Every civilization has a story of creation. We know about the story of Adam and Eve, we know the story of other civilizations who have mentioned how creation took place, and how humans appeared on this planet. In India also we have our own story of creation. In this story of creation, the Creator made two genders, male and female, and he gave them the instruction to multiply. Along with the instruction to multiply, he also gave them three aspirations for life to experience humanness in this created world.
Humanness is the biggest ideal and religion of the world, which people have forgotten. It was God who wanted us to live like human beings and to experience what humanity and human ism is like. He gave clear indications on how people have to live on this planet. God said to the people He had created, ‘Number one, always be compassionate, daya; number two, learn to give always, daan; number three, always have control over the senses, passions, desires, and live a balanced life, daman.’
So, daya, daan and daman, learning how to be compassionate, learning how to give and share, and learning how to be in control of yourself are the three instructions given by God to humankind, at the time of creation. Millennia have passed and in this passage of time we have forgotten these three basic instructions of the Divine. We believe that we are the only people who know the Divine, and our path, our system, our belief is the only way to experience the Divine. The Indian tradition never said that it is the only path, but that there are many paths. We respect and honour them all.
We should not forget the three mandates of God to experience fulfilment, peace, joy and union with that Higher Self. It is something that one needs to understand properly. Compassion is a pure state of self; it is a state of mind, it is a state of perception, it is a state of knowledge, ‘I know the sufferings of other people and I am capable of helping them out.’ This compassion can take any form: somebody is sick, provide them with medical help; somebody is hungry, provide them with food; if they are suffering, understand the suffering and help them overcome the suffering. It is a pure state of connection with another individual person. There is nothing selfish about it, there is no arrogance in it. It is just a positive connection that you can develop, by cultivating your own understanding about the life of another person. That is compassion.
Once you realize what is the need, then the aspect of giving comes into play. Medicine for the sick, food for the hungry, shelter for the shelter-less, that is daan, giving; that is seva, service.
Only when you have compassion in your heart and mind, giving happens as an expression of your senses and body and life. At an individual level, realize what you desire. Does what you desire add any value to your life or not? If your desires do not add value to your life, they are not worth fulfilling. If your desire is of infatuation, it does not add any value. If your desire is for self-gratification, it does not add any value. There has to be purity of thought, purity of intention, purity of mind, purity of heart, purity of expression. Expressing this purity is known as daman, restraint, control. Control is not holding back, control is transforming the binding, the negative, the confining, into an expression of purity which you feel within you.
If these three mandates can be lived in life, then you live with God. The world is divided into believers and non-believers, yet that is a mundane, materialistic concept. It is not a question of believing or not believing in the higher reality, but how we can live our life at its best. When you live your life at its best, then life is luminous, the journey in life is luminous, and there are no pitfalls, there is no darkness where you can falter. This is the message of the yogis and rishis since time immemorial. This is the message and the three points which we need to keep close to our heart – compassion, giving and restraint.
30 January 2025, Basant Panchami, Ganga Darshan, Munger