Prema Vahini - Chapters 2

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Prema Vahini by Sathya Sai Vahini

 

Chapters 12 to 18

 

Study

 

Vedas and Puranas deserve to be read and heard. God's name is to be

recited and listened to. For some ailments, medicines are prescribed

for external application while for others, they are given for internal use. But

for this universal ailment of Bhavaroga, the cycle of birth and death, Sravana

and Kirtana and other medicines are prescribed, for external and internal use.

One has to utter as well as hear the Lord's name. An aspirant might win God's

grace, and the Guru's grace and the grace of the devotees of the Lord. But all

this grace would be of no avail if he does not secure also another grace, the

grace of his own inner consciousness, his Anthahkarana. Without this grace, he

falls into perdition, for all the rest are no account whatsoever.

 

The grace of God is not easily attainable. The feeling of I-ness,

Ahamkara, which makes one say " I am the Doer " , should be plucked by

the roots from the heart. Everyone, be he learned or illiterate, should feel an

overwhelming urge to know God. God has equal affection towards all his children,

for to illumine is the nature of light. Utilising that illumination, some can

read good books and others can do their daily tasks, whatever they are. So too,

uttering God's name one can progress in the realisation of God, another can even

do wicked deeds! It all depends on how you use the light. But the Lord's name is

without blemish, always and for ever.

 

The Need for Sanathana Vidya

 

Have not men trained themselves in countless arts and skills and

sciences? Have they not devised countless machines? Have they not

accumulated vast tons of knowledge? Nevertheless, man has not attained

peace of mind, which is so essential for happiness. Instead, with

every passing day, this vidya is dragging man into deeper and deeper waters and

peace is receding more and more into the distance.

 

The reason can be stated thus. These arts and sciences have only

transitory value; these machines cater for worldly comfort; this

knowledge is all about temporary, transitory things. This vidya does

not reveal to one the Innermost Secret of the Universe. There is one

secret which if known lays bare all secrets; if that problem is solved, all are

solved, there is one knot which if untied, all knots are loosened. There is one

science, which if mastered, all are mastered. That key science is Santhana

Vidya.

 

If a tree has to be destroyed, its taproot has to be cut; there is no

use trying to kill it by plucking its leaves one by one. It takes too

long a time, besides, it may not work. The ancient Vedic seers knew

this Vidya, but, Indians are feeling ashamed to claim them as their kith and

kin. They saw God through their ascetic endeavours and won His Grace. They

expounded the Science which they had so boldly discovered. Seekers from other

countries perused these books and said that India had blazed a trail for the

whole world. This is a well-known fact. The lamp illumines the house but just at

the very foot of the lamp, there lurks a dark circle. India does not know or

care for that treasure. Can we ascribe this to the play of Fate and keep quiet?

 

In the past ages Indians performed their daily rites, sat in a

purified place, surrounded by sacredness and immersed themselves in the study

and the practice of the teachings of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Besides, they

recorded their experiences in order to guide others and in order to bring those

experiences back again into their own consciousness. But, their children and

grandchildren placed those books on the altar and duly worshipped them. Neglect

has reduced them to dust or lumber; the palm leaves have disintegrated and rats

have eaten into them. But, eager students from the West have sought out this

lumbers and realising that it enshrines incomparable sources of illumination and

priceless pearls of Wisdom, they lift it reverentially above their heads and

acclaim it as the precious gift of Bharathakhanda to themselves and their

children. They carry it across the seas, with joy in their eyes and thankfulness

in their hearts.

 

Now shall I reveal what the children of India have been doing? They

neither open the pages nor peruse the contents nor even concern

themselves about them. Only one in a million reads them, but, even he

is ridiculed as a fool and a crank. The books are laughed at as a

conglomeration of lies and legends and they argue about the

historicity of the books and their authors. They dismiss the Sanskrit language

as " Very hard to learn " and pass on the treasure to scholars from other lands.

What a sad spectacle is this? It would have been some compensation if they

attended carefully to the study of their mother tongue; but, even this they do

not do; it is neglect, neglect

everywhere.

 

No. I do not condemn worldly happiness. I feel glad when people are

happy. But, please do not believe that this happiness is permanent. I

want that you should study all the arts and sciences for acquiring

worldly happiness. But, I want all to remember that this happiness is

not everlasting.

