"Yan aasihaaya naro raajan na pramaadyeta karhichit dhaavan nimiilya vaa netre na skhalet na patet iha."
"On which, even if you run with closed eyes, there is no danger of stumbling or falling."

The other path is like a razor's edge, sharp and difficult to traverse - "kshurasya dhaaraa nishitaa duratyayaa;" the Vedic way is sharper and more perilous than the edge of a sword. How much easier is the way of the service to Rama. The engineer makes the gradient so gentle that we reach the top almost unaware that we are climbing. This is the merit of the royal road too. In whatever work the man is engaged, through that natural action alone he is able to reach the Supreme - such is this method.

8. Does the Lord hide Himself  somewhere, in some cave or crevice, in some river or in some heaven? Diamonds and rubies, gold and silver, lie hidden in the bowels of the earth, pearls and corals in the depth of the sea. But is this gem, the Lord, hidden somewhere? Have we to dig Him up? Why, He stands all the time before all of us. Everyone here is a manifestation of the Lord. The Lord says, "Do not dishonor the person of the Lord manifest in human form, my brother." It is the Lord that appears as all things moving and unmoving. Where is the need for artificial aids to seek and find Him? The way is straight and easy.

Relate to the Lord whatever service you perform; that is enough. Become Rama's servant. No doubt, those arduous Vedic processes, the yajna, the svaha, the svadha, the shraaddha, the tarpana (Vedic rituals), will take us towards moksha. But they raise the problem of the fit and the unfit. We need none of it. Do just this much. Whatever you do, dedicate to the Lord. Relate to Him every act of yours. This is what the Ninth Chapter teaches. Hence it is most dear to bhaktas (devotees).

[ Back ] [ Vinoba Bhave ] [ Up ] [ Next ]