Easwaramma Day Divine Discourse: Win the Love of Your Mother to Win the Love of God

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Win the Love of Your Mother to Win the Love of God

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba at Kodaikanal Ashram, May 2005

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

May 2005, Easwaramma Day, at Kodaikanal

"When man is born out of his mother's womb he has no garland of any kind around

his neck. Neither of pearls, nor gold, nor a string of gems nor a necklace of

topaz or of rubies or other precious gems can be seen even for a sample. There

is, however, a garland around his neck, carrying the unbroken link of the

effects of the good and bad deeds of his past lives strung together by Lord

Brahma." (Telugu poem)

Embodiments of Love!The love of the mother is nobler and supreme than the love

of all the friends and relatives in the world. The power of the mother is

unparalleled. That is why we are calling the native country as Motherland. The

country of Bharath is like our mother. In this sacred land of ours, several

types of energy have been developing since ancient times. Great and holy men

like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Vivekananda could acquire great spiritual

power only due to the strength of their mothers' blessings. The sacredness of a

mother's heart and the strength of her blessings are unparalleled. But,

unfortunately people are unable to understand properly the love of a mother,

not only in our country but in every country.It is a great sin to ignore the

mother with such a divine power. It is only to remind the people of the

nobility and sacredness of the mother that she has been given the foremost

place in the spiritual field, by

exhorting people to worship the mother first as God. It is said "Mathrudevo

Bhava" (worship the mother as God); "Pithrudevo Bhava" (worship the father as

God); "Acharyadevo Bhava" (worship the teacher as God); "Athithidevo Bhava"

(worship the guest as God). Thus the mother has been given the first place in

that order. It is only when we uphold the honour and dignity of the mother that

we will be entitled to be called as true sons. The life of a person who could

not win the love of his mother is a mere waste. Hence, we must first acquire

the deservedness to win the love of the mother. No one can describe the love of

a mother in words. It is only by the strength of a mother's will that a son

would come up well in life. Hence, one should respect and love his mother. She

must be given the pride of place. It is only such people that can really lead

the country. We may or may not worship other deities, but we must certainly

worship our mother as God. We should

never forget the love of our mother. The love of a mother is supreme. It is only

by the love of the mother that divine feelings develop in the children. Where

there is a mother of noble qualities, there will surely be all kinds of peace

and prosperity. It is foolish to crave for the love of the people, ignoring the

love of one's own mother. One should, therefore, revere and respect the mother.

One should try to experience the love of the mother.The mother of Sri

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a noble lady. Even in dire circumstances when she

had no food and drink, she developed unflinching faith and devotion to God and

spent her time engaging herself in cultivating noble thoughts and performing

noble deeds, thereby earning God's grace. It is only when one respects his

mother and wins her love, that he can be called a human being in the real

sense. There is no God greater than one's mother in this world. Unfortunately,

today people forget this truth and go to different places in

search of God. Instead of craving for the unseen God, one should worship and

serve the living divinity that is right in front of him. Several people

undertake different activities like penance, pilgrimage to holy places, worship

and other rituals in order to have the holy darshan of God, but they will be of

no use. One cannot win the grace of God without first winning the love of his

mother. The love of the mother flows as an undercurrent in every human being.

You go through the history of any great person; it is obvious that they could

reach such great heights in life only with the help of their mother's love.

When one leads his life in accordance with his mother's noble thoughts, one

will be relieved of all kinds of suffering. One may or may not respect any

other person; but one must definitely respect one's mother. One should dedicate

his entire life to win the love of his mother. The mother's love is always

selfless. We must learn to cultivate such love. Wherever you go, whoever

you may see, you can find that they have become prosperous only with the

blessings of their mother's love. If one cannot win the love of his mother, how

can he hope to win the grace of God? Hence, first and foremost you must strive

to win the love of your mother. You should not undertake any work that will

hurt the feelings of your mother. The heart of a mother is very tender.

