SAI BABA GITA – Part V - Answers for all questions

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forbearance in all circumstances, will you become my devotee and very dear to

me." Embodiments of Love, To have an equal mind, to be free of attachments and

concern for yourself and your family, is difficult for ordinary spiritual

seekers. Particularly for householders, such equanimity of mind and detachment

is almost impossible. They are able to worship God through the various types of

spiritual practices which have been prescribed in the scriptures. But for them

to destroy their ego and remove all sense of I-ness and my-ness would be very

difficult. Why is that so? It is difficult to eliminate the ego as long as you

differentiate your own will from the command and will of the Lord. You have

doubts and are unable to surrender because you see others and the world as

separate from God. It is only when you recognize that God is

dwelling in all people everywhere, in the form of an ever luminous light shining

in the temple of their hearts, that you will be able to eliminate your egoism

and surrender fully to God. Once you recognize the all-pervasive unity of the

Lord you will have no difficulty following him. Know that the self-effulgent

flame of God's presence which resides in all people also resides in you. The

one who protects all people is an integral part of your own form. The

Indwelling God From time immemorial, the inquiry has been going on whether or

not God exists. Once you have convinced yourself that he exists, the next step

is to find the way to reach him. Just as was true in ancient times, this

problem of how and where to find God has become a perplexing question for

mankind today. To solve this problem, numerous sages made a determined effort

to

use all their skills and their penance to find the solution. These sages

revealed where they searched and how they came to know about the existence of

the effulgent Lord. They declared to the world at large: "O citizens, we have

been able to perceive the transcendental principle which exists beyond this

visible and created world. It will not be found in the external world or in

outer space, but only within your own inner self. It is there in your inner

vision within your soul, in the sacred heart inside your deepest self. It is

there that the blissful Lord resides." This was their great discovery, that God

dwells within the body itself. God is the imperishable one who lives within the

perishable body. The body is inert; it does not know itself. In the Gita, God

has been called the knower of the body and the one who gives

consciousness to the body. To penetrate through the veils of ignorance that hide

your truth, you must make a determined effort to discover the immortal Lord

residing resplendently in your mortal body. Not only must you find the Lord

installed in your own body and the bodies of other creatures, but you must also

find him installed in every object, in every thing. He is the indweller of all

the five elements, space, air, fire, water and earth. He is the very basis of

the creation. To find a diamond you must dig deep within the earth. You will

not find it hanging outside on a tree. In the same way, you will not find this

most valuable diamond which is the Lord, lying around somewhere outside, easily

visible to all. With the help of the teachings of great souls you will have to

make the effort to find God within. The body is not an ordinary thing. It is

the temple of God, it is a chariot which carries the Lord. In

the world, which can be thought of as a grand village, the Lord is being taken

in procession everywhere in this chariot called the body. Within the Body is

Pure Consciousness Since the body is the temple of the Lord, it is not proper

to be indifferent towards it or to neglect it, or to use it in an inappropriate

or unrighteous manner. The body must be used only to perform activities which

are sacred and selfless. You must take good care of the body and sanctify it by

using it to do holy tasks. The body is inert no doubt, but within it lives the

principle which is pure consciousness. This body may be compared to a boat

which will help you cross the ocean of worldly existence. This body was not so

easily obtained by you. Because of innumerable merits and numerous births in

other forms, you have been able to obtain this human body. To

use it improperly is to waste all the merits you have earned in all those

countless lives. It is your extraordinary good fortune to have been able to get

this birth as a human being. Therefore, this sacred boat which can take you to

your destination, has to be used very carefully so that you can cross the ocean

of worldly existence safely. In this ocean there are terrible crocodiles and all

kinds of terrifying creatures which are very harmful to you. These menacing

crocodiles are the six inner enemies of man, in the form of lust, anger, greed,

attachment, pride and jealousy. They inhabit this unfathomable ocean of worldly

existence at every level. The water of this ocean of world existence which

supports all these horrendous creatures, is made up of a mixture of opposites

like joy and grief, attraction and repulsion. When you are in this

ocean of life it is very difficult to say when you will obtain happiness and

when you will suffer pain. When you are beset with so many crocodiles, the very

best means for completing this journey safely is to see the unity in everything.

