Light and Love
Swami teaches... February - March 2008
Part 3. Shivarathri Is the Time for Auspicious Spiritual
Contemplation
When you have faith in yourself, you will have faith in God.
Realize that there is nothing beyond the power of God. Love
God with that supreme faith. Then you will be drawn towards
God.
It needs purity. A
magnet cannot attract a piece of iron covered with rust.
Similarly God will not draw to Himself an impure person.
Hence, change your feelings and thoughts and develop the
conviction that God is everything. God will not give you up
when you have this conviction. Look around, Swami has a
myriad eyes who all are Divine as your own eyes.
For this you have to
get the conviction that God is omnipresent. When you have
that conviction, you will not indulge in falsehood or
practice deception, you will not abuse others or cause harm
to them, you will acquire all virtues.
"So we have to start from the position that we are children
of God, encourage people to assimilate that great truth, and
then to understand the implications – specifically that we
are all channels of expression and experience of God, with
the freewill to learn by experience." Adrian Cooper, author
of the book "Our Ultimate Reality."
Jnana (knowledge) is usually associated with two ways of
acquisition - the worldly or the material and the spiritual
or Brahman path. The worldly path is like a pair of
scissors. It cuts knowledge into pieces. The Brahman path is
like a needle - it makes the separate parts into One and
indivisible.
The sadhaka
(spiritual aspirant) must be aware of both. When you declare
a person to be a jnani (liberated person), he/she has passed
through these two stages. (However, one thing is to know the
path, quite another thing to walk on it).
Those who have studied the Vibhuthi Yoga in the Bhagavath
Gita will know the infinity of forms which the Lord assumes.
If one has faith that the Lord is present in the atom, one
will have a vision of the Lord even in the atom. (But if you
make a distinction between different objects, treat some as
pure and others as impure, you will not get that vision).
A sculptor creates an idol out of a rock. Because of the
form given to it, it is installed in a temple and
worshipped. In fashioning the idol, the sculptor chisels
away many chips of stone. The chips may proclaim verily
their kinship with the idol worshipped in the temple. They
may say: "You and we are one. The only difference is, you
have a form and we have none."
Thus, the Divine
exists both in the form and in the "formless". Most people
look at all things from the worldly point of view. Change
the angle of your vision. When you practice seeing the world
from the point of view of the omnipresence of the Divine,
you will get transformed. Reverse the Maya Reality's
'machine' centered point of view and turn it into the
Divine-person-centered point of view.
(The reason most people don't manifest what they could, is
that they do not feel what they deserve. Nearly all of us
have an inferiority complex. We don't know who we truly are.
In addition, there are many people who think the Universe
revolves around them and they themselves are the centre.
Many humans also
have no control over their own thoughts, often choosing to
focus on the evidence provided by their own physical eyes,
often focusing on negative things, thinking the worst. Such
persons, as a rule, have been slaves of own negative
thoughts and desires and different kinds of material
values).
A decade ago astronomers made the revolutionary discovery
that the expansion of the Universe is speeding up.
The quickening
expansion will eventually pull galaxies apart faster than
light, causing them to drop out of view. In short, it erases
all the signs that a big bang ever occurred.
What knowledge has
the Universe already erased? This scientific scenario truly
reaches to the limits of conscious thinking. Science or the
study of observable sensory matter, of measurable and
calculable items, can give incomplete information. (The sea
has pearls in its depths; but, you have to dive into it to
secure them. The waves throw out only shells).
All the Universe can
exist only in unity with the diverse qualities and
quantities of infinite vibrations. (Even hard crystals have
phonons, the vibrational modes of crystals).
Through modern scientific knowledge and scientific
experiments one may reach closer to Vedic wisdom and Swami's
Teaching. It may be so and also may be not.
All depends on the
spiritual values and quality of thoughts of scientists and
spiritual seekers who searching Swami's Cosmic form through
science. But very often they forget to look within own Self.
With every breath Swami's Cosmic Form as remembers to us His
existence, and as asks to revise own thoughts, which are
pinpointers for our words and deeds.
Always keep your
thoughts fixed on the infinite Divine power. The more you
contemplate on the Divine, the more and more the bliss gets
multiplied. Whatever may be the experience in everyday life,
the Reality is one, though it may be called by endless
names.
All what exists and
what less or more changes is the Divine Will, nothing will
happens outside this, even the scientific extraordinary
ideas and experiments. Unity in diversity exists not only
among material forms but also among humans minds who are too
part of the Great One. No, they are more than only a part.
Human's consciousness is a co-creator, holographic pattern,
fingerprint of the Cosmic, Universal Consciousness, alias
Creator, Swami's Cosmic Form.
