Swami teaches... The sources of inspiration as the Divine manifestation

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches...

The Sources of Inspiration as the Divine Manifestation

The previous "Swami teaches... has noted that Swami has come to guard your

virtue and holiness and guide you to the Goal. There was mentioned that during

the Navaratri time the Divine energy from His Teaching has a special Divine

power. But really this Divine power is equal at any time; only humans'

perception at that time is more sensitive thanks to special rituals and methods

of worship.

 

Your consciousness is a lamp. Pour into it the oil of the Divine Grace; trim

the wick of self-control. Keep in position the chimney of Naamasmarana, so that

the gusts of Joy and Grief may not put out the flame. Light the lamp with a

Vedhic dictum like "Aham Brahmaasmi" (I am the Absolute Reality). Then you will

see Light and you will shed Light on the other creatures. To see an effulgent

Light you do not need another lamp. Likewise to know the selfluminous Atmic

Knowledge there is no need for any other knowledge. Every human being has the

knowledge of own true form.

All the diversity you see in creation is a manifestation of the Indivisible

One. All the changing entities are based upon the One that is unchanging.

Creation has to be viewed as a Cosmic Stage. All creatures in the world are

manifestations of the Divine and have a purpose.

There was a mathematician taking rest under a tree, who wondered why a

pumpkin creeper bore such a huge fruit, while the huge banyan tree over his

head bore only tiny fruits. He was doubting the sense of proportion of God.

During his sleep some fruits from the banyan tree fell on his body. On waking

up he realised that if the huge tree which attracted people to take shelter

under its shade, had big fruits, like pumpkins, their fall would be harmful to

those resting under it. This experience made him realize the wisdom of the

Divine.

Seekers of truth search the methods of realization this Divine wisdom from

inner and outer worlds.

Today people worship God in various ways. They pray to God, "Oh Lord! Let me

have a vision of you! Free me from all my troubles." People who offer such

prayers seem to have no idea of the nature of God. Who is God? The scriptures,

the Vedhas and the Upanishaths, give the answer to this question that God is:

Sath-Chith-Ananda (Existence, Knowledge, Bliss) What you should seek from God,

is Sath-Chit-Ananda, and not trivial things relating to the world. All things

are included in that Ananda (Supreme Bliss). (What is happening today is that

people invoke the name of God but are really worshipping the devil).

People talk about meditation. But how much of it is concentrated on God? The

purpose of meditation is to recognise one's unity with God. This realisation can

come only when one removes the three-layered cloak that covers the Atma in the

form of the three Gunas - Thamas, Rajas and Sathva. Trust everything as God's

work, whatever your vocation or profession, then you sanctify every act in

daily life. That is the message of the Vedhas.

 

People are used to making edible offerings to idols or pictures, but consume

them after the ritual. These are not what should be offered to God. You should

offer your Love to God as the food that God loves. Regard even this love as a

gift from God. You offer to God what God has given to you. This was what

Jayadeva said in a famous song, "Oh Lord! That heart which you gave to me, I am

offering to you." (There should be no sense of separateness. This was finely

expressed by Pothana when he declared that his entire poem was inspired and

composed by the Divine. Thereby his Bhagavatham achieved unique sacredness).

The Divine Love, which is the source of everything, should be acquired

first. (People today have become playthings in the hands of demonic forces like

egoistic pride, envy and ostentation).

God's Love pervades the Universe. This love is present in one and all it is

as the connective link between diverse forms of the Unite One. Just as God

manifests His love in the world, everyone should manifest thislove. This

love cannot be got through scholarship, wealth, or physical powers. God, who is

the embodiment of love, can be attained only through Love, just as the effulgent

Sun can be seen only through its light. There is nothing more precious in

this world than Divine Love. God and His Love are beyond all attributes.Prema

should be like a mariner's compass. Wherever the compass may be placed, the

needle will point only to the North. Likewise, human's love, in all

circumstances, should be directed towards God. It should be unaffected by

pleasure or pain. Love has to be acquired only through love and not by any

other means whatsoever. No one can describe the nature of Divine love. It is

beyond the reach of poets. The one who is immersed in the waters of Divine Love

will be unable to speak to anyone. When one is only up to neck-deep in water

he/she may be able to say a few words.

