Swami teaches... Part 1. First for the mother...

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Light and Love Swami teaches... 3 - 5 May 2007 Part 1. First for the mother...

What gift is greater than the gift of food? Is there a greater deity than one's parents? What virtue is greater than compassion? What is more valuable than good company? Is there a worse enemy than anger? Is any disease worse than debt? Can any death be worse than infamy? What can be grater than a good name? What wealth is greater than God's love? It is to acquire this supreme wealth that human has taken birth on the Earth. By legend wise man, Pundaleeka was tending his parents when God appeared before him as Narayana. He was revering them as the God in them. So, he asked Narayana to wait a little, He threw a brick towards Him to serve as a footstool on which He could stand, until he was ready to worship Him. If you do not revere the parents, how can worship the God Narayana? When Rama went to the forest with Sita, one day he told her: "In this world there are no greater adorable deities than one's mother and father. Without adoring mother as Divine, how can a human contemplate on a Being that is subtle and beyond his daily experience? The Divine transcends all human understanding. How can this be recognized? People who cannotcomprehend the hearts of parents who are close to them, whose love they experience in daily life, how can they comprehend the Absolute, which the Upanishads declare is beyond the reach of speech and the mind. Hence, the injunction that the mother and the father should be adored as Divine. It was my foremost duty to carry out the will of my father." The womb of a mother is like the womb of Mother Earth. The thought that prevails at the time of conception results in the kind of child that is born. If the parents desire to have virtuous, exemplary, and noble children, they have to observe righteous practices and lead virtuous lives.The mother sacrifices her all for rearing the child, protecting, and bringing child up well.Hence, the sweetness manifest in material love cannot be found in any other object orexperience, "What greater sweetness is there than a mother's love? One's honor is greater than one's life," goes the saying. When human emerges from the womb of mother, one does not find any garland round his neck. There are no jewels made of pearls nor are there glittering gold ornaments. There are no chains studded with precious stones like emeralds and diamonds. There is no garland of flowers either. But there is one garland round his neck. Brahma strings together the consequences of past deeds into a heavy garland and puts it round the neck at the time of birth. From ancient times, the culture of Bharath has been upholding high ideals. Foremost among its teachings was the concept of reverence for the mother and the father as embodiments of the Divine.

In Swami's school days, when Sathya (i. e. Swami) with other students returned from the Bukkapatnam school in the evenings, mother Easwaramma would lovingly enquire as to what happened in the school that day. One day the children told her, "Mother, today a teacher by name Kondappa made our Sathya stand upon the bench." They started criticizing him.

Mother Easwaramma intervened and said, "Children, you should not talk ill of your teacher. No teacher would punish his student without a proper reason. Our Sathya might have committed some mistake." Then she asked, "Sathya, what is the mistake you committed?" Sathya told her the facts as they happened. Kondappa ordered, "Whoever haswritten the notes should place it on his table. Others should stand upon the bench." Sathya had not written the notes. That was His mistake. He also said something that was more than necessary, "Sir, can all those boys who have taken down the notes answer your questions? Though I have not written the notes, I can answer any question that you may ask." Kondappa thought that Sathya was egotistic and ordered Him to stand upon the bench for three periods.

Meanwhile, the other teacher, Mahboob Khan, came to the class. He was pained to see Swami standing on the bench. He asked, "Kondappa, why have you made this boy stand upon the bench?" Kondappa said, "He has not taken down the notes, hence the punishment." Mahboob Khan defended Sathya saying, "So what if He has not taken down the notes? He can answer all your questions, and that is enough. Ask Him to sit down." However, Kondappa insisted that Sathya should be punished as he had disobeyed teachers command. The bell rang and Kondappa had to go to another class. Nevertheless, he was unable to get up from the chair. Initially he thought that his dhoti had entangled to a nail in the chair. But that was not the case. He was stuck to the chair! When he tried to get up from the chair, the chair also came along with him.

Then Mahboob Khan said, "Kondappa, He is not an ordinary boy. He is one of great Divine powers. You have punished Him without a proper reason. At least now, ask Him to sit down."Kondappa realized his mistake and told Sathya to sit down. Immediately, he could get up from the chair. When all this was narrated to mother Easwaramma, she said, "Dear Sathya, you should not punish your own guru (teacher)." Sathya answered, "I did not punish him; in fact, he punished himself." Easwaramma imparted a sacred teaching to the children, saying, "My dear ones, you are going to school to study. Whatever you learn put it to proper use. If you do not make proper use of your education, you become a rakshasa (demon)." Then Swami's mother told, "Sathya! At any time and under any circumstances, do not cultivate hatred toward anybody.” In this manner, mother Easwaramma taught the children many sacred ideals. Though mother Easwaramma had no formal education, she was one of profound wisdom. Mother Easwaramma used to impart many noble teachings to the devotees when they gathered around her. Many ladies would go there and plead with her, "Mother, we have been here for a long time. Please tell Swami to grant us an interview." She would tell them, "My dear, Swami may look small to our eyes, but He does not listen to anyone. He will not act on recommendations. He will give you what you deserve. You should try to understand the Divine Principle of Swami." In this manner, she would give proper guidance to the devotees.

“ We should not hurt others or make fun of them. We should love all.” This is what mother Easwaramma taught everybody. Do your duty sincerely. Then, you will certainly progress in life. One day she told Swami, "Sathya! The whole world is coming to You. Please bestow peace on the world with Your Sankalpa (Will)." Swami answered her, "It is not that I have to make a Sankalpa for world peace. Each one has to attain peace by him/herself. You have to manifest your love. You have to experience peace within. You have to follow the path of truth. Since ancient times, there have been many noble mothers, who have guided their children on the right path. The future of the nation rests in the hands of mothers. That is why one calls one's own country as Motherland.

