Swami teaches...Part 2. Creator Is the Cause, Humanity Is the Effect

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Light and Love Swami teaches... Part 2. Creator Is the Cause, Humanity Is the Effect God is the cause and humanity is the effect as the heading notes. The effect reveals the cause. The pot is the effect of clay. Why can't pots be the effects of water or of sand? When the cause (the clay) assumes the form of the effect (the pot), it reveals itself in the effect. The Dharma (innate nature) of the cause will be evident in the effect also. Dharma means 'vesture', that which is worn. The effect has the same vesture, characteristic pattern, as the cause. Salt is salty; if it loses its saltiness, it is not salt. Chilies must taste hot; if they do not possess that characteristic and unique quality, they are not chilies. Each thing has a unique quality for which it exists. Human too has unique quality, which marks him/her out from other beings. It is thyaga, the capacity and the willingness to give up, renounce, and sacrifice. Human is endowed with that quality for a high purpose. Immortality, not death, is the genuine Dharma or nature of the human being.

 

(When human attaches to the ego, he/she loses access to the higher levels of consciousness. When the Reality eludes, a crowd of contradictory conclusions confronts human. This calamity in the thought process results in mental confusion).

 

The ways to reach to the Enlightenment are very different and depend on the seekers faith, character, state of knowledge (awareness), karma, etc. However, on the path to the Enlightenment Sathya and Dharma go together; they are two faces of the same coin. Truth and righteousness are two pillars on which the mansion of human life rests. There is no Dharma higher than Sathya. Righteousness is built on the foundation of Truth. Below are very different examples given by Swami for contemplation. The first example. Swami gives a detailed account of the life of Samartha Ramdas, the great Maharashtra 17th century saint; author of work on religious duty; guru of the great King Sivaji. (Since Ramdas had the extraordinary capacity to do many great things, he came to be known as Samartha Ramdas, the appellation Samartha meaning a man of versatile skills).

In the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, a son was born to a couple highly devoted to God. He was named Narayana. He grew up as a naughty boy, neglecting his studies and quarrelling with other children. At the age of eight years, he lost his father. His mother Ramaa Dhevi, found it difficult to control her mischievous and delinquent son. Her relatives and neighbors advised her to get him married so that he might realize his responsibilities and change for the better. Although the boy was only 13 years old and too young for marriage, his mother yielded to the persuasions of others and arranged for his marriage. At the time of the wedding, a screen of thick cloth was held in-between the bride and bridegroom, according to the prevailing custom, and the priests removed the curtain to hand over the sacred thread of wedlock to the bridegroom for him to tie it round the bride's neck. Lo and behold! The bridegroom had disappeared behind the curtain, without anybody's notice. A thorough search was made to trace him out, but in vain. So, the marriage could not be performed.

The boy Narayana, who had escaped from the marriage, ultimately reached a place called Nasik near the source of the sacred river Godhavari. He stayed there for sometime and then moved to a nearby mountain called Chitrakuta, which is considered holy, because Rama and Sita lived there for nearly 12 years. The boy was enraptured by the grandeur of the scenery of the place and was immersed in the contemplation of Rama. What was the cause for the naughty boy turning into a pious young man? Apart from the fact that his latent good samskaras (accumulated tendencies) were aroused by the sudden shock of the prospect of being saddled with the heavy responsibilities of married life. During his journey to Nasik, the boy entered to a Hanuman temple reroutes, and wholeheartedly prayed to the Deity to bless him with all the noble qualities for which Hanuman was renowned. He had an indication of his prayer being answered by way of gentle movement of the idol transmitting spiritual vibrations in the direction of the boy. After 12 years of intense penance, Narayana gained the three-fold realisation of Lord Rama, as did Hanuman. Namely, when he had body consciousness, he was the servant and Rama the Master, when he was conscious of his being a jivi (individual soul) he was a part of Rama and when he was aware of his being the Atma he and Rama were one. After this realisation, he returned to Nasik. While there, he came to know that the country was in the grip of a severe famine. Then he began to reflect that to spend his time thinking of only his own liberation, when all his countrymen were suffering due to famine, amounted to extreme selfishness. So, he coined the slogan, "Rama in the heart, and work in the hand.” Narayana entered the arena of social service with all his energy and zeal, giving to himself and his band of dedicated workers mottoes such as "manava seva (service to human) is Madhava seva (service to God)" and "Grama seva (service to the villages) is Rama seva (service to Rama)." Proceeding thus from village to village, doing social work, coupled with chanting of Ramanaam, Narayana on the way to Nasik, saw saint Tukaram, who was singing the glories of Rama so melodiously that a large number of people including Shivaji, the ruler of Maharashtra, were attracted to him. Shivaji prayed to Tukaram to give him initiation. Tukaram declined saying, "Ramdas is your Guru, not I, so you have to receive initiation only from him." When Shivaji came to know that Narayana alias Ramdas was in Nasik, he sent hisministers and other high dignitaries to invite Ramdas to the royal court with a band of music and other traditional honors befitting a highly distinguished personage. When Ramdas arrived, the king received him with due honors and reverence, arranged for his stay in the palace itself, and after washing his feet, he sprinkled the holy washings on his own head and submitted to him in all humility: “O revered Master! From this moment, this kingdom belongs to you; and I too, am yours. Thereupon Ramdas replied, "My son, I am an ascetic who has renounced everything. I have neither the right nor the desire for your limited kingdom. God's kingdom is unlimited. The goal of my life is to help every one to reach that unlimited kingdom of God. I am now coronating you as the ruler of this kingdom which you have offered to me. From now onwards, you will be king with a difference. You should consider that thekingdom really belongs to God and that you are only His instrument or trustee administering the kingdom on His behalf. Ramdas gave Shivaji three things as mementos to guide him in his royal duties.

