The Divine Lifestyle (9a)

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I ATTEND TO THE MOST TRIVIALWITH DETAILED CARE(Chapter 9)The

current crisis in every strata of society can be pointed to one single

factor; a bankruptcy of morality and integrity in people having

exemplary lifestyles that are not worthy to be emulated. Uninspired

teachers, corrupt politicians, overpaid executives who are

under-worked, bored clock-watching officers, 'bribe-able' law

makers, swaying law keepers and flexible justice enforcers offer no

more motivation for the young who have hardly any one to follow. Role

models of good character and charisma are assets for providing a

revitalization for nations to prosper and progress. What is urgently

needed for the world to restore and manifest its pristine glory is to

develop plans and schemes to generate good leadership. Like an answer

to the cries of the world emerges Divinity Himself who walks His talk

and show by example what Life is and should be...'There

is none to question me if I do not act; there is nothing I would lose

if I do not engage in activity. Nor have I any great urge to be acting.

But yet, you see Me ever active. The reason is I must be doing

something all the time for your sake, as an example, as an inspiration,

as a piece of training. Those who are leading must themselves follow;

those who command must themselves carry out what they expect others to

do. I am engaged in activity so that you may learn to transmute every

minute into a golden chance to ennoble yourselves into Godhood.'(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol VI, Chap 58 - pg 310)Every

action of ours is driven with a motive. We rush to the office only for

the purpose of earning remuneration to maintain our families. We study

for want of a better future. There is always a reason behind our

actions. Actions proceed from desires. Hence, with spiritual practices,

we sublime our desires and therefore, as stated in the Geeta, we attain

actionlessness. This is not meant by totally becoming inactive but

doing actions prompted by selfless desires and dedicating the results

to God. Here Bhagavan is indicating that He has no desire of His own.

The actions He execute do not proceed from selfish desires nor has He

any reason for discharging His actions. Acting for the purposes of

achieving a higher goal greater than satisfying personal comforts is

what connotes a divine action. Bhagavan here points out that He is busy

from morning to night, only executing actions for the welfare of

humanity. Hence Bhagavan clearly shows how one should live.Many

years of searching for Truth in prayer halls, attending regular Bhajans

or devotional singing and service programs must bring some benefit or

bestows awareness to become more and more selfless, thus providing a

magnetic glow in our personality. Energy conserved should be channeled

to greater and nobler pursuits. This charm of our lives may leave a

definite fragrance and will be noticed by members of our family and

society. Their yearning to emulate would slowly increase their

curiosity to enquire about our lifestyle and then finally inspire them

to follow our path. Hence transformation at personal level will attract

questions and turn heads of even the skeptics to the direction that we

are heading. Some who acquire this new lifestyle slip and display a 'holier than thou' attitude springing from the notion that he or she is the chosen one.Such

chauvinism scares new aspirants. We must be able to enter the same

fields of activities and act the same way as others do, the only

difference being that brilliance should accompany our actions. If we

stay in our ivory towers, we will not be able to interact with people.

Bhagavan once said, 'Your life will be My message.'

Hence, it is only imperative that we live a normal ordinary life like

others but possess extraordinary aspirations. These aspirations for

higher ideals or goals, fuel life with inspiration. Leading an inspired

life will always attract the notice of others who in the process

establish identification with us. People would be able to identify and

relate with us, if they are able to emulate our lifestyles. Bhagavan

too has moved about, talked and lived amongst us. These are done only

for the purpose of providing an opportunity to experience His Love and

make it easier to accept what He says...'Come... experiment Me, experience Me, and then, accept Me.'This

must be the Mahavakaya (great saying) for Leadership. Any leader who

wants to motivate his followers must follow Bhagavan's example over the

years.People, before accepting our lifestyle as the ideal way

to live, will surely come to question the logic of such a spiritual

outlook. Their doubtful questions and their enquiry should be answered

cheerfully in a detached way without bias or prejudice. Overzealous

attitude to convert such people should never be adopted. Spiritual

science, like all science, must be dealt with logic and reason. We

should not force anyone or breathe down their throat with our own

justifiable experiences. Our experience must ooze out waves of calmness

and peace, a certain bubbling confidence that suggests a firm

determination in the path chosen and most of all, an irresistible love

in which others can melt their confusion, uncertainty and restlessness.

