Sai Baba Gita – Part II

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Om Sri Sai Ram

 

  SAI BABA GITA – Part II

 

 

  The Way to Self-Realization and Liberation in this

Age

 

  Part One

 

  I. Love and Duty - The Path of Perfection

 

  If you want peace and if you want happiness

You must live in love.

Only through love will you find inner peace.

Only through love will you find true happiness.

Love flourishes through giving and forgiving.

Develop your love.

Immerse yourself in love.

These words of Sai are a stream of love

Flowing out to you.

 

  Embodiments of Love,

 

  There are many fields of knowledge but there is only

one supreme

knowledge. This supreme knowledge is self-knowledge,

the knowledge of

the immortal self. It is the knowledge of your

unchanging reality,

your true self ­ that which was never born and

which will never

die. There are many other types of knowledge. There

are the different

fields of art, science, commerce and education. But,

these will only

help you to gain some transitory worldly objectives

and worldly

pleasures. To realize the eternal bliss that is your

own true nature

you must have self-knowledge. It is the only knowledge

that enables

you to know the inner peace and the unending joy which

is your own

truth, your real identity. When you shine with

self-knowledge, you

become love itself. You become pure and completely

selfless. Then you

will always be in perfect harmony with all existence.

 

  Self-Knowledge is God-Knowledge

 

  Self-knowledge is not different from God-knowledge.

The sacred

knowledge of God and the sacred knowledge of the

immortal self are

one and the same. They are the one divine wisdom. When

you realize

the one self everywhere, you become established in

unity

consciousness. Then you see only the oneness in all

the diversity

that is around you. From that moment on, you transcend

worldly

existence and gain the immortality you have been

seeking.

  What is the basis for this supreme knowledge? Its

basis is purity

of the mind. To purify your mind you must suffuse your

whole life

with spirituality. Engage yourself in noble

activities. Associate

with spiritually-minded people. Observe exemplary

conduct in your

daily life. Strive to do your duty to perfection. Live

your life so

that it is one of selfless service and virtuous deeds.

And study the

wisdom teachings of the ages; put them into daily

practice; let these

teachings serve as your guideposts. Then your mind

will become

purified. And with a pure mind you will be able to

discriminate

between the permanent and the temporary, between that

which is

beneficial and that which is detrimental to your

spiritual progress.

Then all your ordinary daily activities will become

sacred and God's

grace will be showered upon you.

  Now, you may be highly learned in secular knowledge,

you may be a

great scholar or you may be a world-renowned expert in

a number of

fields. But all your titles and achievements cannot

confer on you

real wisdom. To be truly wise and remove the grief

from your heart,

you must know who you really are. You must realize

your immortal

self. You cannot transcend grief by any other path.

Only the

knowledge of your true self will allow you to overcome

all suffering

and misery. This is the only knowledge that can bestow

on you all

happiness. When you master a worldly field of

knowledge you earn the

respect of your peers. You may become famous and

fulfill your worldly

aspirations, but it is only when you acquire

self-knowledge that you

deserve and earn the grace of God. When you have that,

you become

ever blissful. You enjoy the ultimate happiness.

  Who are those who deserve to learn this sacred

knowledge? Is it, as

some would contend, exclusively reserved for old

people, or does a

child deserve to learn it? Is it to be given only to

religious

initiates or should it be made available also to those

who have no

previous religious background? Should it be kept for

men alone or are

women equally eligible? Truly, to gain this wisdom,

race, color, age,

gender, nationality or social status are of no

consequence. The sage

Valmiki in his earlier life had been a highway robber,

the sage

Narada was born of a lowly maidservant; yet, they both

became great

spiritual lights. Everyone is equally entitled to

acquire this

supreme wisdom.

  The Lord comes to those who have devotion for him;

he looks at the

heart and not at the outer status. Develop your

devotion. Devotion is

very important to human life. The Lord said in the

Gita, "You become

very dear to me when you serve me with a loving

heart."

  Faith in Yourself and Faith in God

  When the Lord counsels you to develop your devotion

it does not

mean that you should neglect your worldly duties.

Prepare yourself

thoroughly for all your worldly tasks. Take great care

to properly

learn the secular knowledge which you need to

discharge your duties.

Most importantly, always have faith in yourself, faith

that you will

be able to fulfill the role for which you have taken

human life.

Faith in yourself and faith in God is the real secret

of greatness.

In truth, they are the same, for faith in yourself

means having faith

in your innate divinity.

