GEMS FROM THE DISCOURSES OF DIVINE LORD SAI BABA - VIII

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Om Sri Sai Ram

GEMS FROM THE DISCOURSES OF DIVINE LORD SAI BABA - VIII

1. How can a person, who cannot himself swim, teach others the art? How

can one, whose granary is empty, pour out in charity? Acquire the wealth of

devotion, fortitude and peace, before venturing to advise others how to acquire

them. Bharath (India) has suffered slights and disregard as a result of a spate

of teachers who have not cared to practise what they teach. I know you have the

enthusiasm to carry My message among the people of this country and other

countries. Let Me remind you that the best and the only successful way in which

you can do it is to translate the Message into your own lives. Your thoughts,

words and deeds must be saturated with the message. They, then will spread

effortlessly and efficiently and the face of the world will be transformed.

2. The Name undoubtedly brings in the Grace of God. Meerabai, the Queen

of Rajastan, gave up status and riches, fortune and family and dedicated

herself to the adoration of the Lord, Giridhara Gopala. Her husband brought a

chalice of poison and she was ordered to drink it. She uttered the Name of

Krishna while she drank it. It was transformed into nectar, by the Grace of the

Name evoked.

3. God is the harmony of all the Forms and Names that man gives Him. Only

those who are ignorant of the Glory of God will insist on one Name and one Form

for His adoration and, what is worse, condemn the use by others of other Names

and Forms. Since you are all associated with the Sathya Sai Organisation, I

must warn you against such silly obduracy. Do not go about proclaiming that you

are a sect distinct and separate from those who adore God in other Forms and

Names; thereby, you are limiting the very God whom you are extolling.

4. People pray to God to relieve them from pain, grief and loss, to

confer on them health, strength and wealth. But if you develop an intimate

attachment to Him and make Him yours, then He will manage to give you all that

you need. Do not demand the relationship into bargaining: give me this; then I

shall give you that in exchange. If you insist on wages you become a coolie

(laborer). Become His own. He is providing for the idler, the insane and the

shirker: can He not provide for you?

5. The duration of life is under the control of Him, who gave life, the

Creator. it does not depend on the categories of food consumed or the quality

of drugs that are injected, or the qualification of the physician who

prescribes the medicine. The chief causes of ill-health and death are Fear and

Loss of Faith. If one concentrates on the Atma, which has no change in

characteristics, no subtraction or senility, and no decline or damage, man can

conquer Death. Therefore, that most effective prescription is the injection of

Atma-Vidya (Knowledge of the Atma, the Soul as one's Real

Self).

6. The future of India is in your hands. You are fully aware of the

characteristics of this Kaliyuga, we are passing through. You find around you

injustice, irregularities, immorality and untruth, with all their devilish

attributes and atrocities. But we have to march ahead in spite of all this with

a quiet tolerant and benign attitude towards life. Almost all the fields

and walks of life are polluted with these poisonous feelings; but the field of

education, being the most prominent organ, needs our special attention.

7. Every Indian will have to recognise the culture based on Vedic

philosophy. You will know how restless and agitated the youth of India today,

trying to rob everything with all pride and no achievement and thus getting

involved in meaningless pursuits. The student of today is not able to realise

what he should primarily be concerned with. It is only in name that he is a

'Vidyarthi' the

seeker of Knowledge. In practice, he is only a 'Vishayarthi', a seeker of worldly pleasures.

8. Love is the seed, courage is the blossom and peace is the fruit that

the sages grow in the garden of their hearts. They toiled for identifying

themselves with the Truth, not for painting falsehood, with the authenticity of

Truth and parading as if they had accomplished the mission on which they had

come to earth. They achieved such success that Bharath was for centuries the

Preceptor of Humanity; but now, the Preceptor has started taking lessons from

the least intelligent of the pupils and rearing the head in pride when the

pupil congratulates him.

9. Love is the seed, courage is the blossom and peace is the fruit that

the sages grow in the garden of their hearts. They toiled for identifying

themselves with the Truth, not for painting falsehood, with the authenticity of

Truth and parading as if they had accomplished the mission on which they had

come to earth. They achieved such success that Bharath was for centuries the

Preceptor of Humanity; but now, the Preceptor has started taking lessons from

the least intelligent of the pupils and rearing the head in pride when the

pupil congratulates him.

