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Pujya Dr. K.C. Varadachari Complete Works Vol -1

Discourses on "The Commentary on the Ten Commandments" of the system of Sri Ramchandra's Rajayoga - Commandment -6

  
Know all people as thy brethren and treat them as such.

In this world all religions and groups desire that each of its members should call the rest as brothers; if women, sisters. This has become so common because all of them believe that we are all born of one source and in another sense we are all going to the same common source. So we can be brothers, because, of our origin from God or One God, and we are all brothers because, we are going towards one God or Goal. The usual meaning, of course, is an extension of our being born of the same mother and father. In a world where truth and non-possession are prevailing it is clear that brotherhood involves participation in the common good life, but in our world today since possessiveness and desire are governing our minds and thoughts, brotherliness is forgotten, and to speak of brotherhood is to be in conflict and rivalry.

In a discussion among Satsangis over Master's way of treating and addressing everyone as 'brother' or 'sister' in accordance with Commandment No.6 of Natural Path, the Master himself pointed out, "we have to know all as brethren because they are really so in relation to the Father Almighty, whom we constantly remember and get nearer by knowing and treating them as such. Actually treating everybody as 'brother' creates an atmosphere of peace in ones own heart and all around, which is so essential for the abhyasi's own spiritual progress, and creates conditions for the progress all around".

Therefore, when we speak of treating every person as a brother it is in respect of helping him to reach the One supreme or Ultimate Goal in all manner of ways. We must see in him a soul striving for peace and inward growth and union with God.

When speaking about the seventh Granthi in the Anantki-Oer, Shri Ramchandraji has spoken of its being in the Brahmanda and that all rishis (including Durvasa) get their powers from it and passed it on for work in the world (pinda-pradesh). Brotherhood may mean that one out of love wishes to impose transformation in another also, and thus bring lot of misery or weeping to all people, even with good intentions. Force cannot enforce the change but for a brief while; and therefore this power cannot be used at all for change unless by God himself and most probably Rishis use it as instruments of God alone.

Brotherhood in a subtle sense means to change in a spiritual way or satvically the heart itself and make it seek inward peace and spiritual growth. This service must be done without harshness or cruelty but dispassionately and consistently. An Abhyasi must help others to come to Abhyas and participate in the peace that this practice grants even on the first day. There is in every one undoubtedly the fraternal feeling and this comes out most when one has achieved some good or some deep sorrow. The former requires sharing as much as the latter. Most people require to be congratulated or condoled. Indeed all persons require to be condoned or excused their sins also on the same basis, appealing to the basic principle of humanity, (to err is human, to forgive is divine) and sympathy and so on. The great teachers of mankind have always insisted upon this fraternal aspect of all reality and this is not limited to human beings alone but also animals and plants which have gone further down in the process of grossening. It is true some of them are ascending and some are moving downwards (urdhvamukha and adhomukha) which are by Sri Krishna equated almost with the daivic and asuric prakritis. Obviously those who plead for the fraternity confuse between these two and think that all mankind is one and has one direction, and that whilst both have the forms of men they have different directions for ascent (for the ascent to the one appears descent to the other).

How then can it be said that all persons were to be treated as brethren? The truth is that the ancients considered them to be brothers but brothers in opposition rather than in conjunction and unity. It is just possible that because of their opposition they make this world-process move either way and without this conflict there can be no world at all. The Antharmukha and Bahirmukha or Pratyak and Paranmukha beings are indeed our problem of the original evil, the struggle of God and Satan and so on. Avatars undertaken for the purpose of restoring dharma had invariably been through Divine Force or battle for conversion or transformation of the Asura and Rakshasa through Danda (punishment). Sama, Dana, Danda, Bhedha are the four means, of converting creatures to the dharma. By persuasion, by gifts and by dialectical argument and lastly by force or punishment men have been educated. Perhaps we may see clearly that these four ways are suitable to four types of men or all may be required in some cases. Fraternity will be imperilled if only force is used. These methods are all political, and social, and hardly spiritual. But it may be said that these methods are not all fraternity-encouraging.

Brotherhood concept thus has entirely to be removed from its social setting and turned to spiritual assistance and without any distinction. In spiritual life it is necessary to discover the nature of man and accordingly offer assistance as elder brothers on the path. Master calls all his followers or disciples associates, those who are associated with him for the great work of liberation of man or oneself and therefore offering free service to all those who aspire to know their nature. This fraternity is in service and realized through service of every one in the same spirit that animates one's own spiritual aspiration.

The whole world is one and it is one of the greatest ideals of the human race to achieve this fraternity of all races. Mostly thanks to the growth of science and the impact of man on man, we are realizing that despite the divergent tendencies of certain types of men every where, the human being is seeking to get over the threat to its very existence. A world government is being thought of as the most feasible method of saving humanity itself from self-destruction and annihilation that means annihilation of all life itself on this planet thanks to science. But fraternity is not capable of being merely realized by the mere concepts of economic equal distribution or even by the removal of all those conditions that breed war and strife and rivalry. Spiritual disruption that has been underway has to be removed and spiritual unity has to be forged in the hearts of men as well as in their ideologies. It is surely a great thing that though materialism has scored victories, it is not so much matter but ideology that moved it to such expansion of its claims for equality and fraternity of all peoples everywhere, though people have been reckoned as human when they conform to the theory of working class or the proletariat. We are passing out of that rigid limitation of work to manual labour, but we are already in the equation of work with clerical and supervising. Unless real education becomes in its true spiritual sense possible, brotherhood will remain an idle concept and an ideal that can only be spoken of and cannot be practised.

So in our Samstha we do not make it a catch-phrase. It is a working concept for self-education and growth of all abhyasis and leads to sharing in Ultimate Grace and transformation of ourselves into Divine nature. Spiritual force is all that we can have for mutual help and transformation. We must pray to God for the welfare of all creation Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. The compassion of Buddha or Ashoka is not so much for the physical and the economic miseries of mankind as for the spiritual distortion and perversion of man which they sought to rectify as brothers of man and all creation. The true passion of the Guru and God is precisely this effort which they take for saving the souls from wandering into the wilderness of materialism. Pray for the change of all men towards the Divine and seek to assist all to change themselves. God alone is our refuge and guide and power to lead us to that society of spiritual brotherhood all the time and forever.