Swami teaches... A lesson of bhakthi before Shivaraathri

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches.... (05 March 2005)

A Lesson of Bhakthi Before Shivaraathri

 

Soon is Shivaraathri Festival. Shivaraathri is the day on which the moon,

the presiding deity of the mind, is as near Laya (the power to destroy) as

possible and so, just a little extra effort that day leads to full success; the

Saadhaka can thereby achieve complete Manonaashana (destruction of the mind).

The realisation is that everything is subsumed in the Lingam (the symbol of the

formless). Lingam is within everyone in latent form. Activate this formless

cosmic symbol within yourself and you can recognize the 'touch' of 'infinite

being' in your heart. Shivaraathri is an auspicious time to experience and put

in practice what Swami advices.

 

There is only one path to God that will satisfy the aspirations of the Jeeva

Thathwa (essential nature of individual entity). That is the path of Bhakthi

(devotion), of dedication of all activity to God and surrendering to His will.

This is called the Bhakthi Maarga (path of devotion). Sharanaagathi (total

surrender), leaving everything to Lord's will, is the highest form of Bhakthi.

When Bhakthi is just emerging as a sapling, a fence is needed to protect the

tender plant; that fence is Sanaathana Dharma (eternal religion) and its rules,

regulations and restrictions, directions and commands. When the fruit is green,

it will not fall even when the gale is furious; but when is fully ripe, it

drops to the ground even in the silence of the night.

 

There are three types of devotion: the Vihanga method, where like a bird

swooping down upon the ripe fruit on the tree, the devotee is too impatient and

by the very impatience he exhibits, he loses the fruit, which falls from his

hold; the Markata method where like a monkey which pulls towards it one fruit

after another and by sheer unsteadiness is not able to decide which fruit it

wants, the Bhaktha too hesitates and changes his aim much too often and thus

loses all chance of success; and the Pipeelika method, where like the ant which

slowly but steadily proceeds towards the sweetness, the devotee also moves

direct, with undivided attention towards the Lord and wins His grace!

Bhakthi and Shraddha (devotion and faith) are the two oars with which you

can take the boat across the sea of Samsaara. Bhakthi and the attitude of

surrender that is its final fruits will give you great courage to meet any

emergency; such courage is what is called Renunciation. The story of Mohajith

is a good example of this highest type of detachment.

 

Mohajith, the prince, went to a sage in the forest and sought guidance in

the spiritual path. The sage asked him whether he had conquered attachment as

his name indicated. The prince said that not only he, but every one in his

kingdom had! So the sage started to test the truth of this claim.

The sage took the prince's robes, soaked them in blood and hastened to the

palace gate with the gruesome story of the murder of the prince by some

ruffians in the jungle. The maid whom he met refused to hurry with the news to

the royal apartments because she said, "He was born, he died; what is the

special urgency of this news that I should interrupt my regular routine and run

to the king and queen?"

When at last he got an audience and was able to communicate the sad news to

the father, he sat unruffled, whispering to himself, "The bird flew off the

tree on which it had alighted to take rest."

The wife of the "dead" prince was also unaffected; she said, "husband and

wife are like two pieces of wood drifting down a flooded river; they float near

each other for some time and when some current comes between, they are parted.

There is no need to grieve over the parting of the two; it is in the very

nature of Nature that it should be so."

The sage was overjoyed to see this steady and sincere Vairaagya (dispassion)

in the rulers and the ruled. He came back to the forest and told the prince that

while he was away, a hostile army had invaded his kingdom and slain the entire

royal family and captured his kingdom and enslaved his subjects. He took the

news calmly and said, "All this is bubble, impermanent, flimsy. Guide me to

reach the Infinite, the Imperishable."

 

Bhakthi has to be built on conviction, not on blind unreasoning belief. The

role of intelligence on this path is essential. Intelligence is a special gift

from God; it confers the power of discrimination between right and wrong. Peace

or happiness depends on the choice of the right means and this is a matter to be

decided by the intelligence. Prosperity also depends on the intelligent

exploitation of the resources. Control the mind and regulate the impulses

emanating from it by means of a clarified intelligence.

The prescription to scrutinise always the purity of the means, and not worry

about the acquisition of the fruit of the activity; and the description of Yoga

as the stoppage of all modifications of consciousness - both emphasise the same

advice of the Lord. The regulation and restriction of the senses purify the

intellect, which then can boldly and quickly investigate into the real nature

of the subject-object relationship, the I-other relationship, and discovering

that all is I (the one), attains peace, Prashaanthi (unruffled peace). Such are

primary requisites for a happy life. Be aware also of the wavering

'intelligence' that has lost its one-pointedness and purity is responsible for

all the conflicts and quarrels that are prevalent today.

 

The real harvest of Aanandha (Bliss; blissful nature; Perpetual state of

supreme bliss - that is Aanandha, i. e. Ananda) for which the spiritual

operations of rites and Manthras (sacred formulae) were gone through has been

neglected, while the weeds of calumny, cynicism and conflict have grown wild

over the fields. The evil influence of Kaama (lust) is at the bottom of this

tragedy. A single seed of Kaama (desire) if it gets stuck in the soil of the

heart, is very difficult to dislodge. Without a hold attachment to God and

Prema (love for all beings, prompting sacrifice of joys and comfort for others)

Kaama will upset your faith in standards of morality and righteousness. It will

place before you all sorts of specious arguments to overcome the pangs of

conscience and enslave reason and sense of duty.

