SWAMI ANSWERS FOR SPIRITUALISING OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE

[Guest guest]

BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA ANSWERS FOR

SPIRITUALISING OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE

Q161)  Swami! Are you pleased with our dhyana, meditation?

Bhagawan: Do you call what you do every day meditation? No, you are not doing it

properly. It may be anything but certainly not meditation. It is all right that

you sit down to meditate. But your mind is in the market, you will be thinking

of what you are going to eat for lunch. Or you will be thinking of your dhobi,

when he would bring your ironed clothes. Is that meditation? Certainly not.

A small example. You are seated here waiting eagerly and anxiously for the

arrival of Swami. Any sound of a door or a car will draw your attention as

Swami might come any time. Your mind is fully concentrated on Swami and you

begin to view everything in terms of Swami's arrival. Do you not? On the other

hand, if you are mentally engaged otherwise and not alert, even if Swami comes

and stands in front of you, you will not notice him.

So, in meditation the most important thing is to have a full cent percent

concentration on God. You should be fully alert, without any diversion of

attention. So, an unwavering steadiness of mind. I emphasize for meditation

‑ calincani manasu bhramincani drsti (Telugu).

Q162) Swami, how many things should we study and learn in order to take to

Sadhana, spiritual path? How many details should we know from the sacred texts

to start our Sadhana?

Bhagawan: Many things or details are not necessary. We see most people reading

books. They listen to discourses for a number of years. But, what is the use?

They remain where they have been in the spiritual path. What is the reason? It

is lack of practice that has detained them, retarded their progress. In fact,

you don't have to read so many books. You don't need to learn many things. If

you clearly and thoroughly understand one thing, it is enough. If you practice

one thing, that is enough. Why learn many and don't practice even one? To

commit suicide a small pin or a needle is enough. But to kill others you

require a pistol or a revolver or a knife. Similarly, to teach others you need

to learn and know many things for which you have to read a lot. But to work for

one's own liberation, redemption and emancipation it is

enough if one thing is practiced sincerely. So, practicing is more important

than knowing and learning in life.

QI63) Swami! We are indeed very fortunate to have been listening to you. We are

in a blissful state. You alone can answer our questions like this, out of your

infinite compassion for us. None can do that. Swami, pardon me for this

question. It is now very clear to us what enquiry is. But why am I unable to do

so? Why is my mind not steady? Is it the nature of the mind to waver? Is it the

natural quality of the mind to remain unstable and unsteady that prevents me

from concentration on enquiry?

Bhagawan: You complain that your mind is unsteady and that you are not able to

concentrate. This is not true. In fact, there is no mind as such. It is nothing

but a bundle of desires. It is a bundle of thoughts. It is like a piece of cloth

with yarn closely interwoven. When you separate the yarn or threads one after

another, the cloth does not exist any more. So also, when the desires are gone

and the thoughts withdrawn, the mind does not exist any more. This is called

amanaska, withdrawal of the mind, or manolaya annihilation of the mind.

You say that your mind wavers. This is also not quite true. You see a tree here.

The leaves flutter. Why? It is the wind that makes the leaves of the tree

flutter. But when there is no wind they do not move. So, the movement is due to

the wind and not due to the quality of the leaves or the tree. The tree of life

like leaves of the human mind flutters as the wind of desires blows.

You also say that you are not able to concentrate your mind. This is not true

again. How are you riding your bicycle or driving your car without

concentration? Is it not dangerous`? Will it not lead to accidents? How could

you concentrate in order to drive your car or ride your bicycle? As you read a

book, a paper, or a draft, how are you able to concentrate? Without

concentration, how could you grasp all that is mentioned in a book? In your

profession are you not doing your job with full attention and concentration?

Are you doing this with your mind engaged elsewhere or absent‑minded? If

you do so, don't you spoil the work assigned to you? You would have been

summarily dismissed from your service had you been doing your job without

concentration. Are you not concentrating your mind on every activity of your

daily life? Yes, you do it beyond doubt. But,

concentration of mind becomes a very difficult task only in respect of God. Is

it not a misfortune? The mind is stable and it concentrates easily and

naturally. The loss of concentration with respect to God implies that you do

not have as much love for and interest in Him as you have in worldly matters.

Concentration, hence, depends on the degree of your interest. You can't blame

the mind. It is like a mirror. It only reflects what is kept in front of it. So

I often lay stress on good and pure thoughts. As is the thought so is the mind.

You know one who has manas (mind) is manisi, a human being. The most valuable

thing in this world in your estimate is a diamond. But `diamond' means

`die‑mind' or withdrawal of mind.

