DEDICATE YOUR LIVES TO THE DIVINE - Swami’s Discourse on 25-12-1997

[Guest guest]

A recollection of Swami’s earlier Christmas day messages-8:

Om Sri Sai Ram

DEDICATE YOUR LIVES TO THE DIVINE

Swami’s Discourse on 25th December 1997 at Prashanthi Nilayam

Faith, Daring, Courage, Intelligence, Energy and valor – wherever these six

qualities exist Divine protection is assured.

 

Embodiments of Love!

Visvaasam (faith or confidence), Saahasam (daring or determination), Dhairyam

(courage), Buddhi (intelligence), Shakti (energy) and Paraakramam (valor)- when

a man has these six qualities, the Divine will stand by him in all his

endeavors. In any age or at any place or in any circumstance, these six good

qualities are essential. No worry will haunt any man who has these six virtues.

 

These six qualities cannot be acquired by education. Nor can they be imparted by

any preceptor. Nor can they be inherited from one's parents.

These qualities are secured only by Self-confidence (Atma-visvaasam).

The first among the six qualities is faith (Visvaasam). In our daily experience

faith is evident from the simple act of posting a letter. No one will send a

letter by post if he did not have faith in the postal department. The address

and the postage stamp on the letter are unaffected by distance. Likewise, God

makes no distinction between those near to Him or remote from Him. One's faith

should be properly addressed. The faith should be unwavering, total and free

from doubts of any kind. The letter of Faith has also to carry the stamp of

Love (Prema). It should be selfless love. Selfish love will be useless. When

firm faith is associated with unselfish love, the prayers addressed to Bhagawan

are bound to

reach Him.

This kind of faith has become rare nowadays. Self-confidence is totally absent.

How can one without confidence in himself have faith in God? And how can such a

person hope for God's grace? Hence, every man must cultivate firm faith.

Today in every field, firm faith is essential. Any one who leaves home for his

office sets out with the confidence that he will return home in the evening. No

one will embark on any undertaking unless at the outset he has the confidence

that he can do the job. Faith is thus essential for every activity in life.

The ancient sages accomplished many great things by their faith. Their

achievements are cherished by people today even after thousands of years.

Unfortunately, because of the influence of Kali in the present age, faith is

declining from moment to moment.

People change their beliefs constantly. Such changes are mental aberrations.

They do not pertain to the Spirit (which dwells in the heart).

HUMAN VALUES

Mankind has a history of lakhs of years. But humanity is yet to realize the

greatness of humanness. After all these years, man is still unable to answer

the question: "What are human values?"

Men study books, listen to discourses, experience gains and losses, joys and

sorrows, but all these do not give them a firm hold on what is permanent in

life. If they had acquired this hold they would have realized that the world is

one family.

The Vedas taught the concept of one human family. The Vedas declared that the

Cosmic Principle (Brihath) has no limits. It is infinite.

Mankind has also no bounds or barriers. In fact, there are no barriers between

humanity and every other species of living beings like birds, beasts and

insects and even trees. All of them belong to a single family of living beings.

 

In the Tree of Life, man appears in many forms - as animals, birds and insects.

In all these forms he experiences his divine essence.

You are all aware of the fact that Ganapathi has two mothers, Gauri and Ganga.

For every man there are four mothers. The first mother is (Sathyam). The second

mother is Righteousness (Dharmam). The third is Love (Prema). The fourth is

Shanthi (Peace). Man must live in such a manner that he pleases all the four

mothers. Man, however, has given up these four sacred mothers and adores four

others who are

adopted mothers. Who are they? Injustice, Immorality, unrighteousness and

falsehood - these are the adopted mothers. As a result, man is a prey to many

difficulties. Man, who ought to adhere to Truth, Right Conduct and Love, has

become a creature of injustice, wickedness and untruth. As a result of

abandoning one's natural mothers and clinging to unnatural relationships man is

leading a polluted life and forfeiting peace.

In an earlier aeon Rama declared that the mother and the Motherland are greater

than Heaven itself. But man today has given up his natural mother and adores

meretricious mothers. Man should love Truth, Righteousness, Love and Peace as

his mothers. In no circumstance should he cause any pain to these four because

that will result in great suffering for him.

