Krishna Janmashtami Divine Discourse on 6th September 2004, The Lord accepts only a Pure Heart

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The Lord accepts only a Pure Heart

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba giving His Divine Discourseon 6th September 2004,

Krishna Janmashtami, at Prashanti Nilayam

Text of the Divine Discourse delivered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 6th

September 2004, Krishna Janmashtami, at Sai Kulwanth Hall

Oh Krishna! You don't eat what I give You,You don't eat our home-food,You go to

the houses of the cowherds,And eat butter stealthily,You spoil Your good name,

my dear! (Telugu poem)

Thus, mother Yashoda expressed her anguish one day, having been vexed by the

complaints of the neighbours. She chided Him saying, "Oh Krishna! I have to

face a lot of trouble on account of Your mischievous pranks. You don't have

taste for the food prepared in our house. You always like the items prepared in

the neighbouring houses. How shall I manage with You?" True, people develop a

taste for food in the neighbouring houses. A sweetmeat shop owner sitting in

his own shop, all the while enjoying the sweet smell of the laddus, develops a

taste for puffed rice from another shop.Kashyapa, a great devotee of the Lord

had completely surrendered himself at the Lotus Feet and was totally lost in

divine bliss. One day, his wife, Aditi, approached him and advised him, "My

dear! We do not have children. You have surrendered everything of yours to the

Lord. Why don't you pray to Him to bless us with a child?"Emperor Bali, in

Krita Yuga, performed

many Yajnas. After completion of one hundred and seven Yajnas, he made

arrangements for performing the one hundred and eighth Yajna known as Viswajit.

As he was performing this Yajna, Lord Vishnu appeared before him as Vamana in

the guise of a dwarfish Brahmin. Vamana asked for three paces of land in

charity from Bali, which he was about to give. In the meanwhile, Emperor Bali's

preceptor Sukracharya came there and tried to dissuade Bali from giving this

gift of charity. He advised Bali, "Please do not give anything in charity to

this short Brahmin, much less the three paces of land. Do not underestimate

Him. He is not an ordinary Brahmin. He is an Avatar of Vishnu. He is born to

Sage Kashyapa, in fulfillment of the boon granted by Lord Vishnu to him." But

Emperor Bali did not pay heed to the advice of his preceptor. He asked Lord

Vamana, "Sir, What can I do for you?" Vamana replied, "Oh King! I do not need

anything. Just give Me three paces of land." Sukracharya again pleaded with

Bali, "Oh King! You consider this person as an ordinary Brahmin. No. No. He is

capable of filling the entire universe. It is not wise on your part to grant

his request." But, Emperor Bali turned down his advice saying that he could not

go back on his promise, as it was a great sin not to stand by one's word.In

those days, people considered death preferable to going back on one's word. But

today in Kali Yuga, people make promises and break them at will. Emperor Bali

was of pure heart. Once a promise was made, he fulfilled it, come what may!He

said, "I gave a word to this Brahmin boy. I am prepared to face any eventuality

in fulfilling my promise. I will offer the fruits of all the Yajnas I have

performed, including the one I am now performing to this Brahmin boy. So

saying, he put the garland of the fruits of 108 Yajnas performed by him round

the neck of Vamana and prostrated before Him. (As He said this, Swami created a

necklace of 108 gold coins.) Vamana

covered the entire land given in charity by Bali under one foot. He grew in size

and filled the entire universe with His second foot. There was no further space

to put His third foot. Then Sukracharya said, "Oh emperor! You did not pay heed

to my advice. You underestimated this Brahmin boy and got yourself tricked by

His innocent looks." Vamana received the offering of Emperor Bali and praised

his large-heartedness and blessed him. Vamana was short in stature, but he

could fill the entire universe. Being an Avatar, He was Aprameya (beyond all

limitations, indescribable and immeasurable). Human being have limitations, but

not an Avatar.The sunrise and sunset happen according to a predetermined Divine

command. It happens regularly, uninterrupted. The sun, the moon and the stars

follow a definite pattern of schedule. All the five elements in the universe

discharge their duties regularly as ordained by the Lord. Even God Himself

observes the rules that He lays down for

all. Everything in God's creation goes on according to a predetermined order and

Divine command. Nothing in the universe, including the five elements, has an

independent existence. But, unfortunately, man is unable to recognise this

divine force that regulates the functioning of the universe. Scientists are

making unstinted efforts to discover this divine force. The stars shining

brightly in the sky at night are, however, not visible during daytime. The sun

rises in the morning and sets in the evening with utmost regularity everyday.

The stars glitter beautifully in the sky at night and hide themselves during

the day. The wind blows incessantly and sustains the living beings without

taking rest even for a moment. The rivers make gurgling sounds as they flow

perennially.(Telugu poem)What could be the reason for this phenomenon?

