Divine Discourse on 3rd September 2005, Eschew Body Attachment

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Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba delivering His Divine Discourse on 3rd September

2005 at Prashanti Nilayam

Text of the Divine Discourse delivered by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 3rd

September 2005, in Sai Kulwanth Hall, Prashanti Nilayam, at the International

Sai Medical Conference

The Effulgent Lord who shines in every atom and pervades the entire universe

will protect you always. He is the Omnipotent Lord of Parthi who will grant you

Bhakthi (devotion), and will certainly help you in all your endeavours. What

else is to be conveyed to this assembly of noble souls? (Telugu Poem)

Embodiments of Love! Man thinks that he is able to lead a comfortable life with

the help of wealth, food, clothing, houses, etc., he has acquired. This is not

true. The very survival of a human being is dependent on God's grace. There are

many wealthy people in this world. Do they all lead a comfortable life? It is a

fact that none can achieve anything in this world without God's grace. Hence,

first and foremost man must contemplate on God. One may read a number of books,

acquire a number of academic degrees and visit a number of countries, but these

cannot help a human being to lead a comfortable life. People think that they

have acquired high academic qualifications, but they enable them to acquire

only bookish knowledge. At present, you find that everyone is engaged in

acquiring bookish knowledge. But, they forget the fact that people led a

happier and better life without bookish knowledge in the past. People think

that pursuing academic

education and acquiring bookish knowledge is real education. No, that is not

real education. Education devoid of educare is not real education. What is

educare? Educare is that which brings out the latent divinity in a human being.

Divinity is also known as consciousness. It is only because of the consciousness

present in him that every individual is able to know the nature of the world

around him. But, unfortunately no one is able to recognise this all-pervading

consciousness. In fact, it is only this consciousness that is protecting every

human being. In spite of one's education and scholarship, one is not able to

realise this truth. Education is negative and artificial, whereas educare is

positive. People are going to foreign countries to acquire such artificial

education. What is the use of acquiring such education? Instead, everyone

should strive to acquire educare. One need not go to foreign countries for

acquiring educare. It wells up from within and protects the person

constantly. Educare is the unity of thought, word and deed. One who has realised

his own nature is an educated person in the real sense. One may enquire, "Who

are you?Who is he?", etc., but one may not know who he is. One might have

acquired encyclopaedic knowledge about everything in this world. But, of what

use is it, if he does not enquire into himself by questioning "Who am I?" Real

education constitutes enquiring into oneself about his true nature. You may

question someone, "Sir! Where did you come from?" The person replies, "I am

from India". That very reply that he came from India connotes a negative sense.

The real 'I' is to be explored. That 'I' is the real source. Without realising

this source if one simply states that he came from this place or that place, it

is not the correct answer. The reply that he came from India refers to the body.

The body must have travelled from India. But, the consciousness is

all-pervading. When someone questions, "Who are you?" The

correct answer would be, "I am I". If someone replies that he came from America

or India, it connotes a negative sense. We often make a statement that this is

my body, my mind, my intellect, etc. These are all artificial and not real.

Nowadays, a lot of research is being made into the nature of the mind. But the

mind is never steady. The mind is like a mad monkey and the body is like a

water bubble. You are not this mad monkey. You are not this water bubble. The

name given to the human race is "mankind". But, today that kindness is gone and

mankind has become monkey mind. You don't find even an iota of kindness and

compassion in human beings today. Realising one's innate divinity is educare.

That innate divinity in man has been referred to by several people as Atma.

Without realising the nature of the Atma one cannot understand the nature of

the body. Educare consists of realising the nature of the Atma. When someone

questions you what is the meaning of

the word "self", you answer 'I'. But that is not the correct meaning of self. It

is not correct to identify 'I' with 'self', i.e., body. 'I' refers to Aham

(individualised soul). As long as one identifies 'I' with self, one cannot

understand the real meaning of 'I'. It is only when one sheds attachment to

self and develops the feeling of equanimity, can one understand the nature of

Atma. This Atma Tattwa is equally present in every being. This is the

fundamental principle. It is only because of this fundamental principle that

every living being acquires value. One has to recognise this fundamental

principle. Only then does one deserve to be called a human being. In this world

birds and beasts live along with human beings. Human beings can be

differentiated from birds and beasts only when man realises that fundamental

'I' which is the Atma Tattwa. Since ancient times people in India have been

striving to realise this fundamental 'I' which is present in all

beings.These days people are confronted with several difficulties and worries in

their life since their awareness is limited to bodily relationship. Such body

consciousness is artificial. It does not reveal their true Self. One has to

strive to realise the fundamental 'I'. Human body is ephemeral and is bound to

perish one day or the other. When we speak of 'I', it should not be limited to

the ephemeral human body, but to the fundamental 'I'.

