LOVE SEEKS NO RETURN - Swami’s Discourse on 25-12-1995

[Guest guest]

A recollection of Swami’s earlier Christmas day messages-6:

Om Sri Sai Ram

LOVE SEEKS NO RETURN

Swami’s Discourse on 25th December 1995 at Prashanthi Nilayam

Embodiments of Divine Love!

In this Creation, which is apparent, all matter and forms are attractive and

pleasing. God pervades the entire universe; its very form is full of Love.

[swami then sang a verse:]

God is the very form of Love;There is connection between Love and Love.So

strengthen your Love,And you can reach the state of non-duality.

Love exists for Love, and not for any return. Love is not mercenary. It does not

involve give and take like business. Love finds joy in giving. Everything is

Love. Love does not watch through the physical eye; it knows the heart. Love

does not hear through the ears; it listens with peace. Love doesn't talk with

words; it talks with compassion.

Love, compassion, mercy are synonyms. Love has many synonyms. Love originates

from the heart. Love is immortal, eternal, blissful and nectarine. The heart

full of such love is broad and vast. The rivers with various names become one

when they merge with the ocean. They lose their entity, taste and form and

become a part of the ocean. The river of Love also flows in many forms to meet

the ocean of the heart, and takes its name and form. There is nothing in this

world that cannot be achieved through Love; anything can be accomplished

through Love.

Love that expects no return, that has no attributes and is unsullied, can bind

God. Selfish and narrow minded love will bind you to the world. But man today

has lost sight of the true, eternal Love and uses it for small and mean

purposes. As a consequence, he is bound to the world and experiences

unnecessary sorrow.

It is the prime duty of every man to understand the nature of this true Love.

The one who truly recognizes the nature of Love can never be led astray.

Relations are not true Love; all the concepts which are attached to the word

'love' have nothing to do with it in the real sense. The love between mother

and child, between husband and wife, are taken as love. They are not Love. They

are relationships. They are finite, with a beginning and an end. But true and

eternal Love has neither beginning nor end.

This Love exists before birth, during life and after death. That which exists in

all times is Love. The love between mother and child is one that has emerged in

between. Which mother loved a child before it was born? Which child loved its

mother before its birth? The love between them takes shape only after the

child's birth. So it is an attachment that has developed in the course of life.

It is not Love.

Before the wedding, who is the husband? Who is the wife? The love between

husband and wife begins only after a relationship is formed. This love has a

definite beginning and end. So it cannot be termed as Love.

That Love which is true and eternal, and drenches man in perennial bliss, is

Love in its truest sense. All thoughts must be full of Love. Each syllable must

be soaked in Love. The vision must be of Love. This is divine Love.

Adversity on the path of Love

The one who is the recipient of such Love will not succumb to adversity. Man

today reacts to praise and blame easily. Divine Love will not make one elated

when praised or dejected when blamed. People may extol, criticize, blame or

praise, but Divine Love remains the same. Divine Love treats pleasure and pain

with equanimity. Such Love will meet many obstacles.

It is very difficult to know God, but easy to criticize Him. Man opts for the

easy path and avoids the difficult path which leads to Truth.

Pleasure is an interval between two pains, and pain exists between two

pleasures. Pain and pleasure take the same form. The end of pain is the

beginning of pleasure. Love causes both pain and pleasure. This is called

divine Love. Man, unable to understand this divine, ever new, ever fresh and

fragrant Love, goes by ephemeral, transient, worldly love, and thereby wastes

his life.

Christ made many attempts to demonstrate and propagate this infinite divine

Love. Having lost his father at the tender age of ten, he sought the permission

of his mother, and set out to begin his mission of serving the society. Bathing

in the sacred waters of the river Jordan, he went to his Guru then and took

three vows:

"I will experience divine Love and propagate and exemplify it to mankind under

all circumstances. This is the objective of my life."

