SAI BABA GITA – Part VIII – Answers for all questions

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to become free of the thought process. Embodiments of Love, Stilling the mind is

an essential practice for both devotees and ordinary people, but, as has been

taught in the Gita chapter on devotion, the calming of all thoughts is

especially important for devotees. Thoughts are charged with energy and life.

They can even be stronger than the strongest matter. You begin thinking right

from the moment of birth. The material making up your thoughts is extremely

subtle; it arises from the food you eat. Therefore, if you consume food that

has been sanctified you will get only sacred thoughts. Use Sacred Thoughts to

Destroy Dark Thoughts When a person is filled with sacred thoughts all his

actions

will be sacred. His words will also be sacred. Such sacred thoughts are like a

sword or a sharp knife. You can use sacred thoughts to search out dark

thoughts, dark feelings and dark actions, and cut them to pieces. On the other

hand, if you take in food that is not sanctified, dark feelings, dark actions

and dark thoughts will flourish. Not only this, but because of unwholesome food

you will weaken the body and lose the power of digestion, and suffer all sorts

of bodily discomforts. In the Gita the Lord has emphasized that for worldly

prosperity as well as for developing the spiritual potential that is inherent

in man, a strong and pure body is essential. For this it is important that only

wholesome food be consumed and that it be sanctified by being offered to the

Lord before it is eaten. Thoughts and the thought process constitute

the very form of the mind. If thoughts are turned towards the phenomenal world

and the things related to it, then these thought processes become concerned

with wealth and property, for these are the very basis of life in the

phenomenal world. The word wealth usually refers to your worldly possessions

and attachments, such as money, houses and land. Another form of wealth is your

fame, your position and station in life. But the Gita does not consider either

possessions or status as your real wealth. It declares that character is your

wealth, good behavior is your wealth, and above all, knowledge of the supreme

self is your true wealth. Good Character, Good Behavior and Knowledge of the

Self Worldly name and fame, property and family are all ephemeral. They may

disappear even while you are still alive. Calamity and misfortune may

bring about the loss of name and fame, property and family. What is more, none

of these will have any connection with you after your death. But good

character, good behavior and all the noble qualities which they give rise to,

will help you not only during your lifetime but also when this life is over.

They will remain your steadfast companions forever. They will be by your side

to help you gain the knowledge of your true self, and thereby reach the Lord

and merge with him. Your true fame does not depend on your physical beauty or

your charm. It does not depend on your riches. It does not depend on your

physical strength. It depends only on your good character. In the scriptures,

you will find the story of Vishvamitra who, at that time, was a powerful and

ruthless king obsessed with ego and pride in his physical prowess. One time, he

decided to take revenge on the sage Vashishta. Of course, Vashishta based his

strength only on divinity. He was a very great soul who was ever established in

God-consciousness. He wore an invisible protective shield, the protection that

comes from being immersed in the divine principle. When attacked by the deadly

arrows and missiles of Vishvamitra, the sage remained completely unruffled. The

arrows that Vishvamitra launched towards Vashishta became utterly powerless, as

if they were aimed at a mountain of stone. All the missiles Vishvamitra used

broke into pieces the moment they touched Vashishta's body and fell harmlessly

to the ground. In fact, physical strength is really a kind of weakness. Only

power which is based on divinity and has the strength of righteousness is true

strength. When Vishvamitra realized this, he undertook severe penance so as to

reach the same lofty spiritual state that Vashishta was always

in. After engaging in prolonged austerities, Vishvamitra was finally able to

acquire the knowledge of the divine and have Vashishta himself proclaim him a

God-conscious sage. Divine Power and Physical Power The Kauravas, the evil

cousins that Arjuna and the Pandavas had to encounter in the great war,

together were one hundred brothers. The Kauravas had also based their strength

on military might. In the end, all these brothers died in the war which they

had fomented and not even a single son was left to perform the funeral rites

for the parents, when the parents died. What a terrible fate that was. Instead

of seeking divine help, the Kaurava brothers took refuge only in physical

power, in money and in the strength of individuals. On the other hand, the

Pandava brothers surrendered everything to Krishna, and sought only his

grace. When Arjuna fell at the feet of Krishna and surrendered to him, Krishna

was very pleased and lifted him up, saying, "Get up, Arjuna. Real power lies in

faith. In the end, justice will always triumph and selfishness will always

perish; this is the one unchanging righteous truth that applies in every age."

