Swami teaches... Spiritual secrets of ever-present Being

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Love and Light

 

Swami teaches....(17 April 2005)

Spiritual Secrets of Ever-Present Being

Motto: Friends and enemies change with time. But the ever-present Being

(Sath) does not change. It is always with you, above you, below you, around

you and in you.

Human's thoughts are one's permanent property. Thoughts develop from within

and arise from inner compulsions. The inner compulsions are based upon the mind

and mind takes shape on the basis of thoughts.

It is through the medium of the body integrated with thoughts and senses

that you experience happiness at worldly levels. Human acquires wealth and

property, experiences pleasure and pain through the body. Human's thoughts in

form of desires are responsible for this.

Wealth can never provide permanent happiness. Spiritual wealth is the true

wealth. Human is not able to enjoy true happiness due to the greed for money.

No doubt, money is necessary but it should be under certain limits. One may

also have wife/husband and children, wealth and property and enjoy family life

for some time. But such happiness is not true and eternal. It is but an

illusion to think that money, wife/husband and children will give happiness.

Human desires to live in peace in this unstable world. Human strives to find

assurance, security, and peace in wealth, status, or scholarship. However,

wealth, comfort and status won't give peace. Peace takes birth in the heart. A

heart full of love gives peace and security.

It is very easy to make dissertations on truth and dharma. But it is

difficult to understand them. People expatiate on truth and dharma without

properly understanding them. Everywhere, human values are on the decline.

Everywhere, fear and weird imaginings are abundant. Courage and strength have

disappeared. People are blind, lacking the eyes of faith. A rich man will

trust a gurkha watchman for the safety of his home. One will trust a driver for

the safe driving of his car. A man will trust a dhobi for washing valuable

clothes. One submits his head for tonsure to a barber wielding a sharp razor.So

people are prepared to place their trust in an array of inferior beings, but

have no faith in the Supreme. People are deluded by the worldly, physical and

ephemeral things and forget the spiritual foundations. One example.

Once a person, after listening to many discourses on Ramayana, was asked to

tell the name of Rama’s consort. He replied, “Mrs. Rama”, as he did not

remember her name. Such is the sorry state of affairs and delusion into wordly

actions.

 

As it was mentioned, bliss originated from own heart. So, turn your vision

inward. That all-pervasive God is present within and without. When you develop

inner vision, you will automatically experience eternal bliss. However, the

inner vision is impossible to obtain without following the moral and ehtical

principles.

In order to foster one's individual personality and spiritual awareness,

everyone has to acquire knowledge of ethics and morality. Personality expresses

the essential quality of a human being. Personality is acquired on the basis of

adherence to moral principles. The prestige of any community depends upon its

morals. One may have plenty of wealth, position, authority and much else, but

all these are meretricious; morality alone enhances the worth of a human being.

Morality helps one in a number of ways. If your conduct is not good, society

will not respect you. As long as one is in power, society may respect one. Once

power goes, one will be an object of derision. You may not have any power, but

morality will confer honour and respect.

Only a moral life can be called sacred. Human is a sacred being. God as the

Indweller guides and directs human life as Anthar-aatma, the inner-conscience of

every human being. You will be guided by your conscience, which will always lead

you properly.

You can find proofs of this in the Ramayana, the Bhagavatha and the

Mahabharatha. The Ramayana depicts the triple qualifies of Sathwa, Rajas and

Thamas. Every human is a repository of desire, anger, and greed as result from

the body what Ramayana describes well. The relevance of the Ramayana is not

confined to a particular time, place or circumstances. It is of universal

significance for all times to all countries, not to India alone.

 

The ideals and sacred objectives established in human hearts shine forever.

People over the world can realise the sacredness of the Ramayana and comprehend

its inner significance through deep symbolism represented in this ancient epic,

actual forever.

By the way, what is the meaning of the name Puttaparthi? Parthi means

effulgence. So, Puttaparthi is the place of effulgence. It is the beacon of

light. Earlier it was called Puttavardhini.Putta means anthill. There used to

be anthills and snakes everywhere. The Ramayana has a close relationship with

anthills in the sense that anthills grew over its composer, sage Valmiki. He

was completely covered by anthills, and snakes were moving in and out of them.

