Dasara Divine Discourse: Purity of Heart is True Sadhana - 9th October 2005

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Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba delivering His Divine Discourse on 9th October 2005

at Prashanti Nilayam

Text of the Divine Discourse delivered by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 9th

October 2005, Dasara, in Sai Kulwanth Hall, Prashanti Nilayam

Without any real work, chatting throughout the day, is this Sadhana, do you

think? Following a regimen of feeding your belly thrice a day, do you think it

is Sadhana? Vigorous activity by day and deep sleep by night, do you think this

is Sadhana? Is this for which God has created you? You spend a whole lot of time

in this kind of regimen but this is not Sadhana. Do not waste your time in this

manner. From this moment strive to know-recognise-God. This alone is

Sadhana.(Telugu Poem)

Embodiments of Love!The all-pervading consciousness is termed as Divinity. It is

also said that Divinity is present in all living beings. But, there is none who

has seen that omnipresent Divinity. It is only a human being who can

contemplate on and realise the Cosmic Person. In fact, human life itself is the

manifestation of divine power. But, some people do not agree with this

statement. Divinity is manifest in every living being. The same Atma Tattwa is

present not only in human beings, but in every living being in the universe.

But, one has to have a pure and selfless heart to realise this truth. In order

to realise this truth, every human being has to constantly contemplate on God.

By doing so, your heart will become pure and peaceful. The moment you attain

that stage, God will surely perceptibly manifest in you. This must be your

Sadhana. It is not the practice of dhyana alone that can make God manifest to

the Sadhaka.

God is present as an indweller uniformly in human beings as well as insects,

birds and beasts. Suppose you put a question, "Where is God now?", the

spontaneous answer would be that God is present in you also. Several people

undertake sadhanas like dhyana (meditation) to find answers to such questions.

Sage Narada affirmed that God could be realised through the nine forms of

devotion, namely, Sravanam (listening), Kirtanam (singing), Vishnusmaranam

(contemplating on Vishnu), Padasevanam (serving His lotus feet), Vandanam

(salutation), Archanam (worship), Dasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship) and