"I will not be elated by praise nor be dismayed when criticized. I will maintain equanimity."

"I will recognize Love, the inherent divinity in each man, and share Love with all men."

Christ determined to make the giving and sharing of Love his main objective in

life. Such love was met with many obstacles and losses. Christ considered a

true man to be the one who can face obstacles and move forward in Love.

Do not give in to losses and pain. Do not be carried away with pleasure. Face

everything with equanimity.

Christ could never see suffering passively. In Jerusalem doves were sold and

killed as an offering. Christ decried the violence committed towards the poor

creatures. He began to undertake the holy task of stopping such violence and

freeing the captive birds. Some men began to cast aspersions, slandered him and

tried to punish him.

"Salutations to any living beings go toward God," say the Vedas. ("Sarva bhuta

namaskaram; Keshavam prati gachate.") We think there is no meaning in saluting

both the one who praises us and the one who criticizes us. Saluting the one who

praises us is understandable, but what is the use of saluting the one who

accuses us? We must have continuous relationship with accusations, because

without them there is no beauty or value to praise. Without criticism,

appreciation loses its meaning. That is why every word, every thought, has some

obstacle or other. For the good, bad is a shadow. For pleasure, difficulty is a

shadow. All opposites are interrelated. The pleasure and pain, the profit and

loss, exist together. Christ went on pursuing his path in the face of many

obstacles with strength and

endurance. He gave His life for the service of men, for the principle of Love

and propagation of Love.

Be Messengers of Love

Every man is a messenger. Every man is sent by God as a messenger. The messenger

is one who gives the message of God to men. But today there are few messengers

who spread the gospel of God. There are messengers of Lord Yama (the god of

death), who spread contradictory messages and create chaos. Man should be a

saint (Avadhuta), but not the messenger of the god of death (Yama Dootha).

Today, in the name of God, man causes harm to others. This violates the nature

of human qualities. We are not able to understand individuality well. The day

that social and moral codes are followed, individuality will blossom. The day

value is given to integrity, human personality will be revealed.

Vyakti is the individual who expresses or manifests inherent divinity. Divinity

exists latent, hidden in every man and every being. Therefore, every man must

make the effort of spreading the word of God. Everyone must determine to

propagate the message of God and spread peace and security to all. There is no

better path than this.

When the principle of Love is fostered in our hearts, we will have no doubts and

will be able to spread the message of Love. The one without Love has doubts.

Doubts cause confusion and make one adopt the wrong path. God's message is

unsullied, pure, eternal, selfless and unchanging.

At the time of Jesus' birth, three Arabian kings gathered. One of the kings

looked at the Christ child and said, "He will be one who will love God." The

second king said, "God Himself will love this child." The third king said,

"This child and God are one." The one who loves God is the Messenger of God.

The one who is worthy of God's Love is the Son of God. The one who understands

the unity and non-dualism of the divine principle, and derives bliss from it,

verily personifies the truth, "Father and Son are one."

So, first and foremost, foster love for God and become the messengers of God. If

you call yourself "Messenger of God," but conduct your life contrary to God's

message, the message has no meaning. Such persons are not messengers, but

"missing-ers", meaning they have lost their divinity.

You should resolve to spread the voice of God. God's gospel is always good,

related to the well being of all mankind, imbued with compassion and

righteousness, and is in accordance with morality and integrity. Instead of

propagating and spreading such a sacred voice of God, we fall prey to, and also

spread, injustice, unrighteousness, untruth and evil conduct. The most important

act is to spread the message of Love.

Where there is Love, there is no scope for hatred. Today, because of the absence

of Love, hatred has entered and established itself in the heart of man. There is

no unity among men. How can you partake of happiness without unity? If there is

no joy, how can you attain divinity? It is impossible. Only through Love can

you accomplish anything. So every individual must consider himself to be the

messenger of God. This messengership must be applied in the right way. We

should lead lives free of selfishness. You may think that it is a difficult

task, but in truth there is nothing easier than this. It is selfishness that

leads to suffering, frustration and despair, and that robs man of his spirit.

