Sai message for the day

[Guest guest]

Swami! We come across words like manas, mind, buddhi, intellect,

citta, consciousness, and aham kara, egoism. How are we to understand

and correlate them? How do they differ from one another? It is our

good fortune that Swami explains in simple terms ever so complex.

 

Sai Baba: Here is an illustration. Consider a Brahmin. When he

conducts ceremonies like weddings, you call him purohit, priest; when

he reads out from the almanac at your home the tithi, lunar phase,

the varam day of the week, naksatra, star, etc; you call him the

pancanga Brahmin; when he prepares food in your home, you call him

the brahmin cook.

 

Another illustration. Your wife addresses you in Telugu as e

mandi , " Oh, you! Please, Sir! " because, addressing the husband by

name is not considered proper. Your child calls you `Father' and your

student addresses you as 'Sir': But, you are, after all, only one

individual, aren't you! One and the same faculty has different names:

manas or mind when engaged in thinking, citta or awareness in a state

of equanimity devoid of plans or decisions; buddhi or intellect while

exercising discrimination; and aham kara or egoism when introducing

oneself or referring to oneself as `I' . All these are one, but named

differently according to their function.

 

What is to be controlled is the mind. When you have that nigraham,

control, you obtain God's anugraham, grace. Once you consider

something as evil, do not allow it to enter the mind. The behaviour

of trees and animals is regulated by prakrti, Nature. Only man is

disobeying the commands of God and has become depraved. There is only

one solution.

 

Another little illustration. Tie up kamadhenu, the wish - fulfilling

cow, of your body with the pas'a, rope of prema, love, to the post

called amna, chanting the name of the Lord. That is enough. You gain

control over the mind. Then, on the citta, awareness, devoid of the

turmoil of thoughts, is imprinted the form of God. Buddhi undertakes

fundamental discrimination; the `I' which has been egoistic cognises

its own true nature as atma and realises the innermost Self in all

beings. This is adhyatmika , spirituality.