Swami teaches... Part 1. The spiritual lessons before Sri Rama Navami celebration

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Light and Love Swami teaches...

 

Part 1. The spiritual lesson before Sri Rama Navami celebration The motto: "Life is a long journey and must not be dismissed in a trivial manner. It must be spent in the most auspicious manner possible. We should aspire for the Divine life and not long life" (Sai Baba). Celestial spheres are revolving and disintegrating; time is fleeting; age follows age; era succeeds era; bodies that have taken birth, grow and end; but, the urge to sanctify life with good works and good thoughts is nowhere evident; the fragrance of sincere sadhana is not traceable anywhere. Through the process of 'giving up' great things can be achieved. Cultivate detachment, and the Lord will attach Himself to you.

The past is beyond recovery; those days are gone. But, tomorrow is coming towards you. There is no need to worry about what awaits us in future. Do whatever you are supposed to, in the best way you can. This will lead you to a brighter future. Future is not sure, it is not in our hands. Present is important. Present is not ordinary present; it is omnipresent.Take care of the present, the future will take care of itself. Resolve to sanctify it with Love, Service, and Sadhana. From birth, human's activities have to be directed to moral purification and spiritual attainment. The most direct method of spiritual success is Nishkaama karma (desireless action), action without any attention or attachment to the fruit therefore, action as duty, action as dedication, action as worship. But, action and the fruit thereof are not two separate entities, the fruit is the action itself, in its final stage, the climax, the conclusion. The flower is the fruit; the fruit is the flower; one is the beginning, the other is the legitimate end. The flower becomes the fruit. Theaction becomes the consequence. One's duty is to act; act well, act within the bounds of morality; act in love; continue acting; the consequences will naturally follow as the fruit follows the flower. The ideals and sacred objectives established in human hearts shine forever. If one has to live up to an ideal, he/she must be prepared to face many ordeals, difficulties, calumnies, trials and tribulations. These ideals have continued up to the present day to glow in the hearts of the people because they have upheld in spite of vicissitudes and ordeals. Eons may come and go, continents may appear and disappear, but ideals and values remain a perennial source of inspiration to the world. What cannot be achieved through physical prowess, the strength of numbers or the power of wealth, can be accomplished through the power of buddhi (intellect). Viveka (wisdom) is the hallmark of intelligence. Human acquires wisdom only by adherence to Truth and the pursuit of Dharma (Righteousness). The Sun and the Moon are shining in the world. The Sun is regarded as selfluminous. The Moon shines because of the reflected light of the Sun. Light of wisdom is derived from the buddhi. The illumination of the buddhi is due to the Atma (the Indwelling Spirit). Human beings in their ignorance consider only the illumination emanating from wisdom and intelligence, forgetting the basic source of their effulgence, the Atma what is the foundation. It is Brahmam. It is Paratatwa (Supreme Cosmic Principle). It is the Paramatma (Omni-Self). It is the Avataric principle.

 

The common people can derive no benefit if the Formless Absolute remains in Kailaasa (Shiva's mountain abode) or Vaikunta (Vishnu's heaven). It is not possible, as a rule, to worship the Formless Absolute. Hence, the Rama-Avatar appeared in human form to enable humanity to experience the Formless in a form, which is accessible to them and helpful to them. An Avatar assumes the form that is beneficial to and within the reach of human beings.

