PART ONE...PROF ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG: BABA'S CONVERSATION WITH STUDENTS.

[Guest guest]

ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG: BABA'S CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS Professor Anil Kumar has presented this talk as an extra satsang. He has selected important messages Baba has imparted to the students gathered around Him during the afternoon sessions on the verandah at Prashanti Nilayam. These talks will continue. OM…OM…OM… Sai Ram! Pranams to the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan! Dear Brothers and Sisters! MONTH OF AUGUST 2002 This evening we’ll be completing the course of conversations we had with Bhagavan during the month of August. I am glad to know there is such a good response to these conversations for which I do not take any personal credit. I am well aware of the interest in hearing about the conversations

transacted on the verandah, since people have no access to them. So it is with no personal credit or glorification that I am pleased to give them to you. I am glad there has been a very good response from Sai devotees all over the world. “Consider this body as an instrument” That evening in August, Swami started speaking about certain spiritual aspects -- deep philosophical aspects. Each sentence was very important for every one of us. The first statement He made was: “Consider this body as an instrument.” This statement is significant for more than one reason. We consider this body as ourselves. Rather we identify ourselves with this body, which is not true, because the body goes on changing from time-to-time or may even expire at any moment, without any formal announcement. So how can we consider that we are the body? What is the value of having this body? The answer is simple. The body is an instrument, that’s all. The body is to be used as an instrument for the realization of the purpose for which it is meant. The body is given or obtained because of the process of birth. However, we are born in order not to be born again. It is to this end that the body has to be used -- as a powerful instrument in the Divine Mission. The second statement Baba made was this: “Know that God is the Master of this body -- God is the owner of this body.” Let me just comment on this as some explanation is needed. Some elaboration will help you to understand the seriousness, the gravity, depth and profundity of this statement. It is for this reason that I want to explain further. Do we consider that God is the Master of our bodies? We may say so, but without having any experience of it. If we consider God as the Master of this body, then all our actions would be godly, all our thoughts would be Divine, all our

actions would be sacred and all our words would be full of Truth. But in reality, it is not so. Often our words are full of lies, our actions are selfish and our thoughts are self-centered. If we still declare that God is the Master of this body, it is utterly ridiculous. So, not only by word but also in spirit, we have to accept that God is the Master of this body, which will be reflected by our thought, words and actions. And the third statement Baba made was: “Reduce or cut short your body attachment.” What does this mean? Because we are attached to this body, we suffer more than we should. When there is the awareness of, “I am not the body”, the intensity of suffering or the gravity of

suffering will be less. Not that there won’t be suffering. There’ll be pain, but it will be less painful than it might have been. So our attitude will change. Our attitude toward life will change when we are less attached to our body and when we are less identified with our body. That’s what Bhagavan told us. And then the question came, “Why are we attached to this body? What does it lead to? Where does it lead us?” Here is the answer Bhagavan gave: “Our illusion is responsible for this body attachment, which leads to grief or misery or sadness.” There’s no benefit or advantage, after all, in identifying with the body as it brings suffering and misery, that’s

all. The cause for this body attachment happens to be illusion or delusion. Bhagavan does not want us to be mistaken about this. He does not want us to identify ourselves with this body. And then came the question, “Swami, then what is delusion? What is illusion?” Bhagavan mentioned again that evening the same oft-repeated quote, the famous illustration from the Upanishads: “There lies a rope, but you mistake it to be a snake. In fact, it’s not a snake -- it’s only a rope. It’s only your mistaken identity. It’s only your wrong identification that made you confused and totally fear-stricken.” You run away from it, thinking it’s a snake; but

actually it’s not a snake. It’s only rope. So mistaken identification or mistaken identity is what is called ‘illusion’. The reality is not understood. We go by falsification; we go by super imposition. That is responsible for illusion, which leads to fear. Then He gave an example. It seems a young man was crying. A noble and aware soul happened to pass by and he asked, “Young man, why are you crying, my boy? What makes you cry?” This young man said, “I lost my mother. My mother, who loved me so much, is no more. I lost my mother and that’s why I’m crying.” And this wise man said, “Where has she gone? Your mother is lying right here. Your mother is very much here -- you have not lost her. She’s here, so why do you cry?” This story helps us to understand that the mother’s body was still there, but not her life. So if the boy considered only the body, then the mother was not lost as her body was right there. But still the boy cried because, even though his mother’s body was there, it was not his mother in reality. Why? Her life was gone. So this mistaken identification with the body, the wrong identification with the body, is what is called ‘illusion’ or ‘delusion’, which leads to subsequent fear and sadness. Bhagavan gave another example: “To think that ‘I am Indian’, to think that ‘I am Russian’, to think ‘I am American’ is also an illusion. It is an illusion because, though you were born in America and are therefore an American, you are not America. You were born in America and hence you are American by citizenship, but you are not America. You are different. Now you are visiting here in India, so you are not the place you normally live. You are not your profession; you are not your gender -- you are beyond all that. The reality is none of these. The true Self is above all of them.” Then Bhagavan related another beautiful example: “The whole world is like a beautiful mansion, like a beautiful building, and each room

