SAI BABA GITA – Part XXI – Answers for all questions

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them, "You have all heard what my brother has said to you. I want you to know

that the great qualities you have, like valor and courage, humans do not really

have. I myself am a direct proof of this. If you consider the courage and valor,

the magnificent prowess and strength which I have, where will you find any human

being who is my equal? Though I am king of the animals, I never take any wrong

or unjustifiable actions. Without reason I do not kill animals. Only when I am

hungry will I take a little food. I do not kill any animals for sport; I never

waste any food. Consider our courage, our code of ethics, our high level of

morality. Can you find such great qualities in human beings? No! They don't

have them at all. Therefore, why should we be afraid of them? Why should we be

thought of as inferior to humans? Today, let us resolve to wipe out this blot

on our reputation." When the lion finished his address there was an uproarious

cheer and the applause resounded throughout the

entire forest. When things quieted down, the elephant, who was sitting just by

the side of the lion got up and said, "Humans are not even half as big as my

leg. In form I am certainly mighty and magnificent. In intelligence I have

attained proverbial greatness. Kings, emperors, distinguished leaders, all have

developed great regard for me. If ever a coronation was to be performed and I

were not there, it would have to be postponed. When I am so great, how can you

say that humans are superior to me? My intelligence is extraordinary.

Therefore, even if you consider just these two, my intelligence and my physical

size, you must conclude that humans can never be equal to me." Again the

audience cheered their agreement. The fox got up

and said, "The lion, our illustrious king, has just talked to you, and the big

elephant, our distinguished minister, has also spoken his mind. Now we would

like to invite a representative of the smaller animals to come and address us."

At this point a dog who had strayed into the forest, and who had many

experiences with human beings, was asked to speak to the gathering. It offered

its humble salutations to the president, to the king, to the minister, to the

secretary and to all in that great throng who had assembled there. Then it

said, "Although I am very small and weak, in faith there is no one that can be

compared to me. I have unswerving faith and unlimited loyalty to the person who

has brought me up, and who looks after me. I will always be grateful and

faithful, even if I lose my life. Even if I am hurt and harmed by my master, I

will not return the harm in kind. Everyone knows that human beings do not have

this sense of loyalty which a dog has. In this quality of loyalty I

can never be considered inferior to human beings. "Among themselves, humans

often give trouble to the ones who most lovingly take care of them and guide

them, such as their own parents or their teachers. Humans will not hesitate to

do bad in return for the good which is given to them. They will criticize and

concoct schemes to deceive and hurt the very ones who have looked after them so

carefully. Humans do not have any gratitude at all. They do not have any

loyalty. Only so long as their purposes are being served will they pretend to

be obedient. The moment their own selfish interests have been taken care of,

they start troubling their own teachers. When humans are like this how can we

be considered inferior to mankind?" There was complete agreement in the

audience. A nodding of heads and sounds of "Hear! Hear!" affirmed every point

the gentle dog had

made. In this way, one by one, others got up and had their say. Appropriate to

their status and experience, they gave speeches, extolling the many fine

qualities practiced by the animals but which were being ignored by human

beings. Finally, there was the speech of the president. Through Effort Humans

can Transform their Lower Nature The sage addressed the gathering, "Dear

animals. All that you have just spoken of is true. Whenever a spiritual teacher

does something or says something to us, it is meant for our own good. It is

intended to promote our inner development and also our friendship and good

understanding with others. But as soon as this friendship flowers and

understanding blossoms forth, human beings become

suspicious and think that something bad is being done to them. To your face,

they will offer salutations and use words of praise but behind your back they

will criticize and revile you. Filling themselves with opposites like that and

with low forms of cleverness, they waste their intelligence and their lives.

