Relevance of past greats

The world has seen several great beings such as Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira and Meher Baba. Their contribution to humanity is immense, and they have given hope to and transformed the lives of many. However they are no longer present in the earth in the same physical form. We must not confuse their physical form with their eternal nature. Each of these great beings came to the earth at a time when the principles as laid down by great beings previously had been lost in time and were being misinterpreted or erroneously projected by certain people trying to capture power in the name of god. Due to actions of these pseudo religious people, the principles as laid down by the greats to be realized are diluted over time. Thus, the principles of living need to be reestablished from time to time.

Meher Baba said "Throughout eternity I have laid down principles and precepts, but mankind has ignored them. Man's inability to live God's words makes the Avatar's teaching a mockery.Because man has been deaf to the principles and precepts laid down by God in the past, in this present avataric form I observe Silence. You have asked for and been given enough words — it is now time to live them. When I break my Silence, the impact of my Love will be universal and all life in creation will know, feel and receive of it. It will help every individual to break himself free from his bondage in his own way. I am the Divine Beloved who loves you more than you can ever love yourself. The breaking of my Silence will help you to help yourself in knowing your real self. "

However, he never broke his silence and passed away. The silence will be broken only when all of us help ourselves in knowing our real selves. The next avatar is in each and everyone of us, when we know our real selves.

Is there anybody out there?

The timeless question is whether there is such a person, a supreme personality, one that cannot be comprehended by us? There is no definite answer to this question, and this question may not even be a practical one. It is proposed by followers of the Krishna Consciousness movement that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that we can never be one with him, but only worship him, due to their translation/interpretation of the verse as

" Unintelligent men, who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme"

But there is also the translation that says"In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium. "

That means that there is an aspect of Krishna that is changeless and supreme, and also that Krishna incarnates again and again.

So what if Krishna is incarnated in the world today? Will the worshippers of Krishna be able to recognize him? Will they continue to chant their mantra and worship their idols while Krishna appears before them? When he reestablishes the lost principles of religion, will they accept them, or reject them in their blind devotion to the past form of Krishna?

Unity of Paths

As outlined in the Bhagavad Gita, there are two approaches to the absolute, that of knowledge and that of action, and that to help practise these approaches, we must do so with devotion, and control over the mind and senses. The wise know that one who is pure in action, is so due to knowledge, and one who is of knowledge, is also pure in his actions. Thus the point here is that these seemingly different paths converge, and that one cannot attain one without attaining the others.

When you hear people speak of one path as superior to other, it just shows their ignorance and immaturity. It conveys that they have not comprehended even the very path that they claim to be the one and only true path. None of the paths when viewed independent of the others can lead to progress. Progress happens automatically due to synergies between the various paths. Those who cut the other paths off, are killing synergy, and hence killing progress itself.

Actions and consequences

If we approach life with the attitude that we alone are responsible for our lives, and that we alone are the masters of our destinies, it becomes so. Our attitude towards life, and actions gives rise to various consequences. If we have the understanding of how our actions and attitude leads to consequences, we shall remain in control.

Sometimes, when are doing everything right, things go wrong, and vice versa. This is because our life is governed by our past actions in addition to our current actions. Further, an event that may appear to be unfavorable in the present, may turn out to be favorable for the future.

We must be non-judgemental and we must avoid making erroneous inferences regarding the causes of certain outcomes. In understanding causes and effects, we must take the past, present, as well as future into account.

Labels

The premise that people can be 'summed up' by labels is false, and detrimental. People who identify with labels that do not fit their personalities are sure to suffer from depression and low self-esteem. Those who label themselves and identify themselves with such labels are limiting themselves. When we reach a certain age, we are forced to label ourselves while interacting with other people socially, professionally, or even personally. The labels may be based on race, color, caste, religion or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, body characteristics, I.Q, social circle, handicaps, manner of speaking etc.

Before a child is thrown into the world and forced to accept certain labels, it is very important for the child to know that these labels do not have any meaning or significance, and that they are not to be taken seriously. The transition from immaturity to maturity occurs when one is able to set aside prejudices and take on an unbiased point of view of the world.

The truth is that we all are one. There is unity in diversity. If we view the world as a part of our self, and not as external to it, we would never apply labels to people.