Hinduism 
Are You the Right Man?
by Dr. Krishna Saksena

Let me start with an interesting story. It is a story the relates to the life of every individual.

A father in order to test the geographical knowledge of his son, took a map of the world and tore it into pieces. He then called his son and said to him, “Look my son, I have torn the map of the world and I would like you to put these pieces at their right places”. The son took away those pieces and in no time brought those pieces put correctly at their places. He put them on a board and there was intact the map of the world. The father was taken aback. Even he himself could not have put those pieces together in such a short time. Not willing to keep quiet about it, he questioned his son as to how he could do it so quickly. The child replied, “ Papa at the back of the map is the figure of a man. I put him right and the world was right”. Yes if the man is right, the world is right.

Each one of us has to take a clue from this. In the final analysis, when all is said and done, it is the individual who matters. He is the most important actor to change the very face of the world. Entire responsibility rests on the shoulders of each one of us, I should be concerned about myself. I am confined only to myself. I am responsible to myself alone. It is myself that I have to take care of , irrespective of what others do and think. I have to see that I am on the right path and I am the right man. In this race I have to be a winner.

Begin by understanding what the right path is and what qualities the right man should possess. First and foremost, each of us must learn to love. If you love God, you will be able to love all His creations, for in them you see Him. Love is a matter of the heart, so you have to make the foundation in your heart. A spontaneous response towards anyone you meet should be that you love him. Say these words “I just love”. Use these words as a key to make your heart run. Then watch the results. You life will brighten up with new love and understanding. Surrender yourself to this new awareness and let love unfold within you. The Lord says in Gita, “Adveshta Sarvbhutanam” meaning love all and be friendly to them.

To be friendly is another quality that you must inculcate. The bond of love should never diminish. You should chisel yourself constantly and thus try to discard the ill feeling that may grow up in you. Sage Ved Vyas was given a unique assignment. He was asked to study all the philosophical and spiritual literature and sum it up in short. After intense study, he issued one line. “The act of greatest merit is to help others and the greatest sin is to cause intentional pain to others”. Friendship stands to help and not cause pain to others. A loving word, a compassionate look, a simple good deed- all these can bring light to the lives of the less fortunate, as well as your own. It is not what you gain, but what you are able to give the determines the value of your life. If you are friendly, and you have been able to give happiness to a single soul, it makes your life blessed.

Compassion, closely connected to friendship is what the Lord seeks in His devotees. Hate and violence cannot lead you far. You will not be judged by the numbers; how much money you have in your bank, how many cars you own, how many bungalow you have and how much gold you possess. You will be known by your compassionate nature, how much you understand and feel for others. Compassion shows the man. It is the highest manifestation of love. If you claim to love God and neglect this aspect of life, you are not in any way near to God. When you live for others, love soars to the highest point. Yet one should not be attached to any one. If you are attached to any one , you begin to look for returns. If that is so, it is not love. Love has no cause . In love, you sacrifice all. You receive only to give.

The greatest hindrance on the path of love is your own ego. It is very difficult to kill it, but still this is the most important thing one should try to move towards. It is the ego in us that yearns for returns. We have only the right to work but without desiring results. “ I have done so much for this fellow and he has never thought of doing anything for me”. It is the ‘me’ and ‘I’ that is hurt. It is this ego that needs to be crushed. Because when your expectations are not fulfilled anger crops up and extinguishes the feeling of love and compassion. The mind loses its balance when love is lost. In a moment all that you have gained is lost. A proper war has to be waged against egoism, the greatest hindrance on the path of love.

Always try to maintain a balance between happiness and sorrows. “Samdukha Sukha Kshami.” Happiness should not elate you, while sorrows should not depress you. They are merely two parts of a swing. Remain poised remembering to surrender yourself to God and don’t get impatient. It is He alone who can give you the strength to bear your sufferings.

“Yogkshaimam Vahamyaham” creates an inner faith and see how fears will pass away. Hold His hands and He will take you out of the darkest path. Remember the story of the small boy who was told by his mother that he could call his brother Govinda, and he would take him out of the dense jungle which the little boy was scared to cross. It was his faith in his mother’s words, his firm belief, that if called, Govinda would definitely come, that he called with sincerity and faith and Govinda had to take him out and cross the jungle. Create an inner faith and see how fears will pass away and uncertainty disappear. Summers and winters pass and you are not bothered, let happiness and sorrows pass out of your life in the same manner.

But the highest quality is that of forgiveness. Create in abundance this power within you. This is the greatest armor in the path of love. Lord Krishna’s own example can be aptly cited over here. He forgave the behalea who took his life. He not only forgave him but asked him to run away lest the yadavs took his life . he told him to leave Dwarka immediately lest he may be killed by them. Krishna says that not only you shuld forgive outwardly but this feeling should come from within, from your heart and soul. In the twelfth chapter the Lord has given us those qualities that He would like us to imbibe. He has given eighteen qualities and has put this quality of forgiveness as the last one .But He emphasizes that all the seventeen qualities put together have no value, if the last one is missing. He can never be a human being and can never come close to the Lord without this attribute. You are neither near to your fellow being nor are you in any way near to God.

In conclusion, I must say that the right man should always be a source of help to his fellow beings. He should go a little further, for this is not enough. He should not feel vexed by them. Envy and fear are away from him. The supreme dwells within the lotus of his heart. Those who reach His splendid Feet are the ones that are on the right path. Love is something that is very precious in our lives. Love Him and love all. It brings true happiness to us. It makes you the ‘right man’ of my story, narrated in the beginning. Sow the seeds of love in your heart and see how your life blossoms. Let each one of us practice this in our daily life, we will then be able to change the very face of the world. The need of hour is to set our hearts right. Try to understand Him who is within each one of us with His great attribute. It is He alone who can help us to walk with a head held high, with a clear conscience and with a hand always extending towards those who need our help and care.

Love in action – that is the urgent need of the hour. This is what God wants. So with faith in Him, let us move forward. If you have to act in a way as to herald a new world, you have to come out towards love for all and this is only possible if we have faith in ourselves, that is in God within us. We are living through the darkest of times when fear, hatred and violence rule the world. Yet all is not lost and still there is hope. To solve the problem of the world, each one of us has to come out and join hands against materialism and fanaticism. We need a spiritual rebirth, and appearance of a new religion- the religion of love. Religion has to be taken in its essence, that is, ‘love for humanity’.     

April 30, 2006  

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