 

The Geetha laid down that even the Vedhas have to be transcended. It speaks

that human must seek to become Aathmavaan (the possessor of soul) and the

Aathmic (spiritual) strength. The Geetha asks you to be, not Balavaan

(possessor of physical prowess), not Dhanavaan (possessor of a comfortable bank

balance) but, Aathmavaan (having the prowess arising out of the awareness that

you are the Aathman, which can remain unaffected by all the buffetings of the

dualities of the world).

Geetha lays down the path of liberation through awareness of Nir-dhwandho

(without paying attention to the dual throng of grief-joy, pain-pleasure,

etc.), Nithya-sathwastho (ever fixed in the quality of equanimity),

Nir-yogakshema (unaffected by considerations of security and welfare),

Aathmvaan (established in Aathmic consciousness).

You probably know that Bhagavath Geetha is the essence of the Vedhas

(scriptures of eternal truths) and the Shaasthras and the Puraanas. It is like

a bottle of fruit-juice obtained from a basket of fruit. Its taste and

excellence will persist until the end of this Yuga (Age) and then it will merge

in the Vedhas.

 

Bring 'Bhakthi' and lay it before Swami and take from Swami spiritual

strength! The more such business is done, the more Swami is pleased. Bring what

you have, namely, your sorrows and griefs, worries and anxieties, and take from

Swami joy and peace, courage and confidence.

During the age of this Avathaar (divine incarnation), the wicked will not be

destroyed; they will be corrected and reformed and educated and led back to the

path from which they have strayed. The white-ant infested tree will not be cut;

it will be saved. Again Swami will not select some place other than the place

where the nativity took place for the centre of its Leelas, Mahimas and

Upadhesha (divine sport, miracle power and divine instruction). This tree shall

not be transplanted; it will grow where it first rose from the earth.

Swami has no affinity or attachment in Its career to members of the family

wherein it appeared. Unlike the appearances as Raama, Krishna, etc., where the

life was played out mostly among and for the family members, Swami is for the

Bhakthas, the Saadhus and the Saadhakas (devotees, noble souls and aspirants)

only. It has no Japa (recitation or holy name), Dhyaana (meditation) or Yoga

(practising union with God). It knows no worship; it will not pray to anything,

for It is the Highest. It only teaches you to worship and pray.

 

Swami's nature is unaffected by His movements and activities. He talks and

walks arranges and directs, advises and admonishes, but Swami is away from any

attachment. The divine is so distinct and distinguished from the mortal and the

bound. Every Swami's gesture, word and activity, however casual it may appear,

is motivated to move you towards the fulfilment of your lives, and endow you

with the Aanandha (Bliss) that your Aathman (Self reality) is.

 

Swami advises not to depend upon others for doing your work, like attending

to your personal wants. Do them yourself; that is real freedom. Again, never

accept anything 'free' from others, pay it back, in service or work.

That will make you self-respecting individuals. Receiving a favour means

getting bound to the giver. Grow with self-respect and dignity. That is the

best service you can do to yourself.

Get the maximum joy out of this game of living, one should cultivate the

attitude of the onlooker, even when one has to get embroiled in the game.

 

When you pay undue attention to differences of Maya Reality, spasms of

hatred, anger, malice and envy overwhelm you. Anger rushes blood to the brain;

the temperature rises; the composition of the blood changes; toxins enter into

it in such quantities that it injures the nerves, and make you old before your

time.

Desire to which you are too fondly attached breeds anger and its nefarious

brood. Discard it and you can have perpetual youth! The Aanandha that the

Aathman can manifest will keep age and ageing away.

 

Do not grieve that the Lord is testing you in different ways and putting you

to the ordeal of undergoing them. For, it is only when you are tested that you

can assure yourself of success or become aware of your limitations. You can

then concentrate on the subjects in which you are deficient and pay more

intensive attention, so that you can pass in them too, when you are tested

again. You should not study for the examination at the last moment; study well

in advance and be ready with the needed knowledge and the courage and

confidence born out of that knowledge and skill.

Tests are like a mirrors reflecting your own conscience, state of

enlightenment and awareness.

A great painter once came to a Prince and offered to do a fresco on the

palace wall; behind him came another, who declared that he would paint on the

wall opposite, whatever painting the first one drew, even if a curtain hid it

from view and even if he was not told the subject of the fresco! Both were

commissioned to the tasks they had accepted. The second man finished his work

at the very moment, the first one announced that he had completed the task! The

Prince arrived in the hall, where a thick curtain partitioned off the two

artists and their paintings. He saw the fresco and admired it very much. Then

he ordered that the curtain be removed, and lo, on the wall facing the fresco,

there was an exact duplicate of the picture that the first man had so

laboriously painted! Exact - because, what he had done was, polishing the wall

and making it a fine big mirror! Make your hearts too clean and pure and

smooth, so that the glory of the Lord might be reflected therein, so that the

Lord might see His own Image thereon. (Reet's compilation from, Sri Sathya Sai

Baba, The Divine Discourse, "The Prescription," Mogha, Punjab, 17 March 1973.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba, The Divine Discourse, "This and That," Prashanthi Nilayam,

22 Feb 1971. Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sparks from Divine Discourses during

Shivaratri, "Bend before Prema and Sathya," March 1963. Sri Sathya Sai Baba,

The Divine Discourse, "Sharanaagathi," Prashanthi Nilayam, 1955).

 

Namaste - Reet