Swami teaches... Part 2. Develop the crucial skill

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Light and Love Swami teaches... 8 - 9 April 2007 Part 2. Develop the Crucial Skill So the truth is: human has emanated from the Atma thathwa, (principle, truth, essence). As the waters of the sea evaporate and form clouds to fall as rain and flow as streams and rivers to rejoin the sea, so, human too must reach the source.

It is difficult to understand the adwaithic conception that my reality and the reality of the Universal Absolute are the same. "I am That"; this can be realized only through the sharp intellect and clear discrimination. This cannot be established in the consciousness, by external argument or efforts.

The basic Brahmic unity makes every one equal; this equality can be realized only at that high level of experience. Until then, all talk of treating all as equal to one another is more self-deceit. Why, even such a simple thing as the advice to speak the truth leads to complications, which can be resolved only by compromise. People today make no attempt to discover their true nature or their real destiny. Forgetting the great truths given to the world by Bharatiya sages and seers, people are leading utterly meaningless lives, unaware of the potentiality of the human to become the Divine. There is, for instance, the simple gesture of folding hands when one greets another in offering "Namaskar." What is the inner significance of this gesture? For one thing, the coming together of the two palms is a demonstration of the unity that subsumes the multiplicity. For another, it represents the offering of the five sense organs and the five organs of action to the Lord as an act of surrender. Another parable as example (from the different angle) by Pyotr Demianovich Ouspensky, a Russian philosopher and educator, 1878 - 1947. From his book "The Fourth Way"). "Let us compare a horse-carriage with an aeroplane. An aeroplane has many possibilities that an ordinary carriage does not have, but at the same time, an aeroplane can be used as an ordinary carriage. It would be very clumsy and inconvenient and very expensive, but you can attach two horses to it and travel in an aeroplane by road. Suppose the man who has this aeroplane does not know that it has an engine and can move by itself and suppose he learns about the engine--then he can dispense with the horses and use it as a motor car. Suppose that the man studies this machine and discovers that it can fly. Certainly, it will have many advantages, which he missed when he used the aeroplane as a carriage. That is what we are doing with ourselves; we use ourselves as a carriage, when we could fly." Is human a bundle of the senses or the physical frame, or the mind or consciousness, with all it levels? Where did all these come from? How far can one decide the shape of one's journey? These are the questions to seek answers for. "Who are you?" you often ask, but, you seldom stop to ask yourself, "Who am I?" You are drawn by the news of the world, not by news of your own inner world. Of what avail is all the knowledge you gather, if the knowledge about yourself is absent? You are the breath. So long as there is breath, you are Shivam; when that leaves, you become shavam (a corpse). So, treat the world as a two-day fair, treat life as a two-hour play, treat the body as a two-second bubble. Develop Love and devotion to the highest ideal, God. However, that path is beset with hardships. They help; they do not hinder your forward steps. They serve as the shears that trim a growing bush. No one can escape these vicissitudes while on the journey. Fix attention on the goal that is the means to be happy and peaceful. Whatever the obstacle, God's Grace can transform it into a help for you. Educate your mind to view hardships as helps. The mind it is that binds or liberates. It is a web of desires and wishes. Why multiply desires and get bound, by the mind? Use it for liberation, instead.

Your hearts are shrines of the Divine. The whole of Nature is your playground; all the things in it are your playthings. Regard yourselves as masters of the Universe and not its bond-slaves. Once you surrender to the Divine, Nature becomes your servant. Two things to be given up are: all remembrance of (1) the evil that others do to you, and (2) of the good that you do to others. The two things to be practiced are: (1) belief that death is certain and inevitable, and (2) God exists and yields to prayer and purity. (Usually people do not forget the evil that others do or the good that has done by them; they forget the fact of death and the fact of the existence of God). The Grace of God is immeasurable. Contemplate on Him as Love, recite His Name as the embodiment of Love, revere His as Love. This is the easiest path to God. Some feel despair that to them. God is far distant, because they have no resources to visit holy places and prostrate before famous shrines sanctified by saints and sages, no time or talent to master the Vedas. This is quite wrong for God does not measure out Grace in proportion to these external achievements. He is not moved by quantity. To appeaseyou hunger, the grain in all the granaries of the world is not needed; a handful is enough. To slake your thirst, you do not crave for all the waters of all the rivers; a glassful suffices. Similarly, one lime act of surrender is enough to win His Grace forever. Years of asceticism or study or sadhana are not called for. "You and nothing else," fix this in the mind and live in that conviction. That will transmute all your acts into worship invaluable puja. When an act is done in spirit of surrender to the Lord, it becomes a yajna; when it is done in spirit of egoism, it ends in a battle. Dhaksha, the Emperor, performed a yajna; but, in his pride, he neglected the Lord and His shakthi (power). So, the yajna was upset by a fight. When there was no egoism minting the battle, it became sublimated into a yajna. That is the alchemy which sharanagathi (total surrender) can accomplish. First, self-assurance that you are Dhasoham (I am His instrument); then, through the winning of His Grace, the consciousness that you are Shivoham (I am Shiva) or Soham (I am That) will become your unshakable experience. Your life-story is regarded as made up of childhood, growth, achievements, thoughts, and ideals. But what is fundamental to a human's life is the moral stature. Neethi (moral standards) is delved from the Sanskrit word Nitha. Neethi means right conduct. It is the path that leads one to the sublime. Good character, putty of thought and selfless sacrifice are all covered by Neethi. The ancients regarded Neethi as fundamental, without which the society will be mined. For this purpose, even the body has to be made pure and hence good health is essential. Good health is the basis of everything else in life.

