The Divine Lifestyle (8a)

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I AM LOVE(Chapter 8)Love

is the most natural quality for man to possess. Love is our inner

prompter that manifests action. We rush to work if not for love of the

work itself, at least a reason to provide sustenance for our family

whom we love. The rigorous exercises that we undertake everyday is to

keep our body in optimum condition. The painful birth pangs, a mother

is willing to endure are only for the sake of bringing out her progeny

to the world. Hence in every action, we see the motive being to move

towards greater love or retain objects or experiences that continuously

have been providing love, security and comfort.The world has

conditioned us to love those who love and respect us. The child from

school will run to the mother and explain that the shirt he wore has

become dirty only because his friend pushed him to the ground. Out

comes the reply, 'why do you make friends with such people?' The reply

might be a right response, especially from an anxious mother who wants

her child to return from school safely. But the seed of conditioning

has been planted.In every experience, we can see that a sense

of conditioning sets in. Our actions favor those who give us love,

security, comfort and happiness. We move away from anyone or anything

that threatens these fundamental pre-requisites of life. The most

natural state of divinity is to love and that too unconditionally,

which means simply to love another being without expecting any returns.

The barrier to that is definitely the mind, which at times, being

judgmental, comes in the way and blocks the natural spontaneous flow of

love.All our lives we search for people who can 'click' with us. Our plans are made with people whom we can 'jive'.

This is most natural and there is nothing wrong with it when viewed

from one level of consciousness. As we escalate to higher levels, our

heart strings must vibrate with greater frequency, sensitive enough to

understand the loneliness and pain of others.Regular service

activities help in developing this consciousness. The activity slowly

blossoms love from the narrow radius of the family orbit and to those

whom we are obligated to beyond. There are many who are so conditioned

that they have lost the capacity to love anyone except their own. They

live in a cocoon with hopes that their loved ones will meet all their

expectations. The slightest disappointment will plunge them into the

depths of despair.Throw a stone into a bucket of water and the

waves that are created are large but the same stone thrown into a

bathtub causes waves with lesser magnitude. Tiny ripples are seen when

the same stone is thrown into a lake but one hardly notices any effect

when the same stone is thrown into the ocean. The stone remains the

same but the amount of water it is thrown into increases. The quantity

of water and the stone represent the love orbit of one's life and the

problem we have respectively. One is willing to sacrifice his body

which may be burnt by the hot sun doing hard work in the field to earn

wages for the sake of providing the best for the family. One is willing

to sacrifice everything and be a martyr for the sake of an ideal.

Hence, it can be clearly seen that the capacity to give is largely

proportional to the ideals he is associated with. The higher the

platform the mind stands on, the greater is his flow of love.'If you develop Love, you do not need to develop anything else.'(The Embodiment of Love - pg 237)Once

we develop love, there is nothing else we need. However, here Bhagavan

is referring to selfless love. Let us analyze further. Love is the

basis of action. This we have established in the beginning of this

chapter. Our actions in the world are undertaken only for the purpose

of gaining more love or preserving who and what we love. Even a thief

steals to gain more wealth so that he can preserve his family or

perhaps to be in negative peer group so that he does not fall out of

their love for him. Love appears to be the foundation of character.'Foster

love in your hearts and redeem your lives. Whatever your scholarship or

wealth, they are valueless without love. Without devotion, all other

accomplishments are of no avail for realizing God.'(Sanathana Sarathi January 1995 - pg 4)It

is many a time in our own experience that amidst living in a mansion

and possessing a luxurious lifestyle, surrounded by relatives and

friends or in an intense discussion with one of the most learned, we

can still feel lonely and an annoying absence of something. What use is

wealth and knowledge when heart is devoid of love and remains dried up

like a vast empty desert.Love is the most common word seen or

heard these days. Movies show, songs scream, couples utter, lovers

whisper, and yet, there has never been a period in history as the

present where the world is so devoid of love. Old folk's homes are

sprouting at almost every twist and turn of roads. There are homes for

the abused, underpriviledged, the tormented and the bullied.

Rehabilitation centers and reprimand homes housing people who once

adopted alternative lifestyles in the hope of finding peace and love

are also increasing. Crimes are constantly filling jails with people,

many in their teens and youth. Suicides are shockingly on the increase

and these too largely from the young. What is critically needed is the

flooding of humanity with love.'There

are different forms of love, love for family and love for money; but

love for God is devotion. The most important thing you have to develop

is love. If you develop love, you don't have to develop anything else.'(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 9)Here

Swami has clearly distinguished different types of love. Love graduates

to a level of devotion if channeled to God. If one has the heart to

expand and accommodate the ideals of God consciousness, surely then he

would love all other aspects of life as he realizes that they are

expressions of God's creation. A practical philosophy of this nature

will sound alien to people who are so conditioned by society to love

only those who care and love them. Elders sometimes prevent their

children from associating with family members of friends who have had a

misunderstanding or are misunderstood. This conditioning blocks the

children from reacting to the world naturally. Statistics show that

hard core criminals, who ruthlessly inflict harm to their victims,

express such tendencies as a result of hurt, disappointment and

suffering from lack of love received during their childhood days. Hence

it is for this reason that upbringing with love is emphasized and this

love eventually would expand and embrace all.'The

situation in the outside world is appalling. Even tenth standard

students are taking to drink and drugs. The parents are not restraining

them. Nor are they setting a good example. When the parents exchange

words, the children exchange blows. The parents give a free rein to the

children instead of controlling them. The parents are to blame for

three fourth of their children's misbehavior.'(Sanathana Sarathi May 1996 - pg 119)Here

