Dharma 20th August 1999 (Auroville) - Dharma 202

DHARMA: SATYAM; RITAM; BRIHAT

All those who have studied the Veda find this concept, this idea of Rita, to be one of the most important discoveries. They find that Rita is not only something that is at the highest, but is also something that has a dynamic capacity to pull you, pull you upwards. It is like a pulley, it takes you upwards all the time. In another words Dharma is not static, it is dynamic in character. Rita is dynamic, it constantly pulls you upwards. Now, this Rita was expressed in the Vedic time through three words: Satyam, Ritam, Brihat. All the three are Sanskrit words. One day I am sure you will learn Sanskrit, it will be easier for you to understand. But Satyam is the expression of reality. Sat is reality; Satya is the expression, exact expression of reality. You must have seen that one of the most difficult things for any student is to express accurately. Many of you are artists and you want to draw a picture, and one of the most difficult things is that what you feel inwardly; most accurately, and you want to bring that out in the picture, in the image, most accurately, – it is very difficult. Now this exercise, if you do in life, whatever you feel to be true, to be real, you try to express accurately: that is Satya. But what you feel to be real today is your present experience of `real' today. Tomorrow, as you expand, you have another view of True, of the Real. There is an image given in the Veda; if you climb a hill, at a certain stage of climbing you have one view, and if you climb farther you have still a farther view. Same thing: the background remains the same, and yet the vision changes, and then when you reach to the peak, you have an overall view, overview: everything as it were changes. All remains the same, and yet all changes. And then the Veda says, "There is no end of peaks, there are peaks, and peaks, and peaks of reality. Reality is such a Vast! Therefore Satya is connected with Brihat. Brihat means Vast. So the Vedas said, "Whatever you speak of the Truth, be sure you are Vast at the same time. Because if you are not Vast and yet you speak of the Truth it may be a narrow truth, it is simply your present perception. You are really able to express the reality only when you are vast. In fact Sri Aurobindo has given the word, "all comprehensiveness", that is the word Sri Aurobindo uses for vast. When you are Vast, everything is comprehended. And when you have expressed reality and when that reality is seen in an all comprehensive way, then there is Rita.

Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, words. Expression of reality accurately, expression of reality in all its comprehensiveness, when that happens, then whatever is done in action, is right. You must very often have found that we have constantly a question is it a right action or a wrong action? How many People are quarrelling on this question? It is right or wrong? And in the Vedas the answer is that you are both right and wrong until you reach a point where you have seen the reality in all comprehensiveness, and in that perception of comprehensive reality the action proceeds. When action proceeds without this comprehensive reality it is not necessarily the right action. So, right action is Rita. Only he can perform the right action, who has gone to the reality and to the comprehensive reality and attained to the vision of the comprehensive reality and from there proceeded into action like an arrow.

SRAIGHT RAYS OF THE SUN

The image that is given in the Vedas is like the ray of the sun. You know the rays of the sun are straight rays, absolutely. You know the word right comes from: recht, that which is straight. The right action is always the straight action. There is no crookedness. All human beings somehow they try to manipulate to arrive at their end, little ends, because we are so ignorance, we want to achieve this thing that thing, whatever we see we want to possess. We don't know why. We are so small in our normal condition, we are like small children, you see a toy, you want to have a toy with you, you see another kind of thing you want to put it in your mouth. We are like small children. As you rise into adulthood, as you become bigger and bigger, you find that all these movements are crooked actions. You are obliged to take some kind of winding paths to achieve what you want. The right action is a straight action. There is no debate about it. It is straight, coming right from the vision of the truth, everything is straight.

DHARMA: TO DISCOVER ONESELF AS THE PERFECT BOW

Sri Aurobindo gives the example of the bow: bow and the arrow. He said you should become like a bow, a perfect bow. When that happens, then automatically there is an archer, which is not you. This is the one secret that is given in the Bhagavad Gita. When you read the Bhagavad Gita − one day you should read it − this is the basic teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. That really speaking, as long as you think you are doing, you are not doing. When you know you are not doing, then you will cease to be you, and you will really be something other than you. And the one which is the real Doer, he will be seen by you to be doing, straight, whatever has to be done. There is a secret to be discovered: There is an archer, we are only a bow. Sri Aurobindo said, "You only become a bow that is what you are". Become a bow. When you really become a bow, you will discover there is an Archer. That Archer is the sunlight itself; it is supreme Light, the Truth Light: the Truth-Consciousness, vast, comprehensive. And you will find that he is the real Archer and the moment you become the bow, the arrow will fly through your bow, straight towards the target − that is the right action.

When we reach that point, when the archer himself takes possession of you and shoots exactly at the target, straight, that is the right action, − that is Rita. So Rita is an action proceeding from the archer, who is satyam and Brihat. Who is both the vision of reality and the comprehensive vision of the reality. And an action proceeds from this archer, which is straight. And when you simply become a perfect bow, and the action proceeds, that is the right action until you reach it, do not debate whether you are right or wrong. You take it for granted you are both right and wrong, until we reach that point. So why should we spend time unnecessarily. Most of the people go on debating saying I am right, this is right, that is right. This is the Vedic truth. It had been discovered. When you reach the highest, the right action will automatically be, you will not debate about it; it is a straight action starting from the sunrays. And it will not be only one action. The sun never casts only one ray. There are multiple rays at the same time. The right actions are simultaneously varied, many. In our narrow thinking we always saying the right action must be one action. When you go to the Supreme there are thousand things which are right at the same time, all of them harmonious. 

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