All the defects that have been pointed out here are certainly true and present

in humans. As for food, sleep, breathing and such things, there is absolutely

no difference between humans and animals." The sage continued, "I do want to

point out, however, that there is one specialty in human beings that is unique,

in which they cannot be compared with the animals. Animals may inherit a streak

of cruelty. Once they have acquired that they cannot change it. A tiger,

however hungry he may be, will not eat rice and curry. He only aspires to have

mutton. He

will not settle for just a little tea and biscuits. However much he may try to

change his habits, he will not succeed. On the other hand, if sufficient

efforts are made by humans, they can transform their cruel nature and any of

their bad habits. The most important difference between humans and animals is

that humans, with effort, can bring about a complete transformation in

themselves, whereas animals will not be able to accomplish that. These special

capacities and skills for transforming themselves are only available to human

beings." The fox got up and said, "Swami, we will concede that human beings

have these special capacities for changing themselves, but if they do not make

use of these capacities, do they deserve the high status that they now enjoy?"

The president declared, "If anyone has the capacity to change himself but does

not use it, then he

is much worse than an animal." At this all the animals burst into an uproarious

applause. The cheering went on and on until the president gaveled for order.

The sage then repeated the principal point he had just made... that any human

beings who had the capacity for doing good, but who did not use this quality to

improve their own behavior and develop the good within themselves, were, without

a doubt, worse than animals. Then the sage added, "What is the use of all the

learning that human beings accumulate? Will it change their faith? As soon as

bad thoughts enter their heads, their thinking becomes dull and they become

like idiots. In learning and skills, humans have attained a high status. But

all this learning is only for the sake of procuring some bread. They use their

education only to fill their bellies and to eke out a livelihood." At this

point, the

fox got up and added to what the president had just said, "In the process of

eking out their livelihood, humans use all kinds of unethical means. In this

respect, it is clear that we animals are much better than human beings." The

fox got carried away by his own rhetoric. He continued for some time on the

same theme. "We are always fair in gaining our livelihood. In all respects,

when compared to humans, we are far better. Really, we are the BEST!" He got an

exuberant, almost riotous ovation from the whole four footed assembly. Everyone

agreed whole-heartedly with this appraisal and urged the fox on to say more.

But now the enthusiasm had exceeded its limits and the president pounded the

gavel and called for order. The sage arose and made a few additional remarks.

He explained the second major difference that make human beings unique. He

said, "Man has been able to conquer maya, he has been able to master illusion.

Once he has achieved that, he is able to experience the

atma, his own true divine self. Then he can reach the state of nirvana, the

exalted state of eternal bliss. This is a vital difference between humans and

animals. The vital Difference between Human Beings and Animals "Human beings

have the power and also the authority to conquer maya and totally free

themselves from delusion. If man takes the trouble and makes the effort, he

will be able to directly experience the atma and, thereby, know himself as the

divinity that he truly is. With the help of spiritual exercises he can reach

nirvana and be immersed in supreme bliss. In the interest of truth, I have to

point out that you animals do not have these powers and potentialities with

which human

beings have been endowed." The sage added, "Dear children, in the English

language, human beings have been collectively called mankind, using the generic

term m-a-n. The same is given in Sanskrit as manava. The inner significance of

m-a-n is that human beings can separate and remove this illusion, maya; they

can get the vision of atma, and immerse themselves in wisdom and joy in the

state that is called nirvana. This, then, is the meaning conveyed by these

letters m-a-n, where 'm' stands for 'maya removed', 'a' stands for 'atma

realized, and 'n' stands for 'nirvana attained'. Attaining nirvana means that

man becomes one with joy and bliss. So, a true human being is one who has

removed the ignorance of maya, who has had a vision of the atma and who has

become merged in the supreme state of bliss."

New Roman">When the sage had finished, all the animals bowed their heads and

there was a deep reflective silence as they mulled over the words the president

had spoken. They had to agree that these were three possibilities, which they,

in their present forms, could never hope to achieve. But then a question was

raised by one bold buck, "Have all human beings been able to attain this?" The

sage responded with a resounding "No!" He said, "Only very, very few people

care at all about these extraordinary treasures which are their birthright.

