Swami teaches....Part 21
Link to Swami Teaches....Part 20
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Sai Ram
Light and Love
Swami teaches.... ( 29 March 2005)
Mental Transformation as Creative Process
Agriculture is for living; mind-culture is for life. Educational system that keeps youth away from God - the only refuge, the only kinsman, the only guide and guard - is really a system where the blind are engaged in blinding those who depend on them. There should be change in the mental attitude of the people, as the prelude to a change in the national and later world wide scene.
True education should be the life-breath of human beings. Aathma vidhya (science of the Self) alone can fix the mind in Dharma. The spiritual aspirants as well as students will develop a keen desire to know about it - knowledge and desire that will stand them in good stead, when they encounter the problems of life. The war of Kurukshethra, for which the Mahaabhaaratha is the background and the stage, lasted for eighteen days; other wars have lasted longer, seven years' thirty years and even a hundred years. They had a finish, some time. But the battle between Jeevi and Maayaa, the individual and the fascinating, deluding wiles of the really unreal Nature with its enticing multi-fariousness - this battle is continuous. Maayaa can be conquered only by allying yourselves with the Master of Maayaa, Maadhava. This is the lesson that Aathma vidhya teaches.
In every padaartham (object) in the Universe there is a Paraartham (Supreme Principle). The Vedhas proclaimed this by saying that the Supreme is in the Anoraniyaan (subtlest of the subtle) and the Mahathomahiyaan (vastest of the vast). By deriving pleasure from a small fraction of the Pancha Bhuuthas (Five Elements - Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth) we are forgetting the truth of the Cosmos. Five Elements that constitute the natural environment are kept in balance, the world is in a healthy state. Great sages, filled with magnificent sympathy for their fellowmen, laid down rules, regulations,limits and directions for daily life and conduct, so that human's hand and brain, instincts and impulses may not turn against oneself/selves, but may turn towards the ideals of sathya, dharma, shaanthi and prema. They declared that every karma must be weighed in the balance and approved only if it cleanses the emotions and passions; it has to be cast aside if it curdles or fouls them. Bhaavashuddhi (purification of mental disposition) was the fruit of karma and any act that befogs the bhaava (thought process) or excites it into Rajas (passion) or demeans it into thamas (inertia) has to be avoided. Yajnas and yaagas (sacrificial rites and sacrificial offerings) were prescribed so that one may learn the glory of renunciation, not the glitter of pomp and conspicuous waste. Yajnas imposed on the performer and participants a rigorous routine of physical and mental cleanliness that: led them on to the presence of the Supreme. Like the attractive pictures in children's primers, they drew attention and held it fast; they took the delighted readers along the lessons and helped them to master knowledge itself. They learnt Akshara (the unchanging eternal truth) through the changing karma. The worship of idols, temple rituals, vows and fasts, festivals and holy days, all these are designed to tame the human's wildness and train one to tread the straight and sharp path to self-realisation through spiritual/mental transformation.
It is significant to stress that ethical transformation depends on social transformation. Social transformation is related to spiritual change. Spiritual transformation is the basis for ethical transformation. As you notice, all are interconnected into one grid of spiritual wholeness. For women spiritual transformation have a special role. Women are the mothers of the coming generation; they are the teachers of that generation, during the first five years of life. The mother is the first of the five Maathas (Mothers), that the Indian child encounters: Dhehamaatha (the mother that gave birth to this body); Go-maatha (the cow that gives sustaining milk); Bhoo-maatha (the land that grows the crops which feed the body); Dhesa-maatha (the Native country that gives protection, care, love, rights and chances to serve and elevate oneself to one's full height), and Vedha-maatha (the heritage of spiritual treasure that reveals the aim and purpose of human life and takes one step by step, towards the Goal of Self-realisation). The essence of spirituality is mental transformation. Without mental transformation, what is the use of all spiritual sadhanas, experiences? What is the use of prayer? It must come from the heart.
