Listening, Remembering and Practising

Q35: Swami!  A change is very much needed in every field of our activity.  Almost all walks of public life are nowadays polluted, disgusting and disappointing.  How is change to be brought about?

Bhagawan: Truly speaking, villagers who are unlettered, innocent and rustic are living in greater peace and cooperation, more intimate relationships and mutual love than the so-called urban, sophisticated, educated and seemingly cultured people.  The latter are full of ego and jealousy.  To bring about a change, they need to work for it.  They must put in enough sincere effort to overcome qualities like egoism, pride, jealousy and hatred.  Butter is no doubt very soft.  But in order to make ghee out of it, you must heat it.  Similarly for any change, you have to work for it.  You should first of all listen to all good things from good people.  This listening, s'rvana is the first step.  It is not enough if you simply listen.  You should remember, recall, recollect and recapitulate the good things you have listened to. This is called manana.

The third thing is to practise what you have listened and learnt.  This is called nidhidhyasa.  Take a small example.  First of all, your food must be cooked in the kitchen.  Then it has to be brought and kept on the dining table and served.  It is then that you eat it.  Further, the food that you eat must be digested, assimilated and the nourishment is to be supplied to different parts of your body.  Is it not so?  Similarly, srvana, listening is like cooking, manana, remembering is the same as food kept on the table, whereas nidhidhyasa, practising what is heard is like eating and digesting.

(From the book "Satyopanisad" Vol. 1 by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)