Sunday Talk Given by Prof. Anil Kumar - Dasara Part II (28 Sep 03)

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Source: http://www.internety.com/anilk2003/28.09.03(E)central.htm

 

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The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar

“Dasara” Part II

September 28th, 2003

OM… OM… OM…

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I offer my greetings to all of you, on this occasion of ‘Sarannavarathri’ or

‘Dasara Navarathri’, or the nine-day celebration. May Bhagavan shower His

choicest blessings on each and every one of us and our families, so that we

will move ahead along the spiritual path, more actively than before, so that

the very purpose of our human life will be fulfilled, so that the very dream of

our life will come true.

‘NAVARATHRI’ IS A VERY AUSPICIOUS PERIOD

Dasara is a nine-day festival. The nine-day celebrations come under one title,

‘Navarathri’. Nava is ‘nine’ and rathri is ‘night’. It is also called

‘Sarannavarathri’ as the season is called ‘sarath’. This is a holy season. If

we begin some spiritual sadhana, say recitation, worship or any spiritual

discipline that we are determined to undertake, it may be commenced during this

season as this is a very auspicious period.

During this nine-day celebration of Dasara, yajna is celebrated every year. In

fact, I started explaining the details of yajna last week. Today I should

complete it because we will be participating in yajna beginning tomorrow, and

all next week, we will be busy with the yajna. Therefore, I would like to

complete the remaining part of my talk this morning.

Before I begin, let me tell you very clearly that the white board you see here

is full of technical terms. When we find it difficult to pronounce those words,

we may feel frustrated. The complexity, the number of rituals, the jargon or the

nomenclature used may confuse you. Sometimes, there is the threat of losing

interest in the subject. Being a teacher for decades, I know the psychology.

But I warn you, forget about it. All those details are given because there are

some people who are really interested. There are some people who want in-depth

information. For those people, I have provided it. We have to cater to the

requirements of both categories of people -- those who want to have a bird’s

eye view, and those who want in-depth knowledge.

One thing I want to say in the beginning, before I go into the details. Yajnas

are of many types. The process of yajna is very long and tedious, full of

manthras, which we do not understand. It is presided over by priests, whom you

will be seeing on the dais tomorrow. What do they do? We do not know. Why do

they do it? We should not be concerned. But we can enjoy the celebration.

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF YAJNA?

My friends, the performance of a yajna, a sacred ritual, has deep significance.

Every act has profound meaning. It is purposeful and meaningful, having an aim.

It is not simply a ritual and a mechanical routine matter. So, what is the

definition of yajna, according to Bhagavan Baba?

We may have this question: “Sir, we do not know the Sanskrit words. We do not

know those manthras. We do not know that procedure. We do not know what, why,

when and how. What is a yajna after all?”

Bhagavan’s definition of yajna is this:

Any act that is pure and selfless,

and performed with devotion and love, is yajna.

“Sir, I serve in the canteen. If I serve food with love, devotion, selflessness

and purity, then the canteen service I do is yajna.”

“I am a businessman. In business, if I do it with all the purity and love, with

a spirit of service and devotion, that very business is a yajna. “

“I am a professor. I talk to students. I love them very much. I teach with

devotion and love for the profession.” That is yajna.

We don’t have to wait for a Dasara celebration for yajna. According to Swami,

every act in this life is yajna. Every moment is yajna.

OUTER YAJNA IS RITUAL, INNER YAJNA IS SPIRITUAL

What we see there in the Poornachandra is the outer yajna. What happens within

us is inner yajna. The outer yajna is seasonal, whereas the inner yajna takes

place from the womb to the tomb. The outer yajna is symbolic; the inner yajna

is the significance of it. The outer yajna is an expression, and the inner

yajna is an experience. The outer yajna is ritual; the inner yajna is

spiritual.

The outer yagna requires so many priests and paraphernalia, and it has a long

procedure. The inner yajna does not need anybody else, only the real You. The

Self is enough.

The outer yajna requires interaction; the inner yajna requires inquiry. The

outer yajna requires interpretation; inner yajna is the very meaning of it.

Outer yajna may look sectarian. It may look fanatic. It may look religious. But

inner yajna is purely individual, absolutely secular. It is totally fundamental.

 

You may not have faith in the outer yajna. But whether you have faith or not,

inner yajna is taking place already. Blood circulation, psychological

reactions, the heartbeat, motivations, sentiments, feelings, thoughts, and

actions all come under the category of inner yajna.

So we cannot say, “Sir, I don’t believe in yajna.” You may not believe in

external yajna, but there is inner yajna, as you and I are alive. If one says,

“I doubt whether I am alive or not”, well, that is a psychiatric case! We are

alive. Therefore, that very life, that very vitality, that very dynamism itself

is the result of inner yajna. It is the fulfilment of yajna.

VEDAS ARE STRAIGHT FROM GOD

I will give a few technical points, with your permission. Those who are

interested may wish to know. The others may simply listen. You don’t have to

memorise. I beg your pardon if they are going to disturb your peace in any way.

