GLORY OF WOMANHOOD - Swami’s Discourse on 25-12-1999

[Guest guest]

A recollection of Swami’s earlier Christmas day messages-10

Om Sri Sai Ram

GLORY OF WOMANHOOD

Swami’s Discourse on 25th December 1999 at Prashanthi Nilayam

At the time of birth all human beings are pure and unspoiled.It is only the

environment and company that pollutes the human mind.Follow the dictates of

your conscience.Love and equality are the birthrights of man.(Poem in Telugu)

At the time of birth, the human heart is pure, selfless and steady. But with the

passage of time, man loses his purity on account of his association with various

individuals. The environment and company are mainly responsible for the good or

bad in man. A piece of paper does not have any smell of its own. But if the

same paper is used to pack pakodas or dry fish or jasmine flowers, it produces

the smell associated with them. That is why it is said, "Tell me your company,

I shall tell you what you are." As is your company, so you become. So, man

should always join good company. Man can attain exalted position only when he

joins good company. Man is good by birth, but ruins himself because of bad

company. Today man is not making any enquiry as to what is

good and what is bad. Such an enquiry is very essential before making friendship

with others. The Vedanta declares:

Sathsangathve Nissangathvam,Nissangathve Nirmohathvam,Nirmohathve Nischala

TathvamNischalatathve Jeevanmukti

By good company, attain detachment (from material desire).By detachment, attain

freedom from delusion.By freedom from delusion, attain a steady mind.By a

steady mind, attain freedom from bondage.

You can have sense control only when you join Sathsang (good company). 'Sath' is

that which is permanent. In this world, everything is transitory. Only Divinity

is permanent. Your feelings will become noble and immortal only when you

associate yourself with God. First and foremost recognize the fact that bad

company is the root cause for man's downfall. Man wants to accomplish various

tasks, but is inhibited by the sense of fear lurking in his mind. It is only

the association with God that will make man fearless. Every flower that

blossoms will not grow into a fruit. Every fruit that the tree bears will not

become ripe. But every ripened fruit is bound to fall down from the tree. The

same thing can be said

of human life too. Man develops desires and indulges in malpractices which will

ultimately lead to his downfall. Man has invented various wonderful gadgets,

which can even take him to the moon, but the most wonderful and mysterious of

all machines is the human body itself, which is God's creation. God has created

this machine not merely for eating, drinking and making merry. All these are

common for animals also. This being the case, what is so unique about human

birth?

Deho Devalaya Prokto,Jeevo Deva Sanaathanaha

Body is the temple and the Indweller is God.

You may own a car, but it will be of use to you only if you know driving.

Otherwise it may prove harmful. Likewise, you should know how to make proper

use of your body, which can be compared to a car. Such a body should not be

misused. Today man is deceived by attachment. He is unable to realize the

sacredness of human body. He is indulging in worldly pleasures just as the

birds and beasts do.

Human body is gifted to experience divine love, not to indulge in mean acts.

Truth, righteousness, peace and love are the forms of God. Birds and beasts

have only love, but not the remaining three. One having all these four

qualities alone is a true human being. Man should make proper use of the body.

Only then his life will find fulfillment.

Embodiments of Love!

Of all the gifts of God, Time and Love are the most precious. Man has to make

proper use of time in order to experience Divine love. But today everyone, be

it a student or a householder or an ascetic, is wasting three-fourths of his

time in worldly pursuits. Then how can he expect to have noble thoughts! He is

unable to undertake any sacred activity as his mind is clouded with ego. The

Bhagavad Gita declares: "Karmanyevaadhikaarasthe Maa Phaleshu Kadachana - Man

has a right over action, but not on the result." So perform all your activities

without expecting any reward. Duty is God. Divinity will manifest once you

perform your duty with sincerity.

It is a mistake to consider yourself a devotee if you undertake service

activities expecting something in return. You have to render service with the

feeling that God is present in all. Realize the truth, "Isavaasyam Idam Jagat"

(God pervades the entire universe). You may say that you have done rural

service or served the flood victims. But these cannot be termed as service in

its true sense if you have the feeling that you have served others. Serve with

the feeling that you are serving God, for God is omnipresent.

Consider for example the sacred epic Bhaagavatham, which speaks of the intense

love and devotion of Gopikas for Krishna. Bhaagavatham Chadivithe Baagavataam

in Telugu means 'If we study Bhaagavatham, we shall become good.' That is to

say, Bhagavatam confers goodness on all. It contains the essence of all Vedas.

