Saints and Saintliness

[Guest guest]

Saints and Saintliness

 

Saints and Great Masters, teach their disciples only what is good for

them. The object of many of their miracles or " leelas '' is to

convey this teaching in the language that is best understood by the

disciples. The same " leela " might have different imports to different

disciples. Each disciple draws his own conclusion and learns a lesson

for himself from one common context or word of the " Sadguru " . Thus it

will be seen that the " leela " of Sri Sai Baba insisting on his

disciples giving him Dakshina had a lesson in it. Curiously enough

the word " Dakshina " begins with the syllable 'Da,' with which

Prajapathi prescribed three different disciplines to his three

disciple-sons. Three classes of Prajapati's sons, the_ gods, men and

Asuras lived with their father Prajapathi, (viraj) as students, and

led a , life of studentdom. After the completion of their term, they

sought his instruction by asking for a guiding Mantra for their

future. Prajapati smiled and uttered the syllable 'Da' when .each one

approached him separately. The gods, men and Asuras;' .found

themselves instructed each differently by the one. syllable,

according to the consciousness of their failings. The ,

gods .took ''DA " to mean " continence, " the men " Dan " " give " and the

Asuras, " Daya " " compassion. " Men are endowed with the qualities of

the three. The one endowed with the noblest powers and qualities,

like unto gods, are always in danger of falling from, spiritual

standards by their one defect, lust or want of self-con-, human

failing is greed and acquisition, of Wealth and the Asura nature has -

the soul-killing quality of cruelty and anger.

 

These three natures, have to be overcome only, by practicing:

the " virtues of Danta, (Selfcontrol); Dan (charity) and Daya

(compassion). Sri Krishna in the Bhagavat. Gita also teaches Nara

(Arjuna, man) this lesson, by asking him to renounce these three at

least. There are three fatal doors leading " to hell viz. (i) lust,

(ii) anger and (in') avarice. So those who ate desirous of eternal

well-being must shun them " (at least). The path of this renunciation

of evil is through practice of virtues and good acts done by us bring

us in tune with the Divinity.

 

Saints have got over the effects of the various gunas Rajas and Tamas

by Shrada and Saburi, faith and patience, which have led them to all

actions being performed without desire for the fruits there off, for

it is indeed not possible for the embodied being -to give up action

completely, but there is no reaping the fruits- by going through the

cycle of births, for the one who has renounced the fruits of all his

actions and gone beyond the concepts of the knowledge, action and the

agent and has realized the highest teaching, in the following Sri

Krishna's words. Know that knowledge to be Sattvika by which one

unified eternal Principle is realized in all divergent beings "