 

The term Veda, is a very often spoken about during this season. All manthras

recited on the dais by the priests are manthras from the Vedas. The text, the

original, is from Vedas. It is the primal sound. Veda has another name,

‘Eeswareeya’, meaning ‘straight from God.’ You are not the author; I am not the

author. The name of the author is not known. ‘Eeswareeya’ means ‘totally

Divine’. Veda has another name, ‘Apourusheya’, meaning ‘not by a human,

straight from God’. So, Veda is such a holy text.

THE FOUR VEDAS HAVE THIRTEEN CRORE MANTHRAS

Vedas are four in number: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, and Samaveda. And

these four Vedas are divided into five samhithas. And these four Vedas, as

Bhagavan has said, contain thirteen crores of manthras. I do not know the

number of zeros. Thirteen crores, I tell you.

Samhitha means ‘literature’. It is a mountain of manthras, a treasure of

manthras. What are they? They are Ruksamhitha, Samasamhitha, Atharvasamhitha,

and the fourth one, Yajusamhitha. The samhitha relating to Rigveda is

Rigsamhitha. The part related to Samaveda is Samasamhitha. The part related to

Atharvaveda is Atharvasamhitha and the

component of Yajurveda is Yajusamhitha. It is easy to remember. So each Vedic

part has a samhitha, which is noted towards the end.

Then, the wonder is how can there be five samhithas, out of four Vedas? It is

because the last one, Yajurveda, is divided into two parts. One is

Krishnayajurveda and the second one is Shuklayajurveda. Therefore, there are

five samhithas out of four Vedas. That is the first technical aspect, which I

want to draw your attention to this morning.

My friends, let me bring to your kind notice that these points are all taken

from Sathya Sai literature only. Anil Kumar, standing in front of you, is a

student of botany. He has nothing to do with Sanskrit or yajna. I go through

the plant sciences lessons. The plants do not speak. Yet I may speak on their

behalf now and then. So similarly, I thought that what Baba said to all of us

on Dasara and other important aspects relating to yajna should be shared with

you. Everyone should know what Baba said. That is my aim.

Now, each samhitha is divided into three parts. In other words, Vedas are

divided into samhithas, and samhithas are divided into three other sections.

The planet is divided into continents; continents are divided into countries;

countries are divided into states; states are divided into provinces; provinces

are divided into districts; districts are divided into villages. That’s all.

When we believe in geographical classification, why not in the classification

of spiritual knowledge? Why not?

Therefore, Vedas are divided into samhithas, and each samhitha is divided into

three more parts. What are they? Brahmana, Aaranyaka and Upanishad are the

three parts in each samhitha.

The first part, Brahmana, speaks of the manthra part. All manthras recited

relate to the Brahmana aspect. All yajna and yagas are full of manthras. So,

the first part, called Brahmana, is full of the ritual aspect.

RETIREMENT IS TIME FOR REST AND SELF-ENQUIRY

The second part, Aaranyaka, means ‘forest’, suggesting retirement. In every

country, every job has retirement. Nobody would like to die while in service,

unless one is a minister who wants to die with state honours! If he wants to

have a flag flying half-mast and a 21-gun salute, well, that is a different

thing. But most often, people want to have rest for sometime. While in service,

we live for the family, earn money, perform our duties, perform the marriages of

children, and see them well settled.

Then one has to say ‘goodbye’. If one hangs on to the children and

grandchildren, woe unto him! Life is not worth living, because some day or

other the children will say, “Please stop. We know what is good for us.” Before

that good day dawns, better we silence ourselves. Before they openly say it to

our face, better we maintain our own dignity. So, an honourable retirement is

one that keeps us at a respectable distance from our kith and kin, before we

are heckled at, or before we are let down.

This period of retirement is called vanaprastha. It is a period of rest and

recluse, when a person starts living for the Self. Till then, they lived for

the family. After retirement, they live for the Self. ‘What about me? Who am I?

What will happen after this? What had happened for so long? Am I the body? Am I

the mind?’ These are things of interest after retirement. If they think of the

interest of the bank account, woe unto them! There is no redemption for a

hundred lives to come. Nobody can help them.

So, a time will certainly come in the lives of everybody when one has to think

of his own liberation, of his own Self, of his own transformation. Therefore,

this is Aaranyaka, where one proceeds along the path of inquiry. And Aaranyaka

begins from Brahmakanda. Brahmakanda is a chapter that begins with Aaranyakas.

And it is the end of karmakanda, the field of action.

“My dear boy, for 60 years you have worked well. You are tired. Please

understand. You should relax from now on. Don’t jump around. We know that you

have arthritis, spondylitis, and pneumonia. You have all these problems. Why

don’t you relax?“

The body warns you not to be active. But yet, the mind refuses to accept the

truth, as the mind feels dynamic. The mind thinks that it is ever young. Let

the mind be ever young. But the body cannot be young always. Impossible. So,

the sooner we reconcile between a grudging body and a mind that is going in

another direction, the better. We had better reconcile an aging body and young

mind as early as possible in order to be peaceful in life. If I want to fight

with my body that is aging, my mind being young, there is no other place than a

hospital where I can relax. (Laughter)

If the body acts according to the dictates of the mind, which is young, I look

awful, ridiculous, a matter of fun, a big joke, and a clown in society. An

elderly man cannot act like a child. There is dignity and beauty in advanced

age also, why not? You are in a position to be consulted. People come to

receive advice from you. Yes, you are a big man, you are honoured, and you are

respected. That’s why they say, “Grey hair is to be respected.”

