Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar - The Five D's, November 2nd, 2003

[Guest guest]

November 2nd, 2003

OM…OM…OM…

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Dear Brothers and Sisters, The FIVE D’s

For this morning’s topic, I have chosen the five D's. In His discourses,

Bhagavan often refers to these five D's, particularly when talking to the

students. At the same time, I feel that they have application and relevance to

seekers and spiritual aspirants also. Hence, I think that it is essential to

share these five D's with our study group as well.

The five D's are:

1. Dedication 2. Devotion 3. Discipline 4. Duty 5. Discrimination

The five are given in this particular order for a purpose. I have not chosen to

put them that way. It is very clear that one leads to the other, that one is

corollary to the other; that they are given in a sequential order. To begin

with, I will just give you a bird's eye view of these five D's.

Dedication

The first is dedication. Dedication is a word that we often hear. People say, “I

dedicated my property to so-and-so.” Some say, “I dedicated my life to

such-and-such a sacred cause.” Some people say, “I dedicate my work to

so-and-so. I dedicate this book to so-and-so.” This is all the dedication that

we know. Yet, my friends, that is not in anyway spiritual. It is easy to

dedicate our residences and easy to dedicate our professions. Yes!

But the toughest thing is to dedicate, that is, to give up our ego. This is the

toughest thing possible. After all, I can share anything with anybody. I am

prepared to give up anything to anyone. However, to give up this ego is the

toughest and most difficult thing. Why? Because ego is not just of today. Ego

has been there with us over the past many lives.

Naturally you may question, "How do you know?"

The very fact that we are born here is enough proof that we have not lost our

ego. Ego is the cause for re-birth. Once ego is given up, there is no question

of re-birth at all. Life after life, birth after birth is obtained because of

this maintained, sustained ego. Once this ego is given up, there is no question

of being born again. Once given up, the cycle of birth and death ends. End of

ego marks the culmination or the climax of human pursuit, of human endeavor

along the spiritual path. It means liberation.

Once I give up ego, it means I have attained liberation. Liberation may also be

called Nirvana. Liberation may also be called Moksha. Moksha, Nirvana or

Liberation is nothing other than giving up ego.

we have to dedicate (Give up) our ego

E – G – O: This three-lettered word is really causing havoc and untold misery to

the entire humanity since the beginning of time. Dedication means that we have

to dedicate (to give up or sacrifice) our ego. So, my friends, dedication is

kept on the top, as the first D. The spiritual journey, the spiritual path

begins with dedicating our ego, giving up our ego, sacrificing our ego. That is

the commencement of spiritual exercise.

Unfortunately, in reality, we find ego being strengthened more and more, even on

the spiritual path. That's the reason why we have no peace of mind even in

temples, even in mosques, even in churches, synagogues, hermitages and pilgrim

centers. We don't have peace of mind anywhere. Reading a sacred text or doing a

spiritual activity also is not giving us the desired result of bliss. The reason

is that the ego is still there! So long as there is ego, bliss cannot be

expected; the desired results can never be achieved.

First, dedicate your ego, which is the foremost, essential principle on the

spiritual path. Hence, we have chosen ‘dedication’ as number one. Not that we

have chosen it, but Bhagavan has kept it in the first place. We are just

adopting Bhagavan's sequential order; it is not of our imagination.

I am only a cassette

I repeatedly tell my friends that nothing is of my making. I am only capable of

repeating, like a parrot, what I hear from Bhagavan. That's all. I have no

claim of practicing all that I say. In addition, I make no false claim of

interpreting other texts. My business is only to prepare certain topics from

Sai literature and share them with you. No extra claims. I repeatedly and

emphatically tell my friends this almost every alternate week. This reminds me

that I am not original. I am only a cassette. I am only a fellow seeker. I am

only a fellow aspirant, a fellow pilgrim, in no way greater than anybody else.

I am also highly conscious of the fact that most of you are more learned or

proceeding along the path of sadhana more than what I have been doing. I am

highly conscious of it. The present attempt is only sharing our views. That's

all. That's why this is a study circle group.

Devotion is love for God

After dedication, which means giving up ego, we start developing devotion. In

other words, devotion is out of the question when there is ego. Devotion is

unheard of, unthought of or undreamt of when there is ego. Devotion begins only

after dedication. Dedication means sacrificing the ego. Then comes the second

stage of devotion.

What do I mean by devotion? I am just giving you the ordinary sense of the term,

the usual interpretation of this term. We say so-and-so is highly devoted to his

profession. We say that he is very much devoted to his family, very much devoted

to his country and very much devoted to his work. We are devoted to our own

fields of activity.