The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or later but

the indweller has neither birth nor death. The indweller has no attachment

whatsoever and is the eternal witness. (Telugu Poem)

The Deha (human body) with which we identify ourselves saying 'I', is subject to

birth and death again and again. But, the Dehi (indweller), is the eternal

Devadeva (Paramatma). While the vesture of Deha (body) has birth and death, the

Dehi is beyond birth and death and is omnipresent.

Consciousness has neither birth nor death. It has neither beginning nor end. It

is present in all beings as the eternal witness. (Telugu Poem)

You might have observed a beggar standing in front of your house seeking alms

with a request Bhavathi Bhikshaamdehi (give me alms). He is reminding you of

your true nature of Divinity by addressing you so. The word 'Dehi' refers to

Divinity. He is seeking alms from God Himself. Hence, true education is

realising the Dehi. Education is not merely reading a number of books, which

confers only bookish knowledge. Why do you run after these books? This bookish

knowledge will enable you to merely eke out a livelihood. But, there is

something beyond this bookish knowledge and livelihood, which all of you have

to pursue.

Can you call all those who know how to read and write educated?Can one be called

educated merely for acquiring degrees?Can you call it education which does not

confer virtues?If education is just for a living, don't we find birds and

beasts carrying on their lives?(Telugu Poem)

One may acquire a lot of wealth and become a millionaire with the help of

bookish knowledge and high academic degrees. But, ultimately people will give

value to a realised soul and not to the one who has accumulated enormous

wealth. As long as the body is present, people will refer to a person as "so

and so; a very rich person; a king, etc."At present, man is exposed to unrest

and lack of peace. What could be the reason for this state of affairs? Not even

one individual is living peacefully. The whole world is in a state of turmoil.

It is true that secular education is necessary for one's living in this world.

But, one has to go beyond this level and explore into the realm of universal

consciousness that leads and motivates every living being. That consciousness

is present equally in every human being right from a pauper to a millionaire.

The fundamental 'I' is present in you, him and every individual. Here is a

small example. Supposing you

question somebody, "Who is the doctor?" The doctor will immediately rise to

answer, 'I' am the doctor. In this example, the doctor identifies himself with

his profession and says 'I' am the doctor. But he forgets about the fundamental

'I' present in him. When a question is put, "Where is God?" The natural answer

would be, "He is present in all." The same truth is enshrined in the aphorisms,

Easwara Sarva Bhutanam (God is the indweller of all beings) and Isavasyam Idam

Sarvam (the entire universe is permeated by God). Different varieties of sweets

like Mysore pak, Gulab Jamoon, Laddu, Khova, etc., are prepared. Names are

different, but the fundamental ingredient (sugar) in all these sweets is the

same. Similarly, one who realises the truth that the same Atma Tattwa is

present in every human being and, in fact, every living being, is the happiest

person. Several persons today must attain such a level of consciousness. People

in ancient times strove to attain that

state and therefore they were aptly referred to as Yogis. They realised the

truth that every human being was actually a three-in-one entity – 1) the one he

thinks he is, 2) the one others think he is, and 3) the one he really is. All

the three aspects are present in one individual, with no separate entity for

each aspect. This principle is changeless and eternal. We often come across

people who claim that their sons are employed in lucrative jobs in America. As

a matter of fact, who is your son? You say that so and so is your son, keeping

in view the bodily relationship with someone who has a name and form. Devoid of

name and form, who is the son and who is the father? All these names and forms

are acquired only after a person is born.

When man emerges from the womb of his mother, one does not find any garland

around his neck. There are no jewels made of pearls nor are there glittering

gold ornaments. There are no chains studded with precious stones like emerald

and diamonds. But there is one garland around his neck. Brahma strings together

the consequences of his past deeds into a heavy garland and puts it around his

neck at the time of his birth. (Telugu Poem)

As long as there is bodily relationship between you and him, you call him your

son. If the body perishes, whom do you call your son? All these relationships

are worldly and physical. As long as the physical relationship exists you

consider someone as your relative, friend or foe. Hence, do not ever give

excessive importance to these physical relationships. It is only when you rise

above these physical relationships that you will realise the Antaryami (inner

motivator). You may enquire from any of our boys, "Where is God?" They will

spontaneously answer, "Everywhere. In fact, you are God." Their relationship

with God is beyond the physical level of the body. We are always leading a life

based on physical relationships. But, these are not permanent. Such

relationships exist today, but may cease to exist tomorrow. As long as there is

life in the body, you say, "I am". Once the body perishes how can you call

yourself 'I'? When you enquire into the

matter deeply, everything in this objective world reduces itself to zero. All

that we see in this world are zeros. Unfortunately, today we consider the zero

as hero. However, there is one fundamental principle 'I' which is eternal. That

fundamental principle is hero. It is present in every individual, but it is not

noticed. It is the inner motivator. We often refer to our human body consisting

of flesh and blood as 'I'. Our physical body is not eternal. It is like the

passing clouds which come and go. Considering such transient body as the

eternal 'I', we often struggle to keep the body in comfort. This is not the

correct approach. The body must be employed for the purpose for which it was

given to us. Man is born to realise the eternal truth. Here is a small example.