You have to firmly believe that the divine principle, the godhead in the form of

the self-effulgent flame, resides in everybody and in every thing. Once you

recognize the presence of God dwelling in everyone, once the unity is

recognized in all this apparent diversity, then you will no longer be able to

hate anyone. That is why in the Gita the injunction, show no hatred towards any

being is given first place. The various acts of ritual worship, such as singing

devotional songs and repeating the holy name, which at one time may have seemed

so important to you, will seem very small in comparison, once you recognize this

principle of God dwelling in every heart. It is

only when you are ignorant of this great truth, that you consider the various

devotional practices as paramount in your spiritual life. However, until you

have mastered the art of swimming there is a need to use various flotation-aids

for support. Once you have learned to swim, these aids will no longer be

necessary. In the same way, all the various ritual practices are necessary

until you truly understand the meaning of the Gita. Once you have comprehended

the sweet essence of the Gita, all these rituals will appear quite trivial. See

God in Everything In the chapter on devotion in the Gita, the noble

characteristics that endear a devotee to God are described. It is emphasized

there that once the six inner enemies of man are brought under control, these

characteristics will naturally blossom forth in the

individual. Can this ever be done easily? Yes. These six enemies can be readily

conquered once you recognize the truth that the one God resides in all of the

five elements everywhere, and that it is he who activates all beings. Before

you recognize this and experience it, you will not realize true satisfaction in

anything you undertake. If you keep some salt in your mouth then even if you try

to swallow some sweet juice, you will still get the taste of salt. First you

have to get rid of the salt and wash your mouth well, then you will be able to

taste the sweetness. When the salt is gone you can enjoy the full unpolluted

sweetness of the juice you have taken in. Similarly, it is only when you are

able to conquer the ego by removing all the bad traits which have become an

integral part of you, that you will be able to enjoy the sweetness of

compassion, the sweetness of sacrifice, the sweetness of charity, the

sweetness of sympathy and the sweetness of divine love. To begin with, try to

understand what true devotion really means. Devotion means an all-absorbing

love for God. When you develop devotion and turn all your love towards God,

everything that is necessary will be added unto you. You will develop the

capacity to sacrifice yourself. You will expand in love. Love is the very life

breath of a human being. Without love you cannot live. Love is a very sacred

quality. As was referred to earlier, a great sage in ancient times told his

wife, "All the love that you have is really for the sake of your higher self.

Love is not for the sake of others but only for the higher self." But all too

frequently, through delusion, this sacred love for the atma, the one self, is

diverted towards the body. Everywhere in the world we find this disease of

identification with the body.

0in 6pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The Diseases of Mankind Many of the enjoyments you

experience in life are really just the relief you feel when you temporarily

soothe the pains of a disease you are suffering. For example, you think that

taking food is an enjoyment, but it is really only a medicine. Food is the

medicine for the disease of hunger. When you give the medicine the disease is

temporarily forgotten. You cook many varieties of delicious food and consider

the taste of these prepared dishes to be most enjoyable, but that is not the

real purpose for which you take food. As you know, medicines are sometimes

given in the form of a mixture which contains some sweetener to make it more

palatable. In the same way, to treat the disease of hunger there will be a meal

containing a mixture of ingredients, some of which are particularly flavorful

and pleasant to the taste. But in the final analysis, the meal can

only be thought of as a form of medicine to treat the disease of hunger that

afflicts you. After you have eaten, the symptoms of the disease disappear.

