The Sunday Talk Given by Prof. Anil Kumar
“Two Resolutions for 2010”
January 17, 2010
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
My humble Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
TWO RESOLUTIONS FOR 2010
The topic for this morning is “Two Resolutions for 2010.” What are these
two? These two resolutions are what we will come to understand in the course of
the talk this morning.
HAVE RESPECT FOR LIFE
The first of the two topics is “Respect for Life.” We should have
respect for life. The year 2010 should be full of respect for life. What do I
mean by that? Do we have respect for life? No! If we have respect for life, why
are we behaving the way we are today? Go through any newspaper, or watch any TV
channel at the local or the global level, and you will find that wars,
conflicts, contradictions, misunderstandings, and group thinking prevail. There
is no love, only hatred, while the world is threatened by nuclear holocaust.
The whole world can be burnt to ashes any moment. Is that a sign of respect for
life? I don’t think so.
Apart from that kind of selfishness, politics, power, and concentration
on finance and money have almost made us disrespectful of life. Therefore, I
thought that of the “Two Resolutions for 2010,” the first topic must be respect
for life. If you have respect for life, the whole earth will be a paradise, all
your fellowmen will be angels, and you will have a heavenly experience, with
the spirit of respect for life.
FOUNDATION OF ETHICS IS RESPECT OF LIFE
In particular, ethics speak of this respect for life. In ethical values,
respect for life is at the highest order and highest level. There can be no
ethics at all if we have no respect for life; therefore, the fundamental
teaching of ethics lies in respect for life. Let us develop this theme more and
more. If we have no respect for life, then you may ask what the effects are.
What may happen if we have no respect for life? The answer is simple: you will
be unreasonable, losing all sense of reason. There will be no “I” logic, no
rationale, and no scientific thinking. Everything will be in darkness if you
lose respect for life. What you speak and the way you act will not stand the
test of reason, logic, or scientific evidence. A lack of respect results in a
life which is not reasonable.
Here’s the second point: if we lose respect for life, then what does that
mean? It means a state
of thoughtlessness ─ ”I have no thought.” A man of thought will have
respect for life. When you are thoughtless, you don’t think of tomorrow, and
you don’t think of your fellowmen or community. Therefore, you are thoughtless
if you have no respect for life.
Thirdly, a lack of respect for life takes you to war. War results because
of the lack of respect for life. Therefore, my friends, I think that respect
for life should be given priority in this year of 2010. What do I mean by that?
Many things can be said about having respect for life.
DEVELOP TRUE AND PURE LOVE
To sum it up, to put it into two words, respect for life means sympathy
and love. Have sympathy and love. These two are enough to cultivate and develop
the spirit of respect for life. What do I mean by love? Love, as we know and
experience, is attachment, which is certainly not true love. True love is not
infatuation, nor is it possessiveness. Real love does not have ego or
attachment, nor is it mundane, self-centred, narrow-minded, regional,
factional, or linguistic. Love is universal, fundamental, Divine, and free of
blemishes. This kind of love wants you to love all beings. This is what Baba
says: “Love all and serve all.” When you love, you feel like serving all
beings.
“Love all beings” means loving not merely human beings, but all birds,
beasts and animals. Today, we find cows being killed in slaughter houses. If we
visit mutton shops, we see how sheep are mercilessly killed. Killing an animal
means that you have not given that animal the right to live. Just as you have
the right to live, an animal also has the right to live. You cannot rob it of
its right. This fundamental right is to live. By killing animals you are
denying their basic right to live. Love means loving all beings: human beings,
plants, and animals, as well as the whole universe or organic world.
Love means not causing pain to anyone. My friends, when we talk we may
offend someone unknowingly. When we devise certain plans, our manoeuvring and
manipulation may lead to pain for someone. Our thought process may be the cause
of pain for another. We may also pain others by our actions. So let us be
cautious, and know that love means not inflicting pain on anyone by thoughts,
words, or deeds.
Sai Ram
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