by Sri Ravi Ravi Shankar: Ahimsa, satya, shaucha, daya, aastikyadi, charitrayani paripalniyani…
What do the scriptures say? What is that you have to do in order to be in such Divine love, in order to be a devotee? What is that you have to do in order to be a devotee?
It says the first principle is non-violence. A devotee cannot afford to be violent. The owner of this universe is with you, what is that you need to be afraid of? Violence is a sign of weakness. Violence indicates that you are fearful, you have no support, you have no strength. When you have the greatest support with you, when you own the greatest support of this universe, where is the fear? How can you be afraid of anything? People who are violent are often scared. They have fear fermenting in them. They are afraid of losing something, so they become violent. Ahimsa – non-violence is the first principle. Satya – truth, to be with what is.
Shaucha means cleanliness, inner and outer cleanliness, yes? The mind becoming clean, free. That is what meditation does to you. When you go deep in mediation, what happens? When you do Sudarshan Kriya or pranayama, what happens to you? All that negativity just leaves you, drops out of the system – inner and outer cleanliness.
Daya – compassion and Faith in a Divine existence.
All these values need to be absorbed. You need to observe these laws. Though lovers have no rules, there is no rule that you have to express your love only like this, say only this at such a time. Emotions and feelings are spontaneous and their expression is also spontaneous. There cannot be a military rule in expressing your love. It is not a regiment, like a parade where you put your left foot out, or right foot, and you walk like you are in a parade. That is discipline, not a spontaneous expression of love. Discipline and spontaneity are completely opposite, yet they complement each other. This is the paradox here. On one side, Narada is talking about love which transcends all disciplines. Love means chaos and Divine love is utter chaos!
But yet, he says, certain discipline you need to follow so that there is chaos in discipline and discipline in chaos. They complement somewhere on some deep level. Lovers do not like any discipline. Any discipline will suffocate them, they want freedom. That is why they are paradoxical.
Devotion is a path of freedom. The path of love is that of freedom. You have absolute freedom to express your love, but yet, he says, you need to have certain disciplines. What are the disciplines? Ahimsa, non-violence. So that your freedom does not infringe on someone else’s freedom, your love does not suffocate someone else and become violence for them. Satya-truth, Shaucha-purity, Daya-compassion and faith in the Divine will all have to be followed.
