世界的伟大导师
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中文
世界的伟大导师
（1900年2月3日讲于加利福尼亚州帕萨迪纳莎士比亚俱乐部）
宇宙依照印度教的理论，以波浪形的循环方式运行。它升起，达至顶峰，然后下落，仿佛在低谷中停留一段时间，再度升起，如此往复，波浪相继，起伏不息。宇宙的规律，亦适用于其每一部分。人类事务的进程亦是如此。各民族的历史亦是如此：它们兴起，它们衰落；兴起之后是衰落，衰落之后又是兴起，且以更大的力量重振。这种运动永无止息。在宗教世界中，同样的运动存在。在每个民族的灵性生命中，既有衰落也有兴起。民族沉沦，一切似乎支离破碎。然后，它重新获得力量，再度升起；一个巨大的浪潮袭来，有时是海啸——而在浪头之巅，始终有一个光辉的灵魂，那便是使者。他既是造物者，又是被造物，交替为之；他是推动浪潮升起、民族振兴的动力；与此同时，他又是由推动浪潮的同一力量所造就的，彼此作用与反作用，交替往复。他以其巨大的力量作用于社会，而社会也塑造了他的本质。这些便是世界上伟大的思想家，是世界的先知，是生命的使者，是上帝的化身。
人们有一种观念，以为只能有一种宗教，只能有一位先知，只能有一个化身；但这种观念并不正确。通过研究所有这些伟大使者的生平，我们发现，他们每一位仿佛都注定要扮演一个角色，且仅仅是一个角色；和谐存在于总体之中，而非存在于单一音符之中。正如在各民族的生命中——没有哪个民族生来便是独享世界的。没有人敢说不然。每个民族在这神圣的民族和声中都有其一份。每个民族都有其使命要完成，其职责要履行。总体的和谐，便是伟大的和谐。
因此，这些先知中没有哪一位是注定要永远统治世界的。迄今为止，没有一位成功做到，将来也不会有谁永远成为统治者。每一位只是贡献了一部分；而就那一部分而言，长远来看，每一位先知都将引领世界及其命运。
我们大多数人生来便是某种人格宗教的信奉者。我们谈论原则，思索理论，这固然无妨；但我们的每一个念头、每一个行动，都表明我们只有在原则通过一个具体的人传达给我们时，才能真正理解它。我们只有在一个具体化的理想人格向我们呈现一个观念时，才能把握它。我们只有通过榜样，才能理解戒律。愿上帝使我们所有人都能达到这样的境界：不再需要任何榜样，不再需要任何具体人物。然而我们尚未做到；自然而然地，人类的绝大多数将自己的灵魂托付于这些非凡人格的足下——先知们，上帝的化身们——被基督徒、佛教徒和印度教徒所崇拜的化身。穆罕默德的信徒从一开始便坚决反对任何此类崇拜。他们不愿崇拜先知或使者，也不向他们致敬；但实际上，他们并非只崇拜一位先知，而是崇拜成千上万的圣徒。我们无法对抗事实！我们注定要崇拜人格，而这是好事。请记住你们伟大先知的那句话，回应"主啊，请将父显示给我们"之问："看见了我，就是看见了父。"我们中有谁能想象出上帝不是一个人的形象？我们只能在人性之中、经由人性来看见祂。光的振动充满这整个房间：为何我们不能在处处都看见它？你只能在那盏灯中看见它。上帝是无所不在的本体——无处不在；但我们目前的构成是这样的：我们只能在一位人性化的上帝之中、经由祂来感知祂、体会祂。当这些伟大的光芒降临时，人便认识了上帝。他们降临的方式与我们截然不同。我们是以乞丐的身份来到；他们是以皇帝的姿态降临。我们来到这里，仿佛孤儿，仿佛迷途者，不知所归。我们该做什么呢？我们不知道自己生命的意义。我们无法实现它。今天我们做这件事，明天我们做那件事。我们如同水中漂浮的稻草，如同飓风中被吹扬的羽毛。
然而在人类历史中，你会发现，这些使者会出现，而且从他们降生之初，其使命便已确定成形。整个计划已然存在，业已铺陈；你会看到他们毫无偏离，连一寸也未曾偏离。因为他们带着使命而来，带着信息而来，他们不需要推理。你有没有听说过或读到过这些伟大的导师或先知们对其所传之道进行推理论证？没有，他们一位都没有这样做。他们直接说出。为何他们需要推理？他们直接见到了真理。不仅如此，他们还能展示真理！如果你问我："有上帝吗？"我说"有"，你立刻会要求我提供理由，而可怜的我不得不使尽全力为你提供某种论证。如果你去问基督："有上帝吗？"他会说"有"；如果你再问："有什么证明？"他会回答："看哪，上主！"这样，你便看到，这是一种直接的感知，而绝非理性的推演。这里没有在黑暗中摸索，有的只是直观洞见的力量。我看见这张桌子；任何理性论证都无法动摇我的这种信念。这是直接的感知。这就是他们的信仰——对其理想的信仰，对其使命的信仰，对其自身的信仰，高于一切。这些光辉的伟大者对自己的信仰，是任何旁人都无法企及的。人们问道："你信仰上帝吗？你相信来世吗？你信奉这个教义或那个信条吗？"然而这里缺失了根基：自信。的确，一个不能相信自己的人，他们又如何期望他相信其他任何事情呢？我对自己的存在都不确定。有一刻我以为自己存在着，无物能摧毁我；下一刻我又在对死亡的恐惧中颤抖。有一分钟我以为自己不朽；下一分钟，一阵幻象袭来，我便不知道自己是谁，也不知道身在何处。我不知道自己是活着还是死去。有一刻我以为自己是有灵性的，是有道德的；下一刻，一击打来，我便被打翻在地。为何如此？——因为我失去了对自己的信仰，我的道德脊梁已断。
然而在这些伟大的导师身上，你总能找到这样一个标志：他们对自己怀有强烈的信仰。如此强烈的信仰是独特的，我们无法理解。正是因此，我们试图用各种方式来解释这些导师关于自身的言说；人们发明了成千上万的理论，来解释他们有关自身体证的言语。我们不以同样的方式看待自己，因此自然无法理解他们。
而且，当他们发声时，世界不得不倾听。当他们开口，每一个字都是直接有力的；它如炸弹般轰然而至。若非背后有力量，言语又有什么价值呢？你使用什么语言、如何排列语言，又有什么要紧？你说的语法是否正确、修辞是否精美，又有什么关系？你的语言是否华丽，又有什么关系？问题在于你是否有什么可以给予。这是一个给予与接受的问题，而不是倾听的问题。你有什么可以给予吗？——这是首要问题。如果有，那就给予。言语不过是传递馈赠的载体：它只是众多方式中的一种。有时我们根本不开口说话。有一首古老的梵文诗句说："我看见导师坐在树下。他是一个十六岁的年轻人，而弟子是一个八十岁的老人。导师的教导是沉默，而弟子的疑惑消散了。"
有时他们根本不说话，然而却能将真理从心传至心。他们来是为了给予。他们发出命令，他们是使者；你必须接受命令。你们不记得在自己的经典中，耶稣说话时那种权威吗？"所以，你们要去，使万民作我的门徒……凡我所吩咐你们的，都教训他们遵守。"贯穿他所有言辞的，是那对自己信息的深厚信仰。这种特质你能在所有这些巨人的生命中找到——他们被世人尊奉为先知。
