Life is a Challenge - Meet It - Prof. Anil Kumar - July 10th, 2005

[Guest guest]

PROF.ANIL KUMAR

Sunday Satsang at Prasanthi Nilayam

 

July 10th, 2005

“Life Is a Challenge – Meet It” (Part 1)

 

OM… OM… OM…

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Most Beloved Bhagavan,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

LIFE HAS A PURPOSE

This morning's topic is very well known to you. There is an oft-repeated quote:

“Life is a challenge -- meet it.” How does Bhagavan look at life? What is the

true, spiritual way in which Bhagavan wants us to look at life? What does life

means to Swami, from a societal point of view? What is the spiritual perception

of life? Considering life as a challenge, how to meet that challenge? These are

the different aspects to be covered in today's topic.

My friends, as usual, I am not tired of repeating again that every statement I

give is from Swami and Sai literature only. Listening to Sai’s opinion,

listening to Sai’s discourses, trying to understand His explanations about life

-- it is really thrilling, amazing, and most interesting.

Those of us who just carry on with our day-to-day lives, those of us who live

without awareness, will certainly one day realise what valuable things we have

lost. We cannot spend life as a machine. We cannot consider life as a routine;

we cannot consider life as a phenomenon. Life is meaningful. Life has a purpose

behind it. Life is so valuable.

Last week we discussed at length why and how the dawn of man is most precious

and unique in the entire creation. Man is unique in the entire creation. This

morning we will try to understand life in general, what life is, and how we

have to look at it. (Some notes are presented here, written on the board, for

your reference.)

Having gone through Sai literature and Sai’s views on life, I could categorise

all that Baba said under two headings. One, what Swami says about life from the

social aspect. What is life from the societal view-point? And the second

dimension or aspect is the spiritual dimension. What is life from the spiritual

view-point?

 

LIFE IS A STEADY MARCH TOWARDS A GOAL

So, life can be categorised under two headings: the social aspect and the

spiritual aspect. Let us study point-after-point what Baba has said under these

two headings.

The first point that is most necessary for all of us to ponder over is this:

Actually, birth and death are the terms we use just for practical purposes. In

spirituality, there is no birth and there is no death. Life is a continuous

process. Appearance of the body is birth, and disappearance of the body is

death. But life is eternal…life is continuous. And this life that is continuous

is a kind of steady march -- a steady march towards a goal.

We find people with certain political goals: they want to occupy high positions.

Some have economic goals: they want to be millionaires and billionaires. Some

have academic goals: they would like to have as many degrees as possible, as

much knowledge as possible. So, we have so many goals in life -- academic

goals, economic goals, political goals, and professional goals.

Everyone has got a goal. Therefore my friends, life is a steady march towards

that goal. Some may reach that goal, some may attain that goal, and some may be

lost in the middle. Some may not be successful in accomplishing their goals, in

achieving their goals, and may abandon those goals with the passage of time.

But, by and large, we know that life is a steady march towards a goal.

The second point is this: “Life is a search -- explore it,” says Swami. “Life is

a search -- explore it” only means that one has to discover, one has to make an

attempt, to try for one’s own self to find what one really wants in this life.

What you want may be different from what I want. What I want is totally

different from what all the rest desire. Therefore my friends, “Life is a

search -- explore it,” says Bhagavan. Let’s explore it. Let us search in depth

in accordance with our wish, in accordance with our will and capability.

 

LIFE IS A BATTLEFIELD

The third statement Bhagavan made about life is this: "Life is a battlefield."

Is that true? Why not? It is. Life is a battlefield. There is a continuous

fight. There is a constant conflict. We encounter problem after problem, in a

sequential order. Life is a matter of struggle. Life is not ready-made.

Charles Darwin, in his classic, “Origin of Species”, made mention of one

important statement, so familiar to all of us: Life is a battle, the survival

of the fittest. The fittest will survive, and the rest will perish. It is

survival of the fittest in the struggle for existence, in biological terms. My

friends, those who are strong enough are able to live, while others cannot.

Life is a struggle, a battlefield, which ends in this: survival of the fittest

and death of the weakest.

You have no choice, you know. When so many seeds are sown, only a few of them

are able to grow, not all. When there is one vacancy for a job, there will be a

hundred applications. With the growing population explosion, with limited food

and space, we find competition and struggle becoming more intense. Competition

is greater than ever before.