Devotion, according to Swami, is altogether different. Devotion is Love for God!

Devotion is not in anyway attachment. It is not total identification with work,

avocation, profession or anything else. Devotion means Love for God!

What is Love for God? That which is unconditional, that which is desireless,

that which is beyond reason and season, that which is eternal, blemishless,

pure, unpolluted, crystal clear, non-dual, immortal and nectarine is Love for

God.

I am using all these adjectives, the vocabulary nomenclature at my command, not

in a vain attempt to exhibit my expertise of the language. Certainly not! I am

only struggling to express myself one way or the other. That's why I use so

many words. For any one of you, one word will appeal. Then my task is

fulfilled. That is the only purpose. My friends, devotion means unconditional,

desireless, selfless, eternal Love for God. This is the second step.

You are no devotee if you have no discipline

Devotion leads to the third step, which we call discipline. What is discipline?

Some think that discipline is a behavioral activity, as we find in the army --

attention, stand-at-ease, turn to your left, turn to your right, left, right,

march. That is not discipline. The discipline that you find in the army is

military regimentation.

Then there is discipline that we find in the classroom, where students do not

open their mouths. Listening to the teacher is an enforced order for fear of

the teacher. Then the discipline in a mandir or temple is social discipline.

When everyone is silent, I cannot afford to be disturbing others. I can't

afford to be noisy. So discipline is a social phenomenon; discipline is

regimentation; discipline is an enforced activity.

But spiritually speaking, discipline is ‘out of source and not out of force’.

‘Out of source’ means left by myself, I am highly disciplined. Although I know

that I am not watched by anyone, I am still disciplined. Discipline has become

my way of life. I have been thoroughly convinced of discipline and therefore it

has gone into the bones and marrow of my life. It has not been enforced upon me,

nor has any incentive for non-practice been withdrawn. No! Discipline is ‘out of

source’.

Bhagavan goes one step further when He says, "You are no devotee if you have no

discipline." If you have no discipline, you are not a devotee.

Furthermore, Bhagavan added two more points: "The one with behaviour is a boy.

The one with discipline is a devotee. And the one with manners is a man."

When there are no manners, we cannot call ourselves ‘men’. Without behavior, we

can't be boys. Without discipline, we cannot be devotees.

Such discipline comes from the source. It is discipline of the mind --

discipline which will not allow the mind to waver. It is discipline that will

not allow the senses to follow their own wayward nature. It is a discipline

that will not allow the intellect to be selfish. It is a discipline that will

not make the body self-centered. This discipline has to be taken in a broader

sense, in a wider context. It is not merely a classroom, a military or a

police-enforced discipline. The spiritual discipline prepares the ground for us

to do our duty.

the highest and the greatest duty is the realisation of the self

The fourth aspect is duty. What is duty? I do my duty at the college. Doctors do

their duty in the hospital. Others have duties in stores, hospitals, bookstores,

or at any place where they work. We do our duty and everyone says that we are

quite dutiful, if not beautiful. We do our duty.

But spiritually speaking, duty has another, deeper meaning. It is not simply

discharging a duty. No! It is not the duty you have to do to maintain your own

living; not the duty you have to do to maintain your own family. Doing your

duty is nothing great. If you do not do your duty, you must be condemned.

Others will say something is wrong with the mind. Therefore, discharging a duty

is just a thing done by anybody anywhere, at any period.

But spiritually, duty has another, deeper significance. Right from childhood, we

have certain duties. A student’s duty is to study. As a householder, my duty is

to attend to the requirements of the family and to take care of its members.

Then there is the duty to do my job at work. Then there is duty or obligation

towards my country. These are all the fundamental duties of everybody in every

nation.

But the highest and the greatest duty is the realisation of the Self, the

knowledge of the Self, the awareness of the Self. The experience of the Self is

the spiritual duty. All other duties are mundane duties, momentary duties,

ephemeral duties and worldly duties -- physical activities, that's all. The

highest duty is spiritual -- the awareness of the Self.