Therefore, one should not hurt the feelings of the mother.Sri Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa was born in a very poor family. His mother brought him up by

begging for alms. Whatever little food she could collect by begging in the

streets, she used to feed her son and herself go without food. After sometime,

she became very weak and her health failed. One day Ramakrishna enquired his

mother "Mother! Why did your health fail like this?" A neighbouring lady

replied to the question saying "Dear Son! Your mother is sustaining you by

begging in the streets. She gives all the food collected to you and therefore

goes

without food for herself. Please do not put such a mother who is an embodiment

of love, to suffering". From then on, Ramakrishna took care to keep his mother

hale and healthy. He used to feed his mother first with the food collected from

various houses in the village and only then partake of the remaining quantity.

By doing so, he could win the grace of Mother Kali and have Her Divine

Vision.The culture of Bharath has laid great stress on the teaching "Mathrudevo

Bhava" (Revere the Mother as God) and "Pithrudevo Bhava" (Revere the father as

God), more than all other aspects. A person who could win the love of his

mother can win everything else. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa could earn the

great name for himself only because he could win the love of his mother. How

many great people are there in the state of West Bengal? How many people of

noble qualities, rich and educated are there? But, they could not succeed in

life due to lack of faith in God. It is only

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa could lead an ideal life by loving his mother and

obeying her commands, due to his implicit faith and devotion in his mother. He

used to teach people that there is nothing greater and nobler in this world

than mother's love. The mother is God, verily. It is therefore, not good and

proper to hurt the feelings of the mother who is embodiment of love. It is only

when we develop love towards our mother, our life will become happy and

prosperous. Hence, first and foremost, we must strive to win the love of our

mother. Whatever the mother does, is for our own good. We must develop such

firm faith. You take the history of any great person in this world, he owes his

greatness to his mother.Students of the present time are unable to win their

mothers' love. The mother undergoes a great ordeal, she is even prepared to

undertake hard labour to earn a few rupees, to bring up her children and

educate them somehow. What a great sacrilege it is to forget the love of

such a noble mother! It is only a person who could win the love of his mother

that can earn God's love as well. We are not born from the earth or the sky; we

are born from the womb of our mother. It is possible that differences may arise

between a mother and a son, at times. But, the mother does not hate her son on

that count and forsake him. There may be sons who hate their mothers, but there

are no mothers who hate their sons. The mother will always aspire for the

welfare of her son. Even if they go to the court in a matter of dispute, the

mother will say "He is my son and I am his mother". They cannot refer to each

other in any other manner. The mother will always strive for the safety, health

and welfare of her children. Man, today is undergoing several difficulties on

account of ignoring the love of such a noble mother. If you strive to win the

love of your mother, you can win the love of all other people. The love of your

mother will always be with you, constantly guarding and

guiding you in all your endeavours. Unfortunately people are not able to realise

this Truth. They think "it is enough to provide a few morsels of food to that

old lady". They are so narrow-minded and selfish. It is a great mistake to

think that their responsibility will end by providing some food to their

mothers. The mother should always be held in high esteem and served. She must

be made to feel happy and contented.Pundarika was a great devotee of Lord

Panduranga. He always held the view that service to the parents is of paramount

importance. One day, he was serving his parents by massaging their feet. In

order to test his love towards his parents, Lord Panduraga appeared before him.

But, Pundarika did not want to be distracted from his attention and continued to

serve his parents. Then the Lord Panduranga enquired of him "My dear Son! I

appeared before you to give you My darshan; but you are not looking at Me. Whom

are you serving with such single-minded devotion?"

