Swami teaches... Part 3. First for the Mother...

[Guest guest]

Light and Love Swami teaches... Part 3. First for the Mother... The money we accumulate will not follow us. To whom will it go ultimately? Nobody knows. Means of living and the goal of living are the two wings; the two wheels are material and spiritual, skill and sadhana. Do not be proud of your wealth, progeny and youth; the tide of time may destroy them in a moment. We have to accumulate the wealth of Divine grace and to pray for the welfare of all with selfless love. It is the noblest prayer. The Divine Mother Swami directs all mothers, community, nations, and humanity. Adi Sankara (approximently 788 - 820 CE, famous philosopher, stressed the importance of the Vedas) insisted on the recognition of the unity that underlies all diversity. Sankara declared that Shiva is everything, by whatever name He is called. Thereby, the omnipresence of the Lord is proclaimed. The Adwaithic doctrine of Sankara propagated the view that bodies are manifold, and in these separate bodies, the one Divine is present. With regard to Adwaitha, however, it is possible only to experience it as a conscious feeling, but not for applying nondualism on carrying out one's activities in daily life. There is the divine in a tiger, a snake, and a human being. You can recognize this as a concept, but on that account, you cannot go and embrace a tiger. The tiger must be treated as a tiger and a snake must be treated as a snake. If you sustain a fall, your foot may suffer a fracture and you may have a bandage. Nevertheless, irrespective of the love your mother bears for you, she cannot bandage her leg to relieve you of your pain. She may feel sympathy for you, but she cannot take over your fracture by bandaging her leg. In the phenomenal world, such differences are inherent. Most people do not realize that there is this Divine spirit in human beings. They should realize that beyond the annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya and vijnaanamaya koshas (the physical, the vital, the mental and the supramental sheaths associated with the body), there is the Anandamaya kosha (the sheath of Supreme Bliss). When do you attain this Bliss? It realizes when one suppresses own ego's materials and emotional aspect. It is difficult indeed to understand the ego - its depth and devious ways. Ego is an inert entity (quality), that is to say, it cannot know itself, nor can it know others. It has no fear; it will not bend before others. It degrades human from the golden glory, which is his/her due, to the level of lowly dust. Snakes hiss, pigs grunt, bulls moo; they are asserting their ego, intent on keeping others away. Egoism cannot tolerate love for others, nor can it be happy with itself. If the harvested grain is neither consumed nor shared, it will only rot. At the least provocation, egoism gets irate against one's parents, children or wife or teacher. It thrusts aside everyone who comes in its way. Therefore, human's enemies are not outside. They prompt human to act contrary to all codes. Ravana was prompted into sin by his nefarious ego and his crime reduced his splendid kingdom to a heap of ash. Hitler rose to be the dictator in Germany; victory over sundry neighbouring states boosted his ego and made him power mad. He caused a World War and died amidst the ruins of his own capital city. Egoism is an infection that ruins all chances of expanding and elevating one's consciousness. . Once upon a time in the temple of Visweswara in Kasi, Pujari (surname that means priest) was offering arati to the deity. Suddenly, a big gold plate fell from above. Pujari was surprised and happily picked it up to have a closer look at it. There was an inscription on the plate, which read as follows: "It should be given to the greatest devotee. One who does chant the Divine Name is not always qualified to get it." Then Pujari thought to himself, "Every day, I am performing Sahasra Lingarchana and Abhishekam to the Lord. I am sanctifying my time by chanting the sacred mantras from the four Vedas." His ego realizes that there cannot be a greater devotee than he. However, the golden plate did not react to his thoughts and turned out of his way. From that day onward, whoever visited the temple was asked to touch the plate. However, it so happened that the plate would turn into an earthen one whenever somebody touched it. It continued for a few days.

There was a devotee, who always chanted the Name of God, but did not perform any other sadhana (spiritual exercises) like japa (soft repetition of the name), thapa, dhyana (meditation), etc. He had no desires. He had achieved dama (sense control). One day he visited the temple. On being requested by Pujari to touch the plate, he said, "Sir, I don't have any desires, I feel no ego for material and other kinds of wealth. Hence, I don't want to touch it." Pujari requested him to touch the plate at least for his satisfaction. The devotee did not want to displease Pujari and therefore he touched the plate. No sooner did he touch it than it started shining with added brilliance. People who were witness to this event surrounded him and started asking, "Oh noble soul! What is the method of worship you follow, what is the sadhana you perform?" Then he replied, "I have not performed any japa, thapa, yajna or yaga (sacrifices or rituals). I only serve the poor. They are very dear to God."