He assured Arjuna on the day of the battle that whoever takes refuge in the

Lord will win the Grace of the Lord, and will be successful in whatever he

undertakes. Whereas one who refuses the protection of the Lord will not be able

to win his grace, and in the end, will surely fail and be destroyed. If you

aspire to earn the grace of the Lord, you have to control your worldly desires.

All your activities in the phenomenal world have to do with the waking state.

The results that arise from these activities are no more real than the

results you get in dreams. The mansions and big bungalows you see in dreams

vanish in a flash once you open your eyes and wake up. They are not real and

were never real. The experiences of your dream state disappear in your waking

state and the experiences of your waking state disappear in your dream state.

And in your deep-sleep state they both vanish. The three Worlds and the Lord

Beyond Krishna taught in the Gita that there are three worlds, the physical,

the mental and the causal. The mental world is a subtle form of the physical

world, and the causal world is an even subtler form of the mental world. Of

these three inter-penetrating worlds of your waking, dream and deep sleep

consciousness, the causal is the subtlest. It is all-pervasive. But beyond all

these is the infinite Lord, the supreme principle of divinity. This

divine principle is the subtlest of the subtle, the smallest of the small, but

also the biggest of the big. Among the mighty ones, the divinity is the

mightiest of all. There can be nothing greater. Seek him. Install him in your

heart and be saved. Know that that mightiest of the mighty is your very self.

This is the truth of divinity. This is your truth. To reach the principle of

Godhead, which is the goal supreme, you have to start your journey with the

first stage of the path, wherein you consider yourself to be the servant or the

messenger of God. This is the stage of dualism. Gradually you enter the stage of

qualified non-dualism, the second major step on the spiritual path. Here you

experience the divinity within yourself, in your own heart. At this stage you

identify yourself very closely with the Lord. You will have the feeling, "God

is within me. He is the one I truly am. I am he. I am he." Then, as you

continue still further on the spiritual path, all duality will disappear

completely and you will be left with only the I, the pure self, without any

modifications or limitations. This whole journey is a little like the healing

process that takes place with a wound. Initially, a protective layer of hard

skin forms over the wound. Eventually this covering falls off by itself as the

wound heals. When both the feeling that you are the servant of the Lord and the

feeling that you are one with the Lord, both of which cover the pure I, fall

off, then you will be in the final stage of non-dualism. Then you are immersed

in the one truth, I am I. Wherever you look you see your One Self When you

declare, "I am he, I am God," there is still some duality,

because there are still two entities, I and God. So, this is still not complete

non-dualism. At the very beginning, when you say, "O Lord, I am your servant,"

