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Swami teaches....Part 6
Link to Swami
Teaches....Part 5 Sai Ram Preface
Swami indicates the significant role of His Teaching to the
students - seekers of truth and to all others who are
interested in their spiritual development. Let His words be as
a preface to the subsequent Swami's lesson for devotees and
followers "Swami teaches...". All
of you have great love and adore Swami but that love and
adoration are of no use if you ignore the teachings of Swami.
Even if you do not adore, if you believe in the truth of the
word and enforce it in your daily life, Swami's grace will
always be with you in your life. It is no use if you simply
utter the name of the Lord and do not follow the good things
that go with the Lord. It is just like uttering the name of
penicillin when you are running a high temperature. Only when
you take in the penicillin will the temperature come down.
When you are hungry, the hunger cannot be satisfied by
uttering words like potato and Chapati. If you eat them, it
will be satisfied. It is no use if you only read or listen.
You must try to remember the teachings, put them into practice
and judge for yourself how far you have acted according to the
word.
Swami teaches.... (31 January 2005)
Brahman and Humanity - One of the Aspects
of Its Expression
For the Vedas and the
Vedic religion, the word Brahman is synonymous with
all the contents thereof. However, many historians
who have given the meaning of this from time to time
have adopted an alternate path and have also
inserted into the commentary their own notions and
ideas and have thus made available a distorted
version to the people. Although, this word Brahman
has got an infinite number of meanings and could be
interpreted in an infinite number of ways, these
commentators have given it a colour and meaning
which, in each case, depended on the individual
taste and individual experiences.
There is no escape from
accepting that the meaning of the word Brahman
contained in the Vedas is the authoritative meaning.
Veda is something which does not have its origin in
human beings. It has come from sources other than
human beings. All history is something that is
created by experienced people. But there is no such
possibility in the case of the Vedas which have not
had their origin in human beings. Because Veda has
been obtained merely by listening to sound, it has
been referred to as Sruthi. This is something which
is directly connected with the Lord taking in and
giving out His breath. Such divine breath which
constitutes the Vedas is our life. Therefore, any
citizen who has faith in the Vedas can really be
described as one who has life in him.
We have to examine
where and how this word Brahman occurs in the
Vedas and what meaning is conveyed by the word in
that context. This has been mentioned in the Sama
Veda by equivalents like Brahma and Veda Rupa.
Sama Veda has established that the form of Veda is
Brahman. In the Rig Veda, it has also been said
that the song of Brahman is the essence of Vedas.
Again, when we look at this word from the point of
view of the Bhagavad Gita, we come to the
conclusion that everything in the creation is
filled with Brahman.
Vedas have not stopped at
this point by merely giving a form and a meaning to
this word Brahman. They have also given a more
distinctive and special significance for this word
Brahman. It has been taught to us that an aspect of
the word Brahman means that it is something which
has no discernible dimensions and which is
limitless. If in this world, we have things that can
grow, then the aspect of Brahman has the capacity to
grow. The growth capacity of whatever is signified
by the word Brahman exceeds the growth capacity of
everything that we can comprehend. That aspect which
is not discernible and which is beyond our
comprehension and which is infinite has been
described by the word Brahman.
This Brahman which
represents complete growth in all respects has been
represented as the characteristic or Purusha. The
word Purusha refers to one who has experienced
completeness or fullness. Our Purushasuktha has
described this aspect of Purusha as something which
has one thousand heads, one thousand eyes and one
thousand feet. The word 'Sahasra Sirshaha Purushaha'
should not be interpreted in a limited way by
thinking of only one thousand heads. This really
means that thousands and thousands of heads are
contained in this aspect of Purusha. When we use the
word head, it connotes 'Prajna' or wisdom in this
context. The totality of Prajna or the wisdom that
is present in all the heads represents the concept
of Purusha here.
We also describe him as 'Sahasrapad'
or one who has a thousand feet. What is it that we
mean by describing God as one who has a thousand
eyes, a thousand feet, and a thousand heads and what
benefit do we get by describing him in this manner?