I am not able to believe it myself. When I joined the teaching service in 1963,

there were two vacancies and there were two applicants…I was one among them. No

competition! Life was so comfortable. Nobody wanted the job of a teacher in

those days, because a teacher was the least paid. And no sane man is ready to

offer his daughter in marriage to a teacher. (Laughter) It is unbelievable that

a teacher's salary was Rs.184 in those days.

Believe me or not, I have not become a teacher by accident. I have become a

teacher by choice. I wanted to be a teacher. I am a teacher, and I have no

regrets about it. Of course, there are many of my classmates who are rich

enough, and professionally very well settled, as they occupy high positions;

but I am not jealous of them. I feel so proud of my job…yes, the job of a

professor. I am very happy about it. When some students come and say, “Sir, how

are you?” my joy knows no bounds. If any student comes and says, “Sir, I am in

California,” oh yeah, good! I’m extremely happy. If anyone says, “I was your

student, and now I am a professor in some central university”, oh great! It

gives me a sense of satisfaction.

Well, what I want to tell you is that in those days, the competition was not as

bad as it is today. Now if there is one vacancy for the post of a peon or a

helper, there will be 200 applications and 10 recommendations…no surprise if

one is recommended by the Chief Minister himself! (Laughter) That is the

standard now or the level of the competition. We can’t help it.

Life is competition. Life is a matter of struggle, of survival of the fittest.

The competent people, the efficient people, the proficient people, the

physically strong, academically high, psychologically active, and

intellectually smart will be able to survive in the present day struggle for

existence. In advanced countries, such as the western countries, survival of

the weak is out of question. You can already declare them dead and gone,

because in this rat race in society, there is a constant struggle. That’s what

Baba says.

 

PLEASURE IS AN INTERVAL BETWEEN TWO PAINS

Point Four: Life is like the pendulum of a wall clock. The pendulum oscillates

from one end to the other. If the pendulum stops oscillating, if the pendulum

stops moving, it means the wall clock is under repair. The pendulum has to

move. There are two ends – one of sighs, the other of extreme smiles…tears and

smiles. You cannot have the pendulum always towards smiles. Impossible --

unless it is a damaged one! (Laughter)

You cannot expect the pendulum to stay there, in sighs or tears, unless you are

holding it there. Impossible! It goes on moving between the two extremes of

sighs and smiles, each one alternating with the other. That’s what Baba says.

“Pleasure is an interval between two pains.” You can also put it this way:

“Pain is an interval between two pleasures.” I remember the joke Sri V.K.

Narasimhan, the former editor of

Sanathana Sarathi, made.

He said, ”Mr. Anil Kumar, there will be two speakers this evening, and Bhagavan’s speech.”

I said, “Very nice, sir.”

Narasimhan is known for his wit. Then immediately Narasimhan said, “Swami is the

interval between the two -- He, being the pleasure.” (Laughter)

It means the other two speakers are the pain. (Laughter) So, Swami’s speech is

the pleasure in between the two pains (the other speakers). So my friends, life

is between these two, the tears and the smiles. These are statements made by

Bhagavan. I am emphasizing this point once again, so that we don’t take what I

am conveying to you in a lighter vein.

In life, we accept certain things and we reject the rest. Life is full of

acceptances and rejections. We do not reject all that we come across. Likewise,

we cannot accept all that comes to us. Acceptance and rejections are based upon

one’s own temperament, one’s own attitude and one’s own aptitude.

I am not acceptable to everybody. If I think that I am acceptable to everybody,

something is wrong with me. You cannot be acceptable to a thief and a saint at

the same time. Sinner and saint cannot accept you at the same time, unless you

are a successful politician. (Laughter)

We find robbers; we find noble people. If both good and bad people say that you

are a great man, well, there is something fishy about that. Therefore, my

friends, life is full of acceptances and rejections. We reject those whom we do

not want. We accept those whom we desire or want. That’s what life means.

 

BHAGAVAN TEACHES US THE UPS AND DOWNS OF LIFE

Then Bhagavan also says that life is fraught with vicissitudes, trials and

tribulations. Trials, tribulations, and vicissitudes…this phrase may seem to be

complex. On other occasions, Swami has put it more simply. He says that life is

full of bumps and jumps, bumps and jumps, ups and downs. Life is not steady.

Observe Nature. Mother Earth displays valleys. Mother Earth displays mountains.

Mountains are the ups, and valleys are the downs. Take our own body. Our body

is not uniform. We are not pillars. Nose is up…lip down…up and down…body is

like that. Therefore, we are just presentable. There is beauty in ups and

downs, and we have to accept this reality. The sooner we accept it, the better

we will be.

