dcath as thc non-rcligioos.

Thc only differencc is that thc non•

rcligious pcrson lamcnts and whines in pain, evcn to lhe
exlenl of waking up lhe neighbour; whereas lhe religious
person bears it calmly. Thc others do not cvcn come to know
that hc is in pain.
Kundanmalji Swami's is a case in point. Hcsuffercd from
a painful w.ut.The doclor said il must be incised. Chowthmalji
Swami began the operation with a sci.ssor. Kundanmalji kepl
sitting likca statue. without anesthctic. Hc said, "Chouthmalji!
Kindly cut it off ai one go!" How does one find the ent'.'rgy
lo bear lhings calmly! Those who leam to discriminate
between lhe body and lhe sou!, who come to realize that lhe
body and lhe sou! are different from each other, dt."'elop lhe
power of tolcrance.
Oncc I s.aid lo my mother, Sadhvi Baluji, "lt is good lhat
you lcll beads. Now add this much to your recitation-~TI,,.
so11I is diffemll from lllt' body and t/1t botly Is diffm,t from tlte
sou/." She raspcd this poinl vcry well indeed. Whenver 1
\•isited hcr ,md askcd how she was, shc would say,"1 have
no disease, am perfoctly all righl and enjoy utmosl pe,1ce."
1 said,"But is it not a dt-nial of lntlh to say one is well when
onc is not?" Shc said, "No, Thc tn1th is lhat my soul is ai
peace. lt is the body which i.s diseased, not I."
Shí- used to ll'll lo other sadhvis "Now we ha\•C no
dependencc upon onc anothcr. You are on your own and 1
am on mine!"
Giving m:m lhe secrel of a happy life, Bertrand Russel
said, "Only thal man is happy who dot."S not abruplly cut off
his reliltionship wilh other pcople ,·md d()('S nol allow it to
become strained. The man who respecls another
pcrson's'individu.11ity and takcs joy in es..1blishing intima()'
with lhc whole of human society. is ahvays happy.N
The crealion of such a st.ltc of mind is possible only on
lhe basis of toleran<X'. Only the person \'.'ho knows how to
endurc whatcver happens, can rcach the great ideal of
forgivl'ness. The sccrel bchind lhe succcss and swc,ctncss of
collcclive lifc is-tolerancc. ln lhe seventecnth <X"ntury lhe
family of lhe thcn minisler Ochisan had bccome very famous
throughoul Japan on acrount of lhcir goodwill. lt was an
cnlightl'J\ro. family of a hundrcd pcoplc. The tradition of thc
joint family had prcvailed for years Therc had n(."1.•er bc,cn a
singlc instance of mutu.11 r,1ncour on account of pctty
differcnccs. Empcror Yamalo of Japan camc to hcar of lhcir
rcnown and it aroused in him great wonder. ln order lo find
out lhe secret of that family's renown, lhe Empcror paid a
visil to lhe Minister's house. Thc goodwill of lhe family was
rcally astounding. Thc Empcror cxprt.-sSt.·d his curiosity about
lhe spirit of extraordinary 10\'C and fricndship pervading lhe
family and wantcd to know the rcason thcroof. The eldest
pcrson in the family had grown vcry old. Bt.>causc of cxtrcmc
old age, he could not CV<'fl spc,1k. Hc made a sign, rcquisitioning
pen and paper and whcn thcsc wcre givcn, hc wrotc on thc
paper a singlc word-'Tolcr,\nce"!
Tolerance is lhe consummaüon of forgivencss. Ht-re lhe
queshon of age does not arisc. Thc clderl)• pcoplc trcat lhe
young with forbearance and thc young treat their clders
likewiS('. ln this mutual forbcarancc, noobligation is involvcd;
it oni)' inspires respcct for oncsclf. Tolcrance of others becausc
of sclf-inte«'St is no loving forbcarana:>, but helpk>ssncss.

He Who Burs Everything

Who may be said to bc rcally ingenuous in lhe sense
of bcing true, írank and honourable? A saying in lhe Aayaro
provides lhe answcr. Truly ingcnuous is he who çan bear thc
hcat and lhe cold. And by lhe heat and lhe cold are not meant
only lhe summcr and wintcr. Onl)• he who can put up with
all kinds of fovourable and adverse circumstanccs, is cnti1lcd
to thc glory of bcing callcd ingcnuous.
Gcncrally, that man may bc said lo bc tmc and
honourablc who is free from thespirit of possession. However,
merc non-poss,t."SSivt-nt'SS falis far short of lhe meaning here
Thc sadhak in whom lhe complcxes of auachmcnt and
aversion stand dissolved, who has broken out of the ring of
passions, may bc said to bc tnily ingenuous. And thc element
which can exalt us to that stage is cquanimity. Equanimity
and goodwill arc two aspects of lhe sam!' coin. Equanimity
is a powcr whkh only lhe rcally capable persons can
command. The incompetent are without equanimity. lhey are
c.1sily dishcarlened, ha\'e littlc lolerançe and cannol lhcrcfon.•
adore lhe spiril of goodwill and fricndship.
Thc truly ingcnuous have many qualilics. Non-possession,
brahmacharya, non-stealing and 1ru1h are also their
ch.1racterristics. But all these are included in equanimity. With
cquanimity in life, all lhcsc qualilics thri\1e. ln the abscnce
of equanimity, howevcr, thest"' cannol !'xist. momcnl
equanimity is violatt.-d, ali tht.-sc qualities also disapp.-ar. Thal
is an indubi1,1blc fact.
0n lhe ground of conduct, lhe synonym of cquanimily
is thc spirit of fricndship. This is a ~l.lti\'e trulh. Whcn
feclings of anlagonism. contempl, disrcspecl or angcr arise
in the mind against a person, loask forgi\·enessof that pt..>rSOn,
and to frecly pardon any misconduct against oncsclf, constitules
fricndship. This is meant for thosc who li\'e in lhe pr<.lCtical
world.
The gúodwill úÍ a person who has risen above ali
pr,,clicalitics, is not confined to .1ny onc individual; it
embraccs thc whole of m.-.nkind. liis ideal is to inculcale a
fecling of equality for all-big or small. This is a kind of
spiritual forre whkh ali may not bc ablc to devclop. Bul those
in whom thc spirit of frit.-ndship is fully developed. can havc
no encmics in the wholc world. Thcy irrigale mcn's minds
wilh a ncctar which quit!' washes away lhe poison of l'nmity
and ali is lovc and goodwill.