Swami teaches....Part 64
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Sai Ram Light and Love
Mind's Development, Heart's Refinement and New Scientific Views The Motto: Life is a challenge - Meet it! Life is a game - Play it! Life is Awareness! Bharath has been conveying profound truths to the world from ancient times. It proclaimed the universal message: "Let all people everywhere be happy." Unfortunately, because of attachment to the things of the world, the people have lost this sense of universal well-being. In all countries and in all languages, people are praying more and more, turning towards the Lord for the blessing of courage and equanimity. More and more lectures, more and more books, more and more spiritual groups are evident; more people go on pilgrimage; more and more temples are being renovated; all types of yagnas (sacrificial rites) are arranged and gone through; thousands gather and disperse. In the world there is fear, division and distress ; people need consolation and support. Even scientists who were all along proud that they could explain the Universe and put it into a formula are getting humble on seeing the vaster and vaster vistas spreading before them at every step. By modern physics the Universe is more like to an Universal thought where the essential role plays the observer's consciousness and all pervading quantum fluctuations. Such is the the statement of modern science what is closely similar to truth about the Reality, explained by Swami from huge different angles and levels. Scientists open one door after another with tremendous effort, only to enter a corridor which has a dozen closed doors. It is a never-ending process, this pursuit of Prakrithi (objective world), this attempt to unravel the mysteries of Maya (illusion). The world must become Paramatma-Mayam; that is all, however many names and forms that Paramatma (Supreme Soul) may have on the lips of people and before their mental eyes. The same Divine substance appears in different times and places, assuming different names. Love and compassion are inherent in every person. Each has to share love with others. Failure to share one's love is gross ingratitude to society, to which one owes everything. One should give one's love freely to others and receive love in return. But when the forces of evil and hatred overwhelm them, the Good accept the Lord as the Charioteer and He enables to overpower foes. Swami is the ever-merciful Mother, the all-wise Father and the goal of spiritual efforts. When you are groping in a dark room, you must seize the chance when some one brings a lamp into the room. Similarly, make the best of this chance when the Lord has come in human form to your very door and get ready to save yourself from disaster. God can be known by experience and not by experiments. People can experience God if they adhere to the path of truth. (Sadhana is needed for this purpose. Every educated person should engage himself or herself in selfless service to society, with humility and a pure heart). The experience of that bond will come to you unawares. Your duty is to await the moment. Believe and be blessed. You are now worshipping Shiva or Narayana or Rama or Krishna or Swami. How you got started. What experience did you have, before you began? While painting a picture of a thing you have not seen, you have every freedom to draw it as the whim directs you; but try to draw a picture of a peacock, a bird you have seen; then you will realise that it is a very hard job; so too, it is difficult to get a true idea of Swami, whom you see, although you are adepts at imagining Rama and Krishna to be of this form or that. There are hundreds of images and idols and pictures of the precious body that are abhorrent caricatures, for you have no correct picture in your minds. Even while faith has sprouted as a tender sapling, some one whispers a story and doubt attacks the plant like a deadly pest; for the mean and the small see everything as mean and small. They relish only the small and the mean. Search for the good, the noble, the elevating - and you will see only those things around you. Do not seek like the crow for carrion and offal. If you have faith, the Lord who is the core of your being will manifest Himself; He is within your grasp, prodded you extend your hand. Do not try to cover up your faults or hide your vices under a cloak of religiosity. Be sincere yourself. Be aware of Him, who is the eternal Witness. Stick to your faith; do not change your loyalty as soon as something happens or some one whispers. Unless you go through the rough and the smooth, how can you be hardened? Welcome the light and the shade, the sun and the rain. Do not think that only those who worship a picture or image with pompous paraphernalia are devotees. Whoever walks straight along the moral path, whoever acts as he speaks and speaks as he/she has seen, whoever melts at another's woe and exults at another's joy - is a devotee, perhaps a greater devotee. People are generally hankering after academic education and worldly attainments, but forget the Super Power, who is the basis for all knowledge and the entire cosmos. Hence, to recognise the Divine in human, humanness should not be divorced from the Divinity. People consider themselves as mere human beings. But, all of them are manifestations of the Divine. It is because people do not recognise this fact, all kinds of confusions arise in respect of human activities in the phenomenal world. The confusions also arise that human's mind runs about swiftly. This is based on the power of the thoughts. When a stone is cast in a well, a series of ripples start from the point where the stone fell. From there, the ripples go upto the edge of the well and cover the entire well. In the same manner, when the stone of thought is cast on the lake of the mind, the ripples started by it fill all the senses and limbs in the body. When the thought is a pure and sacred one, the ripples emanating in the mind fill all the senses and limbs in the body; from head to toe, with pure reactions. All that is good or bad in human is based upon good or bad behaviour. This conduct is traced to the mind, which itself is dependent on thoughts. Therefore, to have good thoughts you must cultivate good company Good thoughts appear small in the beginning like one's shadow at noon. But as the day advances, the shadow lengthens. Likewise, the influence of the good thoughts also grows as time passes. In due course it acquires a magnificent form. It attains a highly sacred place. It confers divine bliss and redeems one's entire life. (Good company, by promoting good thoughts, leads to the highest achievements in life. Bad company, on the contrary, is like the shadow caused by the morning sun. At dawn, the shadow produced by the sun is long. As the morning progresses, the shadow gets shorter and shorter. Ultimately, it gets limited to one's feet. This is how the effects of bad company