Most people fritter away their lives, never pursuing these invaluable

opportunities of human life. Their pursuits reek with selfishness and they

treat each other much worse than animals. Although humans have this great

capacity for wisdom and bliss, they do not develop themselves in this direction

and, so, they have not been able to derive any real joy from their lives."

justify">Most Human Beings behave even Worse than Animals The animals came to a

consensus and agreed that those people who do not make any effort at all in

these directions are just like them and there is absolutely no reason for

distinguishing them from animals. The sage agreed. Then, on a personal note,

the president explained the reasons why he had come into the forest to live. He

said, "Human beings do not care much about these noble qualities. Animals give

trouble only to those who give them trouble; otherwise they will live in peace

with one another. But humans hurt those who do not hurt them at all. Without

any reason they begin to blame and cause trouble, harming people who are

unblemished and who have given them no cause for provocation.

6pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Humans also enter into all kinds of improper work

which they have no right to be engaged in." He concluded, "It is for these

reasons that many true spiritual seekers have become renunciates, have given up

the company of men and gone into the forest to live. Humanity is becoming

increasingly selfish. Whatever people say, whatever they do, whatever they

think, is laced with selfish motives. Animals do not have such selfishness.

Animals are not harming other animals and accumulating wealth. Therefore, in

many ways humans behave worse than animals." In this context Krishna said to

Arjuna, "Be a true human being, not one who is worse than an animal. Rise above

the animal nature to your true human nature. There are two qualities of animals

that you should never have. You are neither a sheep,

which is timid and fearful, nor are you a tiger, which is cruel to others. You

are a man. You are worthy of higher things. Be fearless! Do not ever allow

yourself to be subjected to fear. In truth you yourself are the divinity.

Sorrow and fear can never have any power over you." When you have a Firm Faith

in God you will be Fearless There is infinite power inherent in the human

heart. But despite such power, you do not have faith in yourself. What is the

reason for this? The reason is that you feel separate. You believe that you are

different from the divinity. But in truth, the divinity is always inside you as

your very core. This same divinity pervades the entire universe. When you

develop a firm faith in God, you will

never have any fear whatsoever. You will recognize that the God you worship is

the one who is present everywhere in everyone and in everything, and also in

yourself. That belief will remove all vestige of fear from your heart. But if

you do not have that faith then you will be ridden with fear. Every moment,

every step, you will be frightened. When you have an examination you will be

afraid. While going in an airplane, you will be afraid. When a truck comes in

the opposite direction on the road, you will be afraid. Right from the very

moment when you get up from bed until you again go to bed you will be afraid.

And even in bed you will be afraid that thieves might break into the house and

steal your belongings. You will be expending your entire time in fear. But this

is not the way a human being should live. You should become steeped in the

conviction that

the divinity is present everywhere and thereby attain utter fearlessness. Your

faith in the omnipresent divinity is the key to developing fearlessness. Only

when you lose faith will you develop fear. Only when you forget your true self

will fear arise. You have forgotten your own true nature. You have forgotten

the atma. You are considering yourself to be this little five-and-a half-foot

body, but the truth is that you are infinite in form and your power is

unlimited. When you make an effort to remove the delusions and get a vision of

the atma, you become immersed in the bliss of nirvana. Then you can call

yourself a real human being. If you make no effort along the path of

self-realization, but demean yourself

into dark, selfish pursuits and degenerate behavior, you become more like a

demon than a human being. Do not fall to such depths. Conduct your life so that

you can truly call yourself a human being and live up to the high ideals that

you inherited when you were given this sacred human birth. Develop Good

Qualities and Gain the Grace of the Lord One of the names Krishna used to

address Arjuna was the one who delights in being engaged in work. When most of

you are given some work to do, you quickly get disgusted with it. When Sunday

comes and you have a day off from work, you are happy. But if ever a day came

when Arjuna had no work, he would be very unhappy. Arjuna always felt a great

deal of joy and delight when he

worked. The different names Krishna used for Arjuna in the Gita, are associated

with various noble qualities and virtues. You will be able to understand the

nature of the divinity, if every day you take up one virtue and try to

incorporate it in your life. Patience, forbearance, compassion and nonviolence

are some of the qualities that have already been taken up in these chapters.

