Good is good and bad is good.

When you can ford this duality and accept both in the same manner, the grand design of life reveals itself.

Life, when you come to think of it, is really an unmixed blessing. Everything, everything, has something to teach us. Nothing goes waste, nothing is bad, everything works out for our ultimate good. A crow shitting on your brand-new dupatta is here to teach you tolerance and acceptance- how kind of the crow! A traffic jam gives you an excellent opportunity to experience your frustration and overcome it. How kind of those who engineered it! A manipulative colleague is here to teach you to overcome anger and a sense of victimization. It is good indeed of the colleague to take on such bad karma in order to help you grow. This approach can seem almost sarcastic, but if we really see all those who trigger our buttons and inflame our issues as benefactors, and not pains in the neck, permanent peace, joy and happiness will be ours. Life has thrown us an enormous riddle, the crux of which is to obtain the lasting peace and equanimity that we are programmed to yearn for, while fielding the innumerable small irritants, and occasional major traumas and tragedies it bowls at us, virtually non-stop. THIS IS LIFE. There is no exit, no short-cut, no way out. Even death is not a solution, because after a while, back we come to the playing field and face that baneful bowler all over again. This is the supreme game of life and it is to master this that we take birth time and again. Alas, we don't know this and like novice players we flinch against the onslaught, hit back at those who hit us, run away from the playing field and sink into stupor, or divert ourselves into some dead-end pursuit like making money or making loveeverything but play the game. At some point or the other-and it is an individual moment for all of us-something gives. We tire of the meaningless pain of existence. We long, this time sincerely, to end all suffering. Thus is born the seeker, and behold, his suffering reaches a fresh pitch. There is no more running away, no more living in illusions. As the seeker determinedly faces the reality of things, his notions of himself and life become a flux. He realizes he is not the goody two-shoes he always thought he was. He realizes the world is not out to get him, but is simply a reflection of his own attitude. A dispiriting and acutely painful discovery. But this is the shadowland all travelers to the Sunny Shore must go

through. There is no way out. Courageously he sets out, battling and overcoming his many fears, desires, and selfishness. In time, with patience, the terrible crossing is over. He realizes he is not a victim. Indeed, he could be a victor! When we arrive at this understanding, the seeking begins to give fruit. Instead of blaming others and life itself for our reactions and predicaments, we take the dialog within. Instead of blaming your friend for being critical of you, you look to see if there is some truth to what he says. Instead of being bruised by a snub from someone you wanted to impress, you take responsibility for your faulty motivation. As we slowly start taking more and more responsibility for our states of mind, for our happiness and growth, life begins to develop a feisty flavor. We are developing our batting skills and the fearsome bowler is not quite so daunting any more. In fact, on good days he can actually be exhilarating. Those are the days that we grow quantumly. We don't fight back when the lady behind us in the crowded local shrieks at us. When the vegetable vendor tries to cheat us of a tenner, we do not rave. Instead, we politely bur firmly explain how much he owes us. When the one we love declares that she is calling the whole thing off, we swallow hard and find the grace to let go. When our classmate gets the scholarship we longed for, we actually find the space to be happy for her. Each time we extend ourselves to go beyond our narrow ego-self, we expand in consciousness and grow in stature. And each time we do this, our happiness quotient is notched up a tiny bit. A sense of empowerment fills us. This thing called life is beginning to work. We learn to relax a bit, and let down our guard. A sense of being up against it, of battling against life begins to lift. We stop resisting life. When the doorbell rings while you are in the bath, you no longer curse, but peacefully continue with the bath, or peacefully don a bathrobe and open the door. When the neighbor buys all the large eggs and leaves you with minnows, it is no longer a case for flouncing inside and banging the door shut. When her husband parks his car in your space, you don't hop with rage. You sort out the matter tactfully and considerately and what's more, you not only have your parking space but you have a friend too. You discover that there are no foes, only friends. Life and you are moving in the same direction. There is nothing that life gives you which you don't want. Hunger, famine, plague, illness, accidents, the very worst that life can throw at you-you have room for them all. You embrace them to yourself and make them part of you. A quiet hum of gratitude begins to rise. How wonderful life is! How glorious is its design. Sadhu Vaswani, founder of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission,used to have a oneword prayer always on his lips, "Shukhar."

Finally, that's all that's left. Shukhar.