For decades, the Standard Model of particle physics has
served physicists well as a means of understanding the
fundamental laws of Nature, but it not enough complete as
all other scientific discoveries.
It seems, that new
the scientific experiments in CERN* what will begin in
spring-summer 2008, will bring us closer to the Great One,
to the unity in endless diverse forms of all what exist
through science. (By the way, on the entrance to CERN is a
sculpture "Dance of Shiva").
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest machine in
the world - a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva,
where it spans the border between Switzerland and France
about 100 m underground.
At full power,
trillions of protons will race around the LHC accelerator
ring 11 245 times a second, traveling at 99.99% the speed of
light. Two beams of protons will each travel at a maximum
energy of 7 TeV (tera-electronvolt), corresponding to
head-to-head collisions of 14 TeV. About 600 million
collisions will take place every second.
LHC originally
conceived in the 1980s and approved for construction by the
CERN Council in late 1994. Civil engineering work to
excavate underground caverns to house the huge detectors for
the experiments started in 1998 and practically ended in the
beginning of 2008.
The six distinct
experiments (characterized by its unique particle detector)
at the LHC are all run by international collaborations.
Below is the very brief background some of these
experiments.
Each atom contains a
nucleus composed of protons and neutrons, surrounded by a
cloud of electrons. Protons and neutrons are in turn made of
quarks which are strongly bound together by other particles
called gluons.
Physicists hope that
under these conditions they created, the protons and
neutrons will 'melt', freeing the quarks from their bonds
with the gluons. This should create a state of matter called
quark-gluon plasma, which probably existed just after the
Big Bang.
The other
experiments will be looking for differences between matter
and antimatter, possibility the formation the Black Holes
and hypothetical extra dimensions in laboratory conditions.
(We live in a world
of matter. Antimatter is like a twin version of matter, but
with opposite electric charge. At the birth of the Universe,
equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been
produced in the Big Bang. But when matter and antimatter
particles meet, they annihilate each other, transforming
into energy. Maybe, a tiny fraction of matter must have
survived to form our Universe).
One of the
experiments forward particles created inside the LHC as a
source to simulate cosmic rays in laboratory conditions.
This experiment will help to understand why we live in a
Universe that appears to be composed almost entirely of
matter, but not antimatter.
Which conclusions
and questions follows from the LHC experiments in the field
of spiritual development?
May be the LHC
experiments show to scientists that quark-gluon mixture is
the first 'soup' of Creation after Big Bang... but what was
before and more and more before...? Anybody cannot find
answer to this. Being a holographic patterns of Creator we
(humans) cannot peep beyond and inside Creator. Humans can
analyze only the fruits of Creation from tiny bricks in
atoms to human brain and galaxies.
But it is possible, LHC experiments (far to discover ‘God’
particle) can quite pictorially show that all Creation is
connected with infinite invisible ties. These experiments
will show the reality these ties with energy, particles,
strings, etc., which all by spiritual outlook are the
expressions of Atma.
There is a wish that through these new kind experiments
scientists must commit to a new, spiritual-based
responsibility.
But how do
scientific, political and economical leaders embrace the
humans development from a spiritual basis? Many of them
worked with a large number of international groups to
produce the Earth Charter - a UN initiative calling for
establishing an cultural- ethical foundation for the
emerging society and to help build a sustainable world based
on respect for nature, universal human values and rights,
economic justice, and peace.
It seems that a new
planetary civilization is beginning to emerge. It must
generate a spiritual and ethical consciousness consistent
with its geographical, ecological, intellectual, social, and
economic level.
Swami's Works and His Will (through different aspects) are
in the role of the key for transformation the world on a
global, universal spirituality.
The main task towards a humankinds’ spiritual awareness
would be a deep respect for the diversity of cultures and
life around the world. That expresses itself in and through
human values, compassion, tolerance, justice, environmental
protection.
It will embrace an
ethic of respect for other traditions and an openness to
learn from others, while remaining faithful to its own
particularity.
There is a deep need to build a sustainable, and peaceful
community of humans and to protect the planet's ecological
systems. In and through this process, the modern world
created by science, technology, and globalization has an
opportunity to find its spiritual centre.
Where is a center,
then there is easy to build around it different
constructions, be they scientific, cultural, economic,
social...
Vedas teaches the basic spiritual laws of existence, Swami
teaches to look far beyond of emotional attachments towards
emotional freedom. Recent scientific experiments has reached
close to the truth that all the Universe is connected into
one entity on the subatomic level.
From Atmic point of
view there is no place like home...