Now you have also learned about fearlessness. There are a number of other

important qualities. Only when you develop these qualities in your daily

activities, will you be able to earn the grace of the Lord. Without developing

these noble qualities you will not be able to gain a place in God's house,

irrespective of the education, position, and wealth you have been able to earn.

A person is not permitted to go to another country without a passport.

Similarly, in order to

earn the grace of God, your good qualities serve you as your passport. You must

develop these qualities. Along with your education you should also acquire good

habits and a sterling character. Without these, all your education will be of no

use. This education you are now pursuing is only useful for living in the

physical world. It will not take you to God. In the world of today, scientists

have been able to glean a number of secrets from nature. But have they been

able to gain peace of mind? Have they been able to get joy and happiness from

the machines they developed? Happiness and peace cannot come from these. You

can get peace only from the divinity. The worldly happiness and peace you get

is but momentary and impermanent. It

cannot take you to the state of permanent bliss. The wisdom chapter of the Gita

emphasizes the practice of recognizing the one all-pervasive divinity that is

always very near to you. This chapter is a very long one; there are 72 verses

in it. But you will not be able to get rid of your sorrow by just learning

these verses and merely chanting them every day. That will not be of much use

to you. You will have to make a very strong effort to practice the inner

meaning of these verses and apply them constantly in your day-to-day

experiences. Only when you practice them in your daily life and make them your

own, will you be able to earn the grace of God and be forever united with him.

XXIX. Turn towards God and God will turn towards You When you develop your

power of discrimination and become fully awake to the indwelling divinity, you

will not suffer sorrow nor be subjected to fear. But as long as you have

attachment to the body and attachment to objects, fear and suffering will be

with you. Therefore, Krishna told Arjuna to develop his discrimination and rid

himself of body consciousness. He told him that once he was free of body

consciousness he would be able to develop integral vision. Embodiments of Love,

Mankind today has three types of vision. The first is body oriented vision,

which is totally superficial. When you have this kind of vision you see only

the external appearance of others, such as the clothes and the

ornaments they wear, their facial features, their body characteristics, their

peculiarities of speech, etc. This type of vision is oriented only towards the

phenomenal world. The second kind of vision is insightful vision. Instead of

focusing on the external characteristics of others, you focus on their inner

feelings, particularly as it is reflected in their behavior and expressions.

You gauge the thoughts in another's mind and the feelings in their hearts by

carefully watching what they say and do. When you have this kind of vision, you

become concerned primarily with the deeper feelings and motivations of the other

person. Sacred Vision

justify">The third kind of vision is integral vision. With this kind of vision,

you do not concentrate on another's external features or even their inner

feelings. When you have integral vision you see the divine consciousness that

pervades everyone, the inner unity that prevails everywhere despite body

differences and differences in expression and emotional makeup. You realize

that feelings, thoughts and behavioral characteristics all undergo change and

transformation. But, you are not interested in characteristics that change with

time. With integral vision you are wholly oriented towards the unchanging,

indwelling divinity. Such a deep inner vision is a sacred vision. When you have

this you are in the hands of God. More than that, not only are you in the hands

of God, but verily you become God himself. The truly

wise say that one who knows God becomes God. As you perceive so you become.