Scientists probed into this aspect and concluded that the stars were not

visible during daytime because the sun was shining

brilliantly in the sky during that period. Similarly, they tried to explain the

divine force in ever so many ways.The moment the umbilical cord is cut and the

child is separated from the mother, it cries. Why? Nobody could explain and

explore this secret. The moment a drop of milk or honey is put on the tongue of

the newborn child, it sleeps happily. This means ever since a human being comes

out of his mother's womb, he struggles to satiate his hunger.Oh man! You

struggle hard to acquire various types of knowledge in order to fill your

stomach. In spite of all your hard work and acquisition of knowledge, you are

unable to experience everlasting happiness. Instead, why don't you contemplate

on the Lord and seek refuge in Him? He will certainly show you a way to

overcome your misery.(Telugu poem)Every human being thinks that he is born

merely for filling his belly. He constantly struggles to acquire food.There is

another interesting

phenomenon in nature. The branches of a tree rub against each other due to the

wind and fire is born out of that friction between two pieces of wood. How does

it happen? Though there is fire in the wood of a tree, it is not burnt away.

Why? No scientist could ever discover this secret so far. There are several

such inexplicable phenomena in nature. With a view to recognise and understand

such phenomena, man is constantly engaged in the quest for Divinity. However,

one need not search for God, who is omnipresent.Oh man! You struggle hard in

life merely for the sake of filling your belly. You acquire myriad types of

knowledge from various fields. Examine and enquire for yourself what great

happiness you have achieved by spending all the time from dawn to dusk in

acquiring worldly knowledge and earning wealth, while forgetting God.(Telugu

poem)Everything in this universe moves strictly according to the Divine Will

and force. Man, of his own accord cannot

achieve anything. The Divine force manifests itself in several ways in this

universe, in the form of various types of energy. People think they are created

by somebody. Strictly speaking, nobody has created them. They are natural

phenomena that manifest out of Divine will. For example, when two pieces of

stone are struck against each other, fire is born. It means, there is fire

latent in the stone, but does not manifest outside. Thus, all the powers are

latent in nature.A few minutes ago, one boy spoke about Nanda and Yashoda, the

foster parents of Lord Krishna. In those days, there was no electricity. People

in the village used to go to the house of Nanda (since he was the chief of the

village) and lighted their oil lamps from the lamp lit up in Nanda's house.

People were of the belief that they would attain plenty and prosperity if they

lighted their oil lamps from the lamps lit in the houses of well-to-do-people.

A newly married daughter-in-law by name Suguna arrived in

that village. Her mother-in-law told her to go to the house of Nanda and get her

lamp lighted from theirs. When Suguna went to the house of Nanda and lighted the

lamp, she could visualise Krishna in that flame. On having this Divine vision,

she lost her body consciousness. She fixed her gaze on that beautiful form of

Lord Krishna and was lost in bliss. She could not even realise that her fingers

were being burnt, having come into contact with the flame. She was in total

bliss. In the meanwhile, other ladies from the neighbouring houses also came

there to light their own lamps. They were wonderstruck on witnessing this

scene. They could notice that Suguna was not moving away from the flame even

though her fingers were being burnt. They then realised that she had the vision

of Krishna in that flame. They sang a song describing this incident. (Swami sang

a Telugu song, the meaning of the first few lines is as follows...)It seems

Suguna had a visionOf Gopala in the house

of NandaShe saw Krishna in the flame!On hearing this song, Yashoda came there

literally running. She saw Suguna's fingers getting burnt in the flame. While

all the Gopis were dancing in ecstasy, Yashoda went near Suguna and pulled her

hand away from the flame. She chided her saying "Oh! Suguna ! Did you not

notice your fingers being burnt on coming into contact with the flame? Do you

wish to bring a bad name to us that if anyone goes to Nanda's house, their

fingers will be burnt?" Suguna's mother-in-law was by nature a short-tempered

woman. On hearing about this incident, she came running to the house of Yashoda

and made a big issue of this incident. She ordered her daughter-in-law not to go

to the house of Nanda again in future, for getting the lamp lighted.Several

miracles happened in the house of Yashoda. After Krishna left for Mathura, the

Gopis could not bear His separation and were pining for His Darshan. In such a

moment of yearning, Krishna appeared

in Gokul. However, neither Nanda nor Yashoda could see Him. All the Gopis

gathered at the house of Nanda and prayed that they may be allowed to have

Krishna's darshan. They started complaining, "Nanda and Yashoda! you have kept

Krishna away from us. Please tell us where he is." But, Krishna did not make

his appearance in public. He appeared to some Gopis individually in answer to

their prayers.A few minutes ago, a student of our University narrated an

incident wherein Swami had appeared before him in answer to his prayers. No one

else could see Swami. Then, the boy prayed again, "Swami! What is the use of

giving Darshan to me alone? Please give Darshan to all the students; otherwise,

they will not believe my words and make fun of me." I replied, "Does not matter.

Let people think whatever they wish to. This is your prapti (deservedness), only

you deserve to see Me". So saying, I disappeared. Once, Yashoda reprimanded

child Krishna saying, "Oh! My dear Krishna! You

don't eat the food I prepared for you. You go to the houses of the milkmaids and

stealthily eat the butter stored in their houses. You are creating problems for

me. Is it that the butter suffused with mother's love does not taste good for

you?" So saying, she tied Krishna to a mortar with a rope. It is everybody's

experience in the world that we do not like the food cooked in our own house.