The totality of the
capacity to understand or Prajnana and the totality
of brightness and the effulgence and the capacity of
locomotion have been given the name Brahman. The
ability by which we have our vision and we see, the
ability by which we are able to hear, and the
ability by which we can have our mind functioning,
and the ability by which we can bear the weight of
the material body are given to us by God and because
all these strengths are given to us by God, God is
also referred to as Prajnanam Brahma or the
embodiment of wisdom.
Whether we talk of the
Veda or we use the word Brahman or the word Purusha,
these are only different names given to the same
aspect and to propagate the same idea that is
contained in all these words. The words are
different but they describe one and the same idea.
All the energy that is present in the gross form and
also in the minutest and infinitesimally small thing
represents the aspect of Brahman.
Brahma has also been
described as the carrier of the Brahman. The word
Brahma has been understood to connote Manthra.*
In this place, the meaning is that the Purusha who
is the embodiment of Vedas has the Manthra as his
carrier. This is the reason why people in our
country have relied on such great men who achieved
their greatness on the basis of Manthra. They
started learning these Manthras and getting
purification for themselves with the help of these
great people.
A Manthra has two aspects.
The first is 'Manana' or what has been learned has
to be taken into your mind. The second is the aspect
of 'Trana' that is what has been taken into your
mind has to be established firmly therein. By taking
the divine into your mind and firmly establishing it
therein, if you can carry on your life and do the
work that is ordained for you, then your life will
be full of happiness.
Brahma as carrier of the Brahman may also to
consider as the Divine power.** The Divinity
is the power behind the creation, sustenance and
dissolution of every Yuga (aeon).
The Lord is expressed by
four forms as expressions of
the different qualities of the Divinity.
1. Vasudeva.
This name signifies that
the Lord is immanent in everything in creation and
bears within Himself everything in the Cosmos. He
is omnipotent. He is resplendent. He remains
unmoved in any condition, in any circumstance,
while being present in every limb and every cell.
Thus, everything is permeated by God and there is
nothing outside Him.
2. Sankarshana.
This is the One, who at
the time of Pralaya (the Great Dissolution),
absorbs within Himself the entire Cosmos. The
Sankarshana principle is the one which removes
misery and confers joy. It is a Divine quality
which is present in every human being.
3. Aniruddha.
This refers to one who
has a unique quality. He confers this quality -
Sampada (wealth) on whoever prays to Him. He is
the Lord who confers both material and spiritual
benefits on those who adore Him. In this aspect,
He shines through His effulgence. He Himself is
the source of His light and also the light that
illumines everything. This principle of Aniruddha
is essential for every human being.
4. Pradyumna.
He represents the
invincible Divine power, which cannot be
It is the combination of
all these four principles which constitute
humanness. God (Brahman)is
not different from human being. Vasudeva is
Paramatma (the Omni-Self). Sankarshana is Jivatma
(the individual Soul). Pradyumna is the mind.
Aniruddha is Aham (the ego). The union of these
four is Manavatva (humanness).
If any one of these four
constituents is absent, a person cannot live in
the world. If it is asked whether Ahamkara
(egoism) is also essential, the answer is: Aham
(the ego) should be present but not Aham-kara (the
feeling of egoism, the sense of separate identity
associated with the body consciousness). Aham
means "I." The "I" should not be identified with
the physical form. "Aham Brahmaasmi" (I am the
Brahman). "Aham na Dehaasmi" (I am not the body).
"Na Aham Jivaasmi" (I am not the jiva - the
individual soul). "Aham Aham" (I am I). This Aham
is the essence of everything.
This is the significance
of the Vedic pronouncements: "Aham Brahmaasmi," "Prajnanam
Brahma" (Prajnana Constant Integrated
Awareness--is Brahmam), "Thath-thwam-Asi" (That
thou art).
In the world there are
many people. Some of them are believers, some of
them are nonbelievers and some of them are believing
nonbelievers. There are multifarious people,
different religions and faith. Truth is something
that is common to all of them. People of all
countries and all religions must understand that
Vedas are something which establish the authority of
truth. (Reet's compilation from the Divine
Discourse of Sathya Sai Baba, "Brahman Denotes The
Totality Of Prajna In The World," Summer Course in
Spirituality and Indian Culture. May/June 1974,
Brindavan. and Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 22. "Make
every moment holy," Chapter 8).
