Swami teaches....Part 41
Link to Swami Teaches....Part 40
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Sai Ram Light and Love Swami teaches... 7 - 12 October 2005 The Sources of Inspiration as the Divine Manifestation The previous "Swami teaches... 4 - 6 Oct. 2005 notes that Swami has come to guard your virtue and holiness and guide you to the Goal. There was mentioned that during the Navaratri time the Divine energy from His Teaching has a special Divine power. But really this Divine power is equal at any time; only humans' perception at that time is more sensitive thanks to special rituals and methods of worship. Your consciousness is a lamp. Pour into it the oil of the Divine Grace; trim the wick of self-control. Keep in position the chimney of Naamasmarana, so that the gusts of Joy and Grief may not put out the flame. Light the lamp with a Vedhic dictum like "Aham Brahmaasmi" (I am the Absolute Reality). Then you will see Light and you will shed Light on the other creatures. To see an effulgent Light you do not need another lamp. Likewise to know the selfluminous Atmic Knowledge there is no need for any other knowledge. Every human being has the knowledge of own true form. All the diversity you see in creation is a manifestation of the Indivisible One. All the changing entities are based upon the One that is unchanging. Creation has to be viewed as a Cosmic Stage. All creatures in the world are manifestations of the Divine and have a purpose. There was a mathematician taking rest under a tree, who wondered why a pumpkin creeper bore such a huge fruit, while the huge banyan tree over his head bore only tiny fruits. He was doubting the sense of proportion of God. During his sleep some fruits from the banyan tree fell on his body. On waking up he realised that if the huge tree which attracted people to take shelter under its shade, had big fruits, like pumpkins, their fall would be harmful to those resting under it. This experience made him realize the wisdom of the Divine. Seekers of truth search the methods of realization this Divine wisdom from inner and outer worlds. Today people worship God in various ways. They pray to God, "Oh Lord! Let me have a vision of you! Free me from all my troubles." People who offer such prayers seem to have no idea of the nature of God. Who is God? The scriptures, the Vedhas and the Upanishaths, give the answer to this question that God is: Sath-Chith-Ananda (Existence, Knowledge, Bliss) What you should seek from God, is Sath-Chit-Ananda, and not trivial things relating to the world. All things are included in that Ananda (Supreme Bliss). (What is happening today is that people invoke the name of God but are really worshipping the devil). People talk about meditation. But how much of it is concentrated on God? The purpose of meditation is to recognise one's unity with God. This realisation can come only when one removes the three-layered cloak that covers the Atma in the form of the three Gunas - Thamas, Rajas and Sathva. Trust everything as God's work, whatever your vocation or profession, then you sanctify every act in daily life. That is the message of the Vedhas. People are used to making edible offerings to idols or pictures, but consume them after the ritual. These are not what should be offered to God. You should offer your Love to God as the food that God loves. Regard even this love as a gift from God. You offer to God what God has given to you. This was what Jayadeva said in a famous song, "Oh Lord! That heart which you gave to me, I am offering to you." (There should be no sense of separateness. This was finely expressed by Pothana when he declared that his entire poem was inspired and composed by the Divine. Thereby his Bhagavatham achieved unique sacredness). The Divine Love, which is the source of everything, should be acquired first. (People today have become playthings in the hands of demonic forces like egoistic pride, envy and ostentation). God's Love pervades the Universe.