Education confers beauty on
human;
Some advises for spiritual aspirants for inspiring their learning. God is in you, but like the woman, who fears that her necklace has been stolen or lost, recognises that she has it round her neck when she passes a mirror, one too will recognise that God is within, when some Guru remindsof it. The joy' that you then get is incomparable. Everyone must realise that the science of Self, discovery is self-heritage. Now, there are many scholars, able to expound that heritage, but few who practise it and earn the reward. That science was explored by sages and laid down in clear and simple terms. Not to know it and not to practise it is the greatest loss. Get rid of the desire for sense-enjoyment. It is through desirelessness or vairagya (detachment) that fear can be banished. Today people do not understand the meaning of desirelessness. They think that giving up hearth and home is renunciation. This is not what vairagya implies. Whatever we do should be done in a spirit of goodwill and service. Regard yourself as an integral member of society. Desires are like the pleasure you get while scratching itching eczema, only makes the complaint worse. You cannot cure it by yielding to the temptation to scratch. The more you scratch, the more you are tempted to continue, until bleeding intervenes. So, desist from that vain pursuit and concentrate on spiritual matters, or at least, move in the world with the everpresent consciousness that it is a morass, a net, a trap, into which attachment and desire will precipitate you. Be a true bhaktha and become so small that you wriggle out of the shackles of the senses or be a true jnaani and become so huge, that you escape by breaking the shackles.
Most of the troubles tormenting the world today stem from loss of Aathma-Vishvaasa (self-confidence). The eternal verities proclaimed in the scriptures have assumed bizarre forms. Sacred nature is divorced from humanity. The ancient wisdom is in eclipse. Perverted knowledge is growing. In such a situation, how can ethical and spiritual values appeal to youth? Does knowledge of how to cause mass destruction merit the name of science? Cannot their scientific investigations be devoted to causes which promote human welfare and betterment? Many scientific discoveries of today were excelled by the achievements of Hiranyakasipu. The powers obtained from them are prone to be misused.
In the field of science today, there is great emphasis on research and discovery. But unless the results of research are applied in practice, it will be an expensive futility. If all the time is spent on research when is it to find useful application in practice? Those engaged in research seem to be more concerned about boosting their name and fame by their research than about promoting public well-being through the results of their research. Nor do they seem to be bothered about the harmful consequences of their discoveries. There is nothing great about causing harm to others. To destroy a million persons by a single bomb is no great thing. To do good to a single individual in the world is more praise-worthy. (Reet's
compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 6."The taming of the wild," Chapter 31; Vol. 8."The five mothers," Chapter 26; Vol. 16."Develop devotion to Dharma," Chapter 13; Vol. 23."Give up selfishness: Cultivate unity," Chapter 7; Vol. 26."Education should develop human values," Chapter 35). Sai Ram
Light and Love
Swami teaches.... ( 30 March 2005)
God is an Echo of Wholeness
Swami always advocates deep inquiry to strengthen the foundations of faith. Inquiry will only reinforce the springs of Love. Can there be anything more lovable than God, who is Beauty, Strength, Glory, Fame, Splendour, Wisdom, in their fullest bloom? Love of God creates in human the love for all examples of His majesty, His mercy, His magnificence, His manifoldness. Raamakrishna saw in a flower His charm; He saw everywhere His grandeur; heard from every throat His melody, His Flute song. Krishna's flute is the expression, the elucidation of the four Vedhas and Om is their quintessence. 'A,' 'U,' 'M' and the dot (signifying the reverberation of the Sound in the depth of the heart), are symbolic of the four Vedhas. Om is also symbolic of the 'Raama-Principle. The four brothers, Raama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Sathrughna, represent the Rig, Yajur, Saama and Atharvana Vedhas. When human neglects the Divine aspect of their nature and fails to pursue the saadhana (spiritual discipline) that ensures the awareness of the Omnipresent and Omnipotent Om, he falls prey to the impulses and instincts dominated by the "ego and develops faith in material gains. He spends his life in amassing wealth, power and authority over fellow beings and believes that holding others under his sway is a desirable achievement. If there were a vacancy in Heaven, man would surely apply for the position of God, for he believes that he has all the necessary attributes. He forgets that the real attribute for superiority is unshaken faith in Aathmic Reality. Science must make human being humble by revealing that science knows so little of what is worth knowing. (It is the latest scientific truth that science today knows about 5 % of matter in the Universe, including the Earth and other celestial bodies. So, scientific playground is about 5 % of all 'capacity' of the Universe as 25% is unknown dark matter and 70% is unknown dark energy). The Divine aspect of your personality will encourage humility, adherence to truth, love and eagerness to serve, fortitude and detachment. Cherish the first; manifestation of these qualities in your life and practise them whenever you get a chance. The innate brotherhood that sanctifies the human race is destroyed by the weeds of envy that grow in the mind. These weeds ruin one's personality.