这些伟大的导师是大地上活生生的神明。我们还应崇拜谁呢？我试图在心中形成一个关于上帝的观念，却发现我所构想的不过是一个何其渺小的虚假之物；崇拜那样的上帝简直是一种罪过。我张开眼睛，审视大地上这些伟大者的实际生命。他们远远超越我所能形成的任何关于上帝的构想。因为，像我这样一个人，若有人从我这里偷了东西，我便会追上去把他送入狱中——这样的人能形成什么样的慈悲观念？而我对宽恕的最高理解又能是什么？不过是我自身的限度。你们中有谁能跳出自己的躯壳？有谁能跳出自己的心灵？没有一个人能做到。除了你们实际生活中所体验到的，你们能形成什么样的神圣之爱的观念？我们从未体验过的事情，我们就无法形成任何观念。因此，我所有关于形成上帝观念的最佳努力，在每一种情形下都将归于失败。而这里有的是实实在在的事实，而非理想主义——爱、慈悲、纯洁的实际事实，这些甚至超越了我所能形成的任何概念。难怪我会拜倒在这些人的足下，将他们作为上帝来崇拜！此外还能做什么呢？我很想看看有谁能做出其他事情，无论他说了多少话。说话不是现实。谈论上帝、谈论非人格者，以及这那那那，都很好；但这些人性化的神，才是所有民族和种族真正的神明。这些神圣的人已经被崇拜，也将继续被崇拜，只要人类存在。这是我们的信仰所在，这是我们对现实之希望所在。一个单纯的神秘原则又有何用！
我所要向你们表达的目的和意图是这样的：我在自己的生命中发现，崇拜他们所有人是可能的，并且愿意迎接那些尚未降临的使者。一位母亲能够认出穿着任何服装出现在她面前的儿子；如果一个人做不到这一点，我敢断言她并非那个人的母亲。现在，对于你们中那些认为只能在世界上的某一位先知身上、而不能在其他任何人身上理解真理、神性和上帝的人，自然地，我得出的结论是：你们根本没有在任何人身上理解神性；你们不过是吞下了词语，将自己认同于一个教派，就如同在党派政治中那样，作为一种意见；但那根本不是宗教。世上有些蠢人，尽管附近有绝佳的甜水，却依然饮用苦咸的水，因为他们说，那口苦咸水井是他们祖父所挖的。现在，在我有限的经验中，我积累了这样一种认识——对于宗教所受到的一切指责，宗教本身根本没有过错：从未有哪种宗教迫害过人，从未有哪种宗教烧死过女巫，从未有哪种宗教做过这些事情。那么，是什么煽动人们去做这些事情的？是政治，而绝非宗教；如果这样的政治借用了宗教之名，那又是谁的过错呢？
因此，当每个人都站出来说"我的先知是唯一真实的先知"时，他是错误的——他连宗教的字母表都不了解。宗教既非言谈，也非理论，也非智识上的认同。它是在我们心灵深处的证悟；它是接触上帝；它是感知、体证我是与宇宙本体及其所有伟大显现相关联的灵性存在。如果你真正进入了父的家，你怎么可能看见了祂的儿女而不认识他们呢？如果你不认识他们，你便未曾进入父的家。母亲能认出任何装扮中的孩子，无论他如何乔装都能认出。认识每个时代、每个国家的所有伟大灵性男女，并看清他们并非真的彼此对立。凡有真实宗教之处——这种神圣的接触，灵魂与神圣的直接感官接触——始终有一种心灵的开阔，使人能在处处看见光明。现今，某些穆罕默德信徒在这方面是最粗鄙的，也是最狭隘的宗派主义者。他们的口号是："真主唯一，穆罕默德是其先知。"超出此范围的，不仅是不好的，而且必须立刻予以摧毁；一刻也不能迟延，凡不确切信奉此道的男男女女皆须被杀；凡不属于此种崇拜的一切皆须立即打碎；凡教导其他任何东西的书籍皆须焚毁。从太平洋到大西洋，五百年间鲜血流遍世界。这便是穆罕默德主义！然而，在这些穆罕默德信徒中间，凡有哲思之人，必定会抗议这些残暴行为。在这种抗议中，他显示了神圣的接触，体证了真理的一个片段；他并非在玩弄宗教；因为他所谈论的不是其父辈的宗教，而是像一个真正的人一样直接说出了真理。
与现代进化论并行，还有另一种现象：返祖性。在我们内心深处有一种倾向，要回归宗教上的旧观念。让我们思索一些新的东西，即便它是错误的。这样做更好。你们为何不尝试命中靶心呢？我们通过失败变得更智慧。时间是无限的。看那面墙。那面墙曾经说过谎吗？它始终是那面墙。人说谎——也成为神明。做点什么总比什么都不做要好；就算被证明是错误的，也比无所作为要好。那头母牛从不说谎，但她始终只是一头母牛。行动吧！思索一些想法；不管对错，但要思索某些东西！因为我的先祖不是这样思考的，我就要静坐不动，逐渐丧失我的感受力和独立思考的能力吗？那我还不如死去！若我们没有活生生的思想、没有自己对宗教的信念，生命又有何价值？无神论者还有一些希望，因为虽然他们与他人意见相左，他们是为自己思考的。那些从不为自己思考任何事情的人，尚未进入宗教世界；他们过着一种水母般的存在。他们不愿思考；他们不关心宗教。但不信者、无神论者是在乎的，他们在挣扎着。所以要思索一些东西！向神奋力前进！不要在乎失败，不要在乎你是否抓住了一个奇怪的理论。如果你害怕被说成奇怪，就把它留在自己心中——你无须出去向别人布道。但要有所作为！向神奋力前进！光明必将到来。如果一个人每天都喂养我，久而久之，我便会失去双手的功用。随着羊群般的相互追随而来的，是灵性的死亡。无所作为的结果，是死亡。要积极行动；而凡有行动之处，必有差异。差异是生命的调味品；它是美，是万事万物的艺术。差异使一切在此处变得美丽。正是多样性才是生命的源泉，是生命的标志。我们为何要惧怕它呢？
现在，我们正进入一个能够理解先知的位置。现在我们看到，历史证据表明——抛开宗教中水母般的存在不谈——凡有过真正思考、真正对上帝的热爱之处，灵魂便向神方向成长，仿佛在某时某刻得到了一瞥，甚至在一生中有过一秒钟的直接感知。顿时，"一切疑惑永远消散，心中所有的曲折都被拉直，所有的束缚都消失了，当那至近者中之最近、至远者中之最远的他被见到时，行动与业力的结果便都飘散了。"那才是宗教，那才是宗教的全部；其余的不过是理论、教条，是通往那种直接感知之境的种种途径。而今我们正在争夺篮子，果实却已落入沟中。
如果两个人为宗教争吵，就问他们这个问题："你见过上帝吗？你见过这些事情吗？"某人说基督是唯一的先知：好吧，他见过基督吗？"你的父亲见过他吗？""没有，先生。""你的祖父见过他吗？""没有，先生。""你见过他吗？""没有，先生。""那你们为什么争吵？果实已落入沟中，而你们却在争夺篮子！"理智的男男女女理应为这般争吵感到羞耻！