operate. At the beginning the gains seem to be large. But as time goes on, the gains vanish. Human values get destroyed). Human exists in three states waking, dream, and deep sleep. In the waking state all senses and mind are at work, while in the dream state only the mind is active, and in deep sleep everything merges in the Self and one enjoys bliss. Human should make efforts to experience the reality beyond all the three states. That is the task for every Swami's devotee. Everyone is proud about the body, the mind and the intellect, forgetting the indwelling Atma, which is the basis for all of them. It is the basis on which the superstructure of life rests. God is the Indweller in the human heart (spiritual heart). The Indweller in the heart is directing the whole show. That is the Atma. All academic distinctions or even observance of spiritual practices are of little use if there is no love in the heart. The heart is called Hridhaya. It is made up of the two words, Hri and Dhaya (compassion). The Lord is described as Hridhayavaasi (the Indweller in the heart). By the scientific medical researches human heart is not only a motor. In the last ten years, new evidence has accumulated for the function of what is being described as the "little brain in the heart." This "little brain" has the capacity to process sensory information arising from within the heart and this information is then sent to the brain. The information the heart sends can have profound effects on brain activity and function. (For complete information examine references below). This studies are a step ahead towards integration of science and spirituality. Heart intelligence is the intelligent flow of awareness and intuition that we experience once the mind and emotions are brought into coherent alignment with the heart. It can be activated through self-initiated practice. Heart intelligence underlies cellular organization and guides and evolves organisms towards increased order, awareness and systems coherence. There are a number of studies that have been done by different scientific institutions and health care professionals. For example, a study with congestive heart failure patients was conducted by a research group at Stanford University; a study with middle school children was done by the Miami Heart Research Institute; an investigation on test-taking in high school students was conducted by the Minneapolis Public School District and an independent clinical psychologist; and a study on employee retention was conducted by Delnor Hospital (Geneva, Illinois). The human body is constituted by the Pancha Bhuthas (five elements), Pancha Koshas (five sheaths). While other living beings have only the first three sheaths, the human species alone has all the five. Human is encompassed by attachment to worldly desires, which produce delusions of various kinds related to the three gunas. Five sheaths encase the Atma and hide its splendour from revealing itself. Make all these pure and shining. The Annamaya Kosha (physical sheath) must be purified by good, clean, pure food; the Pranamaya Kosha (vital sheath) by calm, steady breathing and an equanimous temper; the Manomaya Kosha (mental sheath) by holy thoughts and emotions, untouched by attachment to senses or unaffected by joy or grief; the Vijnanamaya Kosha (wisdom sheath) purified by contemplation of the reality and the Anandamaya Kosha (bliss sheath) by getting immersed in the ecstasy of the Divine Bliss - God-realisation. Life Principle animates the human. From the Life-Principle you should seek to enquire into the nature of the Divine. The Atma is all-pervading. That is termed Sath (Being). Chith (Awareness) is subject to change and movement. Even if it is carried to a high level, it rends to come down. When you mix sugar in water, you have neither sugar not water, but only syrup. When Sath, which represents the Divine and Chith, which represents the Life Principle come together, you have Ananda (Bliss). This is Sath-Chith-Ananda, it is like an ocean in which a myriad creatures come into existence and disappear like waves. Just as the ocean, the wave and the foam contain the same water, the Spirit that is present in the body; in the individual being and in the Supreme is one and the same. To experience this spiritual oneness, your way of life should be holy. Where there is humanity there is the Divine. The divinity in every being should be revered. Beings are many, but breath is one. You should cultivate unity as the children of God and live in harmony in the company of the good and the godly. Chant the Lord's name which will help you to cross the ocean of mundane existence. You must yearn to be free, to be rid of the chains that
are binding now; the iron chain of poverty or the golden chain of riches.
The Lord will not be drawn by noisy pomp or empty show. He will When a house is to be certified as habitable, the engineer tests the foundations. The Lord too tests the foundations whether faith is true and deep. The legend tells about Shiruthondar, a devotee of Shiva was also similarly tested by Shiva who came as an ascetic. When Shiruthondar showed that he had no attachment to the world, Shiva revealed Himself and said, "Worship Me as your own Self." Then Shiruthondar demands, "Reveal to me your Immanence in all Creation and then I shall worship Me, for then I can know that I am really You." Shiva blessed him and he saw all as Light. The vision was the finale of his career in Maya. He merged as light merges in Light, without noise and without announcement. Even his body became a streak of light which rose up into the depths of space. In reality people far from spiritual wisdom little contemplate about such meaningful legends. Very few pray to God for His Grace. Most people pray for material benefits which are ephemeral. Everyone in the world loves objects or persons or even God, for his or her own selfish purpose. No one loves God for God's sake. People are stricken with the maladies of the craze for wealth and power. There is one other disease with which all are afflicted to varying degrees. It is the disease of egoism. There is no basis at all for this conceit. Them is no mason at all for anyone feeling proud about one's wealth or any other possession. The only thing about which one should feel proud is one's goodness. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 2. "Sai as Hrudhayasthaayi," Chapter 2 and "Aathma calling Paramaathma," Chapter 20; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 27. "Share your love," Chapter 16 and "Purity in thought leads to Divinity," Chapter 17; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 28. "Akruura's vision of the Lord" (From the discourse on 28-5-1995); Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 30. "The Saints of Thamilnadu," Chapter 9). References: <http://www.heartmath.org/research/our-heart-brain.html> <http://www.heartmath.org/store/e-books/index.html> Namaste - Reet |