“Sir, I am dyeing my hair.”

“OK, continue to do it until you die.” (Laughter)

Grey hair is to be respected because we have had a lot of experience, and a wise

man learns from others’ experiences. Therefore, karmakanda, the field of action

is over. Service is over, that’s all. The body is strained, having exerted for

so long. Now begins Brahmakanda, the path of inquiry. That is the job of

Aaranyakas, retired people -- the recluse stage. I am speaking vehemently, with

emphasis, because I am also a retired person now for your information.

(Laughter)

UPANISHADS SPEAK OF DIVINITY

The third one is Upanishad. Bhagavan gave a beautiful meaning to this word

‘Upanishad’. Upa means ‘near’, ni is ‘sit’, and shad is ‘down’. It means that a

teacher sits at a higher level. A student sits just below, very close to him.

If a student sits in one corner and the teacher sits in the other corner, he can

conveniently get into state of sleep or samadhi. (Laughter) And the teacher

cannot go on teaching, as if it’s a monologue. Teaching is a dialogue. It is a

two-way channel, a two-way transfer of information and knowledge.

So, a student has to sit down near the teacher, Upa-ni-shad. So, ‘sit down near’

is the meaning of Upanishad. That’s what Bhagavan has said. Nobody else has

given that meaning to the best of my knowledge.

And then, what do the Upanishads speak of? They are very difficult to

understand. That’s what people think. We don’t pay attention to Upanishads

literature. Upanishad is full of science; Upanishad is full of derivations,

equations and serious purpose.

It is not story-telling. Upanishads will never entertain you. A person who likes

Upanishads is a man of depth. A knowledgeable man in Upanishads is a scholar. A

man of Upanishads is one of inquiry. It is a serious thing, as life is not all

entertainment until the end -- certainly not! Life is not a joke.

So, life, its depth, and its purpose are very well dealt with in the Upanishads.

Therefore, Upanishads speak of Divinity, Brahmathwa. All the education that we

have received until now is called aparavidya, material knowledge; whereas

Upanishad is paravidya or spiritual knowledge.

Upanishad is the only one part where we have spiritual knowledge. It is Vedanta.

Veda is the spiritual knowledge. Anta is the experience of it. Veda is the text

and anta is the ‘essence’ of it, like the cream and the butter. So, the cream

of Vedic text is Upanishad.

EIGHT TYPES OF VEDIC RECITATION

Now we come to the third part. The recitation of Veda is called manthrapatha.

There are eight types of recitation. That’s why, when we go to the ritual, we

hear so many different types of sounds, different beats, different rhythm,

different levels, different resonance, different wavelengths. The eight types

of manthrapatha are called: jata, ghana, mala, shikha, rekha, dhwaja, danda,

radha. These are the technical terms. Of all these eight, jata and danda are

most important, as the other six are included in these two.

To sum up, there are eight ways of Vedic recitation of the manthras.

TWENTY-ONE TYPES OF YAJNAS

Now we come to the fourth aspect. There are three categories of yajnas and seven

types within each category. The first is havisyajnas. There are seven

havisyajnas. The second seven are called somayajnas and the third seven are

called pakayajnas. So, altogether there are twenty-one types of yajnas.

And now, why twenty-one? Why not twenty-two? Why not twenty-three? Why not

twenty? The modern trend is to question ‘why?’ and ‘why not?’ (Laughter)

“Yeah, Swami came that side. Why? He did not come this side. Why not?” (Laughter).

“This morning He did not come at 7:00 when I was there. Why? (Laughter) He came

at 8:30, when I was having breakfast at home. Why? (Laughter) I could not be

there. Why?” (Laughter)

These things bother us naturally. So, why twenty-one? This number twenty-one has

its own meaning. We have five senses. There are the senses of perception and the

senses of action. The five senses of action are called karmendriyas. The five

senses of perception are called jnanendriyas. There are also five life breaths

and five life sheaths. That comes to twenty. And all the twenty are operational

with the principle of the Self, what we call Aham. That is One. Twenty plus one

is twenty-one. Without this One, Aham, the Self, all the twenty are useless. I

may put on ten banians and ten shirts, five coats and five pants, but if I am

not there, what is the dhobi list for? (Laughter) What for? So, it is important

to make use of all of them.

THE VEDA HAS NINE NAMES

After all, when you and I have two names, why shouldn’t Veda have nine names?

Why not? Sometimes our names have no meaning; but Vedic names have a meaning

because Veda sacred text is multidimensional. What are the nine names?

