*** 從自由與智慧談到美國 ***
錫呂羅摩(Shri
Rama)規定了許多紀律，讓人類在昇進的道路上有所依循。這在當時是有功效的，但人們也變得太過有紀律、太僵化，以至於人們後來喪失了和真理的連結。這些修行人可能會離棄他們的妻子，或對妻子不好，或以錫呂羅摩之名做種種(不對)的事情，因為人類往往就是如此走到錯誤的途徑。
這就是為什麼在錫呂羅摩2000年之後，錫呂克里希納(Shri
Krishna)降世了(註一)。降世神祇往往再度來到人間，只為了糾正祂先前在人間造成的問題，錫呂克里希納的來世也是如此。所以祂帶來一種新的轉向，即一種新的生活態度。祂談到自由，談到縱情奔放(abandonment)，祂談到生命是為了享受等概念。在祂的觀念中，享受生命才是最好的生活方式，這就為什麼祂說人們應該去玩粉彩遊戲(Holi)，應該要盡情享受，應該去跳團體舞蹈的Raas等等。所以人們開始認為這才是活著的正確方式，要有完全的自由，要過你所喜歡的生活。人們認為要享受生命就應該完全的縱情奔放、沒有任何紀律、沒有任何約束，你可以任意休妻八次、休夫十次等等。這種想法其實在歷史上早已有之，但是在今日的美國才正式發揚光大。
在這種想法之下，人們忘記了另一件事：太初之母是先創造了錫呂格涅沙(Shri
Ganesha)，祂是智慧的來源，也是吉祥的來源。經由祂，人類才能了解什麼是吉祥。假如沒有智慧，這種縱情奔放的行為是非常帶有毀滅性的。所以人必須先建立內裡的智慧，但是這些人在過這種生活之前並未先思考過：自己是否有足夠的智慧？是否有能力在未發展出智慧之前過這種生活呢？
當自由成為生活中的唯一標準，最糟糕的情況即是人們變得極端的霸道及有很大的自我，最常聽到的直接回嗆即是："這有什麼不對？"(What's
wrong?)。
你問他們："為何做這樣的事？"，
"這有什麼不對呢？"，
"我想這是不對的，因為這樣做是不吉祥的。"，
"什麼是吉祥呢？"。
你可以說他們是沒有大腦的，即沒有智慧。在這種完全自由、縱情奔放之下，生命就開始走向毀滅的道路，而且是沒有回頭路的。任何的汚穢不祥都被當成祝福來接受，而且沒有人覺得這是錯的，人類的生命不應該是如此，甚至連動物也不會去做這些汚穢、不吉祥的行為。
在這些種種愚笨的行為上，又加上的另一個大災難，那就是飲酒這一項。此外在提倡自由之下，娼妓文化(譯者：指婚外性行為的氾濫)進入了婚姻體系。
當這個沒有智慧的自由繼續成長，開始創造出一個可怕的自我。當人們放棄了吉祥，錫呂格涅沙就進入休眠狀態，內在的基督也不管你去做什麼，當基督的管制不在，這個自我認為他完全自由了，這個自我並不曉得它連結著各種可怕的敵人。人類的大敵，不論是錫呂克里希納講的"憤怒"，或我認為當代人類的大敵"貪婪"及"忌妒"全部出籠了。就以貪婪來說，或許我們應該說貪婪已無法形容某些人的行為，例如一個人擁有三千雙鞋子，這恐怕不只是貪婪，而是瘋了吧！在貪婪之下我們無法預知人類的行為，也沒有人可以合理解釋人類的行為。
當所有的觀念與想法都從自我出發，自我開始告訴你用什麼方法可以賺多少錢，當你開始賺錢之後，這個自我先生又開始告訴你如何花錢、如何用錢來毀滅自己。人們有錢之後會做種種可怕的事，錢會帶你到各種錯誤的地方，錢變得像惡魔一樣來毀滅你。而這個自我卻讓你感覺你是完美的、你無所不知、你做的都是最好的。
錫呂克里希納是財富之神，所以在這個錫呂克里希納的國家(譯者：指美國)是會充滿錢，但是我們也發現全世界最可怕的事都發生在美國，我們可以說在愚笨、庸俗沒教養、下流淫穢、剝削榨取等各方面，沒有任何國家可以比得上美國。或許這是錢在人類身上的詛咒，人類應了解到沒有智慧的自由是最危險的，(人類和動物最大的差別在人類被授予了自由意志)，如果沒有智慧，那寧可像動物一樣沒有自由。
註一：錫呂毗濕奴(Vishnu)先降世為錫呂羅摩，之後再度降世為錫呂克里希納。
註二：江瑞凱摘譯自Shri Mataji在紐約的錫呂克里希納普祭(Shri
Krishna Puja)談話1997-06-08。JSM
! 敬請霎哈嘉兄弟姊妹們指正。
Shri Krishna’s time was, as you know, at least two thousand
after Shri Rama. And Shri Rama created lots of disciplines for human beings to
follow in the path of their ascent. According to the time everything works out.