 

Permanent happiness can be secured only through one Vidya, the

Upanishad Vidya. That is the science of God-realisation, that is the Teaching of

the Rishis. That alone can save Man and grant him peace. There is nothing higher

than that; this is an indisputable fact. Whatever your joy and sorrow, whatever

the subjects you have specialised in for a living, have your eyes riveted on

Brahma Vidya. If intelligence alone is sharpened, without the growth and

practice of virtues, and if mere information is stored in the brain, the world

cannot progress and its welfare will be in jeopardy.

 

But people now seem to be losing faith in virtues, for, the

educational system does not assign any place for spiritual teaching or

training.True education does not content itself with filling the brain with

cumbersome junk. That education alone is beneficial which gives full scope for

the blossoming of all the virtues which distinguish man.

 

The Objective World is not Real

 

Actually, men see the shadow and take it to be the substance. They see

length, breadth, height and thickness and they jump to the conclusion

that they have an object before them. They experience a series of

sensations and memories and adding them all up they infer that there

are some objects producing them. This mistaking of Appearance for Reality is

misnamed Jnana. How can it ever be Jnana? Can the image of a person ever be

" he " ? If the image is taken to be " he " , can we call it knowledge? Such is the

nature of all knowledge now. What is cognised as an object, is not real at all;

its reality is not cognisable.

 

The Adwaithin believes " Aham Brahmaasmi " , " I am Brahman " . How has he

acquired that conviction? Why does he state so! Ask him and the reply

is, " The Sruthi declares so, the Guru taught like that " . But, learning

it from these sources does not entitle him to make that profound

statement. If a person is a master of these three words Aham, Brahma

and Asmi, does he attain the unity with Brahmam? No, ceaseless striving through

countless births, loyal performance of scriptural duties, these purify the mind.

In such a mind, seeds of devotion sprout and when tended with care and

knowledge, flowers bloom, fruits appear and ripen and get filled with sweetness

and fragrance. When the fruit is eaten, man becomes one with the Supreme, the

power that permeates all things, all religions and which is eternally present

and conscious and blissful.

 

A person may enunciate the formula " Aham Brahmasmi " correctly;

etymology may be perfect; but when he is ignorant of the 'world', unaware of 'I'

and completely in the dark about 'Brahmam', can he ever taste the rare joy of a

Jnani? It is not mastery of words and their meaning that counts; it is

awareness, experience - these are the fundamentals.

 

Mud alone is real. The pot-consciousness is born of ignorance

regarding mud; mud is the basis, the substance of the pot. How can a pot exist

without mud? How can effect exist apart from the cause? The world appears as

multiplicity only to the ignorant. To a Jnani, Brahmam alone, Brahmam upon which

all else is superimposed, exists. The Atman alone is cognised by him; there is

nothing else. That is the Adwaithic experience.

 

If the world is real, it must be cognised even during the stage of

dreamless deep sleep; but we are not conscious of it at all. So the

visible world is as unreal as the dream world. Just as through

illusion, a snake is imposed on a rope, the world too is imposed on Brahmam. The

snake and the rope are not seen at the same time; the entire rope is the snake.

So too, Brahmam is all this world, all this vast variety of name and form. But,

this imaginatively conceived variety is fundamentally false, Brahmam alone is

true.

 

The sky might be reflected in a pot of toddy, but the toddy does not

defile it. Similarly, in this vehicle, the body, the Atman dwells pure

and undefiled. The fruits of action, good or bad, fair or foul, adhere

to the vehicle, not to the Indweller, the Seer.

 

When such Jnana dawns, the dark shadows of the three types of Karma -

the Agaami, the Samchitha, the Praarabdha - flee before it. Yes; even

Praarabdha Karma can be overcome. For, the will of God is omnipotent

and for omnipotence there can be no limit or exception. When through

Sadhana, you win the Sankalpa of the Lord, you can with that Sankalpa

achieve victory over Praarabdha also. Do not be discouraged on any

score.

 

The sufferings and travails of this world are illusory and transitory.

Fix your mind firmly on this great fact and set out bravely on the

path of Sadhana, the Sadhana of Devotion.

 

Life is a Journey depending on Samskaras

 

Men are immersed in many activities and they are engaged in various

undertakings. This is a well-known fact. They are so many in numbers

that sometimes one may feel that the span of twenty-four hours is too

short for his daily activity. Drinking, eating, reading, walking,

sitting and besides, dreaming, hating, boasting, praising, weeping,

laughing, moping, hoping - all types of activities go on without end.

