AN APPRAISAL AND A REMEDY
Speech delivered by Saint Scholar Giani Naranjan Singh Ji, on February 6, 1970, in the Inaugural Session of The Fourth World Religions conference, Ramlila Grounds, Delhi.
“Truth is one, (but) the Learned speak of it in many ways”.
Before going to the crux of the problem facing mankind, I
deem it my privilege to thank the organisers who provided
me this opportunity to meet the august and choice gathering
of the spiritually-advanced people. It is not from the point of
view of the egoistic ‘I’ that I extend my welcome and thanks,
but I think it won’t be presumptuous to say that some latent
purpose of the Almighty’s Grace is compelling us to gather
and contemplate some means to save humanity which is
presently at the brink of abysmal depths.
Man, at the moment, is at the cross-roads of Eternal Life
and utter annihilation. The destructive anarchic powers of
‘materialism’ and ‘atheism’ have been unleashed and are fast
desecrating the finer fibre of man. The ghastly infernal powers
of the fiend, to top it all, are functioning in the guise of
saintliness. So much so that even religion is being presented
in an adulterated and commercialized way. I wonder if, for
them, Caesar’s and God’s domain are not overlapping! I will
not hesitate to say that, metaphorically, Caesar seems to be
usurping God’s jurisdiction.
The root-cause of this degeneration so far as my humble
thinking is concerned, can be attributed largely to the
desecration of Sainthood and that of the sacred premises.
The responsibility for this state of affairs naturally falls on
the people who profess themselves to be saints and sages.
If people immersed in the glory of the Divine Grace cannot
check the onslaught of this putrefying malady, who is more
competent to constrain the infection?
Who, at this crucial moment, will be the blessed one to bridge
the cleavage between the is and the ought; the profession
and the practice. Of course, I am aware that science and
politics can be of some help, but still, they are subservient to
a higher faculty and need its constant check. Otherwise, they
may fall into the hands of the vicious, selfish and self- styled
leaders; who may use it, without any restraint, for worldly
purposes. Hence, these instruments of man’s progress, too,
may turn into the demonic tools causing spiritual hibernation.
Hence, it becomes our ethical and spiritual duty, at this stage
to make sincere and concerted efforts to cleanse the Augean
Stables. The first step in this direction is to see that we
no longer continue to be a burden on earth. According to
the Shastras, the real Saint is one from whom noble deeds
emanate as spontaneously as does the fragrance from the
roses.
Realizing fully well that discriminations and contradictions
are prevalent only at intellectual and sensuous levels, we
should concentrate all our energies for the regeneration of
man en masse.
Our will should rise clear above the petty considerations
of form, dress, sect or creed.
Once again, we should be rejuvenated by the quintessence
of the Bhagavad Gita and heed the fervent and loving
explanation of the Lord:
In any way men love me, in the same way they find my love; For
many are the paths of men,but they all in the end come to me.
(Chapter IV, Sloka II)
So, restoring Sainthood to its pristine glory and allowing no
camouflaging, let us take a solemn pledge to do our best
for the regeneration of man.
Let us share with the world what is clear to the Knower of
the Ultimate that God is manifested in all irrespective of the
extraneous coverings of caste, creed and sect.
As Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji said:
“He is in the temple as He in the mosque,
He is in the Hindu worship as He is in the Muslim prayer,
All human beings are (essentially) one though they appear different.
Devtas, demons, Yaksha,
Gandharva(the celestial musicians), the Muslims and the Hindus
are all one but appear different due to influence of different
environments and vestures.
Everyone of them has the same eyes, the same ears,
the same body and the same power to speak;
all of them are made of the same compounded form of the four
elements — Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Thus the Abhek of the Hindus and the Allah of the Muslims are one.
The Koran and the Puranas praise the same Lord.
They are all the same form.
The one Lord made them all.”
(Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji — Akal Ustat — verse 86)
