Swami teaches

Swami teaches....Part 28

Swami teaches.... (15 - 16 May 2005)

Swami's Shakti in Yours Service

Swami teaches people from boyhood untill today - more than 70 years. During this time science has promoted far, economic development of the countries and humans requirements were developed in the direction of consumption and degradation of a nature.Today the universal human spiritual values are more hidden into forests of consumer-society nets then tens years ago. Consumer society has its own, hostile to the Nauture and Spiritual values temporary laws.

Those who deny God are only denying themselves and their glory. All have Love in them, in some form or other, towards some one or other or their work or goal. That Love is God, a spark of the God in them. They have Aanandha (bliss) however small or temporary and that is another spark of the Divine. They have inner peace, detachment, discrimination, sympathy, the spirit of service. These are Divine in the mirror of their minds.

All have the Divine inner power. Your conscience knows the inner source of joy; it will prod you towards the right path; your business is to take it as 'guide' and not disobey it every time it contradicts your fancy.

With each breath, you are asserting "Soham," "I am He," not only you, but, every being that breathes, every being that lives, everything that exists. When you watch your breath and meditate on that magnificent Truth, slowly, the I and the He (the Sah and the Aham) will draw nearer and closer, until the feeling of separateness will fade away - and the Soham will be transformed into OM, the Pranava, the Primal Sound, the Fundamental Formula for God. That OM is the Swaswaruupa - the Reality behind this "relative reality."

There can be no limit for Sai Shakthi (Power), no hindrance, no opposition or obstacle. You may believe it or you may not, but Sai Shakthi can transform earth into sky and vice versa. Only, there is no call for that transformation. This Divine Behaviour is far distinct from the mean exhibitionistic tricks. This Shakthi experiences laws and forces not recognised by modern science.

When you light a lamp in your home, you have to go round the homes of others and invite them to come and admire it. But when the Sun rises in all its splendour, there is no need to draw the attention of the world to the event. This is the splendour of the Sun. It will itself command attention. No one need be invited to notice it.

The Lord is the unseen foundation on which your life is built. He is the source, sustenance and strength. What firmer foundation can you desire than this? Once you know that the Lord, the Omnipotent Shakthi is the mainspring of your life, there will be no fear any more, there will be peace in mind and joy in lips.

Know the Atma which is your Reality is the same Inner Force of this Universe. Let your intelligence penetrate into the truth. Analyse yourself and discover the several layers of Consciousness - the physical, the sensory, the nervous, the mental, the intellectual - and arrive at the very core of even the last layer, the layer of joy. The five sheaths have to be transcended, so that you may attain your truth, which is Aathma.

How to purify the mind? Let your thoughts be concentrated on God, His Name and His Form; you will then find that you are always with the Pure and the Permanent. That is the reason why Swami attaches so much importance to Naamasmarana as a Saadhana.

To those who identify themselves with body, life is a series of trouble and misery. But to those who know that the body is but a vehicle, these cannot cause anxiety. Bodily health is important, illness affects mental poise and concentration. So, this raft called body which is the only means of getting across the sea of Samsaara (worldly life), has to be kept in good trim.

Life has been bestowed not for just eating and digesting, roaming and reclining, but, for a far greater purpose - the realisation of the Divinity in us, in all that exist around us and even beyond all things that strike our senses.

See yourself in all; love all as yourself. A dog caught in a room whose walls are mirrors sees in all the myriad reflections, not itself but rivals, competitors, other dogs which must be barked at. So, it tires itself out by jumping on this reflection and that, and when the images also jump, it becomes mad with fury. A wise person however, sees him/herself everywhere and is at peace and at happyness that there are so many own reflections all around.

Deserve the Grace of God by helping the weak and poor, the diseased and the disabled, the distressed and the downtrodden. Do not laugh at others or take delight in insulting them or in carrying tales demeaning them. There is no more heinous sin than hurting the feelings of others. Why waste time or even pollute time, by talking ill of others? The eye, the hand, the nose, the head, the stomach, each looks different; each does one special task; each has different name and function. But they subserve the Interests of the one body to which they all belong.

