DUALITY
You can complain because roses have thorns. Or you can rejoice because thorns have roses. Duality is one of the hallmarks of creation and our existence. Whatever exists, it has two sides to it. Our eyes, too, are two but they see one vision and see views more than one. The mind, too, is also always engrossed in weighing the pros and cons of each and every situation. We have day and night, dark and light, good and bad, mundane and divine, contaminated and pure, flesh and soul, love and hate, freedom and slavery as common parameters to define duality. The human beings are also engulfed in this duality of creation. Man and woman is a testimony to this duality of nature. And as human beings, we can either be good or bad, kind or unkind, loveable or disgusting, humane or brutal, etc. Duality is, therefore, almost a law of the nature.
Air is necessary for us to live. The same air can, however, be annihilating in the form of a storm. A cool breeze or a zephyr is pleasant or desirable but blowing of hot air (‘Loo’ in India) is harmful for health. Similarly the water we drink is a boon for us and as necessary to our existence as the air we breathe. But a flood or a whirlpool or a typhoon wreaking havoc is the flip side of the same water we drink. The human beings too have the potential to be either good or bad, be a realized soul or an ignorant soul. The Holy Bible has defined this duality in terms of satanic and angelic.
A person depending upon his judiciousness or by the lack of it can make a boon of his life or waste it away. We pay full attention towards the upkeep of our body. But we ignore the existence of our soul and consequently our spiritual health. Living is not just caring for our body but also nurturing and catering to the needs our soul. It is to be realized that the driver of the vehicle has different needs and the vehicle has different requirements. The driver needs food while the vehicle requires fuel. We cannot satiate the driver by just putting the fuel in the vehicle or feeding the driver with the fuel and the vehicle with the food. Similarly, we must understand that our body has different needs than our soul.
We have heard about the legendary warrior Maharana Pratap and his brave adventure-loving horse, Chetak. Wherever Maharana Pratap went he was honoured and respected as a king and his horse too was well looked after. This is the deserving treatment to the master (a king) and his horse. How annoying or illogical it could have been to shower all the respect and care on the horse (Chetak) instead of the rider (Maharana Pratap). Likewise, our soul is driving the vehicle called body. Appropriate treatment to each is required. It is unfortunate that the body is meted out a kingly treatment and the soul is not assigned any attention. The body is cared for: we exercise, wear expensive and beautiful clothes, use toiletries and air-conditioners, eat good food – all this we do to maintain our body and make them good-looking. Imagine not taking any pains to maintain our physical health or look. Our body will get dirty at first, then diseased and will finally decay. This is also reflective of the true condition of the soul without the attention that it deserves. The soul needs its fair share of food and care just like the body. The solution is not to overfeed the body but pay due attention to the soul which is the forgotten aspect of our existence and is crippling for want of its fair share of attention.
His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj has often stressed in his discourses that both the wings of a bird are to be flapped in conjunction for it to soar high in the sky. It is not possible for a bird to fly with the effort of just one of its wings. Similarly, spiritual health as well as the physical fitness of human beings is necessary for a healthy and fulfilling existence. Lack of either kind of health is a cause of great worry and distress. The people of the world are striving just for the physical health by going to the gymnasiums, health clubs, doing aerobics or yoga, or learning martial arts. The impaired spiritual health too needs attention. Just like the deficiency of even one nutrient makes a child mal-nourished, the human birth remains unused for which it is considered purposeful, if we ignore our spiritual health. In other words, the soul remains not just mal-nourished but unnourished.
As per the scriptures, it is ignoring this crucial aspect of our existence that can spell doom. Living a life devoid of spirituality is like ignoring the better half of our existence. It is behaving like a lame person when we can have the ease of walking using both of our legs. Satanic and angelic beings differ in no other aspect other than this. Saints and sages are alert to maintain their spiritual health. Spiritual health is not just important for our awareness of our after-life but also for leading a morally upright life. The Divine-Knowledge enlightens the being of its source and its end and also how to traverse the distance in between. Just like the flower is meant to be fragrant, human beings are meant to be spiritual. A flower without fragrance, even though it physically looks like a flower, may be found unreal because it lacks its basic quality (fragrance). Similarly, human beings without spirituality are not worthy of being considered as humans because this way they lack their basic quality.
No man has the right to abandon the care of his salvation to another. Each one of us is individually responsible to take care of our spiritual health just like we take care of our physical health. Duality of creation is a boon to be used to groom us. The choice to choose or pay attention to the required things has been vested in us by the Almighty. In other words we call it wisdom. This is the time to seek the blessings of a saint who can bless you with the Divine-Knowledge that is a panacea to all the problems in this world. Else, as someone has rightly said, to pray against temptations and yet rush into the same on certain occasions, is to thrust our fingers into the fire, and then pray they might not be burnt.
The negative aspects of life have sometime a positive co-relation. The Divine-Knowledge transforms the thoughts of an individual into a positive outlook. As a consequence, the negative aspects are viewed with the optimism that the naked eye fails to see. A critical mind will question both the veracity and practicality of Divine-Knowledge in life. It would be worthwhile to note that in compost garbage is recycled into manure and transformed into highly useful and productive fertilizer. So, the efficacy of the Divine-Knowledge in transforming an individual’s pessimistic views cannot be doubted. It is noteworthy that the Divine-Knowledge transforms the infernal ideas into divine thoughts. It is symbolic of the penetratingly divine effect the Divine-Knowledge has on the life of any person.
The duality of the creator and the creation also needs our attention because we tend to confuse the two and more often than not take creation for creator. However, the creator permeates the creation and yet the creation (maya) is termed as a serpent. We forget that creation is also the expression of the creativity of the Almighty. Just like we should know how to use electrical gadgets carefully and safely, we should know how to make use of the material belongings carefully. Else, just as the electrical gadgets can be harmful, maya (creation) too can be harmful. Therefore, blaming the creation as bane or cause of our temptations and sufferings is not justified. An interesting anecdote related to the Mission is when Baba Buta Singh Ji was offered a 100-rupee note on the verge of his death and he put that not close to his chest. One of the persons standing near him remarked “Maharaj, you are still tempted by maya (100-rupee note)?” At this Baba Buta Singh Ji said this maya is nectar and from it will be built beautiful Bhawans (congregation halls) for the Sangat (devotees). The message was loud and clear that the creation of the Almighty, in whichever form it may be, should be used for the welfare of all. If material belongings (maya) are used judiciously it is nectar, otherwise it is poison.
We have often seen boards hanging at the gates of various houses cautioning against the pets, mostly dogs. If a relative or a friend of the dog’s master enters the house, the master instructs the dog to keep away from that person and may even admonish the dog to obey. As a result, the dog does not dare to bite us. In fact, it wags its tail. Similarly, creation (maya) may be tempting and harmful but not when we know the Master – our Creator, our Father.
His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji has always drawn the attention of the wayward individuals towards this duality and is blessing his devotees with “God-Realization” to make the best use of the duality in the creation.
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