Swami teaches... Through education and detachment towards the Cosmic Divine

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram Light and Love Swami teaches... 4 - 5 December 2005

Through Education and Detachment Towards the Cosmic Divine

"Truth is the ornament for the neck.Charity is the ornament for the

hand.Listening to sacredscriptures is the ornament for the ears." What other

ornaments does a human need if he/she had thesethree? So says a Sanskrith

saying. The ornaments which people wear today are a source of fear. But if

the ornaments of truth, charity, and listening to sacred discourses are worn,

there is no cause for fear. This is called Abhaya (fearlessness). The most

important element in human's existence is sankalpa (firm thought). As are the

'thoughts, so is the speech. As is the speech so are the actions. The harmony

of these three will lead to the experience of Divinity. All beings are

manifestations of the Cosmic Divine. The forms are different but the spirit

that animates them is One, like the current that illumines bulbs of different

colours and wattage. Human has to express the Divine potencies. For this, human

has to acquire Atmic knowledge (Knowledge of the Divine Self). Spiritual

enlightenment is as important as academic knowledge. All other branches are

like rivers which merge in the ocean of Spiritual Knowledge.

The world today is immersed in fear and suffering. The way to get rid of

fear is to cultivate Vairagya (non-attachment). Where there is no attachment,

there is no fear. Only through nonattachment and renunciation can one acquire

the competence to experience inner illumination. Renunciation does not mean

giving up property and society and betaking oneself to the forest. What is

called for is renunciation of all evil tendencies. That is Yoga. In the Gita

three paths have been indicated. Mathkarmakrit Mathparamo Madhbhaktah ("Who

works for me only, who lookson me as the only refuge, and is devoted to Me"),

says Krishna. Here, Matkarmakrit ("Who works for Me") does not mean doing

service to Krishna. The "Me" represents the Cosmic Being. Because everything in

the universe is permeated by the Divine, one who is enjoined to do service to

all as the primary duty. All actions have to be done in society. You have to

serve your country. God's grace will certainly be your support when you are on

the march together to reveal the Atmic spring of strength to people suffering

from weakness. "Together"! That is the key to success.

It is an axiom that no one can give up completely all social relations or

actions. Hence, one should dedicate all actions to the Divine and thereby

develop the sense of detachment. Remember, whatever you do, deem it as God's

work. This can be applied to every ordinary act in daily life, whether it is

sweeping the floor, or preparing chappathis or cutting vegetables. Everyone of

these acts can be turned into a spiritual exercise by the spirit in which you

do it. To remove the chaos and violence prevailing in society today, you

have to become Karmayogis and devote all your knowledge, abilities and energies

to the transformation of society. It is not wealth that is important. Character

counts.

Recognise society as a form of God, recognise what exists as Omnipresence in

society and thereby acquire good qualities in serving society. Forget the

agitations in the world. Then you can have peace, joy and bliss.

 

The educational system must decide to direct as young so adult students to

the achievement of the Divinity latent in each one. Striving towards such a

goal is an essential step, for ensuring social, national and world peace and

prosperity. Humanity is like a train full of passengers, moving in one

direction. Some alight at the little halt, some get off the station after that.

Some alight a little further off. But, young persons travel longest. So,

intensive care must be accorded to the problem of their education. Their lives

must be made happier, more full of activity and contentment, more useful to the

human community and this can happen when the Divinity in them is allowed to

blossom. The nation is-looking forward to these young men and women to realise

its dreams of unity, integrity and prosperity; these bright young people have

to confer confidence and courage, joy and enthusiasm.

 

Education is not to be taken as a process of filling an empty sack and

pouring out its contents, making the sack empty again. It is not the head that

has to be filled through education. It is the heart that has to be cleansed,

expanded and illumined. Education is for 'life', not, for a 'living'. The

sign of the educated human is humility. The educated person must realise that

he/she has more obligations than privileges, more duties than fights. He should

be delighted to serve, and not desire to dominate. Service makes life

worthwhile; service is the best way to use one's skills, intelligence, strength

and resources. The life must be saturated with cooperative activity, social

service, eager search for truth and readiness to sacrifice one's interests for

the good of those who are less fortunate. Moral and spiritual values have to be

honoured as much as, if not more than, economic and material values. Life must

be a harmonious blend of these values with emphasis on moral strength. It is

the best, when the seeds of enlightened life have been sown in young age.

The emotions that spring from the minds of youth have to be canalised and

sublimated, while they are yet elementary and in the nascent stage. When

teachers and parents neglect it, youth runs amok and ruins its own destiny. At

the present time, youth is exploding and running into extreme actions of arson

and acts of disorder. But the more dangerous results are not so clearly

recognised. The students, for example, are injuring themselves their careers

and their usefulness to the community even more lastingly. They waste a great

deal of hard-earned money; they waste something that cannot be recovered later,

namely, Time; they have their minds polluted by hatred.

