Swami teaches... Part 1. Attach yourself to God with Love and Faith

[Guest guest]

Light and Love Swami teaches... Part 1. Attach Yourself to God with Love and Faith The Motto You should cultivate an attitude of inseparable attachment to the Lord, who is your very Self (Sai Baba). "What that subtle being is, of which the whole Universe is composed, that is the real, that is the soul, that art thou" (Chandogya Upanishad). People live in a competitive waning world of passions and emotions. It is only when God is the goal and guide, that there can be real Peace, Love and Truth. The Divine must be revered at all times; all your skill and strength are God's gifts. The firm faith in God must be based on the awareness that God is omnipresent. The Divine pervades everything in the Universe. Not everyone may understand this. However, whether some accept this fact or not, the truth is, evidence of the presence of God can be found wherever one turns. Keeping the mind fixed on omnipresent God and dedicating all actions to God, you will find harmony and peace in mind. The Ramayana gives two examples of such consecrated lives, those of Hanuman and Lakshmana. Hanuman dedicated every moment of his life, every wave of thought, every twitch of muscle, to his Master, Rama. When Rama sent him in the southerly direction on the mission to search for Sita, he was neither elated on being thus recognized as an efficient instrument nor depressed at the dangerous nature of his task. He knew that Rama would confer on him the skill and strength needed to fulfill the errand; in fact all his skill and all his strengthwere 'His gifts'. To feel that he was too weak an instrument was, he concluded, an insult to Rama's omniscience and Grace. Lakshmana was a mighty hero, for, he drew strength front the Divine itself. He had no other strength. Once while moving about in the forest as exiles, Rama instructed him to choose a nice spot and erect a Parnashala (green-bower) thereon, for Sita and Himself. Lakshmana was so shocked with pain at this that he fell on the ground; he lamented that he had fallen from grace. Rama said that he had 'risen' instead, for, he was asking him to select the site himself. That was the very reason why Lakshmana felt he had fallen: "Have I a will apart from yours? How could you ever imagine that I could exercise my judgment independently and select a site myself? Tell me, where and how; it will be done. But, I have no judgment of my own; I have surrendered it long ago." That was the reply of Lakshmana.

As a sign of surrender and faith, nothing more is enjoined than constant remembrance of the God's name. No regimen of exhausting sadhana (spiritual discipline) has prescribed. Smarana (remembering) is enough. Smarana is the surest means of mastering the wiles of the mind. Thyagaraja (18th and 19th century saint-singer) sang of the Rama Naama, as being composed of two vital sounds Ra and Ma, Ra being the life-sound of the mantra devoted to Vishnu (Om Namo Narayana) and Ma being the life-sound of the mantra devoted to Shiva (Om Namashivaya).

For attaining the four aims of human life, Dharma (Righteousness), Artha (Prosperity), Kaama (Fulfilment of Desires) and Moksha (Liberation from bondage), the basic requirement is accordance with health of body, mind, and spirit. The body is made up of five elements and five senses and is bound to perish sooner or later but the Indweller has neither birth nor death. (Death is but the casting off old clothes). The Indweller has no attachment whatsoever and is the eternal witness. The Indweller who is in the form of Atma is verily God Himself. Do not be misled by what you see; what you do not see with your eyes is much more significant. Nothing is wrong in the Universe from the aspect of Atmic Reality (absolute level of Truth).