Q164) Swami! Now we understand from your divine discourse and by your grace how

important devotion is. But, faith is the base of devotion. How is one to

cultivate faith, Swami?

Bhagawan: What a foolish question you have asked! What do you mean by saying

cultivating faith? Can you cultivate it? Is that a commodity to be purchased

from a shop? It can neither be given nor received. Faith is your natural

quality. In fact vis'vasa, faith is your s'vasa, breath. Without it there is a

total stoppage of your breath.

Just think for a moment how you carry on your daily routine with or without

faith. You will soon notice that your every action, both mundane and spiritual,

is based only on faith. You give your clothes, costly shirts and safari suits to

a washer man in full faith that he would bring them back after washing and

ironing. If you suspect that he would run away with your clothes, will you give

them to him? Most valuable gold is given to goldsmiths to make jewellery out of

it in good faith that they would do so. Even if a trace of doubt arises in your

mind, will you ever hand over valuable gold? You go to a barber for a haircut.

Do you for a moment entertain the feeling that he would put his knife in the

neck instead of on the head? You bend your head in good faith in front of the

barber to have your hair cut. So also in good faith, a patient will lie down on

the

operation table and allow himself to be operated upon by the surgeon. Do you

doubt that your life is not safe in his hands? No. So be he a dhobi or a

goldsmith or a barber or a doctor for that matter, all transactions are made in

good faith. So faith is a natural gift of God to mankind. To be faithless is

unnatural and artificial. But the pity of it is that you have full faith in

everyone but not in God. Isn't that very unfortunate?

Devotion and faith are like the two eyes of a living being or the two wheels of

a bicycle or the two wings of a bird. Without faith, as we say, even an ant

can't move an inch. A bird cannot fly high without faith. A bird perches on a

branch. The branch may be drooping or swinging, yet the bird is not bothered.

Why? It is because the bird has full faith in its wings on which it relies but

not on the branch. So, everything depends on your faith.

How do you know your father? It is your mother, who has the authority to show

you your father and you have full faith in your mother. If not, there is no way

to know your father. You know the dates and the days from a calendar and you go

by what the calendar indicates. Otherwise, how do you know that today is

Monday, the 14th May? The day has not appeared in front of you with a signboard

on the forehead indicating the day of the week and the date. You have full faith

in all that you listen to from the All India Radio news bulletin and the various

news columns that you go through in a newspaper. So much so, you believe what

you hear on the radio, watch on the T.V., read in the newspapers, but you don't

believe our rsivakya or the sayings and teachings of our sages and saints of

yore embodied in the Vedas and other holy scriptures. The Vedas are called

is'variya, apauru seya , compositions of God. You don't have faith in them. How

strange and unfortunate it is! Think over it for sometime.

Q165) Swami! Why are some people not devoted to God? Devotion, it seems, has no

place in their lives. Would you kindly tell us the reason?

Bhagawan: Very simple. It is only sensual pleasure that makes people disinclined

towards God. Meaningless worry about the future, excessive desires, building

castles in the air are a way of life with them. Ambition to reach heights they

don't deserve and too much attachment to the family and the world, all these

are factors that make a man not devoted to God. There can be no other reason

beyond these.

You know the seesaw on which children play. If one end goes up, the other end

comes down, and vice versa. If the stress is laid on the world, your love of

God will be less, and on the other hand, if your love of God is greater (heavy

at one end as in the game) your attachment to the world becomes less (light at

the another end as in the game). This is how the balance works. Isn't it so? I

will give you another example, that of a magnet. It draws iron filings towards

it. But sometimes it doesn't. Why? If the iron pieces are rusted and dusty,

they are not drawn and attracted by the magnet. Likewise, people who are like

iron pieces dusty and rusted by worldly desires are not drawn to God, the

`Divine Magnet'. Is it clear now why some are not devoted to God?

Q166) Swami! Kindly give a direction to our spiritual pursuit? How should it

continue? Like the flow of a river? What are the restrictions to be observed?

Bhagawan: `Nas'reyo niyamam vina.' Everything must have limits without which you

will face risks and dangers. A river that flows under certain conditions with

banks on either side serves irrigation purposes better. Similarly, the river of

life has two banks, one on each side viz. sams’ ayatma vinas’yati': never doubt

and `s'raddhavan labhate ‘: by sincerity you develop wisdom. Your river of life

should flow between these two banks. Your faith should not be shaken. It should

never waver. Your faith should be strong and deep. No adverse situations and

negative moments should make you lose your faith.