Sruthi, Anusravam, Thrayee, Amnayam, Samamnayam, Manthra, Swadhyaya, Ajamam,

Nigamagam. “Oh, should we remember all nine?” Not necessary. Some of them are

repetitions for emphasis.

A simple example for Sruthi: Can the pronunciation or diction be done in any

style? AAAUUUMMM… why can’t you say OM like that? No! You can’t say that.

There’s a correct way. “AAA-UUU-MMM”. Aa, Oo, Mm -- the three sounds at three

levels.

So, every manthra has to be recited in a particular way. You cannot say it any

way you like. Here is a simple example. My name is Anil Kumar. If you say

“A-nil, how are you?” I feel, “I am not A-nil! I am Anil, OK?” (Laughter)

If you say “A-nil, how are you?” why not? The spelling is the same: A-n-i-l. But

how you pronounce it makes a big difference, don’t you think so? In a similar

way, every manthra has got to be pronounced in a special way. So, that is the

meaning of Sruthi.

Sruthi: You can also call it ‘equal to’ Anusravam, the second name of Veda.

Anusrava is ‘voice’. So, Anusrava and Sruthi are about pronunciation.

And then we come to the next one, Thrayee, meaning the three Vedas. Actually,

the original classification of the Vedas says that there are only three texts.

Later, there were four Vedas. But originally, Vedas are said to have been three

in number. What are they? Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda – only these three are

recognised in the earlier classification.

And then comes Amnayam. “Mna” means ‘practice’. The Veda has to be practised

every day. Therefore, the priests keep on reciting it. They may be aged, but

still a priest of eighty goes on repeating the manthra, as it has to be recited

every day.

And now there is Sama, meaning ‘music’. Sama is ‘music’.

Now, we come to the sixth one, Manthra. What is manthra? The meaning of manthra

is Shiva-Shakthi, which means ‘cosmic energy’. Shiva-Shakthi means the Divine

energy. Shiva-Shakthi means the combination of matter and energy. Shiva-Shakthi

means consciousness. So, Manthra means cosmic energy. It is a combination of

Purusha and Prakrithi, matter and energy.

And then comes Swadhyaya, meaning that Vedas are not taught in a regular

classroom. There is nothing like a semester system, fee payment, examination,

awarding of grades, or leaking of the question papers -- nothing whatsoever.

The Vedic knowledge is passed on from one generation to the next. From the

forefathers, this rich treasure of the Vedas is passed on, handed over from one

generation to the next generation. And therefore, it is called Swadhyaya.

Then the next name is Ajamam. You see, in our breathing process, there are two

parts - inhalation and exhalation. We breathe in and breathe out. This is Ajama

and Nigama. Nigamagama means ‘the breathing process’. So, Ajama and Nigama, or

Nigamagama, mean the same. It means that God’s breath is in the form of the

Vedas. That’s what is recited here in this land. That is the fifth aspect,

which is to be noted.

Now, I come to the next aspect. According to some schools of thought, according

to some scholars, the Veda has got two other names besides the nine.

Traditionally, Veda has these nine names. But, according to other scholars, in

addition to these nine, there are two others. Well, what are they? One is

Prasni, meaning ‘pure’. And the next one is Pradhamaja, meaning the word

Rigveda.

WORDS OFTEN HEARD IN THE PROCESS OF YAJNA

During yajna, you will often hear this word said by the priests: “Swaha, Swaha.”

They keep on saying it. What do they mean by ‘Swaha’? It means ‘that which is

offered’. Swaha is offering things in the name of God. Then you also hear

another word, “Swadha”, meaning Atma. That is the Self. I wanted to bring to

your attention to the words that are often heard in the process of yajna.

Now we come to the other important aspect. One is the prefix; the other is the

suffix. Om Keshavaaya Namaha, Om Madhavaaya Namaha, Om Govindaaya Namaha. ‘Om’

and ‘Namaha’ are prefix and suffix. Every manthra will have these two. What do

they mean?

When we know these things, we can actively participate in the yajna; otherwise,

it is like a pillar, or a marble stone where we sit. We are not like that. We

are supposed to know what it is, so that we can fully participate and be the

beneficiaries of yajna. That’s why one should be fully aware of what is going

on there.

Om Keshavaaya Namaha, Om Govindaaya Namaha. Om comes first. What does it mean?

Om is Purusha, the Divinity. Namaha is Prakrithi. This electric fan and this

microphone are Prakrithi. The current inside is Purusha. Without a power

supply, which is Purusha, this mike or Prakrithi is useless. You cannot hear

me. Or, Prakrithi is the bulb, and the power supply is Purusha. With both, you

get light.

“Sir, there are bulbs, but there is no power supply.”

That is very good. Prakrithi without Purusha is useless. Purusha manifests in

the Prakrithi. Purusha and Prakrithi together equal the bliss or ananda that we

get. Energy and matter are responsible for the whole of the creation. That’s

what is said here.

And then you find priests making offerings with the hand saying, “Swaha, Swaha.”

And other priests will be offering flowers and reciting manthras. Whatever they

do, that act is yajna. And whatever they spell out, that is manthra. What is

said, all the words are manthras. So yajna is a combination of the act and the

word.