1. A coconut to remind him that just as our intention in buying a coconut is to consume the white kernel inside, so also the purpose of owning and administering the kingdom is that the king himself should lead a sathwic life and also to ensure that the sathwic quality prevails in his kingdom. 2. A handful of earth in purpose to remind the king and through him his subjects, about the sanctity of Bharath, their motherland. 3. A pair of bricks to symbolize that just as bricks are used to construct houses for the safety of the inmates, the king should use his powers to protect the people and promote their welfare and progress.

Once on his way Ramdas visited Pandaripuram where he was an eye-witness to the ideal way in which a man by name Pundareeka served his parents as veritable gods, making the Lord Himself wait in front of his house standing on a pair of bricks, till he completed his service to his parents. Pundareeka's devoted service to his parents at Pandaripuram was revived in Ramdas mind and he hastened back home with the idea of serving his aged mother. When he reached home, his old mother could not recognize him, particularly because of his long beard and strange dress. He told her that he was her son, Narayana, who was popularly known as Samartha Ramdas. Thereupon, his mother exclaimed ecstatically, "O my dear son, I have been hearing so much about Samartha Ramdas and have been eager to see him for a long time. However, I never knew that it is the popular name of my son, Narayana. I am proud of you and thank the Lord for making me the mother of such a great one. My life is fulfilled." So saying she breathed her last on her son's lap. Ramadas duly performed the obsequies of his mother. Shortly thereafter, he heard about Shivaji's death in A.D 1680 (just six years after he was coronated by Ramdas in A.D 1674). He went to the King's capital, installed Shivaji's son as the king and blessed him so that he might rule the kingdom, following the footsteps of his noble father.

 

 

The next examples are from other area and show how evil desires and conducts rob human of peace. Karna, the great hero of the Mahabharatha epic, had the Sun-god Himself as his progenitor. He had divine blessing in ample measure. As a consequence, he possessed enormous powers. No one could overcome him in battle. However, on a few occasions, through man's own innate willfulness and wickedness or through his goodness and purity, blessings are transformed into curses and curses are sublimated into blessings. Karna's life offers a good lesson in this respect.

He approached to the sage Parasurama and desired to learn archery. He sought also to gain some supra-human weapons like the Brahmaastra (Brahma's weapon of infallible destruction) from him on the conclusion of his training. Parasurama had vowed to destroy the entire wicked kshatriya caste, for they had dealt with his father, Jamadagni, very cruelly. So, no kshatriya boy was accepted by Parasurama as a pupil. Karna therefore claimed to be a Brahmin himself, of the same caste as Parasurama. Parasurama accepted him as a Brahmin boy and instructed him in archery and taught him the use of the Brahmaastra also. Nevertheless, in the end, he came to know that Karna was a kshatriya: he grew angry. He said: "Since you learnt archery from me through impersonation, I curse you that you shall never succeed in using this sacred Brahmaastra". Since Karna was arrogant and cunning, he had to suffer defeat at the hands of the Pandava brothers. Bhishma, the other hero of Mahabharatha epic had won great fame from the vow by which he abjured wedded life as well as throne to which he was entitled. He was the teacher of both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He was a great warrior, a fearless fighter, an unfailing guide. He knew all the intricacies of dharma. But he failed to guide Dhuryodhana and Dhussasana at a critical moment when they dragged queen Droupadi by the hair and insulted her in open Durbar before himself and others.

Of what avail was his mastery of dharmic codes? Since Bhishma, Dhrona, and others did not rise to the occasion and stop the wanton wickedness of their wards, they covered themselves with infamy. What was the reason for their inaction? It was consideration for the self, sheer self-preservation. They were overcome by a sense of gratefulness. Conscious that they were eating the salt provided by Duryodhana, they attached more importance to the impermanent body and its needs and ignored the permanent values of truth and morality. Apply always the knowledge of Truth in every crisis during your lives; follow the path Dharma; do not be misled by falsehood or wickedness by fear or favor. Only two paths are open before people: the path of individual freedom and the path of social service. Adhering to individual freedom, you should not lose yourselves in egotism. Develop simple living and high thinking. In the name of high thinking, do not lose yourselves in internet and tons of books and waste your energies in barren pursuits. The mind will only confuse, confound and weaken your reason. Use only the energy that the situation and the need of the moment demand. (Control of the senses is not easy. Even an evolved person like Arjuna who confessed to Krishna that sense-control was extremely difficult. If one has nothing to do, the mind wanders in all directions. The sages knew this well from their own experience.

What kind of vigil is it in which there is no purity of mind and no meditation on God? The stork that stands on one leg waiting to catch a fish cannot be regarded as doing penance. The drunken sot who is oblivious to the world cannot be equated with one who is absorbed in the Divine. The human who gives up eating after a tiff with the wife cannot be described as observing a fast). Many people think of God only when grief overtakes them; of course, it is good to do so; it is better than seeking the help of those who are also equally liable to grief. Nevertheless, it is infinitely better to think of God in grief and in joy, in peace and strife, in all weathers. The proof of the rain is in the wetness of the ground; the proof of bhakthi is in the santhi the bhaktha has, santhi that protects human against the onslaughts of success as well as failure, fame and dishonor, gain and loss. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol.11. "Saline turned sweet," Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol.15. "A happy human community," Chapter 12; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol.19. "Bhagavan and Bhakti," Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "The life of Samartha Raamadhas," Chapter 10; Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 36. "Develop Spirit of brotherhood," Chapter 15); http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/saints/samartha_ramdas.htm . Namaste - Reet