The five letters 'Bha,' 'Ga,' 'Va,' 'Ta,' 'Mu,' stand for Bhakti (devotion),

Jnana (wisdom), Vairaagya (renunciation), Thapas (penance) and Mukti

(liberation) respectively. This sacred epic describes at length the Gopikas

yearning for Krishna when He left Gokulam for Mathura where He was actively

involved in running the kingdom. The Gopikas were unable to bear the pangs of

separation from their dear Lord and were anxiously waiting for His return. The

entire Gokulam bore the look of a barren land. There was no dearth of food and

comforts in Gokulam yet the Gopikas did not enjoy any of them as they thought

life was not worth-living without Krishna, whom they considered as their very

life breath. They became weak both physically and mentally as they were unable

to bear the pangs of separation. Krishna, being aware of the Gopikas plight,

summoned

His friend Uddhava and asked him to proceed to Gokulam to console the Gopikas

and pass on His message to them. Uddhava was one of wisdom. He knew that

Krishna was all pervasive. As per the command of Krishna, He went to Gokulam

and convened a meeting of Gopikas and Gopalas to convey Krishna's message. He

told them that they should not limit

Krishna to a small physical frame thinking that He was present only in Mathura.

He tried to explain to the Gopikas that Krishna is God Himself and that He is

omnipresent. He advised them that since Krishna was omnipresent, there was no

need for them to feel sorry that He was away.

Since the Gopikas had totally surrendered themselves to Krishna, they were not

in the habit of looking at or talking to a stranger. Their minds did not agree

to a direct conversation with Uddhava. So, they took a bee as an intermediary

and talked to him through the bee. Having been used to worship Krishna's

beautiful form, they could not readily think of Krishna as a formless entity.

Hearing Uddhava's preaching, they laughed mockingly and said, "Do you practice

what you preach? You are enjoying the proximity to our Lord Krishna, but are

telling us to experience His attributeless and formless aspect. We don't want

your preaching or philosophy. Bring Krishna and show Him to us." They would not

talk directly to Uddhava; they were only addressing the bee. They said, "Krishna

has stolen our hearts. We have only one mind and that has gone with Him to

Mathura, we do not have another mind to listen to what you are preaching."

The declaration of the Gopikas that they had only one mind made Uddhava

recognize the one-pointed devotion of Gopikas. He realized that the pure,

unsullied and eternal divine principle can be attained only through fixing the

mind on God. The Gopikas continued the conversation and said, "We want to see

nothing but Krishna's beautiful form; hear nothing, but His melodious singing

on flute and experience nothing but His Divine Love. We have cried for Krishna

so much that our eyes are swollen and there is not a drop of tear left in them.

How can the ship of your message sail in the barren lands of our hearts! So take

your ship and go back to the place you have come from. We are not interested in

the formless aspect of Divinity. We want to see the enchanting form of our

Lord." Hearing the words of the Gopikas, Uddhava realized that he was not one

of wisdom, as he had considered himself to be, but one of ignorance as he had

under-estimated the love and devotion of the Gopikas for Krishna. He stopped

preaching and tried to hand over a piece of paper to the Gopikas saying that it

contained Krishna's message for them. He wanted them to read it. They

refused to accept the letter saying, they could not read it as they had no

knowledge of Akshara (alphabet). But their minds were merged in the Akshara

Swarupa (immortal form) of Lord Krishna. Uddhava was a bit angry with the

Gopikas, thinking that they had no respect for even Krishna's message. Then one

of the Gopikas started explaining, "There is no point in accepting Krishna's

letter as we, being illiterate, cannot read

it. There may be one or two amongst us who can read. But we are afraid that our

tears may drop on the letter and make it unreadable. There is another reason

too. Our whole body is heated up on account of separation from Krishna. So, it

is possible that the letter may get burnt to ashes if our hands were to touch

it. You are unable to understand our plight."

They sent a message to Krishna addressing the bee,

"O bee, why don't you go back and tell Krishna that He should look at us at

least once? Can you not tell Krishna to illumine our dark hearts with the

resplendent form of His? Our life has become like a dried tree. Please tell

Krishna

normal"> to put some life into it?" Radhika prayed, "O Krishna, we are anyway

going to die because of separation from you. Please allow us to be with you at

least in your next incarnation. If you take the form of a tree, allow us to be

the creepers that will twine around You. If you assume the form of a flower,

let us be the honey bees hovering over You. If you stand like Meru

10pt">Mountain, let us be like a stream flowing across You. If you become the

mighty ocean, let us become the rivers that will merge in You." (Poem in

Telugu).