Those who speak about God in the world do so only from superficial

experience, but those who are wholly saturated with God's love will find no

words to describe their bliss. That is why the Vedhas declared that the Divine

is beyond the reach of the mind and speech.

The ancient sages identified this Love with the Atma (Supreme Self). The

Self and Love are not different from each other. In every human being this love

is present.

Love is present not only in human beings, but also in all creatures, birds

or beasts. Nor is that all. It is in fact all-pervasive. Love pervades

everything in creation. Human's humanness is vitiated when person fails to

recognise this love.

Love is greater than all the wealth of the world. What use is there in

imparting knowledge to those who have no love in their hearts? It is not

got by education, Nor by knowing the rules of logic, Nor by secular

studies, Nor by professing any religion, Nor by Vedhik speculation.

It is present only In a heart filled with compassion.

Compassion is the most essential quality of a human being. A compassionate

heart reflects divinity.

You have to get a vision of God. You have to experience the Divine. You

have to converse with God. Human must realize God; see God; feel God; talk to

God. This is religion. Without understanding this true meaning of religion,

people regard various forms of worship and prayers as religion. "Realise is

Religion." This means that to realize the eternal reality is true religion.

God's ways are astonishing, inscrutable, and mysterious. God has made ample

provision for all human's needs. He has also given to human much more in the

form of luxuries. In addition, He has conferred on human the power to control

all these things. God has told, "You are free to use as you like all the things

given to you, subject to one condition. You will have to face the consequences

of your actions." This means that you cannot abuse the freedom given to you to

misuse the things that are provided for you. When you misuse anything, you have

to bear the resulting misery. When you make good use of anything, you will enjoy

the benefits therefrom.You have to take note of the purpose for which you use

your senses or the objects given to you.

Human's body is a gift from God. It does not belong to you, but you have to

protect it as an instrument given to you. You have to treat it as a trust and

not as your private property. You came with nothing into the world and leave it

with nothing. What happens to your wealth or to yourself? Of what use is all

other wealth unless a human realises the bliss of oneness with the Divine

(Sath-Chith-Ananda)? Without understanding one's own true Self, all other

knowledge is meaningless.

Human is the embodiment of the eternal Truth, the embodiment of

Sath-Chith-Ananda. It is the true wealth of a human being. Everyone should try

to secure this treasure by overcoming the dragon of self-conceit which is

barring the access to it. Everyone has to think for him/herself how he/she is

viewing this treasure. The Divine whom you seek is within you. Your yearning

for the Divine must be total and all-absorbing. (But people are unable to

recognize their true identity because egoism and possessiveness, pomp and

pride. The Divine within is covered by these tendencies like ashes over a

burning charcoal. When the ashes are blown away, the fire will reveal itself).

People speak about Moksha (liberation). What is it from which they have to be

liberated? Is it from family, wealth or position? Liberation from these is an

easy affair. Liberation is from the sense of identification with the body. The

body is only an instrument and not your true Self.

You should try to have complete knowledge of anything. Partial knowledge is

dangerous. You should study the nature of the heart. You should also expand

your heart - not the physical, but spiritual heart. It is called Hridhaya,

meaning one which is filled with dhaya (compassion).

However, good and evil in the world are expressions of the Divine

consciousness. Behind all the various actions of the actors, the Divine

director is at work. It should be realised that though names and forms may

vary, languages and nationalities may be different, the human race is one in

its divine essence. The Lord declared in the Geetha: "All beings in the world

of the living are aspects of my Eternal Self." Knowledge of the Self transcends

knowledge of the body, the senses, the mind and the the Will.