If others share this experience, then surely, they will begin to follow

and accept the direction one is showing. The divine experience within

is the ultimate prompter for effective leadership.Boring

personalities with only the rosary bead in the hands cannot invite the

youth or anyone to higher dimension of existence. We must possess wit,

express gaiety and dynamism in our day to day living and be able to

extend a pleasing personality to one and all with whom we meet. The

critical element to leadership is that others should want to follow or

emulate us. No doubt some might be exemplary but if they cannot be

inspiring enough to motivate others to follow, then that again may pose

a problem. Gandhi retained a quiet and disarming personality but the

inner divine swirling twister-like consciousness which he developed

over the years, absorbed one and all who came into contact with him

into ecstasy. Gandhi's life too was exemplary and proved to people that

he walked his talk.Our

misty recollections of our childhood would show how many times our

mothers to prevent us from doing mischief, by saying that God was

watching us, thereby subconsciously instilling obedience and

discipline. This has helped to plant in us a notion that there is an

unseen entity high up somewhere watching us going about doing our daily

chores. It also prompts us to attend to the most trivial with great

care as if God is watching us.At one level, it will be nice to

continue thinking so and attain perfection in all that we do, so as to

please the ever watchful God, but Bhagavan has many times revealed the

great and grand truth.God is within you!The fact that God resides within you is enough a knowledge to empower you that YOU ARE A LEADER!

This one truth is enough to remove this passive dependence on others

and external circumstances for inner joy and happiness. The call is to

lead yourself, for the Geeta thunders out the truth that one has to

pull his mind by his own mind. This inner confidence to dare to be

Divine should make one burst his chain and escape his dark jail.The only echo that must reverberate is the words of Bhagavan which says:'I want you to be like Lions that roar out... I want you to be King among Men.'This

instruction is clear. Transform! Transform! Transform! From being a

merely passive, creepy crawly caterpillar consciousness, a wonderful

dancing butterfly which is attracted to the sweet nectar of flowers

contributing to life in terms of pollination and fertilization. This is

transformation. Here the instruction is not only to become a sweet

likeable creature but transmute oneself to a roaring lion. As lion is

regarded as the king of the jungles. Its majestic walk, its loud roar

with beautiful crown of hair expresses a commanding presence.

Bhagavan's call is clear. Don't demand respect. Command it.Command respect by walking the talk, not being hypocritical, but practicing the maxim 'Be, Do, See and Tell.'

Lead others but first lead yourself from the state of your limited

comfort zones and walk out to the bright sunshine of Love, Life and

Laughter. The key to do this is to become vigilant at every aspect of

our living. Our physical encasing of our spirit must be looked after,

i.e., body. We must first guard our health for body is the temple of

God. A sick body cannot serve anyone, or himself.'I

do not suffer from any kind of physical illness because there is no

trace of greed in Me. Hence, bodily sickness is unknown to Me.'(Sathya Sai Speaks 11 August 2001 pn Janmasthami)Bhagavan

has said that many diseases in our body is due to our wrong lifestyles.

Bhagavan when He was 68 years old revealed a secret.'How

can we lead a healthy life? Let Me tell you about My own health. I am

68 years old and believe it or not, my weight for the last 54 years has

been the same - 108 pounds only. It never went up to 109 pounds or

touched down to 107. You can lead a healthy life once you achieve this

kind of balance and moderation. I never eat even a little excess. I

observe the principle of moderation whether I am invited for food by a

millionaire or by a pauper. Even though I am 68 years old, my body is

in perfect trim. I do not suffer from aches and my heart is as sound as

a rock. There are none who can work or exert themselves as I do. The

secrets of my sound health are My well regulated eating habits. This is

how one can achieve unity and harmony of food, thought and God.'(Sathya Sai Newsletter Summer 1994 - pg 5)Bhagavan

Himself provides the secret to a healthy lifestyle. A regimented and

disciplined life brings its share of rewards in the form of good

health. Never in history has there been such an epidemic of illness all

around the globe. In recent times, diseases that were uncommon in the

past have become rampant due to changing lifestyles. One such is Heart

disease. The statistics generated by the western countries is alarming

enough according to Time Magazine May 2004, 80% of global coronary

vascular disease-related deaths now occur in low and middle income

nations - which covers most countries in Asia. In India, in the past

five decades, rates of coronary disease among urban populations have

risen from 4% to 11%. In urban China, the death rate from coronary

disease rose by 53.4% from 1988 to 1996. The Earth Institute at

Columbia University warned that without sustained effort on individual

and national levels, the heart disease epidemic will exact a

devastating price on the region's physical and economic health. This is

just an example to reflect the seriousness of the problem. Hence it is

clear the statistics generated by medical journals is frightening

enough to halt, pause and reflect on the current lifestyles practiced

by us.The science teacher in any laboratory, first demonstrates

the experiment to his or her class before allowing students to perform

the experiment. Masters and prophets have come in the past and have

demonstrated exemplary life to prove that spiritual life can be lived

here and now in order to provide sufficient inspiration for their

followers to lead similar lives. When people feel that spiritual ideals

are difficult to practice amidst the busy chaos and confusion of the

modern world. Swami provides a perfect example that this is untrue. His

life story is sprinkled with hints and suggestions as to how our life

should be and a scan over some of His inspiring stories reveal

nectarine, enriching and rewarding experiences.- 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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