Guest guest Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 Sai Ram Light and Love Swami teaches.... (25 - 28 July 2005) Celestial Sound of Love in Human's Heart as God's Grace All around you echo the sentiments that you carry in your own heart. Yadh Bhaavam thadh bhavathi - "You become what you yourself feel." When you pronounce another person as vicious or bad, you are making a pronouncement on your own wickedness or vice. Your own impurity casts upon him/her that suspicion. Once you rid yourselves of faults, all are pure and good. Whatever you touch becomes gold; that is the Divine alchemy of Love, Divine Love, Universal Love, Love for Love's own sake. The rays of the morning Sun induce buds to blossom into fragrance and beauty; they prompt the Divine in you, today, to blossom into fragrance, purity and holy endeavour. Earth and sky take on a golden hue, reminding us of the Hiranya Garbha (Golden Womb) from which all creation emanated in the timeless past. From far melodies of violin are spreading and calling to meditate. What kind of information the sound of melody is carrying? Sound is of three kinds: Saamaanya, Varna and Mooka; Saamaanya (the common) are all the sounds of the objective world, of rain and thunder, of rivers gurgling, of valcanoes and earthquakes and the like, even the dropping of dew on a tender petal of rose, the sailing of a feather from a bird's wing through the air. The second kind is the sound of Varna (the spoken word): this carries a specific meaning and is armed with intention, to inform, or instruct or inspire. This is the flow of the heart-beat of one into the heart of another. The third kind is Mooka (the sound of silence): when one dives into the depth of that silence, one hears oneself, the primeval Cosmic Om, the Pranava that emanates from the praana (the vital vibration) that fills the Universe. To hear that sound, one has to approach, as near as possible, the core of one's being. That is why the Upanishath calls itself so; it urges you to go near, delve deep, dive to the very floor of the lake. Upa means Near; Nishath means Sitting. Om summarises the Vedhas and their teachings. Om thath sath, says the Geetha. Thath (that) which Sath (is) is Om, the One. Thath is used to indicate that the objective world is taken by senses to be separate and afar; it means 'that', and 'that' is always far, and separate. Sath means 'is,' 'the is,' 'this.' When you recognise the Thath as 'is' or Sath, it becomes 'this, it is no longer object, it is subject, and the merging of object with subject manifests as the Om. Om - the celestial sound of silence is an 'abode' where pictorially other kind of sounds has fused. Om - the language of Gods for this illusive world-Leela where God is above all gunas (qualities). He has no Aagraha (anger). He is ever the embodiment of Love. He is in gunas, but gunas are not in Him. There is clay in pots, but there is no pot in clay. One should not fear God. One must love Him so much that all acts He disapproves are discarded. Fear to do wrong; fear to hate another; fear to lose Grace. Yajnas (ritual sacrifices) are valid so long as you feel that you are the body. When you know that you are Brahman, yajnas lose value. Or, when you perform the yajna as a sacred act of thyaaga (renunciation) dedicated to God, regardless of the fruit thereof, with no calculation of the gains therefrom, then the yajna is worth while. The Lord is unaffected, though He is immanent in the universe. Human too must be in the world, but not of it.Holding the fan by the hand will not help; you must move it to and fro vigorously, in order to feel the cool breeze that blows on your face. There is no breeze in the fan; it is all around you, everywhere, as air. Direct it towards yourself by saadhana (spiritual practice). So too, direct the Grace of God that is everywhere, towards you and make yourself happy by saadhana. Saadhana and ceremonial rituals,prayers have undoubtedly special meaning. But, But Swami tells you must be concerned more with the Sun in your inner firmament than in the depths of outer space. You are concerned with the inner illumination, more than external light and energy. What is the saadhana that will send the inner Sun Godward? God is hidden and obstructed by the clouds of egoism which are connected with desires and differences. Seeing difference is the bane of the undeveloped intellect. The One Sun is seen, adored, and acknowledged all over the world; you do not boast of an American Sun, an Ananthapur Sun... When you pay undue attention to differences, 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. The Aanandha that the Aathman can manifest will keep age and aging away. Impress on your consciousness that Nature is alive, since God is life; that Nature appears ever-lasting, since God is eternal; Nature is but a reflection of God. Without the motivator, Nature is helpless and powerless. Appearance is but a reflection of reality. The Grace of God cannot be won through the gymnastics of reason, the contortions of Yoga or the denials of asceticism. Love alone can win it, Love that needs no requital, Love that knows no bargaining, Love that is paid gladly, as tribute to the All-loving, Love that is unwavering. Love alone can overcome obstacles, however many and mighty. There is no strength more effective than purity, no bliss more satisfying than love, no joy more restoring devotion, no triumph more praiseworthy than surrender. The achievement of Aanandha through prema (of the highest bliss through the highest love) - this is the teaching of Vedhaantha. Vedhaantha is an often misunderstood school of philosophy. It does not mean the study of profound tomes, or the calculated breathing, through trained nostrils of measured quantities of air, or even eating as a dog does and sleeping as a jackal does, (wandering without any assured abode or source of sustenance) as the saying goes. Right living, balanced living, true living is the prescription of Vedhaantha. The fair face of Vedhaantha has been disfigured by fanatics and false interpreters. They created confusion where clarity existed and so people lost faith in spiritual discipline itself. Vedhaantha is Love, the philosophical basis for that love.Love flow full and free, regardless of consequence, for, it is one's nature to love, to seek out the dry dreary wastes which love can water and make fertile. Wherever there is a vacuum, in any heart, Love flows into it and is glad that it can fill the emptiness. It is never held back; it is offered in abundance, without guile or deceit; it does not