Swami teaches... Embark on the Divine path with deep sincerity

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

Swami teaches... 17 - 19 March 2006

Embark on the Divine Path with Deep Sincerity

If there were a vacancy in Heaven, human would surely apply for the position

of God, for human believes that has all the necessary attributes. Human forgets

that the real attribute for superiority is unshaken faith in one's Atmic

Reality.

People make various attempts to understand everything in the world.

Scientists today have made many astonishing discoveries. But they lack peace.

They have failed to understand the Vedantic truth about their true nature.

Hence they are unable to experience the bliss of the spirit that is in them.

Whatever one's scholarship, intelligence or position, one cannot have peace of

mind and happiness if he/she does not know the real Self.

By ancient scriptures Narada, who had mastered the sixty-four sciences and

arts, could not secure the supreme bliss that comes from peace of mind. Narada

was no ordinary person. He was the result of a thought in Brahma's mind, he is

known as "Brahma-manasa putra" (Brahma's mind-born son). Despite of it, he had

no peace of mind. What was the cause of Narada's loss of peace? Narada used

ceaselessly to chant the name of Vishnu. He had no worldly desires of any kind.

Brahma, who had created Narada for the purpose of propagation of devotion in the

world and promoting good qualities among mankind, urged Narada to get married.

Narada said, "I am ready to carry out any of your injunctions but I cannot

agree to get involved in the bondage of family life." How is it possible for

Brahma to attain the status of grandfather if the son refused to obey the

father's command and agree to marriage?

The human predicament is similar to this situation. People claim that God is

everything for them but they are not ready to abide by God's injunctions. That

accounts for their lack of peace. For a human who is immersed in worldly life,

chanting of God's name is undoubtedly a good medicine. But devotion to God

without observing the Divine injunctions destroys peace of mind. The ancient

scriptures too as long as you have not known who you really are (your real

Self), you cannot get real peace, despite all your scholarship and all your

pious actions. Scriptures are like a dense jungle of words. These words are

capable of different interpretations. It is not easy to determine definitely

which are the correct meanings without awareness and practice of the Divine

injunctions

(Science must make human humble by revealing that he knows so little of what

is worth knowing. By the latest scientific views mind's unconcsious part is

about 95% and part of dark matter and energy together is about 96%. Some years

ago it was proposed that unknown part of matter-energy is about 95%. Say, that

what humanity know about the Universe through science is about 4 - 5%).

In ancient times, people used to revere elders, purify their hearts by

getting rid of selfishness, seek the guidance and blessings of saintly teachers

and put into practice their teachings. With the passage of time over the

centuries people tended to grow more and more selfish and self-centred. For the

disease of insatiable desires, the remedy is contentment. Along with

contentment the spirit of sacrifice has to be developed. What we are

witnessing today is a limitless growth of wants without any concern for

reducing them. Its strength does not diminish, but grows from day to day. Iron

chains will rust in course of time but the chains of desire grow stronger every

day.

Born as human beings, growing as human beings, people have forgotten the

value of human existence. Developing religious differences, fostering demonic

tendencies, they are destroying peace.

People imagine that bliss and peace in mind is to be found in jobs,

marriage, property or progeny. You hope for happiness in one thing after

another: education, jobs, marriage, children and so on. But happiness eludes

you. The only enduring happiness is got by oneness with the Divine. The bliss

within you will sprout when you water your parched heart with the rain of the

Divine love.

To differentiate God from yourself is ignorance. All are fragments of the

Divine, sparks from the same flame. When the sparks are near the fire, they

retain their heat and light. But when they are away, they turn into charcoal.

 

The purpose of the Sai Avatar is different from that of Rama and Krishna

because the forces of good and evil are now present in every human being and

the process of transformation has to be effected in a context very different

from the previous yugas. In the Kali Yuga, the process of transformation has

been individualized.

"You have to save yourself. Swami is present within you as a witness." This

is the Lord's message. Hence, everyone should try to reform himself. Hence,

self-enquiry is essential.

