| Discourses On Gita By Acharya Vinoba Bhave |
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| Discourses On Gita |
| INTRODUCTION : THE YOGA OF DESPONDENCY |
| 12. However superior another's
dharma may appear to be, it is not good for me to adopt it. The light of
the sun
is dear to me. By this light I keep growing. The sun claims my worship too. But if, for this reason, I
wish to give
up living on the earth and, go to the sun, I would be burnt to ashes. On the other hand, even if
living on earth is
quite dull by comparison, - even if the earth is quite despicable when compared
with the sun, even if it has to
borrow its light - even then, so long as I lack the capacity to stand the sun's
blaze, I shall have to stay away from the sun and keep growing on the
earth. If someone were to say to a
fish, "Milk is costlier than water; come and
live in this milk," would it agree? Fish can only live in water; they will die in milk.
13. Even if someone else's dharma seems easier, one should not take it up. Quite often, it only appears easier. If a man in household life is not able to look after his children properly and, getting disgusted, gives up the world, it will turn out to be hypocrisy and will even become burdensome. At the first opportunity, his old habits and associations will re-assert themselves. When a man goes into the forest because he is unable to bear life's burdens, the first thing he would do there is to build himself a small hut. Then, to protect it, he would put up a fence. Going on thus, he finds that there too he has to manage, if anything, a bigger household. If a man's mind is truly detached, surely renunciation is not difficult for him. There are many texts in the Smritis (sacred codes) which show how renunciation can be easy. It is really a question of one's vocation. One's dharma consists in following one's true vocation. The question is not whether it is high or low, easy or difficult. The growth must be real and fulfillment genuine. |
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