Therefore, when you gain integral vision, you take on the sacred nature of the

divinity itself. To become a person of the highest wisdom, you must develop

integral vision. You must steadily abide in the inner unity that is at the core

of all the outer diversity. It is for this reason that Krishna commanded Arjuna

to steadily turn his vision towards his highest self, and to maintain that

vision at all times, under all circumstances. Chariot Festivals In India, there

has been a tradition from ancient days for temples in villages and towns to

conduct chariot festivals. During these festivities the idol of the deity

installed in that temple is taken in

procession. First, a huge chariot is constructed for this purpose. Then the

chariot is elaborately decorated and a beautiful seat is provided therein for

the deity. On the auspicious day, the deity is transferred from the temple to

the chariot with appropriate rituals and incantations. The chariot is then

taken through the streets in a colorful procession pulled by devotees and

preceded by groups of dancers, musicians and singers. Along the course of the

procession, many people offer worship to the deity by lighting sacred lamps and

waving them as the chariot comes by. During these festivals thousands of people

gather, coming from all the surrounding villages. Three kinds of people come.

The first kind, which constitutes the bulk of the people present for the

festival, concentrate all their attention on the chariot and its external

appearance. Then there

are others who concentrate mostly on the sacred feelings generated by the

procession, such as the fervent piety of those who are pulling the chariot, the

ecstatic joy of the dancers and singers, and the reverence of the priests and

devotees who are offering worship. Thirdly, there are a few who recognize the

real purpose for which this festival has been arranged. Only this small handful

cares to have a vision of the indweller, the sacred person who is seated in the

chariot. Of course, the festival is being celebrated for the purpose of

installing the image of God in the chariot. Without the representation of God,

the festival would have no meaning. This sacred figure inside the chariot

represents the indweller, who is God himself. But only the rare individual will

turn his full attention towards that divinity. Most people will see only the

physical

appearance of the chariot, its decorations and other such things as the fine

raiment put on the sacred image inside, the costumes worn by the dancers and

musicians, and all the sound and color of the festivities. The largest number

will concentrate only on these external things. But there will also be some

people who concentrate their attention on the rituals of worship and the

offerings being made, such as the breaking of coconuts, the waving of lamps and

incense, and the devotion expressed through these rituals. The number of people

with this kind of vision and interest will be much smaller than those who

concentrate on the decorations, the dances and dramas and all the external

paraphernalia associated with the festival. But the divine person who has been

installed in this chariot, who is driving this chariot and who is the resident

of this chariot will

be seen by only a very small number of intensely-devoted people who yearn to

have the sacred vision of the divinity. In the huge throng turning out for the

festival, such people may be counted on the fingers of one's hand. For them,

all the outer trappings and all the sound and excitement of the procession will

only get in the way of their having a real vision of God. All they long for is

to see and be with their beautiful Lord, whose representation is seated in the

chariot. The Chariot of the Human Body What is the deeper meaning of this

chariot? How many such chariots are there? The chariot that is being spoken of

here is the human body. So there is not just one chariot but millions upon

millions of chariots. Every day,

these chariots move from street to street and house to house, taking the

indwelling resident in procession. You have been developing your vision in such

a way that you see only the body and its external features or the expressions

arising from various feelings and emotional states, but you have not learned to

develop the internal vision, the vision which perceives the indwelling person in

this chariot of the body, and understands who he really is. It is a very rare

individual who attempts to look deeper, beyond the external and superficial

aspect of the body, and beyond the emotional and mental traits of the

individual, to try to discover the sacred divine principle which is there

inside. The bodies of human beings are not the only chariots. The bodies of

animals like dogs or tigers or elephants are also chariots. In fact, the body

of every being is a

chariot. For example, Lord Shiva is depicted as riding on Nandi, the bull. The

bullock is Shiva's chariot. Yet, when you see a bullock, you do not think of

Lord Shiva; still he will be seated there. When you see a rat, you will not be

thinking of Ganesha, the elephant god, who represents the aspects of protection