10. Vishnu is described as "Bujagasayanam" sleeping on the snake and also as

"Shanthaakaaram" (peaceful form). The "Bujaga" or snake, which has visha or

poison, represents the world of 'Vishaya' and, when you rest upon it, instead

of allowing it to envelop you, you can afford to have 'Shantham' or peace. Let

your boat be on water; but do not allow the water to enter the boat. Be in the

world, but not of it. That is the secret of a successful life.

11. At this critical hour in the history of the world, when the demoniac

forces of fear and anxiety, injustice and inequity are raging in wild fury, it

is the duty of every human being to be equipped with spiritual strength so that

he may not be overwhelmed by the storm. This is an urgent and essential task and

I must say that the women of India have a contribution to make, a service to

render and a role to

play. They must bring God into the hearts of the child and help it to keep Him

there. For, faith in God, is the tonic that man needs to get back health and

happiness.

12. Heart without love is as dreary as a town without a temple. Spiritual

pride is the most poisonous of all varieties of pride. It blends and leads the

person suffering from it into ruin. Beware of pride; be always aware that you

are but an instrument in My Divine Mission of Dharmasthapana, revival of

righteousness. Try to be more and more efficient as such instruments. The Hand,

that wields the instrument knows how and when it has to be applied.

13. There are no characteristics in God, but, in the characteristics of

Sathya, Jnana and Ananda, there is God. God is everywhere and no space-ship can

hit against Him; no space-pilot can espy Him. He is too subtle for all that type

of contact, subtler than ether or Akasha. So, do not lend your ears to people

who swear there is no God. God is too vast and too far above the reach of

reason or imagination. You can only get glimpses of the Bliss derived from the

contemplation of His Magnificence.

14. There are no characteristics in God, but, in the characteristics of

Sathya, Jnana and Ananda, there is God. God is everywhere and no space-ship can

hit against Him; no space-pilot can espy Him. He is too subtle for all that type

of contact, subtler than ether or Akasha. So, do not lend your ears to people

who swear there is no God. God is too vast and too far above the reach of

reason or imagination. You can only get glimpses of the Bliss derived from the

contemplation of His Magnificence.

15. The chief means by which you detach your mind from distractions and

attach yourselves to the search for God are: Yoga and Thyaga. Kama (desire) has

to be got rid of by Thyaga (renounciation); and Rama (God) has to be secured by

Yoga (the conjunction of all your faculties for the common purpose). Desire

discolours the intelligence; it perverts judgement; it sharpens the appetites

of the senses; it lends a false lure to the objective world. When

desire disappears or is concentrated on God, intelligence is self-luminous and

it shines in the pristine splendour; and that splendour reveals the God within

- and without. That is the real 'Atmasakshatkara'.

16. You know that you can draw cheques upon a bank, whenever you need money,

provided you have enough current deposit therein. If the Bank goes bankrupt, it

will be a disaster. The educational system is the Bank on which the nation

draws a check whenever it wants strong, reliable skilled workers. If it goes

bankrupt as it has very nearly gone today, it is a national disaster.

17. Do not preach; practise. In politics, in the field of administration, in

schools and colleges, in spiritual institutions, every-where, we have a surfeit

of preachers but a famine of practitioners. Heroes on platforms prove

themselves to the zeros when they descend to the ground. Therefore,

demonstrate, in your own lives, how love can confer peace and joy; how all

faiths lead to the same goal; and how all man are brothers of one another.

18. Of what benefit is it have a body, if you do not seek to know how best

to utilise it? Learn from the saints and sages who have realised the Truth

about the path you shall tread and the goal you have to attain. That goal is

God. He is beyond all notions of good and bad, right and wrong. These are

earthly measures, by which the temporary is weighed and judged. He has no form

or limbs, no dualities, no preferences, no prejudices and no predilection. To

say that He is 'Sathyaswarup' (having the characteristic of Truth), and

'Jnanaswarup' (having full wisdom) and 'Anandaswarup' (full of Bliss) is

also not correct. For, He has no 'Swarup' or 'Swabhav'; He is Sathya; He is

Jnana; and He is Ananda. That is the experience of those who have tasted

Ananda.

19. You may boast that you have been visiting Puttaparthi since twenty years

or that you have made the place your permanent residence; but, unless you follow

the lesson I emphasise, that boast is mere empty vanity. If you develop love for

all beings, in the faith that God resides in all, you may be anywhere else, but

your prayers would reach Me and My Grace will reach you. While in My previous

body, I told Nanashab that I am in ants, insects and animals, besides all men.

When a dog ate all offerings intended for Baba, it was declared to have reached

Baba, for He had eaten it in that form. "Nana

says, he is giving Me food, but, when I go in the form of dog, he drives Me off."