One must recognise God in all human beings and in all else that exists. Since the jeeva (individual being) limits his viewpoint to the physical frame he occupies, he limits God also to a certain name and form, and sees His Compassion and Grace, Blessings and Benediction, limited to a small circle of 'devotees' who adore that specific name and form. God is the echo of the hills, the flutter of the leaves, the whisper of people, the babble of children, the Om (divine sound) that is wafted everywhere. God is present at all places, but to recognise Him, saints have had to prescribe a thousand methods. God is Love, Premamaya, Premaswaruupa, Premabhaaskara (full of love, Embodiment of Love, Sun of love), as He is described by those who have realised Him. Love is expressed as sympathy, charity, reverence, affection, sacrifice what exists in everyone as potency, as real I. However, in many people these qualities are present in hidden forms.
'I' is the foundation on which one builds own Divinity and the Mansion of Dharma (righteousness). This truth can be known through Karma and Upaasana (activity and dedication, deeds and devotion) which purify and clarify. Karma and Upaasana generate Jnaanam (spiritual knowledge), which moves human's life smoothly along the rails of Peace and Joy. Karma and Upaasana create detachment; they teach the true sense of values; human learns that peace can be won only by withdrawing the mind from the objective world, not by allowing it to graze in the poisonous meadows of sensual pleasure. Remember the distress and calamity that the saints underwent with enthusiastic welcome. People laughed at them and called them mad; but they knew that they were in the Grace Hospital of God, not the mental hospital of humans. Human is no ordinary being. The term Nara applied to human, means Aathma (the Spirit). It is because human becomes a slave of his senses that he descends to the animal level instead of rising to the state of the Divine Master, Pashupathi. Animal instincts and impulses have persisted in human nature as vestiges, and it is only when their upsurge is controlled and gradually eliminated, that the springs of Divinity can manifest, themselves. In the quest for the Divine, there should be no hurry. Purity and serenity are required for God-realisation. Two kinds of birds have got into the mind. One bird fosters the sense "I" and "Mine" and fills the mind with ego. This is a destructive force. The second bird fosters the feeling of freedom from attachment and hatred. It signifies the power of the sun in the mind. The pure heart is the best mirror for the reflection of Truth. Every year people are celebrating the birthday of the Gita with pompous puuja and speeches. In the midst of this confusion the essential teachings of the Gita are ignored. When exactly did the Gita originate and mean? Literally the word means 'song.' Since God is Omnipresent, the Song of God, too, must be Omnipresent. So, in reality, Pranava (Om) is the Gita of God. The song 'Om' is Universal, eternal, full of the essence of all spiritual significance, the real Gita of God. And It can have no birthday that human should celebrate, having itself arisen before time began. Our Self (real 'I') is resonant with Pranava. But amid the clamour of the market-place and the noise of the commerce of life, our selves are not able to hear it. Our own senses lay claim to our attention. Our minds crave for being let free among the pleasures of the outer world. Obviously our passions and prejudices have to be calmed before we can hear Om, the Song of the Lord that wells up from the heart. Your own 'Soham' transmutes itself into Om when the distinction between He and I has dissolved in the process of samaadhi. In the first stage the saadhaka says, 'I am in Sai,' in the second stage, 'Sai is in me,' and in the third and final stage, 'Sai and I are One,' the duality between the two having been shed. In that moment of llumination Om is revealed as Illumination the Wisdom of Light and Divine Love.
It is not necessary to devote many hours to prayer. It is enough if one thinks of God with all his heart and offers himself even for a few moments. A single match stick when it is struck can dispel the darkness in a room that has remained closed for years.
It has been said that in the Kali Age is no greater spiritual practice than chanting the name of the Lord what always begins with song of God - Om. There are four ways of chanting the Lord's name. One is through Keerthana (song). Then there is Sankeerthana (community singing). Another is Dhyaana (meditating on the Divine). The fourth is contemplation of the form of the Divine. In all these, meditating on the name is basic. There is nothing greater than bhajans. What a demonstration of oneness is it when myriad throats join in uttering the name of God! The vibrations emanating from them make the heart vibrant. In community singing, what you have is a wave of vibrations. They enter into the atmosphere and purify the polluted air. When you sing the glory of God, the bad germs in the air are destroyed and the air gets purified pictorially as by a treatment with anti-biotics.