Similarly, when you take some cool water, the symptoms of the disease of thirst

disappear. We have previously discussed the six inner enemies of man: lust,

anger, greed, attachment, pride and jealousy. They can also be described as

desire, hatred, possessiveness, infatuation, arrogance, and envy. These are the

most deep-seated diseases of mankind. It is only when you engage in practices

which serve as medicines to counteract these diseases, that they will diminish

and disappear. During your whole life you have been deluded into thinking that

you are enjoying different types of pleasures, but in fact you are afflicted

with these diseases. Until you recognize that the resident of the body is God,

you will continue to be burdened by these diseases and the sufferings

they bring. Seek the Lord inside your own Body All spiritual practices can only

be done with the help of the body. All the education that you have acquired has

been obtained by means of the body. The magnificence and extraordinary

characteristics of God have been learned through the facility of the body.

Taking the body as the basis, you have to make an all-out effort to see the

Lord inside it. Do not keep thinking that God resides somewhere, in another

world. He actually is present in the body itself. Sin does not exist in some

distant world far away; it depends upon the actions that you perform with your

body. Both your merit and demerit are the result of the actions you performed

with the help of your body. You have to make an incessant search, a serious

attempt, to find God inside your own body. Only when you knock at the door will

the master inside open it. Even your own mother will serve you food only when

you ask her for it. Therefore, you will have to ask and go on asking, knock on

the door and go on knocking, search and go on searching, seek and go on

seeking. If you search for God within you, with all earnestness, you will

surely be able to find him. If you go to a room where a great number of

articles are stored, it is only if you search carefully that you will be able

to find the particular article for which you are looking. Without searching you

will never find the article you want. Therefore, it is said, 'Seek, seek, and it

shall be found; knock, knock, and the door shall be opened.' Perhaps you feel

that you have already been knocking at the door for a long time and it has not

opened for you. But find out if you have been knocking at the right

door. Are you knocking at the door of liberation, or are you knocking at the

door of attachment? Are you knocking at the door where God is residing or are

you knocking at the door where the devil is dwelling? Whom are you approaching?