Thus, the Gopikas always craved for the Divine proximity. That is the sign of

true devotion. Truth philosophy comprises of establishing a relationship

between the individual and God. The Gopikas never gave scope for narrow

individual feelings. They aspired for the intimate relationship with God.

The best way to love God is to love all and serve all. Have the firm conviction

that God is present in everybody. There is no place where God does not exist.

But you cannot see God, so long as there is the sense of 'I' (ego) in you.

The Gopikas had absolutely no sense of ego. Their 'I' had merged with Krishna.

So long as there is ego in you, you will find only multiplicity. Once you

realize that I and You are one, you will find unity everywhere, which is true

and eternal.

The old students association of Anantapur Campus - Messengers of Sathya Sai, is

celebrating its anniversary today. They are serving the society and spreading

Swami's message in accordance with the sacred name of their association. You

have listened to the report of their activities. Truly speaking, they have done

much more than what was mentioned in the report. In fact, I instructed them to

make the report as brief as possible, lest it should be misunderstood as an

advertisement of their service activities. They are doing yeoman service to the

society. Not only here, but also in various other countries like Japan, Canada,

America, Germany etc, they are undertaking service activities, upholding the

ideals of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. They are spending their

earnings in service

activities. When questioned by their parents, they reply, "Swami has given us

free education and free medical care. We owe our wealth and health to Swami.

So, all our earnings should be directed for the service of the society. We are

not misusing even a Naya Paisa." Thus they are bringing about transformation

even in their parents.

You all know that there is a lady doctor, an eye specialist, by name Vansa in

our General Hospital. She is a widow. Her daughter studied in our college and

now she is living in

10pt">Australia with her husband. She has brought about a transformation in her

husband and as a result, he is also actively involved in various service

activities. Both the husband and wife spend their earnings in service of the

society. They do not have children. Dr. Vansa prayed to Me that her daughter be

blessed with a child. Her daughter said that Swami is everything for her and she

does not want to get entangled in bondage by having children. She said that she

considers all children as her own. She prayed that she should have the freedom

to render service activities to her satisfaction. There are many women who have

such noble desires, but among men, we hardly find anybody having such broad

feelings. Since ancient times Bharat has given birth to many noble women who

set an ideal exemplary character and devotion. You might have heard of Savitri,

who

brought her dead husband back to life; Chandramati, who extinguished the wild

fire in a trice demonstrating the power of truth; Sita, who came out of blazing

fire unscathed and Damayanti, who burnt a wicked hunter to ashes with the power

of her chastity. All these noble women have brought name and fame to this

sacred land of Bharat. Now only Bharat, the whole world will progress because

of women of character and nobility. So never look down upon women.

The 75th Birthday of this body is approaching. The Messengers of Sathya Sai have

chalked out elaborate plans for the 75th Birthday and have already started

executing them. They have purchased 1000 bags of rice for the free distribution

of food for 10 days to the devotees during the 75th Birthday celebrations. There

are 3000 members in their Organization. Their faith is unwavering and their

devotion for Swami is becoming stronger and stronger day by day. They are

preparing to distribute 75,000 Saris. They want all the Saris to be of the same

design and so they have already placed an order in this regard. Such devotion

and sincerity are present more among women than men. In fact, women symbolize

Bhakti (devotion) and men

stand for Jnana (wisdom). The one with devotion has the right to enter even the

inner chambers of the Divine palace, whereas the one with wisdom has the access

only to the audience hall of God. You may be aware that kings of yore would

convene meetings in their royal audience hall where only men would assemble.

Men had no entry into the Anthahpura (inner chambers of the palace). Only the

women who symbolize devotion have the access to the Anthahpura of God. What is

the Anthahpura? Antaratma (conscience) is the Anthahpura. It is only the

devotion, not the wisdom that has the entry to Anthahpura. Most of the men who

have assembled here today are

here only because of the inspiration of their women. Women are responsible for

men to tread along the path of devotion. In My opinion, the Messengers of

Sathya Sai should take the lead in spreading the divine message throughout the

country. Mainly by the effort of women will the country progress. Not only

Bharat, the whole world should progress. The ancient culture of our country

should be revived.

The heart of Uddhava, who was considered one of wisdom, transformed on seeing

the love and devotion of the Gopikas for Krishna. He approached Krishna with a

prayer that he may be blessed with at least a fraction of their devotion. The

Gopikas said they had only one mind and that was centered on

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Krishna. But, men have many minds! The statement of the Gopikas

is in itself the highest philosophy. Swami has already narrated to you the story

of Janaka and Gaargi. In the court of Janaka there were very great scholars like

Yaajnavalkya etc., and there was a lady called Gaargi. Gaargi put several

questions to Yaajnavalkya for which he was unable to find adequate answers. For

instance, she asked him what is it that is between the earth and the sky?