This love is present in one and all it is as the connective link between
diverse forms of the Unite One. Just as God manifests His love in the
world, everyone should manifest this This love cannot be got through scholarship, wealth, or physical powers. God, who is the embodiment of love, can be attained only through Love, just as the effulgent Sun can be seen only through its light. There is nothing more precious in this world than Divine Love. God and His Love are beyond all attributes. Prema should be like a mariner's compass. Wherever the compass may be placed, the needle will point only to the North. Likewise, human's love, in all circumstances, should be directed towards God. It should be unaffected by pleasure or pain. Love has to be acquired only through love and not by any other means whatsoever. No one can describe the nature of Divine love. It is beyond the reach of poets. The one who is immersed in the waters of Divine Love will be unable to speak to anyone. When one is only up to neck-deep in water he/she may be able to say a few words. Those who speak about God in the world do so only from superficial experience, but those who are wholly saturated with God's love will find no words to describe their bliss. That is why the Vedhas declared that the Divine is beyond the reach of the mind and speech. The ancient sages identified this Love with the Atma (Supreme Self). The Self and Love are not different from each other. In every human being this love is present. Love is present not only in human beings, but also in all creatures, birds or beasts. Nor is that all. It is in fact all-pervasive. Love pervades everything in creation. Human's humanness is vitiated when person fails to recognise this love. Love is greater than all the
wealth of the world. What use is there in imparting knowledge to those who
have no love in their hearts? Compassion is the most essential quality of a human being. A compassionate heart reflects divinity. You have to get a vision of God. You have to experience the Divine. You have to converse with God. Human must realize God; see God; feel God; talk to God. This is religion. Without understanding this true meaning of religion, people regard various forms of worship and prayers as religion. "Realise is Religion." This means that to realize the eternal reality is true religion. God's ways are astonishing,
inscrutable, and mysterious. God has made ample provision for all human's
needs. He has also given to human much more in the form of luxuries. In
addition, He has conferred on human the power to control all these things.
God has told, "You are free to use as you like all the things given to
you, subject to one condition. You will have to face the consequences of
your actions." This means that you cannot abuse the freedom given to you
to misuse the things that are provided for you. When you misuse anything,
you have to bear the resulting misery. When you make good use of anything,
you will enjoy the benefits therefrom. Human's body is a gift from God. It does not belong to you, but you have to protect it as an instrument given to you. You have to treat it as a trust and not as your private property. You came with nothing into the world and leave it with nothing. What happens to your wealth or to yourself? Of what use is all other wealth unless a human realises the bliss of oneness with the Divine (Sath-Chith-Ananda)? Without understanding one's own true Self, all other knowledge is meaningless. Human is the embodiment of the eternal Truth, the embodiment of Sath-Chith-Ananda. It is the true wealth of a human being. Everyone should try to secure this treasure by overcoming the dragon of self-conceit which is barring the access to it. Everyone has to think for him/herself how he/she is viewing this treasure. The Divine whom you seek is within you. Your yearning for the Divine must be total and all-absorbing.(But people are unable to recognize their true identity because egoism and possessiveness, pomp and pride. The Divine within is covered by these tendencies like ashes over a burning charcoal. When the ashes are blown away, the fire will reveal itself). People speak about Moksha (liberation). What is it from which they have to be liberated? Is it from family, wealth or position? Liberation from these is an easy affair. Liberation is from the sense of identification with the body. The body is only an instrument and not your true Self. You should try to have complete knowledge of anything. Partial knowledge is dangerous. You should study the nature of the heart. You should also expand your heart - not the physical, but spiritual heart. It is called Hridhaya, meaning one which is filled with dhaya (compassion). However, good and evil in the world are expressions of the Divine consciousness. Behind all the various actions of the actors, the Divine director is at work. It should be realised that though names and forms may vary, languages and nationalities may be different, the human race