In whom are you taking shelter? Are you asking the most merciful one, the one

who comes in human form and holds out his own life as an example? Are you

asking the mother of the universe? Are you asking for food from her, or are you

asking for food from the devil? You may even be looking at the Lord, but you are

not asking for the divinity itself. No doubt, you are praying to God, but you

are asking for petty material things and worldly things. You are at the

wish-fulfilling tree and you are asking for trivial coffee powder. You have to

pray for the wish fulfilling tree to grant you the transcendental principle

which will fill you forever with eternal bliss. Your devotion must go on

increasing and progressing, keeping in mind the firm belief that God is

residing inside your own body. If you want to seek and search for the Lord who

is residing inside you, you have to turn your vision inwards. How should you

aspire for the Lord? You have to cry the way a calf cries for its mother who

has left it and gone off with the herd. You have to cry like a chaste woman who

has lost her husband and wails in pain at the separation. You have to cry in the

way that a childless couple implores and pleads with God for a child. This is

how you should pray to the Lord, full of devotion, longing to realize his

presence within you. Harmonize all your Thoughts, Words and Deeds But today,

most of your prayers are filled with pompous words, devoid of feeling. Inside

the mind there is one thing, on your lips there is something else. It is only

when you synchronize the thoughts in your mind with the words in your mouth,

that your words can turn into prayer and become effective. Then you must put

your prayers into practice. When your activities in daily life are coordinated

with your thoughts and words then your prayers can become worship; and when you

achieve full unity in thought, word and action then you become a great soul. You

have to examine yourself to see whether you are following this path of harmony

in thought, word and deed. When you examine yourself honestly you may find that

most of the time these three, thought, word and deed, will be going off in three

different directions, without any unity between them. When thoughts are

different, words are different and actions are different, you have the

characteristics of a demon, not of a saint. Such disharmony will not

benefit you nor endear you to the Lord. Forbearance, the Primary Spiritual

Quality Whatever thoughts you have, they will bring you the corresponding

results. Whatever you are feeling will be reflected in your way of talking and

acting. In the very first place, you must endeavor to purify your feelings. You

have to make your love pure. To do so you have to develop forbearance, which is

a serene patience and self-restraint under all circumstances, giving good to

all, even to those who may want to harm you. There is nothing greater than

having this quality of forbearance. Forbearance is equivalent to truth itself,

forbearance is the heart of righteousness, forbearance is the very essence of

the ancient wisdom, forbearance is nonviolence in practice, forbearance is

contentment, it is compassion. Truly, forbearance is everything in all the

worlds. Only when you have developed patience and forbearance will you be able

to obtain the Lord. Now, over minor insignificant things you lose your temper

and become ridden with tension. Anger and temper are dangerous. They can ruin

your life. If you suffer from anger you will not be able to achieve anything

worthwhile. You will be looked upon with disgust and derision. You will lose

your wealth. All the honors you have enjoyed will turn to ashes. Your anger

will even separate you from those who are closest to you. Because of anger

people lose everything, and their life becomes a waste. Therefore, in the Gita,

Krishna taught the principle of love and the need to cultivate love to counter

hatred, jealousy, anger and all the other bad traits that cause so much harm to

you. Love knows no hatred.Love is free from

all selfishness.Love is far removed from anger.Love never takes; it knows only

giving.Love is God. You can experience God through Love alone If you want God,

you will have to develop this sacred quality of love. Only through love will

you be able to experience him, who is love itself. If you want to see the moon

there is no need to use a candle or a torch light. The light of the moon is

enough to see the moon. If you want to see God you need only to immerse

yourself in love. Fill yourself with love and you will surely succeed in

acquiring God. But as long as this love has not yet become clearly established,

there is a need for spiritual practices such as devotional singing, repetition

of the name of God, and other forms of worship. Once pure love has

developed these spiritual practices are no longer necessary. Yet, even when the

moon shines brightly, you will not be able to see it if your eyes are closed.

In the same way, if your eyes are still closed to the loving presence of God

within you, then good actions, including the various spiritual exercises, will

help open your eyes and clarify your vision, so that you can see and enjoy the

Lord. That is the import of Krishna's teaching in the Gita. Only when you

listen to such great words, and only when you understand them clearly, and only

when you practice them, will you be able to reach your divine goal. Set aside at

least one hour per day to study these teachings and incorporate them in all your

daily activities. In so doing you will be using your time wisely and you will be

sanctifying your life. VI. The three Stages on the Spiritual Path Fill your

heart with one-pointed devotion and God will reveal himself within you. Then

you will see him as he truly is. In time, you will merge with him and become

one with him. Embodiments of Love, There are three principal stages that you

must follow on the spiritual path in order to reach your spiritual goal. They

have been described in a number of different ways in the Gita. At the end of

the 11th chapter, wherein Lord Krishna gives Arjuna the vision of his cosmic

form, you will find the three stages presented as follows:

mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">First, you must know that God is

here. Then you must have a direct vision of him. Finally, you must merge with

him. These three steps will lead you to liberation. Know that God is here then

experience God directly In the first step, you learn through the words of the

scriptures or a teacher, that God really exists. But merely knowing this truth

does not give you unlimited joy. You discover that God is here, but you also

realize that you and God are

separate. This feeling of separation can serve as the basis for subsequent steps

on the path, but in itself it does not provide much lasting satisfaction.

Gradually, the anguish of separation from God moves you on to the next step.

