7th May. 1938

Talk 491.

Mr. Kishorelal Mashruwala, President, Gandhi Seva Sangh, asked: "How is Brahmacharya ^[?] to be practised in order that it may be successfully lived up to?"
M.: It is a matter of will-power. Satvic food, prayers, etc., are useful aids to it.

D.: Young men have fallen into bad habits. They desire to get over them and seek our advice.

M.: Mental reform is needed.
D.: Can we prescribe any special food, exercise, etc., to them?
M.: There are some medicines. Yogic asanas and satvic food are also useful.

D.: Some young persons have taken a vow of brahmacharya ^[?]. They repent of the vow after the lapse of ten or twelve years. Under these circumstances should we encourage young persons to take the vow of brahmacharya?

M.: This question will not arise in the case of true brahmacharya.
D.: Some young men take the vow of brahmacharya without knowing its full implications. When they find it difficult to carry it out in practice, they seek our advice.

M.: They need not take a vow but they may try it without the vow.
D.: Is naishthika brahmacharya (life-long celibacy) essential as a sadhana ^[?] for Self-Realisation?

M.: Realisation itself is naishthika brahmacharya. The vow is not brahmacharya. Life in Brahman is brahmacharya and it is not a forcible attempt at it.

D.: It is said that kama ^[?] (desire), krodha ^[?] (anger), etc.. vanish in the presence of the Sadguru. Is it so?

M.: It is correct. Kama ^[?] and krodha must vanish before Self-
Realisation.

D.: But all the disciples of a guru are not of the same degree of advancement. There are found lapses in a few cases. Who is responsible for such lapses?

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M.: There is no connection between Self-Realisation and individual predispositions (samskara ^[?]). It is not always possible to live up to the ideal of the Guru.

D.: Do not passions affect Realisation?
M.: The attempt to cleanse oneself will be automatic.
D.: Is it not necessary to wash off all impurities before Realisation?
M.: Jnana will wash them clean.
D.: Gandhiji is often perplexed finding his intimate disciples going wrong. He wonders how it could happen and thinks that it is due to his own defects. Is it so?

M.: (Sri Bhagavan smiled and answered after a few minutes) Gandhiji has struggled so long to perfect himself. All others will be right in due course.

D.: Is the Hindu view of reincarnation correct?
M.: No definite answer is possible for this question. There are pros and cons for the view. Even the present birth is denied natvevaham

jatu nasam etc., (Bhagavad Gita). We were never born, etc.

D.: Is not individuality anadi ^[?] (without beginning)?
M.: Investigate and see if there is any individuality at all. Ask this question after solving this problem. Nammalvar says: "In ignorance I took the ego to be myself; however, with right knowledge, the ego is nowhere and only you remain as the SELF." Both monists and dualists are agreed on the necessity of Self- Realisation. Let us do it first and then discuss the side-issues.

Advaita ^[?] or dvaita ^[?] cannot be decided on theoretical considerations alone. If the Self is realised the question will not arise at all. Even Suka had no confidence in his brahmacharya whereas Sri Krishna was sure of his brahmacharya. Self-Realisation is designated by so many different names, satya, brahmacharya, etc. What is natural to the state of Self-Realisation forms the disciplinary course in the other state. "I-am-the-body" idea will become extinct only on Self-Realisation. With its extinction the vasanas become extinct and all virtues will remain ever.

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D.: Samskaras are said to persist even in a Jnani ^[?].
M.: Yes. They are bhoga hetu ^[?] (leading to enjoyment only) and not bandha hetu ^[?].

D.: This fact is often abused by fakes who pretend to be sadhus but lead vicious lives. They say it is prarabdha ^[?] (remnant of past Karma). How shall we mark off the fakes from the genuine sadhus?

M.: The one who has given up the idea of being the doer cannot repeat, "This is my prarabdha". "The jnanis lead different lives" is said for the benefit of others. The jnanis cannot make use of this in explanation of their lives and conduct.

(After a few minutes, Sri Bhagavan remarked about Mr. Kishorelal's weak body). Mr. Kishorelal: I am asthmatic. I have never been strong. Even as a baby I was not fed on my mother's milk.

M.: Here the mind is strong and the body is weak.
D.: I wanted to practise Raja Yoga. I could not do it because of my physical unfitness. The mind also began to wander with the movement of the body.

M.: If the mind be kept immovable let the body change as much as it likes.

D.: Is it not a handicap to the beginner?
M.: Attempts must be made in spite of handicaps.
D.: Of course. But they will be momentary.
M.: The idea of `momentary' is one among so many other ideas. So long as thoughts persist this idea also will recur. Concentration is our own nature (i.e. BE-ing). There is the effort now: but it ceases after Self-Realisation.

D.: It is said to be the interval between flights of mind
M.: This too is due to the activity of the mind. The Devotee submitted that whenever he had thought that he had found something original, he later discovered that he was already forestalled.

Sri Bhagavan pointed out that everything remains already in the germinal form and so there can be nothing new.

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