Dasara Divine Discoure on 11th October 2005 - Vision of the Divine

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Text of the Divine Discourse delivered by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 11th

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

Dear students!All people in the world desire to have the vision of God and, in

fact, crave for the unique opportunity to merge in His divine effulgence. This

intense yearning for that great privilege is not a novel phenomenon. It has

been there ever since human beings appeared in the world. In consonance with

this yearning, several sages and seers in the past have craved for the vision

of God and ultimate merger with divinity. This is truly an ancient tradition.

Thus, the singing of the divine glory has been passed on from generation to

generation in the country of Bharath. Right from start Narada has been an

incessant singer of the glories of the divine name. What is the use of mere

chanting of the divine name for one's own satisfaction? He, therefore,

advocated the nine-fold path of devotion:"Sravanam, Kirthanam, Vishnu Smaranam,

Padasevanam, Vandanam, Archanam, Dasyam, Sneham, and Atma Nivedanam" (listening,

singing,

constant contemplation on God, serving His lotus feet, salutation, worship,

servitude, friendship and self surrender.)One day, Narada prayed to Lord

Narayana "Lord! we are only chanting the divine name, but the essence of the

divine name is in you. It is only when you bless us to partake of that divine

essence, our life will be sanctified." Some people misunderstood the prayer of

sage Narada and started doubting the efficacy of namasmarana in attaining the

lotus feet of God. Opinions differed. Arguments and counter arguments for and

against following a particular path continued. Such differences of opinion have

been there right from ancient times. Some people tried to argue with Narada

saying, "Sir, we are not able to visualise God." Narada replied, "As much is

your yearning, in proportion shall be the grace." Each individual in this world

follows his own chosen path. But, the Paramathma is one for all!In Dwapara Yuga,

Radha, a great devotee of Lord

Krishna continued to pine for His darshan and constant proximity. She had a

sister by name Prabha. Prabha was, however, against such intense yearning, for

Him. One day Radha was going to Brindavan singing the divine glory of Lord

Krishna. Her sister Prabha and her husband were also accompanying her. Prabha

used to be constantly in the company of her husband. She could not bear her

separation from him even for a moment, just as Radha could not bear the

separation from Krishna. However, Radha continued to pray to Krishna to change

Prabha's mind and develop devotion in her for Krishna. Krishna, however,

counselled patience saying, "Why do you worry? A time will come when she will

also develop intense devotion and yearning for Me." Krishna used a variety of

plays to bring about a transformation in the hearts of several people. He used

to display several leelas for this purpose. Since Radha was longing for a

change of heart in the case of her sister Prabha, Krishna told her, "You

wanted Me to change the mind of your sister and develop devotion in her. Let her

witness the glory of My leelas and develop faith in My divinity gradually. Once

she realises the nature of My divinity, she will herself become an embodiment

of divinity, in keeping with the saying "Brahma vid Brahmaiva bhavathi" (one

who realises Brahma will become Brahman verily). Some people worship Me with

devotion (bhakthi), others constantly contemplate on me with hatred (dwesha). I

am indifferent to both dushana (abuse) and bhushana (praise). I am beyond all

dushana and bhushana. I accept all in an equal attitude. Prabha continued her

hostile attitude towards Krishna for some time. In course of time, there was a

perceptible change in her attitude. One day, she accompanied Radha to the place

where Krishna was happily spending His time in the midst of Gopikas, singing and

dancing. Prabha from then on continued to spend her time blissfully in

the divine presence of Krishna. Both Radha and Prabha used to share this divine

experience daily. Thus, Krishna could bring about a change of heart in Prabha

with His divine leelas. God is unblemished and pure. In fact, He corrects the

mistakes that are there in the devotees and takes them into His fold. He will

not distance Himself from anyone. Lord Krishna is a Leelamanusha vigraha

(donning a Human vesture as part of His divine sport). Both Radha and Prabha

firmly decided that they would not move away from the company of Lord Krishna.

In fact, Krishna gave a glimpse of His divinity to Radha on one occasion and

explained to her, "Radha! Humanbeings are entangled in maya (illusion). They

are deluded to think that God in human form is also a human being like them.

You can not develop love towards a person without developing attachment to him.

