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be like the lotus which grows in a stagnant pond and yet retains its purity, untouched by the filth and the mire. But their isolation is the result of ignorance.
Even your dearest ones see you not from within but from without. They are those who have eyes but do not see. How can you expect a man who cannot see and recognise the soul within himself, to recognise the soul in others? But before you blame them for this lack of sight, or shall we say, insight, are you sure that you, too, do not suffer from this lack? How terrifying is the isolation of ignorance!
Worldly knowledge teaches you and encourages you to accumulate material things; spiritual knowledge teaches you to be free of them. The first makes you a slave to technological devices, the second frees you from their bondage. This spiritual knowledge is true or perfect knowledge.
Do you know the story of the boatman and his eight passengers? The boatman was a simple, uneducated fellow, the passengers were all educated young men. As they were crossing the river, one of the young men asked his friend what time it was. The other, thinking of having some fun at the expense of the boatman, instead of answering his
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