is one in its divine essence. The Lord declared in the Geetha: "All beings in the world of the living are aspects of my Eternal Self." Knowledge of the Self transcends knowledge of the body, the senses, the mind and the the Will. Aadhi Shankara proclaimed the supremacy of the path of knowledge for the realisation of the Self. In his "Anandalahari" he declared that Ananda is human's goal and it can be secured only by God's grace. He firmly asserted that Brahman alone is real and there is no second. Even for such a staunch exponent of Monism, devotion became necessary. Without cultivating devotion, Jnana (Knowledge of the Divine) cannot be secured. The individual human being is such a pitifully petty creature in this vast cosmos that he has no basis at all for getting conceited. (Egoism is demonic quality. Those who are proud about their wealth or power should realise that both these are maladies presaging ruin). People talk about Bhakthi (true devotion), Yoga and Jnana. Does Bhakthi mean getting involved in bhajans and enjoying the tune and beat of the songs? Does Yoga mean sitting in a corner and exercising breath control? Does Jnana consist in reading some books and getting by rote a few shlokas? What is Sanyaasa (renunciation)? Is it wearing the ochre robe? Bhakthi means getting rid of the vices of attachment, hatred and envy and manifesting pure love. As regards Yoga, people speak about Hatha Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Transcendental Meditation and some new-fangled ideas. All these are not Yoga. True yoga is control of the senses and the vagaries of the mind. True sanyaasa consists in the transformation of one's qualities and not in a change of garb. The mind must change, not the apparel. A true sanyaasi is one who has mastery over all his senses and has given up desires. He is a sanyaasi who seeks the feet of the Lord, giving up attachments to the body, which is subject to disease and decay. He must treat life and death, pleasure and pain alike. People admire the beauty of Nature, but are not aware of the beauty in their hearts. Make your heart beautiful by adorning it with the sacred love of God. It is sufficiently essential today as there is pollution in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we consume. Our entire life has been polluted. All this has to be at first purified by suffusing the atmosphere with the Divine name. It is not right that human, who is endowed with immense potencies, should be content with what is seen by the physical eyes. Such eyes are possessed equally by beasts and birds, as well as insects and germs. But human beings should not be content with what is seen by the physical eyes. Human should acquire Jnana nethra (the eyes of wisdom). That which is seen, that which appears to be real, is bound to pass away in the stream of time. The physical eyes can only serve to see external objects in Nature and examine their properties and explain them, but cannot recognize the Divine. One must acquire the eyes of wisdom for this purpose. The initial force of the entire Universe is Chaithanya (Pure Consciousness). It is Sath-Chith-Ananda. It grows in full bloom in the human being and blossoms into the flower of Awareness. Thus God incarnates in human. To understand this truth is the goal of human life. It is the mind that stands in the way of this realisation. So Chaithanya (Consciousness) is there in the mind and pervades everywhere. The power of vision in the eye and of taste in the tongue are derived from this Chaithanya. (People are using the sense organs but do not know the source of the power which activates them). Chaithanya cannot be comprehended by the physical vision. It is within everyone in very close proximity. People undertake external exercises and spiritual practices in vain to find it. The entire Creation is a manifestation of the Divine Will. Prakrithi (Nature) is the manifestation of God. Human is also part of Prakrithi and thus has the Divine power in him. (The mind is perverted when it is centred on the ego of a person. But when it is directed towards the Atma, it becomes sublime. Unity in a family is the basis of unity in society. Though there are lots of common features among mankind, people are not able to visualise their unity, but promote only their differences. The cause for the lack of peace in the world is the absence of harmony in thought, word and deed in each individual, which is reflected in the lack of unity among different individuals). It is purity of mind that helps to sublimate mankind, directs it towards God and enables it to manifest the inherent divinity in human being. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 2. "With prathyaksha to paroksha," Chapter 11. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "Role of the Avathaar in the cosmic play," Chapter 30. Sathya sai Speaks. Vol. 28. "The Power of Divine Love," Chapter 1 and "The bliss of Self-Realisation," Chapter 27). Namaste - Reet Swami teaches... 