the Lord is separate and the servant is separate, and their status is clearly

different. On the other hand, when you say, "I am God," although there is still

a trace of duality, the distinction is not one of separate subject and object

but more like seeing the reflection or image of yourself in a mirror. Whenever

people are different, when there are many separate entities, then there will

also be many different images or reflections. But in the stage of qualified

non-dualism, you see only your own image everywhere, because you are all there

is. You are the one self being reflected as many images, just like the one sun

is seen as separate images in a number of different water-filled pots. So, in

the stage of qualified non-dualism, you are alone; there is

none other. The only thing that still comes between you and the divinity is the

mirror. You constantly perceive your own reflection, and so you see yourself as

very near and very dear to the Lord - face to face with him. But when you

perceive only the one God who is all-pervasive, then where is the need for any

image at all? Can there be a place where he is not? When the entire world is

the mansion of the omnipresent Lord, then where should you look to find the

door to enter his mansion? If there were a separate street and a separate house

then there would have to be a door which opens onto the street; but in truth,

there is no street at all. When the all-pervasive Lord is everywhere, how can

there be any special place where you must seek him to find him? No, there is no

special place where he resides. Once you realize that he is everywhere

at all times, then the true perception of the divinity is not that of an object

whose reflection is seen in various places but the realization that there is

only you, the one immortal self, abiding everywhere, present in everything in

all its fullness. This all-pervasive perception of the divinity as the one

without a second, is called non-dualism. You are not a Sinner - You are God As

part of their religious observances, people will sometimes say in their

prayers, "O Lord, I am a sinner, my soul is full of sin, I have been performing

so many sinful acts." But who is this person who is sinning? Can there ever be

anyone who is separate from the Lord? Can such a one exist? These declarations

about sinning and being a sinner are not good practices for devotees to engage

in. Rather you should think, "In truth, I am God. I am not different

from God. I am peace itself. I am love eternal. I am pure bliss without end."

Keeping such lofty ideas and thoughts in your mind is the best way to reach the

goal. In the Gita, in the list of noble qualities that a devotee should possess,

the Lord started with, "Be without hatred towards any living being." If you

treat happiness and misery with an equal mind then the question of hatred does

not arise at all. If you recognize that the same transcendental principle is

embodied in all human beings as well as in all creatures, then there cannot be

any room for hatred. If you realize that the one divinity resides equally in

all, then how could you ever hate another? Where is the other? In this context,

you might ask for whom the phrase, "Be without hatred towards any living being"

is intended. Is it meant for those who have realized the one transcendental

principle which exists equally in themselves and in

everyone else? No, it is obviously not intended for them. This injunction is

given for the sake of those who have not yet realized this great truth of the

unity of all beings. The Sweetness of the Servant Path There is an

extraordinary joy which you obtain when you immerse yourself in the attitude of

being the servant of the Lord. You soon become filled with delight from having

imbibed the Lord's sweetness, and you never want to leave that happy state. You

come to the conclusion that if ever you were to move on from this feeling of

being the servant to the state of "I am he", you would not be able to continue

to enjoy the consummate sweetness of the Lord. Sugar does not know its own

sweetness. You may be concerned that if you were to become one with the sugar

you would no longer be able to enjoy its sweetness. Since you partake of the

Lord's sweetness in the servant stage, you may prefer to remain in this stage so

that you will always be able to taste the nectarine sweetness of the Lord,

rather than being one with him. For example, Hanuman, the great devotee of God,

had the experience of extreme bliss arising from his unwavering attitude of "I

am the servant of Lord Rama". But how long can such a feeling last? It can last

only as long as you have the grace of the Lord and are near to him. If you were

to ever become separated from him, then in all likelihood you would experience

extreme anguish. In the stage of qualified non-dualism, the question of

suffering does not arise at all, because in that exalted state you are

unceasingly with the Lord, and there is no possibility of experiencing any

separation or suffering. In the servant stage there is the possibility of

separation between the Lord and the servant, but in the second stage of

qualified non-dualism there cannot be any discontinuity in the bliss since no

possibility of separation can arise. Controlling Desires and Anger If you want

to reach the ultimate truth of your being and be immersed in the bliss of your

own divine principle, you need to develop complete control over your desires.

