Principles never fail. People do when they violate principles. Principles are universal, whereas laws and rules are not. Laws and rules are specific to the medium through which a particular principle manifests. Most people are unaware of the fundamental principles that are supposed to be reflected through various religious rites and rituals. They remain stuck to the rites and rituals even when the external environment changes and the rites and rituals no longer reflect the fundamental principles upon which all religions have been founded. Unfortunately, this is what happens with most religions.
Rev. Dadaji used to emphasize that the principles will guard and protect those who live by them, the principles will also guide them along the spiritual path, and the spiritual Master will grace those who weave the principles in their lives. Just what is it that the principles will guard against and protect people from? The principles will protect people from the tendency of their respective human minds to react to external physical stimuli and pursue their desires that arise from the attachments that develop to physical forms. Thus, the principles will direct and support them to do what is spiritually right, and the Master will grace their efforts and help them succeed in the spiritual endeavors.
Attachment to material thoughts, things and people gives rise to desire. The process of how attachment progresses to desire has been beautifully explained in a passage in Chapter II of a book titled The Song Celestial by Sir Edwin Arnold. This book is a poetic translation of the Bhagavad Gîtâ and the passage quoted below was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi. A part of the passage is reproduced below:
“…If one ponders on objects of the sense, there springs
Attraction; from attraction grows desire,
Desire flames to fierce passion, passion breeds
Recklessness; then the memory- all betrayed-
Lets noble purpose go, and saps the mind,
Till purpose, mind, and man are all undone. …”
Many people are oblivious to the fact that they are trapped within the illusory universe, which is a subjective creation of their human mind. The ancient Hindu Masters recognized this and recited a prayer in Sanskrit, which is chanted by Hindus even today. When translated the prayer reads:
- From the untruth lead me unto Truth.
- From darkness lead me unto Light
- From death lead me unto Immortality.
In some translations of the above prayer, the Sanskrit word for “untruth” is translated as “unreal” and the word for “Truth” is translated as “Real”. The rationale for this translation is that only “Truth” is real. All untruths are unreal.
Instead of creating an environment where individuals can reduce their desires and focus on developing their own character and that of their children, leaders in developed societies are focused on expanding their economies by developing products that will satisfy every desire one can conceive of. This trend contributes to the general detriment of the masses as is becoming more and more apparent. This has been the bane of humankind at least since recorded history.
Based on revelations received by Dadaji, the SSG teaches that at certain times, because of the continued imbalance between the Divine and the anti-Divine in manifestation on the earth plane, the Divine Mind begins to descend more rapidly. This is because, through the exercise of free will and the pursuit of desires, human beings stray further and further away from the Will of God. When the separation between the Divine Will and the will of human beings, which is manifested in their desires, reaches a critical point, the Sustainer aspect of the Holy Trinity can no longer sustain creation and maintain the balance between the Divine and the anti-Divine in manifestation. It is then that the Recreator principle, who has been personified as Kshatravairyo, Michael and Shiva, corrects the wrong trend by destroying only the wrong manifestation but not the spiritual entity, the soul, that is linked to the physical life forms that are indulging in the wrong manifestation. The descent of the Recreator principle to restore the balance on the earth plane is referred to in the Vedas as “the dance of Shiva”. The destruction, which results from Shiva’s dance of recreation, manifests through natural phenomena such as unexpected and rapid changes in weather, or incidents of tidal waves or tidal bores, and other types of destruction such as earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. The “dance of Shiva” also manifests through wars which appear to be man-made but in fact result from human nature, which also goes in a state of turmoil because of the descent of the Recreator Principle.
The SSG teaches that when the Recreator Principle destroys the physical manifestations that are not in keeping with the Divine Will, then the spiritual aspect linked to the destroyed matter grows one step higher in spiritual evolution, and out of the destroyed matter a new manifestation starts in the right direction. The Creator Principle, personified as Asha or Brahma or Raphael, begins to create anew. These new physical creations are once again sustained by the Sustainer Principle, which has been personified as Vohu Mana, Vishnu or Gabriel. The Creator, Sustainer and Re-creator Principles are reflected in all the world religions, some of which refer to them as the Holy Trinity or Trimurti.
Up next: Concept of Soul