Devotion and morality are as important for physical health as they are for mental health. They free the mind from agitation, they feed it with joy and contentment; they quieten the nerves and help even bodily processes. The unchanging Atma and the changing body - analyse them thus and be convinced of the eternal universal core of your being. As a thinking, a discriminating human being, it is your responsibility to discharge this duty not only to yourself but also to your country. Serving your country, human beings You may be subjected to all kinds of pressure and publicity; but, do not lose courage, do not allow your devotion, faith and steadfastness to decline. Resolve to achieve success in the saadhana you have taken upon yourselves. Then, this Swami will reveal itself, without fail, as your own sathya (reality). The validity and value of Love are proved by you; Love is the most potent of Swami's powers.

Hold all your property and wealth in trust for the Lord who gave them to you; even your family, you must treat as a sacred trust, as persons given to you by the Lord to love, foster and guide. Thus, you must elevate your attachment into worship and make it an instrument for spiritual progress.

You should not be ever entangled in the meshes of this world and its problems. Try to escape into the purer air of the spirit as often as you can, taking the name of the Lord on your tongue. Of the 24 hours of the day, have 6 hours for your individual needs, 6 hours for the service of others, 6 hours for sleep and 6 for dwelling in the Presence of the Lord. Those six hours will endow you with the strength of steel.

Be like gods and you can partake of Amritha (nectar), as the gods did once. If you are like Asuras (demons), you can have no share in the Divine Nectar. Do not feel sad or hurt when others are happy; try to share their happiness and be happy yourself, when those around you are. Your speech has to be soft and kind; do not imitate the roar of the lion or the hiss of the serpent. The tongue is now the sharpest weapon it can do more havoc than a bomb.

At the present time, the learned and the scholarly in every field suffer from a dire disease, namely, "under-development of the moral tissue." But, as the Karma kanda in the Vedhas proclaims, all acts must contribute to the elevation of character, the purification of the emotions, passions and impulses that infest the mind, the broadening of the vision and the strengthening of human's bonds with the Universal, of which he is a part. The immortal spark in Human can be discovered. Human can be certified as healthy, only when person is fully conscious of own reality and is gladly striving to reach it. However, usually the little 'ego' in person is fed into a huge conflagration by the mind and the senses and is the cause of the fire of distress. But, the Immortal is awaiting discovery to confer bliss and liberation from birth and death.

There is a definite technique by which that Immortal spark can be discovered. Though it may appear difficult, each step forward makes the next one easier. There is no short-cut to this consummation. One has to give up all the impediments which one has accumulated so far and become light for the journey. Lust, greed, anger, malice, conceit, envy, hate, all these pet tendencies have to be shed.

By signs of Nature the best time to begin to get rid from the mind's impurities is not only of the Mahaashivaraathri once a year, but every month when we too have a Shivaraathri, dedicated to the worship of Shiva. Why is the Raathri (the Night), so important? The night is dominated by the Moon. The Moon has 16 kalas (fractions of divine glory), and each day or rather night, during the dark fortnight, one fraction is reduced, until the entire Moon is annihilated on New Moon night. From then on, each night, a fraction is added, until the Moon is full circle on Full Moon Night. The Chandra (Moon) is the presiding deity of the mind; the mind waxes and wanes, like the Moon.

The chief aim of all spiritual striving is to eliminate the mind. Then can maya (illusion) be rent asunder and the Reality revealed. During the dark fortnight of the month, saadhana has to be done to eliminate each day a fraction of the mind, for, every day, a fraction of the Moon too is being taken out of cognisance. On the night of Chathurdhasi, the 14th day, the night of Shiva, only a fraction remains. If some special effort is made that night, through more intensive and vigilant saadhana, like puuja or japam or dhyaana (ritual worship, one-pointed repetition of holy names, and meditation), success is ensured. This has to be done every month. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 4. "The human raft," Chapter 46 and "Travel Light," Chapter 51. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Mahaashivaraathri," Chapter 3; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 10. "Truth of Truth," Chapter 35; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 13. "Naaraayana seva," Chapter 4).