wear the cloak of falsehood, flattery or fear. When love is directed towards things that cater to the senses or bodily happiness, it will dry up when they fail or disappoint. When profit is loved, loss will undermine it. Discontent will sap its springs, when you love with the motive of worldly contentment. Even when ten million disappointments combine to distress you, never give up love; fix it on the source of love, the spring of love, the Supreme Goal of love, namely, God. Whatever the handicap, howsoever you are tempted to loosen the grip, hold on to God; there is always a calm, after the storm. Love ennobles the least and the lowest. Love your Self for the God that it embodies; love others, for the God that is enshrined in them, that speaks and acts through them. This is the bedrock on which you can build the mansion of happiness, this recognition of the Divine, that motivates you from within. But, at the present time, people are content to listen to the praise of the Day and repeating what they have heard, to others, in parrot chatter. What really matters, however, is the experience of the bliss that it is designed to confer. Passion, agitation, anxiety - these degrade human nature. They are born out of hatred, greed, malice or envy, which love alone can counteract. People who visit India will notice the large concourses that attend temples, that partake in bhajans and Naamasankeerthan where the glory of God is sung with demonstrative enthusiasm that; mill around venerable personalities who preach and teach the ways of God, and they infer that this is a sacred land full of pious individuals, who tread the pilgrim path to Divinity. But, these are frequently hollow rituals, empty exercises, exhibitionistic picnics or hikes; the pilgrims are more interested in shopping, both in the temple and the bazaars, than in stopping the ungodly habits to which they are attached. They are unaware of the basic truth of God, nor are they anxious to earn that awareness, by the hard path of discipline. It is always good to remember that without an intellectual grasp of the fundamentals of the Divine Principle, all vows, fasts and vigils are imitative, routine, mechanical activities that involve waste of time and energy. If your devotion does not stand by you when you seek to revere the reflections of God in the body-mirrors that move around you, when you peer into and prostrate before these images of God that parade before you, wherever you cast your eyes, how can you claim to be devoted to God, the Original of which these are but faint and faltering echoes? If you simply group together, preparing and sharing Prasaadhams (eatables placed as offerings to God) on every conceivable occasion, or even singing and extolling God, your efforts are all in vain. Expand your hearts; enlarge your vision; enlarge the circle of kinship; take more and more of your fellow beings into the tabernacle of your hearts. And, adore them in loving worship. Wisdom is only compassion at its highest; for, through sympathy you enter the heart of another and understand the other person through and through, you go behind the veil of pretence and punditry, convention and custom; you go behind good manners and fashion that people put on to hide their agony and ignorance from the rest of the world. Finding the unity in this diversity of roles is true wisdom. It is not enough if you believe that God is everywhere and at all times, and that you are yourself no different from Him. When you are God yourself, to whom are you to surrender what? Think over this deeply and attain to that realisation. It is not enough if you have no hatred towards other beings. A wall has no hatred towards any being. But, is that the ideal? You must positively love all beings, actively love, actively engage yourself in acts of love. Treat the distressed, the diseased, the old, the helpless, the child with great respect, and intelligent consideration. Lead simple lives; do not develop an attraction for high life, gaudy outlandish dress and manners; invite the reverential attention of those who need service. Test every gesture, every mannerism, every whim of yours, on this touchstone Will this win the approval of Swami? When you recognise Swami as the dweller in your heart, you will walk on the path of self-knowledge, self-confidence, self-satisfaction and self-realisation. Try to assuage, as far as you can, the distress of others; it is the best saadhana for the aspirant. Human being walks with two legs: this world and the other, dharma and Brahaman, righteousness and God. If one is totally engrossed in this world, he/she is choosing to travel all his life with a handicap; hopping on one leg. Goodness in this world, Godliness for the life after death - equal attention to both, vigilance while taking a step, with either foot, these are essential for a happy journey through life. Uma's father, the Monarch of the Himalaayas, is said to have prayed to Shiva, "Vouchsafe to me the vision of a fraction of your Universal Self. How can I cognise through my senses and limited intelligence, the limitless?" Human can picture God as having Human Form. That is the way in which divinity can be grasped by human. Here and now, it is only as He, that God can be felt and experienced. God is not to be spoken of as Coming down or going up, since He is everywhere, available for your becoming aware of Him, through beauty, truth, goodness, strength, love or any one of the divine attributes. However, how is it possible for a human being to be wicked or vicious, when the body is the temple of God. The words may be harsh, actions may be reprehensible, behaviour may be revolting, but, person is nevertheless Divine. For, look upon person not as a body with a name and form, or a mind with emotions and feelings, or reason with resolutions and conclusions, but, as the Aathman, the "Universal I what is as pure, peaceful, illumined and expansive as the "I" of which it is but a wave. Cultivate this attitude of observing everyone. Then, you can rid your mind of prejudices. The I in person and the I in you are identical, for, both derive existence, knowledge and bliss from the same "absolute I", the Paramaathmam. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8. "The Super-emperor," Chapter 2; "Hopping on one leg," Chapter 3 and "Horn and tusk," Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 11. "This and that," Chapter 11 and "Love, the sine qua non," Chapter 12). Namaste - Reet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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