Swami teaches....Part 32
Link to Swami Teaches....Part 31
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Sai Ram Light
and Love Swami teaches.... (15 - 19 July 2005) Unaffected, Unchanging Wisdom
Pandiths (scholars)are the instruments through whom you can gather the key to the understanding of the mystery of God; they give you the gist of the Shaasthras in easy, simple style and interpret them in the light of whatever experience they have earned. So long as you are entangled in the sensual world you cannot distinguish the real from the unreal. But, you have to discover the real, through discrimination; there is no avoiding that responsibility; you have to do it, now or later. Power, status, wealth, authority - these are useless in this adventure. In Bhaarath, the discipline, to remove that attachment to the senses and to curb the mind from running after fleeting pleasures, is clearly laid down since ages and there are the experiences of many saints, recorded in the sacred literature of this land. All the activities of thought, word and deed are sublimated to this higher purpose. There is a small example. Alexander, during his campaigns in the Punjab, was anxious to see a celebrated sage; he went to the cave where the sage was, and expected that he would be received most thankfully and with demonstrations of welcome. But the sage simply asked him to move aside and go. He was not interested in the famous world-shaker, the Greek conqueror. The mind is ever unsteady; it has to be educated; its quicksilver quality has to be curbed; it is really Chaithanya-swaruupam (embodiment of Consciousness) and it will become steady only when it is merged in Chaithanya, that is, the Divine. That Chaithanya has no joy or sorrow. It is ever in perfect equilibrium "I am That" Swami is not affected by either. Swami's is Samaadhi - intelligence which is sama (steady), unaffected, unchanging Wisdom. Remove the cataract and the vision becomes clear. So too, remove the feeling of inferiority that dwarfs you now; feel that you are Aathma-swaruupa, Nithya-swaruupa, Aanandha-swaruupa (Absolute, Eternal and Blissful); then, every act of yours becomes a yajna (sacrifice), a puuja (ritual worship). Transform thamogunam (quality of inertia) into thapogunam (quality of austerity) and save yourself. Practise mananam (contemplation) of what you hear; that is the best way of showing your gratitude. You have another advantage too. With your experience, you can understand the Bhaagavatham better. Swami's nature is Vishwaprema (all-pervading Love), you have known, and Bhaagavatham is the story of Vishwaprema. Swami declares that He is in every one, in every being. So do not hate any one, or cavil at any one. Spread prema always, everywhere. That is the best way of revering Swami. In the Kali Yuga, one is asked to rely more on Naamasmarana (repeated remembrance of God) for liberation. Why is it considered enough for the people of this Age? For, other Saadhanas are fraught with difficulties. They need rigorous discipline and much preliminary effort. Again, there is another advantage in Naamasmarana: as soon as the Name is uttered, the owner of the Name comes into view. When you think of the Form, the Name may not always accompany; you may not be able to identify. There may be more than one Name and you may be confused. But take the Name, and the Form automatically appears before the mental eye. The Name is enough to give you all the results of every type of saadhana (spiritual effort). This is accepted by all the Shaasthras and all the saadhakas (spiritual aspirants) who have left accounts of their struggle and success. Moreover, the Name is capable of being recited and meditated upon by all, equally. Of course, the Name is a limitation of the Universal; it identifies the un-identifiable, through one of its aspects. When you repeat the Name, all the sweetness of the Form and its associated glory must come to memory. Choose the Name that captivates your heart. The Lord has said that where His Name is sung, "thathra thish-tthaami," ("there I sit"). He establishes Himself there. He will not move from the place. So, the tongue is enough to win Him, the tongue that speaks the language of the pure mind. Naamasmarana is interconnected with idiol-worship. The last as complements the first and also vice versa. The Supreme is not squeezed into the small; the small is recognised as symbolic of the Supreme. Through the seen to the unseen, from the drop to the sea, from the patent to the latent - that is how idol-worship helps the aspirant. In fact, no one can conceive of the Almighty without picturing It as Power, Light, Mercy, Wisdom, Energy, Intelligence, Purity. And, these qualities can enter the consciousness only through some concrete experience, as the Sun, the Lotus, the Sky, the Ocean and the Wave etc. The name is a vocal image, the image is a visual base. (Metaphysical lectures alone will not transform the mind. What is learnt must be put