Swami teaches.... (17 -18 May 2005)

Unsettled Mind Quiets by Efforts Towards the Divine

You can escape death, by not being born again. When you know that you are the limitless atman, then you are no longer subjected to the limitation of birth. How to know that? It is the result of a long process of sharpening the intellect and purifying the emotions and the impulses.

You desire to exist for ever; you enjoy continuing to live; you avoid all talk of your own death. That is enough evidence to conclude that you are Reality in essence. Then, again, you are filled with wonder and curiosity and a desire to know the world around you. You ask continuously what, why, how and when, about all and sundry. Lastly, you are always seeking joy, through some means or other. You try to avoid grief, you try to taste joy instead.

The Rishis of ancient India have consistently emphasised. 'Live together, revere each other; let not the seeds of envy and hate grow and choke the clear stream of Love,' is the prayer that they have taught the children of this land. Their teaching has been Unity Divinity Charity from the first breath to the last. Their teaching lead you to your immortality.

Fundamentally, the years of life are but a short span, a rest in a wayside caravanserai, a drama played on a rickety stage, a bubble upon the waters. During this fleeting hour, it has been given to teachers to share this golden chance of imparting instruction, inspiring devotion, instilling courage, into the growing children, so that the generation to follow will be ever grateful. No amount of advice and exhortation can make the teachers rise to the full stature of his profession. They have to improve themselves and cannot be improved by external pressure or persuasion.

Poet is the person who commands, who lays down the law, the ancient, the timeless - that is what the Vedhas declare. Kavi, the poet, is called the all-seeing; he is the seer of Manthra (Manthra Drashta); his role is to interpret God to human. He should not indulge in meaningless talk, significanceless writing. He should not be asking questions without end, for, he should seek in silence to get the answers, without infecting others with his doubts and his posers.

The heart full of sathwaguna (quality of purity and poise) is the ocean of milk. The steady contemplation of the Divine, either as your own reality or as the ideal to be reached, is the Mandara mountain plated in it as the churning rod. Vaasuki, the serpent that was wound round the churning rod as a rope, is the group of the senses, emitting poisonous fumes during the process of churning and nearly frightening the Asuras who held the head. The rope is held by the good and the bad impulses and both struggle with the churning process; eager for the results which each has set its heart on.

The Lord Himself comes to the rescue, once He knows that you are earnestly seeking the secret of immortality and the your Divine essence : He comes, silently and unobserved, holding the manana (reflection) process unimpaired and serving as the steady base of all spiritual practice. Many things emerge from the mind, when churned, but the wise wait patiently for the appearance of the guarantor of immortality, and seize upon it with avidity.

Chandramouli Shaasthry was telling about the manthras, which when repeated in faith and with full knowledge of implications, can endow you with mysterious experiences of the Divine. That is to say, the manthra enables you to be in the proximity of the Divine that is drawn near by the potency of the formula when charged with your own mental current.

What are the conditions under which the mind can charge the manthra with the required potency? The first and foremost one is onepointedness. It takes a time to obtain this skill and the faith in Divinity as an inner state, style of life.

Begin from the ancient, well-tried prescription for a calm peaceful life cultivating comradeship with the good, developing compassion for the distressed, fostering the feeling of elation at the happy and prosperous, and deepening the feeling of indifference towards the evil-minded. However, to experience it is not so easy as to read the texts. The mind is a very poor instrument, it runs after too many objects and objectives. The moment you persuade it to fix its attention on God, it wanders into the cinema hall, the bazaar, etc. It will seldom agree to dwell onthe vast magnificence of the Divine; when you direct it to the Divine, it will behave as if you are inviting it to face the deluge or to counter the horrors of Hell.

