SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - Volume IV [Ch. 25, 26, 27]

[Guest guest]

Dear Sai brothers and sisters of the worldwide '' family,

In view of the ensuing glorious event of the 80th Birthday of the Divine Lord

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Divine Messages titled, as ‘Sathya Sai

Speaks’ are being posted for the benefit of our members and all the Sai

devotees the world over. We request members to pass on/forward/spread these

Divine messages to their Sai circle to derive spiritual benefits and bliss from

them. These Divine Messages are not only for Sai devotees, they are for the

entire HUMANITY. Lord Krishna taught humanity the ways and means of salvation

for mankind in ‘Bhagavad Gita’ in Dwapara Yuga. ‘Sathya Sai speaks’ is the

Bhagavad Gita of Kali Yuga. - With Sai love, Sai brothers -

’’

***

Om Sri Sai Ram

SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - Volume IV [Ch. 25, 26, 27]

25. THE BUBBLE OF PRIDE

MAN is a pilgrim towards Dharmakshetra, the pride of dharma, which is the abode

also of Shanthi; but, on the way, he is led into the bylanes and alleys of

objective pleasure by the senses to which he has become .a slave. Man is eager

to know about all kinds of trivialities, like the details of other lives and

other places, but he has no keenness to know about himself or the place from

where he himself has come. Man is sunk in ignorance about himself, his source

and substance, his goal and fate. He reduces himself to just one individual;

he, the inheritor of unlimited wealth and fortune, feels himself a pauper.

Remove this ego boundary; then only can you recognise the vastness of yourself.

This microphone before Me must have been made by someone, is it not? He is not

seen or known by you, but of his existence, there can be no doubt. Besides, it

is certain he must be knowing all about this. Microphone, which he has made. So

too, there must be a creator for this universe and He must be knowing all about

it. This universe is composed of the five elements and He is the master of all

the five, their manipulator, aware of their subtle characteristics and

properties. He is the kshethrajna (Indweller), he who knows this kshethra

(field). When I speak into the mike, all of you can hear Me clearly; but the

tape recorder here, the fan, the bulbs, the tube-lights, all operate on account

of the self-same unseen electric current that animates each of them.

Diwan Bahadur Ramaswamy Shastri, Yogi Suddhanandha Bharathi, and others

addressed you now, each one on a separate note, but all described only the

self-same Kshethrajna, the Universal knower, who is known by all names and who

is in all forms. He is the impersonal person described in a hundred different

ways in the Vedas, the Sasthras, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the

Bhagavatham. Hold on to Him and live your lives; you will not slip. Build your

activities on that basis; your career will not cave in. You will also develop

courage, consolation and faith in yourself and in your destiny.

Krishna's lessons to control the ego

Krishna addresses Arjuna in the Geetha sometimes as Kaunteya. Now, what does

that appellation mean? It means, "One who assimilates quietly" as you are doing

now. You are seated comfortably under this Pandal, in fine weather and you can

afford to listen in silence. But remember, Arjuna was between two opposing

armies, eager for the fray for which they had prepared for years with

unquenchable vengeance. It requires extraordinary self-control and yearning to

command concentration at that time. Krishna addresses him as Kurunandhana,

which means that he takes delight in karma dedicated to the high ideals he had

in view. Every mode of address of Krishna has an inner meaning and

appropriateness, as well as a lesson for others.

Arjuna was trained by Krishna, without break, to control his egoism. Before the

Mahabharata war, Arjuna once happened to be at Ramasethu, near Rameshwaram.

Arjuna spoke of the bridge with some scorn in the hearing of Anjaneya who was

there and said that he would have built a bridge of arrows, single-handed and

not bothered about subduing the sea and getting monkeys to pile up rocks one

over the other. Anjaneya asked him to build one. When Anjaneya walked gently

over the bridge, the arrows broke under his weight!