There are manysnakes of wicked qualities in the anthill of your heart. When you

do namasmarana (remembering the Divine name), all the ‘snakes’ of bad qualities

will come out. Be one young or old, rich or poor, everybody has to do

namasmarana. Do it with full mind and total dedication. Sing the glory of God

wholeheartedly without any inhibition. You may not have any musical instruments

for this. It is enough if it emerges from the core of your heart. Take care that

you do not have evil thoughts as they will produce discordant notes. Then will

you become the recipient of Divine Grace and energy.

If one has to live upto an ideal, one must be prepared to face many ordeals,

difficulties, calumnies, trials and tribulations. These ideals have continued

upto the present day to glow in the hearts of the people because they have been

upheld inspite of vicissitudes and ordeals. Aeons may come and go, continents

may appear and disappear, people may pass away, but ideals and values remain a

perennial source of inspiration to the world.

What cannot be achieved through physical prowess, the strength of numbers or

the power ofwealth, can be accomplished through the power of Buddhi

(intelligence). Viveka (wisdom) is thehallmark of intelligence. One acquires

wisdom by adherence to Truth and the pursuit ofDharma (righteousness). But the

light of wisdom is derived from the Buddhi. The illumination of the Buddhi is

due to the Atma (the Indwelling Spirit). That Atma is the foundation. It is

Brahmam. It is Paratatwa (Supreme Cosmic Principle). It is the Paramatma

(Omni-Self). It is the Avataric principle.

 

Usually people can derive no benefit if the Formless Absolute remains in

Kailasa orVaikunta (the heavenly abode of the Lord). It is extremely difficult

to comprehend the Formless and the Attributeless Absolute. Therefore, for

example, Rama-Avatar appeared in human form to enable humanity to experience

the Formless in a form which is accessible and helpful to them.

The descent of the Avatar means the Divine coming down to the level of the human

to blessand rescue those who cannot rise to the level of the Divine. The

ignorant assumes that becausethe Divine has descended with a human form God has

lowered Himself to the human level. Thisis a case of bending and not kneeling

down. It is an act of benediction and not of submission.

The attributes and powers of the Divine remain unaltered in their pristine

amplitude. The Divinemanifests His powers according to the needs, the

circumstances and the conditions prevailing ata particular time or place. The

Avatar does not forgo any of His supreme powers merely because He lives and

moves among human beings as a man.

When God comes in human form human beings can have the full opportunity to

experience and enjoy the Divine. When human life is sublimated, it gets

divinised. Life X Infinity is God. Virata Swaroopa (the Cosmic Form) is: Body X

Infinity. Mind X Infinity is Hiranyagarbha (the Cosmic Consciousness). God,

Virata Swaroopa and Hiranyagarbha are not distinct entities located in specific

places. They are immanent in human being. God manifests in consonance with

person's own feelings.

This profound truth is contained in the Upanishadic dictum: "Tat Twam Asi"

(That Thou Art)."Uniting That with This" is the meaning of this declaration.

"Prajnanam Brahma" (Brahmam isCosmic Knowledge) is another declaration which is

designed to remind human of own Divineessence and enable to merge in the Divine.

"Ayam Atma Brahma" (This Atma is Brahmam)is the third declaration expounding the

same basic purpose of Religion, namely, to make theindividual realise his

oneness with the Supreme. The dictum "Aham Brahmaasmi" ( I amBrahmam, the

Absolute), is the final declaration by the Self-realised person, that in

reality, thereis no difference between person and the Absolute. Celestial

spheres are revolving and disintegrating; time is fleeting; age follows age;

era succeeds era; bodies that have taken birth, grow and end. Through the

process of giving up great things can be achieved. Cultivate detachment, and

the Lord will attach Himself to you. The past is beyond recovery; those days

are gone. But, tomorrow is coming towards you. Resolve to sanctify it with

Love, Service and Sadhana. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol.

24. "Ideals of the Rama Avatar," Chapter 6; Vol. 25. "Perennial message of the

Ramayana," Chapter 16; Vol. 35. "Redeem your life by Namasmarana," Chapter 7.

Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba. The Divine Discourse, "A Heart expansive as the ocean

is necessary." 3 March 1999, Brindavan).

 

Namaste - Reet