Sathya Sai Baba Geetha Vahini - Chapter 19

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Sathya Sai BabaGeetha Vahini

Chapter XIX

Speakers who are out to spread the Geetha have multiplied nowadays and as a

consequence, and a variety of interpretations, most of them far removed from

the genuine one, has emanated, clouding the true significance. Interpretations

follow the nature and character of the exponent. Once an opinion is formed, he

tries to buttress it with appropriate arguments and prove all others wrong. It

is then repeated parrot-like on every occasion; no attempt is made to practise

the Geetha and make it part of one's actual life. Such persons pretend to be

great Geetha Pracharaks and go about heavy with the burden of credentials and

titles. They ruin themselves by this deception and undermine the trust placed

on the Geetha.

The words of God are, each one, for translation into actual life, not for

scattering into the ears of men to reap fame. But the times have gone so awry,

that they are today misused for acquiring publicity and praise! Those who

listen to the expositions of these Pracharaks are also failing to question

their bona fides; they do not care to examine whether the persons who extol the

Geetha to the skies have tasted the sweetness of its teachings. Words and deeds

are far apart; they exhort others but those who are exhorted find that the

teachers do not themselves follow the lesson! No, not even one in a million.

There are some who boast that they have the entire Geetha on the tip of the

tongue; that they can roll out, on the spot, any sloka from the Geetha which

you want to hear, if only the chapter and number are given; or, they can quote

chapter and number for any phrase or word you give. I am inclined to laugh when

such scholarship is exhibited. Poor tongue, that it should carry so much on its

tip, without any of it being absorbed in actual life! A gramophone record can

repeat as well as they, and with equal benefit to itself. Practising one verse

certainly yields more benefit than learning all the verses by rote and

retaining them in memory. Arjuna proved every word of Krishna true, by

practising it. His sincerity won him the Grace of Krishna.

It is a pity that even extremely learned pundits at the present time are unaware

of the thrill of putting into practice a single word of the Geetha. What then

are we to say of the unlearned, the ignorant? In short, even some very reputed

exponents of the Geetha are playing false to its teaching, acting contrary to

the message. To the song of the Lord, each one adds a fancy note of his own to

demonstrate his special twist in scholarship, or his favourite predilection.

Let us consider one example of this type. The 10th verse of the 6th chapter of

the Geetha declares that "Parigraha" is a great sin.

Now those who accept the Geetha as authority should act accordingly, avoiding

Parigraha, is it not so? Parigraha means, "accepting" even for the upkeep of

the body and the maintenance of Dharma! These Pracharaks however, do accept, 99

per cent of them! The condemnation of Parigraha applies to all forms; there are

no modifying circumstances or exceptions. Yet, collections and contributions

are asked for Geethayajnas, as 'offering' during Harathi, as expenses for the

Geetha Pracharaka Sanghas, as Nazar or Kanuka for the Guru; tickets are sold

for the lectures as tickets for entertainments (like the drama and cinema) are

sold. People who do this have no faith in the words of Krishna; for had they

the faith, they would not behave in such contrary ways. If they were convinced

that it is wrong, they would not be tempted to act so. They explain the sloka

and feel that their duty is done; they do not feel the need to follow the

advice. This is the spirit of the times, for this is the age

of hypocrisy. People who watch this type of Geetha Prachar lose faith in the

Pracharak and later in the Geetha itself. The publicity dissolves into mere

pomp and vanity.

The teachings of the Geetha do not get the respect that the book gets. Thousands

of people, when they see the sacred books, Geetha, Ramayana, Bhagavatha,

Bharatha, etc., bow their heads, press them to their eyes, place them on their

heads, keep them on a special seat in the shrine and reverentially placing a

few flowers on them, they sit with closed eyes and with teardrops rolling down

their cheeks, fall prostrate before the books and rise very much satisfied with

themselves! All that reverence is for the stack of paper, not for the contents

of the books, the subjects they deal with.