Thus it is selfishness that exposes man to danger. Selfless Love gives no scope

for the entry of bad qualities. So we must plunge into the path of

Love, and love for the sake of Love, and offer ourselves to Love.

But in this path of Love, our first hindrance will be our friends and relatives.

Eventually the whole world will turn against us. Let anyone turn against us;

there is no greater life than Love. Love is Life. One without Love is a

lifeless corpse. In place of worldly affections, we must develop divine Love.

So we must let the Love gush from the depths of our hearts. We should propagate

such Love.

Nature reveals divinity

We may not understand God, but we know that every man has five elements. There

is nothing in the world that is not made of these five elements: earth

(Bhoomi), water (Jalam), fire (Agni), air (Vayu) and space (or "ether",

Akasha). These five elements are forms of God. In what manner does God reside

in each of these elements?

In nature, God is in the form of awareness (Chaitanya), which is why the whole

creation functions. In water, the second element, God exists as consciousness

(prajnaanam). An unconscious person can be revived by sprinkling water on him

and making him drink it. In fire, God is present as the waking state ("jagrat

swarupam"). The Vedas teach you to be careful always (tasmat jagrtaha). In air,

God is present in the form of life (prana). In space, God exists in the form of

the primeval sound (Aum). Thus we see that every element reveals a facet of

divinity.

We also experience God's presence in every being as the soul force behind the

five sheaths (of pure consciousness), the five senses and life breaths

(pranas).

Faulty thinking binds man

Some people doubt that God is omnipresent and in all beings. "Why can we not see

Him? What is the reason for this?" Those who pursue this doubt sincerely and

steadfastly, who inquire into its reasons and investigate with a true heart,

will certainly find their answers. We keep on doubting and thinking, but make

no effort really to understand. If the food laid on your plate is to reach your

stomach, you have to employ your hand and your mouth in the task of eating. So

how can you expect to see God without making the slightest effort in that

direction?

Water is present in oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds and wells. We can see the

reflection of the sun in the water in any of these containers. The reflection

of the sun in the river will be unsteady. This is because the water in the

river is flowing. As the water, so the reflection. The water in the well is

stagnant; hence the reflection of the sun is hazy. Where do you find a steady

and clear image? Only where the water is pure and still will the reflection be

steady and clear. Similarly, when our hearts are pure and selfless, we will be

able to see God clearly.

When we have a wavering mind and wavering faith and unsteady vision, how can we

expect to see God? As you think, so you become (Yad bhavam tad bhavati). A

dirty mind will see a dirty reflection. A wavering mind will see a wavering

reflection. Only steady faith will see God. Therefore the mind is the cause for

everything. The Vedas declare, "The mind is responsible for the liberation and

bondage of man." (Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayo).

Qualities of mind

The mind is in three forms. The first is dull and bestial (tamo guna), the

second is passionate (rajoguna) and the third is pure and pious (satwa guna).

Tamoguna

The dull mind will hide the Truth and publicize falsehood. It continuously

criticizes the good. It views the sacred as unholy. In tamo guna everything is

opposite. It keeps poking fun at others, condemning others and hurting others.

What a shame it is! What do we gain by looking at the faults of others? We only

make our hearts impure.

If you think of sacredness, the mind becomes sacred; if you think of unsacred,

unholy things, the mind becomes unsacred. As is your thought, so is your

behavior. So we must correct this dull mind and instruct it not to see evil in

others. Search for your own faults. Correct your own mistakes. Remove your

faults, but never see faults in good people. Teach your own mind and then you

can transcend tamo guna.

Rajoguna

What is the nature of rajoguna? This mind imagines and creates its situations.