A life without faith is like a pot with holes. You know that we water only the

roots of a plant. Yet, water is supplied to all parts of the plant. You do not

water the stem, branches and leaves separately. Similarly, the water of faith,

if supplied to the roots of your life, will take care of everything else

related to life. The tree of life can sustain itself if the water of faith is

supplied to its root. Without this, the plant dries up and is no longer alive.

It becomes firewood. Once you doubt all that you do will go in vain and nothing

will be fruitful. No amount of scholarship or Sadhana can help you if you allow

doubt to step into your mind.

A small illustration. There was a pundit in a certain village. Daily a milkmaid

from the neighboring village used to bring him milk crossing a river by boat.

In the process there was necessarily some delay in supplying milk to the

pundit. One day the pundit questioned her and wanted to know the reason for the

delay. She replied, "Oh Panditji! I have to cross the river by boat everyday to

bring milk. I can only get into the second trip of the boat because the boatman

will load in the first trip all the elders of the village. There is no

alternative left for me. So, I am late". Then the pundit said, "Look! Why do

you need to come by boat? I suggest that you carry the milk pots over your head

and cross the river chanting God's name. The river will

give way and you won't need to wait for the boat".

The milkmaid believed in what the pandit said and on the next day she could come

on time and gave him the pot full of milk. Then on his enquiry, she told him

that she could bring the milk on time by simply following his instructions. The

pandit was very much astonished at this, and could not believe her words and

decided to verify the fact himself. He said to her "Good! Now as you go back I

shall follow you and see you as you cross the river chanting God's name and how

the river gives way for you to cross it"

Both of them came near the riverside. The milkmaid acted exactly according to

the pundit’s instructions, viz. chanting the name of God. The pundit also

wanted to act in the same way. He stepped forward and lifted his dhoti up to

his knees so that his clothes would not be wet. He marched into the river step

by step doubting if he would drown in the river. His doubt became true and he

got drowned. Faith made the milkmaid walk across the river, while the pundit

had no faith in his own words. Hence he drowned.

The bank on the other side of the river of life is s'raddha, sincerity,

steadfastness, that confers jnanam, wisdom. You will be sincere only if you

love the work you do. You should have full faith and love to become sincere.

A student cannot pass the examinations if he has no faith that he can read, love

the subject and study it sincerely. So, vis'vasa, prema and s'raddha are the

three steps that give you success in your attempts. A businessman or a lawyer

or a doctor must be sincere, must have shraddha, in order to be successful in

his profession.

So for jnana, you should be sincere and steadfast. What type of jnana should it

be? It is not physical, material, secular or worldly knowledge. It is the

practical knowledge, anubhavajnana that you get when you are sincere and

steadfast. So these are the two banks on either side of the river of life,

doubtlessness and sincerity or steadfastness. Sams'aayatma vinas’yati : the

doubters perish, and s'rddhavan labhate jnanam: the sincere and faithful attain

wisdom.

Q167) Swami! Why and how do we get evil feelings such as jealousy, envy, pride,

egoism, attachment and so on. How are we to get away from these evil feelings?

Bhagawan: The main cause for all these evil feelings is your body attachment.

These feelings are born in your mind. They depend on your interactions and

relationships with others.

A small example. Suppose you have a very intimate friend with whom you agree on

everything. By chance, if you toss a rose flower at him, he will be immensely

happy for your love and reverence. As ill luck would have it, if you do not see

eye to eye with each other due to some differences, and if you toss a rose at

him, he will totally misunderstand you. He will think that it is a deliberate

action on your part to harm him, for your friend is a sugar patient (diabetic)

and as such if a thorn of the flower by chance pricks him, it may cause an

injury that never heals and even further complicates leading to the amputation

of his hand. See the difference. The two individuals are the same. So, also is

the rose flower. But during the period of friendly terms, the act is viewed

positively and in the unfriendly period the same actions are viewed negatively.

You will now

know that everything lies in the mind. The rose flower that gives happiness to

your friend creates suspicion in the mind of the same person during the period

of animosity.

Then, let me tell you about your next weakness, anger. Why should you and what

for should you be angry with anyone? You tend to lose your energy due to anger.

You become weak subsequently. The energy you have gained out of the food you

have consumed during a couple of months is just lost by a single fit of your

anger. Here, enquire into the matter clearly. What exactly makes you angry? If

anyone criticizes, reprimands, accuses, or blames you, naturally you are angry

with that person. Calm down for a moment and investigate clearly. Why should

you be angry with anyone who points out your mistakes or defects? Are you not

guilty? Are you angry because your faults are pointed out? Why? So, you need

not be angry if your faults are pointed out.

