Sai Ram Light and Love
Swami teaches...
Be Alert and Vigilant on Journey of Life
The Divine, after creation, did not keep all powers within but gave them to
mankind. God is the Creator. But He did not retain within His hands the
responsibilities relating to the Creation.* He gave to human beings all
capacities. But He laid down a condition relating to the use of these
capacities. People are free to live as they like. They can utilise all the
material objects in creation. There can be no objection to this from anyone,
not even from God. Human has the freedom to enjoy the things provided by the
Creator. But human should exercise discrimination to determine what are
beneficial and what are not fit to be used. Because all things are available,
one should not use them as one likes for the simple reason that each use is
accompanied by its natural consequences. One cannot avoid these consequences.
If you are prepared to face the consequences, you can act as you want.
Prakrithi (Nature) is like a mirror. It reflects your action. Standing
before a mirror, you offer a Namaskar to it. The image in the mirror reflects
your actions. If you attempt to hit the image, the reflection will hit back.
Basing on this law of action and reaction, the Vedanta declared: "Whatever your
thought, that you become."
Very much anterior to science is the Veda. Science seeks to know all about
creation, but the Veda reveals the knowledge about the Creator. All the natural
sciences are concerned with knowledge about created things.

There is an internal relationship between Nature and Divinity. The scientist
should develop an integral approach towards Nature, Human and Spirit. Then is
possible to realise the underlying divinity that unites the human being and the
cosmos. We need today a science that can promote love. Instead of Spirit of
Love, we are witnessing today a "splitting of Love." The Spirit of Love is
being broken up and destroyed. Thereby love is receding to the background.
Human today indulges in greater cruelty than wild animals. It would be an abuse
of language toregard as human beings people who indulge in large scale killing
of each other. Human has lost respect for life.
Where is our boasted progress? Many scientific inventions are extremely
useful to human. But if they are not properly used they can cause great harm.
For instance, television, internet can be valuable means of educating and
entertaining people. The fault lies not with the television, internet, etc.,
but with the excessive and wrongful use of the instruments. It is like a knife
which can be used for slicing vegetables or stabbing a person. It is only when
science is linked to spirituality that the results of science can be fully
harnessed for the good and elevation of mankind.
Long time ago the young lad Prahlada told his father, "In a brief period you
have been able to conquer all the worlds; but you have failed to master your
senses and your mind." Likewise, today we are acquiring mastery over the
external universe, but are unable to control our senses. It is only when we use
science for control of the senses will we be able to bring Science and
Spirituality together and integrate the two.
"Among studies, I am the study of the spiritual", declared Lord Krishna in
the Gita. He also observed, "I am the embodiment of spiritual knowledge."
Pursuing spiritual studies, the ancient sages realised spiritual truths and
divinised their lives. From ancient times it has been the greatness and glory
of Bharath to proclaim to the world the message of human welfare and praying
for the good of all mankind. The world acclaimed the fame of Bharath.

Together with spirituality it is essential to have morality. Morality means
ethical behaviour. It is the supreme duty to demonstrate such conduct in daily
life.
"Through perseverance anything can be accomplished," is a well-known adage.
For instance, goodness in a person is like a piece of burning charcoal.
However, the fire in it is covered by the ashes of worldly desires. When the
ashes are removed by sadhana (spiritual practice) the fire of goodness is
revealed. But this remains invisible because it is enveloped in a cloak of
worldly attachments. It is obvious, therefore, that more than knowledge,
what is essential is the refinement of human behaviour and Samskara (conduct).
Sacrifice and charity are more important than wealth or position. Hence, for
every individual, practical knowledge of the world is more essential than mere
position or authority. The first prerequisite for this is the promotion of
human values.
Because of the absence of human values, it has been impossible to
demonstrate the value of human existence.These human values can be developed by
spiritual practices and by no other means. When human values are implanted in a
heart that is sacred and spiritual and nurtured there, that they will flourish
and shine in all their splendour. Unfortunately, today human's heart is filled
with narrow selfish concerns.
(For example, some people, afflicted with envy at the reconstruction of
Sanathana Dharma are attempting to undermine its basic beliefs and create
confusion in the minds of the youth. The kokil's song is harsh to the ear of
the crow, but the crow's criticism will not silence the lark. The swan is
defamed as ugly by the duck, but that does not worry the swan in the least, nor
can the duck decrease the glory of the celestial swan. Defamation, criticism and
slighting are all to be set aside, unrecognised; they shall not be valued at
all. They also do some good in their own way, for they help to emphasise the
excellence and bring it more to light. It is a foil to make the thing shine
brighter. Besides, when one person says 'no' and another says 'yes,' it is an
individual problem.
A dog barks at own reflection imagining it to be a rival. Other dogs, not
knowing the reason, take cue, and the whole area is drowned with barking. Some
bay at stars, but the stars are unmoved).