这些伟大的使者和先知是伟大而真实的。为什么？因为每一位都来传扬一个伟大的思想。就以印度的先知为例。他们是宗教创始者中最古老的。我们先看克里希纳。读过《薄伽梵歌（Bhagavad Gita）》的人，会在全书中看到一个贯穿始终的思想：不执著。保持不执著。心之爱唯归于一者。归于谁？归于那永不改变者。那一者是谁？是上帝。不要犯下将心交付给任何会变化之物的错误，因为那是痛苦。你可以将它交给一个人；但如果他死去，痛苦便是结果。你可以将它交给一位朋友；但他明天可能成为你的敌人。如果你将它交给你的丈夫，他某一天可能与你争吵。你可以将它交给你的妻子，而她可能后天便去世。这就是世界运行的方式。所以克里希纳在《薄伽梵歌》中说：主是唯一永不改变者。祂的爱永不消逝。无论我们在何处，无论我们做什么，祂永远是同样慈悲的、同样充满爱的心。祂永不改变，祂从不发怒，无论我们做什么。上帝怎能对我们发怒呢？你的孩子做了许多顽皮的事情：你对那孩子发怒吗？上帝难道不知道我们将来会成为什么吗？祂知道我们所有人迟早都将趋于完美。祂有耐心，无尽的耐心。我们必须爱祂，并爱每一个生命存在——唯在祂之中、经由祂而爱。这是主旋律。你必须爱你的妻子，但不是为了妻子的缘故。"亲爱的，丈夫之所以被爱，从来不是因为丈夫本人，而是因为主在丈夫之中。"吠檀多（Vedanta）哲学说，即便在丈夫与妻子的爱中，尽管妻子认为她在爱丈夫，真正的吸引力是在场的主，祂是唯一的吸引力，除此之外别无其他；但妻子在大多数情形下并不知道是如此，而她在无知中却在做正确的事，那便是爱主。只是，当一个人在无知中做此事时，它可能带来痛苦。若一个人是在明知中做此事，那便是解脱（Moksha）。这是我们经典所说的。凡有爱之处，凡有欢乐之火花之处，知道那便是祂临在的火花，因为祂就是欢乐、喜乐与爱本身。没有祂，就不能有任何爱。
这一直是克里希纳教导的主线。他已将这种精神植入他的民族，以至于一个印度教徒做任何事情，即便是喝水，都会说："如果这其中有什么德行，让它归于主。"佛教徒说，若他做了任何善行："让善行的功德属于世界；若我所做的有任何德行，让它归于世界，让世界的罪恶归于我。"印度教徒说他是上帝的虔信者；印度教徒说上帝是无所不能的，祂是无处不在的每个灵魂的灵魂；印度教徒说，若我将我所有的德行都献给祂，那是最大的祭献，它们将流向整个宇宙。
现在，这是一个层面；而克里希纳的另一个信息是什么？"凡生活在世间之中，行动，并将其行动的全部果实献给主的人，他永远不会被世间的罪恶所触及。正如莲花，生于水中，升起绽放于水面之上，从事于世间事务而将其一切活动的果实献给主的人，亦是如此"（《薄伽梵歌》第五章第10节）。
克里希纳作为强烈行动的导师，奏响了另一个音符。工作，工作，日夜不停地工作，《薄伽梵歌》如是说。你可能会问："那么，平静在哪里？如果我整个人生都要像一匹驮马般劳作，并在辛劳中死去，我来此地为的是什么？"克里希纳说："是的，你将找到平静。逃避工作决非寻找平静的途径。"如果你能，就抛开你的职责，去往山顶；但即便在那里，心灵也在运转——旋转，旋转，旋转。有人问一位游方僧（Sannyasin）："先生，您找到好地方了吗？您在喜马拉雅山（Himalayas）云游了多少年了？""四十年了，"游方僧回答。"有许多美好的地方可供选择，可以在那里安顿下来：您为何没有这样做？""因为这四十年来，我的心灵不允许我这样做。"我们都说："让我们寻找平静"；但心灵不允许我们这样做。
你们知道那个逮住鞑靼人的人的故事。一名士兵在城外，走近营房时喊道："我抓住了一个鞑靼人！"一个声音回应道："把他带进来。""他不肯进来，长官。""那你进来。""他不让我进来，长官。"如此，在我们的心灵中，我们已经"抓住了鞑靼人"：我们既不能驯服它，它也不让我们被驯服。我们都"抓住了鞑靼人"。我们都说，要安静，要平和，如此等等。但每个孩子都会说这话，并以为自己能做到。然而，这是极其困难的。我曾尝试过。我抛开了所有的职责，逃向山顶；我住在洞穴和茂密的森林中——但尽管如此，我还是"抓住了鞑靼人"，因为我始终将自己的世界带在身边。那"鞑靼人"就是我自己心灵中的东西，所以我们不应责怪外在的可怜人们。"这些情形是好的，那些是坏的，"我们如此说，而"鞑靼人"就在这里，在内部；如果我们能驯服他，我们便会一切安好。
因此，克里希纳教导我们不要逃避职责，而要豪气地承担起来，并不去思虑结果。仆人没有质疑的权利。士兵没有推理的权利。前进，不要过于关注你所必须做的工作的性质。问你自己，你是否无私。如果你是，不管什么都无所谓，没有什么能阻挡你！投身其中！做好手头的职责。当你这样做了，你会逐渐实现真理："凡在激烈的活动中找到极度平静的人，凡在最大的平静中找到最大活动的人，他是一位瑜伽（Yoga）修行者，他是一个伟大的灵魂，他已达至完美。"
现在，你会看到这种教导的结果，就是世间所有的职责都被神圣化了。在这个世界上，没有任何职责有权被称为卑微的：每个人的工作，与坐在宝座上的帝王的工作，同样高尚。
聆听佛陀（Buddha）的信息——一个震撼人心的信息。它在我们心中占有一席之地。佛陀说："根除自私，以及使你自私的一切。既无妻子，又无子女，也无家庭。不要属于这个世界；做到完全无私。"一个世间人以为自己会做到无私，但当他看着妻子的脸时，就使他变得自私了。母亲以为自己会完全无私，但她看着自己的婴儿，自私便立刻来了。世间的每件事情都是如此。一旦自私的欲望生起，一旦某种自私的追求被跟随，整个人、真实的人便立刻消失了：他如同畜生，他是奴隶，他忘记了他的同胞。他不再说："你先，我随后"，而是"我先，让其他人自己去顾自己吧。"
我们发现，克里希纳的信息也有其地位。没有那个信息，我们根本无法前行。若不聆听克里希纳的信息，我们便无法在心中安然、有和平、有喜悦、有快乐地承担生命中的任何职责："不要害怕，即便你的工作中有罪恶，因为没有哪件工作是没有罪恶的。""将它交托于主，不要指望结果。"
另一方面，心中还有一个角落留给另一个信息：时间在流逝；这个世界是有限的，充满苦难。你们这些有美食、好衣服、舒适家园的人，沉睡的男男女女，你们是否曾想到那数以百万计正在挨饿和垂死的人？想一想这个伟大的事实：这里充满了苦难，苦难，苦难！注意孩子最初的声音：当他进入这个世界时，他哭泣。那是事实——孩子哭泣。这是一个哭泣的地方！如果我们聆听这位使者，我们便不应自私。
看那另一位使者，来自拿撒勒的他。他教导说："当预备好，因为天国近了。"我沉思过克里希纳的信息，并且尝试无执著地工作，但有时我会忘记。然后，突然间，佛陀的信息传来："当心，因为世间万物皆是无常，生命中始终有苦。"我聆听这话，不确定该接受哪个。然后，像霹雳般，那个信息又来了："当预备好，因为天国近了。"不要耽误片刻。什么都不要留到明天。为那随时可能降临于你的终极事件做好准备，就在此刻。那个信息同样有其地位，我们承认它。我们向那位使者致敬，我们向那位主致敬。