Suppose you are faultless and not guilty, even then there is no need for you to

be angry. Because, it is only a false allegation. If anyone says that my head

is bald, I am not angry with him because there is no truth in what he says, as

I am not bald. If anyone comments that I have a mop of hair, even then I am not

angry because the truth is said. So let them say that I am a battatala Baba

(bald headed Baba) or buttatala Baba (mop of hair on the head of Baba) (batta

and butta are Telugu words). I am not angry either way. If you think in this

way you will not be angry and annoyed with anyone.

There is the worst form of disease for which there is no cure. It is envy or

jealousy. Hatred ruined powerful kings like Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakasipu,

Sisupala, Dantavaktra as mentioned in our epics like the Mahabhagavatham and

the Mahabharata. Envy ruined the entire clan of Kauravas. Envy, pride, ego,

jealousy and anger are demonic qualities. No one ever thinks of those with

these evil tendencies. Have you met anyone by name Duryodhana who is the very

personification of jealously in our epic Mahabharata? Have you met anyone by

name Sisupala who is the embodiment of hatred in our scriptures? None. Why? It

is a shame to be named so. There is then Mandhara a woman character in the

Ramayana the very emblem of jealousy. She brought bad name even to queen

Kaikeyi. She was responsible for sending Rama to the forest and Bharata's

reign. Have

you come across women by name Mandhara and Kaikeyi? No. Never. Why? They

represent evil traits that ruin anyone.

Never be egoistic. Egoism is another trait that will lead to disrepute. Examine

yourself when you feel egoistic. Why ego? On what grounds should you be

egoistic? In the entire world, India is of the size of an ant. There, in India

your state of Andhra Pradesh is the size of an eye of the ant. Your Anantapur

district is but a speck in the eye of the ant. Then, how about Puttaparthi and

what are you and your standing in your family? Practically nothing. So don't

give any scope for ego and pride. Of course, if at all you want

to be egoistic and proud, you can be egoistic about your ignorance and proud of

your foolishness! Attachment and Self‑interest may make you egoistic on

false grounds.

Attachment and feelings of "I and mine" are also not good in your own interest.

The feelings of thine and mine arise out of abhimana and ahamkara. An example.

Your neighbour has a daughter who was seriously ill for quite some time. You

were not bothered or worried about her health. A year after her illness it so

happened that you married her. Thereafter even a slight temperature or cold in

her body makes you apply for casual leave and stay away from office. Why? She

is your wife and no longer the daughter of your neighbour. The difference is

due to attachment only.

It is mamakara, feelings of mine that made Dhritarashtra, the old king of the

Mahabharata support all the misdeeds of his sons and led to the total ruin of

the entire clan. Though he had one hundred sons he was left with none even to

perform his last rites. To this state one will be reduced due to the feelings

of `I' and `mine'.

When these traits find a place in you, repeat ten times "I am a man, not an

animal", "I am a man, not an animal" so that you can get rid of the animal

qualities like ahamkara, ego, asuya, jealousy, irsya, envy, dvesa, hatred,

abhimana, attachment, and mamakara, feelings of `I' and `mine'.

Q168) Swami? How wonderfully in simple terms and in such an easy way you have

explained profound things. What is the way to immortality, the ultimate goal of

life?

Bhagawan: Very simple! Very easy! The only way to 'immortality is the removal of immorality.

Q169)  Swami! How long does sensual pleasure last?

Bhagawan: Sensual pleasure is momentary and fleeting. It lands you in

difficulties and makes you weak. Think well and understand clearly. You think

that you are enjoying with your senses. Actually, it is not so. The senses are

enjoying at your expense. At your cost the senses are having a nice time. How?

You become weak. You lose your strength. You turn old. If you are right in

thinking that you enjoy with your senses, you should have been quite active and

enthusiastic. But in reality it is not so. You are negatively affected due to

sensual pleasures. Therefore, know for sure that your senses enjoy you, making

you sick, old and weak and not you enjoying with your senses.

Q170)  Swami! How are we to lead a detached life? We are hurt when our

belongings, positions and wealth are withdrawn. Please tell us how not to be

hurt though these are taken away from us.

Bhagawan: You should always keep in view the purpose and the aim of your life.