Aadhi Shankara proclaimed the supremacy of the path of knowledge for the

realisation of the Self. In his "Anandalahari" he declared that Ananda is

human's goal and it can be secured only by God's grace. He firmly asserted that

Brahman alone is real and there is no second. Even for such a staunch exponent

of Monism, devotion became necessary. Without cultivating devotion, Jnana

(Knowledge of the Divine) cannot be secured.The individual human being is such

a pitifully petty creature in this vast cosmos that he has no basis at all

forgetting conceited. (Egoism is demonic quality. Those who are proud about

their wealth or power should realise that both these are maladies presaging

ruin).

People talk about Bhakthi (true devotion), Yoga and Jnana. Does Bhakthi mean

getting involved in bhajans and enjoying the tune and beat of the songs? Does

Yoga mean sitting in a corner and exercising breath control? Does Jnana consist

in reading some books and getting by rote a few shlokas? What is Sanyaasa

(renunciation)? Is it wearing the ochre robe? Bhakthi means getting rid of the

vices of attachment, hatred and envy and manifesting pure love.

As regards Yoga, people speak about Hatha Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Transcendental

Meditation and some new-fangled ideas. All these are not Yoga. True yoga is

control of the senses and the vagaries of the mind. True sanyaasa consists

in the transformation of one's qualities and not in a change of garb. The mind

must change, not the apparel. A true sanyaasi is one who has mastery over all

his senses and has given up desires. He is a sanyaasi who seeks the feet of

the Lord, giving up attachments to the body, which is subject to disease and

decay. He must treat life and death, pleasure and pain alike.

People admire the beauty of Nature, but are not aware of the beauty in their

hearts. Make your heart beautiful by adorning it with the sacred love of God. It

is sufficiently essential today as there is pollution in the air we breathe, the

water we drink and the food we consume. Our entire life has been polluted. All

this has to be at first purified by suffusing the atmosphere with the Divine

name.

 

It is not right that human, who is endowed with immense potencies, should

be content with what is seen by the physical eyes. Such eyes are possessed

equally by beasts and birds, as well as insects and germs. But human beings

should not be content with what is seen by the physical eyes. Human should

acquire Jnana nethra (the eyes of wisdom). That which is seen, that which

appears to be real, is bound to pass away in the stream of time. The physical

eyes can only serve to see external objects in Nature and examine their

properties and explain them, but cannot recognize the Divine. One must acquire

the eyes of wisdom for this purpose.

The initial force of the entire Universe is Chaithanya (Pure Consciousness).

It is Sath-Chith-Ananda. It grows in full bloom in the human being and blossoms

into the flower of Awareness. Thus God incarnates in human. To understand this

truth is the goal of human life. It is the mind that stands in the way of this

realisation. So Chaithanya (Consciousness) is there in the mind and pervades

everywhere. The power of vision in the eyeand of taste in the tongue are

derived from this Chaithanya. (People are using the sense organs but do not

know the source of the power which activates them). Chaithanya cannot be

comprehended by the physical vision. It is within everyone in very close

proximity. People undertake external exercises and spiritual practices in vain

to find it. The entire Creation is a manifestation of the Divine Will.

Prakrithi (Nature) is the manifestation of God. Human is also part of Prakrithi

and thus has the Divine power in him.

(The mind is perverted when it is centred on the ego of a person. But when

it is directed towards the Atma, it becomes sublime. Unity in a family is the

basis of unity in society. Though there are lots of common features among

mankind, people are not able to visualise their unity, but promote only their

differences. The cause for the lack of peace in the world is the absence of

harmony in thought, word and deed in each individual, which is reflected in the

lack of unity among different individuals).

It is purity of mind that helps to sublimate mankind, directs it towards God

and enables it to manifest the inherent divinity in human being. (Reet's

compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 2. "With prathyaksha to paroksha,"

Chapter 11. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "Role of the Avathaar in the cosmic

play," Chapter 30. Sathya sai Speaks. Vol. 28. "The Power of Divine Love,"

Chapter 1 and "The bliss of Self-Realisation," Chapter 27).

Namaste - Reet