The faith in Divinity essential for any exercise to dwell upon Him, is in many cases absent today. That faith can come only slowly, by association with the godly, by reading the lives and experiences of godly persons, and by gaining experience oneself. Singing of Gods' names induces faith, very quickly. In the beginning, the name has to be recited, willy nilly, as a routine; later, the taste will draw you into the habit; the recitation will yield unfailing joy. You need to tread the footsteps of the great teachers of the past, who transmitted their spiritual wealth to succeeding generations.

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.

If you are able to equip your mind with this consciousness you are a person of realisation. Else, you are a masquerader. There are three types of minds:

1. Minds like ginned cotton, ready to receive the spark of highest wisdom and to give up in one instant blaze, the weakness and
prejudices of ages,

2. Minds - like dry wood, who succeed but only after some little time,

3. Minds, like green logs, which resist the onslaught of the fire of jnaana with all their might.

Herds of cattle run towards a mirage to slake their thirst, but you ought to be wiser. You have discrimination (viveka), and renunciation (vairaagya); you can detach yourselves consciously from pursuits which you discover as deleterious. Sit quiet for a few minutes and ponder over the fate of those who run towards the mirage. Are they happy? Have they the strength to bear distress and distinction, with equanimity? Have they a glimpse of the Beauty, the Truth, the Grandeur of the Universe, the Handiwork of God? Have they the vision of themselves as the centre of the Universe?

The see-er should not attach himself to the seen; that is the way to get free. The contact of the senses with the object arouses desire and attachment; this leads to effort and either elation or despair; then, there is the fear of loss or grief at failure and the train of reactions lengthens. With many doors and windows kept open to all the winds that blow, how can the flame of the lamp within survive? That lamp is the mind, which must burn steadily unaffected by the dual demands of the world outside.

Complete surrender to the Lord is one way of closing the windows and doors, for, then, in that stance of Sharanaagathi (complete surrender to God), you are bereft of "ego" and so, you are not buffeted by joy or grief. Complete surrender makes you draw upon the Grace of the Lord for meeting all the crises in your career and so, it renders you heroic, more stalwart, better prepared for the battle.

The name of God is like moonlight, for the waves of the inner Ocean. It is God echoing from within, the call of go from without. But, lo, the fascination exerted by science - which deals with the objective world, with things and events that can be measusured, weighed or calculated by means of ascertainable categories of thought, has led human in search of joy without.

There are many who ridicule God-centred people (yogis) and scoff at them. They call them selfish, anti-social, self-centred idlers who run away from their obligations and seek asylum in solitude and silence. These yogis moved out into lonely spots and sought teachers of the inner path. They go, to seek the secret of eternal joy; they win it for themselves; and, by their lives, they inspire others to win the precious secret, by treading the path they have found useful.

No one calls the man who has gone abroad to equip himself better, as an engineer or doctor, selfish; why then should the man who undergoes greater deprivations to equip himself better as an engineer of the mind, utilising its undoubted powers, not for bondage, but, for liberation, be tarred as ego-centric? This only shows ignorance of true values. The hermitages in the forests are such places where people who want to be cured of the infection of worldly life can undergo the treatment and come out free in order to serve other patients.

You may have the best of vegetables, you may be the most capable cook, but, if the copper vessel in which you prepare the vegetable soup is not tinned, the concoction you cook will be highly poisonous. So "tin" your heart with sathya, dharma, shaanthi and prema (truth, right conduct, peace and divine love), it will then become a vessel fit for repeating holy name or symbols, meditation, religious vows, pilgrimage, ritualistic worship and the other dishes that you prepare in it.

The Lotus grows up in and from water and blooms in the sun. The heart too draws sustenance from Bhakthi (devotion) and blooms through Jnaana (wisdom). When the three gunas, Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas, are equated in Saadhana the result is Shaanthi.

Let the Peace in mind and the Love for the Lord grow in you, let that sense of adoration, which discarded even a throne, flourish in you. Then, you can be of great use to your country, your culture, your society, your religion and your community. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 4. "Be like lamps," Chapter 14; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 5. "Close the windows and save the lamp," Chapter 1; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8. "Love and be loved," Chapter 31; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Exercise in futility," Chapter 24).

