Divine Discourse Prasanthi Nilayam 09 Oct 05

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Prasanthi Nilayam 09 Oct 05 Divine Discourse PURITY OF THE HEART IS TRUE

SADHANA Without any real work, chatting throughout the day, is this Sadhana, do

you think? Following a regimen of feeding your belly thrice a day, do you think

it is Sadhana? Vigorous activity by day and deep sleep by night, do you think

this is Sadhana? Is this for which God has created you? You spend a whole lot

of time in this kind of regimen but this is not Sadhana. Do not waste your time

in this manner. From this moment strive to know-recognise-God. This alone is

Sadhana.

(Telugu Poem) Embodiments of Love! The all-pervading consciousness is termed

as Divinity. It is also said that Divinity is present in all living beings. But,

there is none who has seen that omnipresent Divinity. It is only a human being

who can contemplate on and realise the Cosmic Person. In fact, human life

itself is the manifestation of divine power. But, some people do not agree with

this statement. Divinity is manifest in every living being. The same Atma Tattwa

is present not only in human beings, but in every living being in the universe.

But, one has to have a pure and selfless heart to realise this truth. In order

to realise this truth, every human being has to constantly contemplate on God.

By doing so, your heart will become pure and peaceful. The moment you attain

that stage, God will surely perceptibly manifest in you. This must be your

Sadhana. It is not the practice of dhyana alone that can make God manifest to

the Sadhaka. God is present as an indweller uniformly in human beings as well

as insects, birds and beasts. Suppose you put a question, “Where is God now?”,

the spontaneous answer would be that God is present in you also. Several people

undertake sadhanas like dhyana (meditation) to find answers to such questions.

Sage Narada affirmed that God could be realised through the nine forms of

devotion, namely, Sravanam (listening), Kirtanam (singing), Vishnusmaranam

(contemplating on Vishnu), Padasevanam (serving His lotus feet), Vandanam

(salutation), Archanam (worship), Dasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship) and

Atmanivedanam (self-surrender). There is no one in this world in whose heart

God does not dwell as the indweller. Therefore, is meditation required to

visualise such an all-pervading and omnipresent God? There are many who teach

different techniques of meditation today. However, meditation is meant to

acquire purity of the spiritual heart, for, without attaining purity of the

heart, the seat of awareness, God cannot be realised. Hence, one has to strive

to attain purity of the spiritual heart. What kind of sadhana did Kamsa do in

Dwapara Yuga? In fact, he was constantly abusing Lord Krishna. However, Lord

Krishna was so compassionate that He gave His darshan to Kamsa. No sadhana

would help in realising God, if one is devoid of purity of the heart. The

different kinds of sadhana like fasting, meditation, etc., would help to

develop one’s faith in the omnipresent God who, in fact, resides as the

indweller in you. People generally think that God gave darshan to such and such

person. But the truth is God never gives darshan to people who have no purity of

the heart. Hence, if you wish to have the darshan of God, you must develop

purity of the heart. All kinds of sadhana are meant only to attain purity. The

moment you attain purity of the heart, the omnipresent God will manifest right

in front of you. Unfortunately, today in the world there is a dearth of Gurus

who can firmly lead the seeker on the path of purity. They confine themselves

to some mechanical techniques of meditation, in exchange for money. In fact,

one does not need to undertake any complex system of meditation. One can

undertake the simple sadhana of constant contemplation on the omnipresent God.

Few teach such simple methods nowadays. People listen to and read about several

intriguing kinds of meditation and start their sadhana that catches their

interest or imagination. Embodiments of Love! If you want to visualise God, you

must attain purity of the heart. You refer to a certain individual and say that

he is your father. But, the father is embarrassed at such reference since he

is, in reality, the same Atma Tattwa that is present in all the human beings.

You marry some girl and refer to her as your wife. But, she is in fact, the

embodiment of the divine Atma. Similarly, you caress a child affectionately

calling it as your son. But, the same child may tell you that he is not your

son in reality, but the embodiment of divinity. Thus, all relationships in this

world are in fact, Atmic relationships only. To speak the truth, real Atma

Sakshatkara (self realisation) is the merging of the individual self (Jiva)

with Brahman (Supreme Self). Anyone you come across, is verily God. How can

there be human beings without such omnipresent divinity? Lord Krishna declared

that He incarnated again and again whenever there was decline in the practice

of Dharma (righteousness). He also declared that He was the beejam (seed) in

all the living beings. Though He moved intimately with the Gopalas and Gopikas,

He was never bound by their relationship with Him. The Gopikas who were aware of

this truth constantly contemplated on Him chanting the divine name “Krishna!