Krishna suddenly presented Himself and suggested that it should be done in his

presence, for there was no witness when the challenge was made and accepted. In

order to save Arjuna from humiliation, Krishna bore the second bridge on His

back, when Anjaneya walked on it, so that Arjuna saw the tell-tale streaks of

red, where the arrow points had pierced the Lord's back. Thus, Arjuna's pride

was humbled. He prayed to Anjaneya to fight on his side at Kurukshetra; but

Anjaneya said that the Kaurava army would be too infinitesimal a foe for his

prowess; it would not be fair to pit him against such a weak enemy; he would

only watch the fight, from the flag of Arjuna's chariot, he said; and the offer

was gladly accepted.

Egoism is a tough enemy

Arjuna's pride was humbled during the war in another interesting manner by

Krishna. About the end of the war, one evening, Arjuna felt proud that Krishna

was his charioteer, and his 'servant.' He felt that as master, he should get

down from the chariot after Krishna and not before Him. So, that day he

insisted that Krishna should get down first that he should come down only

afterward. But, Krishna was adamant; Arjuna must come down first, he said.

After wasting a long time, pleading and protesting and praying, Arjuna got

down, very unwillingly, swallowing his pride. Krishna then came down, and,

immediately the chariot went up in flames! Krishna explained the reason. The

incendiary arrows and missiles that had stuck on the chariot were powerless so

long as He was on it; but, when his presence was no longer there, they set the

chariot on fire. Thus,

Krishna showed that every act and word of the Lord had significance and a

purpose, which mortals cannot gauge. Egoism is a tough enemy and it requires

constant vigilance to conquer it.

Conquer the foes of the inner realm

Pride raises its head in every stage and state. Like grass, which covers the

earth with a green carpet, as soon as the rains fall even in places, which

appeared dry waste, pride thrives upon opportunity. Sikhadhwaja, the King, got

a feeling of extreme renunciation and left for the forest for ascetic

practices. His queen Choodala had the spirit of detachment in greater measure,

but she did not make a show of it as her husband did.

The queen put on a male attire, wore ochre, spelt a rosary and sought him in the

jungle. Discovering him at last, she asked him who he was. The king replied that

he was the ruler of the realm, that he had given up his riches, his treasure,

his army, his court, etc. "For the sake of what did you give up these?" asked

Choodala. "For the sake of peace," replied the king. But, he had to confess

that he had not attained it. Then, Choodala taught him that the giving up of

"things" will bear no fruit, that the desire for things, the pride of

possessing things, of having once possessed them, has to be given up, that one

must be detached from the objective world so that he might turn his eyes inward

and conquer the foes of the inner realm and become a master of himself. When the

king attempted to fall at the feet of the new Guru that had come to him,

Choodala revealed her identity. She was a sathi (virtuous wife) who was the Guru

of her pathi (husband); there were many such women in ancient times, when they

were honored and educated much better than today.

Tremendous power of mind over body

You must develop the devotion of the Gopis, of Radha, of Uddhava, of Hanuman.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa did intense Sadhana, transmitting himself into the

attitude of Hanuman and even his physical attributes changed to suit the role.

He developed a small tail during the period; such is the tremendous power of

mind over body. Many husbands and mothers-in-law tried to scare away the Gopis

from Krishna by spreading scandals about Him but how can any one keep the Jiva

(individual soul) and the jagadeeshwara (Lord of the Universe) apart? Vyasa,

the great saint, says that words are inadequate to describe the intensity of

that devotion, the devotion of the Gopis to the Lord. They had no egoism left

in them and that is why they became the supreme devotees of the Lord.

Learn the art of overcoming the ego from the Sasthras, whose repositories are

here before you, in the Prashanthi Vidwanmahaasabha. There are still many such

in our land, in spite of decades of neglect and the glitter of other studies.

You must have heard of Bhojaraja, the great patron of Pundits, such as these.