Pundarika replied that he was serving his parents. Then, Lord Panduranga

queried, "Is not God greater than the parents? Won't you have My darshan at

least for one second?" But, Pundarika was not disturbed. He replied "My parents

are living divinities for me. I cannot have your darshan, unless I put my

parents to sleep. If you wish to give me your darshan, you stand there on the

brick till then." So saying, he pushed a brick towards Lord Panduranga. The

Lord then commended his love and devotion towards his parents and declared "The

world will always remain safe and prosperous if all people cultivate such love

and devotion towards their parents. May such noble sons like you proliferate in

this world." From then on, great and noble ideas of sacrifice and detachment

continued to develop in Pundarika. He spent his time happily serving his

parents and winning their love.Putlibai was the mother of Mahatma Gandhi. She

continued to observe a vow right from her early days. She never

used to take her food in the afternoon, without hearing the singing of the

cuckoo bird. Gandhi was a child then. One day, it was already 3 o' clock in the

afternoon and his mother did not take her food, since the cuckoo did not sing.

Gandhi could not bear to see his mother hungry. He, therefore, thought of a

plan. He went behind their house and imitated the cuckoo call. Then he went

into the house and pleaded with his mother "Mother! The cuckoo sang. You can

now take your food". His mother, however, could realise that her son was lying.

She grew very angry. She caught hold of him and slapped on his cheek twice. She

could not contain her anger and anguish. She chided him saying "it is my

misfortune to have given birth to a liar like you". Gandhi then repented for

his mischievous act and begged his mother to forgive him. He also took a vow

that he would never speak a lie thereafter in his life. Thus, mothers in the

ancient times used to teach their children good behaviour and put them

in the right path. Such ideal mothers are very rare in present times, in the

world. The present-day mothers could always think "My son should get good marks

and ranks in the examination. He should acquire high degrees and earn lakhs of

rupees. He should rise to a high position in his career." There are hundreds of

such mothers now-a-days. But, there is not even a single mother who teaches her

son "My dear son! You pray to God daily. Never forget God." That is the reason

why the country of Bharath is facing innumerable difficulties. The Bharatiyas

of yester years always used to pray daily. "Oh! Rama! Krishna! Govinda!" They

used to chant the divine name incessantly. But, things have changed. Now, there

is no such contemplation on the divine name. On the other hand worldly desires

have proliferated. The culture of Bharath always exhorts the people "Sathyam

Vada" (Speak the Truth) and "Dharmam Chara" (Follow Righteousness).