*Spelling of names as in original texts.
** My additions not directly concern to
the compilation in black.
Swami
teaches.... (30 January 2005)
Freedom
of the Spirit and Samadhi
No one in the world has
absolute freedom. Freedom came to be used as a political
concept. It was believed that to liberate the country
from foreign rule and establish Government by the
natives of the country constituted freedom. This is
neither individual nor fundamental freedom.
Freedom and bondage are
creations of the mind. When you are not engaged in
spiritual enquiry, the mind gets prominence and is the
cause of involvement in matters like freedom and
bondage, the worldly and the otherworldly, and other
dualistic phenomena.
Any talk of freedom in this
phenomenal world can only refer to an relative, worldly,
insane or egoistic freedom. Talk of freedom may also be
used in honorable respect of certain relationships like
a parents attitude to their child and others.
You must recognise that you
must accord to others the same amount of freedom which
you claim for yourself. Freedom is thus interdependent
and cannot be absolute or unrestricted.
In respect of three
situations, human being has no freedom: karthavyam (the
discharge of duties), nirbandham (actions done under
compulsion) and sambandham (obligatory actions arising
out of certain relationships).
If a poor man, unable to get
food by begging, resorts to stealing, he cannot claim
that he is exercising his freedom to appease his hunger.
When he acts against his conscience, how can it be an
act of freedom?
Actions done by the
promptings of the mind or the senses cannot be regarded
as free actions.
There are some actions which
are done according to the laws of Nature. Even these are
not free actions. Person is also subject to rules and
regulations laid down by the appropriate authorities.
Human life is carried on between these two types of
restrictions. In view of this, no one can claim that he
is free to act as he pleases.
People talk glibly about free
will. There is only one seat of freedom and that is the
heart (the spiritual heart). It is permanent and
unchanging. As long as a human being is swayed by the
mind, there will be differences and distinctions. These
are due to the waywardness of the mind and are not
indications of individual freedom.
Freedom consists in the
spontaneous expression of what comes from the heart in
respect of any object or any individual, at any
time. But this cannot be described as freedom, because
the Divine is One. True freedom can come only when one
is free from the impulses of the mind. Only the Divine
is free.
Only when unity is achieved
will freedom be meaningful. Freedom should express
itself from the heart. Heart here does not refer to the
physical heart. "Heart" is not related to any particular
place, time or individual or a country. Hridayam (heart)
refers to that Divine principle which is equally present
everywhere, at all times and in all people in every
country. The true freedom consists in the recognition of
that Divinity by knowing which all else is known.
Keeping the Atmic
consciousness in the forefront, you may perform any
act. You will be acting in freedom. There are no two
different types of freedom - individual freedom and
spiritual freedom. Spirituality itself is freedom.
There are four stages in the
realisation of the Divine what is free.
Saalokyam (to be in the
realm of God),
Saameepyam (proximity to
God) and
Saayujyam (mergence in God).
These appear to be different
from each other, but are all merely steps in the
realisation of oneness with the Divine.
Spirituality essentially
means realising oneness with God. God and you are not
separate. Once you acquire this conviction there is no
need for any kind of spiritual sadhana.This oneness
should not be a mere intellectual concept. It should
be a living reality. Then you will experience true
freedom - the freedom of the Spirit, divorced from any
association with the body and the mind.
Swami does not know what is
grief. Worry is totally alien to me. You should remain
unaffected by what others say or do. When someone
comes and tells me, "Swami! I am suffering greatly," I
reply, "chaala santhosham" (very happy). When some one
tells me about the death of a near relation, I say the
same thing. I am equal in my response to everything.
People come to Swami with
every conceivable kind of problems and views. On one
side are those who adore Swami. On the other side
there may be those who deride Swami. The two may be
like two hillocks with valleys below them. Both the
hillocks and the valleys are the same to me. This is
the proper spiritual attitude as one expression of
spiritual freedom.