20. India has always laid down disciplines to cultivate universal love; the

Yagnas and Yaga which are recommended in the Vedas are for Lokakalyana,

Lokasangraha, the welfare and security of all mankind. That is why India is as

the engine which drags the wagons along, all wagons

that are coupled with it. The wagons are the different nations. 'Lookaa

samasthaah Sukhino Bhavanthu' is the prayer that rises from the children of the

land since thousands of years. God is Omnipresent. He is immanent in every

being, and in equal measure. So man must visualise Him equally in himself and

in others.

21. Once Ramadas wailed: "O Lord! You are mighty, all powerful, all knowing;

I am alone helpless, orphaned and poor." Then the Lord interrupted the

self-condemnation and said: "No, how can you call yourself poor, helpless and

orphaned? I am with you and in you, showering My Grace. The only orphan in the

universe is Myself, for I have no guardian, no means of support, nobody to fall

back upon. I am the A-natha(Orphan) ; all else are Sa-natha (with Lord), for I

am their Natha (Lord)."

22. The universe is the body of God; in that body, the Ekabhava (Unity

Consciousness) is Bharath. "Ekam Sath" (There is only one truth) the Vedas

declared aeons ago ! This is the reason why sages, saints, Divine personages

and incarnations of God appear here and proclaim their message to mankind from

this land. The precious message is being exported but very little is used

inside the country. That is the tragedy.

23. Man strives to provide himself with food clothing and housing for the

sake of the body. He must also provide himself with something to keep the mind

healthy and happy. It is the mind that conditions even the body. The mind is

the instrument, the fly-wheel, and the thickest comrade of man. Through it, one

can ruin oneself or save oneself. Regulated and controlled and chanelised

properly, it can liberate; wayward and let lose, it can entangle and bind fast.

 

24. Train the mind to dwell on the inner equipment rather than the outer

attractions. Use the mind to cleanse the feelings, impulses, attitudes,

tendencies and levels of consciousness. Let it not accumulate dirt from the

outer world and deposit them within itself. If it is attached to work (Pravriti

Marga), the consequences of work get attached to it. Unattached work is the

purest; it does not encumber the mind with elation or disappointment, 'I did

it', 'this is mine'. These are the two fangs that make the individual

poisonous. Pull out the fangs; the snake can be handled and played with as a

pet.

25. The Lord is closest to you. He is the Mother, Father, Teacher, Friend,

Guide and Guardian. Call on Him, and He responds immediately. From dawn to

dusk, spend every minute in His company. That is the reason why I have directed

that every Sathya Sai Organisation must arrange for Nagar Sankirtan in the

pre-dawn hours. It is a mission of Love and all will welcome it. It is a great

act of social service to wake up people with the Name of God. It is a

purificatory pilgrimage, casting off anger and hate that infest the atmosphere.

 

26. The Gita speaks of 'Yukthahara Viharasya', habits of feeding and

recreation, which are controlled and regulated. The gross part of food is

discarded as feces, the subtle part is transformed into muscle, blood, etc.,

and the more subtle aspects are transmuted into the mind and its activities.

That is why the Sages have prescribed certain limits and levels of food, in

order to promote the spiritual urges and prevent country tendencies. But,

nowadays, as a result of the downgraded time-spirit, food that damages the

spiritual urge is being increasingly favoured.

27. The Karma or activity is the indicator of inner character. Observing

one's actions, their motives, their consequences and the extent of one's

involvement, it is possible to declare one as a Pasu (beast) or Pasupathi (the

Lord of Individual Souls) that is to say, as Divine as God Himself).

28. At achool, the first lesson, is "Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool

?", and the second "Ding, dong bell, pussy in the well!". Gone are the days

when the first lesson was on Rama, Krishna or some great sage or saint ?

Getting to know about black sheep will make children black sheep; getting to

know about the great and the good will make children great and good. Children

of the Bal Vikas are therefore told stories of Rama,

Krishna and other Divine persons. Learn those tales and decide to live like

them. Learn Indian ways and Indian tales, and be true Indians.

29. Why say, "Good morning", or "Good night". "Namaskar" or "Namaste" is the

Indian way, the really humble way. You must have Bhaya, Vinaya and Viswasa -

fear, humility and faith. Fear of what? Fear of doing wrong and of falling into

falsehood. Humility before whom? Before elders, teachers and parents. Faith in

what? Faith in God, in your own strength and in your own victory.