Yaajnavalkya could not answer. Then she asked him can you name all the

substances that are there on the earth and again he had no answer. Then she

explained "All that is in fact Akasha (space). All that is on the earth, in

between and above the earth is all Akasha only. Ekam Sath

Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (there is only one truth, but the scholars call it by

many names). We see diverse forms like mountains, lakes, trees, animals and

men, but all these differences are only apparent and are in fact forms of

divinity only. If you look at the world with material view, you see variety. If

you look at it with an understanding of divinity all of it will appear to be the

form of God. Yad Bhaavam Tad Bhavati (As is the mind so you become). Allah,

Jesus, Zoroashtra all these are names for the same divinity.

Today (Christmas) is mainly celebrated by Christians, but do not make the

mistake that it is only for Christians. It is a holy and happy occasion to be

celebrated by the entire mankind. Get rid of religious and philosophical

differences and enlarge your mind (Matha - religion and Mathi - mind). You

house the single divinity only in your heart. Then the entire humanity becomes

a single race. There is only one religion in the universe and that is divine

love (Prema). The one without this principle of love in his heart is not a

Christian, Muslim nor a Sikh and is no better than a demon.

This principle of complete unity of all religions is now manifested only in

Prashanthi Nilayam. Imagine what a phenomenon it is that Christians from so

many countries in this world have joined together here to celebrate Christmas.

There are people from sixty-four countries assembled here. They are all of one

heart. This is true devotion. Swami reiterates it is not a celebration for

Christians only but is a holy occasion for the entire humanity. It is the

desire of Swami that such differences are completely eradicated.

There are several tasks in front of the Messengers of Sathya Sai. Mere

distribution of food, medicines and conducting Balavikas programs is not

enough. Of course, all these are necessary, but along with all these

activities, infusing spiritual teachings is also essential. If the spiritual

element of life is lost, life is a waste. Therefore, all of you ensure that

your spiritual life is in the forefront of all your activities. These words are

addressed not only to the ladies of the Messengers of Sathya Sai. Equally boys

and young men should take up similar activities. Girls generally have less

freedom than boys. If only women had been given the level of freedom that is

allowed for men, the shape of society on the face of the earth would have been

changed.

They are constrained by husbands, fathers and children from all sides. In spite

of severe pressures from all sides they are advancing. On the other hand men

have hardly any such constraints. Such persons say 'shut up' to any advice from

the wife or 'it is not your concern' for similar advice from parents. Such is

their freedom. It is a wonder why people with such freedom do not enter into a

spiritual quest or social service. What is the use of your education if you do

not use it for the service of society? You might as well throw your books in

the fire. It is more important to achieve character (Guna) than to accumulate

wealth (Dhana). Wealth is accumulated by so many persons. What have they taken

away with them? Nothing. Of course, one has to earn wealth. But, accumulation

of wealth should be within limits. All your faculties should be at the disposal

of society. Only then your country

will also advance. You know very well the kind of unrest that is prevalent all

over the world today. Fear and terror haunt you wherever you turn. It is the

duty of the youth of this generation to set right this situation. First of all,

you serve your parents. Then look after your family. Serve your community. Then

you can enter into the service of your country. But, do not be hankering after

the results for your efforts. The appropriate reward for all your actions will

be granted to you by God. Service to the country itself becomes worship of God.

Students of the Messengers of Sathya Sai!

Swami is pleased with the services that you have performed so far. But, it is

the desire of Swami that you should all perform much more. You know how a

mother blesses you. It is necessary for you to act in such a way as to get your

parents blessings and approval, for after all tomorrow you are also going to

become mothers. Serve your parents today so that in turn your children may

serve you in times of your need. As you sow so you reap. Persist in divine

love. The only worthwhile thing in this world is divine love. Once you obtain

this divine love all else in the world is yours for the asking. For this you

firstly immerse yourself in social work. The vain desire to obtain higher and

higher educational qualifications should be moderated. Equally, you may earn as

much wealth as you can, but use it for the

welfare of the society. Contemplate on God with your whole mind and heart. Only

then will you attain a meaningful goal for your life.

Bhagawan concluded His Discourse with the Bhajan, "Prema Mudhita Manase Kaho..."

Sent with Sai love,

Sai brothers – ‘’

 

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