Swami teaches.... Awareness of the eternal Divine through prayer

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram everyone ...

 

What a wonderful and 'timely' blessing for the Sai Prayer group about the real

purpose and meaning of Prayer!!!

 

Thank you so much for posting this Reet ..

 

May Swami bless everyone always ...

Sai Ram

Your sister in Sai always

Melody

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Light and Love Swami teaches.... (18 June 2005) (Pause 8 - 17 June 2005)

Awareness of the Eternal Divine Through Prayer

The indwelling spirit in every one is the same Divinity. Forms may be

different but the Spirit in all is the same. It is pure, unchanging and

timeless. From within you, God will be guiding and inspiring you, to discharge

your duty. Be ever aware of the God who is the real. Seek solace, sustenance,

and guidance from Him through prayer. Many do not realise the joy that can be

derived from unselfishness and prayer from pure heart. They do not invoke the

Grace of God through prayer.

Prayer is the expression of human's gratitude to God. It is also the means

of awakening an awareness of the eternal Divine within. Prayer is essential for

developing love for God. The prayer should be heart-felt. Ravana worshipped

Shiva but without giving up his demonic nature. Hence he could not get the

grace of God even through prayer. Remember that there is nothing in

this world as powerful as the Lord's name to protect it. It is not arms and

bombs that will save the world. Only God's grace should protect the world. It

is human's foremost duty to pray for God's grace. Prayer is of supreme

importance. Bhajans are as a special type of collective prayer. Together with

melody and rhythm, you have to impart feeling to your singing to make the

bhajan a sacred offering to the Divine. Shanting the prayer you too make an

offering to the Divine.

 

In daily life also awareness is needed at every step and in every prayer.

For example, when all the participants in a bhajan sing in unison, what sacred

vibrations are produced and what Divine energies are released. When these

vibrations fill the world, what changes cannot they bring about! When one sings

alone, the heart is merged in the song. But when many sing together, it acquires

a Divine power. That wasthe reason why Guru Nanak commended community singing.

Community praying has nearly the same effect when it is performed in unison,

with pure heart and thoughts.

 

The Gayathri (Vedhic prayer to illuminate the intellect) is the Universal

prayer enshrined in the Vedas, the most ancient scriptures. The Gayathri is

considered as Vedasaara - "the essence of the Vedas." Veda means knowledge, and

this prayer fosters and sharpens the knowledge - yielding faculty.

The Gayathri is usually repeated at dawn, midnoon and dusk. But God being

beyond time, it is a result of our limitations that we talk of dawn and dusk.

You need not be bound by the three points of time to recite the prayer. It can

be repeated always and everywhere, only one has to ensure that the mind is

pure. I would advise to recite it when you take your bath. When you bathe, the

body is being cleansed; let your mind and intellect also be cleansed. Make it a

point to repeat it when you bathe as well as before every meal, when you wake

from sleep and when you go to bed. And also repeat 'Shanthi' thrice at the end,

for that repetition will give Shanthi or peace to three entities in you - body,

mind and soul.

So the Gayathri mantra has been given as a third eye to reveal to you that

inner vision by which you may realise Brahman.

Gayathri is a treasure you must guard throughout your lives. If you have not

caught the sounds of the mantra correctly, learn it from them who know it in

your study circle. Never give up the Gayathri; you may give up or ignore any

other mantra but you should recite the Gayathri at least a few times a day. It

will protect you from harm wherever you are.

Buddhi (intellect) is the only instrument for realisation of true human

values. Jnaana (spiritual knowledge) alone can grant the vision of the ultimate

Truth. That is why the Gayathri leads to the light that fills the Universe to

illuminate the intelligence as a prayer for prompting the spirit of inquiry and

illuminate the pathby the inner light of the spirit.

Scientists have investigated the vibrations produced by this mantra and have

found that when it is recited with the correct accent as laid down in the Vedas,

the atmosphere around becomes visibly illumined.

The mind is a bundle of thoughts. Actions ensue from thoughts. Hence

thoughts are the seeds which ultimately yield fruits in the form of good

fortune and misfortune. Human is thus the architect of own life. As thoughts

determine actions, it is essential to cultivate good thoughts. When the mind is

turned towards God the entire life becomes purified. What is needed is control

over the senses through devotion andsteadfastness and prayer. It helps spread

divine vibrations into space and to other human beings, develop good qualities

and act righteously.

The spiritual education is a foundation for classical, mundane education.