Discrimination

The fifth point is discrimination. Along with the path of duty, we need to

discriminate. We cannot do anything just as we like. We should not allow

ourselves to be prone to lean towards certain aspects of life. Our intellect

has been given to us to discriminate, to judge, to evaluate, to assess, to be

discreet and to enquire. We should clearly distinguish and differentiate. That

is discrimination: discrimination between right and wrong, good and bad;

discrimination between momentary and eternal; discrimination between the

creation and the Creator; discrimination between energy and matter. So, we

should discriminate!

the sixth automatically is the result

These five D’s come in a sequence. Once we understand the five D’s -- 1, 2, 3,

4, 5 -- the sixth automatically is the result. You don't have to make any

further attempt. Once you mix milk, sugar and instant coffee powder, the hot

coffee is ready. Right! That result is automatic. You can name it under the

heading of ‘determination’. Until now, I have not added determination, which

means to determine now, to decide now. This is determination, the sixth one,

which is the result of following the other five. It is automatic, sequential,

the climax, the knowledge or the practice of the above described five D’s.

My friends, that explains, in brief, the title of this morning's talk, “The Five

D’s”, which in turn culminate in the sixth D of ‘determination’.

In the time left, I will try to elaborate a few points on each one of them.

True identity is known only by dedication of the ego

Number one: Dedication. Once I have the spirit of dedication, I am left with two

alternatives. Either I should have material values or spiritual values. Some

have dedicated their lives for the freedom struggle. Some have dedicated their

lives for patriotic goals. Some have dedicated their lives for material

benefits. That’s all dedication indeed. We cannot dismiss it altogether. But we

are here for a more important reason. We have to recognise that the spiritual

values constitute what we call ‘dedication’. This is possible by giving up the

ego.

By dedication, we find our own identity. What is our Identity? I have been

thinking that I am the body; I have been thinking that I am the mind; I am

thinking that I am an individual. No! Once the ego is dedicated, once the ego

is sacrificed, naturally I will find my true identity. I am the Self, not the

senses, the body, the mind and so on. True identity is known only by dedication

of the ego. Dedication will help me understand the meaning of life, the purpose

of life – not simply life as a sort of machine, or life as a robot. Life is not

a routine. Life is meaningful and purposeful. This is known by the act of

dedication.

Enlightenment is not a stage

Now comes enlightenment! By dedicating our ego, which is an obstacle, which is a

barrier, which is an iron curtain between God and me, once it is removed or once

it is gone, I reach a state, which we call ‘enlightenment’. My friends,

enlightenment is not an achievement.

Some people say, "I got enlightenment," as if they purchased some food packet or

obtained some packet from an instant food restaurant.

Enlightenment is not a commodity. Enlightenment is not a stage. Enlightenment is

not an accomplishment. Enlightenment is not to be strived for. Enlightenment is

not to be struggled for. Enlightenment is already here. How can I say that?

Light is already there outside. We have closed the windows and doors; therefore

this room is dark.

What am I to do now? Open the doors. Open the windows. That’s all! The light

already there will get into this hall. You are not pushing the light; you are

not generating the light; you are not producing the light. The light is already

there. Only the windows and doors are closed. That is the tragedy.

Enlightenment is our birthright. We are already enlightened. But the growing

ego, along with advancing age, along with the increase in the weight of the

body, obstructs the light. We are not able to see the light of enlightenment

because of the curtains, because of the window of ego, which closes and does

not permit the light to enter. So that is enlightenment, which you get by

dedication.

love is the beginning and the end

Then Love - Love is the ultimate purpose. Love is the beginning and the end! Let

us know that love is not the end. Love is the beginning and the end! Love is the

means and the end. Love is the way and the goal. Only with absolute Love are we

prepared to dedicate. No one is prepared to dedicate anything so easily. Giving

up ego is a big problem.

Everyone starts recognising me, everyone starts greeting me, everyone starts

praising me, and hence my ego starts establishing itself. Then if anyone

considers me an ordinary man, if no one recognizes me, if no one smiles, if no

one greets me, I begin to feel neglected. My ego is affected. My state of mind

becomes suicidal. Why? Over a period of time, the ego has developed. When it is

shattered, I feel like committing suicide.

Dedicating is not that simple. It is easy to speak on dedication. It is easy to

write about it. But it is tough to practice it. I go to my office and my

subordinates don’t greet me -- my ego is affected. My students don’t greet me

-- my ego is affected. In the Mandir, everyone starts pushing me -- my ego is

affected. Then someone else takes my regular seat -- my ego is affected. Swami,

who talks to me regularly, stops talking to me for the last couple of days -- my

ego is affected.

Spiritual enlightenment is something within; but ego is something that happens

when something goes wrong outside. In our interrelationships, our ego is

affected. So, to give up the ego is not an ordinary thing. One can give up many

things; but my friends, this process is painful and agonising. The dying process

of giving up ego cannot be done without absolute Love. Unless there is absolute,

total hundred percent Love for God, you cannot afford to give up ego. It’s

impossible!