(The condition of the children in the backward countries is pitiable. Most of them lack nourishing food, proper clothes, and roofs over their heads. People should go to the help of the poor and the weak not in a spirit of condescension or of extending patronage. They must offer help out of genuine sympathy and fellow feeling. They must regard such sympathy as one of the primary aims of meaningful living. Do not demand wages calculated and bargained for. The work done for wages will not be as sincere and as joyful as that done through love, reverence). The word 'health' has derived from the Anglo-Saxon word 'helig,' meaning (wholeness) or inner spirit. What is the wholeness that is to be achieved? The body consists of the sense organs, the mind, the intellect, the consciousness, and the indwelling Spirit. "Wholeness" means that all these elements should be whole. To achieve such a state of mind, it is necessary to understand the meaning of everything and every situation. (For instance, if a student has failed in an examination, he should not get depressed. Instead, he should examine the reasons for his failure, whether he had not studied properly or understood the subjects correctly. If he finds that his failure is due to inadequate preparation, he should resolve to do better in the future). Swami turns to the students to promote ten kinds of purity. However, these advices are universal, for everyone. To develop one's moral and mental strength, one should practice sadhana for disciplining the mind. For this purpose, one has to promote ten kinds of purity (sathwa). It is needful to remember that the Lord cares for the purity of the motive behind the act, not for the pomp and the show. (Sudhama,s wife directed him to proceed to Dwaraka - Capital of Krishna, and pray to his boyhood churn Shri Krishna for material help in running the family. Sudhama was nervous about the success of his mission, for, he fixed his attention on the externals, namely, the fort, palace, bodyguards, and all the paraphernalia of kings. He compared them with his own dress, appearance and the low value of the offering that he was taking to Him).

 

1. The first is purity of the place in which one lives. It is necessary to fill the room in which one resides or studies with a sathwic atmosphere. The pictures or other objects you see should fill you with peace and pure thoughts. The room should be clean and free from anything that is impure.

 

2. In the family in which you live, there should be mutual understanding and cooperation, and a sense of harmony. A harmonious atmosphere will give you true peace of mind.

 

3. Using sathwic food. This means that none of the edible items should be excessively sour, bitter or hot. You should eschew rajasic food like fish or meat. Even good sathwic food should not be taken in excess. It is only sathwic when you sit for the meal with a light stomach and get up from it with a light stomach.

 

4. Whatever fluids you take should also be sathwic. You should not drink whatever water is available. It should be pure water. Alcoholic splits should be eschewed.

 

5. Sathwic thoughts and feelings are of great importance. Only if your thoughts and feelings are pure, can you get the full benefit of a clean room, a good family, and pure food.

 

6. If you want to develop sathwic feelings and thoughts, your vision must be pure. All Srishti (Creation) is based upon drishti (sight). When you have wrong vision, you have wrong thoughts. You should not commit the sort of offences, which you will not tolerate in others.

 

7. Whatever books you read or whatever you write should be pure. A good book makes for a good mind. Any book you may study about physics or chemistry or other subjects, does not affect your character. However, books, which are literary, are not always good literature. If improper books are prescribed for study, treat them as mere textbooks and do not attach any high value to them as guides for life.

 

8. Pure sathwic service. With regard to service, you have to decide what is sathwic and what is rajasic. We go and clean streets, build roads in villages or dig wells and do them all as a service to the community. However, the kind of service, which we do, should give real happiness to the people. Narayana has two forms: one is 'Lakshmi Narayana', the other is 'Daridra Narayana'. This 'Lakshmi-Narayana' is full of wealth. He will be able to get many persons to serve him. But, for 'Daridra Narayana' there is nobody to serve him. It is to such persons that we should do sathwic service. (People today usually are eager to receive help from others, but have no desire to render help).

 

9. Sadhana. This is spiritual discipline. This must be sathwa. Some people do Hata Yoga. Some strive to develop the Kundalini Sakthi Some invoke evil spirits, to do harm to others. These forms of sadhana are not sadhana at all. The individual is Chith (Consciousness), God is Sath (The Eternal Absolute). When Sath and Chith combine, you have Ananda Sath-Chith-Ananda. Only the sadhana undertaken to realise Sath-Chith-Ananda is true sadhana. Where is this Sath? This Sath is in everybody. You must perform sadhana in the spirit that the One pervades the many. In this process, you must cultivate the feeling of Love. By the way, there are two forms of Love. One binds you to God. The other binds you to the world. The mind is responsible for either of these states. It is like a lock. If you turn the key to the right, the lock opens. If you turn the key to the left, it gets locked. The heart is the key to the lock of the mind. If you turn the key towards the world, you have attachment (bondage).

 

10. Your occupation or profession. It should be work, which can benefit the nation, the community. You must ask yourself, "What is the service, what is the help I can do for the community?" You must see that there is no untruth in any work you do, no unfairness, no fraud, no evil motive. Absorb the teachings of all the great seers and prophets. Do not despise anyone. Everyone is entitled to accept what is good from any source. Differences of creed and caste are irrelevant. Swami's famous quotation declares, "There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of Love. There is only one language, the language of the heart. There is only one God, He is omnipresent." It is said that atom bombs will reduce the world to ashes. However, those who are promoting religious bigotry and hatred are doing worse damage than what the atom bombs can do. They are destroying the love and compassion in human hearts. They are breaking up mankind into fragments. There is no greater sin than this. What the world needs today is the redeeming and unifying force of Love - Love that continually expands and embraces more and more people. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 6. "Which is real? This or that?" Chapter 44 and "The cleansed heart," Chapter 45.Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 16. "Be exemplars of Sai ideals," Chapter 31; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 18. "One God : basic truth of all faiths," Chapter 30 and "Students and Satwic Purity." Chapter 31; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 19. "The teacher and tomorrow," Chapter 29). Namaste - Reet