(Occasionally I appear to be
displeased with the behaviour of the students, for
example. However, the anger is only apparent
externally as some kind medicine. It does not come
from inside). The
freedom is the realisation of oneness with the Divine.
Principally the same realisation has attained in
Samadhi. Consequently, the state of Samadhi is an
expression of atmic spiritual freedom for human being
or by other words the experience the Being, the
Awareness and the Bliss.*
What is Samadhi?
Some devotees claim that
they have experienced moments of Samadhi during
meditation.
Samadhi is a much
misunderstood word. It is freely misapplied. All kinds
of emotional upsurges, attacks of hysteria, nervous
breakdowns, neurotic fits are now extolled and exalted
as "Samadhi"! In common parlance, in the eyes of
worldly people and in the books written by worldly
individuals, Samadhi may be described in various ways.
One may be in a state of trance during meditation. But
this cannot be called Samadhi. It may be an emotional
or mystical experience or it may be the result of a
fit. It may even be due to weakness. It is not
Samadhi.
Deep sleep is often compared
to Samadhi, for, the senses, the mind, the reason, are
all absent therein; only the ego is immersed in itself.
It is in bliss, but, it is not aware of that bliss, for,
waking alone gives that knowledge.
What is the inner meaning of
Samadhi? It is not a state of unconsciousness or some
kind of consciousness. Samadhi is "Sama-Dhi" - the state
in which the intellect has achieved equanimity. Whether
in pleasure and pain, in praise or blame, in gain or
loss, in heat or cold, to be able to maintain in equal
mind in Samadhi. One who has attained that stage, or
realised that he is the One without a second, will be
indifferent to fear or favour, to hate or love, to exalt
or execrate. Where there is One, how can even thought
arise. That is the Sama-Dhee - the being, the awareness
and the bliss.
So the conclusion is that
Samadhi means merging the mind in the Atma. In that
state, there are no two entities. Samadhi is a state
of equal-mindedness. In that state there are no
dualities like joy and sorrow, profit and loss, sin
and merit, Nature and Paramatma. It is the state in
which the oneness of everything is experienced. As
long as differences and distinctions remain, there is
no realisation of Samadhi,
no realisation of the real
(fundamental) freedom.
(Reet's
compilation from,
Sathya Sai
Speaks, Vol. 23. "The Spirit of freedom and freedom of
the Spirit," Chapter 21; Sathya Sai
Speaks. Vol. 11, "Saline turned sweet," Chapter 4; Sathya Sai
Speaks. Vol. 22. " Self-control and Self-realisation,"
Chapter. 21).
* My
notes not directly concern to the compilation from
Swami's texts in black.
The Upanishad declares: "Prajnaanam
Brahma" (Realisation of Brahman is the highest wisdom).
This consummation is attained only through Sathsankalpas
(good thoughts).
For this realisation there are
unlimited potentialities. For example, in Britain, there
was a poor lad who used to make a living by writing
addresses on covers for illiterate persons and to give
tuitions to children. Each time he wrote an address, he
used to say: "May God bless you." He used to tell the
young children before they went back to their homes after
their lessons: "May God shower His grace on you." He
himself had firm faith in God. In course of time, he
became the Prime Minister of Britain. He was James Ramsay
MacDonald.
The union of good resolutions
with faith in God is like the coming together of the
positive and negative ends of electric wires; through this
combination, any great thing can be accomplished.
Absorbed in sensual desires and
worldly pursuits a person has lost sense of morality and
goodness. He/she has lost sight of own divine nature.
Greed has turned humans against each other.
Faith in God is the bed-rock on
which one's life should be built. All the scriptures one
may read, all the rituals one may practise, the mastery of
the Upanishads or the Gita, will be of no avail if there
is no deep faith in God. They will be mere physical or
intellectual exercises only. They may even strengthen the
delusions regarding the body-mind complex.
Without God how can all the
marvels in the cosmos be accounted for? Universal
Consciousness pervades everything in the Cosmos.