They fill up the span of life. These activities are all intimately

attached to the mind. This makes life a mere collection of Samskaras,

which make an impact on character and personality.

 

There are two types of activities, good and bad. The effect of both on

the life of man has to be considered. The acts of a body during that

tender age fade away like the writing of that boy on a slate. When the

events of one's own boyhood are thus consigned to oblivion, how can

the events of the past life be retained in the memory? Leaving this point aside,

it will be wrong to infer that only such events as are

remembered have happened, or have shaped character. The acts and activities that

have occurred and that have been thrust back into forgetfulness by subsequent

events have left a trace of their consequences in the mind. The residue is

there. When you try to bring back to memory at bedtime the events of the day,

everything that happened from the insignificant to the significant will not

answer the summons. Those which are deeply embedded inside, these alone can be

recalled.

 

When such is the case with the happenings of a single day, when we

forget all events that are not associated with joy or pain, what shall

be said of events of last week or month or years? Only the chief

events are registered clearly. The rest turn hazy and recede and disappear.

These few are the Samskaras.

 

Performing innumerable deeds, gathering vast experience and knowledge,

learning a wide variety of lesson from a wide variety of activities,

man retains as his capital only a mere four or five of them, strong, deep

rooted, vital.

 

Engrossed in the Business of Life, Man earns just the Samskaras

 

A merchant calculates the debit and credit at the end of a week or

month or year and draws up the balance sheet, to arrive at one figure - his

earnings. So too, in this business of life, everything ends in some bit of net

earnings, all the giving and taking concludes. At the very end of life, it is

the small quantity that will come into the memory. Those experiences that

persist to the very last moment, the two or three that well up into

consciousness when one recalls all that has happened in life, these are the real

sustainers, the genuine achievements.

 

This does not mean that all other acts and all other experiences have

been a waste. Forgetting them means only that their work has been

accomplished and their value realized.

 

When business is done with thousands of rupees, one's heart freezes

if a loss of a few thousands is sustained; the heart leaps in joy, when a few

thousands are gained. Such is the story of the business of life. If at the point

of death, one yearns to cater to the tongue, it is proof that throughout life

the tongue has to be the master. If at the point of death, the woman remembers

the child and seeks to fondle it, the Samskara of child-love has been

predominant, all through life. It proves that all other experiences have been

thrown into oblivion.

 

Thus, of the Samskaras of life, some one or other, stronger than the

rest, stand out to the last. Life is like that; this has to be learnt.

The net result of all this living and toiling is that which comes to

memory at the last moment of life. Therefore, direct the entire

current of life towards the acquisition of that Samskara which you feel best for

the last moment. Fix your attention upon it, day and night. The feeling that

dominates the moment of death works with great force in the coming life. This

truth must guide man for the journey of this life too, for Samskaras are the

wherewithal for this journey, as well as for the journey after this.

 

Therefore, from tomorrow, keep always before the eye of memory, death

which is inevitable, and engage yourself in the journey of life, with

good wishes for all, with strict adherence to truth, seeking always

the company of the good, and with the mind always fixed on the Lord. Live,

avoiding evil deeds, and hateful and harmful thoughts, and do not get attached

to the world. If you live thus, your last moment will be pure, sweet and

blessed. Disciplined striving throughout life is needed to ensure this

consummation. The mind has to be turned over to good samskaras. Everyone must

examine himself rigorously and spot out his defects and struggle to correct

them. When man realises his own defects and uncovers them, it is like being

reborn. He then starts anew, from a new boyhood. This is the genuine moment of

awakening.

 

Life is eternally stalked by Death. But, yet, man does not tolerate

the very mention of the word " Death " . It is deemed inauspicious to hear that

word, though, however insufferable the word, every living thing is every moment

proceeding nearer and nearer that event. Intent on a journey and having

purchased a ticket for the same, if you enter a train, whether you sit quiet or

lie down or read or meditate, the train takes you willy-nilly to the

destination. So too, each living thing has at birth received a ticket to Death

and has come on a journey; so, whatever your struggles and safeguards and

precautions, the Place has to be reached some day. Whatever is uncertain, Death

is certain. It is impossible to change that Law.

 

Man has taught the eye, the ear and the tongue, the luxury of constant

novelty; now, he has to teach them the opposite tendencies. The mind

has to be turned towards the good; the activities of every minute have to be

examined from that standpoint. Each such deed is the stroke of a chisel, by

which the rock of human personality is being shaped. A wrong stroke may spoil

and disfigure the rock. Therefore even the tiniest of acts has to be done with

great care and devotion.

