A speech from S.N. Goenka, a vipassana meditation master, marked up with MDL.
Friends,
leaders of the human spiritual world,
leaders of the human religious world.
[Address]
We thank the organizers, that
such a wonderful occasion is here;
there, we all can unite,
and serve the humanity.
Religion is religion only
when it unites.
Religion is no more religion
when it divides.
Religion is
not for dividing people,
it is for uniting people.
So much has been said
about conversion,
for conversion, and
against conversion.
I am for conversion,
i am not against conversion,
but conversion not from one organized religion, to another organized religion,
no…
[brachistochrone curve. black hole curve.]
but conversion not from one organized religion, to another organized religion,
[brachistochrone efficiency curve]
[proportion of [proximal cause] external generated happiness to [un-caused] internal generated happiness]
no…
Conversion from misery to happiness.
Conversion from bondage to liberation.
Conversion from cruelty to compassion.
That is the conversion needed today,
and that is what this organization should make a point to implement.
[Thesis]
Our ancient country,
had not only given [the] message
of peace and harmony to the world,
to the humanity.
Enlighten persons have given
the method,
the technique,
how to have peace,
how to have harmony.
To me,
to think of
peace in the human society,
we cannot ignore individuals.
If there is no peace in the mind of the individual,
i can’t understand how there can be real peace in the human world.
[self-view cannot understand we-view]
If i have [an] agitated mind,
if i have mind all the time full on anger, hatred, envy, [and] animosity,
how can i give peace to the world?
Because i have no peace myself,
I am an agitated person,
therefore,
the great enlightened persons have said:
first have peace within yourself.
[anxiety]
[not-self]
[greed is proportional to crime]
[non-commutative radiation]
So, one has to observe,
whether, really:
there is peace in me or not?
All the saviors,
and saints,
and seers of the world
have given us the advice:
know thyself,
know thyself.
Not merely at the
intellectual level,
not merely accepting at the
emotional/devotional level—
at the actual level.
When you start experiencing
the truth,
about yourself,
within yourself,
at the experiential level,
many of the problems get solved.
You start understanding,
the universal law.
Universal law of the nature,
Universal law of the god almighty,
Universal law which is applicable
to one and all.
When i start observing
within myself,
and I find,
that I am generating
anger, hatred, ill-will, animosity—
I immediately realize that i am
the first victim of my anger.
[result of practice]
[self-view is collapsing]
I am the first victim of [the]
hatred, animosity,
that i am generating within myself.
Then only I start harming others,
this is law of nature.
If i observe within myself, I find,
as soon as I generate
any negativity in the mind,
there is [alot] of physical reactions,
my body starts
burning,
heated up,
palpitation,
tension—
I am a miserable person.
[intention obstruction]
[<vibration|palpitation>]
[<torsion|tension>]
And when I generate negativity in me,
and become miserable,
I don’t keep this misery limited to myself,
I keep on throwing this misery on others.
[<give|keep>]
[self-view other-view]
I make the entire atmosphere around me,
so tense,
that anybody who comes into contact with me,
becomes miserable.
[<dense|tense>]
[<peaceful|miserable>]
And i talk of peace,
I talk of happiness,
Keep on talking happiness and peace.
What is happening in me
is more important to me than anything else—
law of nature.
[increase resolution; inter-est; between to be; between self; between we; intra-individual]
And if i am free from these negativities,
if my mind is free from negativities,
mind is pure,
again law of nature starts working,
[horizontal]
[vertical]
I observe within my self,
at this moment,
there is no negativity in the mind,
and look,
the nature,
of the God almighty,
has started rewarding me.
[horizontal]
[vertical]
[brahma]
[bliss]
I feel so peaceful,
so peaceful.
That is,
when i generate negativity,
I observe:
I become
so miserable.
So anyone belonging to this religion
or that religion,
this tradition
or that tradition,
this country
or that country…
When one breaks the law of the nature,
one generates negativity in the mind—
bound to suffer.
[<brake|[sluice gate]let up>|<break|unite>>]
The nature starts punishing this person—
the hellfire within.
One starts feeling the misery
of hellfire within.
This is the seed that I am sowing;
the seed of hellfire within.
After that i will get nothing but hellfire,
law of nature is certain.
[hell realm momenta destination]
If I keep my mind
pure,
full of love,
full of compassion,
I enjoy the kingdom of heaven within myself.
[[limitless destination inclination]]
[[<immediacy|eternity>]]
[heaven realm momenta destination]
And this seed
of kingdom of heaven
will bring nothing but the fruit
of the kingdom of heaven after death.
Whether i call myself
a Hindu
or a Muslim
or a Christian
or the Jain—
makes no difference,
makes no difference.
Human being is human being,
human mind is human mind.
Conversion should be
from the impurity of the mind
to purity of the mind.
How people get changed—
such wonderful changes come,
no magic,
no miracle,
there’s a pure science of observing
the interaction of mind and matter within ourselves.
How mind keeps on influencing the matter of the body,
how body keeps on influencing the mind.
If you keep on observing,
keep on observing,
we understand the law of nature so clearly.
[<different|people>]
That as and when i generate negativity,
I start suffering,
and as and when i am free from negativity,
I start enjoying peace and harmony.
[<locality|temporality> measured]
That can be practiced
by one and all.
A wonderful tradition,
a wonderful technique,
given by the enlightened one,
in our ancient country,
and spread in the world.
[<…|mine|ours>]
[[<temporality|locality>]]
[laminar flow|quick water|low surface tension|heaven and earth come together|lower ceilings|live close to nature.]
Even today, people from
different communities,
different traditions,
different religions—
they come and learn this technique,
they get the same benefit.
[?]…
hindu as hindu,
buddhist as buddhist,
muslim as muslim,
christian as christian,
makes no difference,
human being is human being.
What makes the difference?
[<quant|cont>inuum][religion prime quantizations]
[|buts> |makes>]
But a big difference comes,
they become real spiritual people,
full of love,
full of compassion,
good for themselves,
good for others.
[|becomming>]
[peace abstracts <i|my>]
When i generate peace in my mind,
the entire atmosphere around me,
gets permeated with the vibration of peace,
anybody who comes into contact with me,
starts enjoying peace,
[<limitless|around>]
[limit is inversely proportional to me density wave-function, where limit is a gaussian [obstruction|resistance] lensing function]
This is the real conversion,
which is necessary,
nothing else.