What the head must carry is not the weight of the paper, but the message

contained thereon. Attach value not to the book, but to the subject; revere,

not the volume, but the matter expounded therein. Install it not on the altar,

but in the heart. For it is only then that the authority of the Geetha will be

honoured steadily, at all times. The mind will not be cleansed of egoism or

like evils by all this outward reverence: learning by rote, offering worship in

the shrine room, holding on the head, pressing on the eyes, etc. Let the message

enter the heart; put it into practice and taste the joy that comes therefrom.

That is the way of honouring the Geetha.

The tastiest dish can never quell your hunger if you place it on the head or

press it to your eye or fall prostrate before it. The Geetha too is on par with

this. The Geetha is a tasty dish, full of the sweet ingredients of Bhakthi,

Jnana, Vairagya. Eat it; drink it. One morsel is enough. The Karma and hungry

man does not need all the grain that is harvested; a handful of rice suffices.

The thirsty man need not drink the Godavari dry; a glass of water is enough.

He who has hunger for God need not consume the entire Geetha; it can be quenched

by practising even one sloka. A box of matches has many sticks; if you want to

light a fire you need strike only one; you can nurture the little flame into a

huge fire, with care and diligence. The entire stock of sticks need not be

struck. There are 700 sticks in the Geetha; each one is a stick from which you

can light the flame of Jnana. Strike one on the stone of experience, that is

enough.

The Geetha has to be used thus for self-realisation; that is the holy task for

which it is designed. It is a great wrong to misuse it; all attempts to use it

for fame and fortune, for titles and display, are but symptoms of egoism; they

are acts of sacrilege. The 'Gandha' must be extracted from this 'Grantha'; that

is the test of scholarship; the fragrance (Gandha) is the essence of the book

(Grantha). Do not, on the other hand, transform the Masthaka into a Pusthaka,

the brain into a book.

See God in the stone; do not change God into stone. That is the vision which is

highly desirable. The stone must be visualised as divine, suffused with God;

which it really is. This vision is the precious gift that God has given to the

people of this land. Pearls do not float on the waves of the ocean; dive deep

into the silent caverns at the bottom if you yearn for them. The people of this

land have sought for God in this manner for ages.

The practice of Dharma is the body; the realisation of God is its heart; this is

the truth that has urged the people here to march forward and save themselves.

They are not slaves to outward polish, external embroidery, or material

comfort. They search for the basic Atma with the inner eye and cultivate

detachment. The people of Bharath, who have this grand nature, are however,

attracted today by material progress and outward pomp! This is a tragedy much

to be regretted.

Those who go about expounding the Geetha with the object of earning money are

thereby keeping God afar. They may give various justifications for their

behaviour, no doubt; but none who has real faith in the Geetha or who is a real

adherent of its teaching can accept their explanations.

The Geetha is spoken in order to foster Dharma, not Dhanam; it serves to promote

goodness, not "goodsness." Collecting money in the name of a temple for Krishna

or for Rama, or a Mandir for the Geetha, is another means of reducing faith in

God; building a house for the Lord who is immanent and all-pervading is absurd.

The heart is the proper temple where Krishna or the Geetha is to be installed.

To put up an artificial structure that is certain to be ravaged by time, for

the eternal absolute, the indestructible Godhead, is very improper. Of course,

until a stage is reached, these may be necessary, but in that case, it is wiser

to make the best use of the ancient temples that already exist. Building new

ones and ruining the old ones is as foolish as killing the cow and donating

footwear made out of its hide! The welfare of the world can be promoted by the

renovation of old temples and not by the creation of new ones. The installation

of God in ancient days was done according to

strict Sastraic ritual and so the old temples are holier. The power radiating

from them confers upon this land whatever little welfare it enjoys now.

The Rishis of the past suffered hardships, detached themselves from the world

and even disintegrated their bodies in the search for the secrets of individual

salvation and social uplift. They have handed down certain codes of conduct and

rules of living which are practicable and simple. Even these are now neglected

or misunderstood; new codes and rules are imposed with the result that these

precious ones have gone under.