Once the sage Narada appeared before Lord Vishnu and said: "Oh Lord! I move about in the three worlds and I know the past, the present and the future. If I want to convey to you any special information, to what address should I send it? What is your permanent address?" Vishnu replied: "Narada! Take down my permanent address: Wherever my devotees sing my glories, I reside there." Or as the Gita says: “The Lord dwells in the heart region of all beings." He is equally in the heart of everyone. In his own silent way, God will transform the mind and turn it towards saadhana and successful spiritual pilgrimage. When you approach God and seek His help and guidance, you have taken the first step. You are then led to accept His Will as your own. Whatever you do, do it not for pleasing others, but for pleasing the Indweller in your heart, for your inner satisfaction. This means acting according to the dictates of your conscience. Every such act will please the Divine. To derive self-satisfaction from your actions, you have to cultivate faith. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks.
Vol. 7. "From every throat, his melody," Chapter 9;
Vol. 14. "Music of the spirit," Chapter 9; Sai Ram
Light and Love
Swami teaches.... ( 31 March - 2 April 2005)
Shining of the Cosmic Lord
The whole world is a stage and every individual is an actor. The primary goal should be to carry out the duty in the part assigned to actor. In the drama of life, there is a mixture of good and bad. Modern human suffers from the sense of possession. He is obsessed with the idea of "my" and "mine". He attaches excessive importance to the body, forgetting the most precious Atmic principle that is within it which will give enduring bliss. In this context, people should constantly discriminate between "negative" and "positive" actions. People should realize, for example that what matters when they sing bhajans is not the tune or the conduct of the songs, but the genuineness of the feeling with which they sing the bhajans. When they are pure hearts and full of deep devotion, the bhajans will appeal to the hearts of the listeners. The singing must be full of feeling. The Lord is moved only by the feeling that is expressed, not by musical talent as such.
Singing bhajans (the names of God), one would contemplate
on underlying truths. The Naamaavali, 'Hare Raama, Hare Raama,
Raama Raama Hare Hare; Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna
Krishna Hare Hare,' has sixteen words and each of the sixteen
signifies a virtue which has to be cultivated along with that
Bhajan. There is nothing in this world as powerful as the Lord's
name to protect it. Only God's grace should protect the world.
It is human's foremost duty to pray for God's grace. Prayer is
of supreme importance. Together with melody and rhythm, you have
to impart feeling to your singing to make the bhajan a sacred
offering to the Divine. A ragam (tune) without bhaavam (feeling)
is a rogam (an infliction). Swami stresses that a bhajans singer should be (1) full of devotion, (2) prepared to enjoy suffering, (3) free from the attachment to the transitory, (4) eager to serve the Lord, (5) of correct conduct, (6) charitable, (7) having an unsullied reputation, (8) with no blemish on his character, (9) fully content, (10) endowed with good qualities, (11) equipped with all the virtues, (12) equipped with the fruits of learning, (13) ripe in wisdom, (14) self-controlled, (15) adorned with commendable social traits, (16) full of humility and fully surrendered to God, then - "He is I, I am He." The same 16 points are significant at every step and in every prayer what one performs for the benefit of other human beings and oneself. An ancient times there was a great musician in Akbar's Court known as Thansen. He used to sing night and day and the music was mellifluous. One day Akbar and Thansen were going round the city. Akbar found an old man singing to himself songs in praise of God. Akbar stopped his chariot and went on listening to the song of the devotee and even without his knowing it, tears started flowing from his eyes. He went some distance and told Thansen: "You have been singing for a long time before me and I have always found your music very sweet to the ears but it has never moved my heart, but the music of this devotee has melted my heart. I wish to know the difference between your singing and the singing of this devotee!" Thansen replied: "Mahaaraaja! I have been singing to please you, but this devotee is singing to please God, that is the difference."