It is not mindful of its own making. You can have the proof of this from your

dreams. When you sleep, you create yourself in your dreams. You see yourself

doing many actions. You feel as if you are fighting with others. You see others

mistreating you. Where did these images come from? It is all the effect of your

mind; it is the creation of your mind. You even create yourself in your dream.

Hence there is no wakefulness in dream state. Mind creates thoughts. It is said

that the mind is a bundle of thoughts ("sankalpa vikalpat makam manasa").

Satwa guna

What is the quality of satwa guna? The satwic mind sees only good, even in those

who are bad. To it, bad does not exist. Everything in this world created by God

is good. God has created only good, not bad. Something becomes bad because of

our vision. There is no bad thing in creation. The fault lies only in our

vision. Creation is faultless. Such sacred thoughts must be developed. Then how

do we deal with what is bad? Bad is a fault in vision (drishti dosham). If we

wear red glasses, everything will appear red. If we wear blue glasses,

everything will appear blue. Is the world colored blue or red? No. The color is

only due to the spectacles we wear.

If you believe that this particular person hates you, you will feel hatred

toward him. If you believe that he is your friend, you feel friendly towards

him. Whatever he does, you will see good in him. But if your enemy does a good

act, you will see only bad in it. What is the cause for this? It is the fault

of your mind and your vision. Because of faulty outlook and thoughts, man has

forgotten his inherent divinity and human quality, and is more demonic

(danava).

Be fearless in doing good

There is no peace and security in this world. Every man is haunted by fear and

delusion. If one does good, he is scared; if he does bad, he is scared. He is

scared even if he does nothing. How can one live one's life in this manner? We

must be fearless. We must come forward to do good. We should face and overcome

obstacles. We should resist evil and accomplish good.

We should not be carried away by results. The man who desires and works for a

return is a coolie (laborer). A laborer works only for his wages. We should not

be mere laborers; we should be owners. The coolie knows only what is outside the

house; he is not aware of what is inside the house. But the owner knows the

valuables hidden in the iron safe. Coolies will be attracted to the cheap

baskets and sieves and other articles. We should not be laborers; we should

become masters. That is the true message.

All are sons of immortality. All beings are embodiments of divinity. God

manifests through the five elements within you. You should realize this, then

the right feelings will emerge in your heart. For everything, Love is

essential. Life without Love is barren. In the ancient days Gopikas drowned

themselves in the vast principle of Love.

[swami then sang:]

In the barren land without love, sow the seeds of Love,And then, with the force

and emotion of Love, Let there be a downpour of Love. When the rivers of Love

flow, Krishna plays your melodious flute.

The flower, the fruit, everything is Love. When everything is full of Love, your

life will be full of bliss. Even when you meet many obstacles, the vision of

Love should not alter or change. Anil Kumar [simultaneous translator of the

Discourse] is wearing glasses. The spectacles are in front of his eyes, but

they assist his vision. Similarly, obstacles help our Love to grow. Do not be

deluded by these obstacles. Why do we get deluded? If we think that glasses

obstruct vision, they obstruct vision. Truly speaking, nothing can hinder or

obstruct the vision of Love. So we should develop the vision of Love.

A small amount of true Love

There is nothing that cannot be accomplished through Love, but Love should not

be a business of give and take. You should not pray to God for some gain.

 [swami then sang:]

Oh Lord, I return to You the heart which you have given me; how else can I worship your lotus feet?

The Love within us has to be offered to God. It is not artificial or unnatural

love; it should be heartfelt. Even a fraction of Love is priceless. God expects

only quality and not quantity.

"Oh! I have attended so many bhajans; I have done so many good deeds and

charitable acts." You keep totaling in this manner. Assess the feeling and the

degree of Love with which the task has been done. God will look at the quality,

not quantity. What is the value of barrels of donkey milk? A teaspoon of cow's

milk is enough. A small amount of Love, if heartfelt and sincere, is enough to

please God. God is not impressed by the amount of work that you do. Therefore

first attain that attitude of Love.