The desire develops in you to gain the direct personal experience and vision of

God. You feel, "I want to see you, dear Lord. How can I experience you

directly?" But, you find that it does not happen so easily just by wishing for

it. You must deeply pine and yearn for this vision; you must constantly aspire

to see him. Whatever form or aspect of God you have come to love in your

devotion, you must now yearn for it with all your heart and wish to see it

directly. If your yearning is sincere, then after some time he will make

himself known to you in a most personal way, and give you this sought-for

vision of himself. Here is a small story to illustrate this. The Cowherd Boy

There was a poor cowherd boy, who had a great deal of faith and an intense

yearning to see God. One day, in the village where this boy lived, a preacher

came to deliver some spiritual discourses. The preacher would gather together

an audience and sing the glories and exploits of the Lord. It was not possible

for this cowherd boy to give up his work and come to all the meetings, because

all day long he had to attend to his cows. But in the evenings he would bring

the animals into a sheltered place and then go to hear the preacher give his

talk. The cowherd boy would listen with great earnestness and care to all that

was being said. The preacher was a follower of Lord Vishnu, and so he related

the characteristic features of God in the form of Vishnu, or Narayana, as he is

also called. In the course of the discourse the preacher repeatedly described

the traditional image of the Lord as one who was dark complexioned, who wore a

white mark on his forehead and rode on a white eagle. The preacher also

explained that Lord Vishnu was always prepared to go to the rescue of those who

sought shelter in him, and that he would accept as an offering anything that was

given to him with full faith and love. As the preacher repeatedly described

these characteristics of the Lord, they made an indelible impression on the

heart of that boy. The preacher also said that God is a great lover of music,

and that he could be won by directing one's prayers to him in song, sung most

reverently from the heart. Well, this cowherd boy used to carry some food with

him for his noontime lunch. Daily he would offer this food to God with all

sincerity and devotion, praying to the Lord to partake of it. He began his

prayers by singing this song, "O loving Lord, You ride on a white eagle, so I

have been told. Come. Please come to me and accept this food." The boy went on

praying like this to the Lord for one whole week continuously. He never touched

his food because it was not shared by the Lord. By the end of the week he became

extremely weak. Anguished Yearning for the Lord's Presence Besides his weakened

physical condition, he was also suffering from extreme anguish because he felt

that he wasn't singing properly and therefore the Lord did not respond. He was

sure that it was because of his own shortcomings in his songs that the Lord did

not come to partake of his food. And so with great determination and devotion he

continued to practice his singing, thinking that in

the end he would surely win the grace of the Lord. In his weakened condition he

reached the forest. He was feeling extremely exhausted but he was determined

not to eat unless his offering was accepted by the Lord. Now his prayerful song

poured out of him in a most melodious and sacred way. The boy just kept on

singing and singing all the time, imploring the Lord to come down and accept

the food and drink that he was offering with so much yearning. When there was

perfect harmony in the feeling, in the tune and in the content of the song, the

Lord descended. How did he appear before that cowherd boy? He came as a boy of

the same age, wearing the simple ochre cloth of a saddhu, a mendicant holy man.

The young cowherd asked the boy he saw standing before him, "Please, dear

friend, may I know who you are? Are you a traveler passing through this

forest?" The holy boy answered, "I am the Lord. I am Narayana. You prayed to see

me and so I have come to give you a vision of myself." Remembering that the Lord

liked the sweet sound of music, the cowherd boy continued his questioning in the

form of a most melodious song, "But you don't conform to the description given

of the Lord, who is dark complexioned, who wears a white mark on his forehead

and who rides a white eagle. The preacher said that is how we can know the

Lord. But it doesn't seem to be true. O, dear one, if you are really the

blessed Lord, please resolve my doubt and let me see you in your true form."

The Vision of the Lord The boy had heard a description of the Lord; now he

wanted to see and experience him directly, exactly as he had heard him

described and come to believe in him. But God doesn't have any specific

name or form; he has a thousand eyes, a thousand ears, a thousand hands and a

thousand feet. Yet in order to please and satisfy his devotees who are aspiring

to see him, he takes on the particular form which has been earnestly prayed for.

To satisfy this cowherd boy the Lord revealed himself by taking on the lustrous

form of Vishnu, and accepted the food and drink so lovingly offered by the boy.

This is the second stage when one yearns for the vision of the Lord. Even when

that vision comes, it will still not be the true form of God but the one chosen

through the prayers of the devotee. God loves sincere, heartfelt feelings, and

therefore, in keeping with the feeling of his devotee, he will give his vision

in the form which pleases the devotee most. After the Lord left the boy thought

to himself, "First I heard a description of him, and then I prayed for a vision

of him. Now he has come down and I have seen him

directly. But, how can I reach him and be ever with him?" By merely knowing that

God exists, a devotee will not be satisfied. Nor does he get full satisfaction

by just having a vision of the Lord. Having had the vision, he yearns to be

fully merged with him. It is only then that the devotee will be in unending

bliss. In the case of this boy, the Lord had given a vision of himself, and

then disappeared. But from that moment on the boy kept the picture of the Lord

as he had just seen him, in the form of Vishnu, continuously imprinted in his

heart. With that lovely form in his mind's eye, he now began inquiring and

thinking only of how he could reach him and merge with him. This is the third

stage. Beyond Dualism In the same way, by either listening to learned people or

by reading and studying the scriptures you can get some idea of what

God is like. But ultimately you will not be satisfied and happy with just this.