30. "Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya", is the prayer. Egoism is Thamas. There is an

easy way to illumine the inner consciousness and the outer behaviour with the

light of God. Put the lamp of the Name of the Lord, the illuminating flame, on

the tongue. That is the doorstep. That light will drive out the darkness from

both inside and outside. Have it ever burning, clear and bright. You will soon

reach remarkable heights and enjoy happiness, the like of which you cannot get,

by sticking to the senses.

31. Krishna took upon Himself three vows:

"For the protection of the good and the punishment of the bad; for the

establishment of the moral order, I shall take birth Myself, age after age."

"Who ever is wholly immersed in my contemplation with no other thought; I shall

be ever with him ! And I shall bear the burden of his welfare."

"Surrender unto Me, giving up all other duties and obligations, I shall liberate

you from all sin; do not grieve."

32. The Lord has to take the Form that is suitable for the task He has to

fulfil. To catch a gang of decoits, the Police Officer has to move among them

as a decoit. That is why the human form has been taken. But, who, challenged

with impurity by their own wives, dare challenge the Avatar and ask for proofs!

Of course, if you desire to understand, you are welcome; be near, watch, learn

and believe. Put on the role, if you have the courage and the convicition that

you can enact it well. Are you not tired of playing the parts of beggar and

clown, in scene after scene, birth after birth ? Aspire for the

nobler role, at least now; in this birth.

33. You stay far and complain that Grace has not come. You do not scrape

off, by the process of repentence, the mud and rust that prevent you from

getting close to Me . You come for needs sometime and stray away into the

distance. I do not mean physical distance at all. You may be physically far but

mentally by My side. I do not measure distance in miles or metres. I am with

you, in you, beside you and ever; only you have to be aware of that and make

use of My presence. You must become an 'Aartha',torn by intense suffering to

sense the Lord.

34. If you plan to give joy to others, you will yourself be joyful. Who are

these others? Even when the Lord has come with a definite human body, all

humans that you come across are but parts of His Glory and Splendour. "Iswara

sarva bhuthanaam, hrudesse Arjuna tishtathiO, Arjuna, the Lord dwells in the

regions of the heart in all beings", says the Lord in the Gita.

35. How can we find time for all this, when we have to toil every moment for

feeding and clothing ourselves, many people say ? But you forget that the Lord

will grant you material things, and even immortality, if you place full

reliance on Him. Whatever you do, have the name, Rama or Krishna, Siva or Hari

on your tongue: no extra time or energy is needed for that. When you rise in

the morning, rise with the Name on your tongue and slide into sleep

with the Name on your tongue.

36. Consider the condition of the field of your heart; it is overgrown with

thorn and bush of lust, anger, greed, and envy. Remove them, root and all. Do

not allow the land to turn fallow. By continuous good work, plough the field

and fill the field with the water of Prema. Select the Nama(Name) seed that

appeals to you and sow it in the field. Discipline is the force which will

guard the growing crop against cattle. Virtue is the pesticide. Fostering the

field with great care, you can bring home the precious harvest of Ananda

(bliss).

37. One day, Krishna pretended to be fast asleep . With the flute thrown

aside by His side, when Radha approached the fortunate flute and asked it in

plaintive terms, "O lucky Murali(flute) ! Tell me how did you earn the great

good fortune. What was the vow you observed, the vigil you kept, the pilgrimage

you undertook ?" The flute got a voice through His Grace and answered, "I rid

myself of all sensual desire of envy, greed, ego, that is all. I

had no feeling of ego left to obtruct the flow of His Prema through me to all creation."

38. Revere Jnana as you revere your father; adore Love as you adore your

mother; move fondly with Dharma as if it is your own brother; confide in Daya

(compassion) as if it is your dearest friend; have Shantam (peace) as your

better half; treat Sahana (Fortitude) as if it is your own beloved son. These

are your genuine kith and kin. Move with them and do not forsake or neglect

them.

39. This is a place where you must try to help and not hinder; this is the

atmosphere of peace (Prasanthi). Do not behave here as you do when you gather

elsewhere. There is no scope here for envy or malice of hate or competition.

When Kama (desire) and Krodha(anger) are rising in hot flames from the heart,

how can the cool rays of Shanti, Sathya, Ahimsa and Prema emanate therefrom?

This human birth is a rare chance! Use it for spreading joy, and not grief. Of

course, it is natural for man to resent and to grow angry. But you should not

allow anger free and furious scope.