Santa Claus

The season of Christmas is associated with Christmas Grandpa or Santa Claus.

Tokovan was his original name. He was born in Turkey. He began his career as a

priest and gradually began to attain spiritual heights. How did he become a

spiritual giant? By the spirit of sacrifice. He used to give a chocolate or a

doll or a gift to any child he met. All his life he kept on giving

continuously. When Christmas was approaching, all the children used to run

behind Santa Claus. He used to carry all the gifts in a bag and distribute to

all the children. In what manner did he distribute? He said, "Here is a token

of God's Love. Here is a token of God's Love," and thus

distributed them. Eventually he came to be called Christmas Grandpa, and his

original name was forgotten.

Only Love is permanent

With the passage of time changes are introduced. I tell my children from time to

time, "Earlier, when a child was born, he was called 'God Boy,' referring to the

child as a messenger of God. As time passed, people began to say 'Good boy.'

Then they reasoned that they didn't know if he is good or bad, so they omitted

the 'O' in boy and began to say 'Good bye.' Then they omitted 'good' and said

'bye-bye.' So changes have led from 'God boy' to 'bye-bye.' It had a sacred

origin, but ultimately was reduced to bye-bye.

All the things of the world are ultimately reduced to naught. Therefore the

changeless thing is only one, and that is Love. The relationship between you

and God alone is Love. Nothing else can be called Love. All other things that

come in between are passing clouds and attachments.

There is no need to suffer at all. Simply because you bring up and bear

responsibility for your near and dear, you develop attachment and undergo

suffering. Otherwise, there is no scope for suffering. All relationships come

in between and go. All are passing clouds.

Only one thing is permanent and that is divine Love. It connects heart to heart

and Love to Love. So we must develop Love. Especially these days, due to loss

of Love, the world has become callous and cruel. Where there is Love, there is

no hatred. So all must live in unity and harmony. We should have affection and

a feeling of oneness. Where there is unity, there is purity. When there is no

unity and purity, then enmity grows.

You have only one heart; it is not a double sofa or a musical chair. There is

only one place. Only Love can occupy the seat of your heart. The other things

merely come and go. But we must do our duty. I do not ask you to forsake or

give up anything. Discharge your duties. Do your work or business, but whatever

you do, offer it to God. "All actions should be done in order to please God,"

say the Vedas. All actions which are performed with the body should be done

with the feeling that the body is a temple and the indweller is the jiva or

Self. This body is a moving temple. So don't think God is elsewhere. Wherever

your body is, there is God. So all must recognize the truth that God is within

them, without them, around them and everywhere.

Everything belongs to God

Our "Messengers of Sathya Sai" are doing a lot of service. In spite of being

women, they undertake difficult tasks with a lot of courage, building houses,

placing rafters, laying roofs, sweeping, whitewashing, etc. They conduct mass

marriages and bear all the expenses. Old students come from various countries,

like Australia, Germany, Japan etc. This is living proof of their sincere

devotion.

Today they have come from far flung countries like America and Argentina,

spending a lot of money. I said to the President of this organization, "Why do

you spend so much money? Misuse of money is evil. It can be used to help the

poor. A lakh of rupees spent in coming here can be used to help others."

She replied, "Swami, we do not value money. Sacrifice is important to us. We

need to recharge the batteries of our heart. Money comes and goes, but morality

comes and grows. So we come here to grow in morality. The money we earn is not

ours. We are mere agents or caretakers of this money."

Every one should know this truth. You are all trustees of your money. You have

no right over it. For example, there is a plethora of money in Reserve Bank of

India, or State Bank of India or Canara Bank. Every bank has a Manager or

Cashier, etc. All the money is under their control, but they do not have the

right to even a paise. So, too, we are like cashiers for the money we earn, but

we do not have any authority over it. Everything belongs to God. It should be

used for Him.