into practice). When the name is pronounced by the tongue, and the image is adored by the mind, these should not degenerate into mechanical routine; the meaning of the Name and the content of the Form must, at the same time, inspire and illumine the consciousness. Just consider this - the form changes from age to age, from one appearance to another. Raama and Krishna were different in form; even their deeds were distinct. But still, people agree when you say that both are identical. The Name has the association of all the special fragrance of the Leela (Divine play), the Mahima (Power) and the Upadhesha (spiritual instruction). Each one has a special attachment to one Name out of many, suited to the temperament and the Samskaara, the inherited instincts and tendencies shaped in previous births. Keep the Name lit on the tongue; it will illumine your interior and also the exterior. It will cleanse your mind, as well as minds of those who hear the Name when you recite it. Keeping it on the tongue is like keeping a lamp lit on the door-step at the entrance to your house. Naamasmarana is the best saadhana; it is the most beneficial sath-pravarthana. That is the highest japam, the most profitable thapas. Fill the Name with your Love, whenever you repeat it; saturate it with devotion. That is the easiest path for all of you. A mere Five-minute inquiry will convince you that you are not the body, or the senses, the mind or the intelligence, the name or the form, but that you are the Aathma Itself, the same Aathma that appears as all this variety. Each life is like a day's march in the pilgrimage; make the fullest use of your talents and march forward to pitch the tent nearer the goal when darkness falls. Live in the Presence, in fear and humility, in love and service. Life is a pilgrimage, where human drags the feet along the rough and thorny road. With the Name of God on lips, a person will have no thirst; with the Form of God in his heart, a person will feel no exhaustion. The company of the holy will inspire him to travel in hope and faith.
Remember
that with every step, you are nearing
God; and God too, takes ten steps
towards you when you take one step
towards Him. There is no stopping
place in this pilgrimage; it is one
continuous journey, through day and
night; through valley and desert;
through tears and smiles; through
death and birth, through tomb and
womb. God is to be recognised in all that exists, all that is charming, or suffering, blooming or drooping. He is Intelligence in the insect, Faithfulness in the dog, Latent Energy in the rock. Vivekaanandha announced at Chicago that Hindhuism uncovered the body encasement and sought the inner core of the Divine in all things, animate and inanimate. If you know the road and the goal, then you can discover whether you are progressing or not; otherwise how can you? The goal is to enlarge your vision, your sympathy, your love to the extent that God has spread His Love, His Compassion and His Grace. So, be ever watchful to see that you strive to take in more and more of God into you. This is God's world; all beings are His. He loves them all, as the Moon sheds coolness on all. Everyone seeks and strives to be at peace with him/herself and with society (the community in which he has to live) and find his fulfilment. How then can human achieve peace? Only through Love. Shaanthi (peace) is the fruit of the tree of life; without it, the tree is a barren stump. The fruit is encased in a bitter skin, so that the sweet juice may be preserved and guarded against marauders; you have to remove the skin, before tasting the sweetness within, and strengthening yourself. The thick rind is symbolic of the six evil passions that encase the loving heart: lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hate. Those who can remove the rind, attain the peace what is everlasting, unchanging, overwhelming. Passion, violence, and cruelty create more problems, without solving any. The work of each is essential and valuable, so far as one share of the responsibility extends. You cannot declare one item of work as high and another item as low. That will only engender malice and hate and is not correct. Each
limb must act effectively at the exact
juncture to meet the duty entrusted to
it and accepted by it, so that the
body may live in health and in tip-top
efficiency, alert with all its skills
and potentialities. Each one must
resolve to use his skill and
intelligence for the discharge of his