When elders, Guru and Pundits accept and honour these newfangled modes of

behaviour, how can Bharath continue to be Dharmakshetra, Yogakshetra and

Thyagakshetra? This downfall in ideals explains why the land which verily was

Annapurna, feeding all her children, has to wail today for food. The holy

experience - Sivoham, I am Siva - was resounding from every mountain valley,

every cave, every temple and each sacred river bank; but now the cry is,

Savoham, Savoham, I am dead!

The land has lost its ancient joy; it is infested with anxiety; it is the home

of self-aggrandizement; it is pursuing empty pomp. To counteract these

tendencies, the spread of spiritual knowledge by persons who have actually

experienced the joy of Sadhana and success in and through it has become very

necessary. Everyone from the simple unlettered man to the Paramahamsa must

recognise this need. All must cultivate faith in the Geetha and take it as the

authentic word of the Lord.

The Lord has given the assurance: "Yogakshemam vahaamyaham,I shall bear the

burden of your welfare, here and hereafter." He has undertaken this task

voluntarily. But for mortals and aspirants to benefit from this, they have to

live as ordained; they have to adhere to the lines laid down. When they feel

that they are not so helped, they have only to examine their own lives and

discover how far they have kept up the commands of God regarding the regulation

of life. They fail to examine this. They do not consider the past and future;

they complain only about the grief of the moment, not knowing that it is caused

by neglect in the past and ignorance of the future. This is the root of their

suffering.

While considering this assurance, the condition precedent contained in the same

sloka, "Ananyaaschinthayantho maam, ye janaah paryupaasathe" has to be

remembered. "Yogakshemam vahaamyahhm" is the crown of this condition, the final

fruit. The assurance is the head; but no head can function independently of

limbs. Holding fast to the head only, apart from neck and shoulders and the

rest of the body, is like putting faith in the key in one's hand after the iron

safe has been stolen! Of what use is the key, after the treasure is burgled?

The conditions for the fulfilment of that assurance are: Ananyachintha and

Upaasana, Meditation on the Lord unhampered by any other thought and steady

worship. If unbroken meditation is absent, when worship is not offered with

unconditional surrender, what justification is there to complain that He is not

bearing the burden?

You surrender to others: you praise and extol others; you are immersed in other

thoughts. How then can He assume the burden? You serve others; and press the

Lord for reward! How can this be Ananya chintha, undivided loyalty? If a man is

the servant of the king he must serve him wholeheartedly; if he serves the king

and loves his family, it cannot be termed unswerving loyalty. Serve whom you

love, love whom you serve. That is the secret of Saranagathi, surrender. Vyasa

made a lovely garland, this sloka is the crest. It is this central jewel of

that garland of gems.

The words "Yoga" and "Kshema" used by the Lord here mean: "Yoga" acquisition of

something desirable; and "Kshema," the preservation of what is thus acquired.

The discipline by which you can preserve it is: Ananya chintha, exclusive

meditation on the Lord. That will cleanse the mind; it will make you a Bhaktha.

The Bhaktha is recognised by these things; he talks of the Lord; he sings of the

Lord; he sees only the Lord; he works and spends his leisure with the Lord.

Such persons have no need to perform Yajna or Yaga; they need not busy

themselves with meritorious acts of charity; they need not go from one holy

place to another. Why should they be sad if they miss these things or complain

that the Lord did not give them the chance or the wherewithal for these? He

does not insist on these or crave for these. Offer whatever arises in the mind,

made pure by Sadhana; He gladly accepts all. You may engage yourselves in what

are termed "good" deeds but if the mind is unclean, if the vessel in not

'tinned' with the thought of God, they are all polluted into poison. He is

particular, the vessel should be clean.

Note how the handful of parched rice that Kuchela offered the Lord with a pure

mind pleased Him. Read the experiences of Vidura and Droupadi in the epics and

the Puranas. What did they offer the Lord? Vidura gave a cup of gruel; Droupadi

had only a wee bit of leaf to offer. On the face of it, they are valueless, to

fetch even half a Paisa as price. But, consider how much the Lord gave in

return! He does not calculate the value of things, He calculates the feeling

that prompted the act. So purify the feeling in order to win His grace.

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