4 - 6 October 2005 The S piritual Lesson for the Navratri Celebration TimeSwami has come to guard your virtue and holiness and guide you to the Goal. During the Navratri time the Divine energy from His Teaching is special. Swami's Teaching are valuable not only for reading and contemplating but mainly for obtaining the practical skill and virtue. It is experience that is the deciding factor. Reason is rendered dumb before the testimony of actual experience. All the arguments of logic, all the tricks of dialectics are powerless to nullify the direct effect of that inner evidence. The true readers are all blessed as they can follow Swami's lessons saturated with His Divine Power.There was a Pandith who offered to teach a student the four great principles of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema (Truth, Virtue, Peace and Love). On the first day, he expounded sathya (truth) and said, "I shall teach you what dharma is, tomorrow!" The next day, the pupil did not put in his appearance! The teacher went in search of him and catching him, reprimanded him. He replied, "I am practising sathyam (truth); I shall learn the second lesson only after I have mastered the first." He is indeed the genuine devotee. Dive into the depths; you secure the pearls. The person who does not dive secures the foam; the person who dives, gets the truth. Swami seeks the quality of the spiritual effort, not the quantity. He penetrates into the heart and examines the motive which prompted, the emotion which urged, the feeling that shaped the effort. Swami appreciates sincerity and steadfastness, more than paraphernalia and pomp. A boat may be a small appliance, but, it can take you across the sea. A lamp may be a small contraption, but, it can light your path across a jungle. What is wanted is persistent effort, ceaseless karma, activity. The torch may illumine only a distance of two yards and you may have to go two miles in the night. Hold it in your hand and walk on. With every step, the torch will illumine a few steps more and so, you can reach the goal safe. When the Sun rises, all the buds of lotus in the lake will not open out in full bloom. Only those which are full grown can blossom so; the rest have to bide their time and grow. His Grace is the right of all, but it can be won by sadhana only. Swami declares: "I have no hate or anger in My composition; My Life blood is prema, I am the repository of dhaya (compassion). Understand Me and My Nature right. The shadow of the Moon in the depth of the lake seems to quiver and shake because of the waves; but look up and you see the Moon, steady as ever. I am always steady, My Grace is ever there. To the outward eye, My action is magic, miracle; to the inner eye, it is all Leela. Well, the Hand that creates is the Hand that gives - there is no keeping back. It is always for you and you alone. That is My Truth; know it and be happy." Rama and Krishna and Swami appear different because of the dress each has donned, but it is the Self-same Entity. There was a spiritual aspirant once who called Krishna by various names, each describing some facet of His magnificence. He prayed, "Come away from the herd of cows that you are tending; come to me for just a moment and quench my thirst." He was pining under a tree, shedding tears of anguish, when an old fakir came to him; the saadhaka poured out his heart to him and prayed for his blessings to realise his fondest desire. But the fakir told him, "God is beyond all forms; He cannot be limited by form. He is all this and more. How can He appear before you in the form you pine for?" This heightened the anguish of the seeker, and he craved even more earnestly for the vision he had fixed in his mind. Who can speak of God as only this and not that? No one can limit His freedom. Is He bound by what the fakir thinks of Him? He assumed the form wanted and gave him the ecstasy he deserved. Bear this in mind when you get the urge to decry others for their faith in other forms and names. For instance, you have faith in Rama and Krishna because of the books which describe a part of their achievements and the experience of the sadhakas who attempted to delve into their mystery. You have not demanded direct proofs of Divinity from either Rama or Krishna. Have faith first and then you will get proof enough. Faith will grant you all that you need. How can you build your faith on a mound of sand? The deeper you dig the sandy soil, the greater the risk of the sides slipping down and burying your faith in doubt and denial. Listen to the call from within. The Lord too condescends to grant you the chance to develop faith. In spiritual matters, faith is the basic requisite for progress. Do not allow your faith to falter with every passing gust of wind. Your duty is to carry on sadhana undisturbed by what others may say, holding fast to the certitude of your own experience. The power of faith is illustrated by the pictorial example. There was a Pandith who led a