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Swami teaches... Part 2. Guidelines for spiritual lifestyle

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Light and Love Swami teaches... Part 2. Guidelines for Spiritual Lifestyle

 

What is it that people need today? These are three things: A heart pure and white like the moon, speech soft and sweet like butter, a face that is loving and kind. (These are mostly lacking in the world today. The entire atmosphere is frightening). People have to strive to base their lives on neethi and nijaayathi (morality and integrity), which alone can lead to Nirvana (liberation). They should become, as Jesus said, messengers of God and light the lamp of the Divine in their minds.

It is not enough to read the lives of avatars and messias. People must gradually outgrow their material attachments and develop Divine Love. (When the mind is filled with love, it achieves fullness as full moon is). Three words describe the primary obligations of human: preethi, bheethi and neethi. Preethi pertains to the dhaiva preethi (love of God). Bheethi is related to the papa bheethi (fear of sin). Neethi is related to sangha neethi (morality in society). If these three are observed, there will be peace and non-violence. Love of God is the basis for all human values. It is the index of human's Divinity as proclaimed by the scriptures.

You can gain all things through love alone. Love can win over even the strongest of enemies. True love is desireless and natural. It is based on the Atmic relationship. (A small example for such love: a mother is walking along the street, carrying her young baby. If you happen to be walking behind them, that child will smile on seeing you, and naturally, you will also smile at the child. Who is that child and who are you? Although them is no relationship whatsoever between the two of you, the child is able tomake you smile. What a profound bliss would you experience in such love). Develop greater love in your heart. As your love grows, the Spirit in you will shine brighter. Life is associated with love, not hatred. (Today, wherever you see there is mostly hatred, hatred, hatred! Being born as human being, it is not proper to possess animal qualities, throwing to wind the human qualities. Sometimes, the animals even seem better than human beings do in this regard). Three great enemies of human are kaama (desire), krodha (anger) and lobha (greed). Desire destroys devotion, anger annihilates wisdom, and greed poisons every action. These three vices are destructive of sath-karma (good deeds), upasana(devotion) and jnana (spiritual wisdom). The only cure for them is to burn them in the fire of Divine Love. People have to reach to the truth that there is no difference between one aspect of God and another. There is no room for higher and lower among the aspects of Godhead; there is no room for inferior or superior in status among the various sections of mankind. A sugar doll is sweet all through; the limbs are as much sugar as the head. Once you are established in the Divine Love (Prema), you will not notice these differences any more; they will appear silly, stupid, and meaningless. (When there is no Prema, egoism has the upper hand; quarrels about your being superior and others being inferior rise up their heads).

 

Realize God through the Divine Love. There is nothing greater than that. Such is also the message of Tulsidas (author of the greatest medieval devotional poetical work concerning the acts of Rama). How is God to be experienced? God is present in everyone like butter in milk. Your heart is the container. Love is the milk present in the heart. When this love is offered to the Lord, it acts as the churning process for getting butter. There is then the direct experience of the Divine. God is also like milk, which, when added to the decoction, becomes coffee. The same milk can become a sweet pudding too. All the changes that are taking place in the human beings are only due to their gunas. Human's dharma is threefold. It relates to body, mind and Atma. Good deeds, good thoughts, and Godly experience of bliss are the expressions of this triple dharma. The reference to the light that illumines the three worlds should be understood in this way.

 

There are three kinds of light. The lamp in a house illumines only the house. The light that burns inside a home is comparable to self-interest. The Moon at night gives his light to the world, although it is a dim light. The light coming from the Moon may be compared for the benefit of others. But the Sun who illumines the day sheds his effulgence everywhere. The light of the Sun is the effulgence of Truth.

 

From early times Bharatheyas were worshippers of the Sun-God. They offered Surya-namaskar (salutations to the Sun). The good-intentioned and righteous persons will welcome the advent of the full Moon. Light of the Moon is the reflection of sunlight. The hearts of good persons, filled with good feelings, are cool like the Moon. Poets are inspired to pour forth the joy in their hearts at the sight of the Moon. On the day of the Purnima (full-moon) human's heart is also pure and bright. The Vedas declare that the Moon emerged from the mind of the Virat-Purusha (Cosmic Divinity; Lord in His form as the physical manifested Cosmos, Cosmic Person) and the Sun emerged from his eye. The human mind is a reflection of the Moon. Moonlight dispels the darkness of ignorance, drives away fear, and confers peace and joy. During the day, the Sun affords light to the world. Without the Sun, the world will cease to exist. The Sun is the visible deity for the world. Without the Sun, there can be no life on the Earth. It is the Sun’s power that helps to purify the heart. Hence, for the planet Earth the Sun is the visible manifestation of God.

Bharath was contributing to the security and prosperity of the world from ancient timesby its adherence to the spiritual path. From then to this day, the message, "Let all the people of the world be happy" has been the ideal of Bharath. Many persons in various places, at various times, immersed themselves in experiencing the joy of the spirit. Try to understand what it is, that brings thousands of people to pilgrims from far off places through tortuous mountain roads, to the sacred temples? There is a faith that heartens them. Temples are intended to instruct people in the art of removing the veil of attachment that lies over their heart. That is the reason why sage Thyagaraja cried at the temple in Thirupathi, "Remove the veil within me, the veil of pride and hate." Plant that faith in your heart; you will then find that your whole life changes for the better. Take the name of Narayana on your tongue and become aware of its sweetness; you will find a new meaning in every act of yours. Today, because of the influence of modernism and modernity, young generation mostly treats with levity the very term spirituality and spiritual activity.