Our true "home" we
reside is an atmic-energetic experience beyond all forms. It
is interesting to dare to experience the joy and pleasure of
simply being alive.
Black holes lose matter through the emission of energy via a
process discovered by Stephen Hawking, worldly known today’s
physicist. However, any black hole that cannot attract
matter, will shrink, evaporate and disappear.
I fancy that when
one is not attached to the material animated or unanimated
objects, with sincere faith and belief, then the different
'black holes' (envy, angry, fear, anxiety, and so on...)
what human mind is ever 'creating' also will shrink,
evaporate and disappear. Faith and belief seems to be
fundamental to this process.
By laws of Creation (the Divine Will) humans are an infinite
aspects of Atma and share the same infinite creative
characteristics of Atma even through scientific spirited
experiments. Humans are limited only by their capacity of
thought supported by faith and belief. That is why Swami
always underlines the significance of faith and belief.
With faith in our
Atmic nature, being supported by Unconditional Love,
Gratitude and belief in the creative power of Cosmic
Consciousness anything is possible inside (not beyond) the
diverse forms of Creation and their relations with each
other.
(Reet's compilation
from: Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Thieves or Masters?"
Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14. "The four blemishes,"
Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 16. "Build temple in
your hearts," Chapter 8; Sathya Sai Speaks.Vol. 21. "Bhaktha
Sakhaa Bhagavan!" Chapter 17; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 28.
"Idol worship and God Omnipresence," Chapter 4).
References:
CERN-Brochure-2008-001-Eng. Communication Group, January
2008.
http://lhc-milestones.web.cern.ch/LHC-Milestones/Flash/LHCMilestones-en.html
(Wait a little, when it downloads. Click to the indicator
below; you can read popular history of LHC from this idea
in1980 - to 2008).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Charter#History
PS:
*CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research or in
France - Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire.’
FYI: Studies into the safety of high-energy collisions
inside particle accelerators have been conducted in both
Europe and the United States by physicists who are not
themselves involved in experiments at the LHC.
Namaste -Reet
Swami
teaches... February - March 2008
Part 2. Shivarathri Is the Time for Auspicious Spiritual
Contemplation
A person who is in a state of ignorance about the Self is
like the bud of a flower that has not yet blossomed. When
the flower blossoms, it sheds its fragrance all round.
Likewise, the human being who has realized the Divinity
within becomes a source of light and strength. (But today
almost every activity of human is motivated by
self-interest. It is opposed to the Divinity that is
immanent in human. Without realizing this Divinity, how one
can to achieve peace internally or in the world outside)?
We have all the creative power of God, but only to the
extent that we can realize God within.
Reality is
infinitely complex, so we filter it down into manageable
chunks with our stage of spiritual or worldly values, our
attitudes, our feelings, our motivations.
Spiritual education must provide illumination; the darkness
of ignorance and the dusk of doubt have to flee before that
splendor. Then it is easy to cultivate good thoughts,
feelings and impulses of the gratitude to co-travelers in
the brightness of heart.
Or, as some perverted persons do, bad thoughts, bad feelings
and bad impulses can be bred in the original darkness
itself. The first is the Rama path, the second, the Ravana
path.
Whether in olden times or nowadays, there have always been
some persons who indulged in calumny against Avatars and
good people and derided the good actions done by them.
Here is an example
from the life of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
Ramakrishna's
disciples had to go by boat across the Ganga to get whatever
was required for his ashram. Ramakrishna used to assign
different tasks each day for the young disciples in the
ashram. One of them was a gentle youth known as Brahmananda.
The other Narender was an aggressive and short-tempered
youth.
One day Brahmananda went by boat to bring provisions for the
ashram. As soon as they saw an ochre-robed person in the
boat, the other passengers got very indignant. They started
abusing Ramakrishna Prahmahamsa in various ways. They
remarked: "He is a pseudo-sanyasi. He is spoiling all young
men," and so on. Brahmananda silently shed tears,
remembering the teachings of the master. During the trip he
was apprehensive about what might happen. On the return
trip, the earlier story was repeated. He listened silently
to the abuse leveled against Ramakrishna and did not venture
to quarrel with them. After his return, Ramakrishna asked
him to narrate what all had happened.
After listening to Brahmananda's pathetic story, Swami
Ramakrishna burst out:
"How could you
remain silent while your guru was being reviled? You have
committed a sin." Narender who was standing nearby, listened
to the angry words of the Master. Brahmananda fell at the
feet of the Master and pleaded for forgiveness.
The next day, it was Narender's turn to go by boat to buy
provisions. As soon as they saw an ochre-robed youth in the
boat, the other passengers started abusing Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa.