obligations. The nature we have around us and with us is the vesture of God. We have evidence of His Beauty, Goodness, Wisdom and Power, all around us, wherever we turn our eyes. But, the art of recognising Him is strange to us and so, we deny Him, and live on in darkness. We have all around us in the atmosphere the music emanating from all the broadcasting stations of the world, but they do not assail your ear at any time. You are not aware of any station. But, if you have a receiver, and if you tune it to the correct wave-length, you can hear the matter broadcast from any particular station; if you fail to tune it correctly, you will get, instead of news, only nuisance. So too, the Divine is everywhere, but you have to obtain awareness and experience to recognize it. This leads to wisdom. Wisdom means the recognition of the immanence of the Divine in every being. By means of love, one can approach God and stay in His presence, for God is love, and when one lives in love, he is living in God. If you deny God angrily, you are drying up the strings of love in your heart. If you declaim that God is nowhere, you are installing night in your heart and making it ready for dark schemes and misdeeds. Arjuna told Krishna, "I came into this battlefield a dheera (brave person). I have now become, a dheena (a man in distress) for I am but an instrument in your hands." Arjuna was a Chinmaya muurthi (embodiment of divine consciousness), not as he imagined, a Mrinmaya muurthi (mud filed body). He was suffused with Divine Consciousness, not earthly inertia. Only, he was not aware of It. Arjuna had the Lord Himself for company. Finally Krishna transformed him into a saathwik (noble, pious) hero, fit for the dharma yuddha (war of righteousness) that he was to wage. Contemplate, how many millions modern Arjunas (alias true devotees) has Swami, whose Teaching as sows the seeds of the Divine Consciousness into their mind. They all too have the Lord Himself for company. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 3. "Shivam, not shavam," Chapter 13 and "Thamo gunam, thapo gunam," Chapter 22; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8. "The true tablet" Chapter 9; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 11. "Nut and bolt," Chapter 1). Swami teaches.... (12 -14 July 2005) Realise the Cosmic Divine Power Swami tells. "I draw you to Me and then re-form and re-shape you. I am a kind of smith who repairs broken, leaky, damaged hardware. I repair broken hearts and fragile minds, warped intellects, feeble resolutions and fading faith." Today's task is to discover the one column that supports all spiritual success. That is: Love, adore, serve the Sarveshwara (Almighty Lord) who is resident in all mankind; through that Love, adoration and service, realise Him. Celestial spheres are revolving and disintegrating; time is fleeting; age follows age; era succeeds era; bodies that have taken birth, grow and end. Through the process of 'giving up,' great things can be achieved. Cultivate detachment, and the Lord will attach Himself to you. The past is beyond recovery; those days are gone. But, tomorrow is coming towards you. Resolve to sanctify it with Love and Service and saadhana. The mansion called life must be built on strong foundations; the pursuit of artha and kaama - of wealth and welfare, of all desirable objects - must be regulated by the standard of Dharma. Dharma fosters those who foster it. The strongest foundation is ever-present Faith in God who reveals Himself only to the person who yearns for the answer, not the one who puts questions out of impudence or ignorance. This world is God's play; it is not an empty dream; it has purpose and use. It is the means by which one can discover God; see Him in the beauty, the grandeur, the order, the majesty of Nature. These are but shadows of His Glory and His Splendour. Upaasana (adoration of God), leads to the knowledge that He is all; when you experience that there is no Second, that is Jnaana (Spiritual Wisdom). Have God as your lamp, you can pass through life in safety. Have the Name of God on your tongue; He is bound to the Name, as Form. Welcome these epics as you welcome efficacious drugs; they can cure deep-rooted illnesses of the mind. Accept manthras (mystic formulas) as medicines, to cure the phobias of the mind, the disabilities of the inner senses, the defects of the inner consciousness. Adoration of God is not mere offering of worship with the paraphernalia of rituals. It is an attempt to merge in the Divine, experiencing the bliss of oneness with the Divine, recognising unity in diversity and the Divinity that is present in all beings. The bubble rises from the water, floats on water bursts and finally merges in the water itself. So, too, with human who is Aathman (soul), lives as Aathman (divine self) and merges in Aathman (Infinite Self). Human ought to proceed from one truth to another, from one facet of truth to another brighter and clearer one. What is called untruth is only partial truth, or dulled truth or clouded truth. The ultimate goal is the uncovering of Truth. God's Grace is as the shower of rain, as the sunlight. Grace will set everything right. Its main consequence is Self-realisation; but there are other incidental benefits too, like a happy contented life and a cool courageous temper, established in unruffled shaanthi (peace). With every breath, draw His Glory in; with every breath, exhale all that reduces His