Krishna! The very name Krishna brought the embodiment of divine Atma before

their eyes. The Gopikas were highly realised souls who had the firm conviction

that the same Atma Tattwa was present in every individual, nay, every living

being. That is why they could visualise Krishna in every individual and every

object of the world. All that we see in the objective world, say, for example,

this Hall, this pandal, the buildings around, etc., are not really objects.

People often get deluded into thinking so, seeing their external forms. The

universal Atma Tattwa is present in all these objects. It is only the Gopikas

who realised that Supreme Truth naturally and spontaneously. They could

visualise Krishna in all individuals and objects. We often refer to individuals

as my son, my brother, my father, my mother, my wife, etc., keeping in view the

worldly relationships. But, the truth is that the same God is manifesting

through all those individuals. Hence, one has to consider every individual as

the embodiment of divinity. The entire universe is permeated by Brahma Tattwa.

All the names and forms attributed to the Atma Tattwa are all our own making.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to perform several methods/modes of worship to

Mother Kali throughout the day. One day the Divine Mother appeared before him

and enquired, “Ramakrishna! You are getting mad day by day. You worshipped Me

in a particular form. Why do you confine Me to this form and that form. In

fact, all forms are Mine. Whomsoever you come across, consider them as the

embodiments of divinity. God is pure and attributeless. Such an attributeless

and unsullied divinity is present in every human being. All human beings are,

in fact, the reflections of such an omnipresent divinity. Hence, every human

being has to be considered as the embodiment of divinity and respected. Though

God is omnipresent, He assumes a particular form and serves the human beings in

many ways. Right from now, realise this truth that all names and forms are His.

Anybody you come across, consider him / her as the embodiment of Divinity. When

you develop such an attitude, you can see God anywhere and everywhere. You go to

Mathura or Dwaraka and see how people are still worshipping Lord Krishna with

the same devotional fervour, though He left His mortal coil in Dwapara Yuga

some 5000 years ago. When God incarnates in human form, it is natural to

consider Him as an ordinary human being. This is not the correct approach. I

often reiterate that I am God. But, I also remind you that you are verily God.

You should not give scope for any confusion and difference of opinion in this

regard. Everyone of you are embodiments of divinity in reality. When you

develop such a firm conviction, you can visualise God in every human being. It

is only in keeping with this concept that the expression Yad bhavam tad bhavati

(as is the feeling, so is the result) asserted in the scriptures. Since people

are not aware of the real nature of divinity, they refer to certain individuals

as father, mother, uncle, etc., keeping in view their physical forms and the

relationships with them. If people are so deluded on the basis of physical

relationships, they are bound to get confused about the real nature of

divinity. Lord Krishna declared once while revealing His omnipresent divinity

that there was none other than Him in the entire universe. The same truth is

contained in the declaration Ekam Sath viprah bahudha vadanti (truth is one,

but the wise refer to it by various names). For example, the number 1 is only

1. When you add three numbers to it, it becomes 4. Thus, we go on adding

numbers to 1 and arrive at different numbers. However, the first number remains

the same, namely, 1. That is divinity. This is what the profound declaration

states, Ekoham Bahusyam (the One willed to become many). People often use two

terms ‘Deva’ (God) and ‘Jiva’ (individual being). In fact, there is no Jiva at

all! All are embodiments of Divinity only! Then the question arises why do

people die? Since people are not able to realise the immortal nature of the

Atma residing in the physical body, they make use of the term death. Atma has

no death at all! It is immortal. Those who realise this truth, merge in God.

For those who cannot realise the truth, Jiva remains as Jiva and Deva as Deva.

The dual feeling persists in them. What is the underlying meaning in the

declaration, Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma (God is one without a second)? Since

there is no entity other than Brahman in this universe, it is declared thus.

This is the Vedic declaration. The Upanishads explain our true nature in the

Mahavakya Tattwamasi (That Thou Art). In another Mahavakya, they declare

Prajnanam Brahma (Brahman is Supreme Consciousness). To whom shall this

declaration refer? Again, it is to that God Absolute. Thus, all the Vedas and

the Upanishads proclaim the non-dual concept of Jiva and Deva as one and only

one. But, no one is making an effort to realise this truth. In the end, they

think God is separate from them. People often ascribe distinctions between

different forms of divinity, for example Rama, Krishna, etc. Since they try to

identify themselves with a particular form, they entertain feelings of

difference. By doing so, they move away from God and remain as Jivas only. All

such differences exist in the individuals only. God is only one. In fact, He is

not different from you. He is in you, you are verily God! If it is not so, why

should the Vedas declare Tattwamasi? You develop the firm conviction that you

and God are only one. When you attain such a firm conviction, you become one

with God. For example, you keep a number of photos of Sai Baba in your Puja

room. But, in all the photos, you will find that the same God is photographed

in different poses. When you realise the underlying unity of divinity, there

can be no room for any confusion. You will be able to realise the truth.