From then onward, many rich people started visiting Kasi to see this devotee. Wherever there are rich people, it is but natural that the poor also gather begging for alms from the rich. This devotee resolved, "God loves the poor very much. That is why He has drawn so many of them to His abode.” From then on, he continued to serve the poor and the needy with greater devotion and enthusiasm.

 

After imparting such sacred action to the people around him, the devotee started coming out of the temple. As he stepped out, the gold plate also followed him. Along with the plate, all the coins started rolling behind him. Then the beggars started going behind him asking for the money. The devotee said, "My dear ones, what is the use of asking me? God is the guardian of all. Hence, pray to Him." As he was moving away, many coins started falling from the gold plate. The beggars collected those coins. What this legend teaches?

When there is hard rock below, you have to bore deeper for tapping the underground perennial pure water. The softer the subterranean soil, the quicker the success. Make your heart soft; then, success is quick in sadhana. Develop compassion, sympathy; engage in service, understand the agony of poverty, disease, distress and despair; share both tears and cheers with others. That is the way to soften the heart, and help sadhana to succeed.

 

What is sadhana, fundamentally? It is 'upavasam,' 'upasana.' Upa means near, Asana means sitting and vasam means residing. We sit near God, so that we might derive some godly qualities, and get rid of ungodly characteristics. God is the Antharyamin, the Inner Director, the Inner Reality, the Unseen Basis, and Inner Fire on which all this seeable world is built. He is like the fire-principle that is latent in wood, which can be made manifest, when one piece is rubbed vigorously against another. Satsangh (company of the good and the godly) makes you meet with other souls (individuals) of a like nature, and creates the contact that manifests the Inner Fire. The Atma, everyone is, vast and expansive. We fancy that the Atma is in us, in each of us. However, we are in the Atma, we are all in the Atma. All beings are alive and active, moving and resting in the all-pervading Atma. An example: we live in homes, however, our homes are not in us; we have only the memories of our homes and say pictorially that our homes are in our hearts... By philosophical and scientific aspect the Universe with all objects and appearances in It are the infinite holographic patterns of Cosmic Consciousness what less or more reflect in human's mind. By general aspect we are in the Universe, not vice versa. Swami is not in us, we are in Swami with infinite aspects of diversity. We have installed Swami in our hearts as the spark of the Divine Energy that guides us from inside us, from our spiritual heart. We simply say Swami is in our heart, God as Indweller is in our heart. However, more exactly He is the reflection of the Divine Energy (whatsoever name to this Energy we give; all names are His) what acts within us. It is usually said, "The body is a temple and the indweller in the body is God." This expression in short is correct but we have to understand its general meaning. In greater detail the Indweller is the reflection (in veiled or unveiled manifestation) of the Divine Atmic Energy in human's mind. This reflection is possible when there is a temple - body.

In every temple, we find a bell. Nevertheless, the bell present in the temple of a human body is not visible outside. It is not a bell, which one can ring. However, it rings continuously on its own day in and day out as long as life remains in the human body. This is nothing but the human heart. When the bell stops ringing, the body becomes lifeless. The entire Universe is the temple of God. In this temple of the Universe, one can continuously hear the sound of the bell Om. That is why God is described as Sabda Brahmamayi, Characharamayi, Jyotirmayi, Vangmayi, Nityanandamayi, Paratparamayi, Mayamayi, and Sreemayi (the embodiment of sound, movable, and immovable, light, speech, eternal bliss, transcendental, delusion, and wealth). Today, as a rule, we are unable to listen to the Divine voice of God, the embodiment of existence, consciousness, and bliss. Let us remember some fragments from Gita and to go nearer to hear the Divine call. Krishna is named Yogeeshwara (the Lord of yogis) in the Gita. What does that mean? Yoga is defined by Patanjali (author of the Yoga Sutras, which form the foundation of the Yoga system of Indian philosophy) as the control of the agitations of the mind-stuff. If the mind is stilled and free from waves produced by the wind of desire, then he becomes a Yogi and the Lord is the highest Yogi, for He is the ocean that is unaffected by the waves which agitate the surface. Krishna danced on the hood of the serpent Kaliya and forced it to vomit its poison, it is said. This is only another way of saying that he forced sensual desires to divest themselves of pernicious effects. Yoga of this type is the best means of attaining the Yogeeshwara; not breath control, but sense control is the prescription. Transcend the consciousness of the many and cultivate the consciousness of the One that will end strife, grief, pain, and pride. See all as but expressions of the same God, as appearances on the same screen. Feel that you and they are able to talk and walk, think and act because of the God (in the form of the spark of the Divine Energy of Cosmic Consciousness, or Rama's, or Christ's or Swami's spark of Divine Energy) within. All is The Great One. The world is One, but, each sees it from the own angle and so, it appears as if it has multiple faces.