He was at first not so considerate; but an incident happened which turned his

attention to this essential task. The Pundits of his realm had the grace of God

in good measure, no doubt; but they were extremely poor and had to struggle to

keep their families above starvation. One Pundit was so down and out that he

decided to turn thief and steal, not from any poor man's house, but from the

king's palace itself, for the king cannot be made poorer by the loss. He crept

into the private apartments at dusk and though he had access to a large

quantity of silverware and gold cups and plates, he felt that he should carry

away with him only what he needed most and so, he stole only a few seers of

wheat flour. While moving about with the bag of flour in a dark corridor he

heard noises and so he entered a room whose door was ajar, and hide himself

under a cot. It was the bedroom of the king!

Scholars must have faith in their learning

The Pundit spent the night under a cot, unable to move or cough or sneeze or

even breathe aloud. An hour before dawn, the king rose and sat upon the bed,

reciting aloud a stanza he had composed at night, while trying to sleep. There

was a gap in the last line, which the king could not fill; the appropriate word

was evading him. The Pundit heard the stanza; he had the word on his lips and he

could not but shout it out from underneath the cot. He forgot for the moment

that he was a thief with the tell-tale bag in his hands. The king peeped under

the cot, and welcomed the Pundit and honored him for his scholarship and poured

largesses on him in sympathy for his plight. It was thus that Bhojaraaja learnt

of the misery in which the scholars of his kingdom lived.

The Pundits also must have this faith: that their learning will never injure

them, never destroy them, that it will sustain them, provided they follow them

strictly, gladly, sincerely and in the fear of God. The faith in God will be

instilled by Namasmarana (the repetition of the Name of God)---the remembering

of the glory of the Lord and of his infinite mercy and power. When a mother is

feeding her child, you can see her with the child on her hip and the plate in

her hand, inducing the child to eat, by means of harsh words or a smile, a

joke, a threat or a story, diverting its attention, showing the child a dog or

a flower or the moon. I have also to adopt the same tactics to make you listen

and assimilate the valuable food that is so necessary for your growth. That is

the reason why I relate stories, sing, recite poems, etc., in My

discourses!

Madras, 16-8-1964

Birth and death are two high cliffs between which the river of life flows. The

force of Aathma-Shakti is the bridge that scans the chasm, and for those who

have developed that force and faith, the floods are of no concern. With

Aathma-Shakti as their safe support, they can reach the other bank, braving all

dangers. - Shri Sathya Sai

26. TRUE REMORSE AND FALSE

Pundit who spoke about the Geetha explained how it summarized the Upanishads. In

fact, the people of Bharath can be said to be residing in Geetha Mahal itself,

whether they know it or not. The entrance to that Mahal is through vishaadha

(remorse), discovery of the tawdriness of sense pleasures and searching out for

something more substantial and satisfying. The most satisfying prize is

Purushoththamapraapthi--the attainment of the Lord, the Supremest Purusha. The

Purusha is "he who lives in the pura," namely, the body, the physical body. He

who lives in the universe which is His body He is the Supremest, the

Purushoththama. A tiny ant creeping over the foot is cognised by your

consciousness; that is to say, the Purusha had consciousness filling the entire

body: The

Purushoththama has consciousness filling and activating the entire universe,

which is His body: The individual tree is the Purusha, the forest is the

Purushoththama. The Jiva is the vyasthi, the samashti is God. For the Purusha

to become Purushoththama, the path is yoga, or Jnaana won by action and

devotion to God.

He said that there can be no vision of unity when the Jiva is scattered in five

directions by the five senses which drag him. Really, it does not matter if a

person has five rupee coins or the same amount in small change. All the five

senses subserve the same Purusha. It is one family, under one master. The

senses need not necessarily be inimical; they can be trained to co-operate in

the Sadhana. Why? Even intellect can become an enemy, if it promotes conceit

and competitive exhibitionism.

The gods once imagined that they were able to get victory over the demons

because of their own prowess. When they were celebrating the victory, a deity

appeared before them and cast a blade of grass on the ground. It asked Agni to

bum it; but it could not. It challenged Vayu to lift it, but he could not. It

provoked Varuna to wet it, but, in spite of his best efforts, he could not.