Atmanivedanam (self-surrender).There is no one in this world in whose heart God

does not dwell as the indweller. Therefore, is meditation required to visualise

such an all-pervading and omnipresent God? There are many who teach different

techniques of meditation today. However, meditation is meant

to acquire purity of the spiritual heart, for, without attaining purity of the

heart, the seat of awareness, God cannot be realised. Hence, one has to strive

to attain purity of the spiritual heart. What kind of sadhana did Kamsa do in

Dwapara Yuga? In fact, he was constantly abusing Lord Krishna. However, Lord

Krishna was so compassionate that He gave His darshan to Kamsa. No sadhana

would help in realising God, if one is devoid of purity of the heart. The

different kinds of sadhana like fasting, meditation, etc., would help to

develop one's faith in the omnipresent God who, in fact, resides as the

indweller in you. People generally think that God gave darshan to such and such

person. But the truth is God never gives darshan to people who have no purity of

the heart. Hence, if you wish to have the darshan of God, you must develop

purity of the heart. All kinds of sadhana are meant only to attain purity. The

moment you

attain purity of the heart, the omnipresent God will manifest right in front of

you. Unfortunately, today in the world there is a dearth of Gurus who can

firmly lead the seeker on the path of purity. They confine themselves to some

mechanical techniques of meditation, in exchange for money.In fact, one does

not need to undertake any complex system of meditation. One can undertake the

simple sadhana of constant contemplation on the omnipresent God. Few teach such

simple methods nowadays. People listen to and read about several intriguing

kinds of meditation and start their sadhana that catches their interest or

imagination.Embodiments of Love!If you want to visualise God, you must attain

purity of the heart. You refer to a certain individual and say that he is your

father. But, the father is embarrassed at such reference since he is, in

reality, the same Atma Tattwa that is present in all the human beings. You

marry some girl and

refer to her as your wife. But, she is in fact, the embodiment of the divine

Atma. Similarly, you caress a child affectionately calling it as your son. But,

the same child may tell you that he is not your son in reality, but the

embodiment of divinity. Thus, all relationships in this world are in fact,

Atmic relationships only. To speak the truth, real Atma Sakshatkara (self

realisation) is the merging of the individual self (Jiva) with Brahman (Supreme

Self). Anyone you come across, is verily God. How can there be human beings

without such omnipresent divinity? Lord Krishna declared that He incarnated

again and again whenever there was decline in the practice of Dharma

(righteousness). He also declared that He was the beejam (seed) in all the

living beings. Though He moved intimately with the Gopalas and Gopikas, He was

never bound by their relationship with Him. The Gopikas who were aware of this

truth constantly contemplated on

Him chanting the divine name "Krishna! Krishna! The very name Krishna brought

the embodiment of divine Atma before their eyes. The Gopikas were highly

realised souls who had the firm conviction that the same Atma Tattwa was

present in every individual, nay, every living being. That is why they could

visualise Krishna in every individual and every object of the world. All that

we see in the objective world, say, for example, this Hall, this pandal, the

buildings around, etc., are not really objects. People often get deluded into

thinking so, seeing their external forms. The universal Atma Tattwa is present

in all these objects. It is only the Gopikas who realised that Supreme Truth

naturally and spontaneously. They could visualise Krishna in all individuals

and objects. We often refer to individuals as my son, my brother, my father, my

mother, my wife, etc., keeping in view the worldly relationships. But, the truth

is that the same God is manifesting through all

those individuals. Hence, one has to consider every individual as the embodiment

of divinity. The entire universe is permeated by Brahma Tattwa. All the names

and forms attributed to the Atma Tattwa are all our own making. Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa used to perform several methods/modes of worship to Mother Kali

throughout the day. One day the Divine Mother appeared before him and enquired,

"Ramakrishna! You are getting mad day by day. You worshipped Me in a particular

form. Why do you confine Me to this form and that form. In fact, all forms are

Mine. Whomsoever you come across, consider them as the embodiments of divinity.

God is pure and attributeless. Such an attributeless and unsullied divinity is

present in every human being. All human beings are, in fact, the reflections of

such an omnipresent divinity. Hence, every human being has to be considered as

the embodiment of divinity and respected. Though God is omnipresent, He assumes

a particular form and

serves the human beings in many ways. Right from now, realise this truth that

all names and forms are His. Anybody you come across, consider him / her as the

embodiment of Divinity. When you develop such an attitude, you can see God

anywhere and everywhere.You go to Mathura or Dwaraka and see how people are

still worshipping Lord Krishna with the same devotional fervour, though He left

His mortal coil in Dwapara Yuga some 5000 years ago. When God incarnates in

human form, it is natural to consider Him as an ordinary human being. This is

not the correct approach. I often reiterate that I am God. But, I also remind

you that you are verily God. You should not give scope for any confusion and

difference of opinion in this regard. Everyone of you are embodiments of

divinity in reality. When you develop such a firm conviction, you can visualise

God in every human being. It is only in keeping with this concept that the

expression Yad bhavam tad bhavati (as is the feeling, so

is the result) asserted in the scriptures. Since people are not aware of the

real nature of divinity, they refer to certain individuals as father, mother,

uncle, etc., keeping in view their physical forms and the relationships with

them. If people are so deluded on the basis of physical relationships, they are

bound to get confused about the real nature of divinity. Lord Krishna declared

once while revealing His omnipresent divinity that there was none other than

Him in the entire universe. The same truth is contained in the declaration Ekam

Sath viprah bahudha vadanti (truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various

names). For example, the number 1 is only 1. When you add three numbers to it,

it becomes 4. Thus, we go on adding numbers to 1 and arrive at different

numbers. However, the first number remains the same, namely, 1. That is

divinity. This is what the profound declaration states, Ekoham Bahusyam (the

One willed to become many).People often use two

terms 'Deva' (God) and 'Jiva' (individual being). In fact, there is no Jiva at

all! All are embodiments of Divinity only! Then the question arises why do

people die? Since people are not able to realise the immortal nature of the

Atma residing in the physical body, they make use of the term death. Atma has

no death at all! It is immortal. Those who realise this truth, merge in God.

For those who cannot realise the truth, Jiva remains as Jiva and Deva as Deva.

The dual feeling persists in them. What is the underlying meaning in the

declaration, Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma (God is one without a second)? Since

there is no entity other than Brahman in this universe, it is declared thus.

This is the Vedic declaration. The Upanishads explain our true nature in the

Mahavakya Tattwamasi (That Thou Art). In another Mahavakya, they declare

Prajnanam Brahma (Brahman is Supreme Consciousness).