disciplined life, sticking to a pre-arranged time-table; he woke up from sleep in the early hours of the morning, recited the Pranava (OM) and later, after ablutions, drank his cup of milk at 7 a.m. exactly. Some days the milkmaid arrived late, for she lived on the other bank of the river and had to catch a ferry to cross over with the milk. The ferry boat either started a little to soon or at times reached her bank too late, when she brought the milk late, greatly to the annoyance of the Pandith. One day, he lost patience and chided her for upsetting his time-table. "Why do you depend on that horrid boat to take you across? Do you not know that if you only repeat the name of Rama that you can walk across without coming to harm? Rama will see that you do not get drowned." Next day, the maid repeated Rama-naama and just walked across. Yes, her faith gave her the strength. She did not tarry for the ferry. The Pandith was flabbergasted, for he did not believe that it could ever be possible for Rama-naama to work this miracle. There is another ancient story about poet Kaalidaasa. It is said that the other poets and scholars in the court of Emperor Bhoja were green with envy at the quick rise to fame of Kaalidaasa. So, they poisoned the ears of the Emperor against Kaalidaasa and when he challenged Kaalidaasa to disprove the allegations he was alone and helpless against his traducers. Kaalidaasa could appeal only to his other patroness, Mother Kaali. He told the king that they could all come to the temple of Kaali and when he prayed to Kaali, to stand witness to his integrity, they could hear the answer that the Goddess would give. He had such faith in his Mother. The entire court was present next
morning at the Temple; Kaalidaasa prayed. Then, in the tense silence, they
all could hear a Voice..."Kavirdhandee, Kavirdhandee, Bhavabhoothisthu
pandithah" (Dhandi is a poet, Dhandi is a poet; Bhavabhoothi is a Pandith).
That was all. No reference was made to Kaalidaasa, when all that was
wanted was a judgement about Kaalidaasa and his merits. Naturally,
Kaalidaasa was enraged. He forgot himself in his rage and shouted Koham
rande? (Who am I, you slut?"). Kaali kept calm; Her temper was not roused.
After a moment she replied, 'Thwamevaaham, thwamevaaham, thwameva aham, na
samshayah" (You are Human being alone can attain the status of the Conscious Divine Person, by recognising the reality. No beast or bird can reach that height of realisation. Also human is neither a picture, nor a sculpture, which are both lifeless and have no aspiration of their own. Human has activity, attainment, a hunger for expansion, for immortality. But, it is tragic that instead of valuing the chance and utilising it, human dies without seeing the light. Usually human does not dedicate own life to the Divine, searching comfort and cosy living. Human being is endowed with manas, buddhi, chiththa and ahamkaara (mind, intelligence, reasoning faculty and ego), all four, in an integrated personality, whereas the birds and beasts and all other species have mostly ahamkaaram (ego) alone. The lives of the later are centred round the aham and its desires and demands. But, human has the capacity to follow sathya, dharma, shanthi and prema. It is true, that these powers are limited by human's experiences, knowledge and awareness. Individual is just a part, while God is whole, the Force pervading the entire Universe. (This statement is in accord with the theory of modern science about holographic Universe). Each one has the tremendous Shakthi (Power) of the Atma (Infinite consciousness, Cosmic consciousness) within. Some are able to draw upon it; others just know it is there; others are unaware of the methods of tapping it or even of its existence. It all comes in time, through steady sadhana. The sadhaka rises step by step towards the highest Bliss by adhering to the instructions of Swami. But it is important to notice that Atmashakthi (power of the Soul) can function only when prompted by Mayashakthi (power of Illusion). If Maya is absent, how can the Cosmic drama be put on? Maya has to announce the arrival and the identity. Ashanthi (lack of peace) of some kind or the other brings you to this place, naturally; but having come, do not concentrate on objective gifts only; gather also the valuable advice given for inner development. You should pray: Asatho maa sath gamaya - From the unreal lead me to the Real. Do not condemn yourselves as weak, sinful, conceited, wicked, outlawed, mean, etc. When you so condemn yourself, remember you are actually condemning Swami, who is your Inner Self. Live, so that with every breath and step, you come nearer and nearer to Swami. Until the mind is cleared of doubt, you have to cleanse it by moral conduct and spiritual discipline. Then the Truth will be reflected in it, clearer and clearer as the process is continued. The appetite for worldly goods must be blunted; it must fade and fall, as the petals of a flower grown old. The