One rich man accused
Ramakrishna of spoiling young men by his teachings. Narender
remembered what the guru had said the previous day, rose
from his seat and gave a slap on the cheek of the reviler.
Narender was a strong, powerful person. He told the
traducer: "Will you keep your mouth shut? You may have your
likes and dislikes and we have ours. What right have you to
condemn us? If you do not keep silent, I shall hurl you into
the Ganga."
Everyone in the boat
got alarmed that the irate youth might actually carry out
the threat. All of them became silent. Narender brought the
provisions and returned by boat to the ashram. On the return
journey no one ventured to open his mouth.
Ramakrishna asked
Narender to relate what all happened during his boat trip.
Narender related what all had happened and said: "All of
them kept their mouths shut after I had slapped one of them
for criticizing the guru." Immediately Swami Ramakrishna
observed: "Chi! Chi! How unbecoming of you to dishonor the
robe you are wearing by losing your temper, exhibiting
hatred and causing hurt to a person. What does it matter
what anyone says? How does it affect us? Their praise or
censure will not touch us.
Narender pleaded:
"Swami! I was listening yesterday to what you had said to
Brahmananda. Because of that, I behaved in this manner. You
took him to task for remaining passive. You take me to task
for retaliating. I am unable to understand what is the
proper thing to do."
Ramakrishna explained his divergent reactions by another
example. He said, "There are four tyres for a car. What
should be the pressure in the front tyre and the rear tyres
have been laid down. If there is excessive pressure in some
tyres, it should be reduced. If some tyres have low
pressure, they have to be inflated. Only then the car will
run smoothly. Narender suffers from excessive pressure. He
requires to be deflated. Brahmananda is excessively weak, so
he has to be inflated."
The teachings of the masters vary according to the condition
of the disciples.
Likewise, in the
Bhagavad Gita or other scriptures, statements might appear
which seem to contradict each other. These differences
relate to differences in circumstances and requirements of
the person concerned. You should not contrast one statement
of the Swami with another and ask why them is a
contradiction between the different statements.
In the Gita itself,
in one place, Krishna stresses the need for action, at
another the adherence to Dharma, and in another place
commends renunciation of all Dharma and urges complete
surrender to the Lord. These apparent contradictions are not
contradictions. The teaching varies according to the state
of spiritual development of the person concerned and the
situation in which he is placed.
The inner significance of the great teachings of the Avatars
and sages should be properly understood before any criticism
is attempted. No room should be given for logic chopping or
verbal controversies.
You have to observe
only two things: adhere to Truth and cultivate Love.
People talk much about the search for truth in their worldly
life. What is this search? Consider this example. Your eyes
see the mother, the child, the wife, the cook, and the
daughter-in-law. The eyes are the same but they see
different persons with different emotions. The search for
truth means seeing everything in its own true, specific
nature. All the persons may be feminine and the eyes that
see them are one and the same. But to find out the truth one
has to determine how he should view each person in relation
to that person's state.
Truth resides in
you. It is the appropriate application to specific objects
which determines what is true. (More correctly relatively
true, from aspect of Atmic Reality).
You have to recognize that these Divine attributes, Truth
and Love, exist equally in all beings. Develop the sense of
equal-mindedness and equal regard for all. This is the true
sadhana. Cultivate Love for the Divine and share that love
with all beings.
Those attached to
God, aspiring for God, aware of God, adoring God have
certain distinct marks by which they can be identified. Such
people have a compassionate heart.
The Truth about the
omnipresence of the Divine was evident to the Gopikas who
sang in praise of Krishna:
O Krishna! How can anyone know your mystery?
You are subtler than
the atom and
vaster than the vastest thing in the world!
You are present in myriads of beings in this
vast universe in innumerable forms.
How can we ever know you?
"You are a thief among thieves, a good man among the good.
You manifest the qualities of the object in which you dwell.
You are everything."
The sages addressed all human beings as Children of
Immortality. (But, in spite of this definite assurance and
the inexhaustible joy that can be experienced therefore,
human degrades him/herself into an children of falsehood).
Thieves who rob human of valuable treasures, like peace and
contentment, equipoise and courage, are being honored as
masters and masters who ensure peace and happiness are
treated with irreverence and disgust.
The thieves - lust,
anger, greed, attachment, pride and hate - are honored as
welcome guests and the real well-wishers like tranquility
and humility are shown the door.
(That is the state
of human today. Human craves for peace, but, does not know
how to attain it).
Human must be sincere; the word must be in conformity with
the feeling, the action must be in conformity with the word.
Resolve on this practice, at least from today of holy
Shivarathri. Do not be false to yourself.