To whom shall this declaration refer? Again, it is to that God Absolute. Thus,

all the Vedas and the Upanishads proclaim the non-dual concept of Jiva and Deva

as one and only one. But, no one is making an effort to realise this truth. In

the end, they think God is separate from them. People often ascribe

distinctions between different forms of divinity, for example Rama, Krishna,

etc. Since they try to identify themselves with a particular form, they

entertain feelings of difference. By doing so, they move away from God and

remain as Jivas only. All such differences exist in the individuals only. God

is only one. In fact, He is not different from you. He is in you, you are

verily God! If it is not so, why should the Vedas declare Tattwamasi? You

develop the firm conviction that you and God are only one. When you attain such

a firm conviction, you become one with God. For example, you keep a number of

photos of Sai Baba in your Puja room. But, in

all the photos, you will find that the same God is photographed in different

poses. When you realise the underlying unity of divinity, there can be no room

for any confusion. You will be able to realise the truth. Whatever I speak is

only Truth. Since you are not aware of this truth, you are unable to develop

faith in it. There are several people nowadays claiming to be godmen, who

lecture upon this concept endlessly. Believe Me, they are all meant to confuse

the devotees. In fact, when you develop firm faith in the declaration that God

is only one, you will be able to realise the truth. One who is able to realise

this truth will have no confusion and doubt. Do not use harsh words about

anyone. In fact, there are no enemies in the world. You should not consider

anyone as an enemy and abuse him or her. One day, he may be an enemy to you;

but, you may become friends on another. You should not consider someone as

separate from you. All are friends.Embodiments of

Love!You are worshipping and praying to God with great love. Continue to love

God and develop faith in Him. Only then all your doubts will be cleared and you

will be able to understand the nature of divinity in full. Doubt implies

duality, that is, a feeling of separation between you and God. In fact, there

are no two entities – God and you. Everything is "I", "I", "I". Hold on to the

truth Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma. For example, how many hours does the clock

show? Twelve hours. When the hour hand crosses twelve, it again moves to one in

the clock. When it crosses one, it moves to the next hour. Thus, it is only when

the hour hand crosses one, it moves to two. Similarly, there is nothing that can

be called the second. God is only one. However, when you wish to entangle

yourself in worldly matters, duality comes. In fact, there is no duality with

regard to divinity. Sometimes I wake up the children sleeping in My room and

ask them, "What is the time now?" They reply, "Swami!

It is 12 o' clock." I again enquire from them, "Is it 12 o'clock in the day or

night? They reply, "Swami! It is 12 o' clock in the night." Thus, when 12 hours

of the day are added to 12 hours of night, it becomes 24 hours. Strictly

speaking, there are no 24 hours. It is only because the day is followed by

night and so on, that you find 24 hours. Hence, do not make a distinction

between day and night. The railway people make such distinction for their

operational convenience. For us, night follows day and again the day starts

after the night. Both day and night are one for us. Therefore develop firm

faith in the principle of unity in all that you come across in the world. God

is one and only one. If you do not develop firm faith in this principle, it is

possible that you will worship one form of God and hate another. You should

always hold on to the principle of oneness of God. That is the truth. If you

are not able to develop such faith, ignore it and do not make it a matter of

dispute and strife. Do not ever attribute duality to God. God is always one and

only one. When you are able to understand and develop firm faith in the oneness

of God, your life will go on smoothly. (Holding a bunch of flowers in front of

the audience Swami enquired) What is this? It is a bunch of flowers. There are

a number of flowers strung together with the help of a thread, with the result

it assumed the form of a bunch. Though the flowers are of different varieties,

the thread that holds them together is only one. The same principle has been

explained in the Veda as Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma. The above example

demonstrates unity in diversity. When you refer to a single person, you say he

is a man. When you refer to a number of persons grouped together, you call them

a group. Though there is a vast difference in the terms we use while referring

to a single person and a group of persons, there is a fundamental unity in the

classification. That unity is divinity,

which shall never be forgotten. Unfortunately, in the present times, people tend

to look at the apparent diversity in this objective world, ignoring the

underlying principle of unity. Take for example, the Pandavas. Who were they?

The five Pandava brothers were the sons of Kunthi. One mother, but five sons.

In the ordinary worldly sense, they are five in number. You may not be able to

understand this principle of oneness of divinity, but in due course when you

are able to recognise the principle with a mature mind, you will understand

that truth is one, not two. This is a handkerchief! (showing a handkerchief to

the audience). There are several threads in it woven together. Since the

threads are woven into warp and woof, it assumed the form of a handkerchief.

The cloth is one and the threads are many. One has to recognise that principle

of unity in diversity. We find several students gathered in this hall. Each one

appears to be different. But, they are all students of Sri

Sathya Sai College. Thus, one has to strive to develop that unity.Dear

students!I am extremely happy to see you all. I attend to a number of tasks and

participate in a number of programmes right from early morning till I go to bed.

I feel very happy and energetic. There is no one else who enjoys bliss as

Myself. I am always happy and cheerful. I do not at all pay attention to praise

or scorn from any quarter. They are only the outward manifestation in words of

one's feelings. I have nothing to do with them. I do not entertain any feelings

of difference at all. "All are one, be alike to everyone". (Bhagawan concluded

His Discourse with the Bhajan, "Govinda Krishna Jai …")

Source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/9_Oct_05_Discourse.htm