 

For a drowning man, even a reed is some support. So too, to a person

struggling in the Sea of Samsara, a few good words spoken by some one

might be of great help. No good deed can go waste; no, not even a bad

deed, for, that too has its consequence. So, strive to avoid the

slightest trace of evil activity; keep your eyes pure, fill your ears

with the words of God and the stories of Godly Deeds, do not allow

them to listen to calumny. Use the tongue for uttering good words and kind and

true words. Let it always remind you of God. Such constant effort must grant you

victory. It is to earn these holy Samskaras that one has to maintain the flow of

high thoughts and feelings, uninterrupted.

 

The hands should be used to perform good deeds. Have the Lord's name

within, and the practice of Swadharma without. With the hand busy with

Seva, let your mind be engrossed in all this - there is no harm. When

the rains pour on the mountain peaks and the water hurries down the

sides, no river emerges therefrom. When however the waters flow in a

single direction, first a brook, then a stream, then a torrent, and

finally, a flooded river is formed, and the rains reach the sea. Water

that runs in one direction reaches the sea; water flowing in four

directions gets dissipated and lost. Samskaras are of this type. Of

what use are they, if they merely come and go, this way today and that way, the

next? The holy stream of good samskaras must flow full and steady along the

fields of holy thoughts and finally abide in the great Ocean of Bliss at the

moment of Death. Worthy indeed is he who reaches such a Goal.

 

Twenty hammer-strokes might not succeed in breaking a stone; the

twenty-first stroke might break it. But, does this mean that the

twenty blows were of no avail? No. Each of those twenty strokes contributed its

share to the final success; the final result was the cumulative effect of all

the twenty-one. So too, the mind is engaged in a struggle with the world, both

internal and external. Needless to say success might not always be your lot. But

man can attain ever-lasting bliss by getting immersed in good works and by

saturating the mind with the love of God.Infuse every moment of life with that

love. Then evil tendencies dare not hamper the path. Since his mind ever dwells

with the Lord, he will be drawn automatically towards good deeds only. The

object of all Sadhana is the destruction of the mind and some day, some one good

deed will succeed in destroying it, just as the twenty-first blow broke the

stone. For this triumph, all the good deeds done in the past have contributed;

each little thing counts; no good deed is a waste.

 

While struggling in the spiritual field, you should take Parameswara

Himself as your protector. To instill courage in the child, the mother

persuades it to walk a few steps and turn about, but she will not

allow it to loose balance, she hurries from behind it and catches it ere it

falls. Ishwara too has His Eyes fixed on the Jivi. He has in his hand the string

of the kite which is man; sometimes, he may give it a pull, sometimes, he may

loosen the hold; but whatever He does, be confident and carefree, for it is He

that holds the string. That faith ever present, that feeling hardening into a

Samskara, will fill you with Premarasa.

 

The string is the bond of Love and Grace. The kite or Jivi is thus

bound to Ishwara. You must do and earn auspicious Samskaras in order that the

bond of Love and Grace may exist and get tightened.

 

The Samskaras make or mar the Jivi; they are the steps which take all

Jivis to the goal. Samskaras make the Jivi wade through loss and

grief. Through good Samskaras alone can man attain the Lord. So, every Jivi has

to be wholly engaged in Sathkarma. Sathkarma is the authentic Puja. It is the

best form of remembering the Lord. It is the highest Bhajan. It spreads love,

without distinction and difference. It is service done as the duty of the Jivi.

 

Be engaged in such Karmas. Revel uninterruptedly in the thought of the

Lord. This is the royal road to the goal you have to reach.

 

Sanathana Dharma is the Divine Mother of Humanity

 

Sanathana Dharma is the mother of all religions, all ethical codes and

all Dharmas of this world; and Bharatha Desa is the home where the

Mother was born. Oh! How fortunate are the Bharathiyas! How sublimely

splendid is this Bharatha Desa!