Some examples from history. It was because Aryamba was a devoted and pious woman and observed sacred practices that the great world-teacher, Adi Sankaracharya was born to her. For Vivekananda to achieveworldwide renown, his mother's sacred life was responsible. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was able to preach the sacred doctrine of love to the world and achieve greatness because of his mother's good qualities.

Gandhi earned the appellation of "Mahathma" because of the sacred vow ritual "Kokila Vratha" observed by his mother. As soon as she completed the ritual, she would wait for the call of the Kokila (the Indian cuckoo) to have her breakfast. However, on one day, she waited for a long time, withouttaking food, for the call of the cuckoo. Noticing this, the young Gandhi went out of the house,imitated the cooing of the cuckoo and then told his mother, "Now that the cuckoo has made itscall, please, mother, take your food." Unable to contain her grief, the mother slapped on thecheeks of Gandhi and wailed: "What sin have I committed that such a liar should be born to me! What a great sinner am I to have begotten such a wicked liar as son, Oh Lord!" She wasshedding tears as she spoke. Deeply moved by his mother’s words, Gandhi made a promise toher "In my life, henceforth, I will not utter falsehood." Gandhi became a 'Mahathma' because of the severe punishment meted out to him by his mother. Gandhi's mother Putlibai, had a maid called Rambha. One day Gandhi came running to her saying, "I am afraid, I am afraid!" Rambha was a worthy maid of Putlibai. She told the young fear-stricken lad, "Don't have any fear. Whenever you feel afraid, repeat the name, 'Raam, Raam,' and your fear will leave you." Gandhi all his life remembered that teaching. Bharath's ancient culture has accorded first place to the mother. Father comes only next. Even on invitation cards we write Smt (Srimathi) and Sri. The husband may be highly educated and occupying a position of authority. Yet, we cannot write Sri and Srimati while sending an invitation. Since ancient times, women are treated with great reverence and respect in Bharath. A true human being loves the mother and becomes the recipient of the mother's love. Experience and enjoy your mother's love. Dedicate your life for the happiness of the mother. You may acquire any number of degrees; you may undertake any number of sacred activities; but all of them will prove futile if you do not please your mother. There is none superior to the mother in this world. The Veda has accorded the place of highest prominence to the mother. (There may be a son/daughter in this world who does not love own mother, but, as a rule, there cannot be a mother who does not love her child. There may be differences of opinion between them, but the motherly love will never diminish). After the Burma war (in the Forties), a mother, and her son came to Madras as refugees. This son used to go out begging for food and bring it home for both of them to eat. Seeing the pathetic condition of the young one, the mother said that from the next day she herself would go out for getting food, leaving the boy in the shed. Moreover, no mother would like to see her son going out as a beggar. For this reason, also she decided to go out herself. For some days, she went out begging, but could manage to get only a small amount of food. She gave the food to the child and starved herself, but told him that she had already eaten. After some time the woman was too weak to go out begging. The son started going out to beg for food and kept feeding his mother. Her condition deteriorated from day to-day. She could not bear the pangs of hunger. The sonwent out and begged for food at an officer's residence. The officer, who was glancing through the day's newspaper, heard the boy's cry for food to appease his hunger. The officer brought some food and gave it to the boy and asked him to eat it in his presence. The boy said he would not eat there, but takes the food home. The officer questioned him why he would not eat there when he was hungry. "You are not really hungry. You are lying," shouted the officer. The boy was too weak to stand and dropped down at the feet of the officer with the food in his hands. The officer noticed that the boy was muttering some words to himself. He went close to the boy's mouth and heard him say, “First for mother, first for mother." Saying those words, the boy passed away.

What an example is this of the love of a mother and the devotion of a son. Even though he was hungry, he wanted to give the food first to his mother. Does this kind of feeling exist even a little among students today? It is your foremost duty to love your mother. As soon as you wake up in the morning, the first thing you should do is to touch your mother's feet and offer your salutations. Such a noble practice will protect you always and bestow on you all types of wealth. The boys and girls are going to be fathers and mothers in future. You will be loved andrespected by your children only when you love and respect your parents now. You are bound to face the reaction, resound, and reflection of your actions. When you respect your parents, there will be rich rewards for you in the future. There are many who are highly educated. Having received many sacred teachings, you should practice at least one of them. You perform worship and sing bhajans with devotion. It is enough if you practice and experience at least one word of the bhajans you sing. For example, you extol God as 'Premaswarupa' (embodiment of Love). Accordingly, you should develop love and share it with others. People attribute certain teachings to Rama, Krishna, and so on and so forth. It does not matter whether it is Rama or Krishna; enquire what, why, when, where, and under what circumstances they had given those teachings. You should remember the context those teachings and act accordingly. Many students do not pay heed to the words of their mother. Mothers speak from their heart wishing the welfare of their children. You should understand their feelings and give due respect to their words. Obey the commands of your parents. You will certainly be blessed with all types of education and strength. You do not need to make any special efforts to acquire them. Discharge your duty sincerely. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 9. "Japa, Saadhana," Chapter 6; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 7. "Roots into the deep," Chapter 28; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 15. " Love of the Motherland," Chapter 44; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "The juice, the sugar and the sweets," Chapter 15 and ”What great mothers mean to the nation," Chapter 16; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 36. "LOVE AND RESPECT YOUR PARENTS AND SANCTIFY YOUR LIFE," Chapter 10). Namaste - Reet