Even in front of God, I have ego. It’s not that easy to give up. Those who say

that they have no ego, please take it from me, they are the very models of ego.

They are the very personification of a hundred percent ego. When you say, "I

have no ego", that ‘I’ has plenty of ego. (Laughter) If I say that I have no

ego, that 'I' is ego. Ego might have gone out verbally, but within, it is

strengthening deeper and deeper.

once the ego is given up, peace is the result

Once I give up my ego, peace abides. I don’t look that side or this side.

Whether people have known me or not, whether people speak of me or not, whether

I am popular or not, whether there is any character assassination, mud-slinging,

rumor, or gossip against me; whether I am popular, famous or notorious, I am not

bothered. Nothing doing! I am happy within myself. The whole world may say a

thousand things. But I am not disturbed because peace abides once there is

dedication. Once the ego is given up, peace is the result. By dedication, I

proceed along this path of Self-discovery. I discover that I am capable of

reaching a state of excellence.

spirituality is stateless

Some people say, “I am a sinner,” or, "Sir, you don’t know my previous life."

Swami has said, “Forget the past. Why do you want to bother Me with your past?”

Further, God says, “There is nothing like past, future or the present. God is

beyond time. Your true Self, Atma, is timeless. Then why do you think about the

past?”

There are people who go on bothering you about their past: “You don't know, but

I was a heavy smoker and I was a total drunkard. Today I am a changed man.”

Well, I am not bothered about your biography. Please tell me something that is

of interest to both of us. Please tell me something interesting so that both of

us can join together and encourage each other along the spiritual path. Don’t

tell your bio-data and statistics about which I am not concerned.

Therefore my friends, you are capable of experiencing the state of human

excellence. It is possible!

Then there is another group of people who say, "We cannot go that far. I am not at that level."

How do you know what level you are at?

Some people say, "Well, we cannot reach that state."

What is that state? Where is it? Do you know your state? How do you know that

you are at a lower state than someone else?

Some people say, "Sir, I am in the next state."

Oho! There is only the final state. Goodbye! (Laughter)

My friends, spirituality is stateless. Spirituality is level-less. Spirituality

is class-less and caste-less. “You are already That,” says the Veda. You are

already That! Thathwamasi: You are That. You are That. You are God!

If I still say that there is a long way to go and I cannot reach that level,

then I do not reach it. All right! If you don’t want to go, why not say that

you are not going.

I think I told you sometime back that somebody asked Ramana Maharishi, "Swami,

what shall I do for realisation?"

He said, "Don’t do." (Laughter)

Straight answer, "What shall I do?"

"Don’t do."

Somebody thought this was a funny answer, so He asked, "Swami, what do you mean?"

Swami said, "Whatever you do, your mind gets into it. It is the mind that does.

It is the mind that directs. It is the mind that guides. It is the mind that

monitors. It is the mind that achieves. It is the mind that frustrates. It is

the mind that elates."

That is only ground preparation

God is beyond the mind. Whatever you do with the mind - nagarsankirtan,

Suprabhatham or bhajan - whatever you do, it is only an act of discipline. It

is only a sacred activity. It is only ground preparation. The flight is yet to

take off. It is just moving there. That’s all. It is yet to take off. Wait for

the announcement. Am I clear?

All of the spiritual activities that we do with this mind are only a

preparation. For actual realisation, Ramana Maharishi said, "Don’t do,” which

means, don’t let the mind get into the picture; don’t let the mind take

leadership; don’t let the mind be the pivot of your activity. That is the state

of excellence, which is already in existence. It is already there.

With the spirit of dedication, you find joy in work.

If anyone says, "Sir, I am tired," it only means that he does not enjoy the

work. Once you dedicate your life, you don’t get tired, you don’t get

exhausted. Age is no barrier. No! You are ready to work from birth until death.

Because you love, you are prepared to work until the last breath. That is the

outcome of dedicating your life. Once there is dedication, our personality is

well revealed, and we maintain harmony in unity of thought, word and deed.

A man of dedication will have harmony of thought, word, and deed. He will not

say something, think something else and do something in a different way. The

thought, word and deed are not at variance with each other. They cohere; they

never adhere. It is perfect union of thought, word and deed. That is

dedication!

My friends, now relax for couple of minutes. Just take a break now and examine what dedication is?

Can we say that we are dedicated? Has dedication any place in our lives? What is

dedication? For what purpose, is dedication given the first and foremost place?

One sentence: Dedication is nothing but giving up the ego! That's all!

Devotion is unconditional, desireless, selfless, eternal love for God

Then we get to the second point - devotion. After we give up ego, then devotion

starts. With all my ego, I cannot call myself a devotee if I go on telling

about all of my achievements: "You know what I am? You know what I have?"

