Swami teaches... Improve your spiritual status

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches.... (04 March 2005)

 

Improve Your Spiritual Status

 

Sage Vyasa has collated the voluminous Vedic scripture under three headings

Karma Kaanda, Upasana Kaanda, Jnana Kaanda (branches of Vedas dealing with

sacrificial rites, divine adoration and spiritual wisdom).

The Veda insists on rites, rituals, ceremonies, etc., but not as mere reward

oriented acts. Human being is endowed with the intelligence to pick and choose,

to benefit from the past and prepare for the future. Karma has to be an act of

worship, an offering to God, a fulfillment of duty. The ancient Indian Dharma

based on the Veda and embodying the highest and most lasting wisdom. Life is

an exercise in the sadhana of 'give and take.' 'Give' and you get the right to

'take'. Have a faith in the Self and the Lord's Grace is with you. Below is a

brief story what illustrates this.

Thenaali Raamakrishna, the famous Andhra poet, humorist and philosopher,

once happened to lose his way while traversing an area of thick jungle. (He

lived in the reign of thefamous Emperor Krishnadheva Raaya, of the Vijayanagar

dynasty, about 1500 A.D. He wasattached to the Court and was honoured as a wise

and quick-witted minister). While Raamakrishna was wandering desperately in the

jungle, he saw an old sage. Raamakrishna ran forward and fell at his feet, in

reverential homage. He asked the sage how he got caught in that wild forest.

The sage said, "The same mysterious force that dragged you here has dragged me

too to this spot. The moment when I have to cast away the body I occupied so

long, has arrived! I shall initiate you, now, into the manthra which I have

recited all these years, as my talisman and treasure." It was the manthra of

Mother Kaali, and he whispered it into the ear of Raamakrishna. Raamakrishna

was overjoyed at the great gift; he retired into a temple of the Mother, deep in

the recesses of the jungle and was intent on the meditation of the Mother,

propitiated by the manthra. At mid-night one day, the aboriginal Koyas of the

forest came into the temple, with a goat which they sought to offer as

sacrifice to please Her and propitiate Her. Raamakrishna hid behind the idol

and when the knife was about to fall on the neck of the victim, he exclaimed,

"I am the Mother of all living Beings, including you. If you kill my child, I

will curse you, I cannot bless you!" Believing that it was Kaali that spoke,

the Koyas desisted and went away.

Kaali manifested before Raamakrishna; She asked him what he liked to receive

from Her!She was pleased with his saadhana. "Which do you want?" she queried,

holding a plate of curdsrice in one hand and a plate of milk-rice in another.

He wanted to know the consequences of eating either plate before deciding which

plate to ask for. She explained, "The curds-rice will endow you with riches and

economic prosperity; the milk-rice will make you a wise scholar. Make your

choice." Raamakrishna thought within himself, "This not good being a fool in

possession of vast riches; nor will scholarship fill the stomach, three times a

day." He asked, "I see two plates before me. Before I make the choice, tell me

how each will taste?" She laughed and said, "How can I describe the taste and

make you understand the difference? You will have to taste them yourself" and

gave him both the plates for the purpose. Raamakrishna hastily put them both

in his mouth and managed to swallow the curdsand the milk and the entire

quantity of rice from both plates!

Kaali was mortified and exclaimed that his impertinence called for dire

punishment. Raamakrishna accepted his mistake and invited the punishment she

proposed to inflict. But, can the Mother's punishment destroy the child,

however reprehensible the conduct of the child may be? "My sentence will

certainly save you, do not tremble," said Kaali. Then she pronounced: "Become a

Vikatakavi." That is to say, "Be a clever clown, having great influence at

Court, accumulating much wealth and guiding all those who approach you with

good advice." You can never know when the Lord's Grace, His Love and

Benediction will be showered on you - at what time and at what place and in

what circumstances. You cannot see what is happening in the spiritual world,

nor can you understand the workings of the Spirit. When you go on performing

your duty and enjoying what you do, that itself will confer bliss on you.

 

Swami's world is the world of the Spirit where values are different from

ones of common life. If person is happy, with faith in God, (in Self) and fear

of sin, that is enough "service," enough kainkaryam for Swami. It pleases

Swami.

God loves those who have the self-confidence and the courage of conviction

and who seize every opportunity to improve their spiritual status. With

Self-confidence, you can accomplish anything and secure joy. Self-confidence

is the foundation for the mansion of Life. You will be able to face any

difficulties and overcome them. However long you may live, whatever scientific

knowledge you may acquire, whatever positions you may hold, sometime or other

you have to know the truth about your Self.

 

The Self (Spirit) is at the root of everything. Without confidence in the

Self, life becomes utterly meaningless. The goal to the Real Self is one, but

the paths are many. For instance, Swami is in Puttaparthi. Devotees use many

different kinds of transport to come here planes, trains, buses, bicycles and

by foot. Whatever the mode of transport, the goal is one. Thus, to realise the

Divine, there are many paths. The story-telling below is about some stones on

these paths and advices how to remove them.

Ancients wished to live long for the sake of a Godly life and for that

purpose preserved their health in body and mind. Today people look aged by the

time they are 60 or 70. Today spiritual strength is totally lacking among the

people. Self-confidence is constantly goingup and down. There is no steadiness

of mind. When the will is weak from moment to moment,how can there be any

firmness in life?