Then when their pride had been pricked, the deity taught them the Brahma Vidhya

(science of Brahman), which reveals the inner source of all strength. This is no

ordinary story; Agni is the presiding deity of Vaak (speech) and so it tells us

that speech has to be humble, that it derives its power only from the basic

Universal Principle. Vayu is praana (the vital air); Indra is Buddhi (the

intellect).

A person is judged by his conduct

After all, it is behavior and practice that count. In the case of dharma and of

Sadhana, this is specially true. You judge a person by his conduct and

character as revealed in his actions. No other witness or proof is needed.

There were two women, living opposite each other in a bazaar; one had five cows

and the other had just one. The richer woman was wasteful in habits, very

extravagant and careless. So, she used to borrow milk from the woman with one

cow, and the latter was helping her, in spite of the fact that she had a larger

family. When she had thus borrowed about 50 seers of milk, the cow of the poorer

woman died, and she went to the other woman and wanted her to return the milk

loaned, at the rate of a seer per day. At this, she got wild and deposed in

court that she had never borrowed any

"Why should I, owning five cows, go to this woman with one cow for the loan of

milk?" she asked. The magistrate was a shrewd man who sympathized with the

woman whose cow had died. He knew how to get at the truth. He gave each of them

five vessels full of water and asked them to wash their feet and come back to

court. The five-cow woman poured all the five vessel-fuls in one stream on her

feet and came in with all the dirt intact. The one-cow woman cleaned her feet

by skillful use of one vessel-full only and she left the other four vessels

untouched. The act of washing the feet revealed their character and the

magistrate had no hesitation in convicting the culprit. The one-cow woman must

have saved and the five-cow woman must have wasted and been in perpetual want.

The two poison fangs of man

Arjuna's vishaadha (dejection) is also a case of finely disguised egoism, which

revealed a fault in his make-up. He was a dheera (hero) until he came on the

battlefield and was transformed into a bheeru (a coward). It was all a case of

I and Mine. "I will go to hell, I would rather beg. I will not fight my Guru,

my uncle, my cousin, etc." I and Mine are two poison fangs; they have to be

removed to make man harmless. Once Narada told Brahma of a ridiculous situation

in the world; those who are dying are weeping for those who have died! That was

what Arjuna too was doing, but, this foolishness is clothed in the language of

renunciation and charity. The question on the battlefield was not who was the

kin of whom, but who was right and who was wrong. Fight for justice, fight for

truth, fight for these, as a Kshatriya

(warrior) is in duty bound, and leave the result to the Dispenser of all.

Krishna told Arjuna, "I am surprised that you should weep so, for you are

Gudakesha, the conqueror of sleep, of ignorance. You do not kill, don't be so

conceited as all that; nor do they die, 'they' have many more things to do, and

the real 'they' are deathless. The sentence of death has been already pronounced

on their bodies by Me and you have but to carry out My orders."

You are only an instrument

Krishna made Arjuna aware of himself; so, the delusion that made him believe

that he was a great bowman, a foe of Duryodhana, etc., disappeared from his

consciousness; he came to know that he was but an instrument in the hands of

the Lord.

You too must learn that lesson; for, otherwise there is no end to misery.

Thamaso maa jyothirgamaya---"Lead me from darkness to light"---is the prayer.

Egoism is thamas (darkness); Saranagathi (surrender) is Jyothi (light). There

is an easy way to illumine the inner consciousness and the outer behavior, with

the light of God. Put the lamp of the name of the Lord, the illumining flame, on

the tongue! That is the door-step; 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.

Madras, 17-8-1964

27. THE I BEHIND THE EYE

This gathering is like the confluence of two rivers, the Yamuna and the Ganga,

of people speaking Tamil, and Telugu. I always speak in one language, and I am

not inclined to change the language to suit the audience. I am sure even those

who do not know Telugu will understand the gist of what I say.

