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Untouchables

The following is an extract of a private Satsang between
Sivananda-Valentina and a student. She reads from the writings of Her
Guru, Swami Sivananda. For more on Her Teachings, see
http://lightsv.org/

Jack
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	Now I will tell you what Gurudev thinks about the untouchables.
He says that: 

 "He who eats, drinks and sleeps too much is untouchable." [Laughter]
Is that adorable? 

"He who lives only to fill up his belly, who gossips and backbites, is
really untouchable. He who identifies himself with his body, who
worships this body, who adores the Mammon, is really untouchable. He
who hates others, who vilifies others, who is jealous of others, who is
unpleasant, is really untouchable. He Who is selfish and rude and
crude, who does not practice any spiritual practices, who is greedy,
lustful and proud, is really untouchable. He who hoards too much money,
who drinks and gambles, who has a lustful look, is really untouchable.
He who has no knowledge of the soul, who is sunk in worldliness, who is
attached to worldly pursuits, is really untouchable. He who exploits
the weak, who robs the property of others, who is crooked and cunning,
is really untouchable. He who thinks one thing and speaks another thing
and acts a third thing, is really untouchable. He who is ungrateful,
who practices double-dealing, who is unreliable, who is ungrateful, who
always does mischief, because he cannot help it, he is verily an
untouchable. He who commits adultery, who creates splits an
d dissension, who argues too much, who is unjust and cruel and
unreasonable, is totally untouchable. So eat less, masticate more.
Clothe less, bathe more. Sit less, serve more. Hate less, love more.
Take less, give more. Worry less, laugh more. Rest less, work more.
Thus will you enjoy wonderful and supreme peace of the soul; you will
be 'touchable.'

		"There is no sword more powerful than Vairagya, to cut off
all sorts of attachments to this world. Is not a kingdom valuable to be
owned? 

	"Is not a summer house or a pleasant garden with sweet smelling
flowers pleasant to live in? Yet why dispassionate men like Hari,
Buddha have retired into the forest kicking everything out as worthless
as straw, realizing the Self which is the only, utmost importance? 

		"Now, he is really a merchant of vanity who trades in the
feelings of others according to his own self interest and boasts about
his own capabilities, his own virtue, material possessions of physical
beauty, knowing not that sooner or later his true mettle will be found
out, that vanity is the forerunner of moral death." 

	And now I will stress the vices which Gurudev does not like. I
spoke about the virtues the other day, now the vices. 

		"You have to eradicate ambition, arrogance,
avariciousness, backbiting, and conceit. By all means, anger,
attachment, censure and criticism, committing cruelty of any kind,
atrocious deeds which are many, crooked-mindedness, deceitful nature,
desires, dullness, egoism, evil thoughts and habits, harsh words,
argumentative words, hypocrisy, laziness, mischief-mongering,
miserliness, pride, selfishness, telling lies, cruelty, depression, d
ouble-dealing, eating more than enough, envy, Godlessness, hatred,
jealousy, lust, merciless nature, obstinacy, scandal-mongering,
tale-bearing, unchaste looks, arguing nature, belittling, brooding over
nothing, delusion, haughtiness, ill treating subordinates, improper
actions, injustice, irritability, agitation of mind, bragging, building
castles in the air, degrading others, greed, humbug, impertinence,
indolence, interrupting nature, killing ants and other small insects
[Laughter] maliciously." 

	Without necessity, sure it is. I am telling you that it is true. 

	Student: Yes, Guru. 

	Valentina: It is the story which I told Michael when he was four
years old, when we were invaded by mice here in Miami Beach, and I did
everything to safeguard my child from this horror. And it was not
pleasant for me at all, for a very young girl to touch such stuff is,
in general, very atrocious, but I courageously, without asking anybody
(here comes no asking on my part, did a splendid job, got rid of every
mouse. And when Misha asked me, [In a charming child's voice] "But,
they, they don't like to be killed!" I say, "Sure they don't. Let them
go to the field and then we won't touch them." It is true even about
mosquitos, anything at all, a fly. Never, if someone touches it, when
it does not touch you, it is a horrible sin. Everything, even if it is
a useless thing from our point of view, is the result of something. It
is the result of the transgression of some kind; therefore the entities
which are not right appear - not right for civilization and for
evolution. Nevertheless they did appear. So in order to get rid of
them, get rid of them in your consciousness first. But if they are 
attacking you, get rid of them, and quickly, otherwise you are not only
a sentimental fool, but a dangerous entity for society, for you invite
a lot of disease. 

	Student: Yes, Guru. 

	Valentina: Therefore when Gurudev says, "Do not kill ants and
other small insects," it means that if you are walking on the street
and there are ants, please walk so that you won't step on them. 

		"Maliciousness, looking and finding other people's faults,
despondency..." 

	The greatest vice. So is drinking habit - it is the same. 