Firstly, why should I know?

Some people come and tell you, "You know what I am? You know what I have? You know what I did?"

Please keep it to yourself, sir; I am not bothered. Please share these things

with those who are interested. I am not interested. I am only ashamed of my own

record. How can I be bothered about your record? It is not necessary to tell me.

 

Devotion means a state after giving up ego, when there is no more talk of

achievement, when there is no more of claim, when there is no more extra

feeling. There is nothing like extra sensational expression, extra sensual

perception. Nothing doing!

Devotion is unconditional, desireless, selfless, eternal Love for God. That's

all. With this definition, I am sure no temple will be full of devotees. We go

to temples and break our coconuts so that our children will get medical seats,

or so that our children will get a seat in engineering colleges. We visit

temples so that our business will prosper. All this is desire-oriented. It is

not devotion in the strict sense.

You have to love Him unconditionally. In other words, whatever He gives you, you

are prepared to accept. Whether failure, loss or defeat, it does not matter.

That's your gift. That's all. This is surrender. Devotion is surrender,

meaning, "Oh God, whatever You give me, I consider that is Your gift."

What made Jesus Christ pray for those who crucified Him on the cross? Jesus

prayed for everybody: "Oh God, forgive them. They know not what they do." It is

excellence. It is ecstasy. It is bliss born out of Love, born out of devotion

and nothing else!

So my friends, devotion is selfless. Devotion is desireless. Devotion is

eternal. Devotion is unconditional. Devotion is equanimity. That level of

devotion naturally will have an emphasis on certain values. Well, we have a set

of values.

Worldly devotion is an aspiration

Some might say, “I have one staff member in my office who is highly devoted to

work.” “I have one person working in my factory who is highly devoted.” “There

is one doctor who is highly devoted to his profession.”

That is devotion to worldly pursuits. Devotion to worldly goals and objectives

we can call aspirations. “I am highly devoted to politics” means that someday I

want to become Chief Minister. “I am devoted to financial concerns.” Yes, I

aspire to be a millionaire at the earliest time possible. These are all

aspirations. Devotion towards the world is aspiration, whereas devotion to God

is adherence to a set of values. Devotion to God is the practice of values. The

very practice of values is called devotion.

Devotion is not being ritualistic. "Sir, I am highly devoted. I go to church every Sunday."

Oh, I see. The Church is not going to suffer if you do not attend. (Laughter)

"I go to temple every Saturday, to the Lord Venkateshwara Temple, which is very

busy every Saturday."

If you don’t go there, Venkateshwara will not miss you.

"Sir, I could not attend this morning’s darshan. I am very much worried."

Your attendance there is independent of Bhagavan's darshan. He has been giving

darshan for the last 78 years in spite of you or irrespective of you.

This sort of a thing is not devotion. Devotion is adherence to and practice of

values. Once you are truthful, once you are truth, once you are loving, once

you start to love, once you are peaceful and spread peace in the neighborhood,

you are devoted. That is devotion to God, not simply practicing rituals. A

ritualistic life is only external devotion, but spiritual devotion is adherence

to and practice of human values.

Visa Venkateshwar

Then devotion wants us to be loyal. Okay! “For the past several years, I have

been coming to this temple. My desire has not been fulfilled yet. Please give

me the address of another temple where I can get it fulfilled.”

In Hyderabad, there is one place. I forgot the name, but it is very close to

Hyderabad. There is a Venkateshwara temple in a village very close to there.

They call Him ‘Visa Venkateshwar’. (Laughter) If you go to that Venkateshwara

temple, you are sure to get a visa. So, He is ‘VV’ – ‘Visa Venkateshwar’.

See how we humanise God. When God wants to divinise our lives, we want to

humanise God Himself. We are experts and geniuses at modernising. ‘Visa

Venkateshwar’! (Laughter) That's not loyalty. “Because I did not get a visa in

some other Venkateshwara temple, let me go to ‘Visa Venkateshwara’ temple now.”

That cannot be devotion. No! Loyalty is important! So is commitment and

practice. You are committed to certain values. You are committed to certain

principles. That's devotion!

Faith + Confidence = Devotion

Then there is no question of compromise. There is nothing like ‘beating around the bush’.

"Is what you say true?"

"Ah, it is something like that."

Something like that! That is ‘beating around the bush’. It is nothing like

circumnavigation. You are right there at the center. There is no question of

compromise. There is no ambiguity. There is no confusion. It is experience in

totality. Devotion is truth, love, justice, peace and compassion. These are all

the values where you don't just circumnavigate. You are at the center of the

experience of these values.