An effort must be made to understand the nature of divinity. When God comes in human form, human beings can have the full opportunity to experience and enjoy the Divine. When human life is sublimated, it gets divinised. God is said to reside in every being. Yes, He resides as Prema. (Devoid of Prema, the world becomes a cauldron of misery. It is as water to the fish. Keep a fish in a golden bowl, set with gems; it will struggle in mortal agony to leap back into water). The Divine manifests His powers according to the needs, the circumstances, and the conditions prevailing ata particular time or place. Take, for example, the case of a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He has the power to inflict the supreme penalty on any number of persons, according to the law. He has also the power to protect the rights of citizens. He has both the power to protect and to punish. These powers can be exercised only when he sits in his judicial chair. The same Chief Justice, when he is at home, confers joy on his grandson by letting him ride on his back. By allowing this grandchild to play in this manner, does he forfeit his powers as a Chief Justice? Similarly, the Avatar does not forgo any of His supreme powers merely because He lives and moves among human beings as a man. This phenomenon could be noticed in several instances in the case of the Rama-Avatar. In the Ramayana, Rama is depicted as one who, like other ordinary human beings, experienced the pangs of separation from Sita. For what reason did Rama exhibit such feelings? Rama behaved in this manner to serve as an example to the common people how individuals should behave in similar circumstances. The foremost lesson to be learnt from the Rama-story is how to foster unity and harmony in a family. What should be the relations between a father and a son, how should a husband and wife conduct themselves, how should brothers behave towards each other, what should be the relations between the rulers and the citizens, how should sisters-in-law conduct themselves - all these are exemplified in the story of the Rama-Avatar. Rama was prepared to honor a boon given by his father to his step-mother in fulfillment of an old promise. He renounced the throne at the moment of coronation and elected to go to the forest as an exile. Eminently qualified, as he was to become the ruler, nevertheless he chose to go to the forest to honour his father's plighted word. This is a glorious example of an ideal life. (Today people would set at naught promises given by the father and place their self-interest in the forefront). Rama demonstrated to the world that men born in the Ikshvaku dynasty were unflinching in honoring the pledges of the fathers. Rama was prepared to face any ordeals and troubles in upholding this sacred principle. Rama was ever active in fulfilling the wishes and responding to the opinions of the people. Highly sensitive even to the remarks of a petty washer-man, Rama sent away Sita to the forest out of a feeling that the washer-man's comment might be an indication of the unspoken feelings of many others among his subjects.

Rama stands out as an ideal ruler intensely responsive to the wishes of the people. (Today persons who are incompetent and unworthy are aspiring for positions of power). People of character, who are totally free from self-interest should occupy the seats of power. Rama demonstrated the ideal relations that should exist between the ruler and the ruled. Egotism is the mightiest enemy that has to be overpowered and destroyed. When Rama was proceeding from one hermitage to another in the forest, the rishis (sages) who were expecting Him to visit them made elaborate preparations to receive Him; they prepared lists of grievances to be presented to Him, and hoped to win His Grace by competitive pomp and adulation, by exhibition of superior asceticism. The old woman, Sabari, who was the attendant of the sage Mathanga, told by her dying master that Rama will be passing that way and so, she longed in sincere anguish that she must be spared until she could wash the Lotus Feet of Rama with her tears. The sages sneered at her audacity and laughed at her foolish hope.

Rama visited the hermitage of the egotistic ascetics on his way; they read out the verses of welcome they had composed; they presented a petition in which they had listed the atrocities committed by the Rakshasas (demons); they complained that river water - their only source of supply - has contaminated and had become undrinkable. Rama told them in His reply that the water will be rendered pure and potable as soon as they stop reviling Sabari and start appreciating her simple, sincere yearning for God. Shabari had strong and steady faith; that was enough to bring Rama to her lowly hut. Austerity, scholarship, power, authority, experience, riches - these are handicaps that obstruct the acquisition of that simple, sincere faith that God will accept.

