Swami teaches... No death in the Atmic Reality

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches.... (3 April 2005)

 

No death in the Atmic reality

 

Life is one long ordeal; know this even when things seem to be quite

exhilarating. Any moment the road may turn into a morass, the sky may darken,

fortune may turn away. Earn the sword of jnaana to cut as under the veil of

Maayaa. Discriminate between the real andthe unreal early enough, during the

journey towards the Goal.

 

Death stalks its prey everywhere, at all times with relentless

determination. Human is equipped with a return ticket, when he takes birth. It

brings no glory if human is tied helplessly to the wheel of birth and death.

Glory and greatness consists in disentangling oneself from that revolving

wheel.

Before death nips life, and thrusts one on to another birth, he/she must by

means of Saadhana learn the mystery of the Atma. When death comes one must be

glad to meet it since he comes for the last time and there will be no more

birth for him. Human weeps when he/she is born; one should not weep when death

comes but must die triumphant over death. Life is as a dream. In the dream, we

experience joy and grief; but we realise that both joy and grief are unreal,

when we awake.

 

The duration of life is under the control of Him who gave life, the Creator.

If one concentrates on the Atma, which has no change or characteristics, no

substraction or senility, no decline or damage, human can conquer death.

Therefore, the most effective prescription is the injection of Atma-vidhya

(knowledge of the Soul as one's real Self).

Nothing is uncaused in the Universe. Every being, object, incident has been

caused by the primal Cause and its direction or guidance' The Shaasthras

(spiritual sciences) yearn for the discovery of that unseen Principle.

That and This, Thath and Thwam, the Absolute and the Relative, the Universal

and Particular is falsely conceived as separate from the Universal. Human alone

has the ability to understand the phenomenal world around. Human can grasp the

ways and waywardness of the world; can delve into its evolution and involution,

its contraction and expansion. Boundless spiritual potential is encased in

every being. A person is not just the body, with its limbs and other

mechanisms. The Atma is the Divine Person. The soul is the Personality. And the

person realises Aanandha when the Aatma is cognised.

The greatest wonder of all is that nobody knows him/herself, anybody

struggles to know about it,even among those who spend their lifetime in knowing

about others. The Self is something subtler than water or air or even space.

That "I" is Brahman or Atma mistaken to be separate. The ocean of Samsaara

is vast and full of mystery. It tosses human about from birth to death and again

from death to birth. To equip oneself with the Ocean-worthy boat of Grace, one

has to develop in him/herself the qualities of faith and discipline. One has to

clarify and purify the past impressions. (About purification of mind have

written in previous stories 'Swami teaches... ' from many aspects). Time is

the gift of God. Human should use it as an instrument for the clarification and

the purification. Of course, these are not possible without virtuous living and

kindness towards all beings. Thus, the mind will be rendered harmless,

beneficent and even of great help in one's spiritual pilgrimage. Through the

purified mind, one can transmute himself into the divine. Manava (human) can

become Madhava (God) Himself. For, it is the destiny and the fight of every

human to attain that status.

All the religions emphasise the importance of devotion and dedication to

the Supreme Sovereign. The means of reaching that stage may be different; the

description of the ecstasy that one can experience in the final stage and all

along the path may be different; for it is beyond all attempts at description.

God alone is the guardian of life and the goal of life. Contemplate on God,

who is the master of all life. Be aware of Him all through life and offer all

your activity - breathing, talking, walking, earning and spending - to Him, for

it was by Him and through Him that you were able to do all these things.

The Name of God is the most effective tonic; it will keep off all illness.

Do not indulge inNaamasmarana as a pastime or a fashion or a passing phase, or

as the unpleasant part of animposed time-table. Think of it as a saadhana, to

be seriously taken up for the purpose of reducing your attachments to fleeting

objects, purifying and strengthening you, and liberating you from the cycle of

birth and death. Hold fast to it as the means of rescuing yourself in every

way, from the bonds of time and change. It looks a frail cure for such a

fearful malady; but, it is a panancea, nevertheless. When acts are done as

offering to God, one will not be elated at success or disheartened byfailure,

for, He prompts, He helps, He grants joy or grief as He wills, as He cares. The

doer willhave no attachment to the fruit of the deed; so, one will not be bound

to its consequence; it willleave no trace on one's personality which will shape

beyond death.

Do not seek human Gurus. They are not 'gu' (gunaatheetha - beyond the

Gunas); they are bound by the qualities they have developed. They are not 'ru'

(beyond Form); they are still in need of Form, so that they may conceive of

Reality. Themselves limited, how can they communicate to you the Unlimited?

Pray to the God within you, the Maheshwara, the Vishnu, the Brahma, or

Parabrahma Principle to reveal Itself. Accept that as the Guru and you will be

illumined. You must live in the constant thought of God as well as of

another fact, Death. The body is thecar in which you are riding to death. You

may meet death any moment, while riding; some treeor lorry or ditch or slush

will bring it. Travel in the car carefully, slowly, with due regard to the

needsof others on the road; do not greedily try to overtake others, or compete

in speed, know thelimitations of the vehicle and the road. Your journey will

be a happy experience for you and the rest of the people. The contemplation

of death on the deeper lever is the foundation of spiritual discipline.

Without it, human is certain to fall into falsehood, pursuing the objects of

sense-pleasure, and trying to accumulate material, worldly riches. Death is no

ominous calamity; it is a step into the auspicious brightness beyond. Once

born, death is the inevitable end. But, it is possible to escape birth and

thereby, escape death. For, birth is the consequence of karma. Do Karma which

breeds no consequence, no after-effects which have to be lived through - and

you need not be born again. The problem of escaping death, achieving

immortality, Amrithathwam, is the very core of inquiry. Take life in the

world as a compulsory duty imposed on you. You have to do the work assigned to

the best of your ability. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks.

Vol. 3. "It will not last," Chapter 33;

Vol. 8. "Die into a new day," Chapter 34

Vol. 10. "Guru God," Chapter 15;

Vol. 11. "To three Pandiths," Chapter 53;

Vol. 12. "Body without heart," Chapter 20).

 

Namaste - Reet