“Then what do I get out of this devotion? What do I get?”

What you get, after all, is this - morality in action! What do I mean by

‘morality in action’? Most actions are immoral; most actions are selfish; most

actions are unethical. Once you are devoted, your actions are moral in the

sense that they are caring, sharing, concerned, co-operative, team-oriented and

yes, loving. Once there is devotion, all these things start working. That's the

advantage.

Bhagavan Baba says, “Faith + Confidence = Devotion."

Faith plus Confidence: You have faith in God and you are confident that God will

take care of you. You have faith in Him and you are confident that good will

happen to you. 100% faith and 100% confidence equals devotion. Baba, the Divine

mathematician, has given us this equation.

Then the next point: Duty with devotion. Once you have devotion, it takes you to

the performance of your duties. You will have this devotion throughout.

There are people who say, "I was devoted in the year 1988." I see!

"I was devoted until 2002." I see!

Devotion is nothing like past tense or future tense. “I will be devoted from

2004.” It is not the present, or the past or the future. Devotion is present

continuously! You were, you are and you will be. It is a thing that will come

to stay with us. That is devotion!

Devotion is Non-interference in our faith

Giving up ego is dedication. Unconditional, selfless, eternal Love is devotion,

which will make me disciplined. When there is no discipline, well, it means

something is wrong. There is no devotion. According to Baba, a man who does not

follow discipline does not have devotion.

You can check this point, if you are blessed with an interview. A number of

times, Bhagavan has made this amply clear -- discipline and devotion go

together. One is the obverse and the other is the reverse of the same coin. The

point is that discipline is natural to a devotee. This discipline is not

physical discipline. It is not discipline concerning our dietary habits.

Some people say, “I am highly disciplined; I eat only once a day.”

Please stop eating that also. (Laughter)

There are others who say, "I am highly disciplined; I don't go anywhere."

Please lock yourself within the house and stay there, so that you are no longer

a nuisance in the neighborhood. That's not discipline!

Some say, "I am highly disciplined; I don't talk."

Yes! Your talk is of a standard that nobody is prepared to listen to. (Laughter)

It is not discipline.

What is discipline? “Oh, God I will ask anything that comes between You and me

to get out.” I will be free from anything that comes between God and me. I

won't talk to a person who comes between God and me. I do not look at the face

of the person that would make me lose my faith.

Discipline means to maintain your own devotion so that no one can ever interfere

with your relationship to God. Our habits should not interfere. Our contacts

should not interfere. Our relationships should not interfere. There should be

non-interference in our faith. Unhindered, unaltered, steady, one-pointed

devotion to God, without any of these factors interfering along the way, is

discipline!

It does not matter that you get up at 4:30. It doesn't matter even if you get up

at 5:30. Why not? These are all external rules and regulations that you do for

your own health care. You cannot call it spiritual discipline.

The discipline of our mind, so that it cannot desire further and further, is

spiritual discipline. The discipline of our senses, so that our mind is not

polluted by the experiences that we get through our senses when interacting

with the external world, is spiritual discipline. Let us discipline our desires

so that there will be only one single desire -- that of being with Him, of being

one with Him.

unity of thought, word and deed IS CHARACTER

Let us discipline our power. Some people have a lust for power, a craving for

power. However, the inner power is the mightiest. That is the discipline! You

may have money, but the spiritual discipline wants you to know who you really

are. The greatest wealth is the Self within you. The Self is rich! The Self is

wealth! Bank accounts and security deposits are only money.

Let us discipline our emotions so that we will not be angry, so that we will not

be greedy, so that we will not have a temper, so that we will not be jealous, so

that we will not be filled with malice. Let us discipline our emotions so that

we will be equanimous all the time.

Then we need to discipline our personality. There is no discipline in my

personality when my attention to the body is more than my attention to the

mind. Then my attention to the soul is altogether absent. Discipline means

equal attention to body, mind and Atma - M, B, A -- mind, body and Atma. That

is discipline.

Let us discipline our character. We have our own definitions, our own

understanding of character. But according to Baba, character means harmony of

thought, word and deed. Unity of thought, word and deed is character.

Some people say, “My son has excellent character. He does not smoke and he

doesn't drink.” Oh ho, fine! However, what he says, you cannot believe. You

cannot predict what he is going to do. What he is thinking, nobody can

comprehend. How does that relate to character?

So, unity of thought, word and deed is character. It is not simply refraining

from vices. It is not anything like refraining from bad habits. No! Unity of

thought, word and deed is character!