 

Truth is God. Love* is God. Truth and Love are all-pervasive. The whole Creation emerges from Truth and merges into Truth. By this aspect, all Creation is the same appearance of Atma - Unity in Diversity. But, by the aspect of Maya Reality (relative level of truth) most or (nearly most) humans' actions and behavior are far of upholding the Dharma and should be changed. As on the Atmic level all Creation is the appearance of the same Atma, on the level of human's mind (Maya level) is far not so. How many go about the world persons with unclean thoughts and impure fancies in their minds without a sense of shame. (If they make an honest examination of the impure state of their minds and the kind of double life they are leading, they will be able to get rid of their bad thoughts in a moment). The life on the Earth is saturated with evil, injustice, sorrow created by negative 'face' of ego and human's six foes (by Swami). Swami's Teaching explains the purposes why human's life on the planet is full of misery and sorrow and how to overcome the duality between Atmic and Maya Realities. However, no one can probe the mystery of the power of the Divine or grasp its infinite magnitude. Swami's Teaching is full of parables and needs the deep inner contemplation (it seems namely in purpose of person's spiritual growth) likely as all other teachings of Avatars from the past. It is fact that no one can comprehend the nature of Divinity. Actually, the principle of Love that exists in all beings is the principle of Divinity. Love has no specific form. God is present in everyone in the form of Love and in the form of Truth. Wherever you go, He is with you. He is the eternal witness. Share your Love with others and receive their Love in turn. Love is your greatest virtue. Love confers the ultimate joy and bliss. God resides in the heart filled with Love. The Hridaya (spiritual heart) is the abode of the Atma. True Love is related to the Atmic principle. Worldly love is bound to change with the passage of time, whereas spiritual Love is permanent.

All names and forms are based on feelings. People attribute various names and forms to the Lord. The worshippers of Ganapati consider Lord Ganapati as great; the Saivites consider there is none superior to Lord Siva. The devotees of Sai consider Him the greatest. Some devotees say all are one. In fact, all names and forms belong to the same God. He responds to the prayers of devotees in whatever form they worship Him. Hence, each one considers the form he/she worships to be superior to the other forms. It is a sign of ignorance to consider one form superior to the other. What is important is that your prayers should not be confined to mere words. They should be translated into action. It is easy to speak but not so easy to practice. True prayer is that which has translated into action. You do not need to search for God. He is always in you, with you, around you, above you and below you. (Once you develop Love in you, hatred will naturally vanish. If you were to come across your bitter rival, greet him/her with love. He too will reciprocate the same feeling. How can you expect love from others when you do not have any love for them)? Try to understand the greatest wealth. None can estimate its value. What does God expect from you? It is only your Love the tax, you have to pay to God for all that He has given you. You have to express your love to the Divine Incarnation in nine different ways. Sravanam (listening), Kirtanam (singing), Vishnusmaranam (contemplating on Vishnu), Padasevanam (serving His Lotus Feet), Vandanam (salutation), Archanam (worship), Dasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship), Atmanivedanam (self-surrender). Your Love should flow directly towards God. True spiritual practice lies in connecting Love to Love what can transform even a hard stone into butter. The more you distance yourself from evil, the nearer you will be to the principle of Love what will automatically enter your heart at the moment you eschew evil. The Gopikas used to pray, O God, I offer you the heart which You have given me. What else can I offer at Your Lotus Feet? I pray to You I to accept it.

 

Heart is not your property; it belongs to God. There is nothing in this world that you can call as your own. Lord Krishna declared, Anityam Asukham Lokam Imam Prapya Bhajasva Maam (as the world is temporary and full of misery, contemplate on Me constantly). The Divine Love alone is true and changeless. The mariner's compass always points towards Northern direction; likewise, your Love should always be directed towards God. You may wonder as to how to pray to God. In fact, you even do not need to pray to God. You should let your Love flow incessantly towards God. Then you will understand the unity. There is no second entity. The Upanishads declare that God is ten-inch-symbol of the kaala (time), desha (space) - manifestation of divinity, as described by sage Kapila, the incarnation of Narayana Himself. When Kapila who too was thepersonification of time and space was born, he called upon the Gods to gather in the presence and take dharshan (audience); his mother who called upon the Gods is therefore named, Devahuthi (Daughter of Swayambhuva Manu, wife of Kardhama Prajapathi, and mother of sage Kapila, She who called the Gods. And, when the Gods came, Kapila asked them, "Don't you know who I am?" Even now, all human babies ask the same question as soon as they are born - Koham? (Who am I)? Heros of Bharath opened up the paths to God that are described in the texts of Sanathana Dharma (Eternal Universal Religion). Bharath is the sacred land from where the voice of the Vedas rang over the world. It is the land which still retains the splendor of Yoga (Divine communion), and the glory of Renunciation. The Gayatri Mantra (Vedic prayer to illuminate the intellect), enjoined on all, it is the crucial mantra (sacred formula) of the Vedas.