 

The world in its entirety is the Body of the Lord of the world, and

this Bharatha desa is that Body's unique organ, the Eye. Without the eye the

body is not master of itself, is it not? Again, it can be said that Bharatha

Desa has been beautified by the two eyes; the Vedas and the Sastras. On account

of this it can be declared without doubt that the Samskara attained by the

Bharathiyas has not been acquired by the people of any other country. Sanathana

Dharma, which teaches the truth of all religions and tolerance of all religions,

is the Dharma of all mankind. Born in various areas, flowing through various

paths, the rivers at last reach the Ocean; so too, born in different lands,

practising different ways of Dharma, people reach the Ocean of the presence of

the Lord, through different modes of worship. Sanathana Dharma is the central

location in which all these various paths, moving in different directions,

converge. Followers of the different religions can practise this Sanathana

Dharma, by being truthful in speech, by avoiding jealousy and anger, and by

acting always with a loving heart. All those who so practise Sanathana Dharma

and, without faltering, achieve it, are entitled to be called 'Bharathiyas'.

 

The Hindu religion is the only religion that has achieved and

maintained the foremost position among all religions from earliest times and

established itself permanently. The only people who have survived without being

destroyed, throughout the historic age, are the Hindus. In this religion, more

than in any other, people have practised lives of love, equality and gratitude.

The Hindus have earned their Dharma through the discovery of philosophic

principles and through the Vedas. They have drunk deep the essence of the Vedas

which are without beginning and without end. A land so holy is a veritable

spiritual mine to the world. Just as the bowels of the earth reveal in each area

mines of different metals, in Bharatha Desa is found in mine of Sanathana

Dharma, the essence of all the principles of all the Sastras, all the Vedas, and

all the Upanishads.

 

As if by good luck of the Bharathiyas, along with the emergence of the

mine of Sanathana Dharma, which is as a home to them, from that moment

and for that very purpose, leaders, thinkers, commentators, apostles

and teachers have been originating in this land itself. Also from this very

Bharatha Desa arose seers, selfless karmayogis, wise men, realised souls, and

Divine personages connected with this religion. It is through these persons that

spiritual wisdom reinforced by experience flowed all over the country. In this

way loaded with essence, Sanathana Dharma progressed throughout the world. But,

to whatever land it spread, the 'original home' is Bharatha itself.

 

Look at the world today: machines, cars, engines of some new type or

other are made in one country and are exported to others. But their

original home cannot be forgotten. Such cars and engines are

manufactured only on the basis of its experience. Nothing can be done

without that basis. So too, Sanathana Dharma arose in Bharatha Desa

and people of other countries benefited from its waters through the great

personages and the books they composed. Hence, the basis of the

original home cannot be ignored. That is impossible. But it is a matter of some

concern to see today, in this Bharatha Desa the birthplace of those holy persons

who nursed and fostered this sacred Dharma, new modes being accepted as one's

Dharma, and the Sanathana Dharma, itself being assigned and kept aside for

people of other countries, by the persons who have not even tasted the sweetness

of the Dharma, who have not grasped its meaning, and who have smothered it in

empty disputation. The reason for this is, of course, the absence of proper

guides who could show the way. But even when there are such guides, people yield

to these modern modes and get attached to them. These are really like bazaar

pakodas. They attract by their smell, and are bought by persons who do not

discriminate. Though their Swadharama is the pure Sanathana Dharma, the

fascination exercised by outward show is absent and so it gets neglected. Truth

has no need for such decorations. Taste is the important thing. The basic reason

for this is the fact that men today are motivated by mere whim and fancy. It has

become the habit to reject the reality and accept the Dharama of another. This

is a great mistake.

It is against Dharma for Bharathiyas to be attracted by external forms

and by outward show. No other Dharma has or will have Truth and

Highest Love, above and beyond that contained in Sanathana Dharma. Sanathana

Dharma is the veritable embodiment of Truth. It is the Heritage of all. There

can be no boundary for Holiness. Holiness is one, without a second.

 

Those who have attained Liberation in this life by adherence to this

Sanathana Dharma, who have earned the grace of God, who have

understood the nature of Truth, who have achieved Realisation are all

Bharathiyas. Bharathiyas have adored those who have reached that holy stage,

without distinction of caste, creed, or sex. The holiness of that stage burns to

ashes all such limitations. It is only until that stage is reached that it

becomes impossible to consider everything as equal. So, it is necessary to

embark boldly on the realisation of Sanathana Dharma. This is the birthright of

Bharathiyas.

 

If we examine history since its very beginnings, we can know in detail

what great personages were born, in which sections of the Hindus.