Then no one should have pathological values. Pathological means disease-causing

values like greed and selfishness. Let me have discipline so that I will be

immune to all these pathological values, so that I am resistant to these

pathological values.

Moral character is the outcome of discipline.

the highest duty is to know the purpose of life

The greatest discipline is to avoid everything that comes between God and me,

centering my attention on the Self. That's the highest discipline. Then that

takes me to another level, the fourth D - Duty.

What are our duties? Some people say, "Sir, my duty is from 10 o’clock to 4

o’clock. Or my duty is at night from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m." All the duties that

we perform are time bound. All the duties we have are remunerative. All the

duties that we discharge are obligatory. All the duties are for our living and

maintenance.

But the highest duty is to know the purpose of life. The highest duty is to know

the Self. The only duty is to be the Self, with the Self, in the Self, of the

Self. That's all! To experience that supreme state is our duty. Yet, we are

happy with fractional happiness. We are happy with segmental bliss. We are

happy with pieces of joy. From the spiritual perspective, oceanic bliss, the

bliss of the vastness of an ocean, the bliss that is as vast as sky, to

experience that is the only duty we have, having been born as a human.

At the same time, it does not mean that we have to run away from our families,

or that we should leave our children on the streets. No! We have a moral

obligation to our family, to society and to nature. Apart from that, the

greatest duty is to find and experience the Self. We must be grateful to our

parents, teachers, mentors, to the society and to nature by-and-large.

Because we have not cared for nature, today we are facing the results of

earthquakes, floods and all sorts of hazards in nature - air pollution, water

pollution, food pollution, soil pollution, oil pollution and what not! Even

poison is polluted. (Laugher) Even if one wants to die by consuming poison, it

is not possible because it is polluted. (Laughter) Therefore my friends,

pollution is everywhere. Why? Because there is no gratitude to nature. We go on

exploiting nature. We are not grateful to nature.

Man has become the worst exploiter

Man has become the worst exploiter. We find the water unfit for drinking. Many

of the rivers are polluted. The sacred Ganges River is the worst polluted river

in this country. Ganges is pure, but we made it impure.

My friends, we are not thankful to nature. We are not grateful to nature.

Therefore, we are suffering today from health hazards and natural hazards. We

are not grateful to society. We exploit the society. Having been born into

society, having built up a stature in society, having earned money in society,

having been benefited in every way in society, we have to pay back something in

the form of service. Yet, we don't do that. Therefore, faith is gone and trust

is gone. This is the present condition of our society. We are not grateful to

our teachers; the result is arrogance and pride. We are not grateful to our

parents; the result is that we are going to suffer tomorrow at the hands of our

own children.

Therefore, we must express gratitude, thankfulness, reverence, appreciation, and

do service to nature, society, men, parents, teachers and mentors. This is all

part of our regular obligation, our fundamental basic duties. Yet, the highest

duty is to know the Self. The path of inquiry leads one to experience the Self.

 

What is the effect of showing that kind of attitude towards discharging your

duties? There will be harmony! There will be no disharmony. There will be no

disunity. There will be no imbalance. There will be perfect balance and

harmony. There will be Love. People will care for each other. People will be

ready to share with everybody. You will find unity and justice. When everyone

does their own duty, both from the outer and the inner points of view, there

will be love, peace and justice in all quarters of the world.

Bhagavan said one thing, "Today people have forgotten their duties, but they are

fighting for their rights." Man is craving for rights, but he has forgotten his

responsibilities. Therefore, the emphasis should be more on performance of

duties and responsibilities, and not merely on rights. That's what Bhagavan has

said. We are ready to fight for rights, but we are not ready to discharge our

responsibilities.

Discriminate between good and bad

Well, we have come to the fifth D - Discrimination. When I want to know my Self,

which is my highest duty having been born a human being, I have to exercise my

discrimination. In knowing the Self, in being with the Self, in the Self, I

have to exercise my discrimination between right and wrong. If I am in the

wrong place, I cannot be blissful. Discriminate between good and bad, reality

and delusion, spurious imagination or authentic truth. I must be able to

discriminate what is good for me versus what is not good for me. I should be

able to discriminate what would help me spiritually and what would not help me

spiritually. I should be able to discriminate so that I can avoid certain

things in life and certain people in life. That way I can grow spiritually. I

can advance spiritually. I can mold my personality. I can develop my character.

This is all possible through discrimination.

Finally, what happens? Determination! Discrimination ends up in Determination. I

have not given the sixth D because it calls for action, which is automatic.