The greater is one's love for God, the greater the bliss of experiences. The lover of God sees God everywhere. Love of God makes a human being oblivious to one's own existence. The nature of divine love can be understood only when the Divine in human form teaches as human to human the nature of this love. The Vedas declare that love is priceless, indescribably precious, transcends the mind and speech. Love can be got only through love. The different paths of devotion - santhi (peace), sakhya (friendship), vaatsalya (material love), Anuraaga (affection) and Madhura marga (sweetness) - are all based on love. For those immersed in love, everything appears vibrant, with life. The power of love is boundless. The love-impulse is manifested in different, persons in different ways. For example, the gopikas considered Sri Krishna as the very breath of their life and worshipped him. "You are everything for us," they declared. On the other hand, Yasoda's love for Krishna was that of the mother towards her child. Yasoda looked upon Krishna as an ordinary child, the darling of her heart, who was innocent of the ways of the world. The love of Radha, who was totally absorbed in the love of Krishna, was different. "Oh Krishna! Wherever you may be and whatever the form you may assume, bless me so that I may be one with you in that form." Radha yearned for this kind of union. Today there is so little awareness of the power of this love. Wrapped up in their trivial attachments, people are ignoring the power of this infinite, sacred and all-encompassing Divine Love. Anuraaga (affection) and Prema (love) are mutually dependent and inseparable. When the mind is turned towards things of the world, it is called Anuraaga (affection or attachment) and if it is turned towards God, it is called Prema (love or devotion). Love is the fruit of love. Love is comparable only with love and it cannot be described by poetry. It cannot be proved by the mind or the spoken word. Differences between persons will cease when there is a recognition of the common Divinity present in everyone. This is expressed through love what are often exists in hidden form. However, despite all the teachings, mankind is prone to go astray from time to time. Human life is beset with ups and downs, joys and sorrows. It is these difficulties which bring out the human values. Difficulties must be welcomed and must be overcome. By overcoming trouble the Divine must be experienced. Every second is an expression of the Divine. Years come and go, that which does not come and does not leave is the Atmic Principle. God neither comes nor goes. Knowledge of Supreme Reality, when once it is acquired, will never go away. The knowledge that is lost is not true knowledge. Ignorance is the thing which, once it is gone, will not return. If it returns, it is "ignorance piled on ignorance." This has been described in Vedantic parlance as Mithya in Mithya delusion within a delusion.
Radha in Gita observed: There is no need for doors and streets in the Kingdom of God. Each one has to acquire the qualification to enter that Kingdom. All are not entitled to enter it. But every human being should aspire to achieve that right. That is the essential purpose of human birth. Human being is bound by the actions in this world. Liberation is not something to be achieved in after-life. The striving for liberation must start early in life and proceed continuously. Another term for liberation is "emancipation". That is true freedom. Freedom from bondage to the senses. This means that you must carry on all duties without attachment to the fruits thereof. Today all actions are performed with attachment to the results. Even in rendering social service, there is often an element of self-interest that vitiates the quality of your service.
Life is filled with bondages of various kinds - from hunger and poverty to ignorance and disease and crisis of death. To strive for freedom from these bondages is spiritual sadhana. It means giving up those actions that bind you. It is not easy to get the answers to spiritual questions. The discharge of duties in a spirit of detachment is the basic obligation of everyone from a student to a scholar. Human's primary aim should be to recognise the unity that underlies the diversity in the phenomenal world. To break up what is one into many pieces is easy. But it is difficult to bring them together into a meaningful unit. It is in the unifying process that the utility of things can be understood. The role of both diversity and unity in life has to be properly understood.
Each one can become Swami by merging the separate individual jeevas (souls), in the Ocean of the Universal Atma, as in the illumination of the Divine Love.
Can you escape from Karma oh man? Do not confine Swami to these few acres round the Prashanti Nilayam. Wherever a person craving for Prashanti (perfect peace) lives and prays, there Prashanti Nilayam exists. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 1. "The underlying truths," Chapter 27; Vol. 3. "Human and
Divine actions," Chapter 27; Sathya Sai Baba. The Divine Discourse, "From Negative to Positive." 15 February 1998, Prashanti Nilayam). Sai Ram
Light and Love
Swami teaches.... (3 April 2005)
No death in the Atmic reality
Life is one long ordeal; know this even when things seem to be quite exhilarating. Any moment the road may turn into a morass, the sky may darken, fortune may turn away. Earn the sword of jnaana to cut as under the veil of Maayaa. Discriminate between the real and the unreal early enough, during the journey towards the Goal.
Death stalks its prey everywhere, at all times with relentless determination. Human is equipped with a return ticket, when he takes birth. It brings no glory if human is tied helplessly to the wheel of birth and death. Glory and greatness consists in disentangling oneself from that revolving wheel. Before death nips life, and thrusts one on to another birth, he/she must by means of Saadhana learn the mystery of the Atma. When death comes one must be glad to meet it since he comes for the last time and there will be no more birth for him. Human weeps when he/she is born; one should not weep when death comes but must die triumphant over death. Life is as a dream. In the dream, we experience joy and grief; but we realise that both joy and grief are unreal, when we awake.