It is still only a stage of dualism, for in this stage you and God remain

separate. Therefore, you will make an attempt to go beyond the stage of dualism

to the next step, which is qualified non-dualism. This refers to the deep

aspiration to see and experience God directly. How can you get a vision of him?

By picturing in your own heart the form of God you heard described, and then

continuously thinking and contemplating on that form. Whatever you do, whatever

you say, whatever you see and whatever you listen to, you have to become one

with that sacred form. The specific form of God you have pictured becomes a

thought form in your mind. The thought form should then become saturated with

the feeling of devotion so that it becomes a feeling form in your heart.

Gradually, gradually, these feelings will deepen and strengthen until one

day you will have a real vision of the Lord. So, first the Lord is heard of and

thought of, then he is sought through intense feelings of devotion and

yearning, and finally he reveals himself in form and can be directly

experienced. In other words, the thought form turns into a feeling form, which

then becomes transformed into real experience. That describes the second stage

on the path. Not only do you get the personal vision of the Lord, whom you have

aspired to see, but you also get the chance to converse with him face-to-face.

After seeing the Lord thus and talking to him directly, you gain a little more

satisfaction. But if you are a true devotee, even this golden opportunity will

not give you the full joy you long for. Now you want to reach God and merge

with him. You think, "I have heard... I have seen... now I must reach him and

be one with him." In the first stage, when through reading and hearing you

come to know that God exists, you feel that God is separate and you are

separate. This is the state of dualism. But in the second stage you see the

Lord and get the feeling that you are part of him. This is the state of

qualified non-dualism. Finally you move on to the feeling, 'The Lord and I are

one and the same'. This is the stage of complete non-dualism. Here you think,

'Either I must get merged with him or he must become one with me.' Then there

is complete unity. Becoming One with the Lord So long as there remains a

separate river distant from the ocean, which is its source and its goal, then

the river will retain a separate name and have an individual identity. But once

the river merges into the ocean it gets the taste of the ocean, it gets the form

of the ocean, and it takes on the name of the ocean. If you want to become one

with the Lord, you have to acquire the feelings of the Lord, you have to acquire

the form of the Lord and you have to acquire all the sacred characteristics of

the Lord. Only then will you be one with him. You have to feel that all the

attributes of the Lord must manifest themselves in you. Affirm to yourself:

"The broadmindedness of the Lord is within me. All the selfless feelings of the

Lord are within me. The unbounded love of the Lord is within me." When you

faithfully live this conviction then you eventually attain the realization that

you and he are one. Then there is perfect unity. You must continuously strive

for this feeling of unity. You must make every effort to gain it. Then you will

reach that fulfillment one day. This is the ultimate goal of human life. It is

only when you reach that place, the place from which you have

originally come, that true fulfillment will be yours. The three Stages in

Secular Life Even in your secular life you can recognize these progressive

stages necessary for reaching a goal. Consider the following example. Suppose

some mangoes have arrived in the market place and that mangoes are fruits which

you love immensely. There may be one particular type of mango which you

especially favor and relish. Now a friend comes to you and informs you that

they are selling these particular mangoes that you enjoy so much. The moment

you hear this you get a certain amount of satisfaction; you are happy just

thinking about these mangoes, even though you have not acquired them and tasted

them. The moment you get the news you rush to the bazaar to find out where those

mangoes are and whether there are any still available. Yes, they are there. Now

you get a good look at them. This gives you still more satisfaction. But even

then you are not yet fully happy. So you put some choice mangoes in your bag

and pay for them. Then, until you reach home you go on thinking about those

fruits, reflecting on your good fortune to find such nice ones, and looking

forward to eating them. Why do you spend so much time thinking about them?