Swami teaches.... (19 - 20 May 2005)

   Seeking Wisdom from Present and Past

     A human body, "a temporary rest-house for the spirit" by Swami, is the divine product of Creation in the process of evolution by the Divine laws of Nature. Not only the Earth's culture and religion but all phenomena in the Universe and on the Earth (physical, biological, spiritual, technical, etc.) are the results of Creation. Swami's Teaching is the guide and the reflector of this Truth.

     Human consciousness has a special position. Carrying the active form of the Divine spark and having chance to reflect, it gives to a human being the possibility to various auto-regulation processes. (In the residual Nature, carrying the latent form of the Divine spark, auto-regulation processes are widely known too - water waves, for example). The development of human society is possible thanks to the auto-regulation processes, what have programmed by Absolute (God). The quality of these processes depends on the level of spirituality and human’s skill to understand the universal unity - Brahman (Atma).

Pictorially consciousness is a huge labyrinth, where all vibrations are interconnected into the grid of Oneness - Atma. When a person likes to act as an independent 'crown' of Nature and has no patient to notice own blindness, the result is the splinted 'parts' of labyrinth where a consciousness dwells and leads human's actions to chaos and disasters.

Classical physics is inadequate to explain consciousness of the human brain. Consciousness is an attribute of Nature; however it cannot be explained only by physics of quantum fields.

What are quantum fields? They discovered by modern science and partly serve as an expression of Atma, Brahman by scientific approach. By quantum fields consciousness is related to Brahman. More exactly quantum fields are as spiritual 'device' for humans in purpose to fuse into the unity of Atma and to discover the Higher Harmony in it. Such are also the roots of Swami's Messages through Vedic wisdom.

It seems that the core of universal quantum fields is hidden in Upanishads and great epics Ramayana and Bhagavad-Gita.

Throughout the entire history of humanity God teaches how to develop oneself, seeking the Divine perfection and aspiring to merge with Him. Love as the main quality of Swami's Messages brings everyone closer to God, to one's own happiness and to the participation in His Evolution. Nature is a great store where all things which help a person to grasp the truth are found. The truth is first cognized as 'Sarvam Brahma Mayam' - all this is imbued with Brahman, directed by Brahman, composed of Brahman. Then the seeker rises to a greater awareness, the awareness of 'Sarvam Brahman' - all this is Brahmam; only it appears as something else for a time to the unopened eyes. The final state is one where there is not even a Sarvam to be posited as Brahman; there is just Brahman; the one and only.

Modern physics has given us the insight that the kind of experiment we perform to find out the nature of interaction of subatomic particles is what determines the form in which these particles reveal themselves.

The kind of observation determines how the observed phenomena or object reveals itself. There is no absolute reality at all. The act of observation influences to the result of observation. These fundamental laws of modern physics are in accord of spiritual laws that Brahman (Atma) is beyond of existence and non-existence. His 'nature' reveals and depends on the intellect and spiritual wisdom of a seeker.

Swami's Teaching leads humanity towards the light of Brahman, and teaches to use the capacity of humans' auto-regulation power in harmony with laws of Creation and Being.

During the last 20-30 years by modern physics and mathematics the theory of fractals and chaos is discovered. Many points of this theory is in accordance with Swami's Teaching based on the Vedas, His Divine directions and vibrations.

What can we do, that Swami's Teaching would find the way to the orbit of interests the more and more people?

One of the ways is to generate to the interest to Swami's Works. His Works are not collection of ancient and modern wisdom, but also carriers of the Divine vibrations.

    The path towards Self-transformation, pictorially, is searching a coast in a stormy sea. Swami's Teaching and the experiences of His devotees are as only beacons indicating road on a coast. From a person depends, he/she wants to reach to the coast or not.