Pranayama (breath-control) and its later stage of Prathyahara (the control of the senses and of their listless pursuit of external pleasure) are discoverable only in dictionaries. Sages advise to employ a breath technique that will neutralize any objection you might have had to creating the spiritual awareness. It is faith that matters, that cures, and that creates. When there is faith and motivation, concentration allows to access deeper levels of mind to enjoy new spiritual experiences. Yama and Niyama (abstention from evil doing and various observances of devotion to God) are the first steps in spiritual discipline. Even those who claim to teach and guide do not practice them at all. The world today is rolling in a sickbed, afflicted with fear, anxiety and all types of phobia. It is not as if there is no remedy to cure it and make it whole and healthy again. What is the treatment that can set the world right? Developing the bond of brotherhood is the remedy suggested by various practitioners. That is not enough. Peace and harmony cannot be ensured when people tell themselves that they are brothers. (We find that brothers and sisters born of the same mother fight against each other. They pollute their minds with anger and envy. Filial reverence and fraternal co-operation are mostly absent today among mankind. They fight for shares in property and spend most of their time and money in courts, trying to wreak vengeance against one another). As a consequence of pride in one's own strength and power a person might injure thousands, but the pride will injure that person most, being like a devil that possesses human. People usually attach importance to the external appearance of the body and value the respect shown to it. Nevertheless, one who cares only for the body and ignores the state of mind is only a two-legged animal. The sages of yore acquired various kinds of powers by their penance. They were able by these powers to fulfill whatever they promised. They used their powers with restraint. There is nothing wrong in acquiring even titanic strength. However, it should be used in a humane way. It should not be wielded to oppress others. Shakespeare observed, "It is glorious to have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant." Everyone must heed this warning. The Divine Consciousness that motivates person is equally motivating all others, then Love ousts the ego into the background and takes charge of human's activities, words and thoughts. Human has within all the Bliss, as well as all the equipment needed to unravel it; but, he/she is caught in dire ignorance of own inner resources. Human can have supreme peace but, human does not strive to earn it; human’s attempts are weakened by doubt and indecision, and so, they are doomed to failure. There is the flow of water underneath the ground. Nevertheless, how can we benefit by it unless efforts are made to dig down into that source? A good deal of desire for sense satisfaction has to be removed before that inner spring of peace and joy can be tapped. The latest neuroscience studies found there is a remarkably low limit to how much information our brain can process at a time. Recent calculations suggest that we can use only some percents of our brain 'capacity' at any given moment. This limit in processing capacity is constantly at odds with the vast information in our environment. Attention plays the critical role of guiding our brain to selectively process relevant information while ignoring the irrelevant. (Probably attention can enhance some of the earliest inputs to the brain). When there is faith and motivation, concentration and attention allows to access deeper levels of mind to enjoy new experiences. The newest discoveries in quantum physics, neuroscience, and ancient scriptures will prove that you can control your mind. Only humans are capable of positive change. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Seaworthy boat," Chapter 21; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 12. "The ladder and the steps," Chapter 17 and "You are freed!" Chapter 28; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14. "Enemy number one," Chapter 12; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 17. "Make adoption meaningful to villagers," Chapter 13; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 36. "GIVE UP DEHABHIMANA, DEVELOP ATMABHIMAN," Chapter 14).

 

PS: * The Divine, spiritual Love (capital letter); love in general, also worldly love.

Namaste - Reet