The self-realised person is merged in Atmic Bliss and not bothered by

external happenings; he/she has the world of inner peace all within. If you

follow such a person and pray for guidance, person will not be interested in

you. However, there are the Mahapurushas (the high-souled or noble persons).

This persons have not reached the goal yet and is well on the way; persons know

the road only as far as they have trekked and unable to give full guidance to

the aspirant.

Sai Avatar has come to teach humanity. He is aware of the pilgrim, the path

and the goal. He knows the past, the present and future of all.

When you love Swami, you love all. By means of dhyana (meditation), you can

realise that Swami is the resident in all hearts, the urge, the motive, the

guide, the goal. Yearn for that vision, that awareness and make it your

priceless possession.

 

Of course, it is hard sadhana. One has to negate and deny, deprive oneself

of many expectancies, dive deep into oneself, swim upstream against the current

of generations of attachment to worldly things, including the body which one

bears.

The gopees (cowherd girls) were so filled with the highest type of love that

they saw and experienced the Krishna Principle in every speck of dust and blade

of green that they saw. Love of Krishna makes the whole world Krishna. There is

only One, the integer I. Dust and blade, drop and spot - each is He, He and He

alone. And, you are no exception, you are also He. Love identifies; hate

separates. Love transposes the Self on to another and the two think, speak and

act as one. When love takes in more and more within its fold, more and more

entities are rendered as One Divine. The Divine aspect of your personality will

encourage humility, adherence to truth, love and eagerness to serve, fortitude

and detachment. Cherish the first; manifestation of these qualities in your

life and practise them whenever you get a chance.

 

What is the state of human life today? The foremost thing that should exist

is respect for human values. However great an intellectual may be, one has to

acquire humanness. With out humanness, scholarships and intellectual eminence

are of no value. Just as a seed can sprout only when it is planted in the

soil and watered, human values can grow only in a spiritual soil. If a person

wants to cultivate human values he/she has to apply the manure of spirituality

to heart, water it with love so that human values will grow. Human society

needs essentially fellow-feeling and unity.

Human values are born along with human birth. They exist in union.

Unfortunately, individual today separates from human values and yet wants to

live as a human being. To recover human values, individual has to take the

spiritual path. In spiritual sadhana, there are eight Yogic disciplines to be

observed: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Prathyahara, Dhyana, Dharana and

Samadhi (sense restraint, observing rules, seating posture, breath-control,

withdrawal of senses from objects, meditation and Super Conscious state).

Of these, the first is Yama It is enough if this single discipline is

observed. All human values are comprised in it. Yama includes the Pancha Pranas

(five-breaths), Pancha Bhuthas (five elements), Pancha Koshas (five sheaths),

Pancha Thathvas (five basic principles), and Pancha Ruupas (five forms). The

five forms are the form of Gayathri. The five basic principles are: Ahimsa,

Sathya, Brahmacharya, Astheya and Aparigraha (Non-violence, Truth, Celibacy,

non-stealing and non-possessive qualities). These five constitute Yama.

The first basic principle is Ahimsa. What does Ahimsa signify? It is not

merely refraining from causing harm or injury to others. It implies also

refraining from causing harm to him/herself. Whoever desires to observe Ahimsa

must see that he/she does not do violence to him/herself by constantly examining

whether person's conduct is right or wrong. Everyone should see that he/she

gives no room for bad looks, bad hearing, bad speech, bad thoughts and bad

actions by consulting own conscience. The conscience is the form of the Divine

within everyone. Whatever you do, the conscience tells you whether it is right

or wrong. However, to ascertain the directive of the conscience you have to

wait for some time. You should not be in a hurry.

You should be careful not only with regard to how you react to the five

elements, but also with regard to your food. Excessive eating does violence to

the body. Even in drinking water, you should observe restraints. Ahimsa is thus

what confers happiness on you.

Likewise, one's entire life should be governed by the principle of Ahimsa.

Many germs die when one takes a bath or walks or does any other action. Even in

the process of breathing many germs die. Violence is present in all these

activities. Therefore, to avoid the consequences of such involuntary violence

to living creatures, one is advised to dedicate all actions to the Divine. (But

there is no meaning in dedicating to the Divine conscious acts of violence. The

conscience will not approve of such conduct). In Vedantic parlance, the

conscience is called chith. It is also called awareness what is total

understanding. This total understanding is within the capacity of every human

being.

The second principle is Sathya (Truth). Truth is not merely telling the

facts about what you see or hear or know. These are temporal truths. In its

full sense Truth can be applied only to what comes out of your heart in its

pure and unsullied form as the voice of conscience. This Sathya is also called

Ritham. It is not affected by changes in time or place. It is unchanging and

cannot be suppressed. Truth is its own proof. It is the form of the Divine as

declared in the Vedic saying: Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantham Brahma (Truth, the

highest Wisdom and Infinite - that is the Absolute Self).

The third principle is Astheyam (non-stealing). Astheyam means not stealing

the properties of others. Property should not be confined to physical objects

like a book. To take or use any object without such permission amounts to

stealing. Even to criticize someone in a way that harms him/her also amounts to

theft of good name.

The fourth principle Brahmacharya is interpreted in many ways. One meaning

is remaining unmarried. This is not the correct meaning. The true meaning of

the term is "moving in Brahman." Brahmacharya means ceaseless contemplation of

God. A married man is called Girhastha (house-holder). There is Brahmacharya

even in a householder's life. This consists in his leading the conjugal life

with the wife alone. If a married man leads a promiscuous life he is not

observing Brahmacharya. Even in thoughts and looks one should observe

continence. Unconsciously or otherwise people tend to waste their energies. All

these are lapses from Brahmacharya. Sense control is vital in practising

continence. It is easier to conquer Indra (the Lord of gods) than to subdue the

Indriyas (senses).

The fifth principle is Aparigraha. This means not accepting things from

others. You have every right to receive gifts or other things from your

parents. You are the product of your parents and hence you can accept from them

whatever they give. Aparigraha has certain subtle implications. For instance, it

is not proper to accept gifts even from one's uncles or in-laws or even from

one's brothers. When any gifts are received from these relatives you have to

requite them by equivalent presents.

Today the Aparigraha role is blatantly violated. For instance, in India,

boys receive dowries at the time of marriage. This is very wrong. It even

amounts to a sin. A girl who has been brought up well is offered to a young man

in marriage. That itself is a great gift. Why should one ask for money along

with the bride? The parents of the girl may give her whatever they choose. But

the bridegroom should not expect or accept anything. This is the attitude one

should have towards gifts from others.

Gifts can be accepted from parents, the preceptor and God. These are the

exceptions to the rule of Aparigraha. From these four, you can receive

anything. But even from the parents you should not seek to get anything by

compulsion or litigations. What is offered by the parents with love should be

received with love.

These five life basic principles human values are the foundation for the

Bala Vikas (organizational wing for children's development) - the great

movement to restore dharma (righteousness) in the world. Young generation has

to be led into good ways of living, into simplicity, humility and discipline.

The ideal of the Bala Vikas is to raise a generation of boys and girls who have

a clean and clear conscience. The actual syllabus is not so important as the

creation of an atmosphere where noble habits and ideals can grow and fructify.

Below are some Swami's directions for educare of young generation.

In the Bala Vikas classes must try to have students from various faiths.

Bala Vikas teachers would not talk about differences between religions in the

beginning; rather stress the obvious similarities. Tell to students stories

from the scriptures of all religions so that they can realise that the saints

and seers of all lands are equally great. Let the students realise that prayer

is universal and that prayer in any language addressed to any name reaches the

same God. Let them understand that God can be invoked through a picture or an

idol to fulfil human's sincere desire, provided it is helpful to others as well

as to oneself.

Certainly there are problems of all sorts. Teachers would solve them with

discrimination and deep love. Meet these problems with a desire to serve the

students better and they will be overcome easily. Love can bind all students

together for they have not yet learned to hate. Love can, similarly, unite all

humanity, provided human is cured of greed, envy, desire, and attachment.