    From ancient times until today the Vedas teach to live in balance with eternal laws of Nature,Creation and the Universe. Through Swami's interpretation Vedic stories dedicated to the sacrificial rites resound as modern and leading the readers closer to Brahman, Peace and Ananda what is the innate nature of human. It is not something lifeless and inactive but in other words a purposeful living. Shanthi is the authority under which the rule of Ananda prevails. It lays down the limits and laws for all activities. It can only be experienced, personally, through the natural state of Jnana. One who grasps that which is deathless, that which can not be destroyed, that which is not modified, he/she is the enjoyer of Shanti.

Shanti is a shoreless ocean: It is the Light that illumines the world. It confers knowledge of both this world and that. It leads to the understanding of Brahman what can only be described as what it is not, not by what it is. The Brahman cannot be communicated by words; it is impossible to describe. Reaching to the state of Shanti requires intense self-discipline by performing Vedic sacrifice. The melody of chanting, special aroma of plants, dancing flames in smoky air, etc., help to transcend the mind and obtain the wisdom to become the Knower of Brahman.

By Ramayana Emperor Janaka performed a great Yajna (sacrificial rite) to make known to the world the value of yajnas and yagas, japa and tapas. He invited many sages, seers, yogis and scholars to attend the yajna. The yajnas performed by rulers like Janaka were intended to promote general welfare and direct the people's minds towards God. The yajna was performed successfully.

Janaka had arranged for a thousand richly caparisoned cows to be presented to the Knower of
Brahman. On the last day, Janaka organized a grand assemblage of sages and savants and asked to come forward the Knower of Brahman. Among the sages and scholars Yajnavalkya alone came forward without any doubt or hesitation.

At that stage, the high priest of the sacrifice, Aswala, got up and said: “Yajnavalkya! It is only after demonstrating that you are Knower of the Brahman will you be entitled to take the cows to your ashram."

Responding to this challenge, Yajnavalkya started putting questions to the assembled sages and scholars. None of them could give proper answers to his questions.

When the assembly was plunged in silence, Aswala got up and asked Yajnavalkya: "What is the way to conquer death?" Yajnavalkya replied: "Agni (fire). With the help of this fire, death can be conquered." He also said that this is mukti (liberation), Athimukti (supreme liberation). Aswala asked him to explain his answer. Yajnavalkya replied: "When a person is born, his mother's womb is an Agni-Kunda (fire-place). All his limbs are formed within the womb. This is the Garbha-Agni (womb of fire). When a person dies, the body is cremated in the chitagni (funeral pyre) and is reduced to ashes. Fire is the cause of the body and fire is the destroyer of the body. There is no greater power in the world than Agni."

Many others present in the assembly put questions to Yajnavalkya to justify his claim to be a Knower of Brahman. Uddalaka got up and asked him whether he could give the number of the planets. Today we call the planets by the names Rahu, Kethu, etc. In those days these names did not: exist. Yajnavalkya said there were the following eight planets: Prana (life-breath), Vaak (speech), Jihva (the tongue), the eye, the ear, the hands, the mind, the skin.

Another sage got up and put a series of questions: “Yajnavalkya! Can you say how many deities are there?" Unhesitatingly, the sage answered: 33013. The next question was: "Can you reduce the number to 33?" Yajnavalkya said there were 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras, 12 Adityas, Indra and Prajapathi, making up in all 33. Yajnavalkya was asked further whether he could bring down the number to six. The sage said: "Agni (the fire God), Vayu (the wind-God), Aditya (the Sun-God), Adityamandala (the solar system) and the trilokas (three worlds)." Not content with this answer, the questioner asked the sage further, "Can you reduce this number further to three?" Yajnavalkya replied' "The three worlds are embodiments of the Trinity." The three worlds are' Devaloka (the realm of the gods), Maanavaloka (the world of human beings) and Daithyaloka (the world of Asuras and Demons). For Devaloka the deity is Dama (self-control). For the world of people, it is Dharma (Righteousness) and for the world of demons, it is Daya (compassion).