Meditation, sangha and serving in love will lead the aspirant from ignorance to enlightenment. Every pilgrim on the path realizes that in spite of the glittering lights around him, he lives enveloped in a world of darkness. The poet Goethe, on the last day of his life, asked his friends to open the windows of his room, saying: "Light! More light!" In the heart of every true seeker there rises the ancient Vedic prayer: Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya or 'Out of darkness lead me, O Lord, into light.' The goal of every true seeker is enlightenment. How may we move out of the dark into the light? What is it that takes us into the light? The answer comes: 'Love leads us into the world of light!' The great mystic poet of Iran, Jalal-ud-Din Rumi says: "Love lifteth the veil." But with love we need to blend renunciation. Let the twain be one. Love is not love if it has not learnt to renounce every comfort, every attachment, every desire for the sake of the beloved. For the love of God cannot be kindled in a heart that is not emptied of all else. Ibrahim bin-Adham was the king of Balkah. He renounced everything - his throne, his palaces, his wife and child - and set out in quest of Allah. He became a saint through whom the joy and inspiration of God flowed out to many. After several years, Ibrahim met his son. A spark of love for the child was generated within his heart. He embraced the prince and greeted him with the warmth of love. Immediately, he says, he heard a voice within him. It said: "Ibrahim, either love me or your child. Make your choice." Ibrahim quickly departed. On his lips was the prayer: "Forgive me, Lord, I love thee and none besides!"

From the mingling of love and renunciation comes enlightenment. Those who love God find their rest in God alone."Save by renouncing," said the Buddha, "no safety can I see for living things." In a Russian novel, we read of a doctor who feels the emptiness of existence and who seeks the joy of life in eating enormously whenever he gets a chance to do so. And this doctor says: "If one thinks about it, you know, looks into it and analyzes all this hotch-potch, if you will allow me to call it so, it is not life but more like a fire in a theater!" And I recall what the Buddha said to his disciples on a memorable occasion: "O bhikhus, look around you and behold everything is on fire!" It is the fire of trishna, tanha, craving in which the world is burning. Modern life is a conflagration. And the remedy is renunciation. Shortcut to Enlightenment "Is there a shortcut to enlightenment?" someone asked me. And I said: "There are no short-cuts to goals worth attaining. But if you wish to be enlightened, you must long for it, you must yearn for it deeply." Enlightenment is not afar. It is waiting outside the door, waiting to enter. All you need is an intense longing. Ancient books speak of tivra samveganam. I would translate it as 'burning desire'. A burning desire is needed. We desire so many things: but if we have this one desire for enlightenment, it will not elude us. Man has been given the power of desire. If he were to desire but one thing, to the exclusion of all else, he would surely get the thing desired. There are many who desire enlightenment but their hearts are homes to many other desires and hence it eludes them. Gradually, through the grace of God and the guru, and through practice of silence, we can grow in the spirit of detachment until only one desire remains: "I need thee, Lord, I need nothing besides. Neither pleasures nor possessions nor power do I need. I need thee and thee alone!" End of the Road Two days ago, someone asked me at the dining table: "Suppose you knew in advance of the difficulties and dangers you would have to face, would you still have trodden the way?" I thought for a while and said: "Yes, the way is strewn with trials and tribulations, but the love and peace and joy that you get at the end of the road makes it well worth your while!" A holy man was asked: "If your master had warned you of the difficulties and dangers

you would have to face and also told you of the reward you would finally get, would you still have embraced the holy life?" And he answered: "Though the way may be filled with difficulties and dangers, I know of no other way for I cannot live without seeking or being close to the beloved." Such people attain enlightenment. To them God whispers: "I am not afar!" The Enlightened Man It has been rightly said: "God unenlightened is man. Man enlightened is God." Enlightenment makes a man new. He is changed physically, mentally, spiritually. The scriptures tell us: "His body becomes beautiful, graceful and strong." He becomes charming, delightful, always positive. He acquires a charismatic personality. People love to look at him, gaze at his face - "pure and fair beyond compare". He exudes splendor. His body becomes strong not in the strength of muscle and bone but in the strength which defies physical illness and which stress and strain, worry, anxiety, fear cannot touch. His radiant face is a picture of energy, enthusiasm, vitality. Thus Spake the Master This happened many, many years ago. It was the hour of dusk. Gloom spread over the earth: there was glamor in the skies. I sat at the feet of my beloved master, Sadhu Vaswani. I put to him this question: "Master, what may a man do to be enlightened?" And the master said: "Three things are neededo Sanga: To be enlightened, you must be in contact with a man of light, an illumined one. To live with such a one is a rare privilege: his life will give more than a million books can. Out of life cometh life and a man of light will wake up within you, the center of light. o Meditation: Through meditation you will gradually grow in harmony with the man of light. Meditation aims at harmony, rhythmic vibration. Remember, too, that you are helped on in meditation by spiritual pictures and symbols. As you grow in meditation, you will find how veil after veil is drawn back, until a new revelation of what you are in the depths rises before you: a new consciousness of your hidden powers awakes within you. You become conscious of new reserves of life in your being. You have but to tap them and through you will flow shakti, energy, to others. o Love and the service of love: Don't aim for big things. But, my child, be happy to serve in little things, little acts of kindness, little deeds of love. And in every act of service, whether done to a bird or animal or a poor, lowly man in need, what you give