You should never give up your duties and responsibilities. You see, today's

newspaper is tomorrow's waste paper. Be assured that past life will never

return. You should always keep in mind three important points. Never feel that

the world is permanent and that your relationships with all around you are

lasting. No. The second thing is that you should not forget God under any

circumstances. The third point to remember is not to fear death.

A District Collector has all the comforts and conveniences such as a big

bungalow with a spacious compound, furniture, peons, etc. He has a very big

office and personnel to provide assistance, but when he retires, he has to

leave them all, though he lived till then with them as their sole proprietor

and owner. Does he cry on the day of his retirement? Does he feel that he has

lost anything personal? Similarly, servant‑maids, who take care of

children at the residences of rich business magnates or high officials,

consider the children very close to them and even say "our boy" `our child' and

so on. But is it really so? Can they claim and own them at any point of time?

Similarly, you see a cashier in the bank. He has with him Lakhs and Lakhs of

rupees, which he disburses to different account holders according to the

cheques presented. Does he feel sad at any

time for parting with the money? Not even a single naya paisa belongs to him.

The same is your relationship with the world you live in. Know the essence,

saram (Telugu) and lead this life (family, samsaram Telugu). In fact, no one

has anything to do with anything or anybody. You are alone at the time both of

your birth and death. The rest that comes in between are like passing clouds.

"Would you settle down on a bridge

you cross from one end to another!

Would you like making a house,

of a boat plying from bank to bank!

Would you build a mansion

right in the middle of a highway!"

So, one must leave to one's own self questions like: `Who am I? 'Where do I come

from?' 'Who is God'? `What is the purpose of life?' Human life is gifted to you

to find answers to these questions.

For example; a villager goes to a nearby town on some business. As he could not

complete his work, he has to stay in a lodge to rest. The proprietor of the

hotel or lodge he chooses to stay in will naturally put some questions to him

before letting out a room to him. He will ask the villager to register his name

and address. He has to answer questions such as "Where do you come from? How

long would you stay?" If the answers run like this, "I do not know where I come

from. I do not know how long I am going to be here. I do not know when I would

quit this room", or "I don't know where I shall go from here!" The proprietor

will say, "No room for you. This lodge is not for mad fellows like you" Similar

is your situation and position if you don't know where you come from, how long

you stay here and where you go from here. Do your duty thinking of God. That is

enough,

then, you will never suffer.

Q171)  Swami! How services are rendered today helpful in future?

Bhagawan: I will give an example very well known to you. After your retirement,

you are given pension. Why? It is the payment for your long service in a

profession. So also, God's grace is bestowed on you for your service in the

past.

Another example. If you fill the tank with water during the rainy season, you

will have water supply in summer. Is it not so? Therefore, service of today

will help you receive God's grace later, undoubtedly.

Q172)    Swami! Is there death? Are there a heaven and a hell? What is life?

Bhagawan: There is no death. It is the body that dies. But Atma, the indweller

is immortal. Atma is the eternal truth. Your happiness is indeed heaven. Your

misery is hell. Both are here in this life. They are not separate entities

apart from you.

The whole universe is a tree with branches, leaves,, flowers and fruits. Man

expects flowers and fruits and nurtures the tree by watering its roots. It is

enough if you water the roots of a plant, in order to get the water circulated

to different parts of the plant. Is it not so? Do you water the stem, branches

and leaves separately? Do You? No, you don't. For this tree of the universe the

branches are different countries and states; the leaves are desires; human

beings are the flowers. The root is below and the fruit is on the top. The root

is self‑confidence while the fruit is self-­realisation. The juice within

the fruit is divinity. Today, there‑is no divinity but only community.

Q173)    Swami! Man's greatest fear is the fear of death. How is he to overcome this?

Bhagawan: Man is not dying of diseases. In fact, it is fear that makes for his

death. Ninety eight percent of all deaths are to be traced to fear of death.

Diseases are, for the most part, psychological in origin and impact. Check your

pulse rate and blood pressure when you are excited, worried, or afraid. These

rise much above the normal level. Thus, diseases are, to a large extent, rooted

in your mental state.

Once the deity of Cholera came to a village. Seeing her, the village elder said,

"Mother! I am terrified at the thought of the devastation soon to overtake our

villages. I wonder how many of our people are going to die!" The deity replied,

"My son! Not all will be harmed by me. There will be five deaths a day, that's

all. You need not be that much alarmed." But, many people were dying. The elder

thought the deity might have lied to him. He turned to her and asked, "Mother,

you are a deity. How is it, then, that; after saying one thing to me, contrary

to that, you punish us?" The Cholera deity replied, "Son! I did not utter a

falsehood. I took away only five each day. So, I am not responsible for the

deaths of al the others. Those did not die of cholera. They died of fear,

that's all."