Because you have an extraordinary liking for these fruits, and your actions in

going after them and getting them are proof of this strong love you have for

them. You can get a lot of joy when a feeling that you have been experiencing

strongly inside you, takes on a form which you can see externally. In truth,

whatever you see outside of you is always only a reflection of your inner

thoughts. When you have a strong enough desire, you will manifest externally

what you wish for so strongly internally. Your desire for the mangoes brought

you to the market. Now you have bought them and brought them home. You wash

them nicely and peel them. Then you start eating them with great relish and

anticipation. As you consume them, you blissfully enjoy the nectarine juice of

these lovely fruits. Soon, the juice is no longer something outside of you, but

it will have become part of you. With that you get immense joy; you feel

complete bliss. Knowing, Seeing and Becoming One with the Divinity What is the

reason for such great joy? Let us recapitulate the process. First you came to

know that the particular fruit you love had become available in the bazaar.

That is knowing. After hearing about it, you didn't get discouraged but

developed the intense desire to get them and enjoy them. You went to the bazaar

with great intensity of desire, yearning to see the fruits there. Finally, you

found them and got a good look at those fruits. That is the stage of seeing.

After seeing the fruit, you acquired them and ate them. This is the stage of

entering into and becoming one with the object of your desire. Do you have such

intense feelings for God? That is the one desire you really should develop.

After listening to a number of discourses, after reading many scriptures, after

knowing that God exists and after having spent much time in worshipping him, you

will have to develop a strong yearning to see him; otherwise, all your efforts

will be in vain. You have to fervently strive, making an all-out effort to get

a direct vision of the Lord. A student, after having entered a particular grade

and spent the year studying the subjects at that level, will not

get any satisfaction in remaining in that grade for the next year. He will

aspire to progress to a higher grade. If a student is in the same class for two

years he develops a sense of despair and despondency. Not only does he get

discouraged but he is also put through a lot of ridicule by his

fellow-students. In the same way, you will be poorer in the eyes of other

devotees if you continuously remain in the first stages of dualistic worship,

without moving on in your spiritual development. Other devotees will say, "Look

at this person. He has been attending so many discourses over a long period of

time and he's read all the great scriptures, but what is the use of all that?

There doesn't seem to be any progress in him." This unfortunate process of

remaining stuck in the first stage, is the characteristic feature of the

slothful quality of inertia and laziness. You have to remove this quality and

go on from the

dualistic state to the next state of internalizing the Lord. In this state,

through the continuous contemplation of the Divinity inside, you try to gain a

direct vision of God in the particular form you choose. With intense desire you

will get that coveted chance to see the Lord, converse with him and serve him.

Reaching the Abiding Peace of the Immortal Self But even then you should not be

satisfied. You should strive to reach the final and highest state. There should

be no rest, no peace of mind or contentment until you reach the state of

complete mergence with God and the realization of his oneness. These days you

are only aspiring to obtain rest for your body and trying to get a little peace

of mind. But this is not good. You have to reach the abiding peace of the atma.

This is your true self, the immortal self, the one universal

self. When you become reunited with it, you become peace itself. Your individual

self has to merge with the universal self. Then the long journey is complete and

permanent bliss is realized. A river is born from the ocean and ends in the

ocean. But how did the river originate? Initially some of the water of the

ocean turned into clouds. Once the ocean water becomes a cloud there is

separation and duality. Clouds are separate; ocean is separate. The water of

the ocean is saltish. After it turns into a cloud it becomes sweet. But now the

water which has become a cloud comes in the form of rain. You can say it is a

rain of love, because this rain water becomes a river and with great enthusiasm

rushes to rejoin the ocean. This may be compared to the state wherein a great

anguish and aspiration develops to get nearer and nearer to the final goal.