is an offering to your guru, your Ishta, the God-man, the man of light, the enlightened one. Then every act of your seva becomes a song: and you become a flute through which the Lord sings to bless and heal. The process of receiving the divine light is an ascent from height to height and a descent from depth to depth. Has the process an ending? Through sanga, meditation and seva, the mirror of the heart is cleansed of impurities. When the heart is pure enough, it draws rays of the divine sun and hears the naad shabda, the Word, I am, Sat Naam, Om Tat Sat, Om or Illahu. In different ways is uttered the one Word. The vision appears in the heart, at first, as a flash, then as a series of flashes. The flashes gradually assume definite forms as you grow in the power of meditation and in purity of heart. The lamp, the flame, the stars, the moon, the sun, the lotus, the flute and the cross are some of the forms in which the vision gleams. And, sometimes, you are overwhelmed by the light of the vision: the light shines brilliant as a hundred suns. And I asked: "What is the test of this light?" The master said: A test of this light is the joy aroused in the heart. This joy, bliss, is the ananda of which the rishis have sung in rapturous strains. "Out of ananda," we read, "are the worlds born." When this ananda fills you, you see the one within you, around you, beyond you, the one in the heart, and the one in this world and the stars, the one in the soul, the one in all things, all creatures. This bliss thrills you to an ecstasy in which there is neither space nor time, neither day nor night, neither far nor near, neither east nor west. The bliss is unspeakable, the bliss surpasses understanding. The intellect fades into the night, words falter. And having beheld the glory, you enter silence. In this silence, your mundane knowledge is seen to be ignorance. In this bliss all desires melt away. You see the futility of outer forms - the yellow robe, the saffron turban, the sanyasin's staff, the ascetic's seclusion from men. You see in the outer crafts, creeds and ceremonials the subtleties of the desire-nature. In this light, your 'self' has vanished. You have sacrificed yourself to the eternal self, you have entered the shrine of silence. The Mystic Path There are three steps on the mystic way: purification, illumination or enlightenment and unification.

When the heart is purged of all desire, it is flooded with light. At first there appears a point of light in the lotus of the heart. Gradually it grows into a conflagration and the entire being is illumined. And as the seeker opens his eyes, he beholds the same light all around him, in the saint and the sinner, the rich and the poor, the young and the old, in the sun and moon and stars, in rivers and rocks, in stones and streams, in every atom and atman. The ways to enlightenment are many. One simple way is to chant the holy name without ceasing. As you keep on repeating the divine name, your heart grows in purity, grows until one day, by the grace of God and the guru, the darkness disappears and man is enlightened. Swami Ramdas, a saint of modern India, tells us that he found from his experience that there was no easier or more effective way to focus the mind than by chanting the Lord's holy name. "When the name is repeated, it removes from the mind all its impurities and makes the mind still. In that still state God reveals himself," and man attains enlightenment. The enlightened man rejoices in the service of the surrounding world - the service of the poor and broken ones, the unwanted and unloved, the hopeless and the homeless ones. He beholds the light of God shining within them and he says: "I shall seek my joy in serving them." Listen to the words of Sadhu Vaswani: "Rejoice in the service of the pauper, the poor and broken ones. The joy of serving them, who are joyless and in suffering and agony, is greater than the joy of Indra, the joy of heaven!" Chiune Sugihara was the Japanese Consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1940. Lithuanians would come to revere him for his gentleness and loving-kindness. Some of them, indeed, regarded him as a saint. When the Soviets entered the city that year, Jews stormed the embassy to secure exit visas in order to flee. Nazi troops were expected to reach Lithuania quickly, and the Soviets wanted Sugihara out within three weeks. Sugihara cabled Tokyo for permission to grant visas to the desperate Jews. When permission was denied, Sugihara tore up the cable and began to sign exit visas anyway. We are told that he worked 20 hours a day "pausing only for tea and for [his wife] to massage his hand, circulate his blood. He was still signing the morning he left He rolled down the window of his car and signed [another] visa. Later, in the hotel, the door banged all night. He sat at a rented desk, stamping the passports with a smile, and a bow. "On the train platform, more were waiting, so he used luggage, books and people's backs as hard surfaces. He was still signing as the train began to pull away. He had to