I’ll give a simple example. When you greet a person in a Western manner, you

say, “Hi! Good Morning! How are you?” If you don’t say that, if you just lift

your hand, they will think something is wrong with the hand. (Laughter) Some

people hold their hand near the chest. That is a Sai devotee style of greeting.

But I don’t approve of it. Is there some problem with the chest or the heart?

(Laughter) It is not a healthy way of greeting. Why? It is not necessary. You

can say, “Sai Ram!” You greet with the word and also salute -- do namaskaar.

Don’t you think so? The act and the word together are more respectful, more

meaningful. That’s what it is in yajna.

CONTENTS OF THE VEDAS

And now we come briefly to the contents of the yajna or Vedas. First, Rigveda --

what does it speak of? It is full of praises to the glory of God. “O God! You

are that and this!” Dayamaya -- that’s what we sing.

Dayanidhe Kripanidhe,

Devaki Thanaya Dayanidhe,

Dayanidhe Kripanidhe.

 

O Lord! You are Lord of Grace,

You are Lord of Mercy,

You are Lord of Compassion.

So, these manthras, which are said in praise of God, are contained in Rigveda.

You can praise God in any way, with all His attributes -- Dayanidhe,

Kripanidhe.

“O God! I praise You because I am aware of Your deeds. How miraculous You are!

How incredible You are!”

Giridhara Gopala Muralidhara

Giridhara Gopala Muralidhara

Govinda Gopala Damodara

Govinda Gopala Damodara

Giridhara Gopala Muralidhara.

Giridhara Gopala means that it was Krishna who could lift the mountain. You want

to associate Krishna’s name with Krishna’s deed. So, there are different ways of

praising God -- by His Names, by His actions, by His attributes. Every way is

possible. So, Rigveda contains praises and glories.

The next one is Yajurveda. Yajurveda is full of details concerning yajna and

yaga. A friend asked me yesterday, “What is the difference between yajna and

yaga?” Yajna takes place for a short duration, relatively speaking. Yaga is a

prolonged period of spiritual activity. Yajna takes place over a limited period

of time, and yajna has more manthras compared to yaga.

Therefore, yajnas and yagas, though there is a small bit of difference, are both

spiritual sacrificial activities. So, Yajurveda speaks of the details and

procedural aspects of yajna and yaga.

And then, Atharvaveda has so many names. One is Angiroveda, Adharvangiroveda,

Bhrugwangiroveda, Kshatravedam and Bhaishajyaveda. The Atharvaveda also has

other names, depending upon the utility. It is full of secular knowledge, of

material knowledge. We’ve got humanities, we’ve got sciences, medicine,

technology, and all that. We’ve got so many branches of knowledge. So,

Atharvaveda has so many names depending upon the utility.

And then there is Yajurveda. In Yajurveda, there are two branches. One is

Shuklayajurveda; the other is Krishnayajurveda. Shuklayajurveda is followed in

North India. Krishnayajurveda is followed in South India.

Krishnayajurveda has a Brahma tradition, while Shuklayajurveda follows a

tradition called Adithya tradition. This is solar, the Adithya tradition.

Adithya is sun. Therefore, there are two traditions followed by Indians, one in

the North and another in the South.

So, we have Rigveda, Yajurveda and then Atharvaveda. Then Samaveda deals with

the music part of it, the rhythm and the beat.

We often hear these words repeated in the manthras: ‘Vishnu’ and ‘Rudra’. These

are two Names that we often hear in manthras. Bhagavan said ‘Vishnu-Rudra’

means the sustenance, the maintenance and the annihilation or the ending.

Maintenance and destruction are two aspects of Divinity. Brahma is creation,

Vishnu is sustenance and Rudra is the ending, the annihilation.

During this time, we pray to Vishnu and we pray to Rudra: “O God! Make my

intellect sharp. O God! Make my mind aware. Make the body physically fit. Let

the mind be full of awareness. Let the intellect be alert.” That is the prayer

offered to Rudra and Vishnu during this Dasara season.

We also find another manthra, the Mruthyunjaya manthra. During this time, we

pray to God, uttering this manthra, which prevents untimely death. Let us leave

this body when we are ready, at the right time. All the trains should not reach

the station before the correct time, because the platform will not be free.

(Laughter) Running late is also bad. Things should happen in the right time. So

the point is, to prevent untimely death, one repeats this Mruthyunjaya manthra.

And then during this season, we also hear these words in manthras: Om Indra, Om

Varuna. “O God! We want to have timely rain.“ Varuna is in charge of the rain,

so we pray to Him. And then Indra is another name. Indriya means ‘the senses’.

Indra is head of the department of the senses -- that is the mind.

There are different Names because the spiritual literature is meant to meet the

demands of all sections of society. They are symbolic. Various aspects have

been given different Names for us to make it easier to identify them. So, Indra

and Varuna are different aspects of Divinity. Thus we pray to God for timely

rains, safety, security, and all that.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN RECITING MANTHRAS?