justify">When you are in that state you yearn with all your heart to reach the

native land from which you have become separated. In the case of the water in

the form of a river, it is impelled to merge back into the ocean from whence it

came. Only then will it have reached its goal. Such is the pure non-dualistic

state of total mergence with the source. You are born as a human being and you

have lived part of your life as an ordinary human being. But you have chosen to

take up the path of spiritual life. You find yourself seeking out the company of

spiritually-minded people. You find yourself listening to the great scriptural

stories describing the sacred characteristics of the Lord. But now, you find

that this is not enough. You yearn to have a direct vision of the Lord. Even

then, you are not satisfied with just that. Merely having had the opportunity

to see and talk with the Lord you still do not find that

your happiness lasts. But when you finally get fully merged and united with him,

then you gain the complete fulfillment you have been seeking. Then you are one

with the unending peace and bliss that is the Lord. This was the teaching that

Krishna imparted to Arjuna on the battlefield. The Sacred Names of Arjuna In

the Gita, Krishna used a number of names to address Arjuna. Even Even in

worldly life, a number of titles and names may be conferred on people. In the

Gita, it was the embodiment of divinity, Lord Krishna, who conferred the

different names on Arjuna. Krishna told Arjuna, "O Arjuna. You are not a child

of mortality. You are the divinity itself. You are the son of immortality." In

his life Arjuna found himself in a number of trying circumstances in which he

acquitted himself heroically. As a result, he was given

various titles. To obtain his bow, which was a sacred weapon, he performed

severe penance and faced a number of difficult problems. But throughout he

persisted with a great deal of faith, courage and conviction. His determination

in the face of all obstacles was ultimately rewarded by gaining the grace of

Lord Shiva and winning the bow directly from him. In the process of getting

this celestial weapon even the elements of nature went against him, but nothing

could deter him from his firm resoluteness and purpose. Because he was able to

win that bow, the Lord conferred on him the title, the victor of the bow. From

a worldly point of view, Arjuna could also be thought of as the one who was

victorious in gaining wealth. There is a story for this. The oldest of the

Pandava brothers, Dharmaraja, who was the king, decided to undertake a great

ceremonial sacrifice, performed only by reigning kings. At that time the

Pandavas were opposed by the wicked Kauravas. The treasury of the Pandavas was

completely empty. They had no money available at all. In the face of such

obstacles it would have been nearly impossible to proceed with such a grand

ceremony. Still, Dharmaraja insisted on going ahead with the ceremonial

sacrifice. He said to Arjuna, "Brother, this occasion will require a very heavy

expenditure of funds. We will need a great deal of wealth. How might we raise

this money?" Arjuna replied, "Dharmaraja, why worry about money when we have

with us the wish-fulfilling tree in the form of Krishna? Why should we be

afraid? Once Krishna blesses us we will be able to get any amount of money."

Arjuna went around to the different kings ruling over the surrounding areas to

inform them of Dharmaraja's wish to hold the great sacrifice. As soon as these

kings

heard that Dharmaraja was planning to perform the ceremony, they offered to

support Dharmaraja with their own treasuries, and so Arjuna brought back wealth

in such huge quantities that it took dozens of elephants to carry it. There were

great heaps of gold, silver and jewels. Krishna who had prompted all this, came

and acted as if he didn't know anything. He asked Dharmaraja, "Wherever did you

get so much wealth? Where did it all come from?" Dharmaraja, out of ignorance

and fraternal pride, replied, "It is because of my brother Arjuna that I got

all this." From that day on, Krishna addressed Arjuna as the conqueror of

wealth, in this way concealing his own role and announcing to the world that it

was Arjuna who was able to gather so much wealth. There were many other names

given to Arjuna, such as son of the earth. These names were not intended for

Arjuna alone. As you hear these various names you can start

applying them to yourself; each contains a deeper meaning and shows how the Lord

showers his grace on his devotees. Make them part of you; fully live them by

striving to understand their deeper meaning and by putting them into practice

in your daily life. TO BE CONTINUED With Sai love from Sai brothers –

‘ Source: http://laluni.helloyou.ws/askbaba/saibabagita/

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