Incarnations, Divine personalities and Jeevanmuktas like Rama,

Krishna, Balarama, Janaka and Parikshit, Rajayogis like Viswamitra all arose

among the Kshatriyas. Brahmarishis, great Pandits, Sastric Scholars, Vedic

Rishis, originated in the Brahmin section. Sudras predominate in the epic books,

like Bharatha and Bhagavatha. Among the great devotees of the Lord, members of

the lower castes form a large number. To attain holiness without being affected

by the world, and to reach Paramatma, each one's Sadhana is important; other

things like caste will not be a hindrance at all. But, one should deserve the

Grace required for it; one should become regular and disciplined in practice.

 

Many Bharathiyas, however, now bring endless disgrace on the Hindu

religion by neglecting the principles of life of the above mentioned

great personages, not studying them and following their instructions,

by modifying their way of life to suit the changing times and (as the

saying goes " The hour of ruin brings wicked thoughts " ) by becoming

slaves to name and fame and the craving for power and position and out

of concern to promote the well-being of their wives and children

through selfish means. Still, there is no dearth of persons who love all in

equal measure, who are devoid of selfishness, who are engaged in the promotion

of the welfare of all, who have dedicated themselves to the service of mankind

and who are ready to sacrifice everything. But they are suppressed; they are not

appreciated or placed in positions of high authority for fear there will be then

no place for the wicked, the crooked and unjust.

 

However broad and deep the ocean, when the earth quakes underneath,

the waters part off themselves, and when the commotion subsides, they

resume their original position. So too these good men keep away without being

caught up in it during the earthquake of injustice, unrighteousness, selfishness

and ostentation; and as soon as the hullabaloo subsides, they re-enter the

world. Evanescent authority and self-glorification cannot be permanent " To grow

is only to decay " , it is said. The present peacelessness is decay not growth.

For, see how the Bharathiyas who from the beginning, grew up in righteous ways

with pure feelings, with self-control and reverence for the good name, who were

fed on the breast-milk of the Vedas, Sastras and Upanishads, who have welcomed

and honoured even races driven out of their own country and vouchsafed to them

love in equal measure, today, for love of power and self, accuse their own

brethren, one person impatiently envying the prosperity of

another, deceive their own brothers maddened by selfish greed, keep at

arm's length their real well-wishers, pursue only each one's selfish

end, multiply bad qualities hitherto unheard of in the Hindu fold,

follow wrong paths and ways of life, and become the target of conflict

and restlessness, on account of the absence of fear of sin, fear of

God, discipline, reverence and faith. The fall is indeed incredible.

 

Hindu Brethren! Children of Bharath! Followers of the Sanathana way!

Where have the manly qualities of old gone? Truth, Tolerance,

Morality, Discipline - when would you accept them? Arise, Awake, and Establish

once again Rama Rajya, resplendent with mansions of Sathya, Dharma and Santhi.

Love your Bharathiya brethren. Practise Sanathana Dharma. Quench the burning

flames of ignorance, Peacelessness, Injustice and Envy with the waters of Love,

Forbearance and Truth. Develop the feeling of Mutualness. Sweep away all

jealousy and anger. Remember the rule of the holy personages, the

characteristics of the most eminent and of the reign of God. Each one should

realise his own faults, and understand there is no use in searching for faults

in others. That is mere waste of time; it also breeds quarrels. So, give up that

trait. If this opportunity is missed, what else can be done? Do not yield to

dejection, but say 'Finis' to all the unrighteousness of the past. Repent

sincerely and tread the path of Prayer to God, Good Deeds and Brotherly Love.

Establish the eternal Rama Rajya.

 

The 'Sanathana Sarathi' has been started to win this Rajya; its army

will help this effort by word and deed. Draw that chariot forward!

Gird up your loins and begin Narayana-sarana... Bharathiyas are all the children

of one Mother, Her name is Sanathana Dharma. Redeem the debt due to the Mother.

He is no son who forgets the mother. He cannot be good who says the Mother is

bad. Her breast-milk is the very breath of our life... The giver of this Life,

the Father of all is Paramatma.

 

All are the children of the same parents. So, without blaming and

accusing each other, without wishing evil for one's kith and kin,

understand that your other brothers have the same attachment to the

objects they love that you have towards the things that you love. One

should not find fault with what another loves; nor should one laugh at

it. He should, on the other hand, try to love it. These are the

characteristics of the Truth and Love of Bharathiyas.