Life is bound to have ups and downs. And our Bhagavan is the best Master to

teach us that. In the morning you are up in the heavens when He gives you an

interview. When He does not look at you in the afternoon, you are deep in a

valley (Laughter)…ups and downs.

We see Swami talking to some fellow repeatedly, almost everyday. That fellow

will be up in heaven! And he will be sermonising everybody. And he will be

telling everybody how lucky he is and how he could catch His attention, draw

His attention, but just wait! Watch the game of life. Then comes the next

episode, the reverse side of the coin: He is completely neglected.

To my knowledge and experience, there are only two temperatures in Sai world --

zero degrees and hundred degrees, nothing in between. (Laughter) Zero, you are

frozen; hundred, you get transformed into vapour. There’s nothing in between.

Well, He takes you up, up, up! Then, nobody will be there to collect you when

you drop from the top. (Laughter) That’s Sai technology. (Laughter) Why does He

do that?

He does it so that we develop the spirit of equanimity, the spirit of equality

and a balanced state of mind. When you are up, you cannot be egoistic. When you

are down, don’t feel depressed. And further, when He gives an appearance that

you are neglected -- just an appearance -- you should see the Divine romance.

Sometimes He avoids you; but my friends, He first looks at those whom He wants

to avoid, because it is impossible to avoid them without looking at them. How

can you avoid someone without looking at him first (to see where he is)?

So, those of us who feel that Swami is not looking at them, let us be convinced

that we are the first people to catch His glance, to draw His attention, so

that He can take a healthy diversion later. That’s a different matter. There’s

a lesson behind it. Life is a matter of trials and tribulations, vicissitudes,

ups and downs, flashes and lashes. The acceptability of all is the beauty of

life.

When the daytime is spent, I should be ready to receive the night. When the

night is through, I should be ready for the following day. Day and night

happen; I do not prefer one or the other. The sooner I understand that both

constitute a day, that both are equally essential, well, I enjoy the beauty of

life. So, the trials, tribulations and vicissitudes constitute life as such,

which is so beautiful!

At one time, Bhagavan remarked that for the safety of the child, the mother

loves her child. The child goes to school and the mother is very much worried

for the safe return of the child. Anything may happen to the child on the way.

Classmates may beat her up, or the servant maid may not feed her, or the

teacher may give heavy doses of scolding for missing her homework lesson.

What will happen to the child? The constant worrying of the mother will make her

love her child. Sometimes worrying for the safety and security of the child also

are responsible for the spirit of love, for the valuable trait of love, to be

generated in the human heart.

 

LIFE IS A LIMITED COMPANY

And then Swami mentions the seventh point: The body is a limited company. You

might not have heard of this beautiful definition that He gave. Life is a

limited company. Life is a limited company? What company?

He gives this example. I can see light up to a maximum intensity. Beyond that, I

cannot see. The ear can hear some sounds, up to some maximum. Beyond that, the

eardrum breaks. So, every part of our body, every limb of our body, has got a

minimum, optimum, and a maximum. Beyond maximum, the senses cannot receive

without there being a failure.

So, body is a limited company. Eye has got some range of perception. Ear has got

some range of audition. So similarly, we have to understand that life is a

limited company. What does it mean? We need to be disciplined.

People ask, “Why discipline?” If there is no discipline in my body, it is not

possible to stand in front of you. The two legs must walk in coordination. The

two hands must work in coordination. The two eyes must watch in coordination.

Why? Well, you know what will happen. If one eyeball looks this way, another

eyeball that way, well, I may well be under the train (Laughter), and I will be

heading for an accident. So, the whole body works in a perfectly disciplined

manner.

That’s why Swami says the body is a limited company. Body teaches the lesson of

discipline to everybody. That’s how Swami looks at life.

 

LIFE IS A TWO-WAY TRAFFIC

Eighth point: Baba says life is not one-way traffic. It’s not one-way traffic.

In metropolitan cities, there’s always one-way traffic, particularly on those

days when VIPs visit the city. When the Prime Minister is on a visit or when

the President is on a visit, there is one-way traffic. If it is two-way

traffic, we will have quite a traffic jam. With one-way traffic, well, the

distance will be doubled. You will be more delayed getting to your work spot.