You performed the marriage of your son and brought a girl into your house,

claiming her as your daughter-in-law. Before her marriage to your son, who was

this daughter-in-law? The relationship ceases to exist once you

leave this world. Such relationships are like passing clouds. Unfortunately,

today we are passing our lives keeping such passing clouds as our true

relationships. This is not the proper thing to do. Every individual should

desist from leading a life based on Dehabhimana (attachment to the body). Even

educated people have attachment to the body, they constantly strive to maintain

the physical body feeding it with comforts. It is only because of attachment to

the body that they are exposed to sorrows and difficulties. Hence, shed body

attachment and cultivate attachment to the Eternal Truth. People crave for the

Darshan of Rama, Krishna and other deities, which are the names given to the

physical body donned by Divinity in different ages. As long as you are attached

to the physical body, you cannot realise the Atma Tattwa. In fact, Atma does not

have any attachment. The Atma is present in you, Me and every individual and

every living being in keeping with the

aphorism Ekatma Sarva Bhutantaratma (one Atma dwells in all beings). Realising

the nature of such an all-pervading Atma is considered to be true spirituality;

not just performing some rituals like worship, religious vows and Bhajans. When

someone enquired of Sita, "Where is your Rama?" She replied, "Sri Rama is

always with me only." What people generally refer to is the physical body of

Sri Rama, the son of King Dasaratha. In fact, the real Rama is not related to

any individual – neither the son of some king nor the son-in-law of another

king. He is immanent in every living being. Keeping in view the bodily

relationship, people often make enquiries, "Where did your uncle come from?"

Where did your aunt come from?", etc. Supposing you question the same person,

"Where did you come from?" He cannot give a correct answer. The truth is all

people come from the same source. When one realises this truth, there will no

more be any worry or sorrow. Hence, one has to

realise this universal truth. If you do not develop faith in unity, but follow

diversity, your entire life will be chaotic. Do not develop attachment to the

world. Instead, cultivate spiritual attachment. When you live in harmony with

your fellow human beings, you will derive happiness. Then you will enjoy the

unity between human beings. The real devotee is one who has realised such

unity. Unity leads to purity, which in turn leads to Divinity. One who has not

experienced such unity, purity and divinity confines himself to body attachment

and will be trapped in the birth-death cycle. You are all aware of the havoc of

tidal waves that shook the coastal villages on the east coast of India

(Tsunami), a few months ago. More recently, in America a very devastating

hurricane submerged several towns and villages. The entire region presented the

picture of a vast sheet of water. No one knew who survived and who died. It is

only after the water receded, an estimate of the extent of

damage caused to life and property could be made.Embodiments of Love!Eschew body

attachment and realise the unity in divinity present everywhere. That is real

Sadhana. Today, people undertake Sadhana to achieve something, all the while

thinking of something else. As a result, they are unable to achieve their goal.

Such divided attention is the fault of the concerned individual, but not that of

the objective world. Ensure that your Sadhana is on the right track. Only then

will you be able to realise the unity in diversity. Several people live long

years of age, some even 100 years. But, they are unable to realise this unity.

Instead, they visualise duality everywhere. This cannot be termed as real

Sadhana. One who has realised the non-dual (Advaita) Brahman alone can be

considered to be a real Manava (human being). Hence, try to realise the unity

in diversity by removing the feelings of duality and experience bliss. In

fact, unity is divinity and that divinity is immanent in you. As long as you are

under the influence of duality, you will not be able to realise that unity.

Realise unity, experience unity and spread unity to the entire world. Unity

alone brings purity and purity develops love. If only you develop such pure

love, you will be able to understand everything in the spiritual realm. I will

take some other opportunity to explain in greater detail the concept of pure

love. If you entangle yourself in worldly attachments and still aspire for

divinity, how is it possible? Hence, keep yourself away from all attachments

and attain unity. (Bhagavan concluded His Discouse with the Bhajan, "Prema

Mudhita Manase Kaho …")

Source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/08_International_Medical_Conference.htm