然后是穆罕默德，平等的使者。你们问："他的宗教中有什么好处呢？"如果没有好处，它如何能存续？唯善者存活，唯善者延续；因为唯善者强大，所以它延续。一个不纯洁的人，即便在今生，其生命又能多长？纯洁的人的生命是否长得多？毫无疑问，因为纯洁即是力量，善良即是力量。如果穆罕默德主义的教义中没有好的东西，它又如何能存活下来呢？其中有许多好的东西。穆罕默德是平等的先知，是人类兄弟情谊的先知，是所有穆斯林兄弟情谊的先知。
如此，我们看到，每位先知、每位使者都有特定的信息。当你先聆听那个信息，然后再审视他的生平，你会发现他的整个生命被解释清楚了，光辉灿烂。
现在，无知的蠢人发明了成千上万的理论，依照自己的心智发展程度，提出符合自己观念的解释，并将其归于这些伟大的导师。他们拿起这些导师的教导，加以误解。对于每一位伟大的先知来说，他的生命才是唯一的注疏。看他的生命：他所做的一切将印证这些文本。读《薄伽梵歌》，你会发现它确实被那位导师的生命所完全印证。
穆罕默德以他的生命表明，在穆罕默德信徒中间应当有完全的平等与兄弟情谊。种族、种姓、信条、肤色、性别，都无关紧要。土耳其苏丹可以从非洲的市场购买一个黑人，将他用锁链带到土耳其；但若他成为穆罕默德信徒，并有足够的功德和才能，他甚至可以娶苏丹的女儿。将此与这个国家对待黑人和美洲印第安人的方式相比较！印度教徒又是如何做的？如果你们的一位传教士碰巧触碰了一个正统信徒的食物，他会将其扔掉。尽管有我们宏大的哲学，你们注意到我们在实践中的弱点；但在那里，你们看到了穆罕默德信徒超越其他民族的伟大之处，体现在平等上——完全的平等，不分种族或肤色。
将来还会有其他更伟大的先知降临吗？当然会在这个世界上降临。但不要向往那个。我更愿意看到你们每一个人都成为这真正的新约的先知——这部新约是由所有旧约汇集而成的。接受所有旧的信息，用你自己的体证加以补充，然后成为他人的先知。这些导师中的每一位都是伟大的；他们每一位都为我们留下了一些东西；他们一直是我们的神明。我们向他们致敬，我们是他们的仆人；与此同时，我们也向自己致敬；因为如果他们是先知和上帝之子，我们也同样如此。他们达至了他们的完美，而我们也将立即达至我们的完美。记住耶稣的话："天国近了！"就在此刻，让我们每一个人都做出坚定的决心："我要成为一位先知，我要成为光明的使者，我要成为上帝之子，不，我要成为上帝！"
English
THE GREAT TEACHERS OF THE WORLD
(Delivered at the Shakespeare Club, Pasadena, California, February 3, 1900)
The universe, according to the theory of the Hindus, is moving in cycles of wave forms. It rises, reaches its zenith, then falls and remains in the hollow, as it were, for some time, once more to rise, and so on, in wave after wave and fall after fall. What is true of the universe is true of every part of it. The march of human affairs is like that. The history of nations is like that: they rise and they fall; after the rise comes a fall, again out of the fall comes a rise, with greater power. This motion is always going on. In the religious world the same movement exists. In every nation's spiritual life, there is a fall as well as a rise. The nation goes down, and everything seems to go to pieces. Then, again, it gains strength, rises; a huge wave comes, sometimes a tidal wave — and always on the topmost crest of the wave is a shining soul, the Messenger. Creator and created by turns, he is the impetus that makes the wave rise, the nation rise: at the same time, he is created by the same forces which make the wave, acting and interacting by turns. He puts forth his tremendous power upon society; and society makes him what he is. These are the great world-thinkers. These are the Prophets of the world, the Messengers of life, the Incarnations of God.
