17. A Civilization built for Enlightenment🔗

There is only one thing which can liberate human beings from addiction, and that is, encouraging spiritual seeking. Just like so many other insurances we have, we should create one more insurance. If you are alive, practical and spiritually seeking, you can be insured. If a civilization can give the assurance that you will not lose anything by seeking, more people will turn to seeking. In India, our society was set up in that way. In India they tried, and the experiment was really successful.

In my case, during the cream of my life, between seventeen to twenty-five, I neither studied, nor worked for society. I was a wandering spiritual seeker. In any other country, I would have been put into a shelter for the homeless, or a mental asylum! They would have put me through all kinds of therapies and de-programming sessions. They would have put all possible medicines into me. But the great Indian civilization, the Indian society, did not do that to me. When I was on my own, when I started my journey of seeking, it had reverence, it had respect, it had encouragement for me. It gave me food, shelter, clothes, everything - with respect! Not with the idea of maintaining a useless guy; not in the way homeless people are treated in the so-called developed countries. Whoever gave me food would also touch my feet and offer their respects, because they had the opportunity to serve a sannyasi, a monk! And that is the way I lived. Can you imagine?

When I travel all over the world, I understand that this civilization was built for enlightenment. It was built to create enlightened beings.

Many times people ask me, 'Why are there so many enlightened masters only in India? Why are they not spread all over the world? God should have sent them everywhere!'

If a civilization wants liberation from addiction of alcohol, if it wants to save its citizens from alcohol, the one and only way is encourage seeking. Encourage right knowledge. Lead people towards enlightenment. Lead them towards conscious growth. Lead them towards superconsciousness. That is the only way to liberate them from alcohol. Till then, alcohol will continue to rule; addictions will continue to be there; drug abuse will continue to exist, either directly or indirectly, legally or illegally, openly or under cover. It will continue to exist - because man cannot live without right knowledge or wrong knowledge. Right knowledge always leads to seeking, and if that is not encouraged by society, he has no option but to pursue wrong knowledge.

Please understand, it is not an accident. It is an incident. The civilization itself is created, trained, prepared for enlightened masters. It doesn't have many things which developed countries have, but it has some things which no other civilization can produce. It has insurance for seekers. The whole society is an insurance for seekers. The whole civilization is an insurance for seekers.

Billions and billions of rupees are spent on creating infrastructure to meet the basic needs of seekers who wander all over the country. The primary philanthropic activity in India is not creating education infrastructure or medical infrastructure. Infrastructure for seekers - that is the first priority. In the developed countries, if any rich man is fed up with money, he will do charity. Only when he is fed up with the money, he will do charity. He may create a hospital or a school. But in India, if a rich man is fed up with money, the first thing he will do is build a monastery or a temple - infrastructure for seekers. The whole civilization is directed towards seeking, towards enlightenment. In Indian villages, even the entertainment is connected to seeking. The entertainment is - going to temples! That has become their lifestyle. Till recently, there were no theme parks, there was no TV, there were no malls. Everything was rooted in seeking, in the search for enlightenment.

In India, as a wandering seeker, I have seen that every thirty miles you have a place for food and rest. I have walked the length and breadth of India, walking thirty miles every day. Whenever I wanted to rest, I always found a temple or a monastery where I could eat or rest - without paying any money, of course. You will be surprised - even on trains, when the ticket checkers see a swami, one who is wearing this (ochre) cloth, they will ask you only one thing, 'Baba, have you eaten? Father, are you comfortable?' All this, just because I was a seeker. No other qualification, no other ID card is required.

Please understand, in India there is no social security number. There is no way to for anyone to get information about you. The only social security number is this (ochre robe)! That's all. Even if you are a householder, as a seeker, you have a special position and special respect in society. It is in their blood. Respect for the seeker, respect for enlightenment, is in the blood of the Indian civilization.

ACTIVITY

Today, drop one wrong knowledge and choose one right knowledge for yourself.