noise of the market place should give place to the silence of the altar; then only can the secret whisper of the conscience be heard. /However, so long as you are in Avidhya (ignorance), so long as you are untrained and lacking in knowledge, you cannot taste the Bliss; you cannot attain it. You are still bound by the threecorded rope - the black cord of Thamas (inertia), the red cord of Rajas (passion) and the white cord of Sathwa (equanimity). Deny that you are bound; the rope falls away. Hence, regulate your life in such a way that you do not harm your inner nature. That is to say, live in the constant contemplation of your kinship with others and with the Universe. Do good to others, treat all nature kindly, become a child devoid of envy, hate and greed; when your ego crosses the threshold of your family or group and takes kindly to those beyond, you have taken the first step to cross the threshold of Maya/. You are born as a consequence of the activities you were engaged in, in past births. When a bus is speeding along, a cloud of dust follows it; when it halts, the passengers get the dust all over. But, how far can you travel without bringing the bus to a halt? The one consolation is: you need not always speed along the mud road; better roads are in store. The mud road is the Karma marga (road of activity), the metalled road is Upasana marga (road of worship, contemplation) and the asphalt road is Jnana marga (road of divine knowledge, wisdom). The roads are different. The goal is one and only one. Many people do not understand why to practise image worship. But those who do worship idols have the faith that the Omnipresent Almighty is present in the symbol before them. For them, sacred image or idol is a part of the inner mechanism of devotion and faith. If all the worship is done in the full confidence that the image or idol is alive, saturated with consciousness and power, then image worship can bestow the realisation of God. It is the one road (Upasana marga) to reach near to the Divine reality. (Another roads are noticed above). A pictorial story about essence of idol worship. There was once a spiritual seeker (sadhaka) who approached a guru for guidance. The guru gave him an idol of Vishnu and instructions for daily worship. But the sadhaka found that, even after some months of meticulous puja, he did not get any spiritual reward or elation. So, he reported his dissatisfaction and the guru gave him another idol, this time of Shiva and asked him to have another try. The disciple came after another six months demanding another idol, because even Shiva had failed him. This time, he got a Durga idol, which he duly installed in his domestic shrine. The two previous idols were standing, dust-ridden and neglected, on the window sill. One day, while Durga-puja (ritual worship of Goddess Durga) was going on, the disciple found that the perfumed smoke from the incense-stick was being wafted by the breeze towards the idol of Shiva on the window sill. He got wild that the ungrateful stone-hearted God who was deaf to his powerful entreaties should get the perfume intended for his latest idol. So, he took a piece of cloth and tied it round the face of Shiva, closing up the nostrils that were inhaling the perfume. Just at that moment, to his immense surprise Shiva appeared in His splendour and Glory before the sadhaka. The man was dumb-founded. He did not know how the ill-treatment had induced Shiva to give him darshan. But, what had really happened?
The sadhaka for the first time believed that the Shiva idol was alive,
conscious, and it was that belief which forced him to tie the bandage to
the nose. The moment he realised that the idol was full of Chith
(consciousness), he got the Realisation he was struggling for. Therefore,
the sadhaka should see, not the stone which is the material stuff of the
idol, but the Power that is inherent in it, that is symbolised by it, the
same Power that is inherent in his own heart and that pervades and
transcends all creation. What is the conclusion of present part of "Swami teaches...?" If you stare at the Sun for a second and then turn your eye to other things around, you will find that there is a dark patch over them and you cannot recognise them. Similarly, once you get a vision of the God, who is more effulgent than a thousand suns, you can no longer recognise the multiplicity called Prakrithi (Nature). The world is black, it is blocked; indeed, you can no longer recognise or deal with variety once you have had a vision of the basic Unity. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 2. "Experience," Chapter 5; "Sarvathah paani paadhah," Chapter 18 and "Vision of the Purusha," Chapter 19. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 6. "The zenith of creation," Chapter 15 and "Three types of road," Chapter 16. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8. "Inspiration, not imitation," Chapter 40 and "That plus and this minus," Chapter 42).Namaste - Reet |