  Worldly knowledge can only give you food and

shelter, whereas self-

knowledge gives you the greatest treasure of all, the

realization of

your own reality. Still, without some worldly

knowledge, you will not

be able to obtain the knowledge of the eternal. You

should not be

careless in the sphere of worldly knowledge. Spiritual

knowledge

needs to be balanced with worldly knowledge. The sages

Valmiki and

Vyasa were honored by everyone. They wrote many holy

scriptures,

including those timeless epics, the Ramayana and the

Mahabharata.

They were great spiritual lights, but they were also

very well versed

in worldly knowledge. Otherwise, how could they ever

have written

such great classics?

  Everything in the world is derived from God. When

everything comes

from him, what can you possibly offer him? The only

thing you can

offer him is your love. That is all he expects from

you. That is why

a great poet sang,

  Beloved Lord,

You are the all-pervading reality.

When the entire universe is filled with you,

How can I build a temple to you?

When you are effulgent like millions upon millions of

suns,

How can I offer you my small candle light?

When you are the indwelling reality of all beings,

How can I call you by a particular name?

When the entire universe is in your stomach,

How can I offer you a little food in worship?

All I can offer you is my love,

And all I can hope to do is to empty myself in you,

Who are the ocean of divine love.

 

  The Formless takes a Form

 

  For the sake of human satisfaction you give name and

form to the

Lord. But in reality he does not have any form at all.

Yet, he will

take on a form so that you can express your devotion

to him and

worship him, and thereby satisfy some of your

spiritual yearnings.

Whatever form of the Lord you choose to follow,

worship him with a

loving heart.

  Ramakrishna was not a learned man in secular

matters; he was barely

literate. But his mind was always engaged in

worshipping the divine

mother. With his heart brimming with love, he

dedicated his entire

life to the worship of the divine mother. He was

living on only five

rupees per month; that was enough for all his needs.

Through his

intense, one-pointed devotion, he became luminous.

Today he is well-

known throughout the world; you can find Ramakrishna

Missions

everywhere. He is universally honored.

  Similarly, a robber like Ratnakara became the great

sage Valmiki

because of his love for God. Prahlada was the son of a

demon,

nevertheless he became luminous and pure with the

divine love he had

for God. Hanuman, a monkey, by repeating the name of

Rama, became a

glorious being who is honored throughout India. Jatayu

was a bird,

who because of his great love for Rama merged in the

divine principle

when he gave up his life. For devotion towards God,

race, creed,

gender or any other distinctions make no difference at

all. Everyone

is equally eligible.

  The chapter on devotion is the most important

chapter in the Gita.

That is why we have started with it today. Devotion is

not merely

repeating the name of God. It is an undying and pure

love for God. It

is completely selfless in its nature, bereft of any

worldly desires.

It is pure, permanent and eternal. This divine love

should be

practiced constantly in your daily life.

 

  Divine Consciousness

 

  To begin with, you must know who you really are. Are

you the body?

If you are the body then why do you say, "This is my

body"? Since you

call it, "my body", you must be something different

from the body.

When you say, "my heart", then that means that you are

something

different from your heart. Your heart is an object

possessed by you,

its owner. You declare, "This is my brother, this is

my sister, this

is my mind, my body, my intellect". The unchanging

element in all of

these declarations is my. There is a true I, which

stands behind this

little my and gives rise to it. It is really the

deepest

consciousness in everyone and in everything. It is the

universal I,

the divine consciousness. This divine consciousness is

all-pervading.

It is within you, around you, below you, above you,

and beside you.

Truly, it is you.

  This divine consciousness can be found everywhere,

in everything in

the world. But to realize it, the mind must be turned

inwards. You

must become inner-directed and search out your own

truth. You must

realize that you are not this, you are not that... you

are not the

mind, you are not the body, you are not the intellect.

Then who are

you? The answer comes, "I am I". This is the right

path to follow for

self-realization. This can only develop when you

follow the path of

love, the path of devotion. To search for God there is

no other way.

  Everywhere you look, the formless has taken on

forms. God is

present everywhere. But in order that you may

comprehend him, he has

taken on a particular name and form. He is everywhere

as the formless

divinity, but before you can get that realization, you

have to

develop your love and devotion for the Lord with form.

Therefore, in

the beginning, you enter the devotional path at the

lowest rung, and

worship the Lord with a name and form. Then steadily,

inch by inch,

you rise to a higher state. You withdraw your mind

from the external

world and worship the formless, until finally you

realize your own

reality as the formless divine principle. That is

self-realization.

