Q : I had a thought to take your Walk Of Hope to everyone. Many problems came our way but somehow they sorted themselves out. For eg: people teaming up instantly on their own and those not even on friendly terms with me coming up saying they want to contribute. Four radio stations called up today to extend support for this campaign—considering the animosity between radio and TV channels. So, what is the magic behind this?
Sri M : There is no magic in this. It is only love. My heart is clean. I don’t hate anyone. Sometimes, to discipline, one might have to be stern—that too is done with love and not hate. When you don’t hate anyone, love prospers. When we talk of Hindus and Muslims, I am reminded of what The Bible says: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’. I may go a step further, without changing anything. I may go on to say that, ‘Those who are pure in heart are God’. You, I, and those in the audience – if all of us purify our hearts and harbour no hatred for anyone, then we all become God. And, the world shall become a Heaven. This thought has had some impact on my heart as well. When people meet me, they feel I possess something different. But I really don’t. I may have a long nose, but there is nothing else. So, when people who meet me are scolded, they don’t feel bad, as they know they have been scolded out of love.
Secondly, I tell the truth as it is. If I don’t know the answer to any question, I do not hesitate to say that I don’t know! In today’s world, it’s a difficult thing for people to say: ‘I don’t know’. Nobody wants to say that. Everyone wants to say that they know everything. Does it mean everyone is a Guru? If everyone is a Guru, where will the disciples come from?
Once, there lived a Brahmachari who went to a Guru and asked him to accept him as a disciple. The Guru agreed and told the Brahmachari that he would have to do all the work in the Ashram. The Brahmachari enquired, ‘What kind of work would I have to do?’ The Guru replied, ‘You will have to get up early every morning to clean the kutir (hut), go down to the Ganga and fetch water, and you will have to collect wood for the dhuni.’ The Brahmachari thought this was a tall order and asked the Guru, ‘What is needed to become a Guru?’ The Guru replied, ‘To be a Guru, you will have to sit in Padmaasan (lotus pose), lift your hand and say God Bless You!’ The Brahmachari said, ‘Then make me a Guru instead.’
This is how it is nowadays. With great difficulty, it has to be explained that for the journey to start, one has to first assume that one knows nothing. That is when our Soul Yatra starts and that is also when our journey to Kashmir starts. We are walking from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and I believe that, alongside, there is also a journey to be undertaken within. Gradually, may we reach that goal, where there is Supreme Bliss.