Man has an idea that there can be only one religion, that there can be only one Prophet, and that there can be only one Incarnation; but that idea is not true. By studying the lives of all these great Messengers, we find that each, as it were, was destined to play a part, and a part only; that the harmony consists in the sum total and not in one note. As in the life of races — no race is born to alone enjoy the world. None dare say no. Each race has a part to play in this divine harmony of nations. Each race has its mission to perform, its duty to fulfil. The sum total is the great harmony.
So, not any one of these Prophets is born to rule the world for ever. None has yet succeeded and none is going to be the ruler for ever. Each only contributes a part; and, as to that part, it is true that in the long run every Prophet will govern the world and its destinies.
Most of us are born believers in a personal religion. We talk of principles, we think of theories, and that is all right; but every thought and every movement, every one of our actions, shows that we can only understand the principle when it comes to us through a person. We can grasp an idea only when it comes to us through a materialised ideal person. We can understand the precept only through the example. Would to God that all of us were so developed that we would not require any example, would not require any person. But that we are not; and, naturally, the vast majority of mankind have put their souls at the feet of these extraordinary personalities, the Prophets, the Incarnations of God — Incarnations worshipped by the Christians, by the Buddhists, and by the Hindus. The Mohammedans from the beginning stood against any such worship. They would have nothing to do with worshipping the Prophets or the Messengers, or paying any homage to them; but, practically, instead of one Prophet, thousands upon thousands of saints are being worshipped. We cannot go against facts! We are bound to worship personalities, and it is good. Remember that word from your great Prophet to the query: "Lord, show us the Father", "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Which of us can imagine anything except that He is a man? We can only see Him in and through humanity. The vibration of light is everywhere in this room: why cannot lie see it everywhere? You have to see it only in that lamp. God is an Omnipresent Principle — everywhere: but we are so constituted at present that we can see Him, feel Him, only in and through a human God. And when these great Lights come, then man realises God. And they come in a different way from what we come. We come as beggars; they come as Emperors. We come here like orphans, as people who have lost their way and do not know it. What are we to do? We do not know what is the meaning of our lives. We cannot realise it. Today we are doing one thing, tomorrow another. We are like little bits of straw rocking to and fro in water, like feathers blown about in a hurricane.