is a country. But to consider this room to be the only one in the building is foolishness. This building has so many rooms -- some of this type and so many of that type. All the rooms together make one building. Similarly, the whole world is one mansion, and the rooms are the different countries. What is it that separates us? What is it that differentiates us? What is it that demarcates us? Only the walls of caste, community, race, nationality, creed, cadre, that’s all. When all these walls are removed, when all these narrow chains are cut off, then we are all One -- one caste of humanity and one religion of Love. The realization of Oneness is the Truth. The experience of diversity, multiplicity and plurality is the delusion.” That’s what Bhagavan said that evening. Finally He concluded saying, “Boys, develop broadmindedness. Expansion is life; contraction is death. Have broadmindedness and vastness of the spirit. Understand that there you will find bliss, not in contraction or in narrow-mindedness. “ “Money and sai baba will never go together” Now I move on to the next episode. This incident is an example from Bhagavan’s life. Swami was sitting on His chair when He suddenly called a gentleman from the devotees -- an elderly person, an old man, wearing a dhoti with a long shirt.

“Come here!” The man came forward. Bhagavan introduced him to all of us. He said this man was a correspondent for a chain of schools in the State of Karnataka. Then He looked at him seriously and said, “What is it that you are doing there in those schools? You have named your schools after Me. All your schools are named as ‘Sri Sathya Sai’ schools, but you are collecting money. You are collecting fees. You are collecting money for examinations, sports, library and all that. That is very bad. You cannot bear My name

and collect money. Money and Sai Baba will never go together. You cannot have My Name if you want to collect money like that. I am dead against any fund-raising. Do you understand?” That gentleman started shivering. “Swami, I beg Your pardon. I understand.” And Baba said, “Immediately after your return, refund all the money. Refund it all and write to Me. Only then will I permit you to enter Prashanti Nilayam, not otherwise. It is not proper on your part to put education on sale -- like selling toothpaste or a matchbox. You cannot have education for sale. I don’t like it. Don’t do that.” “Give brand new clothes if you want to call it seva” Further Swami also made a comment: “Some people offer old used clothes to people and announce they are doing service. What are you really doing? Distributing old clothes. This is not charity. It is not sacrifice. You are simply cleaning out the junk, that’s all (Laughter). So, if you want to give clothes, you should give brand-new clothes. Only then you can call it a donation, sacrifice or seva. Don’t give worn-out, torn-out, old, used clothes and call it charity. That’s all drama; it is all a stunt. I don’t want you to do that.” In this context, I should tell you that in Karnataka State, it costs

a donation of 25 lakhs per student for medical school! This is in addition to the regular college fees and the cost of boarding or lodging. They have to pay in advance a donation of 25 lakhs! Only then will they get accepted. Swami laughed and laughed and said, “Instead of studying medicine, if you keep those 25 lakhs in the bank, plus the 5 lakhs for the college fee, tuition fee, sports fee, games fee, exam fee, library fee, and the 10 more lakhs for food and accommodation, that’s around 35 lakhs. If you kept all of that in the bank, you would get 35,000 rupees (monthly) as interest. With that, you could sit cross-legged without studying. You would be a maharaja -- a king! Then why go to college? Why

study?” So, education today has become a mockery. For lower kindergarten in Bangalore, you have to pay a donation of 25,000 rupees! Just for a three-year-old child to get into L.K.G. - lower kindergarten - a donation of 25.000 rupees is required! Education has become so commercial, and Bhagavan is dead-set against that. He doesn’t like it. And lastly Swami said, “If you want to start institutions in My name, take Me as the ideal and know that whatever I say is Truth. You can verify it wherever you go. My path is very clear and righteous. My words are nothing but Truth. I am an ideal to all of

you.”Ram ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp