The Power of Bhagawan's Name

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The Power of the Lord's Name Whether He is described as Cosmic Consciousness (Chaithanya)

Or the Indwelling Knower (Kshetrajna)

Or the Supreme Wisdom (Jnaana)

Or the Ego or the Supreme Lord (Easwara)

Or as Vishnu or Brahma

Or the Primordial Energy

Or the Bliss Divine (Aanandha)

Or the Abode of the Divine (Parmapadam)

Or as the Atma or as Being-Awareness-Bliss (Sath-Chith-Aanandha)

All are various names and forms

of the Supreme Self, which is nameless

The Cosmos is permeated by Hari

Nothing can be found in the Universe

Without the Divine in it.

Embodiments of Love!

Every human being seeks to enjoy bliss. He aspires for a blissful life. Whether

he is a scholar or an artist, a wielder of power or a man of status, he yearns

for bliss. Every man strives from dawn to dusk to acquire bliss.

Bharathiya (Indian) culture and tradition have proclaimed the greatness of this

bliss (aanandha). But man is enveloped in two screens: the phenomenal and the

spiritual. His vision is affected by material outlook and spiritual outlook.

Unable to harmonize the two, man regards them as distinct from each other. The

unity of these two represents the true Aatmic principle.

Considering the material world of physical objects as the only reality, man

loses himself in the pursuit of material objects. But, if the truth about these

material objects is fully explored, it will be found that they have no reality

at all. They have only momentary and temporal reality. They do not have the

stamp of permanent reality. They do not confer enduring bliss. To realize

lasting bliss, man has to make the requisite effort.

The Quest for Bliss

Being-awareness-bliss (sath-chith-aanandha) pervades the entire universe. Every

living being from the ant onward seeks this bliss, not man alone. This bliss is

the life-breath for all living creatures,.

The scriptures have dealt with the problem of bliss in various ways. They have

proclaimed being-awareness-bliss as the primary principle. The existence of the

Universe as a fact is affirmed by many people. But a blind man is not aware of

its existence. However, hearing what others say about the world, he also

believes in its existence. He is not aware of its existence from his own

personal experience.

People today speak about being-awareness-bliss sath-chith-aanandha as a reality

after hearing about the statements in the Vedas, Puraanas and other scriptural

texts. Such people have no personal experience of being-awareness-bliss. Even

the scholars who expound this concept are merely relating what they havelearned

from books but have no direct experience of this bliss.

Every man should seek to know what being-awareness-bliss means. Only then will

he realize his own true self. Because of the delusion caused by the phenomenal

world, man regards being-awareness-bliss as distinct from himself. This feeling

arises from his attachment to the body. Everyone should find out "Who am I?"

When he has found the answer to this question, there will be no need for him to

understand what being-awareness-bliss is.

As long as man identifies himself with the body and his physical attributes, he

will be in quest of being-awareness-bliss (sath-chith-aanandha). When a man has

discovered the true nature of the "I", he will not go after any other thing. He

will realize that he is the embodiment of being-awareness-bliss.

Every individual is an embodiment of being-awareness-bliss

(sath-chith-aanandha.) Sath - God; "chith" - the individual self (jeeva). The

unity of sath and chith is bliss (aanandha).

Mental Afflictions

The human body is a prey to many ailments. Man regards all of them as bodily

ailments. But not all of them are entirely related to the body. Purely bodily

ailments can be treated by medicines. But most ailments in the world today have

their origin in the mind. The aberrations of the mind set up reactions in the

body and cause various diseases. The main cause of many human ailments is

rooted in the mind.

The mind and the body are interrelated. The influence of the mind on the body is

of a negative character. This negativity is antagonistic to the experience of

bliss.

Bad thoughts and bad feelings arise in the mind. At the same time, there are

also good thoughts and good feelings. It is only when bad thoughts and feelings

are weeded out that man can have good health. Many diseases have their origin in

the thoughts that fill the mind. Bad thoughts cause indigestion, affect the

heart, and bring about variations in blood pressure. Worries are the cause of

many mental diseases. Diabetes and pulmonary diseases are traceable to mental

causes.

Aspects of Liberation

Every man is in search of liberation (mukthi).For whom is this liberation

sought? Is it for the body? Is it for the mind, the intellect, or the senses?

When these questions are examined, the answer is that at the outset, liberation

has to be secured for the mind, the intellect, and the senses. Man has to

liberate himself first from the vagaries of the mind. Freedom from illness is

one kind of liberation. Man loses peace of mind on account of a variety of

troubles. To get rid of this condition and secure peace of mind is another kind

of liberation. Consuming food to get rid of the pangs of hunger is another kind

of liberation. To be rid of the trials and tribulations of daily life is

another aspect of liberation. All these types of liberation have to be secured

while one is still alive. It is wrong to imagine that liberation is a state

that is to be attained after death.

The various kinds of liberation to be secured today relate to the physical.

These troubles are bound to exist as long as one is attached to the body. All

of them arise from the "negative" thoughts in man.

Peace of mind is the liberation men should seek. If peace is obtained,

everything else can be obtained easily. How is peace to be obtained? By leading

a godly life.

The Power of Love

All forms of worship are of no avail if one's heart is full of "negative"

feelings and one's mind is filled with "negative" thoughts. All actions

performed by the different sense organs óthe eyes, the ears, the tongue, etc.ó

get polluted when the mind is filled with "negative" thoughts. The six evil

qualities in man ólust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and envyó are his

well-entrenched enemies. To get rid of these wicked elements and to install

good qualities in their place, the only means is the fostering of the love

principle (prema-thathva). When man's heart is filled with love, all that he

does will be "positive". All good deeds come out of love. Being-awareness-bliss

(sath-chith-aanandha) arises from love. Compassion and kindness are born out of

love. All the sublime human values have their origin in love. When a person is

filled with love, he needs no other spiritual or ritualistic practices.

The Aathmic principle is the basis of the body. All activities in life should be

linked to the Aathmic principle. Man should discard attachment to transient

worldly pleasures and pursue what is eternal and everlasting.

The Five Sheaths

When man constantly remembers that he is the embodiment of being - awareness -

bliss (sath-chith-aanandha), in due course he will experience that bliss . Man

is covered by five sheaths: the food sheath (annamaya-kosa), the vital sheath

(pranamaya-kosa), the mental sheath (manomaya-kosa), the intellect sheath

(vijnanamaya-kosa), and the bliss sheath (aanandhamaya kosa). The first is a

gross sheath, and each following sheath is subtler than the preceding one. Man

has to proceed from the gross to the subtlest sheath of bliss. The food sheath

is the body. It is perishable, but as long as one lives, the body should be

kept in good health. The duties relating to the physical have to be carried

out. What keeps the body going are the vibrations from the vital sheath. These

vibrations are controlled by radiation from the mind sheath. Beyond the mind is

the intellect sheath, which accounts for "constant integrated awareness" in man.

When this state is reached, man can proceed next tothe bliss sheath without much

effort. Experience of bliss will be automatic.

It should be evident from this that humanness has been conferred on man so that

he may ascend toward his divine destiny instead of wallowing in mundane

pleasures and miseries. Thereby, he will demonstrate his superiority over

beasts and birds.

The Holiness of Festivals

All Bharathiya (Indian) festivals are designed to lead man toward God. They are

intended to make people meditate on God. Unfortunately, today, instead of

thinking about God, people indulge in feasts on holy days. Festivals should be

devoted to contemplating on God and experiencing the Divine.

Today we are celebrating Shivarathri. Shivarathri means "auspicious darkness".

At least on this day, one should chant Shiva's name all through the night. At

least on one day in a year, chant the name of the Lord. Devotees are expected

to keep awake this night by chanting the sacred name of Shiva. Keeping awake in

any other way is purposeless. Spending the night reciting the Lord's name

sanctifies one's life. In the Gita, the person of steady spiritual wisdom

(sthitha-prajna) is described as one who keeps awake when others sleep and for

whom the daytime when others are awake serves as night. The inner meaning of

this is that the person of steady spiritual wisdom, the realized person who is

in a state of constant integrated awareness, contemplates on God when others

are oblivious to God.

The main thing about which all should be concerned today is: how to get rid of

the negative thoughts in their minds. The six cardinal enemies of man óthe six

basic vicesó have found their abode in the hearts of human beings. There is no

room in their hearts for love or kindness. The foremost task is to fill the

hearts with love. Then their entire life will be transformed and every act will

be suffused with love. This love is "positive", and man should strive to foster

the positive qualities. Being human, men should develop positive qualities,

like compassion and forbearance.

Today, human life is wasted in the pursuit of sensuous desires. All of them are

negative in nature. Instead, men should entertain positive desires, which are

natural to human beings. Divinise every desire and every action.

Mundane pursuits, which have been with men over many lives, have to give way to

divine pursuits at least in this life. Many do not realize the divine potencies

that are in them. They have the capacity to do good or bad actions. By doing

good acts, they will experience bliss. Help ever, hurt never.