The mission on which every individual has come is to merge the individuality
in the Universal. The life that each being is leading is saturated with the
Divine. It is the Divine that inspires, that activates, that leads and fulfils
the life of each being, however simple or complex its physical structure may
be. From the atom to the Universe every single entity is moving towards the
estuary where it merges in the sea of Bliss. The Divine Life is the very
breath of all beings; it consists of Sathya, Prema and Ahimsa (Truth, Love and
Non-injury).
(How can any one be false to another when there is no other at all?
Falsehood comes out of fear. No one is loved more than the Self: so, when
all is the self-same Self, all is loved as the Self is loved. Who is to injure
whom, when all are but one)? How to lead the Divine Life? There is no
special membership that entitles you to it. Every struggle to realise the Unity
behind all the multiplicity is a step on the path of Divine Life. The Divine
Life does not admit of the slightest dross in character or delusion in
intellect. So, people dedicated to it must emphasise this by precept and
example. Wipe out the root causes of anxiety and fear and ignorance. Anxiety
is removed by faith in the Lord; the faith that tells you that whatever happens
is for the best and that the Lord's Will be done. Quiet acceptance is the best
armour against anxiety. Sorrow springs from egoism, the feeling that you do not
deserve to be treated so badly, that you are left helpless. When egoism goes,
sorrow disappears.

Prema (Love) directed to the Lord is called bhakthi (devotion). For treading
the path of devotion, one needs only Love Bhakthi can be spoken of as having
several stages.
Mukhyabhakthi is the stage where the seva (service) of the Lord alone
matters and it is its own reward; the devotee does not seek anything more than
just the service of the highest, done to the utmost of capacity.
This gradually becomes Paraabhakthi, where nothing except the Name and Form
of the Beloved is cognised. Again, there is what is called Gounabhakthi,
which is coloured by the three Gunas (inner qualities): the attitude of the
afflicted, the seeker of worldly comfort, the sincere inquirer and the Jnani
(the wise person) who is silent and content with the realisation that all is
He/She.
For treading the Bhakthi marga (path of devotion), one needs no scholarship,
nor wealth nor riches, nor ascetic rigours. Prema (Love) - that was all they
had and that was all they needed. By sadhana, japam, dhyanam and systematic
cultivation of virtue, this Grace is converted into clouds of truth. When prema
embraces humanity, we call it dhaya (compassion), the quality not of pity but of
sympathy; sympathy which makes one happy when others are happy, and miserable
when others are unhappy.
(You have seen beggars singing in the streets? They have each of them a pair
of cymbals in one hand by which they mark time, and a single-stringed instrument
in the other, to the twang of which they tune their singing, The song will be
harsh if it is out of tune. The song of life has also to be similar; keep up
the daily tasks and sing away in joy to the tune of prema).

Train the mind not to feel attached to things that change for better or for
worse. Do not hold before it the tinsels of worldly fame and riches; attract it
towards lasting joys derived from springs inside you. The mind itself will then
become the Guru, for it leads you on and on. It is the mind that fills the
image made by the potter with the Divinity which the devotee sees in it; it is
the mind which fills the shrine-room with thefragrance of holiness.