But, in the history of mankind, you will find that there come these Messengers, and that from their very birth their mission is found and formed. The whole plan is there, laid down; and you see them swerving not one inch from that. Because they come with a mission, they come with a message, they do not want to reason. Did you ever hear or read of these great Teachers, or Prophets, reasoning out what they taught? No, not one of them did so. They speak direct. Why should they reason? They see the Truth. And not only do they see it but they show it! If you ask me, "Is there any God ?" and I say "Yes", you immediately ask my grounds for saying so, and poor me has to exercise all his powers to provide you with some reason. If you had come to Christ and said, "Is there any God? " he would have said, "Yes"; and if you had asked, "Is there any proof?" he would have replied, "Behold the Lord! " And thus, you see, it is a direct perception, and not at all the ratiocination of reason. There is no groping in the dark, but there is the strength of direct vision. I see this table; no amount of reason can take that faith from me. It is a direct perception. Such is their faith — faith in their ideals, faith in their mission, faith in themselves, above all else. The great shining Ones believe in themselves as nobody else ever does. The people say, "Do you believe in God? Do you believe in a future life? Do you believe in this doctrine or that dogma?" But here the base is wanting: this belief in oneself. Ay, the man who cannot believe in himself, how can they expect him to believe in anything else? I am not sure of my own existence. One moment I think that I am existing and nothing can destroy me; the next moment I am quaking in fear of death. One minute I think I am immortal; the next minute, a spook appears, and then I don't know what I am, nor where I am. I don't know whether I am living or dead. One moment I think that I am spiritual, that I am moral; and the next moment, a blow comes, and I am thrown flat on my back. And why? — I have lost faith in myself, my moral backbone is broken.
But in these great Teachers you will always find this sign: that they have intense faith in themselves. Such intense faith is unique, and we cannot understand it. That is why we try to explain away in various ways what these Teachers speak of themselves; and people invent twenty thousand theories to explain what they say about their realisation. We do not think of ourselves in the same way, and, naturally, we cannot understand them.
Then again, when they speak, the world is bound to listen. When they speak, each word is direct; it bursts like a bomb-shell. What is in the word, unless it has the Power behind? What matters it what language you speak, and how you arrange your language? What matters it whether you speak correct grammar or with fine rhetoric? What matters it whether your language is ornamental or not? The question is whether or not you have anything to give. It is a question of giving and taking, and not listening. Have you anything to give? — that is the first question. If you have, then give. Words but convey the gift: it is but one of the many modes. Sometimes we do not speak at all. There is an old Sanskrit verse which says, "I saw the Teacher sitting under a tree. He was a young man of sixteen, and the disciple was an old man of eighty. The preaching of the Teacher was silence, and the doubts of the disciple departed."
Sometimes they do not speak at all, but vet they convey the Truth from mind to mind. They come to give. They command, they are the Messengers; you have to receive the Command. Do you not remember in your own scriptures the authority with which Jesus speaks? "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." It runs through all his utterances, that tremendous faith in his own message. That you find in the life of all these great giants whom the world worships as its Prophets.
These great Teachers are the living Gods on this earth. Whom else should we worship? I try to get an idea of God in my mind, and I find what a false little thing I conceive; it would be a sin to worship that God. I open my eyes and look at the actual life of these great ones of the earth. They are higher than any conception of God that I could ever form. For, what conception of mercy could a man like me form who would go after a man if he steals anything from me and send him to jail? And what can be my highest idea of forgiveness? Nothing beyond myself. Which of you can jump out of your own bodies? Which of you can jump out of your own minds? Not one of you. What idea of divine love can you form except what you actually live? What we have never experienced we can form no idea of. So, all my best attempts at forming an idea of God would fail in every case. And here are plain facts, and not idealism — actual facts of love, of mercy, of purity, of which I can have no conception even. What wonder that I should fall at the feet of these men and worship them as God? And what else can anyone do? I should like to see the man who can do anything else, however much he may talk. Talking is not actuality. Talking about God and the Impersonal, and this and that is all very good; but these man-Gods are the real Gods of all nations and all races. These divine men have been worshipped and will be worshipped so long as man is man. Therein is our faith, therein is our hope, of a reality. Of what avail is a mere mystical principle!
The purpose and intent of what I have to say to you is this, that I have found it possible in my life to worship all of them, and to be ready for all that are yet to come. A mother recognises her son in any dress in which he may appear before her; and if one does not do so, I am sure she is not the mother of that man. Now, as regards those of you that think that you understand Truth and Divinity and God in only one Prophet in the world, and not in any other, naturally, the conclusion which I draw is that you do not understand Divinity in anybody; you have simply swallowed words and identified yourself with one sect, just as you would in party politics, as a matter of opinion; but that is no religion at all. There are some fools in this world who use brackish water although there is excellent sweet water near by, because, they say, the brackish-water well was dug by their father. Now, in my little experience I have collected this knowledge — that for all the devilry that religion is, blamed with, religion is not at all in fault: no religion ever persecuted men, no religion ever burnt witches, no religion ever did any of these things. What then incited people to do these things? Politics, but never religion; and if such politics takes the name of religion whose fault is that?
So, when each man stands and says "My Prophet is the only true Prophet," he is not correct — he knows not the alpha of religion. Religion is neither talk, nor theory, nor intellectual consent. It is realisation in the heart of our hearts; it is touching God; it is feeling, realising that I am a spirit in relation with the Universal Spirit and all Its great manifestations. If you have really entered the house of the Father, how can you have seen His children and not known them? And if you do not recognise them, you have not entered the house of the Father. The mother recognises her child in any dress and knows him however disguised. Recognise all the great, spiritual men and women in every age and country, and see that they are not really at variance with one another. Wherever there has been actual religion — this touch of the Divine, the soul coming in direct sense-contact with the Divine — there has always been a broadening of the mind which enables it to see the light everywhere. Now, some Mohammedans are the crudest in this respect, and the most sectarian. Their watchword is: "There is one God, and Mohammed is His Prophet." Everything beyond that not only is bad, but must be destroyed forthwith; at a moment's notice, every man or woman who does not exactly believe in that must be killed; everything that does not belong to this worship must be immediately broken; every book that teaches any thing else must be burnt. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, for five hundred years blood ran all over the world. That is Mohammedanism! Nevertheless, among these Mohammedans, wherever there has a philosophic man, he was sure to protest against these cruelties. In that he showed the touch of the Divine and realised a fragment of the truth; he was not playing with his religion; for it was not his father's religion he was talking, but spoke the truth direct like a man.