Instead, I have given the heading of the fifth D.

Now what should I do? One - detach from power. As long as there is

power-mongering, we cannot be spiritual in any sense. It is impossible!

Power-mongering and spirituality can never go together. That's definite!

He is leading a worldly life in the spiritual field. Power and God cannot go

together. Impossible! Detach from ego! Ego and God cannot co-exist! It may be

possible for you to mix fire and water, but it is impossible to be egoistic and

at the same time Divine. Detach from power and ego! Detach from cravings of the

senses! Senses always want. Let us put a ceiling, a regulation, on the senses.

You have had a bundle of experiences, so no more. Enough is enough! Put a full

stop, oh please!

“O senses, you have ruined me enough! I am aged now. I am weak now. Why do you

still allure me? Why do you still make me sensual? Why do you still lead me to

vices? I am fed up with this. Please, enough is enough! “

Let us beg our senses, not to take us to the external world anymore. Enough is

enough! Detach from sensual pleasure and sensual attraction.

Detach from the mind! The mind is a bundle of thoughts, particularly when one

sits for meditation. All thoughts find it convenient to settle there. Or during

bhajan time, all thoughts come into my mind.

“O mind, let me say ‘never mind’!” Let me not go along with the mind.

“O mind, why don't you keep quiet please for some time?”

At night, my body is at rest, but the mind has no rest as it wants to dream

further and further. The mind is restless. This mind, which is acting, even

wants to be active at night, dreaming while we sleep.

In turn, the restless mind is the cause for sickness of the body. The body falls

sick because of the restless state of the mind. So, let us see that mind is at

rest.

How is it possible? By withdrawing the thoughts! What is the process? Meditation

is the process of withdrawing the mind. Meditation is a process of controlling

our thoughts. Meditation is a process of the no-mind state. That we have to

determine.

Life is a dreamland, but not a merry land

Let us also be detached from illusion. Let us not think that everything is

permanent. Let us not hanker after possessions and acquisitions. Let these all

just be imagination.

Baba says, “That is a night dream; this is a daydream. That's all!”

What we experience while we sleep is a night dream. What we experience now is a

daydream. Life is a dreamland, but not a merry land.

Baba says, “Life is a dream, realise it.” Realise that the daydreams and the

night dream are not permanent. You are the Truth! The real You is the Truth,

not the day or the night dreams.

If we really want to be spiritual, we need to detach ourselves from lust for

power, money, status, luxury and prestige.

Recently we watched Mother Theresa being given the highest honour in the city of

the Vatican by the Pope. She was honoured for her spiritual excellence. She was

honoured because of her humility. She was honoured because of her service and

sacrifice. Mother Theresa was always moving with folded hands and a bent head.

We never saw any trace of ego in her. Yes, that is spirituality! That is

religion in practice! She had no luxuries. When she left this world, most of

you must know what property Mother Theresa had - two plastic buckets, a mug and

two dresses. That's all! All the cars that she was gifted with by people,

including the Pope at the Vatican, were auctioned and the money was given to

the church. She was left with nothing. But of course, God was with her. That is

spiritual life!

We have to neutralise. Some are in overtones. Some are more intensive. Some are

excessively manifesting. So we have to neutralise. A simple example: When there

is more salt, we use some chilly powder. When there is more of decoction, we mix

some sugar, so as to neutralise the effect. Similarly, when you are greedy,

neutralise it. Be greedy so far as devotion is concerned, but not greedy

towards the world.

Kama: Desire is wrong, but when Kama is desire for God, it is sublime. It is the

same thing, yet desire towards the world is a weakness, whereas desire for God

is a merit. Greed in the world is a negative point. Greed for God, yes, it is a

merit. It is also called sadhana. So neutralise.

Envy should not express itself by way of avarice, hatred or enmity. Why can’t

all of us achieve? Why can't I also control my senses? Why can't I also

meditate? Why can't I also concentrate? One should have this spirit. Let there

be no place for hypocrisy or double standards. There is no scope for arrogance

whatsoever. We cannot be aggressive. There should not be any malice between us.

There should only be Love abiding.

This is what we are supposed to do now. We have to detach from certain qualities

and we have to neutralise other qualities. All this comes under determination.

Unless we are determined, we cannot neutralise the evil traits. We cannot

detach.

So, my friends, this is the topic for the day. I thank you very much for having

listened in rapt attention.

Thank you very much.

OM…OM…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

 

Source: http://www.internety.com/anilk2003/02.11.2003(E)central.htm

Copyrigth © Anil Kumar Kamaraju

 

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