This is true in the case of God in human form also. Hence, first you will have

to develop attachment to a particular form

of God, in order to love God. In order that people should develop attachment to

the form of their choice, God assumes several forms. However, God is

unblemished and remains an embodiment of purity".None can fathom the divine

Leelas of Lord Krishna. Sometimes, He manifested in His full divine glory.

Sometimes, He behaved like an ordinary human being. Yet another time, He acted

as a simpleton. Nevertheless, Krishna was Krishna, i.e., God in human form! In

fact, even the Gopalas and Gopikas who moved constantly in the company of their

dear Lord Gopala and were witnesses to several divine Leelas could not fully

appreciate His divine nature. The question that constantly baffled the minds of

people was why Krishna should indulge in such divine Leelas. It was only to

develop in the minds of His devotees intense attachment to His form and thereby

develop devotion in them. He had no desires at all, excepting this. The constant

company of Radha developed intense

devotion in her sister Prabha. Finally, as is the company so is the

transformation. "Tell me your company I shall tell you what you are!"

Accordingly, Radha and Prabha became one in the end. In fact, Prabha's real

name was Chandrika and her mother used to call her by that name. All others

used to call her Prabha.It is very difficult to bring about a transformation in

the human mind. Only God can accomplish this task. Several people approach Me

and pray "Swami! Please change the mind of my son. He has developed hatred

towards his parents for some reason; we do not know why. Normally, he is a good

boy. He never takes to bad ways. Please Swami! Change his mind so that he will

behave well towards his parents." A mind is a mind after all! Sometimes, some

people are beyond redemption. I therefore express My inability in such cases.

It is said "Manomoolam idam jagath" (the mind is the basis for the entire

objective world).

"A knotted gnarled tree trunk may be made straight as a poleA shapeless hunk of

rock can be carved to form a beautiful divine idolIs there a one who can make

the wavering human mind unruffled?" (Telugu Poem)

It is only when man develops faith in God that God will come to the rescue of

man. In fact, divinity is not confined to any form. It is a power and that

power is infinite. Such an infinite power can accomplish any difficult task.

God may assume a number of forms, but the divine power is only one and the

same. The same Atmatattwa that is residing in this body as the indweller is

present in every human being as well. For example, you may refer to the

electric current as DC or AC, but the basic nature of the current is the same.

Similarly, the Atmatattwa is the same in every human being. Considering the

prapthi (deservedness) of the concerned individuals, God interferes to bring

about transformation in them. While doing so, God will conform to some form of

self imposed norms. Transformation of the human mind can not be brought about

by a human being or by chanting some manthra. It is only when God wills so, is

it possible.

God can accomplish anything and everything. He can be present anywhere and

everywhere. In keeping with the declaration "Ekam eva advitheeyam Brahma"

(Brahma is only one, without a second). God does not change. If He changes, the

whole universe will change. It is a serious misconception to think that God has

changed. God is truth, eternal and unblemished. None can change such a

Paramathma (supreme self). It is not easy to comprehend the

divinity.Embodiments of Love! No human being's love equals that of God. God's

love is unchanging. He may assume any number of forms, but His love towards

human beings remains unchanged. God is attributeless, pure, eternal, unsullied,

final abode, enlightened, liberated and embodiment of sacredness. You may call

God by any name – Venkateshwara, Rama, Krishna or Saibaba. Only names differ,

God is only one. That is why divinity has been explained as "Ekam eva

advitheeyam Brahma" (Brahma is only one, without a second).

Some people may think that God has assumed a human form like Rama or Krishna and

hence now there is no God. What has really happened in this example is that God

has not changed, He remains changeless irrespective of the form He assumes. It

is only a change in our perception of God. God's will is immutable.Embodiments

of Love! Cultivate pure love; for, purity is unity and that unity is divinity.

Let your individual love be transformed into pure love for God. Sometimes,

people have a doubt whether God's love towards them had undergone a change.

Never; God's love will never undergo a change. For example, you have a log of

wood. You can make any kind of furniture with it, like a chair or a bench. But

the basic material, that is wood, remains the same. Similarly, God's love

always remains unchanged. God can accomplish any task. Sometimes He may give

darshan to some people, while others may not have this benefit. Much depends

upon their mental attitude.

