Sai message for the day

[Guest guest]

We have to work for our own moksha. But, how can we develop

spiritually the basic human quality? Will spiritual awareness

help us to be more human and ultimately experience the divine?

 

Today, everyone appears to be a human being by virtue of having a

human body. But, it is by virtue of your behaviour and nature that

you are a human being. You should be a human being .You seem to have

forgotten the value of human life. Kaya, the body, kala, time, karma,

the action, kartavya, duties, and karana, the purpose of life are all

either misused or misdirected or wasted. Though there is considerable

progress in science and technology, the basic human values are lost.

Everywhere there is the atmosphere of fear, anxiety, tension or

insecurity or agitation and restlessness.

 

To cultivate human values two qualities yama, restraint and niyama,

regulation and the five principles ahimsa, non-violence, satyam,

truth, asteyam, not coveting others' property, aparigraham, not

accepting or expecting anything from anybody and brahmacaryam,

celibacy are essential.

 

Ahimsa does not merely mean refraining from killing or hurting

anybody. By thought, word, or deed, no one should be hurt or pained.

This is true ahimsa or non-violence. If you are harsh to anybody, it

is violence. If you harbour evil thoughts towards anybody, it is

violence. If you cast bad looks on anyone, it is violence. Therefore,

non-violence means not causing harm to anyone and not hurting anybody

either by thought, word or deed.

 

Then, the second principle is satyam, truth. In the ordinary sense,

you think that truth is telling exactly what you see, hear, and know.

This is worldly truth. Even scientific laws are not constant. They

change from time to time with new inventions, discoveries,

observations and experiments. They may be called scientific truths,

or material truths. Newspapers convey facts and not truth. Then what

is truth? That which is permanent, eternal and changeless is satyam,

truth. Truth is God. You should speak truth in an acceptable and

pleasing way.

 

The third principle is asteyam, you shall not covet others' property.

You shall not steal. Asteyam in the true sense means not entertaining

any thought to own or possess others' property or that which doesn't

belong to you.

 

The fourth one is aparigraha. Don't expect anything from anybody.

Don't accept anything from anybody. But, you can accept things from

your parents, Guru and God. You should not bother or pester your

parents with demands they cannot afford to meet. You should accept

wisdom and grace from your preceptor. But from God you must accept

anything He gives you. Therefore, you are not permitted to receive

anything from anyone. You should not be become rnagrasta, indebted to

anybody. Give, but don't receive.

 

The fifth principle is brahmacarya, celibacy. Brahmacarya doesn't

mean remaining unmarried. A brahmacari is one who treads the

brahmamarga. Cariyuncuta (Telugu) of Brahman is brahmacari or a

celibate. Harmony in thought, word and deed is brahmacarya.

 

Then, there are five niyamas. They are tapas, penance, saucam,

cleanliness, s'antos'am, contentment, svadhyayam, scriptural reading,

and isvara pranidhanam, dedicating all deeds to God.

 

Saucam includes both outer and inner cleanliness. It is not enough if

you are clean outwardly, taking bath everyday and wearing ironed

clothes. You should be clean inwardly also. Attachment and hatred

usually pollute your mind. You should see that the mind is not

polluted by these two evils. Therefore, both outer purity and inner

purity are necessary.

 

The second niyama is tapas, penance. Tapas does not mean that you

should run away from home leaving behind your property. It doesn't

mean that you should break your family ties and go to a forest or

stand upside down with your head on the ground and the legs up above.

No, true penance means saying what you think and doing it

accordingly. In other words, the three " H's - Head, Heart and Hand "

should be integrated by thought, word and deed. Giving up bad

thoughts and deeds is penance. Pining for God or yearning for God is

penance. Purging your heart with sacred thoughts is penance.

 

The third niyama is s'antos'am. You are under the impression that by

fulfilling your desires, you will be satisfied and happy, No.

Contentment lies in putting a ceiling on your desires. Too many

desires make your life miserable. You may offer any number of objects

and any amount of material to fire. It will burn them all to ashes.

Fire never says " no " or " enough " at any time. Like that, desires also

have no limit.

 

The fourth niyama is svadhyaya or study of the Holy Scriptures. You

should read everyday one Holy Scripture. This is called parayana,

worshipful reading of a religious book everyday. This cleanses your

mind to some extent.

 

The fifth one is isvara pranidhanam. God is in you in the form of

your conscience. You should satisfy your conscience. This is most

important.

 

Thus the five yamas and the five niyamas will help you achieve the

objectives or goals of life purusarthas and sustain your human values

making you a true human being.