Lord Gurbachan Stressed a Conscience-Based Character

It is universally acknowledge that when wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost something is lost; when character is lost; everything is lost.

Identifying the roots of character in the conscience of the person, Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji Maharaj made a memorable statement during his discourse in a mammoth congregation held in Sector 36, Chandigarh in February 1980: “Death of the body is not such a great loss as death of conscience.” Elaborating the eternal truth of the statement, Baba ji narrated a story:

A person hired a set of utensils from a shopkeeper for use at a function at his home. After the function was over, he returned the set to the shopkeeper. However, while returning the same, he mischievously added a few spoons and brought this addition especially to the notice of the shopkeeper. When asked to explain the addition of the spoons, he quipped back, “my dear, I have not added these spoons; in fact, the utensils that I had hired from you gave birth to these spoons. So I thought it is  proper to hand over the same to you along with the utensils.” The shopkeeper, without understanding the intrigue behind this, raised no objection and just accepted the extra spoons in the presence of other shopkeepers. The person who had hired the utensils thus gained the reputation of an honest man.

The honest man did not wait for long to cash upon his reputation. He again went to the same shopkeeper after a few days and demanded a complete set of utensils for another big function at his house, and the latter readily complied with the demand. He took away the utensils but did not return the same. After a few days the dismayed shopkeeper with a few others went to his house to demand the utensils. With a long drawn face and sobbing voice, he said, “I am very sorry, all the utensils fell ill and died the same night and could not even celebrate the function. It is really unfortunate for both of us.” The Shopkeeper perspired and felt totally shaken to hear such remarks and encountered, “How, can the utensils fall ill and die, this is humbug…” The person replied. “Last time the utensils gave birth to spoons and you believed the fact. If they could give birth can they not die too? Now you have to accept this fact (of death) also.” Arguing vainly, the shopkeeper returned desperately suffering a big loss vis-à-vis the insignificant gain of a few spoons. The shopkeeper felt determined to carry the ingenuity further to make up his loss. Moral: Death of conscience.

Baba Ji added that virus of this killer disease (Death of Conscience) has spread all around. After afflicting the conscience, the virus spreads to the head and heart. It brings with it greed and graft, which destroys all human values, displaces truth with falsehood, right with wrong and innocence with crime. Being infectious, it acquires the dimensions of an epidemic. Though the virus may not cause physical death, yet it causes the death of all that is good and virtuous. The scientist, the sociologists, the statesmen and the like have found no cure for this epidemic so far.

Historically, geographically and universally; in all lands, in all climates and at all times, the truth of the ancient Latin adage i.e. HOMO HOMONI LUPUM- man unto man is a wolf – is in demonstration. From North Pole, the whole human society seems like a seething cauldron.

Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji Maharaj born in the family of a True Master, himself a True Master and blessed with a son, who is a True Master of this time, was a unique personage, feeling the pulse of the ailing and erring society, Baba ji often mentioned that man is an amalgam of physical body and divine soul. For harmonious and blissful living, the soul needed to be united with the all-pervading God and the body maintained with the requisite material elements. Paradoxically, considering materialism as the be all of life, man has connected his soul with the unending material desires and his body with the religious rites and rituals. These wrong connections create short-circuiting creating panic and chaos. Baba ji therefore, always gave clarion call to man to surrender and always be in union with the Omni-present, Omni-potent and omniscient God.

To be continued ... ...