hand the last one back through the moving window..... "Years later, an American rabbi asked him why he did it. He thought for a moment, then replied: 'I don't understand the question.' " Though he may not have known it, Sugihara was a truly enlightened soul. Such persons realize that darkness cannot be dispelled by darkness: darkness is dispelled by light. And the light is the light of love. Those of us who carry this light in our hearts should spread it so that, in the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, "the world will not sink into total darkness." The truly enlightened soul lives not for the self alone. He beholds his self in everyone; everything around him and the service of all life becomes his goal. J. P. (Dada) Vaswani is a leader of the Sindhi community and the head of the Pune- based Sadhu Vaswani Mission

Step by step the guru leads, guarding the disciple against pitfalls, training him in a life of purity and prayer, meditation and detachment, simplicity and selfless service, humility and self-surrender. a master reminisces about his own guru I have often been asked: Is it necessary to have a guru? My simple answer is: To me the guru is as necessary as breath is to the body. Without the guru I am no better than a dead soul. Out of the very depths of my yearning heart hath come this aspiration, again and again: Where would I be without thee, beloved? We should feel indebted to our parents for giving us the gift of life and having sowed in us the seeds of character. But howsoever noble be our character, we continue to be children of darkness. Who but the guru will take us out of darkness into the Light? The guru is the great dispeller of darkness. The guru is the giver of enlightenment. All glory to the guru! I was fortunate to find my Guru (Sadhu Vaswani) when I was still a college-student. I should say, when the Guru found me. We cannot find the guru. We can only yearn for the guru. The Upanishads say: When the disciple is ready, the guru appears! I think it is the guru who comes and makes us ready. Without his grace, we cannot receive the treasure which all the wealth of the world cannot buy.

The guru is our visible God. Sometimes, as I drew close to my own Guru, I felt that to touch the hem of his garment was to commune with God. The light of God shone in his eyes. The smile of God was on his face. A wonder of the Infinite was in his faraway gaze. A fragrance, as of the spring breeze, was in the wondrous words he spoke. Sadhu Vaswani carried with himself a tremendous power of the Spirit. He was a man of spiritual magnetism. His was an electric personality. Around him was an atmosphere of lighta mark of servants of God and humanity. People heard him, saw him, and exclaimed: What a giant of a man! What strength! What an impressive personality. Everyone near him looked so insignificant in comparison. Yet he was so simple, so humble. His devotees called him their guru, but he said: I am a guru of none: I am a disciple of all! Crowds followed him wherever he went eager to listen to his words more precious than pearls. But he gave himself no supernatural airs. He was one of the humblest of men who ever trod the earth. Sadhu Vaswani was an ocean of love. Love flowed out of him in an endless, ceaseless stream. His eyes were radiant with love. His words were vibrant with love. The very tips of his fingers thrilled with love. He did not claim to have supernatural powers. But there is a Power above all other powersof love. If there is one force that can bring about transformation in the life of another, it is love. He worked this miracle of transformation in many lives. Sadhu Vaswani was a spiritual communist. He believed in the religion of love that teaches us to share all we have with the poor and needy, the unwanted and the unloved. Religions, he said, are worth no more than a straw if they do not teach man how to love God and serve the God-in-man. Service, to him, was higher than mukti, liberation from the cycle of birth and death. I do not aspire to mukti, he said. I do not want the joys of the heavenworld. I fain would come, again and again, to this world, if only that I might be of some service to those who suffer and are in pain. Once, pointing to a street dog he said: I would not mind being reborn as a dog if thereby I can give help to some in need. Many of us felt drawn to him as irresistibly as iron filings to a magnet. Some, indeed, left their well-paid jobs to follow him. What is there that we would not have done for him? All he asked of us was: Shed your I and me and mine, then come to me, and you will be with me forever and forever more! Sadhu Vaswani was not a teacher of the ascetic way. He taught that man need not run away from the world. He must live in the world and fulfil his duties.