The duration of life is under the control of Him who gave life, the Creator. If one concentrates on the Atma, which has no change or characteristics, no substraction or senility, no decline or damage, human can conquer death. Therefore, the most effective prescription is the injection of Atma-vidhya (knowledge of the Soul as one's real Self). Nothing is uncaused in the Universe. Every being, object, incident has been caused by the primal Cause and its direction or guidance' The Shaasthras (spiritual sciences) yearn for the discovery of that unseen Principle. That and This, Thath and Thwam, the Absolute and the Relative, the Universal and Particular is falsely conceived as separate from the Universal. Human alone has the ability to understand the phenomenal world around. Human can grasp the ways and waywardness of the world; can delve into its evolution and involution, its contraction and expansion. Boundless spiritual potential is encased in every being. A person is not just the body, with its limbs and other mechanisms. The Atma is the Divine Person. The soul is the Personality. And the person realises Aanandha when the Aatma is cognised. The greatest wonder of all is that nobody knows him/herself, anybody struggles to know about it, even among those who spend their lifetime in knowing about others. The Self is something subtler than water or air or even space. That "I" is Brahman or Atma mistaken to be separate. The ocean of Samsaara is vast and full of mystery. It tosses human about from birth to death and again from death to birth. To equip oneself with the Ocean-worthy boat of Grace, one has to develop in him/herself the qualities of faith and discipline. One has to clarify and purify the past impressions. (About purification of mind have written in previous stories 'Swami teaches... ' from many aspects).
Time is the
gift of God. Human should use it as an instrument for the
clarification and the purification. Of course, these are not
possible without virtuous living and kindness towards all
beings. Thus, the mind will be rendered harmless, beneficent
and even of great help in one's spiritual pilgrimage.
Through the purified mind, one can transmute himself into
the divine. Manava (human) can become Madhava (God) Himself.
For, it is the destiny and the fight of every human to
attain that status. All the religions emphasise the importance of devotion and dedication to the Supreme Sovereign. The means of reaching that stage may be different; the description of the ecstasy that one can experience in the final stage and all along the path may be different; for it is beyond all attempts at description.
God alone is the guardian of life and the goal of life. Contemplate on God, who is the master of all life. Be aware of Him all through life and offer all your activity - breathing, talking, walking, earning and spending - to Him, for it was by Him and through Him that you were able to do all these things. The Name of God is the most effective tonic; it will keep off all illness. Do not indulge in Naamasmarana as a pastime or a fashion or a passing phase, or as the unpleasant part of an imposed time-table. Think of it as a saadhana, to be seriously taken up for the purpose of reducing your attachments to fleeting objects, purifying and strengthening you, and liberating you from the cycle of birth and death. Hold fast to it as the means of rescuing yourself in every way, from the bonds of time and change. It looks a frail cure for such a fearful malady; but, it is a panancea, nevertheless. When acts are done as offering to God, one will not be elated at success or disheartened by failure, for, He prompts, He helps, He grants joy or grief as He wills, as He cares. The doer will have no attachment to the fruit of the deed; so, one will not be bound to its consequence; it will leave no trace on one's personality which will shape beyond death. Do not seek human Gurus. They are not 'gu' (gunaatheetha - beyond the Gunas); they are bound by the qualities they have developed. They are not 'ru' (beyond Form); they are still in need of Form, so that they may conceive of Reality. Themselves limited, how can they communicate to you the Unlimited? Pray to the God within you, the Maheshwara, the Vishnu, the Brahma, or Parabrahma Principle to reveal Itself. Accept that as the Guru and you will be illumined. You must live in the constant thought of God as well as of another fact, Death. The body is the car in which you are riding to death. You may meet death any moment, while riding; some tree or lorry or ditch or slush will bring it. Travel in the car carefully, slowly, with due regard to the needs of others on the road; do not greedily try to overtake others, or compete in speed, know the limitations of the vehicle and the road. Your journey will be a happy experience for you and the rest of the people. The contemplation of death on the deeper lever is the foundation of spiritual discipline. Without it, human is certain to fall into falsehood, pursuing the objects of sense-pleasure, and trying to accumulate material, worldly riches. Death is no ominous calamity; it is a step into the auspicious brightness beyond. Once born, death is the inevitable end. But, it is possible to escape birth and thereby, escape death. For, birth is the consequence of karma. Do Karma which breeds no consequence, no after-effects which have to be lived through - and you need not be born again. The problem of escaping death, achieving immortality, Amrithathwam, is the very core of inquiry. Take life in the world as a compulsory duty imposed on you. You have to do the work assigned to the best of your ability. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 3. "It will not last," Chapter 33; Vol. 8. "Die into a new day," Chapter 34 Vol. 10. "Guru God," Chapter 15; Vol. 11. "To three Pandiths," Chapter 53; Vol. 12. "Body without heart," Chapter 20).