Swami asks to cleanse his/her mind of four blemishes before
he/she can overcome the disaster that is fast overtaking
him/her.
They are ashraddha, krodha, avishwasam and chintha - (lack
of steady interest, anger, faltering faith in oneself and a
perpetual sense of worry).
It is said that the person endowed with shraddha (steady
interest) gains jnana (wisdom). How can jnana be won by
half-hearted dedication?
(Most of young
people and many adults also today is very flighty; they are
carried away by fantasies, whims and fancies. They are
reluctant to dive deep into the truth of themselves or the
outer world. They run after the sheets of water they
perceive in mirages; can glow-worms light, a lamp?
Frivolities and fancies cannot grant peace and happiness;
what is really worth while has to be discovered first; then,
steady effort must follow to gain them).
Krodha (anger) is deadly poison. It affects others by its
fumes, manifested through the eye, the tongue and the hands.
The seed of a poison tree sprouts into a poisonous plant and
when it becomes a big tree, its leaves, flowers and fruits
will be certainly poisonous. So too, the person addicted to
anger can only emanate poison, through thought, word and
deed. An angry thought is like a pebble thrown into the calm
waters of the manasa-sarovar (mind-lake), inside human. It
creates a circular effect which spreads through the entire
lake.
Strive by all means
to prevent the poison entering your mental make-up.
The significant
handicap is avishwasam (weak faith in oneself). Now, you
have faith in the body and its appurtenances and not in the
inner motivator, the charioteer.
That is why faith
falters when some minor calamity happens. Contemplate on the
impermanence of wealth, fame, worldly friendship, etc.
(Many have no
interest and knowledge of the-eternal, the changeless, the
ever-blissful).
Swami asks you to
cultivate faith in the value of seva; believe that love can
overcome hatred. Have faith in righteousness and the moral
life. This is called dharma (righteousness) since, dhara
means that which is worn, that which envelops, etc.
Overcome 'chintha' (the habit of sliding into worry and
despot). Once this weed takes root in the mind, it assumes
many forms to assert its hold. Every stage of life is
fraught with anxiety; every step in the progress is a cause
for worry.
(In fact, birth,
death, old age, illness, every one of these multiply worries
of their own. How to get sleep is a cause for worry; how to
get up from the bed is another worry. Today admission to
colleges causes worry; admission to the hostel is another
worry; the examination causes worry. But these are matters
that are not essential. They need not cause so much
heart-burning as the problem of removing the fundamental
error in the thought process - the ignoring of the Divine
that inspires and guides you always and for ever.
When you cultivate
the attitude that you are the body, the body will demand
from you more food, more variety in food, more attention to
appearance and physical comfort.
It is only when sacred thoughts of brotherliness, devotion,
dedication and discipline are cultivated that Swami can be
installed in our hearts.
We build our future thought by thought,
For good or ill, yet know it not.
Yet, so the Universe was wrought.
Thought is another name for fate;
Choose, then, thy destiny and wait,
For love brings love and hate brings hate.
(Henry Van Dyke)
Thoughts are as things. Pictorially we can create a thought
as surely as we can create a mail, and once created there is
no telling where this thought may stop or how lasting its
action may be.
If these thoughts
are good, they return to us with the added happiness,
gratitude and power which they have accumulated from others.
Evil thoughts come
back to us in the same way with added power of evil and
cruelty.
In a similar way the
power of the will may be used for good or for evil, as the
case may be, and it has a great power in both directions.
It all depends into
which channel one directs the energy of this will.
"We must learn to
know ourselves, to preserve a just and careful balance of
judgment, sympathy, understanding and intuition" (Adrian
Cooper).
Education connected with educare does not end with the
accumulation of information; it must result in
transformation of the habits, character and aspirations of
the individual. Knowledge has to be tested in daily actions.
(Now, human being is
interested in everyone except own Self. If only human
becomes aware of own Self, he/she can have vast strength,
deep peace and great joy added unto him/herself).
Science has provided human with the radio, the television
set, internet, cinema, etc. They are each useful and
productive of good, if each one is manipulated by persons
with a pure social consciousness and with love in their
hearts.
Individual, society
and the world - all the three are inextricably
inter-connected. The individual's welfare is dependent on
the state of the nation. Everyone should strive to develop
his spiritual qualities and utilise them for promoting the
interests of the community and the country.
But, when the devices of technical progress are in the hands
of people with no high moral standards, who find in them
tools for amassing money and so, they have become enemies of
human progress).
"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us Universe,
a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself,
his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the
rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to
our personal desires and to affection for a few persons
nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this
prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all
living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty"
(Albert Einstein).