We came to the Earth with empty hands and we leave with empty hands. No relative

or friend comes with you at the time of death. They do not even ask where you

are going. When you come to the Earth, you don't bring even a piece of cloth,

and when you leave, you do not even leave behind an address. Each man is for

himself in the final journey. Relationships exist only as long as you live. So

we should have the same relationship with all.

Do not hate even "bad" people. Love all. Love even "bad" people and they will

become "good." Saint Matthew was a tax collector and he did not have faith in

Jesus. He criticized Jesus, but ultimately he became one of the prime

disciples. So we must be prepared to love even people who harm us. Even if

others hate us, we must love them. Follow this truth. Love all and God will

love you.

When you love all, God will love you, and when God loves you, you will become

the Son of God. Once you are the Son of God you have a right to His property. I

and you are one. We should aspire for "I and you are one." But today I and you

are "we" and not one. Develop the understanding that we and we are one. If you

differentiate between mine and thine, how can you attain oneness? There should

be unity between the two. Such a feeling of Love should be cultivated.

Achieve freedom

The girls of "Messengers of Sathya Sai" have rendered very good service. In fact

they face many problems. They do not have independence. Soon after marriage they

are in the hands of their in-laws and husband. They have to bow down their heads

and obey them. They cannot act contrary to their wishes, but even under such

circumstances they bring their husbands from foreign lands. That is the true

seva. They transform even non-devotees into devotees. Why else would any

husband send his wife from far off Argentina to Puttaparthi, spending lots of

money? They too have developed broad mindedness.

But boys lead the lives of slaves in spite of being independent. They have no

obstacles. No mother-in-law or father-in-law or parent can stand in between and

obstruct them, yet they are not exercising their will. So they too should become

independent.

What is freedom? Not roaming the bazaars as you like, nor living as you please.

"Swatantra" or freedom is: "swa," which means Atma or Self, and "tantra" which

means technique or means. You should proceed along the path of Atma. Develop

the Atmic feeling. Develop broad, all encompassing feelings. That is true

independence.

Today we are independent, but we are not able to accept our responsibilities

along with rights. What is the use of independence if we have no unity.

Independence without unity will have troubles of this nature. So unity is a

must. People must move together in Love and affection. We must progress

together. We must learn together and share our knowledge. Move together without

conflict or disharmony. This togetherness should be experienced by all. When

there is Love, this togetherness will grow.

Follow the sacred teachings

The important message which I want to convey today, which Jesus also propagated,

is one of Love and compassion. So boys and girls, on this holy and sacred day,

when we celebrate the birthday of that holy personage, we must conduct

ourselves in accordance with his message. It is easy to celebrate birthdays,

but we must also keep in sight the purity and message of the person whose

birthday we celebrate.

We make much of Rama's birthday, but do we obey the command of our father as

Rama did? Do we give up everything for the sake of truth? Rama, who was about

to be crowned, renounced the kingdom without a backward glance and went into

exile. Having every right to the kingdom, he did not desire it. Today, though,

we have no right and we expect everything. How then can you call yourselves

devotees of Rama? We must follow the ideals of Rama.

If you are devotees of Sai, what are the ideals of Sai? Share Love, be united,

consider all to be the children of God. Foster the brotherhood of man and

fatherhood of God. When we accept and obey these, we can call ourselves

devotees of Sai.

Let anyone say anything; do not hate anybody. Believe that everything happens

for one's own good. Don't hate anyone. Do not accuse or criticize anyone. Do

not hurt anyone. Lead such a life. After a while, even they will know and

appreciate you. The more you are criticized, the happier you should be.

Happiness will come in the same measure as your Love for God. The less you love

God, the less your happiness. If you want immeasurable happiness, love God

without measure. So lead your life in Love and give it up in Love.

[swami concluded by singing Prema muditha manasa kaho, Rama Rama Ram]

Sent with Sai love

Sai brothers – ‘’

 

New Photos - easier uploading and sharing