The Divine is present in
everyone. Holding firmly to this belief, one should not
cause harm to anyone because he would be causing harm to
God who is present in everyone. Today we talk about
peace in the world. How can that peace be found outside?
It has to be found inside you.
Real peace can come only when
thoughts about the world are replaced by thoughts of
God.
There is a simple five-letter
pronouncement. "God is" ("Devudunnaadu," in Telugu).
Make this your sheet-anchor. If you go on reciting it,
thinking over it, acting up to it and conveying it to
others, immersing yourself in the bliss of this
experience, you will be making the greatest contribution
to the welfare of the world. Proclaim this mantra in all
circumstances and at all places with all the conviction
and strength you can command.
You must have the courage and
determination to face any kind of problems and
difficulties. By propagating this mantra you can promote
the love of God and the fear of sin among the people.
The mantra "God is" can be more powerful than a mantra
based on any particular deity's name. Moreover, mere
repetition of any mantra is of little use. Greater than
the power of mantra or yantra is the power of a pure
heart (chithasuddhi). Your faith must stem from the
heart, which is the seat of the Divine.
Have this five-letter mantra
as your constant companion and strengthen your faith in
God. This will lead in due course to God-realisation.
Unwavering faith in God will promote Atma-sakti
(spiritual power) and confer indescribable bliss. Doubts
should not be allowed to sprout. Faith is essential for
accomplishing anything in life. Without faith, even
ordinary things in life are not possible.
The highest realisation
consists in using the Buddhi (intelligence) to acquire
Vignana (the higher wisdom) and conquering the mind
through that wisdom.
There are eight types of Gurus:
1) Bodha Guru; 2) Veda Guru; 3) Nishiddha Guru; 4) Kaamya
Guru; 5)
Of these eight Gurus, the
Kaarana Guru is the foremost. Through various teachings
and practices, he helps the individual to progress from
the human to the divine consciousness. Only the divine can
act as such a teacher. All other Gurus can be helpful only
to a limited extent.
There are, moreover, persons who
claim to be Gurus. They trade in mantras and tantras.
Self-realisation is not to be got through mantras or
tantras. Only by the purification of the mind can the
Omni-self be realised.
Self-realisation is a process
with many angles. Human being as a part of creation is
also a product of the process.
In the ordinary course of
life, a person does many actions which, wittingly or
unwittingly, cause harm to other beings. To atone for such
actions, five yajnas - propitiatory rites - have been
prescribed by the sastras. These are: Deva Yajna, Pitru
Yajna, Bhoota Yajna, Manushya Yajna and Rishi Yajna or
Brahma Yajna.
1. Deva Yajnas: In numerous
daily activities like walking, breathing, and others,
unconsciously people cause the death of many creatures
like ants, insects and micro-organisms. To atone for these
sins committed unknowingly, Deva Yajnas, to propitiate
various deities, have been prescribed. Moreover, in our
body, in every organ and limb, the presiding deities are
present in the from of rasa (a subtle fluid). Hence these
deities are called Angirasas (the presiding deities of the
Angas or limbs). Because these deities in the subtle form
protect the organs concerned, gratitude has to be
expressed to them in the form of Deva Yajnas. To meditate
on the Anga Devas, to worship them and express gratitude
to them is one's first duty.
3. Bhoota Yajnas: When we take a
bath or wash our clothes, or sweep the house, many living
creatures may be losing their lives. To atone for the
death of such creatures, Bhoota Yajnas (offerings to the
Bhoothas) have to be made. This practice has come down
from the times of ancient sages. The rishis used to
maintain deer, cows, and other animals in their ashrams
and look after them with loving care as expression of
their love for all living beings. To offer the remains of
one's food after a meal to cows or dogs or other creatures
is also a form of Bhoota Yajna. By showing love towards
living things in this way, some atonement is made for the
unconscious harm done to various creatures in daily life.