His ideal was to be in the world but not of the world. He repeatedly asked us never to forget that we are here as pilgrims, that our stay on this isle of enchantmentthe earthis brief, and that we must retrace our steps to our Homeland which, alas, we have forgotten in the noise of empirical existence. We are here to fulfil Gods plan for us. So the most important thing for us is to constantly remember Him and aspire to do His will. God above everything, God first and foremost. Until the longing for God wakes up within our hearts, we are not truly awake. As Sadhu Vaswani said in words of lyrical beauty: The waking ones, alas! are not awake: And the sleepers sleep Until Thy Light on them doth shine! Awake are many called: But they are not the waking ones. Nor do the sleepers truly wake Until they learn in silence and in love To sing the Name Divine! Most of us need someone to awaken us, an evolved soul, an awakened onethe guru. The guru is the Great Awakener. The Guru, Sadhu Vaswani says, is the lift to raise us to the heights, the lift which may take little ones to the Kingdom of God. According to Sadhu Vaswani, one essential mark of the true disciple is implicit obedience to the guru. Not my will but the Gurus will be done, says the true disciple at every step. The more he gets in tune with the Gurus will, the more does he grow into the likeness of the guru, until one day, the disciple becomes part of the gurus being. The twain are one, one in the One who is Peace, Joy and Bliss! Lehna was a rich silk merchant. One day, he saw Guru Nanak and came under his magnetic spell. He stayed with Guru Nanak and served him, walking the way of obedience. The day came when Lehnas bonds were broken, and he was born anew into the freedom of the sons of God. Embracing him, the Guru said: From today, you are Angad, a limb of my body, a breath of my being, one with me in Spirit, blended with my soul. Thus does it happen in the case of every disciple who walks the way of implicit obedience and loving devotion. Step by step, does the guru lead him, guarding him against pitfalls, training him in a life of purity and prayer, of meditation and detachment, of simplicity and selfless service, of humility and self-surrender, pouring upon him benedictions of the Spirit. Homage to the Guru!

Dada Jashan Pahlajrai Vaswani, the spiritual head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, exudes the openness and humility of the truly enlightened. One is as comfortable in his presence as in ones own, so easy is he to be with. Dada, who has been running the Mission ever since the demise of his uncle and the Missions founder Sadhu Vaswani in 1966, is, at 85, active, eager and engaged with life. He oversees a large organisation of mainly Sindhi followers with centres in India and representatives all over the world. At the Pune headquarters, the Missions commitment to the ideals of simran ( meditation) and seva (service) is evident, from the snaking line of indigents waiting for their daily meal to the sea of golden grain for the ashrams pigeons. The Missions reverence for all life is one of its best-known values and is embodied not just in an active concern for birds and animals but also in the proclamation of November 25, the death anniversary of Sadhu Vaswani, as a Meatless Day. Crores of people all over the world have pledged allegiance to this oath. In Mumbai to record his daily talks with a TV channel, Dada spent time with Life Positive to make a passionate plea for vegetarianism. What are your main reasons for advocating vegetarianism? I object to meat eating on three counts: humanitarian, hygienic and aesthetic. I believe that one life flows into allmen, birds and animals. No one has the right to take away life. Life is Gods most precious gift. From the health and hygiene point of view, non-vegetarian food is high in cholesterol. From the aesthetic point of view, the cruelty to animals is insupportable. Have you ever visited a slaughter-house? But isnt it natures way that we serve each other with our lives? Each one should serve the other provided the service is voluntary. The animal loves his life as much as we do. This is exploitation by humans. The time has come when all exploitation must cease. The piteous soul of humanity is crying for peace. But there can be no peace until we stop all killing. If I kill an animal for food, then I can also kill an enemy. But is this inference really borne out by facts? After all, the West is more concerned about human rights than we are and they are largely meat-eaters.