 

Sarvaantharyaami is One and Only One

 

The Vedas, the Sastras, and the messages of the Rishis, all have

proclaimed uniformly and without any possibility of doubt, from that

day to this, that Paramatma is Sarvaantharyaami, present and immanent in

everything. So too questions like the relationship between 'He who is served',

'he who serves', and 'the wherewithal of service', viz.,

'Prakriti', have also been the subject of endless discussion. Every

Asthika has heard the Bhagavatha verse in which the great Bhaktha

Prahlada states out of his own experience that Paramatma, the

Sarvaantharyaami, need not be searched far and wide and that He is

very near the seeker himself.

'He is here, He is not there, give up such doubts;

Listen, Oh! Leader of the Danavas!

Wherever you seek and wherever you see,

There... and there... He is!'

People speak of the Lord as having a particular nature of

characteristic, as having a particular form and so on. These

statements are true only to the extent that imagination and guesswork can

approximate to Truth; they are not the fundamental Truth. Such

conceptions are valid as far as practical worldly knowledge goes; they

cannot be considered as valid knowledge of the Absolute. For, it is

impossible to see the Poornam or speak about it.

 

In spite of this, however, Bhakthas and aspirants have been framing,

each according to the stage of his own inner progress, some form or

other of the Divine as the basis of their devotion. They worship

Paramathma as existing in some Ayodhya or Dwaraka and nowhere else; as

found in places where some image or picture exists and nowhere else.

They worship that form itself as Poornam. Of course, it is not wrong

to do so. Only, Bhakthas should not proclaim that their belief alone is the

Truth, that those names and forms which they have ascribed are the only names

and forms of the Divine and that all other forms and names are worthless and

inferior. It should be realised that the names and forms which are the ideals of

others are as dear and sacred to those others as other names and forms are to

oneself.

 

When a form is idealised like this, it really becomes a symbol of the

Universal; but, how can a mere symbol of the Universal ever become the

Universal itself? Conscious always of this, every one should acquire,

without giving room to senseless hatred, the vision that all forms of

the ideal are equally valid and true. Without this, it is impossible

to realise the Poornam. All these gross forms of the ideal are fully

saturated with the subtle Divine Principle. The taste of the vast

ocean is to be found, complete and undiminished, in every single drop of its

waters; but, this does not mean that the drop is the ocean. Though we recognise

the 'drop' and the 'ocean' as separate entities, the nature and taste of both

are identical. Similarly, the sarvaantharyaami Paramaatma and the gross form and

name which Paramaatma assumes and through which He is realised are not separate

entities; they are identical.

 

When this All-pervasive, All-inclusive Pure existence is described,

the matter and the method depend on the principles of the speaker and the tastes

of the listener; when the individual name and form imposed by the Bhaktha are

transformed into the Attributeless and the Formless, it is referred to as

Brahmam; when this same Brahmam appears with attributes and forms, it is

referred to as Rama, Krishna, Vishnu or Siva. Do not the followers of even other

religions agree that when the devotee attains the Ecstasy of Mystic Union, all

distinction between him and God disappears? The Yogis, Philosophers of other

lands and other faiths,too, accept without demur that this distinctionless

experience can be earned through Parabhakthi. Even if some little trace of

difference is retained, it is due to the individuals own taste and desire and

not anything especially basic. It is only when name and form come in that it is

named differently as Prakriti, Paramaatma and Bhaktha. When name and form are

absent, doubt and discussion whether it is masculine, feminine

or neutral will not arise at all. Then any description fits. For

something that is above and beyond imagination, any name and form can

be ascribed. In fact, It has no attribute and no form; it is All-

pervasive, Omnipresent. When this Subtle Omnipresence is systematically

worshipped through a gross form and as having attributes, the devotee will

clearly realise its nature through the Sadhana itself. To vouchsafe the

knowledge of this Sadhana and that Truth, and to bless the Bhakthas with that

Bliss, the Attributeless Paramaatma incarnates in this world, assuming name and

form, and gives scope for all embodied beings to have concrete experience and

joy. Through these experiences, the Incarnations facilitate the realisation that

Paramaatma is Sarvaantharyaami and arvabhoothaantharaatma, All-pervasive, the

Inner Atma of every thing

in Creation. Lord Krishna showed in his own form the entire Creation.

Until he saw with his own eyes how Lord Krishna had contained in His gross form

of entire Creation, even Arjuna failed to understand that Krishna was

Sarvaantharyaami.