The moment any thought arises, you should inquire into the nature of this

thought. Ask yourself, "Is this thought desirable or is it harmful for my

spiritual progress?" Devotees should be extremely careful right from the very

beginning, to see to it that dark thoughts do not remain in their minds. For

most people, it is impossible to remain without any thoughts at all. But, at

least, when dark thoughts arise you can do something about it. Do not harbor

them. Give them no shelter. Immediately transform any dark thoughts into sacred

ones. In the same way, see to it that you undertake only good actions, and take

every opportunity to transform these actions into worship by consecrating them

to the Lord. By transforming all thoughts into noble thoughts and all work into

worship, you will naturally progress on the sacred path. By controlling your

thoughts in this way, you will also be able to control any anger that might

arise. Quite a few people worry about anger, wondering what is the best way to

control it when it comes on and tries to overwhelm them. The easiest way to

control anger is this. The moment you become aware that anger is rising within

you, just laugh very loudly. Or go to the bathroom and have a cool bath. You

can also take a glass of cool water and relax in a cool place. The

moment anger comes it is most helpful to leave the place where you are and go

somewhere else. If with all these measures you still have not been able to

control your anger, then stand in front of a mirror and examine your face.

After seeing your appearance you will surely feel so much disgust that at once

you will be able to control your anger. One other thing you can do whenever

anger comes is to inquire into the cause of this anger. Is it justified?

Remember that if someone is going to be harmed in the process of your anger,

you will be committing a sin, and that cannot possibly be good for you. To

undertake all these methods will be quite difficult, but it is enough to

remember not to let your tongue go into action immediately after you get angry

and spill out a torrent of angry words. Take some time to think things over. In

a number of ways anger weakens a person who is trying to undertake a spiritual

practice. If you make some effort to control anger when it arises, these efforts

will act to strengthen your body and purify your mind. Attraction and Repulsion

The Gita declared that a weak person can never gain self-realization.

Therefore, in order to acquire the knowledge of your true self, it is most

important that you gain full control over your attachments and hatreds, over

your desires and anger. These pairs of opposites arise from the primary

qualities of attraction and repulsion which are inherent in the human psyche as

well as within all phenomenal things and beings. Attraction and repulsion are

responsible for everything that makes up the world. They keep you bound to the

world, and as long as you are preoccupied with the world, the light of truth

will not shine for you. Therefore, this attraction and repulsion for

things of the world must be banished from your heart. Then the knowledge of the

true self can take root there. When you have the sacred knowledge of the atma

in your heart, you will be able to enjoy peace. That fragrance of peace will

spread all around you and affect everyone you see and touch. On the other hand,

if you are filled with dark feelings, dark thoughts and dark actions, these will

pollute your heart and infect others with your poison. Whether good or bad, the

thoughts that suffuse your heart and take shelter there, will spread to others

around you, and these others will soon emanate the same feelings. Sometimes

there may be some difficulty in distinguishing good from bad. The real

distinction is not in outer appearances and labels but in the inner purity and

intentions. If you hold a rose in your right hand, which in the

East is considered your sacred hand, the fragrance of the flower will not only

reach you but also the people in the surrounding area. But even when you take

the same rose and hold it in your left hand, which in the East is considered

the unsacred hand, the rose will spread its sweet fragrance to all. You might

make a difference between right and left, but for the fragrance there is no

distinction whatsoever. It spreads to all who are near just as profusely from

the unsacred hand as from the sacred one. Likewise, whether you are a theist or

an atheist, this relates only to your own feelings and beliefs. As far as God is

concerned, if you have sacred thoughts and engage in good works and good words,

then even if you are an atheist you will be dear to him. The Lord of the Gita

declared, "Whoever he is, if he has control over his desires and anger, if he

has subdued either his attraction or his abhorrence to

people and things of the world, then he is very dear to me." Character - Not

Belief is what is important Indian philosophy has been classified according to

those who believe in God and those who do not believe in God. But to the

divinity, what counts are the qualities of men's character rather than their

beliefs. Prahlada, who was the son of a demon king, was one of the greatest

devotees of the Lord. He was put to great trouble by his father and his

teachers who tried to impress on him their demonic traits. Although he was born

a demon, Prahlada always displayed a noble and sterling character. And despite

all the difficulties he was put to, Prahlada was able to continuously enjoy the

bliss of his own immortal self, and know the presence of the Lord in his heart.