Glory. Saturate your thought, word and deed with Divinity. Then, you can conquer death, and become immortal. You are truly the embodiment of truth, goodness and beauty. When you have no faith in God, you cannot gauge the efficacy of Grace. If you start with cynicism and doubt and try to criticise and discover faults, the result is deeper ignorance and confusion. Unholy thoughts fog the mind with foul fumes. How can clarity come to the vision then? Those who deny God or the Supreme Will or the First Cause, can give no really satisfactory justification for their stand; nor can those who assert that there is God. Both have to rely on their own experience. We have to feel the great marvel of energy manipulating both the minutest atom and cell and the vastest, most distant star. How else can we understand this Omnipresence and Omnipotence except by accepting God as the Architect of the Cosmos? From birth, human's activities have to be directed to moral purification and spiritual attainment. The most direct method of spiritual success is Nishkaama karma (desireless action), action without any attention or attachment to the fruit therefrom, action as duty, action as dedication, action as worship. But, action and the fruit thereof are not two separate entities; the fruit is the action itself, in its final stage, the conclusion. The flower becomes the fruit. The action becomes the consequence. It is the bounden duty of human in this life, as also in later lives, to know and experience the basic cause of the Universe. The basic cause of the Universe is Sath-Chith-Aanandha, and human too is a spark of the same first cause and is made of the same components. The differences one notices in the world arise not from the nature of Creation but from the perspective from which one looks at the world. It may be compare with a shepherd boy picked up a big diamond from the ground; he thought it was a piece of glass; he tied it round the neck of a sheep. Human has ignored own preciousness, own Divinity. Person pictorially is reducing own existence to the position of a piece of glass. Nature will not give real bliss as long as it is viewed from a physical and worldly point of view. The pleasure to be derived from any object in the world depends on the condition in which it is enjoyed. If Nature is seen from purely sensory point of view, it will give only bitter taste. As long as human sees only with the external vision, one can experience only the external. When human develops the internal vision and experiences the Divinity within, the Cosmos will appear as a reflection of the Divine. This is called realization of the Cosmic Divine. What is the difference between the Cosmic Divine and the Inner Divine? There is no difference between the two. But when it is experienced by the individual, it is described as Inner Divine. When the individual experience is extended to the entire universe, it is called Cosmic Divine. The Individual Self and Paramaathma (the OmniSelf) are one, like the rind of a fruit and the juice inside. When does human experience the pure Divine Self? It is in the Thureeya state - the fourth state of consciousness beyond the waking, dream and deep sleep states. This is the state of the Over-Mind. In that state human is one with the Divine. Truth, Bliss, Beauty are forms of the Divine. They are also known as Sathyam, Shivam, Sundharam. These represent the true form of human. Shivam is that which has no death. Sathyam is that which is not subject to change (on account of time, place or circumstance). Sundharam (Beauty) is the form of the Divine. This is not visible to anyone, but the beauty of a pure heart is beyond description. The heart is beautified by qualities such as love, forbearance and compassion. These qualities confer enduring bliss. To experience the great fragrance emanating from Nature, its unity with the Divine has to be realised. For this, it is necessary to transcend the limitations of the ordinary mind and proceed to the Super-Mind, the Higher-Mind, the Illuminated Mind and the Over-Mind. It is quite easy. For instance, people feel that adhering to truth is difficult. Actually it is uttering untruth that creates difficult problems. To stick to the facts as they are is easy. Nature is bound by the five qualities of sound, touch, form, taste and smell (these are the qualities of space, air, fire, water and earth - he five basic elements). With the loss of each quality, starting from smell, a process of expansion takes place. Finally, we have Akaasha (ether or space) which has only one quality, sound, and it is all-pervading. How much more pervasive must be the Lord, who has no attributes. Today we sow the seed of thought - karma - and reap the fruit of action. From the seed of karma arises the fruit of behaviour. Out of the seed of behaviour comes the fruit of character. The seed of character yields the fruit of fortune. Thus, from thought to fortune, the chain of human progress can be perceived. Our