The spiritual light will be a divine lighthouse for human being. For everyone

caught up in the coils of worldly life, this divine light is essential. All the

pleasures, positions and riches of the world will not confer on you real peace

and security. Only faith in the Self can ensure this. People today has faith in

everything except the Spirit. The paradox of human existence today is that

life is without a head or feet but has only the trunk in the middle. This shows

that human is not realising what is most important in life. All the scriptures

have declared: "Tath Twain Asi" (That thou art), "Aham Brahmaasmi" (I am the

Brahmam), "Prajnaanam Brahma" (Awareness is the Supreme). While these profound

truths have been proclaimed by the Vedas, people are not relying on them.

Though people talk about self-confidence, they have really no confidence in the

Self (the Spirit).

 

Life is also wasted in brooding over the past and worrying about the future.

What is theroot cause of sorrow and sickness? Not being content with what one

has and lamenting overwhat one does not have, peace of mind is lost. There is

no need to enquire into what is pastor what is in store in the future. The most

important is the Present - which contains the past and the future. It is

Self-confidence that leads to the best use of the Present. It is Awareness what

creates a motivation for that.

Awareness means total understanding. All other forms of knowledge are only

partial andincomplete. Awareness calls for a total comprehension of the nature

of the cosmos. This is called Chith. Only Sath can recognise Chith. Sath means

that which is permanent - Being, unchanging and immutable. The unified form of

Sath and Chith is Ananda (Bliss). Can momentary "bliss" be equated with

Ananda? Bliss is that state of joy whichis lasting and unchanging. The joy that

is experienced from moment to moment can only betermed Santhosham - temporary

happiness. Santhosham is pleasure. Ananda is bliss. This Ananda has been

described in many ways as Nithyananda (perennial joy), Paramananda (Supreme

bliss), Brahmananda (Divine bliss), etc. In all these states, what is

ever-present is Sath-Chith-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss). Being is Awareness

and Awareness is Bliss.

You must be aware also that in every human being there is a sovereign who

presides over all his qualities. That sovereign is the Ego. This sovereign Ego

- Ahamkara Chakravarthi suppresses all the good qualities in man. Ahamkara -

Ego has another meaning. It is the very form of Aham the "I". The egoist is one

who identifies the body with his Self. But you are not the body; it is only an

instrument. It is an agglomeration of material substances. How can this inert

body be equated with the Self? It is the association of consciousness with the

body that it is able to undertake various activities.

Ahamkara (the Ego-feeling) is dispelled by the light of Divine knowledge, the

effulgence of the Divine is experienced.

 

It is Ego what is responsible for the dust of sensual greed in your life

path. This anomaly can be prevented, for example, by keeping good company, and

putting into practice the axioms of good conduct that one can imbibe from it.

Hypocrisy is rampant now in the spiritual field more than in any other. The

farmer complained aloud: "Only one stranger came into this village yesterday!

And, he was a Brahmin! But, my cockerel has been stolen and eaten!" Thus, the

Brahmin's vow of vegeterianism was revealed as a hoax. Profess only as much as

you can practise; do not blabber more than you are prepared to fulfil. Be

sincere and honest to your own conscience.

Pouring water down the throat can well become torture, if the limit is

crossed. So too, there is a limit to the heat you can bear or the sound you can

hear, with safety. You cannot breathecomfortably in a typhoon, nor can your

ear-drums stand the pressure of an explosion withinearshot! Any use of the

elements, over and above legitimate bounds, is a sacrilege.

Water is the emanator of the rasa principle, the taste factor. There must be

a balancedequilibrium in the stomach of man of the various tastes - sweet,

bitter, salt, acid, sour, acrid, hot,etc. If the balance is upset, by the

predominance of any one taste, health suffers a downfall!

If the emanations from any one of the five elemental components in body are

more than tolerable, health will be damaged and saadhana (spiritual practise)

will be affected adversely! Treat the elements as if they are the vesture of

the Almighty. He is the current that activates everything everywhere.

The body, the sense organs, the mind, the Buddhi (intellect) and the Atma

are the fivevital elements constituting man. The universe, including the house

within which you dwell - the body, is composed of the five elements: earth,

water, fire, wind and ether - elements that act upon the senses as smell,

taste, colour, touch and sound.

It is essential to be careful with the food you eat. See that it is conducive

to your health and happiness. The ancient sages used to eat only once a day.

Today people go on consuming food at all times, not to mention drinks and

snacks in between. Anything in excess will cause indigestion and

sleeplessness.

However, human today is subject to more maladies caused by mental worries

than by consuming bad food. There should be a limit even to intellectual

speculation. Excessive cerebration leads to delusions and mental aberrations. A

balance has to be maintained also between individual interests and national

interests.

Everything in life depends on maintaining the balance, whether it be

walking, riding a bicycle or driving a car. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya

Sai Speaks, Vol. 8."The sour and the sweet," Chapter 10. Sathya Sai Speaks,

Vol. 20. "Guidelines for Goodness," Chapter 3. Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 23. "The

abode of the Spirit," Chapter 11. Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 24. "Light the lamp

within," Chapter 26).

 

Namaste - Reet