Whenever Ashanti (absence of peace) overwhelms the world, the Lord will

incarnate in human form to establish the modes of earning Prashanthi

(tranquility) and to reeducate the human community in the paths of peace. At

the present time, strife and discord have robbed the family, the school, the

community, the society, the villages, the cities and the State, of peace and

amity. Anxiety and fear have contaminated the very 'food one eats. Therefore,

the Prashanthi Vidwanmahaasabha has been established, and Pundits have been

entrusted with the task of revitalizing the dry sources of Shanthi, by the

teachings contained in the Sasthras. Why is Ashanti harassing the world?

Because of raga, dwesha and Moha (attachment, hate and infatuation). These are

born out of ignorance, which cause delusion. Things seen in darkness

cannot be clear; they are mistaken for something else. A rope is mistaken to be

a snake; a stump is mistaken to be a thief. A piece of glass may be coveted as

a diamond. So, this mistaken notion, this indistinct light, must go. It can go

only if methods of discovering the truth are learnt. That is what the Sasthras

teach and what these Pundits are commissioned to instruct you. They will tell

you that the outward-seeking senses must be directed inwards; the inner realm

of impulses, instincts, habits, prejudices, attitudes must be cleansed before

God is reflected clear and bright therein. How is this to be achieved? The

Vedas explain how.

Falsity of dualistic experience

The Vedas tell you those things that cannot be known by anything else. The word

Veda means 'knowledge', knowledge that cannot be acquired by the senses or the

intellect or even by unguided intuition. Adwaita is something that no one in

the dual world can understand. It is 'spraapya manasa saha:' "beyond the reach

of even the mind." In fact, intellect and mind must each be transcended, before

one can grasp the magnificence of that Unity. If Dwaita has to be taught, why

should the Vedas take up that task? Dwaita (duality)--the seer and the seen,

the creator and the created, the good and the bad, the right and the

wrong---this is the daily concrete experience of every one. Prakriti (Nature,

Creation) is patently dualistic. The Vedas endeavor to open the eyes of man to

the falsity of dualistic

experience, the reality of the only One, Adwaita (the non-dual One). They

proclaim it, loudly and with enthusiasm. Appanna Shastri said that the deer,

the elephant, the moth, the fish and the bee are drawn to death by the senses

of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell respectively. If each of these falls

a victim to one sense, how much is man to be pitied for he has all the five to

drag him to perdition! Arjuna too had the same combination of foes. He had the

urge to give up his mission and take up another's mission, namely, an urge to

give up fighting, which is the mission of the Kshatriya and a temptation to

take to sanyaasa (asceticism), which has to 'be earned by further evolution. To

overcome these obstacles,' one must have both Sadhana and a Sankalpa,

self-effort and grace. Lord's hands and feet are everywhere

Arjuna aspired to give up karma, momentarily fascinated by the ideal of

sanyaasa. It is only through action that devotion can be deepened. Action

cleanses the mind and makes it fit for spiritual knowledge. Sravana (hearing)

is a thaamasik act, manana (recapitulation) is raajasik, while nididhyaasana

(concentration) is Saathwik. When you are simply listening, quietly receiving

without responding, you are just dull (thaamasik); when you turn it over in

your mind, attempting to assimilate it, then you are active (raajasik); when

you are sunk in the sweetness of experience in Dhyana you are having pure

exultation (saathwik). That is the fruit of Bhakti, this nididhyaasana.

There is no need to fight against the fundamental delusion of Deha bhraanthi

(attachment to body) with overwhelming force and argument! As Agnihothram

Raamaanuja Thaathaachaariar said now, the delusion will disappear only if one

sits quietly for a minute and analyze for himself the world and his experience

of the world. Jnaana is not Apraaptha-praapthi, something new that' is

acquired, like gifts by some one, of money that the donor had, but which the

recipient did not have. It is praptha-prapathi, like some one giving you a

ten-rupee note, which you had kept between the pages of a book you were

reading. You had lent him the book; when you needed a loan, you asked him for a

tenner; and he gave you back your own note. That is how Jnaana reveals to you

your own glory. The Guru gives you from out of your own

hridhaya-pustaka (heart-book) the treasure, which was there unrecognised by you.