and wisdom in the divinity. Lord Ganesha will be there, riding on that rat. The

rat is his vehicle, so it is also a chariot in which God is installed. In a

similar way, lions, crows, dogs, snakes, eagles and so many other animals and

birds are used as vehicles for the many different aspects of God. In truth,

every living being is a chariot taking God in procession. These days you are

developing the vision that sees only the chariot. You are focusing all your

concentration on the external decorations. In this age, almost your entire time

is spent on

adorning the chariot and seeing to the comforts and pleasures of the body. As a

result, you are paying attention only to the external differences and you are

not spending any time trying to see the indweller. "Therefore, Arjuna," said

Krishna, "know that all these people about whom you are so concerned, are only

chariots. They may be grandfathers, they may be brothers, they may be cousins,

whoever they may be, they are only chariots. In truth, you are seeing only

chariots in the form of these various relatives and teachers. You have been

keeping your vision clouded by seeing only the body. But a sacred person like

you should not care so much for externals. You must concentrate your mind on

the indweller who is seated in every human body. Then only will your vision

become sacred. Such sacred vision alone can provide the basis for your

victory. "Only a person who has sacred vision can achieve success in great

undertakings. Arjuna, people are giving the same value to the shadow as they

give to that which is casting the shadow; they are giving the same value to the

reflection as they give to the one whose reflection they are seeing. But that is

not correct. The unchanging, sacred principle which has given rise to all these

shadows and reflections is the eternal self. It is the atma. Its value is

unlimited and beyond all measure. On the other hand, the external beauties of

these bodies and all the thoughts and feelings and behaviors that are being

manifested in these bodies, are all just images. They are only shadows or

reflections without any real substance or lasting value." When Arjuna gave so

much value to mere reflections, he was displaying his ignorance. His was not a

worldly type of ignorance, but ignorance related to the spirit. Arjuna had not

developed his inner vision. He was not yet able to discriminate between that

which is real and that which is unreal. In order to save him from all the

misunderstandings and confusion which would inevitably arise when there is a

lack of inner vision, Krishna undertook to teach Arjuna the sacred knowledge of

the eternal self. Krishna instructed Arjuna in the spiritual exercises which had

to be practiced in order to attain this highest wisdom. The Field of the Heart

Before a farmer can raise a crop in his field, he has to do a

great deal of preparation. Before the seeds can be sown, the land must be

cleared of brush, stones and weeds, and then it has to be softened by plowing

and irrigation. The farmer must determine what particular types of seeds will

grow best on that land, and what kind of nutrients would be required to

fertilize the soil. When all these preparations are completed, he finally sows

the seeds. Therefore, before a crop can be raised, the entire field has to be

made ready for cultivation. Stones and weeds have to be dug out and thrown

away. Only then can the appropriate seeds be sown to assure a good crop. In a

similar way, a spiritual aspirant must also carefully prepare the field of his

heart. The same principles of cultivation apply to that field. First, one has

to remove from the heart all undesirable thoughts and useless habits. They have

to be dug up and

cleaned out. After that, you have to irrigate the entire field of the heart with

the waters of love. These waters of love make the heart soft and cultivatable.

With the help of spiritual practices, you have to plow the field of your heart

and spread the fertilizer of faith in order to make the soil rich and

nutritious for the seeds to grow well there. Only when all this has been done

will the entire field of the heart be ready for sowing. When the heart is

covered with bad weeds of base thoughts, when it is barren, hard and dry and

infertile, how can good seeds grow there and have any chance of maturing into a

bountiful crop? It is in this connection that Krishna said to Arjuna, "Arjuna,

you must cultivate and transform the field of your heart. You must root out

your external vision. Develop a pure and strong flow of love for God. Sow the

seeds of God's

name in your heart and you will raise a rich harvest of unity consciousness

there, for that is what grows best in that field. That is its very nature. Then

you will become a man of steady wisdom and attain your spiritual goal. In the

garden of your heart you will be able to enjoy the sacred fruit of liberation.

Once you have that, fear can never again trouble you. TO BE CONTINUED With Sai

love from Sai brothers – ‘’

COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Source: http://laluni.helloyou.ws/askbaba/saibabagita/

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