In addition to those technical details that I have shared with you this morning,

there are some other points to which I want to draw your attention. What will

happen when I recite manthras? My friends, please try it. During Suprabhatham,

you hear a manthra. And during yajna time, you find the recitation of manthras.

You just sit there.

Om Sayeeshvaraaya Vidmahe,

Sathyadevaaya Dheemahi,

Thannah Sarvah Prachodayaath.

Om Bhur Bhuva Suvah,

Thath Savitur Varenyam,

Bhargodevasya Dheemahi,

Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayaath.

If you continue to listen to that sound, what will happen? Just close your eyes

and watch. What is happening? We don’t know the meaning of the words, but sound

waves have got their own strength. The sound waves, the electromagnetic waves,

as they touch our eardrum, will make the mind pure and sacred.

SOUND IS NOT AN ORDINARY THING

So, we have to listen to those manthras. We may not know the meaning, yet the

very sound, the very vibration, has its own effect. How do you know that? We

sing so many songs. I don’t know Hindi, but the tune is very nice. I feel like

hearing the tune. Many people don’t know Telugu, but they do bhajans. Why? The

song and the tune have their own meaning, their own effect.

Gopika Mala Haari Pyaari,

Mayi Meera Mana Vihari,

Madana Mohana Muralidhaari, Krishna Jai!

Krishna Jai Hai! Krishna Jai Hai! Krishna Jai Hai!

Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Jai!

Arey! I don’t know why. Krishna Jai…la-la-la-la… (Laughter) Why is it that this

happens? That’s the effect of the sound.

Sound is not an ordinary thing. First, there was the Word, according to the

Bible. The primal sound Omkaara, out of which all the letters emanated,

originated thereafter. So, when we listen to this manthra, what happens?

Om Bhur Bhuva Suvah…

Sayeeshvaraaya Vidmahe…

When you say that, what will happen? The latent energy in you will find an

expression, which gets unified with the cosmic energy around, manifesting in

the form of Vedic sound. I repeat once again, the sound of Vedas is nothing but

the unification of the individual vibration with the totality. That is Vedic

sound.

So my friends, there is great joy in the merger. There is great joy in

unification. Separation hurts; separation damages. Union thrills, union

excites, union makes you joyful, and union makes you blissful. Separation is

misery and sadness.

When all of us join and say, “Om Bhur Bhuva Suvah, Thath Savitur Varenyam,

Bhargodevasya Dheemahi”, when we say that with full-throat, what happens? The

individual sounds, those individual electromagnetic waves, get merged with the

universal cosmic sound, like a drop in the ocean. The drop becomes the ocean.

That’s all.

Another point is this: Om…Namah. They say, towards the end, “Namah”. As I said earlier:

Om Madhavaaya Namaha,

Om Keshavaaya Namaha.

Bhagavan made another point. We can take it this way also: ‘Na’ and ‘mama’.

Swami is the master of literature. Bhagavan Baba is Saraswathi. The master of

all words, He splits this into ‘na’ and ‘mama’. ‘Mama’ means ‘attachment’,

while ‘na’ means ‘I don’t have attachment’. So ‘Na mama’ means, “I have no

attachment, O God! I am attached to You.” I am not attached to the plots and

the flats and the people here, no. I am attached to You -- Na mama. So, this

Namaha wants us to be desireless, to be totally detached. That’s what Bhagavan

has said.

MANTHRAS WILL TAKE YOU ALONG THE RUNWAY VERY FAST

Now, by reciting these prayers, these manthras, we are progressing, we are

journeying. Yes, as the flight starts, it moves along the runway for take-off,

right? If it does not take-off, it will find its place next day in the morning

newspapers’ headlines. (Laughter) Similarly, the recitation of Vedic manthras

will take you along the runway very fast. Takka! Take-off!

We go from form to formless. Form is sakara; formless is nirakara. We move from

attributes, saguna, to attributeless, nirguna. So, the holy performance of

yajna, listening to manthras in rapt attention, with full faith and devotion,

will help us in this flight -- the ‘Sathya Sai Intercontinental flight’.

(Laughter) Go from form to formless, and then a safe take-off and landing is

guaranteed. That is the goal and aim of yajna, as Bhagavan Himself says.

It is also relevant to know the results of yajna. You have Samaveda, Yajurveda,

Rigveda, so many priests reciting so many manthras, so much activity going on

there. What is the ultimate result? Is it wasting of money? Or waste of time?

No. To think like that is waste of life. No.

The end product, the result of yajna, is Self-awareness, Self-inquiry and

manifestation of the Self. We will experience the fullness of the Self, the

depth of the Self, the cosmic vision of the Self and the universality of the

Self. These are the results of yajna. It is not a simple ritual. It has a

target, an ambition and an aim that is universal. The universality of yajna has

to be understood in order for one to be totally benefited.

GRATITUDE IS SPIRITUALITY

My friends, before I close for this morning by taking up two or three questions

at the end as usual, let us kindly remember this: Let not any one of us think

that we are totally independent. Let us not think, ‘I am self-grown. Without

anyone’s help, I have come up in life on my own.’ Oh, I see.