Some of the biggest cosmological questions in the Universe
depend on its shape. Is it curved? Is it flat? Is it open?
(Those may not make that much sense to you, but in fact it’s
very important for astronomers).
Some of the biggest
questions in the spiritual Universe depend on human's the
firm conviction that all - seen or unseen to human's eye -
is Divine.
To know is the
function of the mind. To act is the duty of the body. To
remain as the Eternal Witness is the function of the Atma.
Mind, body and Atma together constitute humanness. The
Divine is present in all three.
(Reet's compilation
from: Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Thieves or Masters?"
Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14. "The four blemishes,"
Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 16. "Build temple in
your hearts," Chapter 8; Sathya Sai Speaks.Vol. 21. "Bhaktha
Sakhaa Bhagavan!" Chapter 17; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 28.
"Idol worship and God Omnipresence," Chapter 4).
Namaste -Reet
Swami
teaches... February - March 2008
Part 1. Shivarathri Is the Time for Auspicious Spiritual
Contemplation
Shivarathri is the Sacred Night. In the Night of this
auspiciousness is the occasion for cherishing auspicious
thoughts and praying for auspicious action and conduct in
life.
Relying on the
merely literal meaning of the words, people wait a whole
year for this particular holy day in order to miss a meal
and call it a fast, to miss a night's sloop and call it a
vigil.
The fast is called
in Sanskrit as Upavasa and it means something far more
significant than missing a meal. It means living near and
with God. Upavasa means living in the unbroken constant
presence of the Lord, by Namansmarana or remembrance of
Divinity; that is the real fast, holding fast to Him.
Keeping awake,
shaking off the sleep of the senses and being fully aware of
the Light of Love, that is the Divine essence in all.
The sages of the past have realized the value and dignity,
the worth and responsibility, of human life and they have
laid down disciplines like the vigil and fast on Shivarathri
Day, in order to inspire human and instruct human, on the
upward path to God.
Shivarathri is a
word that connotes the dual nature of human and human's duty
to discriminate between the higher and the lower. Shiva
means jnana (the higher wisdom, the Unifying Universal
Vision); it also means, the lasting, the timeless, and the
beneficial, the holy, the auspicious. And the second word, 'rathri'
means darkness of ignorance, the blind pursuit of tawdry
pleasures, the bewildering of sensory joys. It also means
the transitory, the fleeting; it connotes the maleficent,
the inauspicious, the sacrilegious.
The message of
Shivarathri is: discriminate between Shiva and rathri - the
prana (life energy) and the body, the dehi (indwelling of
spirit) and the deha (body), the spiritual and the material
(kshetrajna and kshetra). /The last called in the Gita as
vibhaga-yoga (the yoga of discrimination between matter and
spirit)/.
Shake off the
drowsiness and laziness, and practice the deep concentration
in meditation and sadhana.
That is the main purpose of these holy days and the
regulations laid down for their observance.
These holy days must be set apart for the contemplation of
these great ideals with different approaches and topics
directed by Swami.
The Upanishads have declared that through renunciation alone
is immortality to be attained. The significance of yajna,
dhama and thapas (sacrifice, self-control and penance), of
sahana, sadhana, samyama (forbearance, spiritual discipline
and restraint), of the great Mahavakyas (Divine maxim on
Absolute Reality, Vedic dicta) enshrined in the Vedas, of
the three yogas - bhakthi, karma and jnana.
With increased spiritual development and spiritual life, we
will perceive that nothing is really separated from anything
else; that we are united in the Great One in infinite forms.
We are united in the Atmic Reality, of which we form a part.
The entire phenomenal Universe what human being can perceive
is a manifestation of the atoms. The five basic elements
(space, air, water, fire and earth) are all made up of atoms
and pervade the Universe. For this reason, the ancients
regarded the Universe as a manifestation of God.
What is the origin
of atoms, mass? Why do tiny particles weigh the amount they
do? Why do some particles have no mass at all? These are
questions what arise today before modern science.
Everything we see in
the Universe, from butterfly to a galaxy, is made up of
ordinary particles, referred to as matter, made up of atoms
forming only 4% of the Universe. 96% is unknown to science
dark energy* and dark matter*.
So the part of forms
(atoms) in the Universe is about 4%. The other 96% is
formless entity, what human being cannot directly perceive.
"There is an atomic particle subtler than the atom.
There is something vaster than
The vastest you can imagine.
The atom is in the immense and
The immense is in the atom.
The Atma is in the atom as the Spirit"
says a Telugu Poem by Swami.