The items cooked in others' houses will appear to be tasty. This is quite

natural. However, Krishna did not steal the butter from others' houses for its

taste. There is an underlying message in this leela. Here, butter symbolises a

pure heart. Wherever such a pure heart is available, Krishna takes it. Such a

pure heart will be soft and sweet. The hearts of Gopis were ripened with

devotion. They were pure, soft and sweet. Hence, Krishna had gone to their

houses to steal their hearts.Krishna is referred to as "chora" (thief). What

does He steal? He steals the butter-like hearts of the

Gopis, hearts which are pure, soft and sweet. If you address someone as chora

(thief), he will be annoyed. But if you call Krishna as "chiththa chora"

(stealer of the heart), He will enjoy this appellation. That is why, devotees

sing in praise of the Lord most endearingly "Chiththa chora Yashoda Ke Bal!

Navaneetha chora Gopal! Gopal, Gopal, Gopal! Govardhanadhara Gopal!" ("Oh!

Yashoda's little Krishna! Oh! Gopala! Stealer of butter! Oh! Gopala! Lifter of

the Govardhana mountain!"). The song thus sung melodiously with bhava, raga and

thala will be liked by everyone. Great Singer-saints like Thyagaraja made sweet

offerings to God in the form of Kirtanas suffused with Bhava (feeling), Raga

(tune) and Thala (beat) and won His grace. There is so much sweetness in such

devotional songs. God's grace can surely be obtained by such devotional

singing. You cannot win the grace of God by empty rhetoric. It is only through

devotional singing suffused with Bhava, Raga and Thala, that Divinity

can be attained. God will be moved by such Sankirtan. Even the Vedas have

extolled the efficacy of devotional singing. Even by chanting the Vedas, God

cannot be attained. There are several hymns in praise of God in the Rig Veda,

Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda . But, not even a single individual

chanting those hymns could obtain Divine Darshan. However, when these hymns are

set to tune and sung with devotion, they could experience Divine Love. That is

why God is extolled as ‘ganalola' and ‘ganapriya'. Therefore, you pray to God

with devotional singing. You can easily win the grace of God. Some people may

have a doubt, "We cannot sing well; we have not learnt the art of singing. How

can we please God?" Do not worry. You may not have knowledge of music or a

mellifluous voice. It does not matter. Sing the glory of God with intense love,

in some tune which you know. That is enough to move the heart of God. What is

music? It is not necessary to make a special effort to learn

music. A simple song with intense love and yearning will move God. For example,

you recite a poem, "Rama! Nannu Kaapadu" (Oh! Rama! Please protect me). There

will be no sweetness in the poem. It is simply a literary rendering of your

feelings. Similarly, if you make an appeal to God saying "Rama! Nannu Kaapadu",

it becomes an empty repetition of words. The same feeling, if it is expressed in

a song set to a beautiful tune, "Rama …! Nannu Kaapadu…", it will be so sweet

and endearing to Divinity. There is so much sweetness in music. Therefore, if

you want to attain God, you have to do it only with devotional singing.You need

not be disappointed if you have not learnt music. Why disappointment? If there

is an appointment, there will be disappointment. Therefore, do not make an

appointment, in the beginning itself. You sing the glory of God in your own

way. That is the easiest way to attain God. The Divine bliss enjoyed by the

gopis in Krishnavatar in Dwapara Yuga is

unparalleled. Therefore, remember that Divine bliss and try to please God with

your love and devotion.In no Avatar devotees have merged in the Divine Love to

such a great extent as in Krishna Avatar. Thousands of devotees have merged in

Sri Krishna during His Avatar. Hence, if you want to merge in divinity,

devotional singing is the only means. God is said to be ganapriya (pleased by

devotional singing). Krishnavatar is the best example for this statement. One

simple name ‘Krishna' sung by a devotee is enough to move Him. The leelas,

mahimas and the miraculous deeds performed by Lord Krishna during His Avatar

are unparalleled.Dear students! You are singing several bhajans. All of you are

participating in the bhajans. But, each one is singing in his own way. This is

not proper. If all of you sing in one voice and one tune with divine feeling,

God will surely install Himself in your loving heart. Krishnavatar is the only

Avatar that had granted darshan to

different people in different ways, clarified their doubts about His divinity

and merged them in His own Self. Krishnavatar is the only Avatar that made

everyone happy and blissful by His sweet and loving words.Embodiments of

Love!There is nothing superior to devotional singing. What a great joy and

happiness you derive by singing the song "Nanduni Yinta Gopaludanta Deepaana

Kanipinchenanta" (It seems Gopala has appeared in the flame in the house of

Nanda). Therefore, sing such soulful songs with bhava, raga and thala to please

God and obtain His grace. You may sing any number of bhajans and songs, but it

is only when they are suffused with intense love, devotion and sweet and soft

feeling (bhava) you will derive immense happiness and joy.

Source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Krishna_Janmashtami_Discourse.htm

 

 

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