You are afraid because you have forgotten your own strength. Agnihothram

Thaathaachaariar said that the Lord had sarvathaah paani paadham: "His hands

and feet are everywhere." It is through him that you are able to see; your eye

required His eye in order to function. It is the reflection the Aathma in the

anthahkarana (inner consciousness) that activates it and makes it flow through

the senses towards the objective world.

Liberation is attained when the Aathma shines in its own glory; it is not a

colony or a suburb where aristocratic residents have secured good sites in

paradise. it is the condition of the Jiva which has shed delusion.

It is not easy to become a Bhakta

When delusion is shed, grief gets destroyed; joy is established: dukha nivritthi

(removal of grief) and Ananda praapthi (attainment of bliss) both happen at the

same time. The mind is the villain; it is' another name for desire; the texture

of the mind is just desire; both warp and woof are desire and nothing else. If

desire goes, the mind disappears. When you pull out all the yarn from a piece

of cloth, you have no more cloth. So too, pull out desires from the mind, it

disappears, and you are free. Grief and joy are the obverse and reverse of the

same experience. Joy is when grief ends; grief is when joy ends. When you

invite a blind man for dinner, you must set on the table two plates, for he

comes along with another man who will lead him in. Grief and joy are

inseparable companions.

Bhakti is very difficult to acquire; do not think it is easy to become a Bhakta.

As a matter of fact, it is even more difficult than Jnaana; for it means

complete surrender, full contentment whatever may happen. The river must flow

back to its source; it must turn back and up. If you flow down, you will have

to go down, down, down, and water becomes undrinkable. But, do not despair; you

have to win some day. The sooner, the better. A mango seller may seek to sell

four for a rupee; if three of them get spoiled, he should not give up hope,

for, a person may come and offer a rupee for the fourth one.

Having come here and lists, and secured Darshan and read about Me, put into

actual prance at least one of the good counsel you got; one stick is enough to

light a fire; the entire box of matches need not be used. Have faith that you

will win; have steadiness in the pursuit of the goat

Bhakti has stages in its growth

For, like the body, which passes through childhood, boyhood, adolescence, middle

age and old age, Bhakti too has stages in its growth. The tender fruit is love,

the grown one is devotion and the ripe fruit is surrender. There is a type of

karma, which will melt the heart of the Lord. It is the type, which does not

inflict pain on any one. When Rama met the armies of Khara-Dhuushana

single-handed, He did so in order to demonstrate his valor and His divinity to

the demons and the sages of the forest.

My coming here and speaking daily at these meetings is the consequence of your

merit and my grace. You had fine Darshan and sravana (audience and listening)

in this silent gathering, silence, which beats even the silence of Prashanthi

Nilayam. I am glad so many of you have been prompted by the desire to know

about spiritual discipline. The committee too has the energy and enthusiasm

needed to continue these Sapthaahams; such chances may be given to you in a

larger number in the coming months. This extensive area round the Venkatagiri

Raja’s bungalow is always available for your meetings; imagine what a great

piece of good fortune it is for him. That so many thousands of you could gather

here and hear the elevating discourses of Scholars and get started on the path

of spiritual progress must indeed be very satisfying to him. Tile

Ananda that you experienced here now is not something that carne from outside;

it was your own Ananda that you experienced; you are Aanandhaswaruupa (bliss

personified); and so it welled up from inside your own heart.

Madras, 18-8-1964

Have faith in His Grace, and lead a virtuous life, a life devoted to the service

of the weak, life spent in the thought, about the might and glory of God. Pray

that you may carry out your duty well. God will certainly answer your prayers.

- Shri Sathya Sai

TO BE CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brothers – ‘’

Source and Courtesy: http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume04/sss04

Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.