Namaste - Reet Sai Ram
Light and Love
Swami teaches.... (4-5 April 2005)
Everything Comes and Goes; Pulsation of Atma Remains
The process of living is the swinging of a pendulum from smile to tear. Childhood is too tender and innocent; youth is too full of folly and faults, middle age is muddled with problems and possible remedies; old age is spent in regret over past failings and falterings.
Death will not give any advance intimation, or say, 'Ready' and wait until you are ready. Therefore, be ready always, so that you may produce a good impression with His Name on your lips and His Form in your cleansed heart. Death affects only the body-mind complex. The body is the tape, the voice of God is immanent. Equip it with faith and tune it with Love. A pure heart, a cleansed mind, a God-filled consciousness will help to listen to the voice of the God within everyone. Nature is the vesture of God. It images the Supreme. It shines through the machinations of the mind. The inner core of each living thing is God. Death is considered as something to be afraid off as something that should not be spoken about in happy circumstances. But, death is neither good nor bad. You have no choice in the matter. You can't get it sooner if you welcome it; nor can you avoid it if you condemn it as bad. It is a consummation which is inevitable. Some reach the place quicker than others, some go by a round about route and arrive late. That is the only difference, between human beings.
Human should leave the world better
and happier than when he/she came into it. Everyone must
remember the Lord, with his last breath. Humans would be
always attentive to the signs of His Glory and His Mercy and
His Omnipresence. Cultivating the habit of remembering the
Lord with every breath a person can remember Him with the last
breath. Arjuna addresses Krishna as Purushotthama, for He only is Supreme amongst the Purushas. Purusha means He who is in this Pain (fortified town), namely, this body. Each body has the Purusha in it and the entire Universe has the Purushotthama immanent in it. So, after all, what dies is the body, not the occupant of the body, the Purusha. The faith that you have the Purusha in you, will cleanse the mind of all evil and the senses of all evil propensities. Without minds cleansed by that discipline, the study of the Vedhas is a barren exercise.
The mind flutters about and squats on all and sundry objects in the Universe. It refuses to stay only on one idea, God. Like the fly that sits on fair and foul, but denies itself the pleasure of sitting on a hot cinder, the mind too flees from all thought of God. The fly will be destroyed, if it sits on fire; the mind too is destroyed, when it dwells on God. Mind does not have even this short interval between one thought and the next. And in the continuous succession of thoughts, there is no order or relationship. This adds to the confusion and concern. Wandering from wish to wish, flitting from one desire to another, is mind's nature. So, it is the cause of loss and grief, of elation and depression. Its effects are both positive and negative. It is worth while for human to know the characteristics of the mind and the ways to master it for one's ultimate benefit. The mind is prone to gather experiences and store them in the memory. It does not know the art of giving up. However, with the help of the mind a person can rise from the level of the human to the highest level of divinity. If only the mind can be taught thyaaga (sacrifice), one can become a yogi (spiritually serene person).
Devotion has to fill and overflow the heart. Look at the lotus; its roots are in under-water slush. It grows through water and floats on it. But, it does not get tarnished by slush or wetted by water! The wonder is, it cannot survive without slush and water, but it rises up to the air and the sun, nevertheless! Our life has its roots in the Atma and it grows through the agitated waves of living. Until one is not aware of the Atma, one is certain to be tossed from grief to grief, with intervals of joy. The grief has three sources and so, it has three characteristics: 1. Grief caused by the unreality of the apparent. 2. Grief caused by want of knowledge or wrong apprehension on account of the limitations of perception and inference or on account of the mystery of the Divine phenomenon that subsists in everything. 3. Grief caused by the death, disintegration or dissolution of things which we held to be real.
When one is established in the awareness of the truth of the Jeevi (the individual being), the Jagath (Cosmos) and God, the Creator, there is no grief or fear any more.
There is example by Buddha. He studied all the extant scriptures of different faiths. He met many holy men. He visited numerous holy shrines. All these exercises gave him no satisfaction. What was the reason? All external, physical and ephemeral activities are valueless. Once Buddha had an encounter with Ananda, the son of his stepmother. Buddha had attained the state of Nirvana. Watching Buddha in this state, Ananda burst into tears. Buddha was about to give up body. Buddha summoned Ananda to come near and said: "Ananda! This is not a time for grief. You should also seek Nirvana. Looking at the dead, the living lament over death. Death awaits the living in due course. Where there is birth, there is also death. "Only the Divine (Purushothama) is free from birth and death. He is eternal, with no beginning, middle or end. He is the Eternal Witness" Except for the Divine, birth and death are natural to all human beings."