Without a clean heart, all
worship is useless. Without spiritual purity, religious
observances are valueless. People indulge in high-sounding
talk about spiritual matters. But without application in
practice, Swami
teaches... (28 January 2005) Humans'
Conducts and Paths to Freedom. Example by Gita
Measure the microcosm, you have
measured the macrocosm. The world is a projection of the
mind; that is the lesson conveyed by Vedhas, Shaasthras and
Puraanas.
The same quantity of silver might
be shaped into a plate today, a set of spoons tomorrow, a
number of cups the day after. The forms get new names; the
uses of each are different. When put to use or when silver
remains as a silver 'lump' only, in the hands of every one
that holds, it or handles it, in the beginning or in the
end, it and they are always silver.
The core, the truth is ever One.
In the murky, dusk of ignorance, it appears diverse, that is
all for, then, your are led to distinguish and differentiate
on the bases of name and form.
There are two sets of rules
which regulate human conduct: the one is not concerned
with morals (a-moral) and the is other moral. The
a-moral is illustrated by the rule that you have to be
at the airport at a particular hour, in order to board
a plane. The moral rule is illustrated when the
father's property is divided between the sons, half
for one and half for the other, equal share for both.
From the point of view of dharma (righteousness),
equality is seen as the basic principle.
Human being is respected
because of his good qualities, and not because of his
material possessions. When we look at poor, helpless
or weak people, we should be prepared to give them
help with all our strength and effort. All human
beings are brothers and are children of one mother -
the universal divine mother.
However, today such insight
has not respected by many people. The world is such
that if there is a large quantity of water in a tank,
many frogs come and gather up in that tank. But once
the tank is dried up, all the frogs will disappear and
they will not even tell you where they are going. In
the same manner, many friends will gather round you,
as long as you have wealth and the moment this wealth
disappears, the friends also will disappear without
telling you.
(In fact, wealth must always
be regarded as potentially harmful. A wealthy person
sometimes becomes afraid, even of his own son).
The true wealth is the wealth of righteousness, of
knowledge and of wisdom. That is the reason why Arjuna
was called Dhananjaya. This name does not refer to
ordinary wealth. This simply means that he had the
wealth of wisdom in an ample measure. Arjuna had
several other titles which described his great
qualities. There are three words which we have to take
note of. They are work, worship and wisdom. You should
always do good work. You should worship with a pure
mind. Wisdom is superior knowledge and you should
aspire for acquiring knowledge with wisdom.
When one proceeds to attain
the Aathmic vision, one has to negate everything as
Not this, until at the end of the journey, the Aathma
alone is cognised. It admits of no definition, no
description, no designation, It is the end of enquiry,
the summum bonum of all endeavour, the silence that
A person can realise this
either by picturing something that is different and
distant, and praying to it, adoring it, worshipping it
- such ways are useful only up to a limit, to purge
the mind of low desires, sensual urges etc., - or by
delving into oneself, to reach the truth.
The realisation of the one
cannot be won by means of advice, listening to talks
and discourses, study of books or austerities. It
worried even Naaradha, who approached the sage,
Sanathkumaara, for the vision of the Infinite. With
this decomposing body and the deteriorating intellect,
man cannot experience and contain the boundless surge
of bliss that accompanies the realisation that he is
the absolute. The wisdom that comes of actual
experience is as the rain drop, when compared with sea
water which is saline and undrinkable book-knowledge
or derived knowledge. Through the inter-action of the
rays of the Sun, the salinity was removed and the
water that floated into the sky became sweet and
sustaining. Saadhana that turns the physical into the
meta-physical is the solar action that confers
potability.
We know that Krishna and
Arjuna were living together for well over eighty
years, were meeting each other very often and talking
to each other like friends. But at no time in those
eighty odd years did Lord Krishna ever try to teach
anything of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. It was only
after eighty years of their living together and that
too in the battlefield, and that again under some
special circumstances, that the Lord wanted to give
him the contents of the Bhagavad Gita and give Arjuna
a position of authority and competence from where he
could do something. We have to enquire into the
meaning of all these things. In the Bhagavad Gita, He
has also taught that we have to recognise what is
called 'Adhikara', or worthy of being entrusted with a
task. He also taught us that unless one acquires the
qualification, merit and worth, there is no point in
teaching the Bhagavad Gita to him. Conveying the
contents of the Gita to someone who does not deserve
it and who has not yet acquired that merit has no
meaning. Each individual gets the right to do
something. The recognition of this right or
qualification, before action is initiated, is an
aspect which is contained in the Bhagavad Gita.