Prahlada means the one who is continuously happy. So, if you go on

thinking of the Lord continuously, these feelings of joy will shine forth with

an effulgent splendor, and you will become one with God. Right at the outset of

your spiritual journey you have to make determined efforts to control your

desires and anger, your attachments and hatred. This will permit the divine

principle to shine forth from within you. Controlling desire and anger is a

most important spiritual practice. It is the primary task of every devotee. If

you succeed in controlling desire and anger, attachments and hatred, you will

be able to justify your life and reach your goal. But if you allow them to

remain within you, then whatever spiritual exercises you undertake will be

wasted and your life too will become an utter waste. X. Love and Sacrifice -

The Cure for Desire and Anger Anger is born of desire and desire arises from

thoughts. Therefore, thoughts alone are responsible for both desire and anger.

Just as you cannot get cloth without thread and thread without cotton, you

cannot get anger without desire and desire without thoughts. Embodiments of

Love, In the Gita, the divine teacher has termed desire and anger as fire.

There is danger of being harmed by fire even when it is some distance from you.

When this is true for a fire that is burning outside then how much more careful

you must be when the fire is burning fiercely in your own heart. This fire of

desire and anger has an extraordinary capacity to destroy all your human

qualities and to suppress the divine nature within you, leaving only the

demonic qualities raging inside. The Fire of Desire Most things in the world

have prescribed limits but the fire of desire and anger is limitless in its

hunger. Whatever fuel you give to fire, whether it be wood, oil, or anything

else, it will never have enough. But even the most destructive fire eventually

burns itself out and becomes extinguished when it uses up its fuel, whereas

this fire of desire and anger knows no such limitation. It has a voracious

appetite that is endless. It will not exhaust itself. It cannot be appeased. It

will never be satisfied. This fire of desire and anger has no contentment at

all. That being its nature, is there any way to control it? The Lord declared

in the Gita, "You can conquer anger through love and you can conquer desire

through renunciation and sacrifice." Where there is

love there can be no anger. If you develop your love, then there will be no room

left in your heart for hatred and anger to take root. The heart is like a chair,

there is room for only one occupant at a time. Therefore, only one quality can

establish itself there. It leaves no place for another to enter and occupy it

at the same time. You must make every effort to establish love and only love in

your heart. You must never allow your heart to become like a 'musical chair',

giving room for love at one time and for anger and hatred at other times. If

you want to conquer anger through your love then you must develop your love in

a most magnificent way. Love is always prepared to shower itself freely and to

overlook the defects and weaknesses in others. Love has this extraordinary

quality, it lives by giving and forgiving, whereas the little ego-self lives by

getting and forgetting. Where there is love there can be

no room for selfishness, and where there is selfishness there will be no love.

Make Love the Dominant Force in your Life There is absolutely nothing in the

world which you cannot achieve when you shine with this principle of love. With

love you can conquer all obstacles. Therefore, to achieve total victory over

anger you have to fill your heart with love and make love the dominant force in

your life. Once you recognize that the indweller of your heart is the indweller

of every heart, that the beloved Lord whom you worship seated on the throne of

your heart is also dwelling in every other heart, then there can be no

possibility of hating or being angry with any person in the world. When the

same Lord is in every heart how can you look down with contempt at another?

Therefore, immerse yourself fully in this principle of love and

establish it indelibly in your heart. As has been mentioned before by Baba, when

love is associated with thoughts, it becomes truth; when love is introduced into

your activities, your actions become righteous; when your feelings are saturated

with love, your heart is filled with supreme peace; and when you allow love to

guide your understanding and reasoning, then your intelligence becomes

saturated with a deep respect and caring for all life, and you manifest the

quality of nonviolence. Therefore, love is truth, love is right action, love is

peace, love is nonviolence. For all these noble human qualities love is the

undercurrent. If your thoughts are not filled with love, there will be no

truth. If there is no love in your actions, righteousness will not be present.

If you do not feel love in your heart, there will be no peace. And if you do

not base your understanding on love, nonviolence will not establish

itself in your intellect. So, just as sugar is the basis of all different kinds

of sweets, so also love is the basic ingredient for truth, righteousness, peace

and nonviolence. Love is the divinity itself. Love is God and God is love. Love

is the divine power that activates everything. Through love you can easily

conquer hatred and anger. Therefore, always live in love. The Nature of Anger

Anger can be the source of numerous difficulties and expose you to countless

problems. It destroys your dignity and undermines the principle of humanness

that exists within you. Anger first enters in a very subtle form and gradually

becomes all-pervasive. Initially, when it comes in, it will only ask for a

small bit of space. "Just give me a little room to sit down in," it says.

Once it has established itself, it declares, "Now, I'll make myself enough space

to lie down and stay." But you must not permit even the least room in your heart

for such bad traits. Once you let anger in, it will be impossible to get rid of

it. Even if you make friends with it and give it all your wealth it will not

leave you. It is a most dangerous poison which should not be given even the

least space to get a foothold within you. In a car the red tail-light goes on

as a warning before the car comes to a stop. In the same way, before you

explode into anger, your eyes become red, your lips begin to quiver and the

whole body becomes hot. The moment you start having any of these symptoms, you

had best leave the place you are in immediately and go to a solitary spot and

sit there until peace returns. As was mentioned yesterday, you can also take a

cold-water bath.

TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Once anger expresses itself in words it may lead to endless

