In this way the five different aspects of spiritual attainment [life, happiness. knowledge, peace, ideal] are attained by one thing, and that is the tuning of the heart.

And now you might ask, what do I mean by the tuning of the heart? When a string on the violin is loose, it does not give the sound it is meant to give, and therefore, it does not fulfil the purpose for which it is put on the violin. It can only be used for the purpose for which it was put on the violin once you have tuned it to that pitch where it ought to be. And it is the same condition with the heart.

The heart must have a certain wakening, a certain amount of life in it that can only be brought about by sympathy. And when there is not that sympathy, the heart is like a loose string of the violin. It can only be used when it is tuned to the right pitch.

STAGE ONE

And many will say, "But does our heart not depend upon our everyday environments in which we live, the circumstances of life? If the environment is not agreeable, how can we make it right?" I say, "Yes, the first stage of our development depends upon environment and circumstances." But there is nothing in this world which we cannot try and make better. There are many things we can help and make better if we only try to make them better. Sometimes it is difficult, but sometimes we think it is difficult, but it is not so difficult.

The great difficulty is the loss of patience. When patience is exhausted by things, things cannot be made better. And then it remains in the same condition. But if one thinks, "I will make my environment better, sacrifice all I can in order to make my environment better," he can do so.

The one difficulty one often experiences is that one expects from others more than they can give. Therefore, one is helpless and dependent. Once a person has become so independent that without being helped by others he can keep his feelings untouched, it is just like the sun burning without the oil. This is different from lanterns with oil; when the oil is lost, then they are gone.

STAGE TWO

And now the second stage is a still higher stage. That stage is the attitude of being outgoing and having sympathy for all we meet. And that comes by understanding. The more understanding we have of human nature, the more sympathetic we become. Those who do not deserve it we pity, we have sympathy for them. In this way sympathy, which is symbolically like the water, spreads in time. We give it and just do it, and it expands like water of the ocean. It might seem like a drop, but it is an ocean, because it becomes an everlasting spring that rises and falls.

In order to teach this, the wise of India made the river Ganges and the river Jumna as places of pilgrimage, and called them sacred. The reason is, on top of the Himalaya the spring rises, and from the Himalaya it falls below and turns into a larger stream and becomes a river. Then they divide it into two parts of this river, Ganges and Jumna. And the place near Allahabad where they join, that is a place of pilgrimage. Those who go there are purified from all sin.

Now you can see the symbolism of this. The water which comes from the top of the Himalaya as a spring is love, which comes from the heart. That which rises from the heart is the first place of pilgrimage. Then it goes on like a stream as the holy rivers Ganges and Jumna, and when those rivers meet, it is called sangam. Sympathy is sangam. When it goes and meets the sea, it is called the unity with God. It is such a beautiful picture of life, just to see it in that symbolical form. And if interpreted rightly, we could have the sacred pilgrimage of the Ganges here and everywhere. The sacred river is sympathy out of our own heart, and the reaching toward God is the perfection, the spiritual attainment.