Bhagavan's Example

Everyone should strive to manifest the bliss that is natural to him by fostering

his loving nature. Peace lies in that bliss. All of you should know one thing.

Although I am now seventy-two years in the present body, I have never had any

negative thoughts. Consequently I have had no ailments of any kind. I am always

in a state of bliss. But sometimes, to correct others I use harsh words. They

are not "negative" words. They are filled with love. If you examine my heart,

you will find it resembles a ball of iron. But from the worldly point of view,

it is soft as butter. No illness can affect my heart. I am engaged continuously

in work from the moment of waking to the time of rest at night. I meet devotees,

collect letters from them, give them interviews, and confer joy in one way or

other on one and all. Every official anywhere has a weekly holiday. But I have

no holidays at all. I am always active, whether I am here or elsewhere. Can you

point out anyone who has been continuously active for seventy-two years?. I have

not desired a day of rest at any time. I am always restful. How is this

possible? Because I have no negative thoughts. I have no attachment to the

body. This body exists for your sake. When you are attached to the body, you

need rest. Whatever I do or say, it is all for your sake, not for my sake.

The Lord Seeks Devotees' Love

People have to lead their lives based on a recognition of this truth. There is

only one thing I seek from all of you. Fill your hearts with love. Offer that

love to me. I don't ask anything from anyone. It is enough if you develop love

and share it with others. It is only when you are happy that you can make

others happy. What is happiness? It is union with God. By chanting the name of

God you will experience happiness.

Good and sacred acts like worship, meditation, and soft repetition of the name

(japa), are useful for sanctifying time. But they are not ends in themselves.

They are tinged with worldliness. What is needed is "positive" action that is

dedicated to the Divine. Then you will be free from disease. You can be hale

and hearty only by having pure thoughts.

Have no ill will toward anybody. I have no hatred for anyone. Hence no one hates

me. All are love-filled beings for me. I desire that all should be blissful. It

is because of this universal feeling in me that all are coming to me. If, on

the contrary, I would have been self-centered, would people from all parts of

the world come here? I am utterly selfless from head to foot. There is no trace

of selfishness in me. Any such feeling you may notice in me is only on your

account and not for my sake. I have no desires except that everyone in all the

worlds should be happy. All should become good. All should be loving and

blissful. What more do I need?

Love and Faith

Man deserves to enjoy peace and bliss, but he does not make the necessary effort

to get them. If he cultivates love and faith, he will acquire peace and bliss.

Without these two, his effort is as fruitless as a letter that has neither

stamp nor proper address.

With love and faith in Swami, you can accomplish any task you undertake. Observe

three maxims: Love of God; Fear of Sin; Morality in Society. To develop love of

God you have to see whether every act of yours pleases God or not. When you

please God, you will have no fear of sin. When these two are present, morality

in society will follow naturally.

All the ills of the world today are due to absence of fear of sin and decline in

love for God. Decline in respect for human values has undermined world peace.

When the Lord's name is chanted from the depths of the heart, it turns into the

nectarine music of Krishna's flute, which charmed even the cows of Brindavan.

The melody that flows from the devotee's heart confers ineffable bliss.

Bhagavan's Love for All

Love and faith are the cardinal principles for redeeming human life. My life is

my message. I have love for all. I have affection even for those who commit

wrongs and for those who dislike me. I have no ill will toward anyone because

of my love for all. Therefore, the whole world loves me. The root cause of my

love is my esteem for all (visvaasam). The basis for the esteem is adherence to

the path of Truth. Divinity is the basis of adherence to Truth. Thus, this

Divinity is the primal source of universal love. All should practice universal

brotherhood. Out of fraternity will be born Divinity. Then humanity will

manifest its glory. Men will behave like ideal human beings.

Embodiments of Love! Try to understand my doctrine of Love. I often address you

as "embodiments of the divine Self". You will be true embodiments of the Divine

only when you develop divine love. The only being worthy of love in this world

is God. All others are only objects of transient attachment. On this sacred

Shivarathri day, develop love for the Divine and redeem your lives. Manifest

the Divine within you. Continuously chant the divine name. Do every act with

love. That is the highest spiritual exercise (saadhana). The way of love will

transform the world. love is God. truth is God, peace is God. This is the

message of Shivarathri. Understanding this, dedicate all actions to God and

render selfless service to the people to redeem your lives.

[bhagavan concluded His discourse with the bhajan: "Shiva, Shiva, Shiva anaraada" .]

 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Divine Discourse on 25 feb 1998, Shivarathri, Prashanti Nilayam

http://sathyasai.org/discour/1998/d980225.html