good and bad luck are thus linked to our thoughts. The mind immerses human in impenetrable darkness through bad thoughts. The same mind can lift human to sublime heights by good thoughts. Human's thoughts are those which lead to actions, behaviour, speech and conduct affect the tendencies of the mind and give rise to good or bad impulses. The power of thought is immense. Thoughts outlast the human body. Thought waves radiate to the outer space. The thought waves are the cause of human's joy or sorrow, health or disease, birth or death. The potency of these waves has to be understood by human and the conduct has to be based on this awareness. The nature of thoughts as waves (vibrations) has studied and declared by the modern science too. However, about it would be a separate contribution. Human existence can become meaningful only when human, at the very outset, recognises the nature of the mind and bases his actions on that understanding. There is no end to the waves arising from the ocean of the mind. The mind is responsible for differences in opinions, likes and dislikes, and diversity in attitudes. The world is perceived through the mind. The world is permeated by the mind. Without the mind there can be no world and no attachments and hatred, no joy and sorrow. There are Sanskrit sayings: "Yaddhrishyam thannasyam" (That which is seen is subject to extinction). "Yathpindam thath Brahmaandam" (what is in the microcosm is in the macrocosm). All that appears in the microcosm are miniature replica of the macrocosm. When one looks at the seed, the tree is not visible. But all that are seen in the tree, the branches, the leaves, the flowers and the fruits, were immanent in the seed. When the mind desires something, you must immediately set the Buddhi (intellect) at work. The intellect may give you the proper advice. Examine your desire, using the power of discrimination to find out whether it is good or bad, right or wrong. When your actions are sincere, mind loses its potency. This Vijnaana is full of intelligence and common sense. It is called Divine Intellectual Will. The Divine Will Power has to be acquired by everyone. It is through this Will Power that the Cosmic Divine nature of the Universe can be recognised. This Cosmic Power has to be seen with the eyes, experienced mentally, practiced through the body and made an integral part of one's being. Do not speculate whether this is possible or not. If one has the determination anything is possible. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8. "One-fourth and three-fourths," Chapter 14 and "The lost key," Chapter 16; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14. "At every level of consciousness," Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "Beyond the Mind," Chapter 20 and "Thought waves make up the Cosmos," Chapter 21). Swami teaches.... (9 -11 July 2005)Be Architect of Your Fortune Under the Guidance of the Divine Proximity Dharma will compel integration of thought, word and deed. It will cleanse the mind and rid it of greed and hate. Every faith is but an endeavour to cleanse the impulse and emotions, as part of the process of discovering the truth of the world, seen and unseen. No one who has trodden that path and engaged himself in that process has escaped calumny and cruelty. Mohammad, who sought to establish the primacy of the One Formless Absolute, had a large share of persecution, defamation, and privation. Jesus who attempted to rebuild mankind on the basis of Love was crucified by little men who feared that their tiny towers of hate and greed will be toppled by his teaching. Harischandhra who had resolved never to waver from truth was subjected to ordeal after ordeal, each more terrifying than the previous one. Those who seek to know God must steel themselves to bear insult, injury and torture, with a smile. Belief in the Creator, the Designer, the Supporter and the Disintegrator is necessary equipment for the pilgrim on the Earth. Fear of sin, love of God - these two endow human with peace and joy, save from sorrow and grant him bliss. Even those who assert that they did not find any trace of God in outer space, or who aver that God is dead, or that even if He is alive, He is no longer necessary for human, that He is a handicap and nuisance - all these have to admit that there is something inexplicable, something inscrutable, beyond the reach of reason and science, some unknown which pervades the world and affects the course of things. The seed is not inert; it is conscious, alive, active. The whole Universe is suffused with Divinity what is as seed. Divinity that is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (sath-chith-aanandha). Existence as "seed-plant-tree." You are also sath-chith-aanandha. Do not condemn your majesty bewailing, "I am unfortunate, I am despicable, I am downhearted." You are elated, you are enthroned, you are exalted. You are all this; but you are not aware of this, on account of