When you watch the watch, remember the five letters of the word WATCH. Each is giving you a fine lesson of life: W tells you to ‘Watch your Words’; A warns you ‘Watch your Actions’; T indicates to ‘Watch your Thoughts’; C advises ‘Watch your Character’; and H declares ‘Watch your Heart’. When you are consulting your watch, imbibe this lesson that the watch is imparting. (SSS Vol.7, p. 208)
The Mantra round your wrist
THE five-lettered word WATCH can be as potent a mantra in promoting the five basic Human Values: Truth, Righteous conduct, Peace, Love and Non-violence-- as the Panchakshari mantra--Namah-Sivaya in promoting the spiritual progress of a sadhaka.
WATCH is as much a panchakshari (five-lettered) mantra as Namah Sivaaya, and, if meditated upon, is as meaningful and momentous.
W: The first letter reminds us of the Sadhana of watching the Word. One should not revel in idle gossip, or spreading slander and scandal and wound others and pollute oneself. Examine the word before the tongue pronounces it; is it true, will it hurt, is it necessary? Warn the tongue against relishing faslehood, or indulging in outbursts of vilification and the like. Adhere to Truth, at all costs. It is the basic human value.
A: The second letter reminds us of the additional Sadhana of washing Action. Be vigilant that every activity conduces to your moral progress, to the welfare of society--that is to say, follows the moral code, Dharma. Dharma also means innate nature. Fire has to spread warmth and light and also to burn. These are its Dharma. Without them, it is but coal. Sugar without the sweet taste is but paltry powder. A rose without fragrance might as well be a plastic substitute. Man s Dharma is to love and serve fellowmen, practising truth without causing injury to others. A teaches us to manifest Dharma in every action of ours. Dharma is another great human value.
T: The third letter T indicates an additional sadhana, a third one watching our Thoughts. While adhering to the earlier two, one trains the mind not to react vehemently or vengefully when one is blamed or extolled. Why should one worry if the blame has no basis? Thoughts must reinforce the innate peace and tranquillity which are one s heritage. They should not create anxiety or anger, arrogance or envy, which are alien to the Divine Core of human beings. Thoughts, when watched and warned, promote Shanti, another precious human value. Shanti is the jewel won by the sages. It resides in hearts free from pride and, greed.
C: The fourth letter of the Panchakshari teaches one to watch the Character. Character is three-quarters of life. The Sadhaka has to direct himself to the acquisition of the three values already mentioned, through steady vigilance. Man is the very embodiment of Love; so, his character finds expression through character saturated with love. A life without Love is really living death. Every thought, word and deed must emanate from Love. Love must bind the community as one; it must strengthen the feeling of brotherhood and satisfy the craving for expansion. Love must reach out to all mankind and to God. When such a steady selfless character is absent in man, he is a lampless home, a barren cow, a runaway kite drifting helplessly down, a counterfeit coin. Is he observing Truth? Is he virtuous? Has he serenity? Does love motivate him for every action? These are the tests.
H: The fifth letter H instructs us to watch the Heart and the feelings it originates. It reminds us of the human value of Ahimsa (Non-violence). Heart does not mean the fist-size physical equipment we have to purify and pump blood. It is the centre of emotions, good and bad. It has to be watched, so that good emotions alone are manifested. It must expand to include all living beings to feel kinship with all creation. "My reality is the reality of all"--this truth must be ever springing forth. Then, the idea of violence can never find place in the heart. The sense of unity cannot produce competition and confrontation. The fifth human value---Ahimsa--is promoted by the sadhana indicated by the letter H.
For want of these five human values, mankind is in the throes of distress and disaster. The morning newspaper is full of murder, massacre, arson and dacoities. The brain and the mind have been polluted to a dangerous extent. Education aims only at providing information and promoting skills. It has not tackled the problem of moral degeneration, of the sublimation of low desires, of sense control and the development of spiritual insight. Man is converting himself into a brute with a human form. Vali, the monkey, is said to have argued that Rama wounded it with his mortal arrow, in spite of the fact that the sin it had committed was pardonable and even proper among monkeys. But Rama replied that Vali was only a monkey in appearance; it knew both right and wrong, and so deserved punishment. Man, today, is a beast in human garb. When he develops and demonstrates human values, he would have to discard the beast in him and become man, the pilgrim to God. Contemplation on the watch is the best means for achieving this end. (SSS Vol.19)