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Ellam
Ondre
By
Vijai R. Subramaniyam
CHAPTER
1
Unity
1.
All including the world seen by you and yourself, the
seer of the world, is one only.
2.
All that you consider as I, you, he, she and it, is
one only.
3.
What you consider to be sentient beings and what you
consider to be insentient, such as earth, air, fire
and water is all one.
4.
The good which is derived by your considering all as
one cannot be had by considering each as separate from
the other. Therefore all is one.
5.
The knowledge of the unity of all, is good for you and
good for others as well. Therefore all is one.
6.
He who sees "I am separate," "you are separate," "he
is separate" and so on, acts one way to himself and
another way to others. He cannot help doing so. The
thought "I am separate, others are separate" is the
seed from which grows the tree of differing actions
in relation to different persons. How can there be any
lapse from righteousness for a person who knows the
unity of himself with others? As long as the germ of
differentiation is there, the tree of differing actions
will flourish, even unawares. Therefore give up differentiation.
All is one only.
7.
Ask: "If in the world all things appear different, how
can I consider all as one? Is there any way of gaining
this knowledge?" The reply is: "In the same tree we
see leaves, flowers, berries and branches, different
from one another, yet they are all one because they
are all included in the word 'tree'. Their root is the
same; their sap is the same. Similarly, all things,
all bodies, all organisms are from the same source and
activated by a single life principle." Therefore all
is one.
8.
0h good man! Is the statement that "All is one," good
or evil? Think for yourself. Just as the person will
always be righteous who regards himself like others
and others like himself, how can any evil attach itself
to him who knows himself to be others and the others
to be himself? Tell me if there is any better way for
obtaining good than the knowledge of unity? Certainly
other methods cannot be as good as this one. How can
anyone love others more than when knowing them to be
himself, to know them in unity-love as unity, for they
are truly one.
9.
Who can share the mental peace and freshness of the
knower of unity? He has no cares. The Good of all is
his own good. A mother considers her children's well-being
to be her own well-being. Still, her love is not perfect
because she thinks she is separate and her children
are separate. The love of a Sage, who has realized the
unity of all, far excels even the love of a mother.
There is no other means of gaining such love than the
knowledge of unity. Therefore all is one.
10.
Know that the world as a whole is your undecaying body
and that you are the everlasting life of the whole world.
Tell me if there is any harm in doing so? Who fears
to go the harmless way? Be courageous. The Vedas teach
this very truth. There is nothing but yourself. All
good will be yours. Yea, you become the good itself.
All that others gain from you will be good only. Who
will work evil to his own body and soul? A remedy is
applied if there is an abscess in the body. Even if
the remedy is painful, it is meant to do good only.
Such will be some of your actions; they will also be
for the good of the world. For that reason, you will
not be involved in differentiation. I put it briefly:
The knower of unity will act as one should. In fact,
the knowledge of unity makes him act. He cannot err.
In the world, he is God made visible. All is one.
This
page was published on May 20, 2000.
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