Side by side with tie modern theory of evolution, there is another thing: atavism. There is a tendency in us to revert to old ideas in religion. Let us think something new, even if it be wrong. It is better to do that. Why should you not try to hit the mark? We become wiser through failures. Time is infinite. Look at the wall. Did the wall ever tell a lie? It is always the wall. Man tells a lie — and becomes a god too. It is better to do something; never mind even if it proves to be wrong it is better than doing nothing. The cow never tells a lie, but she remains a cow, all the time. Do something! Think some thought; it doesn't matter whether you are right or wrong. But think something! Because my forefathers did not think this way, shall I sit down quietly and gradually lose my sense of feeling and my own thinking faculties? I may as well be dead! And what is life worth if we have no living ideas, no convictions of our own about religion? There is some hope for the atheists, because though they differ from others, they think for themselves. The people who never think anything for themselves are not yet born into the world of religion; they have a mere jelly-fish existence. They will not think; they do not care for religion. But the disbeliever, the atheist, cares, and he is struggling. So think something! Struggle Godward! Never mind if you fail, never mind if you get hold of a queer theory. If you are afraid to be called queer, keep it in your own mind — you need not go and preach it to others. But do something! Struggle Godward! Light must come. If a man feeds me every day of my life, in the long run I shall lose the use of my hands. Spiritual death is the result of following each other like a flock of sheep. Death is the result of inaction. Be active; and wherever there is activity, there must be difference. Difference is the sauce of life; it is the beauty, it is the art of everything. Difference makes all beautiful here. It is variety that is the source of life, the sign of life. Why should we be afraid of it?
Now, we are coming into a position to understand about the Prophets. Now, we see that the historical evidence is — apart from the jelly-fish existence in religion — that where there has been any real thinking, any real love for God, the soul has grown Godwards and has got as it were, a glimpse now and then, has come into direct perception, even for a second, even once in its life. Immediately, "All doubts vanish for ever, and all the crookedness of the heart is made straight, and all bondages vanish, and the results of action and Karma fly when He is seen who is the nearest of the near and the farthest of the far." That is religion, that is all of religion; the rest is mere theory, dogma, so many ways of going to that state of direct perception. Now we are fighting over the basket and the fruits have fallen into the ditch.
If two men quarrel about religion, just ask them the question: "Have you seen God? Have you seen these things?" One man says that Christ is the only Prophet: well, has he seen Christ? "Has your father seen Him?" "No, Sir." "Has your grandfather seen Him?" "No, Sir." "Have you seen Him?" "No, Sir." "Then what are you quarrelling for? The fruits have fallen into the ditch, and you are quarrelling over the basket!" Sensible men and women should be ashamed to go on quarrelling in that way!
These great Messengers and Prophets are great and true. Why? Because, each one has come to preach a great idea. Take the Prophets of India, for instance. They are the oldest of the founders of religion. We takes first, Krishna. You who have read the Gitâ see all through the book that the one idea is non-attachment. Remain unattached. The heart's love is due to only One. To whom? To Him who never changeth. Who is that One? It is God. Do not make the mistake of giving the heart to anything that is changing, because that is misery. You may give it to a man; but if he dies, misery is the result. You may give it to a friend, but he may tomorrow become your enemy. If you give it to your husband, he may one day quarrel with you. You may give it to your wife, and she may die the day after tomorrow. Now, this is the way the world is going on. So says Krishna in the Gita: The Lord is the only One who never changes. His love never fails. Wherever we are and whatever we do, He is ever and ever the same merciful, the same loving heart. He never changes, He is never angry, whatever we do. How can God be angry with us? Your babe does many mischievous things: are you angry with that babe? Does not God know what we are going to be? He knows we are all going to be perfect, sooner or later. He has patience, infinite patience. We must love Him, and everyone that lives — only in and through Him. This is the keynote. You must love the wife, but not for the wife's sake. "Never, O Beloved, is the husband loved on account of the husband, but because the Lord is in the husband." The Vedanta philosophy says that even in the love of the husband and wife, although the wife is thinking that she is loving the husband, the real attraction is the Lord, who is present there. He is the only attraction, there is no other; but the wife in most cases does not know that it is so, but ignorantly she is doing the right thing, which is, loving the Lord. Only, when one does it ignorantly, it may bring pain. If one does it knowingly, that is salvation. This is what our scriptures say. Wherever there is love, wherever there is a spark of joy, know that to be a spark of His presence because He is joy, blessedness, and love itself. Without that there cannot be any love.
This is the trend of Krishna's instruction all the time. He has implanted that upon his race, so that when a Hindu does anything, even if he drinks water, he says "If there is virtue in it, let it go to the Lord." The Buddhist says, if he does any good deed, "Let the merit of the good deed belong to the world; if there is any virtue in what I do, let it go to the world, and let the evils of the world come to me." The Hindu says he is a great believer in God; the Hindu says that God is omnipotent and that He is the Soul of every soul everywhere; the Hindu says, If I give all my virtues unto Him, that is the greatest sacrifice, and they will go to the whole universe."
Now, this is one phase; and what is the other message of Krishna? "Whosoever lives in the midst of the world, and works, and gives up all the fruit of his action unto the Lord, he is never touched with the evils of the world. Just as the lotus, born under the water, rises up and blossoms above the water, even so is the man who is engaged in the activities of the world, giving up all the fruit of his activities unto the Lord" (Gita, V. 10).
Krishna strikes another note as a teacher of intense activity. Work, work, work day and night, says the Gita. You may ask, "Then, where is peace? If all through life I am to work like a cart-horse and die in harness, what am I here for?" Krishna says, "Yes, you will find peace. Flying from work is never the way to find peace." Throw off your duties if you can, and go to the top of a mountain; even there the mind is going — whirling, whirling, whirling. Someone asked a Sannyasin, "Sir, have you found a nice place? How many years have you been travelling in the Himalayas?" "For forty years," replied the Sannyasin. "There are many beautiful spots to select from, and to settle down in: why did you not do so?" "Because for these forty years my mind would not allow me to do so." We all say, "Let us find peace"; but the mind will not allow us to do so.
