ALWAYS SCRUTINISE YOUR INNER MOTIVES

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

57. ALWAYS SCRUTINISE YOUR INNER MOTIVES
Prompted by the Divine, we share during these morning hours whatever is meant to come to
you at this point in your life. It is from Him that all sound, words and thoughts arise. It is He, who
entering into the inner being of man, awakens the dormant power of Sarasvati, the Goddess of
knowledge; and what He means to give that alone can be given.
And each one receives a declared truth according to one’s inner state, according to one’s
own clarity, sincerity, earnestness, integrity, depth of inner understanding and subtleness of grasp.
You all know the Upanishadic story of a deva (celestial) and an asura (demon) going to Prajapati,
Brahma, to receive knowledge. The same upadesa was given to both and each one grasped and
understood it according to his own inner state. This is an eternal truth. It is a fact that does not
change.
So what a declared truth will be to an aspirant depends entirely upon what the aspirant is.
And sometimes the mind is extraordinary. It only takes what it wants and very conveniently
bypasses or leaves aside what it does not want. In the positive sense—like the swan separating the
milk from the water—this is very good. But sometimes it works the opposite way. That which is
good, but may not be very convenient or palatable, is conveniently bypassed. This is the mind. One
must try to understand how it operates.

In his Song of Karma Yoga, Gurudev has emphasised and repeats: “Scrutinise always your
inner motives.” This is indispensable if a sadhaka wants to progress. Because the mind is always
very deceptive. You may engage in an action which may seem to be very good, virtuous and
praiseworthy, but you alone know your motive. Or, you may not know. If you do not scrutinise your
inner motive, you may be deluding yourself, deceiving yourself. You may not know.
Therefore, Gurudev told us to do daily self-introspection, self-analysis, to scrutinise our
inner motive. It is not enough if an action appears to be praiseworthy to the world that sees with an
untrained glance. They may praise you. But have you come here to collect the praise of foolish
people who have gross sight, who do not go deep into anything? You are a trained sadhaka. You
must have an in-depth understanding of yourself and scrutinise: “Why did I do that? What was my
hidden intention?” The inner motive and its hidden intention will not be easily visible. Therefore it
has to be scrutinised. “Scrutinise” means to look intently, with an intention to find out.
A passport officer scrutinises a passport. A bank teller scrutinises a big denomination note.
They look intently with an intention of discovering. And Gurudev said: “Always scrutinise your
inner motive—always.” Then you will be the gainer. Otherwise, you will be the loser. You will go
deeper and deeper into wrong even though being regarded by all as being very righteous. For
instance, sometimes we may do charity or are kind to someone for an ignoble ulterior motive;
maybe we want to gain control over the person we are helping.
Therefore a hundred per cent alertness, wakefulness, vigilance, integrity and honesty with
oneself is indispensable for the spiritual progress of a true sadhaka if he wants to go higher and
higher, to attain something beyond the petty things of this mundane world. Therefore, always
scrutinise your inner motives.
It may be difficult. It requires tyaga (renunciation) also. It requires the continuous tyaga of
that which is merely pleasant, attractive, palatable. Then alone it is possible. If you have that inner
strength, if you are a true sadhaka of the Nachiketas type, then alone it is possible to do this
continuous renunciation. Leaving home and coming to Rishikesh is a big act of renunciation; but
that is only the beginning. Here the real inner renunciation starts.
It is a continuous process until the very last breath— every moment, every step. It is not
easy. No one wants to do it because it is not pleasant. Sometimes it can be positively painful. You
have to be at war with yourself. Then alone this continuous renunciation becomes a habit. It
becomes your second nature. It loses its difficulty. It becomes natural, instinctive. There is no
longer any problem.
If you have this spirit of tyaga, then renouncing the pleasant becomes possible. Tasmat etat
trayam tyajet (Therefore, one should abandon these three—lust, anger and greed). That means you
must go on renouncing that which is standing in the way. But, first of all, you must recognise:
“There is something standing in my way.”
If my motive is not clear, it is a dead obstacle, an iron wall, in my way. This must be clearly
recognised and seen as such. Then only your attitude towards it will change. “Nothing which is of a
base, unspiritual motive will be allowed to prompt me to take an action. This I determine. Nothing

that is against my principles, my sadhana, my divine life will be allowed to prevail in me as a
motive for any action I engage in. And I shall see to it that I scrutinise, look keenly and make sure
that my motive is as pure, holy, lofty, noble, sublime and sacred as my goal—God.”
Therefore, let us always keep in mind this great injunction of Gurudev, and always
scrutinise our inner motives. Let us thus be wise, save ourselves from harm, and rapidly progress
towards the Goal!