Yasha Prashna Talks, Mysore, 2017
In light of current world affairs, I found these words meaningful for us Americans; and because we are interconnected, for the world watching also:
“Fear and shyness rightly seen are symptoms of correction. The fear is balancing, shyness shielding, and both bring calm & quietness by avoiding wrong actions.
Throughout our life, actions will be done despite “knowing better”. Sometimes it happens that we act, forgetting all knowledge. However, having a fear complex, it shields us where knowledge fails. ‘Dharma Bhīru’ means one should have fear complex about losing his dharma, and thereby he can keep his dharma very well.
When anything is lost in society it becomes very difficult to bring it back.”
So yes, we should be afraid of losing our dharma and the noble qualities in our society. We should shy away from ignoble acts. We should not ‘wait and see’. And yes, we should struggle hard against the loss and deterioration of morals and noble practices. Always, first within the self, and then everywhere around us.
“It is the duty of mankind, each and everyone of us, to not allow something wrong. If directly or indirectly (by non-correction) you encourage any errors, you too will share in the result of that. If you see something, say something, even if it is not directed to you. This is called Morality. The whole society gets sick by not following these principles. If, in society long ago, at the very first sign of error there was resistance very seriously found, the situation we have today would not be found. Today, sickness is due to no proper reaction to errors.” -Ācārya
Not forgetting ahimsa, satya and dakṣyam all the while….
Is this not the whole point of the Mahabharata?
Internally as much as externally.