You asked me how fear of death is to be overcome. The solution is only courage!

You should understand that at some time or other, death is inevitable. Realise

that there are no exemptions. When you have the courage to realise this fully,

fear of death ceases.

Q174)    Swami! How can we realise the divinity within us?

Bhagawan: Look! In college, you have elective subjects like M.P.C (Mathematics.

Physics and Chemistry), B..P.C (Biology, Physics and Chemistry) and so on,

haven't you? Similarly, to realise the divinity within you, you have to take a

group of three subjects. What are the subjects to realise divinity? They are

‘Bhakti’ devotion, ‘Jnana’, wisdom and ‘vairagya’, renunciation.

Without devotion, you can't acquire wisdom. Bhakti leads to jnanam. Without

jnanam you can never develop detachment or renunciation. Jnanam takes you to

vairagya. A flower, after some time, turns into an unripe bitter fruit, which

ultimately becomes a sweet ripened one, doesn't it? It is a question of time

that brings about the change. Devotion transforms itself into the wisdom that

leads to detachment. This detachment helps you in visualising the divinity

within yourself. The fruit drops down from the tree of life. Jnana contributes

to s'ara pagan, s’aranagati, surrender.

You should remember one point here. Jnana,, japa, yagna are not important as

such. Your love for God is more important than any other such rituals for

success in spiritual pursuit. Intense love for God is Bhakti, devotion.

Knowledge, broadly speaking, is of two types: one is physical, secular material

and worldly knowledge, while the other is spiritual, metaphysical,

transcendental and divine knowledge. Spiritual knowledge is nondual, and helps

the seeker to realise and experience his own divinity.

Q175)    Swami! How are we to attain bliss?

Bhagawan: It is a pity to find many a confused and disturbed person even in the

spiritual field. Though he is in an ashram or spiritual centre, he undergoes

‘srama,’ suffering. It is a matter of shame if a person calls himself a devotee

without following a single teaching or practicing it for his transformation. The

life of a devotee should be pure, calm, peaceful, detached and he should pine

for the knowledge and experience of the Self or spirit or Atma. Infinite

desires meaningless worries and anxieties to get all that one doesn't really

deserve are ‑obstacles in spiritual life. So many don't enjoy divine

bliss. Body attachment makes things much worse.

Four qualities are very essential for the attainment of divine bliss:

s’amam-damam control of the outer and inner senses, ‘tr pti’, contentment,

‘vicarana,.’enquiry, and ‘satsang’, good company. They confer divine bliss on

the seeker. You have got to know how this most valuable divine bliss is

contained within the human body, which is itself transient, and is of lesser

value than the spirit.

The body is composed of two bucketfuls of water, one bucketful of lime, iron of

four two inch nails, lead of six pencils, phosphorous of nine hundred and

twenty matchsticks, and fat of four Lux soaps. Herein lies the Atma, divine

spirit. Divine bliss can be attained by investigating, realising and

experiencing the inner core of this body, viz. Atma.

Q176)    Swami! Many spiritual practices are suggested, such as, namasmarana

singing the glory of God, dhyana, meditation, Pooja, etc. But, still total

satisfaction is not derived out of any of them. We are not able to practice and

follow continuously even one of them. Dissatisfaction over not being able to

succeed and frustration about not getting the rewards for the little we do, are

overpowering us. Why is it happening like this? Kindly show us the way.

Bhagawan: You have to plough the land, remove the weeds, manure and water it.

Isn't it so? Without tilling the land, removing the weeds and watering, even if

you sow the best of seeds, will it be of any help? Similarly, if you want to

achieve the four purus arthas, objectives of life, you should follow anyone of

the nine paths of devotion, adopt the eightfold path of yogic practices, astaga

yoga, follow the nine types of devotion, navavidha bhaktimarga, worship properly

and follow the spiritual path scrupulously.

You should cultivate four main qualities; which are the pre‑requisites of

a devotee of God. The first one is maitri,, friendship, second, karuna,

compassion, the third mudita, feeling happy at others' progress, and the fourth

quality is upeksa, detachment. These are necessary for spiritual advancement.

Maitri is the first one. If you are friendly to the higher‑ups, there is

every possibility that those people put you under their control. If you are a

friend to those who are inferior to you, there is every scope for you to

dominate them. In either case, friendship will not continue long. Therefore,

friendship must be among equals.