They are more war-minded. The latest war (in Iraq) was an infliction by America on a country that did nothing. Is non-vegetarianism a reason for this? It is one of the reasons. The West believes that might is righta great fallacy. You cannot have either culture or peace as long as you believe that. Not many are aware that on an average a human being eats up over a 1,000 creatures who value life as much as those who eat them up. We must recognise the moral inviolability of the individualhuman and non-human. Just as blacks dont exist as resources for whites or women for men, even so animals dont exist as resources for men. There can be no peace without vegetarianism. Is vegetarianism enough to guarantee peace or is this the first step? I believe that it is the very first step. Today, I hear of animal welfare. But what is needed is animal rights. Men have rights. Do animals not have rights? Who has befriended man since the dawn of creation? Do men have no duty towards them? It is time to formulate a charter of animal rights. The very first right will be the right to live. Just as blacks dont exist as resources for whites or women for men, even so animals dont exist as resources for men. There can be no peace without vegetarianism. Thats radical. Will everyone agree to this? It might take time but it will surely happen. The same questions were asked when abolition of slavery was mooted. This step is to be taken because otherwise, humanity cannot live in peace and happiness. We cannot take away what we cannot give. And we cannot give life. The 19th century gave rights to slaves. The next century gave rights to women. The 21st Century will surely give right to animals. Does vegetarianism have an impact on our spiritual progress? Food has an effect on the temperament of man. I know of a total meat-eater who had a bad temper. After he converted to vegetarianism, he became calm and patient. How did the Meatless Day come about?

Sadhu Vaswani passed away on November 25, 1966. Our American devotees suggested that we observe that day as Meatless Day, where people pledge to stay off animal food for that one day. Sadhu Vaswani said: Believe me, the day will come when meat-eating will be condemned as murder. I have seen Gods image shining in birds and animals. Not to love them is not to love God. Last year we received 4 crore and 36 lakh pledges from all over the world. We have also joined forces with PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals). Recently, the UN asked me to deliver a lecture and I said that the only way to peace is to give rights to all, including animals. What came of it? I dont think they have a charter of animal rights. But no matter. We continue to strive for it, offering our work at the lotus feet of the Lord. The time spirit is in favour of vegetarianism. People are more receptive. We plan to open a veterinary hospital in Pune as soon as we get land. Meanwhile, a mobile hospital goes to all the villages every year on November 25, giving vaccines to cows to avoid foot and mouth diseases. Members of our centre at Bangalore go to slaughter houses, purchase animals and set them free. Are your mission members vegetarian? About 80 to 85 per cent are. But there is no coercion. It is quite a surprise to find that some of our close associates are not vegetarian. A vegetarian is not superior to a nonvegetarian. So many priests and fathers are close to God despite being nonvegetarians. What is your opinion about the state of the world? Terrorism, for instance? All this is temporary. As for India, we have regained freedom after 12 centuries. The baser instincts are bound to surface. I believe the soul of India is very strong. It will set itself right. I see its future as very bright. India is coming up spiritually, materially and economically. On a personal note who are your role models apart from Sadhu Vaswani? Krishna, Christ and Buddha. Krishna is my father. Christ and Buddha are my uncles. And your mother? Sadhu Vaswani is my mother. It was he who gave me birth.

What is the one thing that has seen you through life? If anything, it is faith. As I entered this world, I understood that there is a meaning of mercy of everything in life. It may appear to be a trial, a very difficult experience, but there is a meaning behind it. God is my father and loving. And no loving heart would wish to do this to me otherwise. So you live in a state of surrender to all that comes? How does it feel to live like that?

Very beautiful. Like a wave in the sea. All credit goes to the Mother Divine. What message do you have for Life Positive readers? Be positive. Life is full of trials and tribulations. But being positive means not to think of the trials. You may be surrounded by the most adverse conditions but you will continue to look for best results. Hence, you are undaunted and invulnerable. Is liberation only through Gods grace? More than a process, it is a gift. Of course, you have to keep purifying yourself but remember you have no control. We are so many zeroes. Only when one is added does the sum have value. But God will surely give you liberation when the time is ready. When Sadhu Vaswani was alive, a few of us were debating on who he was. Was he an educator? A saint? Just then he passed by and we told him: We want to know who you are. He said: I am a zero, a Sindhi zero (which is just a point). It is that which Sadhu Vaswani represented. We have to get to that. What is your personal path to the Divine? There are many pathsselfless service, inquiry, self-surrender. I know a little of selfsurrender. When you surrender, He uses you. One of my favourite prayers is: Our wills are there to make them thine. I resist nothing because I am confident that what is happening is for the best. Even if there is some resistance, I tell myself that it is Gods will and not mine. There was a king who became a fakir and he used to talk of surrender. When people asked him what he meant by surrender he gave the example of a handsome little serving boy he once had while king. Drawn to the boys lustrous appearance he asked

him: What is your name? The boy replied: How can a slave have a name? What master calls me is my name. That is surrender. Then all turmoil is taken from life. There is no stress or strain.