The Quest for the Royal Road: Life is an Art

Human life is lovely, it is also drab. It is happiness and it is also unhappiness. It is everything and it is also nothing.

Life is an art. He who can turn the drab into beautiful, unhappiness into happiness, nothing into something is an artist.

Art as the expression of the mysterious. He who can express what is most mysterious, is an artist. He is the more mysterious than the mysteries.

There should be an advance preparation for understanding what is the most mysterious. When something is very clear, there cannot be the desired progress.

The "Vows' show the path which is beyond both of them. That is the art of life. Even the dim streaks of restraint in the darkness of unrestraint can indicate the path clearly.

The path between barbaric violence and subtle violence can be adopted by a large number of people.

The path between limitless accumulation of wealth and non-possession is meant for the majority of people.

It is not as though the flame of non-violence and non- possession cannot be kindled for the people living in the world of wars and conflicts.

Being non-violent is valour of the highest order. Continuing to be violent is the weakness of the first order.

Fear gives rise to fear, hatred breeds hatred.

The Principle or retaliating violence with violence is the prevailing rule. Man afflicted with fear cannot rest in firmament of freedom. The light of peace can be found when there is no fear.

Those who indulge in physical pursuits after selling out their mind and soul, close their eyes to peace in the face of happiness. Happiness is an experience emanating from physical sources. Peace resides in the mind and the soul.

Ordinary people cannot reject happiness for the sake of people, but they can certainly keep away from happiness, which causes disturbance.

Disturbance of mind is the cause of unhappiness. Still, man does not hesitate to go in for mental disturbance for the sake of happiness. The end result is only unhappiness.

Peace is much more valuable than happiness. That alone is the correct understanding. The means to attain happiness are material objects, their accumulation and enjoyment of those objects. The way to attain peace is through restraint or renunciation.

Accumulation of wealth and mental disturbance originate from the same source. Accumulation continues to grow from point to point and becomes a line and simultaneously, mental disturbance also turns into a parallel line.

Everyone is eager to accumulate wealth, but nobody wants mental disturbance. However, how is it possible that after the mind is thrown into fire, it would not scorch?

Wars are meant for accumulation of wealth. Weapons for war are also manufactured for that purpose.

One has to take recourse to cruelty for the acquisition of rights. It requires one to be more cruel to protect those rights. Granting the rights and giving wealth in charity are a kind of cover-up for cruelty.

The person who gives nothing is far greater than the people, who give charity, while supporting exploitation. He who does not exploit is a blessed, even if he does not give the smallest coin.

The person who gives charity by keeping his options to exploit open and giving charity to a few by plundering thousands of people can never be a blessed one.

The desire for increasing accumulation of wealth and the scope of one's rights are the roots for mental disturbances. That is why inspite of thousands of scientifically produced gadgets for increased happiness, happiness itself is becoming increasingly rare.

The atomic age began to acquire more external gadgets to find happiness. It is showing signs to being terrible.

The atom is not bad. It is not also terrible. The trait of being terrible lies in man.

Fear leads to fear. Fearlessness brings fearlessness. Drive fear out of your minds. The terrible aspect of the atom would vanish. If fear continues to grow in the mind, the atom would become more terrible.