THE SIX ENEMIES

The Creator has endowed man with numerous marvelous qualities. Besides the six

virtues mentioned earlier man has also got six vices. The opposites of the six

virtues are Desire (Kama), Anger (Krodha), Greed (Lobha), fascination (Moha),

Pride (Mada) and Envy (Maathsarya). These are known as the six enemies of man.

They are part of creation. The mind is the master of these vices. Man tries to

train the mind to overcome

these vices. But this is not easy for all. The reason is that, being unaware of

how to control the mind, man becomes an easy prey to its vagaries. Everyone

should strive to find out how to use the mind in any situation, at any time and

in any circumstance.

Men today are dominated by three evil qualities: anger, hatred, and envy. These

three qualities poison the mind of man. Consequently, every action of man gets

poisoned. Every word he utters is venomous. All actions done by the prompting

of the mind are tainted. All sensory actions are equally polluted.

THE POWER OF LOVE

To transform these evil thoughts and actions into good ones, it is necessary to

infuse love into all thoughts and actions. When the mind is filled with Love,

all actions get suffused with Love.

Today man is totally unaware of what is meant by Love. Man equates desire with

Love. He imagines that whatever he yearns for, is prompted by Love. This is not

true love (Prema). Prema is totally free from desire. It is utterly selfless. It

seeks no return. It is all encompassing. It makes no distinction between friend

and foe.

Forgetting this concept of universal selfless love, filling himself with selfish

desires, man fancies that he is filled with Love. This is mundane attachment It

is quite apart from the Love that flows from the Spirit inside. Spiritual love

is boundless. It is free from the feeling of hatred. It is capable of

expressing itself in universal terms.

It is vital to fill the mind with Love and expel the six enemies residing in it.

Every part of the body should be filled with Divine Love. That is the way to

divinise man.

Many people imagine that to divinise man and make him a godly being is a

superhuman exercise. This is not so. Divine love is within the competence of

man. It is natural to man. He is entitled to possess it. Divine Love should not

be considered as something transcendental or alien to man. But men tend to

degrade this love by giving it different forms and names and degrade

themselves.  The defect lies in the perversion of Love and is not inherent in

it.

Convert anger into Love. Turn hatred into Love. To effect this change what is

needed is a change of heart - filling it with Love. When the heart is filled

with Love, the whole world becomes lovable.

The mind is restless and fickle. All troubles that afflict man stem from the

mind. The thoughts arising from the mind are the cause of human birth.

DHARMA AND SEVA

The Vedas describe man as Manuja. This implies that man takes birth to

experience fulfillment of his desires. Hence, it is necessary for man to make

his desires sublime. He should seek to know what can make his life ideal and

exemplary. What can contribute to the well-being of society? What is ideal for

the whole world? Thinking over these questions, one should develop sublime

ideas. People should not act in haste on every impulse of the mind. It is said

that the body is a prerequisite for the achievement of righteousness. But it is

important to note that man is endowed with a body to render service to others.

The implication of the two dicta is that while discharging his duties, man

should also render service to others.

There are any numbers of helpful services to be rendered by men in this world

today. We have here three types of devotees: There are those who are not

conscious of their abilities. There are a second type of devotees who seek God

alone and do not desire anything else from God. The third type is those who

adore God as the embodiment of Truth and get their wishes fulfilled by their

prayers to Him as the omnipotent Lord. God is one. But He can be worshipped

under different names and forms by devotees.

THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN

Man has no need to seek for anything outside him. He has the universe within him

in his heart. He is potentially the Cosmic Being. He has in him the magnetic

power of attraction. It is derived from the Divine. Every atom has this divine

power. Men think that only what is perceived by the senses is real and what is

beyond human perception is unreal. This is wrong. It is the unseen that

contains everything. When you see a man, you consider his physical features as

the only reality about him. But you can have no conception of his powers and

talents which are not visible externally. He has Compassion, Love, the Spirit

of Sacrifice, Sublime thoughts, none of which are apparent to you. For that

reason, can you say that they do not exist? Likewise, the secret of a man's

actions may not be apparent. A flower, for instance, has fragrance, which has

no visible form. The form of fragrance is to be found in the form of the flower.

Without the flower there is no fragrance. It is said that love (Prema) has no

form. But love has a form. The mother, who loves her Child, expresses the form

of love.