Swami asks to teach the culture of prayer at schools from young age.

Shikshana (training) is a process in which the teacher and the taught

cooperate and it must be a pleasant experience for both, a useful and

heartening endeavour. Education is a slow process like the unfolding of a

flower, the fragrance becoming deeper and more perceptible with the silent

blossoming, petal by petal, of the entire flower. Prayer is as the light breeze

what activates the education process. Students may be encouraged to go to bed

regularly every day at 9 p.m. and wake up at 5 a.m. and after washing the face

and cleaning the eyes and teeth, they may be induced to pray or even to

meditate. Do not think that there is a time enough for prayer later on in life,

during old age perhaps. The time to lay the foundation for the habit is now. At

school too, the day's work should start with prayer for five minutes which

should be taken seriously by one and all, and not reduced to the mere formality

or farce that it has become in most schools. The slightest sign of neglect shown

by the school while arranging the prayer sessions will react on the minds of the

children and they will see through the humbug quickly.

Treat the prayer as the very foundation of the entire edifice of schooling.

When the last bell of the day is rung, make the pupils stand up in the class

quietly and let them observe silence for a minute or two and then disperse.

There is nothing like silence to still the waves of your heart.

 

There are three aspects connoted by the 'I'. 'I am this body' is the first;

'I am the life-force in it' is the second; 'I am the Atma (Divine Self)' is the

third. I am all. I am Brahman. Aham Brahmaasmi." The body is mortal; the

Jeeva-principle undergoes transformation; but the Aathma is Immortal. The

Aathma persists inunaffected glory in the waking, dreaming, sleeping and the

fourth level beyond. The gross body is active in the waking stage; the subtle

1-consciousness is alert in dreams, the Causal Aathma is dormant as 'I' in

sleep. The real I or Aathma has no exclusive affiliation to one body, one

country, one nation or one sex. It is in every being everywhere, in bird and

beast, plant and tree.

 

Every human being has four birthdays. The first is when he emerges from his

mother's womb and, being neither holy nor unholy, craves only for food and

shelter; the second is when he begins his spiritual study to lead him from

darkness to light; the third is when human being has gained wisdom, having

mastered the disciplines propounded by the rishis for achieving

self-realisation; the fourth and last is when he realises the true identity

and merges with Brahman. Life is a continuous series of sacrifices of the

lower for the sake of the higher, of the tiny in favour of the vast. Your two

eyes cannot reveal to you the magnificence and the majesty of the realm of the

spirit. They are focussed towards the objective world and its transient

attractions. The removal of the moss that floats thick on the surface of

the lake reveals the water beneath; theremoval of the dust that lies thick upon

the mirror enables you to see yourself. When the personsees himself as an image,

it is only partial truth; when he knows he is the person, not an image, itis the

truth. The bimba (object) must know itself as the bimba; the I must become aware

of the I;that is Self-realisation. The eye can see the star that is billions of

light years away; but, it cannotsee itself! The eye must see the eye, so that

it can claim to have self-realisation, a vision of itselfas it truly is.

Unless you know yourself you cannot know Swami. When you see a plane above, you

know that itmust have a pilot; but, if you want to see him, you have to get into

it and be in the plane, after purchasing the requisite ticket. On this ticket

what leads to Swami has written: "You should offer your knowledge for the

benefit of the people. Cultivate the spirit of oneness of all mankind. The

Avathaar has come down to declare that God is present everywhere. The Avathaar

comes not only to proclaim the eternal virtues but also to shower His love on

all mankind. Each one will get the benefit according to the size of the vessel

he holds."

Swami mentions that when the doctor handles a patient and treats him, and

the patient submits himself to the treatment, both do not know that between

them, there is a third force, more capable and more decisive. This third force

is the Divine Grace. Nothing happens in this world without this. Do not pay

attention to A-viveki (a person devoid of discrimination and sharp

intelligence); he/she at the present state of development cannot understand you

and your mission. (Reet's compilation from,

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 29. "Not salaries but service," Chapter 24 and "Man's

debt to God," Chapter 34; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 24. "No global disaster to

be apprehended," Chapter 4;

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 16. "Unity and purity: message of Ramzan," Chapter 14;

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 13. "The Universal Prayer," Chapter 34; Sathya Sai

Speaks. Vol. 8. "The third force," Chapter 38; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 1.

"Shikshana," Chapter 16).

 

Namaste - Reet