There is a reason for this attitude. Over the centuries, the people were mouthing spiritual sayings, parrot-like, without understanding their meanings, with the result that students (and also older generation) today are mostly unable to understand the true meaning of spirituality. (Even scholars and people of spiritual eminence have been unable to convey the spiritual message to the young people of today in a manner that is meaningful to them and appeals to their hearts). The spiritual propaganda that is carried on today is divorced from practice, with the result that spirituality has made little impact on the youth today. The young do not get a compelling vision of spiritual truths. Here is an illustration. In ancient times, people used to perform yagas and yajnas (religious sacrifices). These sacrifices were being performed according to the rules laid down in the scriptures. However, while conforming to the prescribed procedures, few understood the inner meaning of these sacrifices. All their lives were spent in external observances. In the performance of sacrifice, they used to offer cows or other dumb animals as sacrifice and propagated the view that such offerings were in accordance with spiritual injunctions. This was a great mistake. The real meaning of animal sacrifice is the sacrifice of the animal nature in human. Everyone has to get rid of egoism and the sense of "mine". Without sacrificing these animal tendencies, sacrificing dumb animals is unworthy of human beings.

 

Ancients used to perform Aswamedha Yaga (Horse Sacrifice). What does the "Horse Sacrifice" mean? By aswam (horse) is meant that which is restless and also runs fast while riding thereon. The horse is an animal which represents the unsteady mind. (The word medha in Aswamedha literally means the mind). Human's mind is both restless and very fast moving. Thus to perform the Horse Sacrifice really means to offer the unsteady mind to God. That is why Arjuna complained to Krishna (during the Gita dialogue) that the mind is restless, strong, obstinate, and dangerous. Such a highly fickle mind, which is comparable to the horse (an animal), should be surrendered to God as a sacrificialoffering. This is the real meaning behind the Horse Sacrifice. (But nowadays everyone is misguided by the outer meaning only, and nobody takes the trouble of knowing the inner meaning). Some may try to argue that in olden days animals were sacrificed during yajnas and yagas. However, they are not correct. Only a few ignorant pandits (scholars) and misguided elders used to indulge in animal sacrifice. Those who recognized the inner meaning of this ritual used to give prime importance to the sacrifice of the beastly qualities in human while performing such religious ceremonies. Sacrificing your ego is sathwic (pure and noble), while sacrificing any animal is thamasic (impure and ignoble).

What does animal nature mean when it is used with reference to the sacrifice of animals? Pashuthva (animal nature) refers to Jiva thathwa (one's way of life). The manner of living in which the identification of the body with the Self (the "I") is prevalent is pashuthva (animal existence). This is the mark of the animal nature in human. The word bali is used with references to the sacrifices in yagas. What is the bali that is to offered in the sacrifice? It is the offering of one's bad qualities and bad thoughts as an offering to the Divine. How can one offer bad things to God? God alone can accept such offerings and give good things in return. No one else in the world will accept the bad and give what is good in return. This kind of exchange is possible only for the Divine. An example for this from ordinary life.

 

There is a soiled and tattered currency note with you. No one is prepared to accept it from you. However, when it is tendered to the reserve bank, which issued it, it is bound to accept it and issue a new note in return. Likewise, Almighty is the Spiritual Reserve Bank that will accept the soiled notes of your mind and give in return good currency (in the form of good thoughts). Spirituality, thus, means transforming one's life into an ideal one by offering one's bad qualities to the Lord and receiving from Him good qualities in return.

 

The impression that is conveyed to the young people is that spirituality consists solely in good actions like performing bhajans, offering puja (worship), reciting the names of the Lord, going on pilgrimages, and visiting temples. The primary reason for this is the failure on the part of the propagators to comprehend the profound message of the Vedas and Vedangas and realize the underlying truths embedded in the Great Epics and Puranas. Young people (and also many the old ones) usually imagine that spirituality means meditation on God, bathing in sacred waters, and visiting holy shrines. Nevertheless, spirituality means destroying the animal nature in human and realizing the individual's Divine consciousness. Spirituality calls for the recognition of the manifold capacities manifesting in human as emanating from the spirit and not from the mind. It means developing the faith that all powers come from the Divine. Spirituality does not mean proceeding from the human to the Divine. It seeks to unfold the Divinity in human. Spirituality does not mean passing from the mundane to the Divine. Spirituality means making human manifest the Divinity in him/her.

People today have the wrong impression that spirituality is concerned with the journey from the mundane world to the higher realm and vice versa. Spirituality is the realization of the role of the Spirit in daily life. It is a way of life; it is a style of life. Our entire life is bound up with the Spirit. All the human's powers are derived from the Spirit. Nor does spirituality mean leading a lonely and secluded life. True spirituality calls for the recognition of the oneness of all humanity, to demonstrate the spiritual truth underlying the Divine unity. Our entire life is bound up with the spiritual. Whatever one says, whatever one does, whatever one thinks, all of it is related to the Spirit. Spirituality is the expression of the promptings of the Inner Spirit. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 2. "The Name of Naaraayana," Chapter 9; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 25. "Rise From Animality To Divinity," Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 29. "The four beacons," Chapter 20 and "As you sow, so shall you reap," Chapter 23; Sathya Sai Speaks. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 30. "Purity--the path to Liberation," Chapter 13; http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Christmas2006_Discourse.html). Namaste - Reet

 

 

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