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| Papa Swami Ramdas |
Papa Swami Ramdas: No institution can justify its existence if it does not keep abreast of the changing times. Evolution is the law of life and change is its keynote. While stagnation means deterioration and misery, progress denotes freedom and happiness. The former stands for discord and chaos and the latter for harmony and peace. Religion points to the vision of God - the supreme liberation and bliss born of the immortal. This vision is not circumscribed by tradition and doctrine because it transcends all limitations. The rules of life should be so set and adjusted that they might admit of being outgrown when the keen hunger of the soul seeks utter freedom in God. If this truth is ignored, life becomes a complex tangle in which the soul is caught enchained and helpless - hopelessly struggling to be free from the net of its own making.
The seed must have a ground so prepared that it might break through the soil and spring out into growth. Also favourable conditions have to be provided for the plant to evolve into a big tree, then into flowers, and lastly fruits. It must not be forgotten that fruit is the consummation of the seed. So an institution is the garden where every facility for the cultivation of the soul might ultimately transcend the institution for the higher, true and complete vision of life - just as the tree outgrows its fence and spreads its branches freely in the air, or as the pupil outgrows the school life for that of the world. Else an institution becomes at once an organised bondage and an incubus that warp and crush the healthy evolution of life to its destined goal of freedom and joy.
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