Why suffer between birth and death? Vyaasa taught that human has a far greater task to do, between birth and death - to learn and practise the Divine Path. More than the Guru, the Guri (Goal) is essential for attaining the Divine. The very pursuit of the goal will evoke the Sathwa guna (quality of serenity) and weaken the hold of the inferior Rajas and Thamas (qualities of passion and inertia) in your composition. Dhaanavathwam (fiendishness) is caused by Thamas and Maanavathwam (human nature), is stabilised by Rajas; but, Sathwa alone can guarantee the elevation into Divinity. Sathwa guna fertilises the upward tendencies; it cleanses the mind, removing the weeds of evil. Matham (religion), wherever it is practised, by whomsoever established, lays down the rules and regulations by which the Sathwa guna can be fostered and the impact of the two other gunas (human qualities) lessened. Therefore, it is very necessary that the adherents of religion spread the knowledge of these rules, both by precept and example.
Naaradha once told the Lord that the Earth was the grandest in creation, doubt was raised, because the ocean occupies more than two-thirds of it. But, the ocean was drunk dry by the sage Agasthya, who is but one single star in the vast firmament. Can we then Count the sky as the grandest in creation? No, for the Lords Thrivikrama strode the sky with His one Foot. However, even the Lord, who encompasses the three regions, is imprisoned by the bhaktha in his heart.
Therefore, it was decided that the
bhaktha is the supremest in creation. Such is the glory of the
bhaktha, a glory that is conferred by his close study and
practise of the Shaasthras. The body is the tabernacle of God, the chariot in which He is seated in all majesty. Do not identify yourself with it and its modifications and transformations. You are the Atma. Nearly every story of the cycle "Swami teaches..." repeated this axiom in different frames. Cleanse your mind so that God may be reflected therein. God cares more for the motive behind the deed, depth of feeling, not the outer pomp.
In daily experiences, there are a number of instances which reveal the existence of Divinity in every person. Consider a cinema; on the screen we see rivers in flood, engulfing all the surrounding land. Even though the scene is filled with flood waters the screen does not get wet by even a drop of water. At another time, on the same screen we see volcanoes erupting with tongues of flame, but the screen is not burnt. The screen which provides the basis for all these pictures is not affected by any of them. Likewise in the life of human, good or bad, joy or sorrow, birth or death, will be coming and going, but they do not affect the Atma In the cinema of life. In other words, the entire phenomenal world is made up of Eswara, appearance of Brahman, who causes creation, preservation and dissolution. This has also been described as Sathaamaatra Chaitanya (Pure Consciousness). This eternal, all-prevasive and permanent principle of Chaitanya exists unseen. Eswara has two aspects. One is Saguna (attributeful) and Sakara (formful) and the other is Nirguna (attributeless) and Nirakara (formless). Associated with the mind and thoughts, and responding to the joys and sorrows, the pain and sufferings of human beings, various forms of Divinity have been visualized. If one wants to get rid of birth forever, one has to worship the Nirguna Nirakara, the formless and attributeless principle, which is represented by the Omkara. When we are rid of delusion, then we will also be free from the illusion of Maya. Then will we be free from sorrow and will finally be able to reach the Paratatva, the transcendent principle. This may also be described as Paramatma, the transcendent principle within us. As long as we have the mind and the tendencies, we can only be described as Jivatma. Jivatma and Paramatma are not two different entities. The characteristic of Jivatma is to waste the entire life in worldly things and associate the mind with this phenomenal world. If you turn your mind inwards, it will be free from delusion. Then it is one with the principle of Paramatma. Ignorance and wisdom are not two different things; they are basically the same. They they are the opposite polarities of the same underlying principle.
The state that transcends both wisdom and ignorance is Paratatva. It is a stage which is not associated with any comings or goings, where birth and death do not occur. So long as there is birth for the body, death has to follow. It is only the body which has taken birth. Humans are permanent Atmic entities. Often, in comparision with Atmic Reality in general we consider the body as inert, but more exactly the body is not inert. Even in the physical matter making up this body there is the Divine Consciousness in deeply hidden form. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 3. "Purusha and Purushotthama," Chapter 30; Vol. 4. "Beacon in the dark," Chapter 50; Vol. 7. "Be a Snake
Charmer," Chapter 21; Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba. The Divine Discourse "The Path of Nirvana." 14 April 1998, Kodaikanal. Namaste Reet |