Baba says that life is not one-way traffic. What does He means? You cannot be

selfish all the time. Do not expect to be loved; learn to love others. Don’t

expect to be served; learn to serve others. Everything comes back to you. Life

is not one-way traffic. If you expect life to be one-way traffic, it is

exploitation. It is selfishness to the core. It is two-way traffic, bi-way

channel, give and take. Therefore, understand life is two-way traffic.

There is a beautiful poem in Telugu, which I don’t quote because I know that you

cannot follow Telugu. But I will give the meaning that is repeated by Bhagavan

in His discourse. The meaning of the poem is this:

 

A horse that cannot run in the battlefield,

A god who cannot fulfil your desires,

A relation, a relative who will not come to your rescue,

Better you give them up…better you drop them.

 

This is the meaning of the poem. Swami recited that poem and asked me to give

the meaning. Since this poem starts right from our nursery school, I could give

the meaning. Only I got a response from Him that I was wrong. (Laughter)

What did He say? He wanted me to repeat it again. “Anil Kumar, what is to be dropped?”

I said, “Swami, the horse that does not run in the battlefield must be dropped, must be given up.”

Baba said, “Before you drop the horse, before you give up the horse, question

yourself whether you know horse-riding or not!” (Laughter)

You should know the art of horse-riding. If you do not know how to sit on the

back of the horse and still complain that the horse does not run, you are

foolish. So, I understand the first statement.

Then Baba said, “What is the second thing to be given up?”

“A relative who does not come to my rescue or help; a relation or a friend who

does not come to my rescue or relief. Timely help must be given up.”

Baba said, “You are again wrong. Why? Before thinking that he has not helped me,

question yourself whether have you gone to his help at anytime? Have you gone to

his rescue anytime? Have you ever helped anytime before? Without going to the

rescue of others, without helping others, how do you expect to be helped?

Without serving others, how do you expect to be served?” Therefore, my second

statement is also wrong.

And third, what is to be given up? “Swami, God who doesn’t fulfil my desires

must be given up.” If Rama doesn’t grant me any boon, thank you, I will go to

Krishna. (Laughter) If Krishna doesn’t give any reward, bye-bye, then I will go

to Lord Venkateshwara, who is in a posture, waiting to receive me…let me try. If

He doesn’t oblige me, thank You, oh God; let me go to Mother Goddess. She is

ready to fulfil my desire.

So, Bhagavan says the very idea to give up God for the simple reason that He

doesn’t fulfil your desire is wrong. Why? Have you ever questioned whether you

deserve it or not? Have you ever questioned yourself whether you deserve your

desire or not? Deserve and desire. First deserve, then desire. But we desire

without considering whether we deserve it or not.

“I want to be President of India.” I can desire that. But all the fourteen

worlds know that I do not deserve it! (Laughter) Therefore, instead of

complaining, “Oh God! You have not given me that and this”, I should know

whether I deserve it or not.

 

HEART IS THE KEY TO THE CAR OF HUMAN LIFE

And then Bhagavan tells the ninth point: Life is a car. Heart is the key. Life

is a car. Heart is the key. What a nice statement it is. A car. People run

after cars, the latest model…particularly in the West. There they don’t simply

name the car they own; they mention a brand new car, the latest model.

Therefore, yes, life is a car. We don’t buy the car to keep it in the garage or

in the shed, do we? No. We buy the car to drive and go to our work spot, not to

stay back at home, not to worship the car. A car is a vehicle of transport to

take you to your destination, to the place where you want to go. Similarly,

life is a car that takes you to your destination, to your goal, while heart is

your key.

There are many people who are heartless – ‘heartless’ people. These are the ones

who have lost the key to their car. You can imagine the situation of a person

who loses the key to his own car. Some of us must have also been victims of

such an incident. We go on shouting at everybody. Ultimately we will understand

that it is only there in our pocket! (Laughter) Certain things happen uniformly

everywhere.

An officer forgets his keys when he is preparing to go to the office. Well, the

keys are there on the table, but he doesn’t see them. We don’t see the candle

and the matchbox during the night-time when there is a power-cut; but in the

daytime, they are available. Important things we don’t see when they are most

needed. That happens…that happens.

Therefore my friends, heart is the key to the car of human life. The key should

never be lost at any moment because the heart is the place where God is seated.

Heart is the throne of God. Heart is the altar of God. Heart symbolises the

value of man. That’s how Bhagavan speaks of it.

 

LIFE IS NOT A MECHANICAL FORMULA

Point number ten: What does Baba say? This is important to everybody. Baba says

life is not a mechanical formula. Life is not a mechanical formula.