So people were extremely rigid, disciplined, and it so happened that people
lost the touch with the truth. They would leave their wives, ill-treat their
wives, do all kinds of things in the name of Shri Rama; because always human
beings take to something which is not right. The another side they never saw,
how Rama went after Sitaji to find Her, and He fought the horrible rakshasa
Ravana to get back His wife. So the other side people never see. Only this side
they saw that He was very strict with His wife, and if the wife stayed over in
some function He got so angry, and He shouted at Her and He threw Her out, and
all those things.
That is how Shri Krishna came in. Always incarnations come one
after another to correct themselves only. When Shri Krishna found that it is on
the other side, of ego – that men thought they were very powerful people and
they could do whatever they liked, and they had all the power to judge their
wives – so Shri Krishna came with a new diversion, or I should say, from a new
idea about life. He talked of freedom, He talked of abandonment, and He talked
that life is for enjoyment. Radha was the source of joy. “Ra” is energy, “dha”
means the one who sustains energy. She was the source of joy, and His idea was,
to enjoy life is the best way to live. And that’s why He said that you should
play Holi, you should enjoy yourselves, you must have Raas, by which you enjoy
group dancing and freedom.
So people thought that’s the way one has to live – is to be
absolutely free, live as you like, specially in America. They thought that to
enjoy life is complete abandonment: no discipline, no bindings, you can divorce
your wife eight times and husbands ten times. That sort of a life started long
time back, but it really prospered in America. The prosperity of this kind of a
culture came to such a level that now we don’t know what’s going to happen to
the family system, to the joy part of it.
Again here people forgot the other side of it. Adi Shakti first
created Shri Ganesh. Shri Ganesh is the source of wisdom, He’s the source of
auspiciousness. Through Him we understand auspiciousness, and He is a child. He
is an eternal child. And this behavior of abandonment is very destructive if
there is no wisdom. First thing was to establish wisdom within ourselves. But
we start a theory or a kind of a pattern of life without thinking, have we got
the wisdom or not? Are we capable of following that pattern of life without any
development of our wisdom?
But the worst was when the freedom became the criteria of life,
people became extremely dominating and egoistical. The first answer always you
will get it, “What’s wrong?”
You ask them, “Why are you doing this?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I mean, it’s wrong because it is not auspicious.”
“What’s auspiciousness?” is there – absolutely like you can call
them, people without any brains, brainless people. “Brainless” means there is
no wisdom. What is the power of brain is wisdom. So life started drifting into
a destructive bourn, we should say, of no return. And every kind of filth was
accepted as a blessing, and nobody would think that this is wrong, this is not
for human life. Even the animals are all not like that.
Added to that came the stupidity of drinking alcohol. ........
Another thing they created were prostitutes. ........
So this freedom without any wisdom at all growing, starts
creating a terrible ego. When auspiciousness is given up then Shri Ganesha
sleeps and as Christ, who is the incarnation of Shri Ganesha, also doesn’t
bother. So the rule of Christ is finished. So what rules is the ego, this ego
which thinks it is free. It doesn’t know it is bound by all kinds of enemies of
very horrible types. At the time of Shri Krishna He said that the worst enemy
human beings have is anger, but I think in modern times the worst enemy human
beings have is greed and jealousy. Greed has no meaning these days. I mean,
what do you say to a person who has three thousand shoes – I mean, pairs of
shoes? Must be mad!
There are all sorts of things, you know, in greed you see these
days. You don’t know how people are really behaving. No one can explain. ......
Now the mind starts working with ego. Ego takes over like a
computer, and it starts suggesting ways and methods by which how much money you
can earn. So when you start earning money, then again the same Ego Mister tells
you how to destroy yourself with this money. They do all kinds of things when
they have money. I mean, that money is not a lakshmi prasad; it is some sort of
a money that becomes like a rakshasa or a devil and which devours you. It takes
you to all kinds of wrong places. It takes you to such horrible theories that
nobody would accept such theories. This ego makes you feel that – ah, yes, you
are perfect, you know everything, whatever you are doing is the best. .......
because Shri Krishna is Kubera. He is the Deity, or we can say
He is the God of wealth. But at the same time, He is a very mischievous God.
You can see clearly: this is supposed to be Shri Krishna’s country which is
overflowing with money. At the same time you find horrible things happening,
worst in the whole world. I mean, no one can beat Americans, they say, in
stupidity, in vulgarity, indecency, exploitation.
So this is the curse of money on human beings, which is to be
understood, that freedom without wisdom is the most dangerous thing to use. It
is better not to be free if you have no wisdom, because God knows what you will
do if you have freedom and no wisdom.