To get the attitude of surrender, of dedication, you must have faith in God. This world is His play; it is not an empty dream; it has purpose and use. It is the means, by which one can discover God; see Him in the beauty, the grandeur, the order, the majesty of Nature. These are but shadows of His Glory and His Splendour. Upasana (adoration of God), leads to the knowledge that He is all; when you experience there is no second that is jnana (spiritual wisdom). Today the people are bedeviled by distrust and suspicion at every step. Different questions are asked out of narrow-minded doubts. There will be no room for such doubts if the infinite nature of the Divine is properly understood. The petty-minded folk who cannot grasp the omni competence of the Divine raise such questions. God can protect as well as punish. In the Ramayana He punished Ravana and Kumbhakarna and crowned Vibhishana as King. There is a story, which points out the difference between a genuine disciple and others who behave in one way when they are with the preceptor, and differently when they are away from him. The preceptor, when he was nearing his end, sent word to all his old disciples to come to the ashram for a last meeting with them before he passed away. All the disciples had arrived except one who had to come from a long distance. While he was coming, he had to cross a river in spate before reaching the guru's village. Despite warnings from the villagers not to get into the swollen river, he walked on, in his anxiety to reach the guru, reciting the mantra the guru had taught him. Miraculously the river was only knee-deep while he was crossing it. Everybody was struck by the miracle. On reaching the ashram, the other disciples felt that the guru had imparted a different mantra to this disciple, which had enabled him to wade through the swollen river with ease. They even accused the guru of partiality. The guru told them that the mantra imparted to all of them was one and the same, but there was a difference in the spirit in which it was uttered by the disciples and that made all the difference in its protective efficacy. The disciple who had crossed the river was saved by his faith in the guru. If the name of the Lord is not recited in the proper spirit, of what use is all the sadhana? Faith is the primary requisite. Chanting the name endlessly without faith is utterly useless. If faith is lacking how can Bliss be experienced? Sadhana is only one-fourth of the process; vichara (enquiry) is the other three-fourth. (Insulin injections are but a fourth for the diabetic; the other three-fourths are dietary restrictions, physical exercises and other such disciplines). So too, in the sadhana of Namasmarana (continuous remembrance of Lord's name), two other complementary processes are included: along with the recollection of the Name, the fixation of the mind on theName, there must also be acquired purity of feeling and dwelling on the meaning of the Name.

Alas' this is the Kali age. People are blind, lacking the eyes of faith. A rich man will trust a gurkha watchman for the safety of his home. One will trust a driver for the safe driving of the car. A person will trust a dhobi for washing valuable clothes. One submits the head for tonsure to a barber wielding a sharp razor. But, unfortunately, in spite of all their studies, educated persons do not have faith in God. People are prepared to place their trust in an array of inferior beings, but have no faith in the Supreme. "Faith" is not some abstract "belief," faith is rather a very powerful feeling, a knowing and trusting beyond all doubt that we do indeed have God-given powers which will manifest anything at all in accordance with our thoughts.

"And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matthew.17:20).

Probably the source of our ability to achieve anything is the the Self, Atma. Faith often has misunderstood in the past taken by people to mean that providing they have faith to their chosen religion. However, true faith is belief in the infinite power of the Self, and is not subject to some external influence. The brain is not the mind; the mind resides in every cell, molecule, atom, subatomic particle and quanta of energy that comprise the energy-information field that constitutes what we perceive with the five physical senses. We can easier perceive the field of energy-information by impressing our wishes on the Self by prayer. However, this prayer is not mechanically reciting a verse either from memory, or from a book, or by repeating words after someone else. Such prayer has very little or no effect. The sincere prayer is not dogmatic, or conforms to the creed or dogma of others, it is rather a science, the awareness that Cosmic Principles of Creation will be influenced the thoughts and emotions behind the prayer. Such prayer is designed to influence to change something in our lives within us.

"Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew. 21:22).

 

Probably the power of Christ was due to the faith that his followers placed in Him. The same words are valid about Krishna, Rama, Swami, and other Avatars. The Avatar incarnates not alone but with His companions devotees who have faith to Him.

 

"And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened" (Matthew 9:28-30).

The blind man was healed by the power of his faith to Christ.

 

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7).

Faith - it is the awareness of our true Reality (Swami's Cosmic Form within) and our infinite powers of the Self as an integral aspect of the Cosmic Consciousness to manage our own life and destiny.

 

However, before anything can be achieved, there have to be harmony between the mind and Self. The last is always in harmony and never argues about anything; it is the mind (the ego), that needs to be convinced. Above all, develop faith in the ideals of Rama. Faith in these ideals has been responsible for their survival after eons. Ideals, not ostentation, should be the watchword. The Rama-Era will come into existence from the moment we give up ostentation, develop faith in the Self, and lead a godly life. Then everyone will be a lover of Rama. Rama does not mean the son of Dasaratha. The Atma is Rama and hence Rama is referred to as Atma-Rama. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 4. "Sai Sankalpam," Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8. "One-fourth and three-fourths," Chapter 14; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14. "Four in One," Chapter 25; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 24. "Ideals of the Rama Avatar," Chapter 6; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 33. "Pari Prashna -The Divine Answers" Chapter 21). Namaste - Reet