No one can come up on his own, take it from me. If anyone says, “I have come up

on my own”, it is bogus or humbug, because you do not make your life.

“Yes, I made this life on my own.” I see. Where have you manufactured your life?

(Laughter) Let me know the formula of your life. Let me patent it, if possible!

So, you are not doing it. Let us be aware of that. Breathing -- you can stop if

you want. If you stop for a very long time, that’s the end of the matter.

Circulation? You are not the cause! The heartbeat? You are not doing the

pumping! No. It’s not like opening the tap and closing the tap. Nothing of the

sort!

So many things are happening in our life without our knowledge. We are totally

unaware, but many things take place. So you cannot say, “I have come up on my

own.” No. You have come up in spite of yourself. Let us put it that way.

So, my friends, no one has come up on his or her own. No. We should remain

grateful to three people. Gratitude is religion. Gratitude is spirituality.

Gratitude is thankfulness. As Baba says, a dog is thankful if you offer a

morsel of food. And when we are not grateful and thankful, we are much worse

than a dog. We are indebted to three people, and we have to offer our

salutations to those three so long as we are alive. Who are they?

HOW DO WE EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO GOD?

First, we are indebted to God. We express our indebtedness to Deva, meaning God.

“O God! We are indebted to You! We are grateful to You, Swami! We are thankful

to You, Swami!” That is the first thing.

How do we express our gratitude to God? “Shall I praise You, O God?” as if You

are short of praises!

“Shall I bring all the flowers in the village and offer to You?” He says,

“Flowers are not your property. Keep quiet.”

“O God, shall I bring apples?”

“No. No. No. No. I have plenty of apples.”

“Bananas?”

“Keep them for yourself.”

So, God is not interested in the flowers and the fruits that we offer. So shall

we stop doing it? No, No, No. You can do that. But they are symbolic. Whatever

worship we do, we do it with the full understanding that they are symbolic.

Then, how do we please God? How do we express our thankfulness to God? How do we

express our gratitude to God? It is done by service, by serving the poor,

helping those who are poor and needy. That is the way of expressing our

gratitude to God.

“O God, You have helped me. Therefore, I help others.”

It was Jesus who said, “I love you because He loved me. He loved me, so I love

you. God gave me all this, so I will give to everybody.”

So, service is the best way of expressing our gratitude to God. Having taken a

loan from the bank, we cannot escape -- you have to pay it back. You cannot

evade it. You are a criminal if you don’t pay back the loan that you take.

“So God, let me pay back the loan. Let me express my gratitude to You by serving

ever, by serving everybody.” You can pay back the loan to God by serving others.

WE ARE INDEBTED TO OUR GURUS

Secondly, we are indebted to saints, sages, prophets, Avatars, great men and

noble people. I am indebted to my gurus.

I think all of you would agree with me if I say that we are indebted to Baba,

because without these discourses, we would not have come to know anything at

all. I am sure you will all agree with me when I say that the secrets of

Vedanta, the depths of philosophy, the unity of faiths, the subtle meaning of

subjects that are so complex and difficult, are conveyed in the simplest way by

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Though the subject was there, it was conveyed in such a way that you were afraid

of the subject, let alone the teacher. But Bhagavan conveys these concepts in

such a simple way, relevant to our times that we want to hear and we want to

learn. I think you will remember Bhagavan speaking about lasers, speaking about

sound, magnetism and the computer.

“O Swami! You are the ‘latest’ God. You speak of electrons, protons, photons and

neutrons. You speak of astronomy, science, surgery and biosciences. Aaaah! There

is no subject that You have not touched upon, my Lord! You are Saraswathi, the

embodiment of knowledge. You are Saraswathi, the personification of wisdom. O

God! You are Lakshmi, the very form of affluence, plenty and prosperity. O God!

You are Durga, as You are the body, the vitality, the leadership and the

dynamism.”

So, Bhagavan is Durga, the vitality and the energy. Bhagavan is Lakshmi, the

life force. Bhagavan is Saraswathi, the radiation, the soul, the consciousness

and the spirit behind everything. Bhagavan is three-in-one! Just as we have

two-in-one these days -- the tape recorder and the radio!

Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Sai Jaganmatha,

Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Sai Jaganmatha.

Three-in-one, that is Sai. Durga is the body, Lakshmi is the life, and

Saraswathi is the consciousness. Durga is the materialisation, Lakshmi is the

vibration and Saraswathi is the radiation. The energy and the matter go

together.

So my friends, we are indeed very grateful to God, Bhagavan Baba, for telling

all those important sacred things to us. How to express my gratitude to

Bhagavan Baba? By following His commands, by following our Guru, by not

doubting Him at anytime.

“Why is Swami coming in a cart these days? Why not walking?” (Laughter)

“Why these days is He not coming towards the men?” (Laughter)

“Why not coming in the morning?”