complications and problems later on. Even if your anger is justifiable and you

are protecting the truth, you will still have to learn how to express that

truth in a sweet way, in a dear way, in an acceptable way that would be

received by the other person without hurting him in any way. Therefore, every

devotee must learn to control his anger by developing and saturating his heart

with love. Sacrifice conquers Desire Next, let us consider how to deal with

desire. To conquer desire you have to develop a sacrificing nature; you must be

steeped in renunciation. Renunciation does not mean that you give up your family

and go to the forest; nor does it require you to give up all your property. Once

you realize the defects in any object, once you recognize its

transitoriness and worthlessness in helping you to reach your goal, you will

automatically stop desiring it. Even when living the life of a householder

immersed in the world, you can recognize the defects and weaknesses of the

things of the world. For example, there may be a certain kind of food that you

enjoy very much, like a curry, for example, and you ask your cook to prepare a

variety of dishes made with this curry. You sit down to eat, the meal is

brought in and you are about to eat it with great relish. But then the cook

comes running in and says, "Stop! Please sir, don't eat this food! I just

discovered a poisonous lizard has fallen into the pot and is dead inside!" The

moment you hear this and recognize the harmful nature of the food you were

about to eat, you would under no circumstances consider eating it anymore, no

matter how much you previously cherished that dish and looked forward to having

it. In the same way, you have to recognize the nature of the things of the

world. They are ever changing and some day they must cease to exist. Once you

know this, how can you remain enthusiastic about acquiring them and trying to

get lasting enjoyment from them? Food is only medicine for the disease called

hunger. How can it ever be an item of luxurious indulgence? When you are sick

and medicines are given, do you refuse them if they are not tasty? Therefore,

recognize the fact that the things you use in the world are only medicines for

the diseases that you have. As the disease declines, the need for medicine

diminishes. When you are well you do not need to take any medicines at all; but

when you are sick you must take the right medicine which will cure you of your

illness. You cannot refuse to take the medicine just because it is not very

tasty, while at the same time hoping to get cured. Now you are running after all

sorts of attractive and tasty things which instead of curing your ills worsen

them. You rejoice that you have discovered so many delights in the world and

that you are living a very happy life, enjoying many things which seem to give

you a lot of comfort and joy. But these are not real enjoyments, for, in the

future, you will surely have to face the consequences of all these indulgences

you are engaging in now. The Pest of Desire and Hatred Consider a giant tree

which has a number of branches heaped with flowers and fruits. It is a very

grand and attractive tree. One day, this tree begins to dry up and its flowers

fall off. Is it because there is a shortage of water or manure? Has there been

some neglect in feeding it? No, there is some kind of pest that

has attacked its roots and is destroying this beautiful tree. Through the roots

the pest enters and starts to eat up this giant tree. In the same way, once you

allow these pests of desire and hatred to enter your heart, then one day you

will quite suddenly come to ruin. This is absolutely certain. In the material

world you think that a rich man is a very important individual, but in the

world of the spirit, material wealth is of no consequence. Charity is a quality

that is much greater than all the possessions associated with wealth. If there

is no charity, wealth has no intrinsic value at all. You have four heirs, each

of whom will enter a claim to your wealth. The first is charity. The second is

the government. The third is the thief. And the fourth is fire. Each of them

expects to inherit your wealth, but if you were to hand over all your wealth to

your first heir, charity, then the others will get no share

of it. When you give freely to charity, you will find that the other claimants

will show great respect for your decision and will not press their own claims.

For example, we know that the government gives you an income-tax exemption when

you donate to charity. Even fire will be a little frightened of you, and thieves

will leave you alone. So, when you give to charity, which may be considered your

oldest son and your natural heir, then the others who would otherwise try to

claim your wealth will respect your action and not interfere. But if you

possess wealth and do not give it in charity, then the thief will have his eye

on you and the government will also try to catch hold of you and claim your

riches as its own. If these two for some reason choose to ignore you, then fire

will come one day and destroy your possessions. Let all the Noble

Human Qualities Shine within You The Gita has declared that it is charity, not

wealth, which is really important. In a similar way, in human beings, it is not

the ability to speak well but the truth which is uttered, that is important. If

there is no truth in your speech, then whatever you say will have no value at

all. The Gita has also declared that it is not life itself but a good character

that is important. A life devoid of good character is useless. You have to

develop your character and earn a good name so that all the noble human

qualities will shine forth in you. Your most important duty is to harbor good

thoughts, to have good behavior, to speak good words and to lead a good life.