Karuna is the second one. You can't be compassionate towards all. Be

compassionate towards the poor, needy, less fortunate, handicapped and sick as

well as those who are less educated than you and are inferior to you in rank,

position and property. If you do so, your compassion will be valued most and it

will deepen increasingly. Mudita is the third one. You should not feel jealous

of those who are better off than you. You should not have any bad feelings

towards those who are more fortunate than you. You should, on the other hand,

feel even happier at their progress and advancement. This is mudita. The fourth

one is upeksa. The opposite of upeksa is apeksa.  Apeksa means attachment.

Upeksa means detachment.

You should never be positively disposed towards bad people. You should not

support designers of evil or those who indulge in bad deeds. You should never

develop friendship with an evil‑minded person or a person with bad

behaviour. With these four qualities you can achieve the objectives of life,

the purusarthas. Hence, be friendly with your equals, compassionate towards the

poor and needy, be happy at others' progress and keep away from bad people. In

fact these four qualities may be said to be the objectives of life, the

purusarthas. To cultivate them, purity of heart is necessary. To feel that the

very same one God is present in all living creatures and living beings is the

way to develop purity of heart. You have to purify your tamasika, bestial

qualities and rajasika, emotional or passionate nature. You have to develop

that kind of steadiness and purity of mind and heart.

You will not be able to see clearly the reflection of the sun or of the moon

alike in containers filled with different kinds of water. One container may

have very dirty water where you can't see the reflection of the sun or the moon

clearly. This is how the tamasika quality acts, cutting you off from reality. In

another container, water may be found shaking and not still. Then also the

reflection of the sun will not be clear. This is the rajasika quality. But, a

container filled with pure water, which is also steady, helps you to see the

object reflected clearly in it. This is the effect of sattvika quality.

Similarly, though the same atma is present in all, you are not able to

recognise and experience it due to the differences in your body, mind and

intellect.

Then, the question is how to achieve the pious quality or sattvika nature and

the purity of heart or cittas’huddhi to recognise and experience awareness of

Atma? He who can find out his own faults and others' merits can keep his heart

steady and pure. If you can identify your own mistakes and rectify them, it

doesn't matter wherever you are.

Take a simple example. Your room may be full of mosquitoes. But if you have a

mosquito net you will not be affected by their presence and you can sleep well.

On the other hand, if there are mosquitoes inside in the net, how can you sleep?

Whose mistake is it? Similarly, see that there are no mistakes in you. Always

remember that Sadhana is intended for devotion and steadfastness. Sadhana done

for selfish gains will be of no use and it can never give you bliss, peace and

satisfaction. You can't do Sadhana in such a case intensely and fervently.

The Ramayana explains this very clearly. After his return from his uncle

Kekaya's kingdom and on coming to know of the death of his father, King

Dasaratha, Bharata approached his mother Kaikeyi and asked her about the reason

for his death. Kaikeyi said, "My dear son, I am responsible for the king's

death. For your benefit and to make you the king of Ayodhya, I asked your

father to grant me the two boons he had promised to give me a long time ago. As

the first boon, I asked that you be crowned and as the second, Rama be sent to

the forest. Your father couldn't bear the separation from Rama and so he died".

On listening to this, Bharata became very furious. He said, "Oh! Wicked woman!

Do you know what you did? Are you foolish? Do you think that you can cut off a

tree and plant its branches to grow? Don't you know that Rama is a tree?" In

her view Kaikeyi was right in doing like that, but  to Bharata it was very

cruel. Today, what you are doing is exactly like that. You are cutting off the

tree of divinity and planting the branches of Prakriti, nature. This is not

proper. So, any Sadhana is useless if there is no devotion supported by

steadfastness. Without these basic qualities of maitri, karuna, mudita and

upeksa  you can't achieve anything. You can't have peace; bliss and

self‑satisfaction. Therefore, for a spiritual life you should acquire

these four qualities.

Q177)    Swami! Many spiritual paths are mentioned by diverse traditions and

religions. How far can these paths lead to experiencing divinity? To what

extent are their spiritual exercises to be adopted? From the description of

some of these, success in one lifetime appears impossible. On the other hand,

worry that no spiritual practice is undertaken plagues us. Is there no way out

for us? Kindly grant us peace. 