Bhakthi or devotion is the
only path for reaching the divine destination. Bhakthi
is the only panacea for all the ills of this world.
Bhakthi is the only method for making you realise the
truth.
There is the path of a
monkey and the path of a cat. The relationship between
the baby monkey and its mother monkey is such that no
matter where the mother goes, no matter even if the
mother is jumping hither and thither, the baby holds
fast and clings safely to the mother, going wherever
the mother goes. The child has implicit faith in the
mother. In this way, just like the young monkey
clinging to the mother under all conditions and under
all circumstances, we should attach ourselves to God
under all conditions and under all circumstances. That
is the kind of behaviour we should accept. In this,
there is no responsibility of any kind on the part of
the mother monkey. The entire responsibility for its
conduct rests on the young one.
On the other hand, when we come to
see the life of a cat and the kitten, the mother cat takes
the entire responsibility for taking the kitten from place
to place and looking after them. There is a significance
here which we can see; that if you stay where you are, then
God Himself will take the responsibility of looking after
you.
While the two paths, the path that
has been described in the context of a monkey and the path
that has been described in the context of a cat, seem to be
all right in common parlance and so far as ordinary persons
are concerned and in their daily life, they are not so in
the case of a person who is devoted and who wants to know
the real inner meaning of Atma or the soul. Such a person
will have to find a path which is different from these two
and superior to these two. To give you the meaning and the
character of this devotion, Vivekananda had a good example.
Every person wants and desires
that he should get Moksha or liberation, that he should
attain that place of Moksha. We may say that liberation is
synonymous with freedom. When we desire freedom, it implies
that at the moment we are in some kind of bondage. What is
that bondage? Your own affection and your people is the
bondage. That is the chain which has bound you. This is what
you may call affection with some kind of an attachment. When
you are tied up with the chain, there are two ways by which
you can free yourself from this chain. One way is to get the
strength by which to break the chain. There is a second way
and that is to make yourself tiny, smaller and smaller so
that you can just slip and get out of the chain which is
binding you.
With the exception of these two
alternatives, if you want to reach freedom and if you want
to get out of the chain, there is no way of doing it. These
two can be described as Bhakthi or devotional path and Jnana
or the path of knowledge. Bhakthi or devotion means you
recognise that there is a master, that you have to put
yourself in a humble position and be subservient to the
master. You also recognise that your conduct should be such
that you please Him and get His grace. This is the procedure
for Bhakthi. This is referred to as an attitude of 'Daasoham'
or behaviour which by implication proclaims 'I am your
servant'. When you are bound by a chain, within that chain
if you can tell yourself 'Daasoham, Daasoham', that means
you are humble, you are developing humility, your ego is
becoming less and less. It shrinks you so much as your
humility grows that you can slip and get out of the chain.
The other path, which is the path
of Jnana, is the way or getting out of the chain by telling
yourself 'Shivoham, Shivoham'; I am Siva - that means you
are expanding, becoming bigger, finally you become so big
that you can break the chain and get out. So, to break the
chain and free yourself one is the path of Jnana and the
other is the path of Bhakthi. (Reet's
compilation from, "Sathya Sai Speaks." Volume 11, "Saline
Turned Sweet," Chapter 4; Sathya Sai
Baba. Divine Discourse, "Seek Work, Worship and Wisdom -
Avoid Wealth, Wine and Women," Summer Course in
Spirituality and Indian Culture. Summer Showers in
Brindavan. May 1973, Brindavan; Sathya Sai
Baba. Divine Discourse, "Lessons from the Gita," Summer
Course in Spirituality and Indian Culture. Summer
Showers in Brindavan. May 1972, Brindavan). PS: Spelling of
names as in original texts.
Namaste - Reet to be continued |