The child Prahlada (by ancient scriptures son of the demon
king Hiranyakasipu: he was beaten, trampled, and cast into
fire and water. But he saw only God everywhere, and
repetition of the Name of God saved him). realized the
omnipresence of the Divine. He told his father: "Do not have
any doubts that the Divine is present here and not there. He
is omnipresent. You can find Him wherever you seek Him."
What Prahlada
declared millennia ago, the scientists of today are near to
accept, namely, that the energy that is present in the
all-pervading atom is Divine.
Separateness ends with realization. Science and Vedanta say
the same in substance by different aspects.
Scientists are
tending to realize the basic unity of the energy that fills
the Universe. Vedanta describes that Unity as Brahman (the
Supreme all-pervading Absolute, Cosmic Consciousness). The
terms used are different, but in substance they are saying
the same thing; namely that the Great One subsumes the many.
(About the absolutely new scientific experiments in 2008 -
briefly in one of the next part).
With regard to divinity, there is no meaning in making a
distinction between the Divine with form and the formless
divinity. How can you conceive of the Formless Divine? You
cannot avoid idol worship until you have experience of the
Divine within you. The night of Shivarathri will remember it
to you through Swami's Teaching.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa once told a disciple - who asked why
he (the disciple) was not able to see God - whether he
yearned for God with the same intensity with which he sought
many worldly things. If he did so, he would certainly have a
vision of God.
When a similar
question was put to Buddha, he said that without indulging
in speculation about God if one practiced truth,
righteousness and non-violence he would have the highest
experience.
Let us look these two kinds of worship more properly.
Long before humans started exploring the secrets of the atom
and discovering the nature of atomic energy, even before
scientists began to understand the nature of spirituality,
Bharatheyas worshipped the Bhuumi or Earth as Divine.
Because the five elements were present in the Earth, they
adored the Earth as Bhuudevi, the Earth Goddess. They
worshipped water as Gangadevi, recognizing the Divine
element in water. The Fire God comes next. The fourth is
Vayudeva (the Lord of Wind). The fifth is Shabdha Brahman,
the Divine as primal sound. Thus, all the five elements were
considered manifestations of the Divine and worshipped as
such by the ancient Bharatheyas.
Every atom has a form. There is no object in the Universe
perceivable by humans without a form. By Vedic scriptures
the form is vigraha (an expression of the Divine idol).
Swami tells. "I
point my finger at the mike and say: this is a mike. After
you have seen the mike, you don't need the finger to point
it out. I point to a flower and say: this is a flower. After
you have seen the flower, there is no need for the finger to
point it."
Likewise, idols were used to point out God. Until
God-realization comes, idols are essential. After
God-realization there is no need for idols.
(After worshipping
an idol and gaining experience of divinity by such worship,
one would be able to describe one's experience of God by
formless worship).
People in different countries over the world hoist the
national flags and revere it. Before the National Flag could
attain this status, many sacrificed their all for the
freedom of the country.
(Indians went
through all this suffering so that they could have their own
flag in a free country. On August 15th and January 26th, the
National Flag is hoisted all over the country and revered as
the symbol of national freedom).
Moreover, people
respect even their party flags. Is this flag animate? Has it
any vitality or power in it? When you enquire like this you
discover that it is the faith in the flag that makes it
adorable.
Likewise, if the
question is asked whether a stone idol that is worshipped
has any life or consciousness in it, they will find the
answer from the example of the honor done to the national
flag.
How does a square
yard of cotton cloth made into a flag acquire its value? The
value is derived from the fact that the flag is a symbol of
the victory achieved in the freedom struggle. That victory
has no form. The flag demonstrates the achievement of that
victory. Without the flag how do you demonstrate the victory
in the freedom struggle?
Take another example. There is a 100-rupee note. It is
lifeless. But you take good care of it because it represents
wealth. Money as such has no qualities like goodness. But
the possessor of money has qualities. Money is a symbol of
power.
The fragrance
emanating from a flower has no form, but the flower has a
form.
Take love, for
instance. It has no form. But the mother who exhibits love
for her child has a form. If there is no mother, how can
there be love?
The mother's body is
a vigraha (embodied form). The preceptor's body is a form.
Swami's body is a Form.
Among human society there can be no action without the body
what is at the base of everything.
The term vigraha
also means an idol that is an object of worship. Through
them humans can realise the Divine.
The idols that are
worshipped give the answers to those who go about asking,
"Where is God?"
The truth is, God is
present in every atom and in every subatomic particle. Every
atom represents the power of the Divine. Every atom deserves
to be worshipped. All objects in Creation have to be
respected. People have to cultivate this feeling of
reverence for all things.
