look on the other person’s face.
Can we visualise, even for a second, what would our response be if he could turn back and counter-question us : “पहले तुम मुझे यह बताओ कि तुम अपने आप को कितनी अच्छी तरह से जानते हो ?”And that rebuttal could certainly take the winds out of our sails — and leave us floundering — on detecting the underlying truth in that statement!
Are we truly as sincere, honest and genuine as we appear to outsiders? Or do we play a game of pretence and present a false façade to others around us?
And this is the major mistake that we make by thinking that ‘no one’ will know about the deceptive role being played by us.
We can fool ‘others’ by playing a ‘dual’ role — but the One above, who knows us ‘in’ and ‘out’, cannot be deceived by us.
So much in love are we with our ‘intelligent’ selves that we feel we can somehow outsmart ‘Him’ — by maintaining a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. And, thus, we go about desperately- trying to do everything ‘good, noble and kind’- that is apparent and clearly visible on the surface — to those around us, and, of course, to Him too- since we are certain that He is watching over us from above, from ‘outside’ of us.
In a strange way, since most of us have always placed God on a pedestal — at a distance from our physical being- we have taken it for granted that ‘He’ sees all our ‘external’ activities- and we can conveniently hide from Him- ‘all’ that exists within our ‘internal’ being- as we have never felt that ‘He’ is within us. Pride, jealousy, falsehood, the art of deception- that He is the ‘only’ spectator to- but, we go on with life- secure in our ignorance that He will never know about these hidden characteristics of ours.
Can we ever hide from Him our thoughts, our feelings, our true emotions? How have we come to the conclusion that He doesn’t know about our true nature; about what we truly are?
Just like the food that we consume gives shape to our body- our thoughts give shape to our inner nature, our real personality- and ‘who’ could know better than ‘Him’ – about every thought of ours, about our ‘true’ personality.
Man, of course, can always ‘maintain’ a façade. He can give the appearance of being pious, simple and honest — while not really being so. Moreover, he can even convince himself of the same.
The spiritual seeker must always remember — God knows when he sits and rises, knows his thoughts, and even knows his words before they are spoken. One cannot hide anything from God. In fact, it is better to acknowledge one’s flaws and weaknesses in the presence of God. One should seek His help in removing the obstacles that come in the way of spiritual development.
Our aim should be to purify our ‘inner being’ to such an extent that we are certain that we have made ourselves worthy enough to have Him seated in a pure , positive and peaceful abode- within us ; where He is worshipped with a pure mind, heartfelt prayers and meditated on with a heart that is filled with love for Him.
Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji 