Swami teaches... Part 2. The Eternal Witness Dwells Constantly In Your Heart

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Light and Love Swami teaches... 22 -25 September 2007 Part 2. The Eternal Witness Dwells Constantly In Your Heart

It is not easy for nonprofessionals to understand the Vedas. However, whether they are understand or not, Vedas truth permeates the Universe. They embody the Sabda Brahmam (Cosmic Sound). They are not confined to a particular place, time, or person. They pervade the Cosmos. Sage Vyasa codified Vedas in four groups. They have propagated and practiced in three sections. The Karma Kanda (dealing with rituals), Upasana Kanda (dealing with forms of worship) and Jnana Kanda (dealing with the path of knowledge). "You have the right only for the performance of actions," declares the Gita. These actions have to be in accordance with dharma (righteousness). When human's actions achieve ripeness, they become upasana (worship). When the worship is offered with full devotion and love for the Divine, it becomes jnana (pure knowledge). Just as a flower by stages becomes a ripe fruit, similarly through karma, upasana and jnana, the final stage of Self-realization is reached. It is to enable the common people to go through these three stages that the puranas and epics were produced as aids to spiritual advancement.

Vyasa had many disciples who were learning the Vedas from the sage. Chief among them was Vaisampayana. After completing his studies under Vyasa, Vaisampayanaestablished a gurukula (preceptor's ashram) for imparting Vedic knowledge. /Often gurukula is regarded as some kind of special educational establishment. It is not so. Gurukula was the dwelling place of the guru and it was also the abode of the sishyas (the students)/. In olden days, education was imparted to students in the gurukulas. Students had to rely entirely on their memory power and concentration to acquire knowledge, since there were no papers, pens, pencils, etc. to jot down what the teachers would teach. Their learning consisted of merely listening to the teachers, yet they could acquire high education. It is significant to note that the ancient gurus and seers used to observe silence. Only then the latent energy develops. This was the sole aim of sages and seers in undertaking various spiritual practices. Once the latent energy develops, your memory power as well as the power of concentration will increase. (However, if you indulge in excessive talk, you will be losing a lot of energy). There were special rules in gurukulas. For example, the guru, after taking his meal, would distribute the food as prasadam to the students who used to spend their entire time with the guru. The preceptor initiated the students in the spiritual quest. The preceptors of those times would give even their lives for deserving disciples, but would give no quarter to those who were proud and ill-behaved.

By legend, one day, the sage Yajnavalkya came to Vaisampayana's gurukula. Yajnavalkya was a brilliant intellectual with keen intelligence. Yajnavalkya was proud about his intellectual attainments and this was responsible for his downfall. Yajnavalkya developed indifference to his studies and started behaving in an unbecoming manner. Vaisampayana was noticing all this. Displeased with Yajnavalkya's conduct, Vaisampayana called him to his presence one day and told him, “Yajnavalkya! You have no right any longer to study in this gurukula. Before leaving, you give back all that you learnt here." Yajnavalkya, who realized his mistakes, disgorged all that he had learnt. The Thithiri birds ate the vomit. Then the birds began to recite the Vedic hymns, which came to be known as Taithriya Samhitha (samhitha literally means "collection"). There are two traditions relating to the Vedas. One is known as the Brahma-sampradayam (the Brahmic tradition). The other is Aditya-sampradayam (the Sun tradition). What Yajnavalkya gave back is known as the Brahma-sampradaya. It is also known as Krishna Yajur-Veda. Subsequently, feeling penitent about his misconduct, Yajnavalkya did penance in the form of worship of the Sun, giving up food and drink. In this manner he was atoning forhis misconduct. The Sun-God (Surya) appeared before him in the form of Vaaji (a sacred horse) and told him, “Child! What has happened is past. Remember it is a grievous crime to be disloyal to your preceptor or ungrateful to the Divine. You should not indulge in this kind of behavior. Be careful in the future." Saying this, the Sun-God himself taught the Vedas to Yajnavalkya. (Why did Surya appear before him in the form of Vaaji? Yajnavalkya's ancestors were noted for their offerings of food to the hungry; hence they got the name Vaajasam. For this reason, the Sun-God assumed the form of Vaaji and taught the Vedas to Yajnavalkya). This Veda is known as Sukla Yajur-Veda. It is also called Vaajanaskanda. The Yajur-Veda thus was divided into two parts: Krishna Yajur-Veda and Sukla Yajur-Veda. Another ancient story tells, that sage Kanva also established a gurukula in order to impart teachings to the inmates of the ashram. Sakuntala was one such inmate, who grew up under the loving care of sage Kanva. One day, king Dushyantha happened to visit Kanva’s ashram. There he met Sakuntala and married her. Bharata was born to the couple. Having been born and brought up in a palace, King Dushyantha was inclined toward worldly pleasures. On the other hand, his son Bharata, who was born and brought up in Kanva Ashram, was a repository of moral, spiritual, and ethical values. Bharata became a paragon of all virtues and good character because he received ideal education right from his childhood.

On the other hand, Dushyantha had worldly and material wealth. He was a mighty emperor. What was the use of all that he possessed when he lacked character? In olden times, people felt: If wealth is lost, nothing is lost, If health is lost, something is lost, If character is lost, everything is lost.

 

On the contrary, modern youth feels that if wealth is lost, everything is lost and if character is lost, nothing is lost. The modern system of education has become computer oriented. There is craze for computers everywhere. You are not a computer. You are a composer. After all, what does the computer do? It does whatever you program it to do. God-gifted brain is the real computer. Body is gifted to undertake righteous actions and set an ideal to society, not for sleeping, eating, drinking, and making merry. Think in terms of collective benefit, not individual benefit alone. Serve human, until you see God in all people; then, what you do will be elevated as worship. Sage Vyasa said, that helping others is merit, harming others is sin. This is the essence of all sacred texts. Serve, without any expectation of reward. That is Nishkama Yoga. Work silently; definitely, God will shower His grace on you.

Neither by penance nor by pilgrimages Nor by going through sacred texts Can one cross the ocean of Samsara. Only through service can one redeem oneself.

Let parents and teachers tell the children what they cannot learn by themselves, by observation, namely, the stories of Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, the Bhagavatha, and the Mahabharatha. Tell them also stories from the Bible, the Buddhist texts, the Zend-Avesta and the Quoran. That a horse has four legs is a fact which one need not teach the child; it can discover it in a moment. What is not known to the children are the stories and verses that embody the native culture. The tender age is the best for this kind of instruction. Tell them the importance ofOm and its significance, as the basic sound of all creation. It is meaningful symbolic sound; it is quite unlike the useless jargon, which children learn today, in the very first lesson at school, for example, Ba, Ba, Black Sheep! Ding Dong Bell; the Pussy is in the well!

The world is becoming more and more deeply immersed in irreverence and cruelty. Codes of decent behavior are being ignored and laughed at. The material is receiving greater attention than the moral and spiritual. Faith in the victory of truth, justice, and goodness is fast disappearing; the distinction between good and bad is seldom recognized. Nevertheless, Human has immense latent capacities, waiting to be tapped and used. Human feels the urge to love all beings, to share joys and grieves, to know more, and satisfy the curiosity of intellect, to peep behind the awe and wonder that Nature arouses in him/her. Human is able to gather information about all kinds of things from all comers of the world, but, human is unaware of what happens in the comers of own mind. Unaware of your Divine status, you revel in low company; you toil and sweat as the slave of mean passions which drag you into disgrace. Now, in your ignorance, you feel small, you feel miserable, you feel that the wicked, the greedy, the cruel, are all happier than you and unjustifiably so. You feel it is unjust that you who are so truthful, so loving, so well, should suffer. Just ponder over this. Are they as happy as you imagine, and are your condition so bad as you picture? Just investigate and you will find out for yourself. They are only painted pots of poison; the paint of honey is just a thin coating, a mere show. Their hearts know no peace; they are as miserable as you are, if not more.

 

Avoid being attached to the elemental passions, that the elements constituting you urge you into. How long are you to sit content with the minor role of a clown or a clout? Are you not ashamed? Have you no ambition? Why smother your genuine talents under a self-imposed mask? All these are zero roles; take on the role of the hero, which is your right, and shine. Be like the lotus, which though born in the slush at the bottom of the lake, by sheer will-power rises above the waters to see the Sun and be inspired by its rays. Do not cloud your minds with cheap desires, transitory hungers, and thirsts that need but morsels or mouthfuls. Yearn for the enthronement of your soul as the unquestioned Monarch of the Universe, when you merge in the Universal; celebrate your triumph over the foes within that hamper your march to victory. Do not derive comfort by filling the stomach with savory and sweet dishes. Derive it by filling the brain with the teachings, by saturating the mind with faith in them, by shaping thoughts, feelings, emotions, impulses, attitudes, and activities - all in accordance with them. Creative powers of people are infinite aspects of God that flow through you.

Enter on a course of spiritual discipline; your experience itself will tell you the validityand the value of that course. Install a radio receiver, select the wavelength of the station you propose to listen to, switch on correctly to that wavelength, and you hear the program clear and distinct. Your ear will tell you the accuracy with which you have tuned.

Similarly, take on a form of mantra; pronounce it and meditate on it with accurate care and steady attention; tune in to the voice of within you. One of the obstacles in the way of the spiritual aspirant is the satire and criticism poured on him/her. Do not pay heed to their advice or their barbs. They are experts only in the silly short-lived trivialities of social life or sensual pleasure and prefer to make use of their time in seeking to find fault with others rather than to celebrate their success.

Never forget that Atma is the inner core, the Divine Spark, more minute than the minutest, more magnificent than the most magnificent. To observe the minute you must use a microscope; to bring the remote nearer your eye, you seek the help of a telescope; these are yantras (material instruments). The instruments that help you to visualize the core that has such strange contradictory attributes are called mantras - formulae that save you when you meditate on them. They are also called tantras (ceremonies and rites) when their practical application has to be emphasized. Faith in the efficacy of these mantras, and in the utility of the procedure prescribed, as well as in the existence of the core are all essential for success.

Every human individual aspires to be blissful. Bliss cannot be attained easily. Bliss is Brahman, which is steady, pure, eternal, and beyond dualities. Most of people have forgot, that, faith is essential for that. By epic Bhagavad Gita Meera asked her mother, as a tiny girl, "Mother! We are playing a game. The other girls have all given out the names of the man each will wed; who is to be my husband - tell me, I must tell them his name"? When she worried her for some little time, the mother blurted out, "This Giridhar, installed in this shrine, He is your husband. Go". Meera dedicated herself with greatest faith to the Lord Giridhar (Krishna) from that moment and saw everywhere, at all times, only His complexion and His compassion. The body is the bridegroom for the Life principle, which is the bride; this is the wedlock in every life. As the body enfolds guards and fosters life, the Lord maintains the vital principle enshrined in human, so that it may realize Him. "Quite simply God is the entire Universe and everything contained within the Universe, existing in the form of pure Energy; conscious, intelligent Energy in Whom we live and move and have our Being; thus we live in the presence of God" (Adrian Cooper). (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 4. "Yanthram & Manthram," Chapter 9; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 8 "Acquire Me as charioteer," Chapter 28; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 13. "Not twice, but thrice!" Chapter 2; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 23. "Message of the Vedas," Chapter 24). Namaste - Reet