The Universe

Oxford, to you I bow because you hold your tradition.
Oxford, to you I bow because you own English glory.
Oxford, to you I bow because you are the English pride.

Aum. Aum is God. Aum is the Inner Pilot. Aum is the Universe.

"Aum. Purnamadah purnamidam. Purnat purnamudachyate. Purnasya purnamadaya purnamevavashishyate."

The universe. Infinity is that. Infinity is this. From infinity, infinity has come into existence. When infinity is taken away, infinity remains the same.

Marcus Aurelius said, "The man who does not know what the universe is, does not know where he lives."

The universe.

The universe is God's Creation and man's realisation.
The universe is God's Compassion and man's emancipation.
The universe is God's Concentration and man's transformation.
The universe is God's Meditation and man's revelation.
The universe is God's Contemplation and man's manifestation.

The poet in me tells me that the universe is beautiful.
The singer in me tells me that the universe is enchanting.
The philosopher in me tells me that the universe meaningful.
The Yogi in me tells me that the universe is soulful.
The God lover in me tells me that the universe is fruitful.

My poet sees the truth.
My philosopher achieves the truth.
My Yogi realises the truth, and
My God lover becomes the truth.

Man's dictionary houses millions of words. But God's Dictionary has only two words: aspiration and receptivity. Aspiration and receptivity are the two words we see in God's Dictionary. God out of His boundless Bounty offers these two most significant words, should I say, this significant wealth, to mankind: aspiration and receptivity.

The aspiration of today is tomorrow's salvation.
The receptivity of today is tomorrow's infinity.

In the finite we have to hear the message of the Infinite.
In the fleeting second we have to hear the message of the eternal Beyond.
In the domain of death, we have to hear the message of Immortality.

Here at this point, the immortal poet Blake sings through us and for us,

"To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

This is the message a spiritual seeker can cherish. His inner being, inner life can be surcharged with this message, and this message can reverberate in the inmost recesses of his aspiring heart.

The outer universe, the inner universe and the inmost universe. My physics friend, my chemistry friend, my geography friend, my astronomy friend all of them inform me about the outer universe. I am most grateful to them. My psychology friend and my philosophy friend tell me about the inner universe. I am most grateful to them. My Yogi friend and my Avatar friend tell me about the inmost universe. I am most grateful to them. I ask them all if they are totally satisfied with their achievements, discoveries and realisations. They flatly say, "No."

My friends in the outer universe tell me that they have much more to discover and unravel. My friends in the inner universe tell me that they have much more to embody and realise. Finally, my friends in the inmost universe tell me that they have much more to reveal and manifest.

The visible universe and the invisible universe. The thinker in us sees the visible universe with the aspiring mind. The knower in us feels the visible universe with the aspiring heart.

Now the invisible universe. In order to enter into the invisible universe, what we need is the soul's illumining light. If we do not see with the soul's illumining light, if we do not listen to the dictates of our soul, it is simply impossible for us to enter into the invisible universe.

The living universe and the evolving universe, the dying universe and the perishing universe. When we aspire, when we try to go beyond the boundaries of the finite consciously, soulfully and spontaneously, we live in the living and the evolving universe. When we consciously or unconsciously cherish doubt, jealousy, fear, imperfections, bondage, limitations and death, we live in the dying and perishing universe.

If we want to live in the universe, the spiritual universe or the real universe, we have to know that we have to abide by the laws of the universe.

What are the laws of the universe? Love and serve.

Love humanity. Serve divinity.

We have to love humanity in divinity. We have to serve the divinity in humanity.

At this point, we can recollect the message of Plato who said, "Through obedience we learn to command." Now, if we obey the laws of the universe, then we can command ignorance and govern death.

The scientist wants to discover the entire universe. The spiritual person, the seeker of the infinite Truth, wants to discover the universe. Now, the spiritual scientist and the spiritual seeker, will always run together. They have the same message.

The scientist of scientists, Einstein, offers us the most sublime message: "His life is worthwhile who lives for others." This is precisely what a spiritual person, a seeker of boundless light and peace tells us. Only he who lives for others has a meaningful life. Verily this is the message of all secret and hallowed religions: live for others.

Now, science and religion run abreast in this respect, but there is something else. We call it Yoga. It is a Sanskrit word which means union, union with God, union with infinity, eternity and immortality. Now, when we enter into the field of Yoga we feel that our love, our service that we offer to mankind, is not for others, but it is for us, for our enlarged part. There is no such thing as 'others'. All are members of the same family.

When we remain in the mire of ignorance, we say "I", "you", "him", but when it is a matter of oneness, inseparable oneness, oneness with God, oneness with mankind, oneness with God's Creation, then we cannot say that it is for others. It is for our sakes, for the sake of our enlarged and more complete self.

Discovery. Science will discover the truth. Religion, or should I say spirituality, will discover the truth in the universe; and Yoga, oneness with God, will realise the ultimate Truth for the universe.

When the discovery of the scientist is complete, he will see that his universe is manifesting the Truth of the ultimate Beyond.

When religion or spirituality discovers the ultimate Truth, it will see that its universe is realising the Truth of the ever transcending Beyond.

Finally, when Yoga, or conscious union with God and mankind, completes its journey, it will transform the face of the world. It will illumine the face of the earth.

The discovery of the scientist, the discovery of religion and spirituality, and the discovery of one's highest oneness, inseparable oneness with God, will run together like three brothers, running towards the eternal Father, the Goal.

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Thursday, November 19th, 1970
Keble College, Oxford