Realise that the Bala Vikas is devised not merely for the education of the

students but also of the teachers. The Bala Vikas chores are bound to elevate

and sublimate the thoughts and emotions of the teachers far better than any

other sadhana (spiritual discipline) can.

The home must feel the change in the student's behaviour. It may be

advisable to gather the mothers of the students once a month, or even more

frequently, and give them guidelines on their children care and on the higher

ideals of family and social life.

Through pictorial story tellings students will reach easier to awareness

that God is the echo of eternity, the flutter of the leaves, the whisper of

people, the babble of children, the Gita of Om (Pranava) that is wafted

everywhere. (But to recognise Him, saints have had to prescribe a thousand

methods).

However, what does Gita mean? Literally the word means 'song.' Since God is

Omnipresent, the Song of God, too, must be Omnipresent. Om is the Gita of God.

Om is Universal, eternal, full of the essence of all spiritual significance. Om

can have no birthday that human should celebrate, having itself arisen before

time began. Our Self is resonant with Om. (But amid the clamour of the

market-place and the noise of the commerce of life, our little selves are not

able to hear it). Obviously our passions and prejudices have to be calmed

before we can hear Om, the Song of the Lord that wells up from the heart. When

truth strikes the individual like a streak of lightning in the midst of dark

clouds, and abides, it confers Bliss, and in that moment of illumination Om is

revealed in all its grandeur. By practising the teachings of Krishna, one gains

that Illumination, the Jnana Jyothi (Wisdom of Light), Om.

Om is the sound caused by the vibrations of creation through the Emergent

Will of the formless and attributeless and is referred to as Sabdhabrahman

(divine transcendental sound). The Pranava (Om) recital is one form of

spiritual effort. It is laid down at Prasanthi Nilayam that the early dawn

recital of Om should be done twenty one times. The explanation to this is the

following. We have the five karmendhriyas (senses of action) and the five

jnanendhriyas (senses of perception); we have also pranas (the five vital

energies or airs) to sustain us. Then we have the five koshas (sheaths),

enclosing the Divine Spark that is the Reality. These total up to twenty. Hence

the recitation of Om twenty one times purifies and clarifies all these twenty

components and makes human the twenty-first entity, ready for the final merger

with Reality.

You can have this Pranava sadhana (practice of the transcendental sound) by

watching the breath as it goes in and out, and listening in silence to the

Soham ('so' - the 'silent' sound audible when the breath goes in and, 'ham'

-the 'silent' sound audible when it goes out).

Do not worry about the past, its mistakes and its failures. Do not follow

the whims and fancies of the mind any longer. Follow the call of the Divine

arising from the hearts of all living beings. Serve them in an attitude of

worship, not expecting something in return. Do not accept even gratitude,

having dedicated all your acts to theindwelling God. This will purify you so

that you shall be able to listen to the Soham that your breath repeats every

moment. Soham transmutes itself into Om when the distinction between He and I

has dissolved in the process of samadhi.

In the Sri Chakra, the mystic figure in which the Parashakthi (the Cosmic

energy principle, and the deity presiding over it) is invoked and installed, Om

is the very centre, and around it are all the other symbols placed. Human too

must do this installation. Om is the real Life Principle of every mantra what

merges with Parathathwam (the Supreme Reality). The Life Principle may be

pictured as a rider on the twenty-headed horse. Finally, you end the Pranava

recital with the recital of 'santhi' three times. That completes the process of

clarification and purification. The first call for santhi is for the purity of

the body part of the Self. The second call is for the purity of the the mind.

The third is for the purification the spirit. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya

Sai Speaks. Vol. 11. "He and He alone," Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14.

"New version for Gurus," Chapter 3 and Vol. 14. "Music of the spirit," Chapter

9; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 23. "Devotion and self-sacrifice," Chapter 27;

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 29. "Spiritual basis of human values," Chapter 4).

Namaste - Reet