Unfortunately, today people act in contrary to

such noble ideals. They are distorting those ideals as "Sathyam Vadha" (Kill the

Truth) and "Dharmam Chera" (Imprison Righteousness).Once Easwaramma came to Me

and requested "Swami! Several poor mothers have come here alongwith their

children. They have no food to eat. Kindly bless them." Then I rendered them

proper help and thus fulfilled Easwaramma's wish. On another day, she came to

Me and expressed her anguish thus: "Swami! Small children of five years' age

are daily walking to Bukkapatnam and back for attending to school. How can they

study after walking a such a long distance daily?" Then, I called their parents

and advised them "These tiny tots can learn more from their mothers than from

their teachers in a school. Instead of sending these small children to such a

long distance for education, you first teach them what little you know. You

teach them at least two or three alphabets which you know". Later, I

established a school in Puttaparthi and

fulfilled the wish of Easwaramma.The mothers of those days, though they were

innocent and illiterate, never gave up praying to God. Love God. There is no

use wasting your time in worldly matters. We should never try to imitate

others. We must try to develop faith in the Truth that manifests from our own

heart. It is not good to develop hatred towards other castes and religions. One

should develop faith in one's own religion and follow it diligently.Once, when

this body was a student, some political leaders approached Me and requested

"Raju! We understand that you write good poetry. We arranged a meeting where a

number of our people are expected to participate. We request you to please

write a good song that can inspire our people." Those were the days of the

Second World War. Adolf Hitler was marching forward to conquer various

countries in Europe. He was trying to march into Russia. India was then under

the control of Britishers. Taking the situation into account, I

wrote a small playlet. In that playlet, I kept a rubber doll in a cradle and

sang the following song rocking the cradle gently:"Don't cry my child, don't

cryIf you cry, you will not be called the valorous son of Bharath…Did you cry

because the murderer HitlerInvaded the immortal Russia?The Red Army and the

brave StalinAre there to crush Hitler; don't cryWhy do you cry my child, why do

you cry?Do you cry because our people lack in unity…All the people will unite

and fightFor our freedom; don't cry.India will certainly attain freedomDon't

cry my child, don't cry…"The mothers of those days used to sing such inspiring

patriotic songs and teach their children good things. They used to mould their

character to make them as heroes of the country. There used to be no scope at

all for untruth in their talk. By their truthful words, they used to train

their children in the path of truth.Once, the village of Puttaparthi was

affected by infectious diseases like cholera and plague. Several people died on

account of these diseases. Then, I warned the children in the village that

these diseases will spread through drinking polluted water and eating impure

food and therefore they should take proper care in this regard.I exhorted them

"Purify the water and then drink. You eat only clean and wholesome food, though

in small quantities. Not only that, keep your mouth always fresh and clean.

Several diseases will affect you due to unclean mouth. It is not good for you

to eat anything that you come across, when you feel hungry. Whether it is for

keeping good health or happiness, God's grace is important. Hence, always pray

to God." Happiness can be attained only through constant contemplation on God;

nothing else. It is not something that can be attained by external objects. It

can only spring from one's own heart. In order that we may attain good health

and happiness, we must constantly contemplate on

God and thereby sanctify our time.It is only the parents who led ideal lives

that nourished and nurtured our country of Bharath, since ancient times.

Unfortunately, today you do not find sons who obey their parents. The youth of

today brush aside their parents' words as insane talk and ignore them. This is

not correct. They are not insane words; they are verily truthful words spoken

from the depth of their hearts. God will certainly hear the prayers said with

purity of consciousness and shower His Grace on such people. Hence, one should

always pray to God in whichever form one likes and sanctify one's life by the

grace of God. Since ancient times, the women of Bharath offered such prayers to

God, in all sincerity and devotion. That is the reason why the country of

Bharath could attain great heights.Embodiments of love!If you wish that you or

the children to be born to you must be sacred, constantly contemplate on God.

It is only when the parents lead a

good and noble life, their children will be good and noble. Hence, the parents

must be good, in the first instance. Unfortunately, today the parents are

unable to set an example to their children, with the result, the children are

taking to bad ways. Such sacred teachings have become extinct in the country of

Bharath, today. The mothers in ancient India used to teach good things and good

habits to their children thus:Get up early in the morning at the crowing of the

cock,Have a bath after your morning ablutions,Wear a proper dress.Eat properly

and moderately.Go to school and study diligently.Earn a good name.Don't move

out when it is raining,And never go near the ditches.Take part in games, Run

and play.If you abide by all these rules,You will have both health and wealth.

(Telugu Poem)Get up early in the morning at the crowing of the cock,Have a bath

after your morning ablutions,Wear a proper dress.Eat

properly and moderately.Go to school and study diligently.Earn a good name.Don't

move out when it is raining,And never go near the ditches.Take part in games,

Run and play.If you abide by all these rules,You will have both health and

wealth. (Telugu Poem)Both the elders as well as the children are not brushing

their teeth properly, today. That is why all sorts of diseases are spreading

from ourselves only. For both, good and bad, we only are responsible. They do

not come of their own accord. When we cultivate sacred feelings in us, we will

be rewarded with good results. If sacred feelings are to take root in us, we

have to cultivate good habits."Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical

practice. Better still is meditation. But, better than meditation is surrender

of the fruit of all actions. For, such renunciation of the fruit of all actions

would indeed result in liberation." (Gita – Ch.12 – Sloka 12)Right from early

morning till we go to bed, if we are engaged in good activities, that itself

will automatically become a practice. In fact, the country needs such youth.