Bhagawan: Listening to your accounts of Sadhana, it appears you do not know what

Sadhana is. The practices you call `spiritual' are undertaken by the mind. They

give you only temporary happiness and satisfaction. On the other hand, they

cannot be dismissed as altogether useless. Sadhanas must help you in spending

your time in a pious way. What, then, is Sadhana? “Sa” means salokyam, dwelling

in heaven with the vision of God; therefore Sadhana gives us the dhana,

treasure, of salokyam. Every act of the mind is dualistic, artificial, and

transient. Suppose you are on a journey. Suppose also that there is a thief by

your side. How can you feel secure? The person beside you is a thief, isn't he?

In the same way, all practices involving the mind can never give you

unbroken bliss, the experience of Brahman. What you achieve in Sadhana is the

removal of the veil blocking the vision of the Self, the veil of anatmatabhava.

With the removal of this veil, the experience of the Atma, the real, stands

revealed. This is not something that has to come from somewhere, nor is it

something that can be lost.

The next question is how long Sadhana needs to be practiced. Consider a wound.

When healing starts, a scar appears covering the wound, and this drops off by

itself. Suppose you peel it off by force. The wound grows bigger. In the same

way, once you have the experience of the Self, the question of Sadhana does not

arise.

Another example. When you cook food, you adjust the flame. When you ask how long

the flame is to be turned on, it is only till the food is cooked. Sadhana too is

necessary only till one acquires jnana, supreme wisdom.

Q178)    Swami! When we get wisdom based on our practical knowledge,

discrimination and determination, will it stay with us permanently or is there

any possibility of our losing it by chance leading us back to ignorance again?

Bhagawan: That is impossible. Actually, you can't call it wisdom at all, if it

is lost. You can't consider a person a man of wisdom if he returns to the same

old state of ajnana, ignorance.

In fact, Jnana, wisdom, neither comes nor goes. You are the embodiment of

Divyajnana, divine wisdom. Your own worldly attachments, sensual pleasures, and

bodily identification obscure this awareness or wisdom. Once you realise it; you

will never lose the state of awareness.

A simple example, you curdle milk and churn it to get butter. The butter, a

product of milk, will never get mixed in the milk once again, will it? So also,

the butter of wisdom cannot mix in the milk of ignorance, once it is realised.

Similarly, a Jnana, though he lives in the midst of ignorant people, will never

lose his Jnana. Ajnana, Ignorance will never come again. Wisdom, once it dawns

on you, will never depart from you.

Q179)    Swami! Is bodily feeling an obstacle to spiritual progress? The bodily

feeling doesn't seem to leave us anyway. Kindly tell us what we should do about

it?

Bhagawan: I have never told you to neglect your body. Always remember that the

body is an instrument. A temple may be very beautiful, clean and highly

attractive. However, you will not be satisfied by merely looking at it from

outside, unless you go in and see the idol installed at the sanctum sanctorum.

It is the idol or Mulavirat that makes you feel happy and ecstatic, doesn't it?

Similarly, your body is the moving temple of God. You should never neglect it.

Your desires will not make your body polluted. The only thing is that the

desires need to be good and never bad.

We have on one side, arisadvarga six foes, such as lust, anger, greed,

attachment, avarice, and hatred, which ruin man. But you can channelise them in

the right direction. For example, take anger, krodha. Anger does you no good at

any time. But if you are angry with your bad behaviour, wicked thoughts and

evil tendencies, you will improve yourself. So, don't be angry with anyone, be

angry with your own anger. Then, consider kama, desire. If you are after

limitless desires, you will be leading a discontented life. On the other hand,

if you desire God, desire to serve him, the very desire, kama, becomes sublime.

Therefore, so long as one is selfish, self‑centered, sensual and worldly,

the body definitely is an obstacle to spiritual progress. But if you take it as

an instrument for the realisation of the divinity within yourself then

definitely it is not an obstacle. Hiranyakasipu, Hiranyaksha, Ravana,

Kumbhakarna, Sisupala, Jarasandha, Dantavaktra, etc., ruined themselves because

of their bad thoughts, wicked actions, cruel and harmful nature. In fact, the

body is the gift of God for man to realise and experience Him.

Q180)     Swami! How are we to grasp easily the purpose and aim of life?

Bhagawan: This is very simple. A small example. A patient takes medicines for an

ailment and gets cured. Why? He has to take medicines regularly for a certain

period of time so that he may not have to take medicines once again by falling

sick. It means he should not be a patient a second time.

Similarly, your birth in this life is given to you not to be born again. In

other words, you should not enter the cycle of birth and rebirth once again.

One has to work for it spiritually by intense sadhana during this lifetime

itself. This is the aim and the purpose of life.

Source: SATYOPANISAD VOL - II [Part III, Chapter-VII] by Anil Kumar Kamaraja 

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