the emphasis on the foundation of love has been clearly pointed out. It

is at home. Parents who have brought for children to the world must be

responsible to plant love and compassion. This can only be done by

demonstration of love. The love of the husband for his wife, the wife's

sacrifice to meet the demands of home, their loving words, their mutual

respect and their mannerisms are enough visual and practical

demonstration of love to draw admiration from their children.Love

breeds love, hate likewise breeds hate, but how can we love those who

hate us? One day, someone with a great pain finally said to the sage

who advised him, 'maybe your philosophy is right and perhaps time can heal...' The sage replied, 'Yes, time will heal... how much time you need... you are already 80 years.'Bhagavan provides a solution to this :'Love

is the only alchemy, the only solution in the Kali Yuga. It is the only

possible weapon with which to fight the evil tendencies. One should not

meet hate with hate. One should meet hate with love. I tell you, love

is the most wonderful thing and can work great miracles by changing the

very nature and character of man. It works from within the person, from

inside, and so the change is more thorough and absolute, though the

curing process is slow. Therefore, develop love towards everyone. You

must try and see only the goodness in them. No one can be completely

bad. There will be one redeeming quality in him and that is enough to

start with. Hold on to that and ignore the baser qualities. Don't look

for the bad, look only for the good. See good, be good and do good.

Give them love without any desire for return or reward. Then you surely

will realize God.'(Sathya Sai Amirtha Varishini - pg 30)Look

for the good in everyone. However, the treasure will be enmeshed in a

person's nature amidst thorny jungles of negative values. As you dive

into the other person, you will come across stones and pebbles of

negativity. We must continue our search and dare to look for the good

even in the most condemned. Hence if you hate someone, a divine

lifestyle implores you to seek the good even in the most negative

person. You must intensively love all those showing negative qualities.

Bathe them with your love with the understanding that their obnoxious

behavior is nothing more than a cry for your attention and help. Such

people only deserve floods of compassion from our hearts. Ignore the

baser qualities for all those negative qualities could be a result of

wrong upbringing, negative peer pressure and circumstances.'Jesus

has said that there is nothing great in loving those who do good to us.

Even a sinner does that. We should be able to love our enemies.'(Sanathana Sarathi August 1993 - pg 218)Ratnakara's

life was of that kind, full of deceit and dishonor. He was a highway

robber and took to task all those who passed his way. A sage with love

looked beyond and saw the potential that he had. The sage asked him to

go and ask his wife and child whether they will share in his sins.

Laughing arrogantly, Ratnakara replied that the loot robbed from the

people is meant as gifts for his wife and child and he did not doubt

even for a moment that his wife and child will share in his sin. To his

horror and disbelief, both his wife and child cried that they would not

share in his sin. The sage initiated the mantra 'Rama' to him and from

such chanting of the mantra, the highway robber became the great

Valmiki potential lying dormant in the highway robber, Ratnakara.The

Buddha saw the good quality lying dormant in another highway robber

Angulimala. Good qualities and talents lie in everyone. It is up to us

to help another to tap and discover his potential. This is how to

spread love to one and all. Hence, if we are living a normal and

ordinary life to love those who only love us is pardonable. But those

who are aspiring for a divine lifestyle, must possess the humanness to

love even those who are against them. The ingratitude son, the cheating

husband, the annoying neighbor, the murderous culprits, all of them

deserve love. Love them with greater intense to such an extent that

they are motivated to change. We might disapprove crime or sin

perpetrated, but not the perpetrators, the individual, who with love

can be led to the correct path.Regarding

people with unlovable natures : 'First you should understand that

though the exterior may be harsh, rough and prickly, the interior is

sweet. A jack fruit or a pineapple is prickly outside but sweet

inside... The outer forms vary but the inner core of all mankind is the

same, saturated with the sweetness of Love and Divinity. It is up to

you to try and see beneath the external appearance and reach below the

surface.'(Sathya Sai Armirtha Varishini - pg 28)Hence

the call is to pull back and stop making impulsive judgments. Every

person has the potential to be good and Godly. It is important to note

that man cannot have all the qualities he seeks before he is loved.People

sometimes take great pains to condemn even the smallest personality

flaws despite his or her other positive qualities or contributions. One

may have so many beautiful facets of life and all might shine with

lustre except one. It is sheer immaturity to discard such a diamond

just because one facet's shine has not been as brilliant as others.An

example would be the life of an industrialist who owns factories and

outlets all around the world. He has a wealth of friends and is a very

lovable person. However, his married life is in shambles as evidenced

by frequent fights and unavoidable quarrels. Every other facet of his

life is shining except the marital one. This life probably has been

given to him, to polish that facet and go through that karma. Hence the

call is never to be judgmental and discard his glorious achievements

and accolades due to one defective facet of his life. Many educated and

cultured people form biased and prejudiced views on others listening to

rumors and gossip. Any smear of negativity on one's character without

evidence is a great sin. We must remember this!- to continue -(From : THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE by DR SURESH GOVIND,With the consent of Sathya Sai Central Council of Malaysia)Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/

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