Cultivate unflinching faith and single-minded devotion to God. Several Yogis and

renunciants yearned for the darshan of God, but few could win that grace with

unflinching faith and single-minded devotion to God.Sometime ago when I visited

Rishikesh, I gave darshan to Swami Purushothamananda living in the Vasishta cave

located on the way to Badrinath in the Himalayas. He was doing thapas, living

alone in that cave. He used to keep a small oil lamp in that cave. The cave was

located a little interior from the road point. He used to purchase milk and make

some tea with it. That was his only food. Rest of the time, he was always

immersed in thapas. Days rolled by. After sometime, he did not have enough

strength to come to the road point for purchasing milk and again getting back

to his cave. Hence, he made his trips less frequent, that is, once in a week,

to obtain milk. One day, he came to know that Bhagavan Baba was staying in the

Sivananda

ashram for a few days. He was longing to have Swami's darshan. He, therefore,

sent a letter through a messenger praying "Bhagavan! Please come to our cave

and grant darshan to me." I was aware of his intense devotion towards Swami. I

saw his letter and I immediately rushed to Vasishta cave to give him darshan.

The entrance to the cave was closed with a door. Purushothamananda had no

energy left in him to get up and open the door. Kasturi accompanied Me during

My trip. He was quite strong then. Both Kasturi and Myself tried to open the

door. At last we could succeed in opening the door. Purushothamananda was

extremely happy on seeing both of us. He wanted to spend a few minutes alone in

the Divine Presence of Swami. He, therefore, advised Kasturi to go inside the

cave and have a look at it. Kasturi, with his journalistic inquisitiveness went

in. Purushothamananda fixed his gaze on Me and was lost in bliss. After a few

moments, he regained his normal self.

I told Purushothamananda that I would visit his cave once again. The very next

day I visited Purushothamananda and spent some time with him again. After My

return to Sivananda ashram, Swami Sivananda was a bit disappointed that I

visited Purushothamananda's cave twice and did not find much time to spend in

the Sivananda Ashram.On my second visit to Vasishta cave, I took a piece of

paper from Kasturi and wrote a particular date for My next visit to

Purushothamananda's ashram. On the scheduled date, Purushothamananda took a

holy bath in the Ganges and was eagerly waiting for My darshan. Deeply lost in

contemplation on my Divine Form, he had divine vision after sometime. A few

minutes later, he left his mortal coil in that deep samadhi state itself. The

news was conveyed to Me while I was in Delhi. I was informed by a telegram that

Purushothamananda merged in Swami. I confirmed the news saying, "yes, yes".

Strangely, his birthday and the day on which

he attained samadhi were one and the same. Later on, when the door of the

Vasisthta cave was opened, the entire cave was smeared with vibhuti! The body

of Purushothamananda was later let into the river Ganges by the disciples of

Sivananda. From then on, the name and fame of Purushothamananda spread far and

wide. The disciples of Purushothamananda thereafter visited Prasanthi Nilayam

to have My darshan. They stayed in the ashram for full ten days. I provided

them good accommodation and all conveniences. They enjoyed Swami's darshan,

sparshan and sambhashan in full measure and finally left for their place,

carrying with them the love and blessings of Swami. Purushothamananda was a

noble soul. He was really a Purushothama (the best among men). This is the

story of Purushothamananda.Every one was happy to read in newspapers that

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba had visited on two days the ashram of Swami

Purushothamananda. Your happiness is My happiness. The Vasishta cave is still as

it was when Purushothamananda lived there. It is perfectly clean and holy,

permeating divine atmosphere in the entire ashram. The disciples of

Purushothamananda told Me: "Swami! The entire atmosphere in the ashram is

permeated by divine vibrations. We feel as though Swami Purushothamananda is

still with us". I told them: "Fine! You continue to feel his presence there and

enjoy bliss". During My last visit to Delhi, I arranged for conducting bhajan on

Purushothamananda's birthday, keeping a photo of Purushothamananda there. Thus,

several sages and seers display intense love and devotion towards Me and pine

for My divine darshan.

Source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Dasara_Discourse_11_10_05.htm