40. Krishna undoubtedly had the power to transform in a trice the wayward

mind of His kinsmen into unilluminated instrument for resolute action. But,

Krishna did not use the power. He only prescribed the medicine and the regimen.

Arjuna had to swallow the drug and follow the regimen himself, in order to be

saved.

mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Krishna said, "You are My friend; you are My

kinsman; you are so near to Me that I am now your charioter; you are also in

great distress. I agree that the delusion, which has overpowered you, must be

removed quickly; but, your Ajnana must fall off through your own efforts not

through some Miracle of My design."

41. One can claim genuine victory only when one has reached not the dead

satellite, but the living star; not the Chandra(Moon) but the Ramachandra, the

Lord who rules over the inner satellites, the inner planets, the inner motives

and agitations. Then one's inner reaction and agitation will be transmuted into

the Divine.

42. Every one's heart is Dharmakshetra where the battle between the forces

of Good and Evil is fought. The whole country is Dharmakshetra. So, the mothers

and children of this land must be devoted to Dharma, above all. The Gita begins

with the words, Dharmakshetra, and ends with the words: 'Sarva Dharmaan

Parithajiya'; 'Through Dharma, you have to transcend Dharma'. That is why

Kausalya exhorted Rama when He went into the forest: "May the Dharma, which you

are upholding by this act, be your guardian when you are in the forest, as an

exile". And Rama upheld Dharma even under the most trying

circumstances.

43. This world is His play; it is not an empty dream; it has purpose and

use; it is the means by which one can discover God; see in Him in the beauty,

grandeur, the order and the majesty of nature. These are shadows of His Glory

and His Splendour; that is why the Vedas have three Sections or Kandas; Karma,

Upasana and Jnana. Karma leads to the consciousness of the ever-present,

immanent, all-powerful God. Upasana or adoration of that God lends to the

knowledge that He is in all. When you experience that, there is no second, that

is Jnana.

44. My place is among you, with you and wherever work lies. That is why I

moved among you and stood at your back. This is just to show you that, even in

your own places, when you do Bhajan or some other type of adoration like

serving children of the sick or the poor; I do not sit on a special seat, apart

and distant. Do not believe I am on the piedestal that you offer Me. I am part

of you, a partner and partaker in all your efforts inspiring and instructing,

when you ask or need inspiration an instruction.

45. By developing spiritual qualities, you will be promoting the

resuscitation of this country and its culture. Look at the warning that the

sacred texts offer ! Somaka, the Asura, stole the Vedas ! Ravana kidnapped

Sita, Duryodhana grasped an empire; Kamsa slaughtered children; but not one of

them realised their heart's desire that their names be exalted by history.

Sentence of death awaits every one, cutting off their pride and pomp. Some

young persons feel that the work they have on hand gives them great pleasure

but they do not pay heed to its future consequences. When you seek beneficial

results, you have to involve yourselves in beneficial activity.

46. There are some who are attracted by various systems and methods like

Hatayoga, Kriyayoga or Rajayoga, which claim to help people to realise the

self. But I must tell you that no one of this can make you realise God - I am

saying this most emphatically. The Prema Yoga, discipline of Love alone can

lead you to God. Those Yogas may calm the minds' agitation temporarily and may

improve health and prolong life for a few more years - but that is all that

they can do. What is the good you hope to achieve with that body in those extra

years? If love is absent, they weigh you down as life's big burdens.

47. One can be in the world but yet unaffected. Activity will then be for

the Almighty, by His Grace and through His will. Do not get work done through

cooks, servants, ayahs and others in the home; women must not depend on these

for the care of their children or attendance on their husbands. Earning leisure

for Dhyana (meditation/worship), through these servants, is not a spiritual

gain.

48. What is the immortal part of man? Is it the wealth he has accumulated?

The residences he has built, the physique he has developed, the health he has

acquired, and the family he has reared? No, all that he has done, developed or

earned are destroyed; he has to leave them all to the ravages of time. He

cannot take with him even a handful of earth he loved so much. If only the dead

could take with them, a handful each, the Earth would have become scarce; it

should have been rationed by now! Discover the Immortal "I"; and know that is

the spark of God in you! Live in the companionship of that vast

measureless Supreme and you will be rendered vast and measureless. Consider all

objects that you collect here as given on trust to be used in this caravansari,

during your pilgrimage, in this Karmakshetra.

CONTINUED …

Sent with Sai love by Sai brother M. Palaniswamy

/

Courtesy and Source: http://eaisai.com/baba/docs/gems.html

 

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