Understand the value of this human birth, how difficult, how rare it is to attain. This is so important to understand, the rarity and the value of this human birth. This is one of the greatest blessings, the greatest gift we can get from God.
बड़े भाग मानुष तन पावा …
Baṛē bhāgya mānuṣh tanu pāwā …
- Ramcharitmanas Uttar Kanda: 43.2–3 (partial)
He says, “It is the greatest fortune of a soul to get this opportunity to have birth in the human form.”
We have it, all of us. What are we doing with it? Are we just using it to enjoy the senses, to fill our stomach and our family? Is this why we have been given human birth? Then what differentiates us from animals?
आहार-निद्रा-भय-मैथुनानि सामान्यमेतत् पशुभिर्नराणाम् । …
Āhār-nidrā-bhaya-maithunāni sāmānyam etat paśhubhir narāṇām.
- Hitopadesha 0.25 (partial)
As far as āhāra (eating), nidrā (sleeping), bhay (fear), maithuna (mating) are concerned, human beings, we people, we are equal to animals. Pashu (animal), it doesn’t sound nice that some Saint is calling us animals.
“Well, Maharaji says, he has been very nice to us!”
He has been very nice. We are worse than animals when it comes to these four things. What do we eat? How do we eat? Look at animals, goats, cows, buffaloes. What do they eat? Everything natural, herbs and grass, etc., that God has provided for them.
In the same way, the Lord has provided an abundant variety of natural things for us, too - vegetables, fruits, nuts, you name it. But what do we do?
“I’m not an animal to eat natural food! After all, I’m a human being. I can’t eat natural things.”
We have to destroy all the vitamins and all the minerals, deep-fry and spice up.
Some people hear, you know, that bhaiya, Swamiji has a special diet. He doesn’t like to eat all this kind of thing.
“Ah, he thinks he’s special!”
I’m trying to protect my health. This amount of knowledge my Guru has given to me is to be healthy - boiled takari (vegetables), steamed vegetables.
The Guru says, “Eat steamed vegetables.”
“Maharaji, how can I eat? No taste.”
And then you go to the doctor one day, and the doctor says, “Eh, you’re diabetic. Now, only steamed vegetables.”
“Yes, doctor, anything you say. I don’t want to die.”
When Guru tells us, then, no, we don’t listen. As our tongue and mind say,
“We’re going to eat. And at 25 years of age, we suffer from the gravest of illnesses. This is the greatness of being a human being? To destroy food and then eat? So, aren’t animals better than us (in) many, many ways? What differentiates us from them?
… ज्ञानं नराणामधिको विशेषो ज्ञानेन हीनाः पशुभिः समानाः ॥
… gyānaṁ narāṇāmadhiko viśheṣho gyānen hīnāḥ paśhubhiḥ samānāḥ.
- Hitopadesh 0.25 (partial)
Gyan (knowledge). The ability to discriminate, to think. God has given that to us in a great amount. This is absent or very little in the other creatures. They can’t think (like we do). They act on instinct.
“Oh yeah, we go to Orlando and we see Shamu (a trained orca whale).”
And we think, “Wow, such a smart animal!”
No, he’s trained. He eats the trainer sometimes. They’re told or trained, these are wild animals. They can do anything they want anytime. They act on instinct. They can’t think. They don’t know this is right or that is wrong.
“I should not eat my trainer.”
They don’t know that.