Unfortunately, my friends, we make life mechanical. Somebody says, “I sit here;

Baba looks at me.” Immediately I may feel, ‘Why did I not sit there?’ That

morning’s darshan, stand, stand, sit…then He doesn’t come for darshan at all.

Just because I think that is the place where I can see Him, that is the place

He does not visit! The same formula won’t always work!

Suppose one sings well and Baba does tala (rhythm) nicely. Yes! He enjoys that

bhajan. So naturally I get the idea, ‘Why don't I sing?’ But if I start

singing, I know Baba will never dare to come out of the Purnachandra

Auditorium! (Laughter) He is God, and yet, He has got His own standards to

follow; coming to listen to me sing is not within those standards. (Laughter)

It is not that easy to listen to my singing. Just because one good singer can

draw His attention doesn’t mean that all of us should start singing. A fine

dancer may draw His attention, but that doesn’t mean that all of us should

start dancing. Let us dance to the tune of God, not to the tune of our minds,

ok?

So, a person may have been lucky enough to draw His attention to his own style.

But you cannot imitate him! Life is not a mechanical formula. In physics or

chemistry or mathematics, equations, derivations, riders, theorems,

experiments, observations, and inferences…they are all mechanical. Equal

volumes of gases contain equal number of molecules. That’s a theory; that’s a

universal law. Life is not like that. Your approach to God, your relationship

with God, is totally different from the one I may have. This we have to accept.

 

Because we want to imitate others, because we want to be successful like others,

we end up in total failure. So, Baba wants us to know that life is not a

mechanical formula. One has to work out his own formula, his own way of being

successful in life.

So my friends, these are the ten points that Baba mentioned on life, from the

dimension of society, the social approach to life. To my understanding, nobody

has gone so deeply into the meaning of life, as Bhagavan Himself. Bhagavan

presents life to us as a diamond, with so many facets and expressions.

 

SPIRITUAL MEANING OF LIFE

The next aspect is the spiritual dimension. What does life mean spiritually?

What does Baba say about life from the spiritual viewpoint? Let us take a few

points, if not all, for want of time.

Spiritually, we have to know that life may be cut short any moment. Life may be

cut short any moment. When Swami Vivekananda had been to Chicago in the United

States of America somebody asked, “Swami, what is to be constantly remembered?”

Somebody thought that Vivekananda would say God. He didn’t say that. Somebody

thought that Vivekananda would say knowledge. He did not say that. “Swami, what

is to be constantly remembered?”

The answer given by Swami Vivekananda in the House of Parliament there in

Chicago, USA was this: The one thing to be constantly remembered is death. He

said that. When once we constantly remember death, we try to be careful; we try

to be watchful. We take some time before we act. Naturally we begin to measure,

evaluate, and assess life in a different way altogether, in a different style

or pattern. Therefore, the one that has got to be remembered is death. Life may

be cut short at any moment.

 

LIFE IS A FLOWER

Second point: Baba says that life is like a flower. Life is a flower…good. A

flower is so beautiful! Nothing is equal to a blossoming flower in the morning

time. A flower that blossoms like chrysanthemums, like roses in bloom, will

draw the attention of any person. Nothing is more beautiful than a blossoming

flower. Nothing is more beautiful than the smile of the child in a cradle.

Nothing is more beautiful than the rainbow. Nothing is more beautiful than the

cool breeze in summer.

Yes, most beautiful. But the pity and the tragedy is that most of us consider

nothing is more beautiful than the currency note! (Laughter) That is death. The

love of money is death. Why? Those who love money feel insecure; and it is

because of this insecurity that they love money. But the very same money will

make their lives more insecure.

Therefore, the most precious things in life are found in Nature, and these

things are so beautiful that they will draw our attention repeatedly. Life is a

flower…good, and the flower has fragrance, aroma. When you smell the flower, you

are in ecstasy. As you see the flower, you are blissful. But that flower will

fade away by the evening. That flower will fade out; that flower will drop down

and wither by the evening. So life is a flower.

Life is ice cream. Oh I see! I love ice creams. If life is an ice cream, good!

Let me enjoy it! But that ice will melt away very soon. Children are happy to

have a fruit ice. But as it melts, they start crying. So, life is an ice that

melts away. Life is a flower that fades away. In other words, life is

momentary. Life is transient. That’s what Baba means.

