Know Thyself

Knowing that you are not what you seem to be. ‘Thannai arindhu inburave Vennilave, oru thanthiram nee sollavendum Vennilave’. The saint Vallalar, requests the Moon to guide him to his self. What is the means to realize the self?

If you split the word ‘thanthiram’ in Tamil, it becomes ‘than’(self), ‘thiram’ (ability). Our ability, our efforts to realize our ability, this is thanthiram. How many persons really persevere to know the self? Most of them delude themselves assuming the world to be real and so become conceited with their worldly successes. But none of these is real.

The respect given by a police constable to a police officer, is accorded to that position and not to the concerned person. A retired police officer does not get that respect, does he?

The respect and authority accorded to materialistic stations are false. They hold good only as long as you occupy a position of power. Destiny makes the rich, poor and the poor, rich; the wheel of fate is forever spinning, not sparing anyone. ‘Mudi saarntha mannarum mudivil oru pidi saambal aavar.’ Death reduces even the emperors to ashes.

‘Padhavi poorva punyaanam’. The consequences of good deeds accumulated over several births, determine your present status. You may bask in its glory; but when the account is settled, that is the end of your prosperous time.

Life gave me lessons, experiences that money cannot buy, and these lessons have led to my enlightenment that everything is delusion. - BABA