You must be very careful with your words and actions so that you will never

earn a bad name. Instead of living the life of a crow for a

hundred years scavenging off others, it is far better to live a few moments as a

swan, with an untainted name and an unblemished character. The Gita extols such

a sterling soul whose life is replete with goodness. Good actions are far more

important than physical strength. A body that is not being used to serve others

is nothing but a dead body. Use your body in the service of mankind, not just

for the purpose of catering to your own selfish needs. Today, whatever man

does, thinks or utters is primarily prompted by selfishness. In order to

overcome this tendency, you have to constantly seek opportunities to help

others and develop the principle of service. In this process, by your good

actions, all of humanity will get sanctified. It is very difficult to obtain

birth as a human being. You must spend some time thinking over how to properly

utilize this rare life that has been given to you and develop good

habits which will overcome these weaknesses of desire and anger that waste your

golden chance. Replacing Bad Habits with Good Habits How do you best overcome

the deeply ingrained bad habits and replace them with good habits? Consider a

small example. One day a beautiful dog happens to come to your house; you do

not know to whom it belongs. It is such an attractive thing, in order to keep

it there for some time and enjoy its presence, you give it a little food. Next

day it comes about the same time, and again you feed it and enjoy having it

visit you. In this way it comes back every day to get fed, and gradually over a

period of time, attachment increases and this dog now regularly visits your

house, spending more and more time there. One day you find that it will

no longer leave; it just continues to live at your house from that time on. But

the happiness that you enjoy in looking at physical beauty does not last very

long. Once the beauty is no longer accompanied by joy, it becomes obnoxious to

you. In the case of this dog, you soon get tired of having it around all the

time, and so you look for a way to get rid of it. To begin with you must ask

yourself why that dog has attached itself to you and is now living in the

house. The reason is that right from the very beginning you have been feeding

it regularly every day; you have also been stroking it, playing with it, and

paying so much attention to it. It is this repeated daily practice which has

created the attachment between yourself and the dog. Now you must develop a new

regular practice, which will break this attachment and help you to get rid

of the dog. For this the best method is to reverse the original process that

created the attachment and made the object so dear to you. Steady Practice is

the Key to all Accomplishments in Life In the case of the dog, if no food is

given for some days and everyone is indifferent to it, paying no attention to

it whatsoever, then soon, of its own accord, the dog will go away. Therefore,

it is the practice that is important. It is through practice that you have

developed certain attachments and undesirable qualities, and it is through

practice that you can change them. The Gita has said that for everything

practice is the starting point. In the 12th verse of the chapter on devotion,

it says, "Through practice you will be able to get knowledge, through knowledge

you will be able to develop meditation, through meditation you will

develop sacrifice, and only when you have sacrifice will you obtain peace of

mind." Therefore, it all starts with steady practice. For many births, you have

been enamored with beauty and you have engaged yourself in desire and anger

until these passions have struck deep roots in your heart. Now you have become

a slave of your desires. Mere words will not be enough to get rid of them.

After having practiced attachment for so long, these negative qualities have

developed such strong roots, that even if you were to cut them off at the

surface, they would sprout up again and again. When desires have become an

integral part of you, it is only by reversing the process and practicing

detachment and renunciation that you will be able to get rid of these deeply

ingrained pests. In the beginning, desires are extremely attractive and sweet.

After some

time you develop a disgust for them; but then it is already quite difficult, in

fact, almost impossible to get rid of them. Therefore, it is best if right from

the very beginning you develop renunciation and detachment as part of your

nature and give no place or importance to desires. Unless you have such an

attitude of sacrifice and a capacity to resist desires, you will not be ready

to receive the grace of God. A bullock or a horse which cannot be controlled, a

car without brakes, or a life which is not based on control of the senses, are

all dangerous. Control of the senses is very important. You need to tightly

control the tendencies of the mind to go off in all directions, running after

desires. Mind and senses must be kept in check within limited bounds. Even

happiness which exceeds certain limits can be harmful. For everything there is

a limit, there is a range of healthy functioning. Keeping the Senses within

their Normal Limits The normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; if

it goes up even one degree there will be a disease in progress. Only when it is

within the appropriate level does it indicate a healthy body. In the same way,

your blood pressure is normal when it is 120 over 80. If the blood pressure

goes up to 150 over 90 it indicates an abnormal condition in the body, which

may be indicative of an illness. Similarly, the heart beat should be around 75;

if it increases an ailment will be in progress. The same is also true for your

senses. There is a range of light that is appropriate to healthy functioning of

the eyes. If the light is too bright the eyes cannot see and will be harmed.

This is true, as well, in the case of the ears; there is a

proper range of sound. If the level of sound exceeds that range, such as may

happen close to an airplane, a train or a loudspeaker, the hearing will become

impaired. Like this, all the senses are limited to a normal range of operation.

We see that life functions a lot like a limited company in the business world.

If you want to carry on unlimited business with this limited company then you

will be subject to a great deal of distress. Therefore, you have to impose

restrictions on your behavior, and spend your life acting always within certain

prescribed limits. This can also be called discipline. Discipline is

particularly necessary for the spiritual progress of an individual. Without

discipline a person is likely to become nothing but an animal. But discipline,

too, has to be exercised within limits. There is even a need to regulate your

discipline if you are to enjoy life. You see that for everything there is a

limit and a boundary. If you stay within these limits you will not be troubled

by life. The Gita has taught that desire and anger are the primary obstacles to

liberation, so it is vitally important that they be curbed. You need to take

proper notice of these two dreadful enemies of man and develop complete control

over them. These enemies are not external to you; they are your inner enemies.

If you are defeated by your inner enemies, how can you ever hope to conquer

your external ones? Once you keep desire and anger under firm check you will be

able to defeat your outer enemies quite easily. The Gita has shown that the way

to conquer desire and anger is by saturating your life with renunciation,

sacrifice and love. TO

BE CONTINUED With Sai love from Sai brothers – ‘’ Source:

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

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