 

KNOW YOUR BEGINNING AND END

The third point is unique, my friends. If we do not understand this point, we

can say we have not lived our life. We can only say, “I led my life”. Leading

the life is different from

living the life. Living the life is conscious, while leading the life is

unconscious. Like the mike, it does not know what it is...like the log of wood,

like the vegetable. So, we are not to lead our lives, we are to live our lives

consciously, with awareness, knowing its beauty, its grandeur.

Therefore my friends, Baba makes this point which has depth and profundity. What

does He say? Life is a chance to know the beginning, your own beginning and the

end. Baba says life is a chance to see for yourself your beginning and your

end. What does He mean, ‘to see my end’? No, no, no! I don’t want to end first

of all! Why should I see that? Why should I make others see? So that they will

cry in chorus? (Laughter) So, I don’t want to see the end. But Baba says, “See

your end.”

Well, I can’t see my beginning because, just at the time of birth, no one can

see one’s own beginning. So what does this statement mean, when Baba says,

“Life is a chance to know your beginning and end”?

The statement means the life in between birth and death, the life stand, the

life period is to know the beginning and the end. You may not know the

beginning at the time of birth. You may not see your death at the time of the

end of life. But in between, you can see yourself, your beginning and end. What

does it mean?

It means, as Baba says, the beginning and end are the same. The beginning and

the end are the same, because I have come from God, and I go back to God. I

have come from God, and I go back to God. I am in God. That is to be realised.

To know birth means: ‘I have come from God’, in that sense, with that

understanding. My ‘end’ means ‘I return to the source, the Divine’. That is the

awareness. Life is a chance to know your beginning and end.

 

BE IN THE WORLD -- LET NOT THE WORLD BE IN YOU

And Baba says – such beautiful statements, I tell you...Every statement of Baba,

I tell you my friends, is a precious gem. The more you think on them, you will

be transported to the other world. No one has before voiced such profundities

in such a simple style. See this statement:

Be in the world -- let not the world be in you. Be in the world -- let not the

world be in you, in this life. What I am supposed to do in this life is be in

the world, but not let the world be in me.

What is that? How can you be in it and yet be beyond it? It is quite simple.

Baba says a boat is on the surface of the river. The boat is the one that

floats; the boat is the one that just moves on the surface of the water. Water

will never get into the boat. The boat is on the water but water is not in the

boat. And Baba gives another example of the lotus flower. The lotus flower

grows in the water, but the water does not touch the flower. Similarly, you may

be in the world, but let not the world be in you.

What does it mean? How is it possible? How to make a practical application? That

is our question. Here is a simple example: A student in a classroom thinks of

his parents while the class is going on. Somehow he looks into the empty air;

he looks into empty space. You will understand that the boy is physically

present but mentally absent. So sometimes we may be physically here, but

mentally absent. You know that youth, wherever they are, while passing through

the period of romance, are totally romantic. But after sixty, it is rheumatic

arthritis! (Laughter) Romantic at one time, later rheumatic, as in arthritis!

(Laughter)

So my friends, a constant indulgence, a constant identification with an object,

with a situation, with a person, will make you forget time and space. A simple

example: Mother washes utensils. Mother washes clothes. Mother cooks in the

kitchen. Yet, she thinks of baby at the same time. Mother knows when the child

should be fed. Mother listens for the cry of the baby in the midst of

surrounding sounds, in the midst of a fast moving train and its sounds. However

loud the noise is, still the mother will be able to hear the cry of her baby. It

needs concentration; it needs fondness and love.

Similarly, when we love God, we can be in the world, but be thinking of Him.

Think of God. That’s what the

Bhagavad Gita says. Because there are many people who say, “I have got so many

responsibilities, and I have got a job, so how can I think of God?” Yes, you

can think of God, especially then. A lazy man cannot think of God. An aimless

person will never think of God. In the midst of that churning process of life,

in the midst of gushing waves, in the midst of troubles, yes, you must think of

God.

Therefore my friends, let not the world be in you. It means do not be touched by

the effects of the world, by the influences of the world. That’s what we have

explored so far in the spiritual dimensions of this topic, “Life is a challenge

-- meet it.” We have a long way to go, so next time, same day and same time next

week. Thank you very much! See you! SAI RAM!

 

Prof. Anil Kumar ended the talk with the bhajan “Jaya Ho Jaya Ho Gopalana…”

(Applause)

 

Om Asato Maa Sad Gamaya

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya

Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

 

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti…Sai Ram!

 

Source:

http://www.saiwisdom.com/sunday/English/2005/10.07.2005(E)central.htm