I listened to a recording of Mother talking one-on-one with a devotee from many years ago. It is an interesting glimpse into her teaching someone one-to-one. In it she tells this man that his spiritual approach has been mental only, that he meditates but it is only out of curiosity; dry of devotion. On the other hand, he is extremely critical of those who are around him. As a result, Mother was feeling the effect of his actions in her own being very greatly; making for an experience that was very tough for her to handle.
In her conversation, she told this man he must develop love. That Mother only gave love, and if one does not, then there are karmic consequences. That every action has an equal and opposite reaction. She emphasized again, an opposite reaction—we pay the price in body, mind and soul for the choices we make. Mother went on in this conversation with this individual to talk about many things, but this part of her conversation struck me because of something that happened afterward.
I met with this same man some thirty years later. What had he done with Mother’s exhortation, that he cultivate love and not a mind that criticizes and finds fault with others? When I met with him, he was married to the woman he had been in love with since high school. He was, however, disappointed with her, making remarks that were dismissive and expressing his disappointment. In the privacy of his den he told me that he thought that there was a conspiracy in which Jews controlled the reins of power in this country, and globally. He was also bitter about what happened to his son, who had a mental illness.
Now, I reflected upon these things. Mother giving this man all the love of God, working with him to love God, to give love for hate and to love at all times. What I experienced thirty years later was a man filled with bitterness about many things. I did not find him filled with joy, light, love of God and his fellow man. No, I found him living in a type of mental and emotional prison.
To generalize from this particular situation, we must, each of us, really analyze ourselves: Is your circle of love growing? Is your heart softer and more open? What is the trend of your mind—do you know God and experience Him more and more? You see, what is the use of saying we follow a spiritual path if our thoughts and actions do not increasingly manifest the truth we have been taught?
I have seen firsthand the principles Mother taught about karma. She quoted the great Newton and his third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; she emphasized the word opposite. That is due to the fact that what you do comes back to you. Oftentimes your mind is the instrument of your own torture when you cultivate a negative attitude. You may be certain that an individual who harshly criticizes others will slice and dice himself when a quiet moment comes; that one cannot possibly feel close to God.
Time slips by so easily. Certainly, there can be situations in which time seems to creep, but then we come to a point when we look back and suddenly so many years have gone by; things we had thought to do have not been done. On my first pilgrimage to India I met a famous swami at Anandashram, Swami Chidananda. He had a saying, Do it now, DIN! When it is the right thing to do, then DIN, do it now. We must take ourselves in hand and really make the effort if we are to fulfill what our deepest Soul yearns to accomplish in this life.
Whether it is to make health changes, to be more loving in relationships, a change in attitude, getting up earlier, meditating longer, expanding your circle of love, or total surrender to God—DIN, do it now! Do not ignore the call to dive deeper, soar higher; do not live with regret for a single day wasted. You are not here to lead a half dead zombie-life, sleepwalking through old habits that no longer serve you. Rather, you are here to live a dynamic life filled with love, light and wisdom—a God-realized life.