Likewise, everything has a form. But the ignorant, not aware of the truth,

declare that what is formless is non-existent. There is nothing in the universe

which is without form. For one to understand this truth, he has to realize that

the Divine exists in the microcosm and the macrocosm.

JESUS'S MESSAGE

There were controversies regarding Jesus. These differences were the cause of

the ordeals he had to go through. But Jesus was prepared to face any trouble or

any penalty. He considered Compassion as the supreme quality. At first, he

declared he was a "Messenger of God." Then, he announced: "I am the Son or

God." Ultimately he declared: "l and my Father are One." You must take note of

this oneness. You must proclaim your oneness and not your diversity.

Today people talk about unity but do not practice it.

In every discourse Swami speaks about love. How many practice it? How many have

tried to understand the Love Principle? Who has this Love? Love is not to be

seen anywhere.

PURITY AND DIVINITY

Where there is love, there is no room for hatred. Do not be envious of anyone.

When this evil quality appears, Love takes to flight. A pure heart is the abode

of Love. Where there is Purity, there is Unity. Unity leads to divinity.

Today Purity is absent. How, then, do you realize Divinity? You must offer

everything to God without any desire. Dedicate your all to God. This was the

teaching of Jesus. He considered everything as an offering to God.

When he was being nailed on the cross, people around were weeping. At that

moment an ethereal voice declared: "All are one, My dear Son! Be alike to

everyone. “Jesus declared: "Death is the dress of life." Just as we change our

clothes, we change also our bodies. The bodies are vestures (for the indwelling

Spirit). Hence bodies should be regarded as mere vestures. We should not worry

about the body.

BUDDHA'S ADVICE

Buddha also, before he attained Nirvana, expounded his teachings clearly. His

step- mother's son, Ananda, was in tears at that time. Buddha told him:

"Ananda! You should not shed tears like this. Why are you weeping?". Ananda

said: "I am grieving over your imminent passing." Buddha declared: I am not

dying. Nor are you living. All have to give up this body. Therefore, you must

not shed tears."

How many heed such sayings? You must learn to lead ideal lives. That is the

right way to observe the birthday of Christ. Few care to observe the ideals of

the great teachers.

You must realize that there is nothing more divine than Love. Love is God. Live

in Love. This is your duty. Fill your hearts with Love. You will then be free

from all afflictions.

You may feel that you are suffering because of Love. But that suffering is due

to constricted love. When your love is all embracing there will be no room for

suffering.

Towards the end of his life, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was suffering from cancer

of the throat. All his disciples appealed to him to pray to the Mother Durga

Devi, whom Ramakrishna worshipped, to relieve him of his malady. Ramakrishna

said: "I have prayed to the Mother." They asked him what the Mother's response

was. Ramakrishna said: "The Mother told me: When I am eating so many things

with so many mouths, does it matter very much if you are unable to eat with

your one mouth? Her words opened my eyes".

All mouths are the mouths of God. The Vedas proclaim that the Divine has a

myriad heads and a myriad eyes and a myriad feet. This means that all heads are

His, all eyes are His and all feet are His. God is infinite. Man is finite. The

infinite Divine must be loved with boundless Love. God's love is limitless and

undiminishing. It is ever pure and unsullied. You must serve everyone with a

loving heart.

[bhagawan then referred to the service activities of the old alumni of the

Sathya Sai Women's College at Anantapur.]

Bhagawan concluded His discourse with a reference to the crucifixion of Christ.

Christ was the victim of envious persons who were opposed to His teachings and

who leveled accusations against Him. Devotees of God should not mind the

criticisms of envious persons. All good people have to face such troubles. They

should treat everything as meant for their good. This was how the Pandavas

looked upon all the troubles they experienced.

Yesterday and today the overseas devotees filled everyone with joy by their

music programs. God is a lover of music and enjoys music. Saintly devotees like

Narada and Thumburu, who are always in the proximity of God, are always singing

the glory of God. Nothing else can give so much joy as music. You can please

God with your music. God revels in music. Music is therefore holy. It reflects

the state of one's inner being. Singing the glories of God, render service to

the people.

You will derive the greatest joy when you sing and serve.

[bhagawan concluded His discourse with the Bhajan: "Hari bhajana binaa sukha Shanthi nahi]

Sent with Sai love

Sai brothers – ‘’

 

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