  Work, Worship and Wisdom

  Without flowers you cannot have fruits. The

maturation of the

flowers into the unripe fruits and then into the ripe

fruits, is the

path of self-realization. The flowering stage is the

path of service.

When it progresses to the unripe fruits it is the path

of devotion.

When the fruits become ripe and full of the sweet

nectar of wisdom,

then it becomes the path of self-knowledge. At that

point, the

flowers of good works and service have transformed

themselves through

love and devotion into the sweet fruits of wisdom.

Therefore, good

works lead naturally to worship and detachment, and on

to wisdom. On

the spiritual path, it is not enough to just worship;

you must also

engage in good works. But your works become worship

when you steep

every deed with love for the Lord and offer all your

works to him.

  As long as you are in this world, you must be

engaged in work. Work

is very important for human beings. It is through your

work and

activities that you learn to harmonize thoughts, words

and deeds. For

great souls, thoughts, words and deeds are always one.

At first you

will yearn for the fruits of your work. In the

beginning, when there

is still a great deal of desire, you will not be able

to perform your

work without a desire to enjoy the fruits. Later,

however, you will

become totally selfless and unconcerned with the

fruits of your work.

In that way, gradually, your work becomes converted

into worship and,

in time, you will be doing everything only for the

love of God.

  Truth is one, but the sages call it by many names.

The divinity is

one, but many names are used to speak of this one

absolute reality.

>From the one come the many. When a child is born it is

called a baby.

As it grows up it becomes a youth. After twenty years

it becomes an

adult and later a parent. Later still in life, it

becomes a

grandparent. But these are all one and the same

entity. Similarly,

the ultimate reality is always one and the same. When

you realize

this unity and remain firmly established in the one

divinity

underlying all the changing names and forms, you will

have achieved

something that is truly worthwhile.

 

Extinction of Delusion

 

  Have a clear understanding of the Gita in your

heart. What is the

essence of the Gita teachings? Some say that it is the

path of

service and action, and others say that it is the path

of love and

devotion. Still others say that it is the path of

knowledge and

wisdom. But these are all partial truths. The Gita

starts with a

verse whose first word is dharma, which means duty or

right action.

The concluding verse of the Gita ends with the word

'my'. When these

words are taken together they become 'my duty' or 'my

work'. That

summarizes the whole teaching of the Gita. It means

you should

perform your prescribed duty to the very limits of the

human capacity

for excellence and perfection, doing the work that is

appropriate to

your stage of life.

  When you are a student study your lessons well. When

you are a

householder perform your work and family

responsibilities properly.

When you are retired perform the duties appropriate to

that stage,

and if you have renounced the world to engage yourself

in

contemplation of the reality, then stick to that path.

When you

follow your prescribed duty in the very best way

possible,

discharging your duty sincerely and conscientiously,

then there will

be no confusion or misery.

  Arjuna had to perform his duty on the battlefield.

His calling was

to be a warrior and to combat evil and protect the

good. But, when he

saw his friends and relations arrayed on both sides of

the

battlefield, he forgot his strong resolve to fight for

right, the

fight for which he had been preparing for so long. He

became full of

attachments and delusion, and threw down his bow. He

abandoned his

duty and became miserable. Krishna taught Arjuna how

to free himself

from despair by adhering to his prescribed duty.

Krishna taught

Arjuna the truth of the immortal self, and showed him

that his duty

was to follow the inner promptings of the Lord, who

was enshrined in

his heart. When Krishna finished his teachings, he

asked

Arjuna, "Have your attachments and delusions

disappeared?" Arjuna

picked up his bow and answered, "My despair has

completely vanished.

All my delusion is now gone. I will do as you

command!"

  As long as you have delusion you will be in a state

of bondage.

When you suffer from delusion and infatuation,

liberation is

impossible. Liberation has nothing to do with worldly

pleasures. It

is not an air-conditioned car or a comfortable life.

It is the

complete destruction of delusion. It is the extinction

of all worldly

attachments, the incineration of all selfish desires.

  From now on, do your duty to perfection and become

ideals for

mankind. Apply the teachings of the Gita in your daily

life and be

blessed with grace. Many of you are just wasting your

time. Start

today to reform yourself. Don't waste time. Time is

God. Every day

spend some time on these holy teachings and

contemplate their inner

meaning. Once they are understood, put them into

practice. Only in

this way will you be able to attain a sacred life, a

life of purity

and perfection, which is the mark of a true human

being.

 

  TO BE CONTINUED

 

  Source:

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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