		"Enmity, fighting nature..." 

	Fighting means quarreling, because fighting against evil is a
very wonderful nature, but looking for problems and trouble which
doesn't exist and opposing each other, is a fighting nature of
deplorable status. 	

	"Gloomy appearance..." 

	Get out if you are gloomy, do not show your mug!

		"Retaliating, roguery, self-conceit, agitation of mind,
bragging, building castles in the air..."

	That was Gurudev's real despicable vice for others to have
- Gurudev's declaration about building castles in the air, which means
not to imagine and not to pretend, my Children. It is a despicable
vice.

		"degrading others, greed, humbug"

	That he mentions pretty often. Humbug is full swing with all
those ochre-robed idiots dancing around the world. [Laughter] So
Gurudev warned about this impertinence. Would he know that it is done
sometimes in His Holy Name. Uhh! Okay, where are we? Gurudev? 

		"Hypocrisy, emotions negative, fault~finding, gambling,
protesting nature..."

	That is to say, I say, "This is black" when it is black and
someone says, "Who knows, maybe it is white?" [Laughter] 

		"Restlessness, revenging nature, rudeness, showing one's
skill power before others..." 

	We call it here, Gurudev, "show-off"' 
		"Slander, slothful nature, mental weakness, mocking at
others, novel reading..." 

	Gurudev! [Laughter] Oi vey! Gurudev, I can say something about
that! Especially occult novels; Gurudev, is that right? [Laughter]
That's it! Here! Here! 

		"Obscurity, pedantry, wandering nature..." 
	Now this requires a little elucidation. Wandering nature means
"I'm fed up of being here. Let me see what's going on outside, next
door or on the other side of the street." Well, that is ordinary
restlessness. But when one sits in the Ashram and is devoted to it, and
is a co-worker and a reliable man and suddenly says, "I'll take a trip
to Hawaii, I'm fed up," well that is a wandering nature, according to
Gurudev. It is betrayal also. It is also the many today's lecturers,
they are wandering nature. They cannot be restful - sit down and learn
something and wait till somebody will ask them a question! [Laughter]
No, they have to wander around and disturb the space. [Laughter]
Gurudev says, "Uh, uh!" 

		"Warning habit, procrastinating, stubborn nature, talking
too much, unnecessary arguing, using obscene words... " [Laughter] 

	Does such exist too? 

		"Sleeping during the daytime, unnecessarily." 
	It is one thing to rest, another thing to stretch and yawn till
you will slumber for five hours. 

		"Smoking habit, misbehaving, negligence, ostentatious
nature, persecution, palavering, wasting time for nothing and useless
company..." 

	That is underlined many times ~ "wasting time for nothing and
useless company." And who is a "useless company?" Let me tell you.
"Useless company" is the one who disturbs your peace of mind, first of
all. "Useless company is the one who makes you a smaller man. "Useless
company" is the one who takes you away from your ideals - that is a
"useless company." Also "useless company" is he or she who takes you to
the degrading style of life. What might be quite approvable from the
worldly point of view, is totally taboo for the man who wants to grow -
let's forget the big word; let's forget "God Realization" and
"Liberation" but let's say, "who wants to grow," who wants to ger rid
of his vices and to acquire virtues, and then for him, a certain style
of life is not right. And therefore, when certain previous contacts
drag a man to the same type of life which he used to live and from
which he ran away, he partakes of "useless, harmful company."

 		"Planning and scheming ahead too much. Stagnation, talking
ill of others, to have a honeyed tongue and a cold heart, unsteady
mind, and vanity, vanity vanity, vanity." 

	Good? 

	Student: Very good, great...

	Valentina: Very good? Adorable! You never will be a disciple if
you will say, "Very good" to me. 

	Student: [Laughing] Yes, Guru. 

	Valentina: And I will end on the essence of Vedanta, my "right
wing,." 

		"Enquire 'Who am I?'  - think and cogitate. The world is
unreal. Nothing is permanent. Everything passes away. Knowledge comes
from Satsanga!" 

	[Valentina's voice, in the repetition of the latter phrase, gets
progressively softer, to the tiniest whisper] "Knowledge comes from
Satsanga. Knowledge comes from Satsanga!

		"Thus sharpen your intellect. Let it be alert and benefit
from Satsang. Gaze within. Go beyond the mind. Slay desires. Desires
bind you. Be not of this world. Search the chambers of your heart. Find
the infinite Brahman. Soar high. Live in intuition. Reason is finite.
Grow above reason. Strengthen your will. Knowledge is thy nature"

	This is hidden Knowledge, inner Knowledge. Nothing exists in the
visible reality as permanency and real. Nothing belongs to you.
Everything is Divine Mother's. (all these are my comments.) 

		"Brahman alone is. Attune yourself to the Supreme, Thou
art That!" 
Om Gurudev!
                                      ***
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