Whatever I speak is only Truth. Since you are not aware of this truth, you are

unable to develop faith in it. There are several people nowadays claiming to be

godmen, who lecture upon this concept endlessly. Believe Me, they are all meant

to confuse the devotees. In fact, when you develop firm faith in the

declaration that God is only one, you will be able to realise the truth. One

who is able to realise this truth will have no confusion and doubt. Do not use

harsh words about anyone. In fact, there are no enemies in the world. You should

not consider anyone as an enemy and abuse him or her. One day, he may be an

enemy to you; but, you may become friends on another. You should not consider

someone as separate from you. All are friends. Embodiments of Love! You are

worshipping and praying to God with great love. Continue to love God and

develop faith in Him. Only then all your doubts will be cleared and you will be

able to understand the nature of divinity in full. Doubt implies duality, that

is, a feeling of separation between you and God. In fact, there are no two

entities – God and you. Everything is “I”, “I”, “I”. Hold on to the truth

Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma. For example, how many hours does the clock show?

Twelve hours. When the hour hand crosses twelve, it again moves to one in the

clock. When it crosses one, it moves to the next hour. Thus, it is only when

the hour hand crosses one, it moves to two. Similarly, there is nothing that

can be called the second. God is only one. However, when you wish to entangle

yourself in worldly matters, duality comes. In fact, there is no duality with

regard to divinity. Sometimes I wake up the children sleeping in My room and

ask them, “What is the time now?” They reply, “Swami! It is 12 o’ clock.” I

again enquire from them, “Is it 12 o’clock in the day or night? They reply,

“Swami! It is 12 o’ clock in the night.” Thus, when 12 hours of the day are

added to 12 hours of night, it becomes 24 hours. Strictly speaking, there are

no 24 hours. It is only because the day is followed by night and so on, that

you find 24 hours. Hence, do not make a distinction between day and night. The

railway people make such distinction for their operational convenience. For us,

night follows day and again the day starts after the night. Both day and night

are one for us. Therefore develop firm faith in the principle of unity in all

that you come across in the world. God is one and only one. If you do not

develop firm faith in this principle, it is possible that you will worship one

form of God and hate another. You should always hold on to the principle of

oneness of God. That is the truth. If you are not able to develop such faith,

ignore it and do not make it a matter of dispute and strife. Do not ever

attribute duality to God. God is always one and only one. When you are able to

understand and develop firm faith in the oneness of God, your life will go on

smoothly. (Holding a bunch of flowers in front of the audience Swami enquired)

What is this? It is a bunch of flowers. There are a number of flowers strung

together with the help of a thread, with the result it assumed the form of a

bunch. Though the flowers are of different varieties, the thread that holds

them together is only one. The same principle has been explained in the Veda as

Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma. The above example demonstrates unity in diversity.

When you refer to a single person, you say he is a man. When you refer to a

number of persons grouped together, you call them a group. Though there is a

vast difference in the terms we use while referring to a single person and a

group of persons, there is a fundamental unity in the classification. That

unity is divinity, which shall never be forgotten. Unfortunately, in the

present times, people tend to look at the apparent diversity in this objective

world, ignoring the underlying principle of unity. Take for example, the

Pandavas. Who were they? The five Pandava brothers were the sons of Kunthi. One

mother, but five sons. In the ordinary worldly sense, they are five in number.

You may not be able to understand this principle of oneness of divinity, but in

due course when you are able to recognise the principle with a mature mind, you

will understand that truth is one, not two. This is a handkerchief! (showing a

handkerchief to the audience). There are several threads in it woven together.

Since the threads are woven into warp and woof, it assumed the form of a

handkerchief. The cloth is one and the threads are many. One has to recognise

that principle of unity in diversity. We find several students gathered in this

hall. Each one appears to be different. But, they are all students of Sri Sathya

Sai College. Thus, one has to strive to develop that unity. Dear students! I am

extremely happy to see you all. I attend to a number of tasks and participate

in a number of programmes right from early morning till I go to bed. I feel

very happy and energetic. There is no one else who enjoys bliss as Myself. I am

always happy and cheerful. I do not at all pay attention to praise or scorn from

any quarter. They are only the outward manifestation in words of one’s feelings.

I have nothing to do with them. I do not entertain any feelings of difference at

all. “All are one, be alike to everyone”. (Bhagawan concluded His Discourse

with the Bhajan, “Govinda Krishna Jai …”) source:

http://sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/9_Oct_05_Discourse.htm