Why and why not? Brush it aside! They are the worst of our enemies. ‘Why’ and

‘why not’ will help us in the world, but they will ruin us in religion. ‘Why’

and ‘why not’ are poisons in religion. ‘Why’ and ‘why not’ are scientific and

technological, applicable for advanced physical, worldly life, to acquire

comforts and conveniences.

Therefore, we can express our gratitude to our Guru, Bhagavan Baba, by following

His commands.

EXPRESS GRATITUDE TO PARENTS BY SERVING THEM

Thirdly, we are indebted to our parents. Had they not been there, we would not

have had this body. You enjoy all the pleasures of life. You share all the

bliss of life. You experience all the loveliness in nature, the galaxies, the

lunar and the solar systems, the forests, the valleys, the mountains, the

worlds and what not. I enjoy all this beautiful nature because of this body,

gifted by my parents. So, I am indebted to them.

You can express gratitude to your parents by serving them, and making them happy

in every possible way. You can show it by not disobeying them, by following

them, by doing whatever things please them. That is the way of expression of

gratitude to the parents.

QUESTIONS -- SEPTEMBER 28th, 2003

BODY, MIND AND ATMA IS MBA

Q. “What are the three worlds, and the fourteen worlds?”

Well, Bhagavan said at one time, there are three worlds. What are they? Then in

another context, Bhagavan said there are fourteen worlds. What are they? Neil

Armstrong could go to the moon, but there is nothing on record of any scientist

of any nation visiting these three worlds. There is no record of any person

aware of these fourteen worlds. Bhagavan said three worlds at one time, and

fourteen worlds at another time. So, what time is it now?

The simple answer is that the three worlds are the three planes of

understanding. There are three levels of comprehension, three levels of

consciousness, three levels of awareness. They are body, mind and Atma. MBA,

that’s easy to remember. The body is the underworld, and I don’t mean black

marketing! The mind is this plane. Atma is the higher plane. So, there are

three worlds.

Then, Baba said this about the fourteen worlds: They are the five senses of

perception (Karmendriya) and five senses of action (Jnanendriya). What are the

other four? They are manas, the mind, buddhi, the intellect, and chittha, the

emotion. Finally, ahamkara is the individual self or ego. Ten plus four is

fourteen. So, there are also fourteen worlds.

Let us not look at the map to locate these fourteen worlds!

SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM WITH OFFICE-BEARERS

Q. “There are so many devotees who want to do some activity. What is your guidance?”

This refers to the organisational aspect. Activities are there and

office-bearers are there. If I give you directions from here, you cannot follow

me -- they won’t accept it. Please solve your problem with your office-bearers,

as I don’t want to get into it and become controversial. There is enough

controversy here! Why import controversies? It’s not worth it.

AT THE END, YOU WILL BE REDUCED TO VIBHUTHI

Q. “Why do we do arathi? What is the significance?”

We keep camphor on the plate, light it and give arathi. At the end of the

arathi, the plate is empty. In the beginning, there was camphor. This means, “O

God! I think of You; I praise You. Just as camphor has come down to the level of

nothingness, just as camphor is lost, I get lost in Thee. I get merged in You. I

do not exist.”

You may own all the land, the whole property, but at the end you will be reduced

to vibhuthi, the sacred ash.

And vibhuthi also speaks of Divinity. The whole creation, the whole universe is

God’s play, God’s will and God’s vibhuthi. Creation is vibhuthi. That’s what is

meant.

DO RIGHT THINGS

Q. “Why do we have to always use our right hand?”

Unless you are a left-hander, you make use of the right hand only. (Laughter)

There are some left-handers too. But Baba said one thing. You do things with

the right hand because they are right. They are always right. (Laughter). You

do things with your left hand because they have to be left some day or other.

So do right things, and don’t do those things that have got to be left. That’s

a joke that Bhagavan made.

EXPERIENCE GOD IN EVERYONE

Q. “Why do we have to do seva?”

First, do seva to give up ego. But there are many who develop ego by doing seva.

(Laughter). That’s a different category. It is not service. It is a disservice

and waste of time.

Number two, do seva to give up jealousy.

Number three, do seva to experience God in everyone.

Number four, do seva for self-effacement, not self-glorification.

So, there must be egolessness, desirelessness, detachment and the feeling of

identification with everybody. Service, being an opportunity, is a blessing

that way.

But service is sometimes a cadre, with two-star, three-star, super-star and

convenor positions. Well, that is only worldly. That service cannot be

spiritual by any standard. I can say that.

These were the only three questions passed on to me.

Thank you very much. I wish you all a very happy, holy Dasara celebration. May

Bhagavan be with you forever and evermore, and with your families as well. Have

a happy time. May Bhagavan bless you!

(Applause)

Anil Kumar closed his talk by singing the bhajan,

“Jaya Ho Jaya Ho Gopalana”.

Thank you very much.

Om Asato Maa Sad Gamaya

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya

Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji ki

JAI!!!

May Bhagavan Baba shower His choicest blessings on everybody on these auspicious

days of Navarathri. Sai Ram!

(Audience) Sai Ram!

© Anil Kumar Kamaraju

 

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