Who are youth? People generally think that boys and girls aged between 18 and

20 years constitute youth. This is not correct. It is only people with noble

thoughts, who can be considered as youth. Hence, one must cultivate noble

thoughts. As soon as you get up, your first action shall be chanting the divine

name "Rama! Krishna! Govinda!" Again, before you go to bed, you must chant the

divine name. When you do such chanting of the divine name, you will always have

good thoughts. Unfortunately, today people totally forget chanting of the divine

name. People think that they are highly educated and have high degrees, but they

will not enable you to tread the right path. Education that will not develop

enquiry into one's own self is not education at all! It will only lead to

agitation! Mere book reading does not constitute education.

Book reading will contribute only to acquiring bookish knowledge. That is

artificial knowledge. Real knowledge comes out of the heart. When the young men

and women realise and propagate this Truth, the country will progress in all

directions.Embodiments of Love!Do not waste your time in reading voluminous

books, thinking that such books will help you in acquiring great knowledge. One

should read such books which will help in the contemplation on the divine name.

Do not be satisfied with acquiring mere bookish knowledge. Such knowledge is

only a superficial knowledge. What you need really is the knowledge of Self.

Strive to acquire that knowledge. It manifests from within. It cannot be

acquired from external sources. Is it not a fact that the more you dig in the

river bed, the more the water that comes out of the sand! Similarly, the more

you remove the bad thoughts in you, the more the sacred knowledge and sacred

thoughts manifest in you. Purity, Steadiness,

Wisdom and such other noble qualities manifest only from one's own heart. First

and foremost you have to cultivate sacred and noble thoughts. But, you need not

give credence to all such talk. You have to always tread the sacred path. The

mothers in the ancient times used to teach their children such sacred things.

That is why the children of those days used to engage themselves in constant

contemplation on God, with the result, the country was constantly protected by

God. It is not the body that is important for us, it is the thought and the

feelings. Several people question "Where is God?" I tell such people "My dear!

I am God; you are also God". This is the Truth. Why should we be afraid of

speaking this Truth? God is omnipresent. All are embodiments of God! There is

divinity in every human being. If not, we cannot live in this world. It is only

because of our faith in God, we have been able to survive in this world till

today. A small story to illustrate the point: There

used to be a husband and wife in a village. The wife was constantly chanting the

divine name "Rama! Krishna! Govinda!" and worshipping God daily. The husband,

however, was not doing any worship or contemplation on God. But, he used to

attend to his daily chores. The wife used to feel "Alas! My husband is not

chanting the divine name atleast once in a day". One night, the husband could

not get sleep and was turning this side and that side on the bed restlessly. At

that time, he casually said "Rama!" His wife was overjoyed on hearing the divine

name coming out of the mouth of her husband, though unintentionally. The next

day, as soon as she got up from her bed, she collected all the rice available

in the house, cooked it and fed the poor people, in jubilation. The husband who

was observing this feeding of the poor, enquired her "What is the matter! You

are cooking and feeding the poor today. What is the special occasion?" The wife

replied. "Yesterday night, I heard the divine name of

'Rama!' emerging from your mouth. My heart overflowed with joy on hearing the

divine name from your mouth. Hence, this celebration". On hearing his wife's

reply, the husband felt sorry and thought to himself "Alas! I have installed

Rama in my heart and worshipped him there all the while. Has my Rama gone out

from my heart today?" Several people do not give expression to their love and

devotion to God. They keep their devotion to themselves. However, one day or

the other it manifests outside.Embodiments of Love! Contemplate on the divine

name, irrespective of the religion, caste, creed or sex. You can always chant

the divine name of your liking. The mother of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa taught

her son good things and shaped him into a great yogi. All the mothers should

take her as an example and strive to put their children in the right path. If

you constantly contemplate on and chant the divine name, that itself will

purify your thoughts and feelings. Never forget the

divine name. If you constantly contemplate on the divine name, your life will

surely be sanctified. Embodiments of Love! You, therefore, contemplate on the

divine name constantly. (Bhagawan concluded his divine discourse with the

bhajan "Rama Rama Rama Sita…")

Source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Easwaramma_day_05_Discourse.htm