Students first duty is to spend the time for study; after completing the

present task of acquiring knowledge they can take part in different activities,

and distinguish themselves as leaders and pleaders. Now, they have to acquire

skills, insight, balance and the spirit of service. Everyone has to cultivate

right habits even in ordinary routine actions like sitting, do not be sloppy

and indifferent. If your back is bent when you sit, the Sushumna nadi (which

runs through the spinal column) gets bent and this will produce harmful

consequences including loss of memory power. Avoid also unnecessary talks and

purposeless association with anyone.

The world's progress depends on the wisdom and altruism of those whom the

people trust and follow. The leaders and guides should accept this

responsibility and duty. They must be aware, all the time, of the Indweller and

instruct others about the same.

If you want to transform the world, to promote all-round prosperity in the

country, to make the prayer that "all people should be happy" become a reality,

develop faith in the Self. Never forget God. Without God there is no universe.

Let the non-believers have their way. But they have no right to question the

beliefs of others. To ask for physical proofs of the existence of experience

like bliss or love or for subtle things like the fragrance of a flower is

impracticable. To deny the reality of love on the ground that it has no

recognizable form is meaningless.

Through education, you have to interpret the knowledge of Nature and its

components, and the knowledge of human with its various victories and failures.

Of course, Nature is the best teacher; so be vigilant to imbibe useful and

lasting lessons from Her.

At present, since education has spread widely and since education has meant

mainly book-learning, people have become cynical. They doubt even the simplest

statement and revel in wild discussions. Being in the world and bound by

the distractions it presents before our sense, one cannot renounce and become

free. How can a person standing on a rock succeed in pushing it aside? One has

to come down the rock and try. One must be free from the bonds of attachment to

the worldly things and thoughts as they all are dedicated to God. So one should

not be remiss in discharging one's duties and responsibilities. The proper

fulfilment of duties is part of the spiritual discipline necessary for getting

enlightenment.

The Cosmos which is the Brahman is the effect produced by Karma (action).

Every act is an expression of the power of the Divine Will. In the individual

this power is projected through the body. Sadhana (spiritual effort) is the

method by which that projection is purified and sanctified.

 

Drive away the divisive forces that keep human away from human, and prevent

hearty co-operation and mutual help. Inculcate discipline in the field of

Sadhana also and insist on people performing their duty to themselves and to

their destiny. Devotion is like the head; duty is the trunk; discipline is the

feet. Let devotion be linked with duty and led by discipline; then, success is

certain. Devotion should not be confined to the four walls of the

shrine-room, or the few minutes you perform meditation. It is a fulltime

Sadhana (spiritual discipline). Your devotion has to be expressed as worship of

every one, as a living embodiment of Divinity. Practise that broad, inclusive

type of Love. You can see the Moon only with the help of Moonlight. You can

see God only through the rays of Love, the one Quality of Love, expresses

itself as attachment to things, affection towards kith and kin, desire for

objects, love in human relations, reverence towards the great, and devotion to

God. Cultivate Love and all its aspects will be fed and fostered.(How can you

derive the direct happiness by showing love and reverence to a stone idol, that

does not respond or reflect the feelings? This happiness is the reflection of

your own faith). Living beings will return appreciation and gratitude and wish

you well. You can see joy growing in their faces.

 

A lamp has a unique power, which is not possessed by any other object. It

dispels darkness. Another notable quality of the lamp is that the flame goes

upwards - the path of the Brahman. The sinful path leads downwards.The light of

the lamp, however, can only dispel the darkness outside but cannot remove the

darkness that envelops the heart as a result of attachments and aversions

carried from previous lives.

Even as a lamp needs a container, oil, wick and a match stick to light it,

for lighting the inner flame, one needs a container in the form of Vairagya

(renunciation), Bhakti (the oil of devotion), the wick of mental concentration

and Tathvajnana (the match stick of true awareness). Even if any of these four

is lacking, the light of Self cannot be lit.

Do not tell Swami you do not care for spiritual bliss, that you are

satisfied with delusion and are not willing to undergo the rigours of

sleeplessness. Believe me, your basic nature abhors this dull dreary routine of

eating, drinking and sleeping. It seeks something it knows it has lost: Inward

contentment. It seeks liberation fromthe bondage to the trivial and the

temporary. Everyone craves for it in his heart of hearts and longs for stepping

along the path of Dharma (Righteousness). And it is available only in one shop:

Contemplation of the highest Self, the basis of all this appearance. Where is

this Righteousness? It is in your conduct, your thoughts, words and deeds.

Righteousness dwells in your heart. When the impulses arising from the heart

are expressed in words, that is Sathya. To put into action your words is

Dharma.

God welcomed the urge to manifest the Cosmos. You must feel the need to

blossom and expand. Derive Ananda in the process, possess it and share it, in

order to increase it. The Upanishads proclaim the message of courage, of

strength. Give up the idea that you are weak and helpless. The Atma cannot be

gained by the weak. Believe that you have in you the strength and skill you

need. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 12. " Valour of the

Spirit," Chapter 5 and "Drastic overhaul," Chapter 11; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol.

20. "Together! All together!" Chapter 2 and "Light the lamp in your hearts,"

Chapter 14; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 28. "Manifest Divine Qualities," Chapter

18).

 

Namaste - Reet