August 13

You Are Given a Script

Question: You say we are all actors. If we see someone in trouble, should we just say, “That is some act!” or even worse, “That’s his or her karma?” Where do compassion and responsibility come in? Where does action come in?

Sri Gurudev: If you feel that you are an actor, it cannot just be theoretical. You have to experience it. If you have that sincere feeling, then you are totally in the hands of God. God will tell you what to do with that “star,” whether to go and help or ignore that person. It’s not even your business then. You cannot say, “I have to be compassionate,” or “I have to ignore so and so. I have to decide that it’s his or her karma.” You are not deciding. Maybe that is that person’s karma. God may not even present him or her to you. You may not even see the person.

If you really feel that God is working through you, and that you are an actor, that means you are not doing anything for yourself. You have been given a script; neither the words nor the actions are yours. You are asked to do certain things and you are just doing them, with total obedience. So let God decide what to do. God will tell you how to react. Otherwise it’s a little bit of God and a little bit of you.

It’s not that easy to feel, “Oh, yes, I’m just an instrument in the hands of God.” We know the theory of it, and it is the truth, no doubt. We do nothing, nothing at all. That is plain fact. None of us is doing anything by himself or herself. It’s all being done by a Higher Will. It’s because of God’s energy, God’s consciousness working through you, that you seem to be doing a lot of things. There is a beautiful saying in the Koran: “Without the Will of God you cannot even tie your shoelace.”