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The
Ten Commandments as VEDA |
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by Al Drucker |
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| Prashanti Nilayam, Aug '88 |
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3
We find the Prophets and Psalmists singing of a world steeped in peace, where even the strong nations will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and nations shall not lift up their sword against nation and they shall make war no more... and every man will sit under his vine and fig tree and not be afraid... and the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion shall frolic together. This is Ahimsa in its deepest sense. Perhaps its most beautiful expression is embedded in David's lyrical poetry making up the 23rd Psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie
down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." This is
the pastoral image, a vision of a world free of violence, a heaven on
Earth that is our soul's natural home.
6. You shall not commit
adultery.
This commandment instructs us to honor the institution of marriage,
and thereby protect the sanctity of the family and the home. It goes
directly with the fourth commandment, for how can we truly honor and
revere our father and mother unless their marriage vows of mutual fidelity
to each other remain sacred, and the marriage, the home and family that
they have created is secure. Sai Baba has spoken of marriage as the union of two souls for the
purpose of gaining self-control and selflessness. He said, "Ego is
very harmful. It is for killing the ego that a man and woman are brought
together in marriage, so that they can learn to adjust to one another and
forget their egos. Marriage is a sacred bond; each become half. Half plus
half becomes one, not two. I plus I becomes we. For human beings who are
governed by the senses, God has created this union of marriage to satisfy
them and help them develop their self-control." So we see that
marriage is an important spiritual workshop for gaining mastery over
selfishness, sensuality and the other lower qualities in our makeup; at
the same time, it helps us develop the higher qualities such as charity,
understanding, compassion, selflessness, and sacrifice. Adultery is the
principal enemy that breaks up marriage and with it robs each soul of the
opportunity for gaining crucial victories over its lower nature. There is a deeper essence teaching contained in this commandment
that deals not with the physical marriage of two individuals, but the
inner spiritual marriage between the male and female aspects of our own
nature... the two selves within us that are destined to be united as one
Self. We are speaking of the natural marriage between the individual and
the Universal, between man and God, between Jiva and Atma, between Nature
and Spirit or mind and heart.
The duty of the mind is to serve, love and cherish its source, the
spiritual heart. When mind turns its attention outwards to the attraction
of the senses as they roam in the world, instead of turning its focus
inwards to serve its master, then to the extent that we are identified
with that wayward mind we are committing adultery and betraying our
marriage vows and abandoning our birthright. For this is the one marriage
that is truly made in heaven. We come into this sacred human birth for
only one purpose and that is to realize our Reality. Mind is given to us
as an instrument to take us to that goal. Baba has often said, "Mind
alone is the key to liberation or bondage." Mind must only be allowed
to follow the dictates of the heart, which knows the true mission of this
life. If mind follows desires outwards, our life becomes a waste. That is
one of the greatest sins we can commit, for we will have sold out this
rare opportunity given to us to realize the Unity, and merge with our
Divine Source.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear
false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet
your neighbor's wife. 10. You shall not desire
your neighbor's house or field or anything that belongs to him. |
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