The sage went on to ask whether the number could be reduced to two. Yajnavalkya replied' Prana (the Life-Principle) and Annam (food). He then put an intriguing question. "Can you reduce this to one and a half? "Yajnavalkya replied: "It is Vayu" (the wind-god). The sage asked how Vayu, who is a single deity, and be regarded as one-and-a-half God? Yajnavalkya said: Vayu is present in all substances and has got the name Adhyaardham, which also means one-and-a-half. He then asked, "Can you reduce it to one?" Yajnavalkya replied' "That is Prana (the Life-Principle)."

Yajnavalkya's answers showed that he was a knower of the Brahman and was entitled to be an honoured member of Emperor Janaka's assembly of sages.

Thereafter, Yajnavalkya addressed the assembly thus to give them an insight into spiritual truths: The mother loves the child; the child loves the mother. The wife loves the husband and the husband loves the wife. Some love wealth, others love possessions and some others love knowledge. For whose sake do they love them? Whom do they love? The husband loves the wife not for her sake. The mother loves the child not for its sake. Each loves the other for his or her own sake and not for the sake of the other. All these expressions of love are associated with self-love and not associated with the body. One loves an object. Does a person love object for its sake? If people love various objects in the world, it is not for the sake of the objects that they love them but for their own sake. Thus the love is primarily self-motivated.

What is this self? The self is a composite of Vaak (speech), Manas (mind) and Prana (the life-principle). Wherefrom has prana emerged? Wherefrom has the mind come? Yajnavalkya explained that out of the food consumed by human, the gross part comes out as excreta and the subtle part the subtle part becomes prana (life-force). Speech, mind and the life-force together constitute the Atma (Self).

On hearing this, Gargi, scholar and supremely virtuous lady, asked how the Atma, which is one, could be made up of three constituents. Yajnavalkya replied that three colors are inherent: in Agni (fire): White, red and black. They are not different: Fire appears reddish, assumes the form of whiteness and when it subsides, it appears black. Black is the sign of night. Red is the sign of day. The sun is the one common factor in all the three. Likewise, the Atma, which is one and the same, assumes at different times different
forms. Yajnavalkya affirmed that no one can determine the specific characteristics of Atma.

Not satisfied with this answer, Gargi asked the sage how many types of people there were in the world. Yajnavalkya replied that there were four types: One, human-Divine; two, human-human; three, human-demon; four, human-animal. The world contained these four types of human beings.

1. Human Divine - they are Brahmajnas or Knowers of the Brahman, they are immersed in the contemplation of the Supreme, are free from selfishness and are conscious of the presence of the Divine in everyone.

2. Human-human - they are the ones who are wedded to Sathya and Dharma. They are ones who adhere to Truth and Righteousness, respect human values, lead a sacred life, perform their duties, indulge in charitable acts and live in harmony with fellow beings, causing no harm to others and bearing love towards all.

3. Human-demon - they are addicted to alcoholic drinks, forgetting their true nature, having no self-control, talking ill of others and causing harm to them, and always immersed in selfish pursuits. They are demons in human form.

4. Human-animal - they are lacking in wisdom, who are concerned only with eating, drinking and sleeping, having no interest in the affairs of the world, lacks the power of discrimination and are immersed in sensuous pleasures.

The yagas and yajnas of ancient times were performed to lead human to divinity and not for any inferior purposes. Any sacred act should be performed in a selfless spirit. Render service in a spirit of sacrifice. That itself is a great yajna. It is Karma Yajna. What is done internally is Brahma Yajna. Karma Yajna is a reflection of Brahma Yajna. Every action of the Divine is for promoting the welfare of the world.

In modern world people are not practicing the Vedic life. Divergence between thought, speech and action signifies that one is worse than a demon.

Thousands years have passed. The Vedic rites have performed today as in ancient times. Brahman is eternal there is no past, present, future... The sacred ritual, performed by Swami's directions some days ago was as a mighty fire of purification from diseases, evil deeds, thoughts, from demonic qualities...

(Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 22. "Knower of the Brahman," Chapter 33; Sathya Sai Baba. Prashanthi Vahini. Page 4; Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Divine Discourse: "Welcome to the Tests" 6 March 1962, Prasanthi Nilayam).

Namaste - Reet