maayaa (illusion). Maayaa is like your shadow in the well; if you do not peep into the well, it is not there. Human being is like a ferrous linga, drawn upwards by the craving for liberation and for merging in the Super-Soul and drawn downwards by the craving for satisfying the senses and earning and possessing things from the nature around him. Now, the upward pull is becoming weaker. Respect for spiritual institutions, temples, holy places, elders and sacred books are fast declining. Pride in material wealth and competition in acquiring it, are fast increasing. This is the tragedy of the times. Human being is the child and inheritor of immortality and the repository of Divinity. Human can by various paths attain the state of Divinity itself. A machine without the power to activate it is of no use; so too, a human body without the Divine Spark is of no avail. The knowledge that you are the Divine Spark, encased in the sheaths of bliss, intelligence, feelings, sensations and organic substances - this knowledge is the light. You must light your own lamp. You cannot walk in the light of another's lamp. Earn the knowledge yourself. Even knowing it is not enough; you must experience it. The well has water; but that is not enough. It must be brought up in the bucket and used to wash and to quench, the thirst. The mind moves only towards the right and the pure, of its own accord; but the senses and the outer world drag it towards the wrong and the impure. The knowledge that you are the architect of your fortune and that you can, by steady effort, rebuild it or foster it, that you are ever laying on or pulling down the structure of your career, will be a great inspiration, provided you welcome it. However, nothing ever happens without proper reason, however accidental or mysterious, it might appear. The roots go deep and are out of sight. Ascetic practices, years of constant recitation of the Name, pilgrimages to holy places and shrines, study of sacred books - these will not help the aspirant to spiritual victory as much as communion with the Godly and the good. The Name of God is a great tonic. Vitamin G gives strength to be active, welcome activity that is the message that God gives human, at birth. The breath teaches you Soham all the time, 'so' when it goes in and 'ham,' when it is exhaled. You will have to select that activity which is conducive to your spiritual progress, judging the stage in which you are at present. There is no high and low, in the activity. The eye sees stars that are billions of miles away, but, they do not see the ears, which are a few finger-breadths afar! The eye must see, the ear must hear, the hand must hold. That is their Dharma (duty). Each must manage its own, his own Dharma. Bhaarath is the birthplace of the Vedhas and of the Shaasthras, epics and Puraanas that have elaborated the principles enunciated therein for the education of the common person. It is the nursery of music and other fine arts, inspired by the noble passion of consecrating human skills for adoring the Divine and communicating the super sensuous. It is the staff and sustenance of the mystic and the ascetic, the intellectual and the dynamic adorer of God; it is the field where the science of Yoga was cultivated and systematised. The duty of Indians is to foster these traits and sow among human communities the seeds of love, so that they may grow and fill the world with the fragrant blooms of tolerance and reverence. No human can live away, apart from the rest human beings. No country can play its role alone and unrelated to the others on the world stage. Other nations influence the destiny of India; India too has its impact on others. One bloodstream circulates through all the limbs; one Divine principle circulates through all the lands and peoples. The search is for the same treasure; the summit is One, the tracks leading to it are many; the guides are also many; they clamour and compete among themselves. Seven blind men examined the elephant and imagined that it was what each one was able to touch; each one interpreted his touch -they could not get a complete and correct picture of the animal. In order to ensure happiness and peace, administrators of different lands contrive five-year plans, and build bridges, dams, factories, schools, etc. But, without the cleansing of the spirit, the strengthening of detachment, the promotion of compassion and kinship, economic progress promotes only hatred, faction and envy. Self-confidence, self-control and self-knowledge - these alone can lead human to peace, joy, spiritual and also economic progress. Be self-confident, that is to say, have confidence in your self; for, that self is Divine; it has in it all the strength, all the sweetness of the Atma (True Self, I), which is but a wave of the ocean of Param-atma (Supreme Reality). During deep sleep the 'I' is not aware of itself. It is only after one awakens that one declares, I had a very pleasant sleep. During the