LOVE
Dada: Every morning when I wake up, I feel as
if it is my birthday. I often pray, “If this be my last day, He should so bless
me that I may give my love to all.” This is the deepest aspiration of my heart.
There are three kinds of love. The first type is when you say, ‘I have fallen
in love’. This type of love is known as ‘Eros’. It makes you full of lust. The
second type of love is conditional love — that is, because ‘you love me — I
love you’. Then there is the third type of love, it is unconditional, universal
love. It is divine. The catch phrase here is ‘in spite of’ everything I love
you’. It is authentic love. I wish I had packets of ‘agape’ love, I would
distribute to all of you.
Aamir: If a sinner
comes to you, how do you receive him?
Dada: True love does
not distinguish between sinner and saint. I see the image of my master in
everyone who comes to me. I bow down to everyone who comes to meet me. All
become images of my master.
Aamir: What if you
love someone but she refuses to receive it?
Dada: Give love, love
and love — till it hurts. And you must help others as much as you can, as often
as you can, and on as many occasions as you can.
HAPPINESS
Aamir: What does
happiness mean to you? How can we become happier?
Dalai Lama: Happiness
does not mean enjoyable experience. Happiness depends on hope and on mind
control. Hope brings optimism. It makes the mind positive. Peace of mind is
happiness; a distressed mind causes misery and unhappiness. Go to the cause.
The cause is multiple, unrealistic desires. Desires cause worry and distress.
Fewer desires mean less distress. Mind control and self-discipline are
necessary for peace of mind. Today, scientists believe that physical wellbeing
also depends on mind. You need more knowledge of inner emotions. Intelligence
and education do not make you happy. Many educated people are unhappy. Physical
comforts do not make you happy. Go to the source of happiness. Happiness comes
from love and compassion.
There are two
sources of finding happiness. One is the home and the other, educational
institutions. In schools and colleges, introduce ethical values of kindness and
compassion. At home, the mother should practise compassion and kindness. When a
mother scolds or abuses the child, the child grows up with fear. Love is not
only an emotion. Love is action. Love evokes compassion. It evokes kindness.
Love gives rise to many more emotions like being helpful and reducing the
misery around. Love gives us higher goals, and greater vision. Spiritual
organisations should take up service to humanity. That is true love.
Aamir: I learnt about
happiness from a villager, he said to me, ‘Happiness is something that you get
when you give’. Can you guess who that is? He is Anna Hazare!
I used to play tennis
and was really good at it. Every time I returned home from a game, my mother
would ask, “Did you win or did you lose?” Each time I said I won, she would hug
me. But after a few minutes, she would say, “The boy who lost the game must have
reached home by this time. His mother, too, must have asked him the same
question. She must be feeling sad.” Thinking about the other person is what my
mother always did. It is compassion towards other people that makes me what I
am.
INDIA
Aamir: India is the
largest democracy in the world. The elections are to be held in 2014, what
would you like to say to the citizens of India?
Dada: It is sad that
people have driven God out of their lives. Bring back God in your home, in your
hearts. Feel that God is watching you and your actions. Secularism does not
mean that you become a nonbeliever. Secularism does not mean that you throw God
out of your heart, home and education. Please bring back God into your life.
Give the Supreme Being a place in your heart
Aamir: Your Holiness,
would you like to say something?
Dalai Lama: When I
talk of India, I talk of ahimsa. Ahimsa is compassion and love.
All these religions
have survived because we have a spirit of oneness and tolerance. We have
different religions but we live in harmony. Secularism is not denial of
religion; secularism means respect for all religions. Secular ethics should be
taught in educational institutions.
WORLD
Aamir: Is there something
special you would like to say to the people here?
Dalai Lama: The world
needs oneness. One world, one humanity. Oneness will solve our problems. Soon
we will be more than seven billion people on earth. It would put a strain on
our natural resources. Water is already becoming scarce. These problems can be
solved through oneness.
Pune - August 2, Dada J P Vaswani’s 95th birthday. Extracted from an article by Aruna Jethwani in
Speaking Tree.
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