It is possible to see the Lord dwell in every being. Swami has been
telling one Truth always in huge amount of angles: every one's master is
his/her heart, where God resides. Every one is Divine in reality; differences
in name and form are but temporary and external. Saint Thyagaraja sang that
the Lord is the inner motive force within the ant as well as the Universe; but
though you may intellectually agree, when an ant bites, you do not feel that
you have come in contact with the Lord in that form? Do not proclaim great
truths aloud; show by your conduct that you attach value to them and that you
are guided by them.
There are many roads through which you can reach Madras; so also there are
many roads to the Lord.
There is also the Adhwaithin who discovers him/herself as the basic substance
of all creation, as Brahman itself. All paths are right; only some are easier,
some more circuitous, some hard.

Swami does not insist that a person should have faith in God. Swami refuses
to call any person a nasthika (an atheist). Beings exist as a result of His
Will, in accordance with His Plan; so no one is beyond His Grace. Besides,
every one has Love towards some one thing or other, and that Love is a spark of
the Divine; every one has ultimately to base life on some one Truth; that Truth
is God. No life can be lived out in complete defiance of Truth; one has to pay
heed to truth and speak the truth to some one in order to make life worth
living. Now, that moment is God's moment and at that moment when he utters the
truth or loves, or serves or bends, person is a theist.
So, it is not even bhakthi that is essential. It is Love, Truth, Virtue, the
eagerness to progress, to serve, to expand one's heart, to take in the whole of
humanity in one's Love, to see all as Forms of the Divine Consciousness.
In the light of the Divine Oneness without Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema
(Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love) the accumulation of scholarship and
education are barren achievements. Without them, all charities and services
rendered to others are ineffective. Without them, positions of authority to
which one is raised, become positions of persecution. Without them, no good act
or meritorious achievement can yield fruit. The education that was practised
in ancient India was far superior and far more fruitful, for it equipped the
student with a healthy spirit of self-reliance. It taught to discriminate
between the flippant and the stable, the upgrading and the down pulling. It
armed against all obstacles on the path of self-culture and self-realisatlon.
It exhorted to oppose, without rest or relief, untruth, injustice and violence.
Education is to be valued not as a means of earning one's livelihood, but as the
essential requisite for a happy, peaceful and progressive life leading human
from the animal stage of existence to the presence of the Divine, where love
and light reign undisturbed.
Self-confidence is the base for the mansion of life; people must erect the
walls of self-satisfaction and put on them the roof of self-sacrifice. Then
they can live in that house and achieve Self-Realisation.
Awareness is life; be aware of your inner strength and glory. Express that
glory through loving service to society. In Northern India yogis, sages and
monks are addressed as Maharaj, which means Emperor, for an emperor is person
who has a rich treasury of the gems of detachment and service, not one who has
vaults full of precious metals. The wealth that you hoard is not yours; the
wealth that you have shared is yours.
Intelligence being the special mark of humans, every effort must be made to
amplify and sharpen it so that it may be a fit instrument for understanding the
inner and the outer worlds. Along with intelligence, character has to be
cultivated in equal measure. The readiness to renounce one's pleasure in order
to relieve the burden of another is a prime virtue of character. (Moksha means
liberation; renunciation, too, involves giving up, or liberation. The secret of
both is the same). What exactly has to be renounced? Desire is the worst
enemy and it has to be canalised and reduced with determination until it ceases
to bother. Besides desire, anger and greed also have to be discarded, for they
are present wherever there is desire. Desire is bad even if it is for fame and
authority. It is the avarice for power and pelf that ruins many a human life.

*An example from ancient scripures to this statement.
The wind blows; rains fall. In the Dwapara age, Indra caused a heavy
downpour. The people who were affected by the deluge, prayed to the Lord: "Oh
Lord! We and our cattle are suffering from this downpour. Save us from the
rain." The Lord replied: "I cannot stop this rain. Whatever has to happen in
nature has to goon. But I have the right to protect you from its adverse
effects. Rain comes according to the laws of Nature. But, having regard to
your devotion and prayers, I shall lift this hill and provide shelter to all of
you. But I will not stop the rain." (The reference is to the lifting of the
Govardhana mountain by Sri Krishna). (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai
Speaks. Vol. 1. "Divine Life," Chapter 4 and Vol. 1. "Many roads," Chapter 8;
Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 13. "Expand the heart," Chapter 21; Sathya Sai Speaks.
Vol. 18. "From Creation to Creator," Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 25.
"From Knowledge To Wisdom," Chapter 14).
Namaste - Reet