You know the story of the man who caught a Tartar. A soldier was outside the town, and he cried out when be came near the barracks, "I have caught a Tartar." A voice called out, "Bring him in." "He won't come in, sir." "Then you come in." "He won't let me come in, sir." So, in this mind of ours, we have "caught a Tartar": neither can we tone it down, nor will it let us be toned down. We have all "caught Tartars". We all say, be quiet, and peaceful, and so forth. But every baby can say that and thinks he can do it. However, that is very difficult. I have tried. I threw overboard all my duties and fled to the tops of mountains; I lived in caves and deep forests — but all the same, I "caught a Tartar" because I had my world with me all the time. The "Tartar" is what I have in my own mind, so we must not blame poor people outside. "These circumstances are good, and these are bad," so we say, while the "Tartar" is here, within; if we can quiet him down, we shall be all right.
Therefore Krishna teaches us not to shirk our duties, but to take them up manfully, and not think of the result. The servant has no right to question. The soldier has no right to reason. Go forward, and do not pay too much attention to the nature of the work you have to do. Ask your mind if you are unselfish. If you are, never mind anything, nothing can resist you! Plunge in! Do the duty at hand. And when you have done this, by degrees you will realise the Truth: "Whosoever in the midst of intense activity finds intense peace, whosoever in the midst of the greatest peace finds the greatest activity, he is a Yogi, he is a great soul, he has arrived at perfection."
Now, you see that the result of this teaching is that all the duties of the world are sanctified. There is no duty in this world which we have any right to call menial: and each man's work is quite as good as that of the emperor on his throne.
Listen to Buddha's message — a tremendous message. It has a place in our heart. Says Buddha, "Root out selfishness, and everything that makes you selfish. Have neither wife, child, nor family. Be not of the world; become perfectly unselfish." A worldly man thinks he will be unselfish, but when he looks at the face of his wife it makes him selfish. The mother thinks she will be perfectly unselfish, but she looks at her baby, and immediately selfishness comes. So with everything in this world. As soon as selfish desires arise, as soon as some selfish pursuit is followed, immediately the whole man, the real man, is gone: he is like a brute, he is a slave' he forgets his fellow men. No more does he say, "You first and I afterwards," but it is "I first and let everyone else look out for himself."
We find that Krishna's message has also a place for us. Without that message, we cannot move at all. We cannot conscientiously and with peace, joy, and happiness, take up any duty of our lives without listening to the message of Krishna: "Be not afraid even if there is evil in your work, for there is no work which has no evil." "Leave it unto the Lord, and do not look for the results."
On the other hand, there is a corner in the heart for the other message: Time flies; this world is finite and all misery. With your good food, nice clothes, and your comfortable home, O sleeping man and woman, do you ever think of the millions that are starving and dying? Think of the great fact that it is all misery, misery, misery! Note the first utterance of the child: when it enters into the world, it weeps. That is the fact — the child-weeps. This is a place for weeping! If we listen to the Messenger, we should not be selfish.
Behold another Messenger, He of Nazareth. He teaches, "Be ready, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." I have pondered over the message of Krishna, and am trying to work without attachment, but sometimes I forget. Then, suddenly, comes to me the message of Buddha: "Take care, for everything in the world as evanescent, and there is always misery in this life." I listen to that, and I am uncertain which to accept. Then again comes, like a thunderbolt, the message: "Be ready, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Do not delay a moment. Leave nothing for tomorrow. Get ready for the final event, which may overtake you immediately, even now. That message, also, has a place, and we acknowledge it. We salute the Messenger, we salute the Lord.
And then comes Mohammed, the Messenger of equality. You ask, "What good can there be in his religion?" If there were no good, how could it live? The good alone lives, that alone survives; because the good alone is strong, therefore it survives. How long is the life of an impure man, even in this life? Is not the life of the pure man much longer? Without doubt, for purity is strength, goodness is strength. How could Mohammedanism have lived, had there been nothing good in its teaching? There is much good. Mohammed was the Prophet of equality, of the brotherhood of man, the brotherhood of all Mussulmans
So we see that each Prophet, each Messenger, has a particular message. When you first listen to that message, and then look at his life, you see his whole life stands explained, radiant.
Now, ignorant fools start twenty thousand theories, and put forward, according to their own mental development, explanations to suit their own ideas, and ascribe them to these great Teachers. They take their teachings and put their misconstruction upon them. With every great Prophet his life is the only commentary. Look at his life: what he did will bear out the texts. Read the Gita, and you will find that it is exactly borne out by the life of the Teacher.
Mohammed by his life showed that amongst Mohammedans there should be perfect equality and brotherhood. There was no question of race, caste, creed, colour, or sex. The Sultan of Turkey may buy a Negro from the mart of Africa, and bring him in chains to Turkey; but should he become a Mohammedan and have sufficient merit and abilities, he might even marry the daughter of the Sultan. Compare this with the way in which the Negroes and the American Indians are treated in this country! And what do Hindus do? If one of your missionaries chance to touch the food of an orthodox person, he would throw it away. Notwithstanding our grand philosophy, you note our weakness in practice; but there You see the greatness of the Mohammedan beyond other races, showing itself in equality, perfect equality regardless of race or colour.
Will other and greater Prophets come? Certainly they will come in this world. But do not look forward to that. I should better like that each one of you became a Prophet of this real New Testament, which is made up of all the Old Testaments. Take all the old messages, supplement them with your own realisations, and become a Prophet unto others. Each one of these Teachers has been great; each has left something for us; they have been our Gods. We salute them, we are their servants; and, all the same, we salute ourselves; for if they have been Prophets and children of God, we also are the same. They reached their perfection, and we are going to attain ours now. Remember the words of Jesus: "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" This very moment let everyone of us make a staunch resolution: "I will become a Prophet, I will become a messenger of Light, I will become a child of God, nay, I will become a God!"
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。