| There is a Gujarati folk-song by
Ratan Bai which one hears very often. Its concluding lines say, "The
fame of men alone survives on earth, their sins are forgotten." Time
is like a sieve. We should take only the good things of history and cast
off the evil. If men would forget the evil and remember only good, how
wonderful it would be! But this does not happen. Forgetfulness is necessary, and that is why the Lord
has given us death.
12. In truth, the world, as it is, is
auspicious. Where is the need to gather up into little spot this world of
Time and Space? Familiarity breeds contempt. We should be intimate with some things and keep
others at a distance. Before our teacher we sit humbly, at a distance. But with our mother, we
go and sit in her lap. There is an appropriate way of dealing with the
various images of reality. While we draw close to a flower, we step back
from the fire. The beauty of the stars is in their distance. This is
so with all creation. It is not as if we shall increase our joy by bringing
very near to us that which is very far away. Real pleasure lies in letting
things be wherever they are. |