dream stage, the mind is active, though the intelligence, the senses, are all dormant. The dream builds a bungalow in a few seconds, and you occupy it and live happily in it, until, in the dream, an earthquake brings it down on your heads, and you flee for sheer life! The entire story of construction, occupation and destruction was the reflection of mental aberration, its sankalpa (resolve). It is the seat of the ego and the ego plays all sorts of pranks with the mental stuff, during sleep, when the senses and reason are temporarily out of action. When the basis of the ego is removed by spiritual effort heroically and directed towards this end, then all the drama of name and form drifts away into nothingness. However, to overcome the ego is a very hard task; years of persistent effort are needed to get success in this endeavour which guarantees lasting happiness, and escape from the weary round of birth and death. Note down all the things for which you have cried so far. You should cry only for God, for your own cleansing and consummation. The ancient scriptures mostly are based on intuitive spiritual experiences. Theosoph Charles Webster Leadbeater, author of many spiritual books in the beginning of 20th century has declared that the correct recital of the Gaayathri Manthra with the orthodox Udhaattha, Anudhaattha and Swaritha, (modulation of the voice and the higher, lower and even accents) can produce experienceable and authentic illumination, whereas incorrect pronunciation and wrong accent result in thickening the darkness. Therefore, instead of scoffing at the disciplines of recitals, meditations, prayers, formulary worship and manthra-utterances, their values having to be accepted and their results tested and confirmed by practice and exercise. Many devotees has been in Swami's Adobe several times, have darshans and interviews. But, spiritual practice is little in progress. It is not enough if nice dishes are cooked and arranged in the kitchen. They have to be served on your plates, you have to eat them and digest them. So too, it is not enough if Swami speaks and you hear. You have to recollect what I have said and treasure them in the cavity of your heart and ruminate over them and put them into daily practice. You should weep, wailing for the six cobras that have sheltered themselves in your mind, poisoning it with their venom: Lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and malice. Quieting them as the snake charmer does with his swaying flute. The music that can tame them is the singing aloud of the Name of God. When these are laid low, you will gain equanimity. You will be unaffected by honour or dishonour, profit or loss, joy or grief. You will accept bravely whatever happens - fame or shame. The main use of human body is the realisation of the own reality. The rest is all incidental. Life as a journey with different stations called Age. When you before fifty, live with constant remembrance and faith to the Creator, look upon the wife/husband and the children as a sacred trust, and serve them in that spirit. Prepare yourselves for a celibate and spiritual discipline from the age of fifty; the five senses have to be mastered, by the time five decades of your life are over. The conclusion of six decades means that you have conquered the six foes of man: lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hate. When you are seventy, you must have become ready to merge with the seven sages, the seven seas and the seven colours of the solar ray; that is to say, you must be far, far above mundane desires and ideals, and as near the point of mergence as possible, through saadhana. Eighty must see you in line with the deities that preside over the eight cardinal points, more or less Divine, in attributes and characteristics. Ninety takes you, or rather should take you to the realm of the Nine Planets, into the realm of the Super. When human reaches the hundred marks, living out the ten decades, he must have mastered the ten senses, the five senses of action and the five senses of knowledge and become Wisdom incarnate, with no trace of action or the consequence thereof or the desire for it. He and the Absolute are One and Indivisible. Be convinced that whatever achievement you make, is caused by the Grace of the Lord. Pray to the God for strength, wisdom, humility, detachment, light and love. With each step in the pilgrimage of life approach Divinity steadily and surely. Individual effort and Grace, both are essential. Shankara says, -"Through the Grace of the Lord alone can man develop a desire for the non-duality of the Universe." (Reet's compilation by Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8. "The upward and downward pulls," Chapter 13 and "Name, the never-failing fountain," Chapter 18; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Green across the door," Chapter 6 and "Step by step," Chapter 9). Namaste - Reet
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