In the Drama of Creation, we see three entities: God, man and Nature/Society.

Of these three, clearly, the most important is God, because the other two have come from God. In fact, as Swami often says, man is a limb of Society, Society is a limb of Nature, and Nature itself is a limb of God.

Every individual must clearly understand this underlying "triangular structure" and be in total harmony with it.

Specifically, every individual must recognize that he/she is a Spark of the Divine. Not merely recognize, but act and behave like a Spark of the Divine! All trouble starts from the fact that people a) fail to recognize this fact, and b) even if they do, ignore the fact.

In addition, one must remember that God is present everywhere. He is immanent in everything in the Universe, animate as well as inanimate.

In this context, quoting a Vedic hymn, Swami often tells us: HE stands on thousands of feet, and sees through thousands of eyes. What this means is that the Cosmic Form of God in the gross world is nothing but the sum total of everything that exists in the physical Universe.

There are three bonds in the SO-CALLED Golden Triangle depicted above. These three bonds illustrate the three-fold aspect of the Divine in the Universe. All the bonds are important.

These days, most people find it convenient to forget the fact that God created Nature and that He is immanent in Society. Thus, straightaway, the triangle loses one side.

So the first step is that the triangle becomes a simple angle with two sides. Next, the two sides get separated, and one has just two lines! One line represents man's link with God, and the other line represents man's link with Nature/Society. This was illustrated earlier.

This is the beginning of pure disaster. Man develops the deluded feeling that he has got it all worked out. He prays to God, meticulously observes rituals, etc. He goes on pilgrimages, visits temples, and gives out a small amount of money in charity. After all this, he feels fine. He then goes out into Society and behaves just as he wants. He has no compunctions about morality in community and public life. He cheats at every conceivable opportunity, and thinks it is perfectly OK in the context of survival, going ahead, etc.

This is the way man gets out of step. When one person does this, others tend to copy, especially if the person who starts it all is a so-called pillar of Society. This stresses the crucial importance of role models. That is why there is an Indian Proverb: As is the King, so are the subjects.

In today's Society, role models like Gandhi who strove hard to uphold Sathya and Dharma are very scarce. A few may exist, but today's media culture is such that these noble souls are not considered worth reporting upon. Goodness is no longer considered as news worthy of printing. Just think about it - how much space does the media of the world devote to Baba? But they have all the paper-space for crime and scandals!

Today, in every field of human endeavour, there are heroes and role models, except where Sathya and Dharma are considered. There are football heroes, movie stars who are aped, and so on; but is there another Gandhi amongst humans? Nowhere in sight!

Today's Society is rather like an aircraft with failed engines. What is the reason? Imbalance of the human Mind.

If the individual who is unbalanced commands a lot of influence [like, Hitler, for example did], then great disaster can follow.

Hitler's policies were patently evil, and quite evident. But today, evil wears a clever masquerade. Driven by excessive greed, business poses as a great saviour of mankind and as the only solution to the problems of today. In the process, it is dragging humanity into disaster.

Internal imbalance can blind a person. The person knows there is disaster ahead, but does not care. In many respects, humanity today is like the drug addict who knows that drugs are very bad for him and yet does want to stop.

Who is a balanced person? One who is detached under all circumstances alone is a balanced person.

How come this so-called balanced person is indifferent to both good and bad? Ah! There is an important point here. What we normally describe as "good" is purely in worldly terms. When one is not attached to the world, then this so-called good does not specifically appear to be good. Good and bad are just the ups and downs of the Divine Drama.

But is it realistic to ask a person to be unaffected by good and bad, even if they are only "so-called"? May be not when one is at the very early stages of a seeker. But if one is serious, then one must remain cool and unaffected.

But is feasible? Is it possible? Oh yes, and it has happened, oftener than we realise. Take the case of a good tennis player, who is down by two sets. The third set is in progress, and he is appearing to lose grip. And then he makes a firm determination not to lose his cool. Slowly he turns the third set to his advantage and finally wins it. Retaining his cool, he then goes on to win the fourth, and finally, holding on to his cool, he clinches the fifth and the final set. Has not this sort of thing happened? Why then do we maintain that being cool in the face of adversity is impossible?

With strong faith in God, it IS possible to be balanced and cool always. With strong and unflinching commitment to Sathya and Dharma, it IS possible to always remain balanced.

What is needed is DETERMINATION, FIRM DETERMINATION. Swami says, "If you take one step, I shall take ten if not a hundred steps towards you". He also adds, "The more determined you are, the more determined I shall be to help you!"