In every religion there is a distinct form for worship. For
example: Prakrithi (Nature). Nature has the power of
attraction. It contains all the five elements. It is from
Nature that we get our food. Nature is the source of all
minerals. Nature is the sustainer of human being in ordinary
life. That being the case, what is wrong in adoring Nature?
Should we not be grateful to that which provides so many
things for our needs? That gratitude is a form of worship.
Today scientists are trying to understand the power of
attraction. Take, for instance, a temple. Thousands of
people go to the temple for worship. The attractive power of
temple extends to the idol in the sanctum. The thoughts of
the worshippers are also attracted by the idol.
Thereby the power of
attraction in the idol gets intensified. The rituals
performed for the idol also enhance its power of attraction.
This process can be
noticed if a couple of nails are kept near a magnet. After
two days it will be found that the nails also have been
magnetized. In the same manner when worshippers go to a
temple the power goes forth from thousands of worshippers,
the power or a action in the idol gets immensely
intensified. The idol surcharged with this power is able to
energize the worshippers.
In a home, there are
pictures of grandparents and great-grandparents. The present
generation has not seen them. But they offer garlands to the
pictures and revere the ancestors. Is there life in the
pictures? Do they exhibit any love? Do the pictures by
themselves reveal any relationship? Not at all. But the
pictures are revered out of the feeling that they represent
one's ancestors. If such a loving feeling did not exist, the
pictures will not be kept in the house. Likewise it is the
attachment for an object that inspires respect and
reverence. This is termed devotion. This devotion should be
shown towards all objects because the Divine is in
everything, in every atom. It may be difficult to cultivate
such devotion without special forms.
What is the form of water? Here in this tumbler is some
water and its form is derived from the tumbler.
Likewise air acquires the form of the balloon in which it is
confined. Similarly when the body is filled with Divine
energy, the Divine acquires the human form. The
all-pervading Divine thus acquires the form in which it
manifests itself.
What is the form of Ananda? Experience alone is the form of
this bliss. This bliss can be experienced only by
God-realization and not by any other means. Bliss is
all-pervading, but it not visible. For that reason, its
existence cannot be denied.
(By losing faith in
the Divine, turning into unbelievers, moving away from
bliss, people are becoming a prey to worry).
In conclusion, every person begins to learn about all
objects only in relation to their forms. People could not
easily conceive of God as omnipresent, who is in every
object and in every individual. (Some were able to conceive
that the atom is present in every, object and everywhere.
But it was only some centuries ago that atomic physics came
into existence).
In conclusion idol
worship should not be regarded as a meaningless exercise. It
is a good practice because on the basis of the idol the
higher consciousness is attained.
With firm faith and devotion, after idol worship's
experiences the realization of the Great One will appear as
formless unity, as the fusion into this formless unity.
This divine power
does not come from outside. It is within human beings. Our
very form is Divine. That is why Swami often addresses
people as "Embodiments of the Divine Atma."
(Hence, if you want
to discover the Divine who is omnipresent there must be a
change in outlook within you. When you realize your own
inherent divinity, you will be able to recognize the
divinity in others).
Worship of the formless is often misconceived. The ideal is
to make your hearts the temples for the Divine to dwell.
(But today jet this is not possible for everybody. Temples
in stone are reminders of the existence of God). Ttrue
worship consists in heartfelt devotion to the God within
each one.
The temples erected
in your hearts are permanent. When most of humans will
realize the God within, then the sums spent on the
construction of temples could be spent more usefully on
service to the poor and the needy.
Learn to see in
every living, vital, active person, the embodiment of all
energy, all beauty, all beneficence, namely, God. God is
subtler than ether, filling the smallest crevice with his
majesty. Know this and serve his manifestations, wherever
you meet them.
(Reet's compilation
from: Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Thieves or Masters?"
Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14. "The four blemishes,"
Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 16. "Build temple in
your hearts," Chapter 8; Sathya Sai Speaks.Vol. 21. "Bhaktha
Sakhaa Bhagavan!" Chapter 17; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 28.
"Idol worship and God Omnipresence," Chapter 4).
PS:
1. Dark energy was discovered in the late 1990s during a
survey of distant supernova. (Instead of finding evidence
that the mutual gravity of all the objects in the Universe
is slowing down its expansion, researchers discovered that
its expansion is actually accelerating).
2. Dark matter was
first theorized back in 1933 by Swiss astronomer Fritz
Zwicky. He noted that galaxies shouldn't be able to hold
themselves together with just the regular matter we can see.
There must be some additional, invisible matter surrounding
the regular matter that provides the additional
gravitational force to hold everything together.
Namaste - Reet
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