 

Below are two Swami's precious directions for every-day practice (who is interested in it).

1. The Japa maala* teaches you the Unity, though it has 108 beads. If it is a sphatika maala (garland of crystal beads) you can see the string running in and through each bead, the inner reality on which all this is strung. If the beads are not transparent, you still know that the string passes through, holds together, and is the basis for the maala to exist. Why 108 beads? 108 is the product received by 12 is multiplied 9 times. Twelwe is the number of Aadhithyas (Luminaries), that reveals the objective world, and so, symbols of the Sakara aspect (the world of name and form, of manifoldness, the seeming variety, the fleeting pictures). Nine is the screen on which the pictures appear, the basis, the rope that deludes you as the snake in the dusk, Brahman, the Nameless, Formless, and Eternal Absolute. 9 is the Brahman Number, for it is always 9, however many times you multiply it! It is immutable, for 9 multiplied by any number finally adds up to 9 only. Therefore, when you turn the beads, impress upon yourself the fact that there is both truth, and travesty in the world, that the travesty attracts, distracts and delights in deceiving you, diverts you into devious paths; the truth makes you free.

 

Before everything, you must know the symbolism of the fingers. The thumb represents Brahman, the eternal Absolute, the Immanent Principle. The forefinger, the index one, which indicates this and that, you and other, is the jivi (individual), feeling separate and distinct. When these two are joined at the tip, held in that position, it is the Jnana Mudhra, the gesture of wisdom, for, wisdom consists in the jivi becoming One with the Brahman, the mergence of that which felt that it had emerged! The other three fingers, represent Prakrithi the objective world, which is negated when the mergence is effected. They are the three gunas, the sathwic, the rajasic and the thamasic (qualities of purity, passion and inertia), that by their interplay create the phenomenal world. Hold the rosary over the middle finger, keeping the three guna fingers together. This means that you are now transcending the world of attributes and qualities, of name and form, of multiplicity that is the consequence of all this transformation, and proceeding towards the knowledge of the unity. The jivi finger now slowly passes each bead towards the thumb (Brahman), touching the tip of the Brahmam finger when the bead passes over. This mergence is emphasized with every bead and every breath, for, while the fingers learn and teach the lesson, the tongue too repeats the mantra or the Name, with the Pranava (the primal sound of OM). The japa maala (rosary) is very useful for beginners in sadhana, but, as you progress, japa must become the very breath of your life and so the rotation of beads becomes a superfluous and cumbersome exercise in which you have no more interest. That is the stage to which the japa maala should lead you. You should not be bound to it forever; it is only a contrivance to help concentration and systematic contemplation. The belt has to be discarded when you have learnt to swim, the crutches when you are able to walk.

2. One can win the Divine Grace by earnest prayer. Before you start dhyana, your meditation session, chant 'so-ham', inhaling 'so' and exhaling 'ham.' So-ham means 'He is I,' it identifies you with the Infinite and expands your consciousness. Harmonize the breath and the thought. Breathe gently, naturally; do not make it artificial and labored. It must flow in and out, soft and silent; if you have some flour on your palm and hold it near the nostrils, it should not get fluttered the least. The faster the breath, the sooner you are burnt up, the shorter becomes your life span. Slow breath quietens and calms the emotions. The mood of relaxation produced by this 'so-ham' recital is a precondition for a profitable session of meditation. Performing this relaxation, have no thorn of hate in your mind; develop love towards all. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Japa, Saadhana," Chapter 6; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 7. "Roots into the deep," Chapter 28; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 15. " Love of the Motherland," Chapter 44; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "The juice, the sugar and the sweets," Chapter 15 and "What great mothers mean to the nation," Chapter 16; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 36. "LOVE AND RESPECT YOUR PARENTS AND SANCTIFY YOUR LIFE," Chapter 10). *Malas or Japa Malas are Buddhist, Hindu, and multi-faith prayer beads or rosaries crafted from various sandalwoods and natural materials. Buddhist Malas are generally 108 beads.

 

Namaste - Reet