Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

In the old days, even worldly weapons used to be closely linked with Vedic manthras. There is a nice example for this. The weapons used by Arjuna in tackling the magical demon or maya kirataka have been explained to us in terms of the words of the Veda. Those weapons have been described by a Sanskrit word geerbana. If such weapons are not used with a sense of discriminate discipline, self-control and with right attitude or position, they become powerless and useless.

In the old days, the power of the weapons depended on the manthras. It was necessary for the person who wanted to use them to follow certain spiritual rules and Vedic injunctions.

In this context there is another aspect which we must recognise and appreciate. We have already learnt that the life principle in a person is called vasu in the early years and in the intermediate stages, it is referred to as rudra and in the later stage the same has been referred to it as Aditya. In this context, we have to examine what exactly is meant by early years. It is appropriate to call the first twenty-four years of one’s life as the first period. The next forty-four years of one’s life will be referred to as rudra. The remaining years or the third period of his existence will be referred to as the last or third period. It is in this context that the Sruthi has stated that the total life-span for a man is one hundred and sixteen years. Thus the three periods - vasuvu, rudra and Aditya - put together, account for the one hundred and sixteen years of a man’s life. This period if spent according to the Vedic injunctions can be referred to as a life of happiness.

Since life-span of a man is taken to be one hundred and sixteen years, it is necessary to recognise all the aspects that contribute to this life-span. This is what the Sruthi has laid down. Since the first twenty-four years relate to vasuvu, the commandments laid down by vasuvu form part and parcel of one’s discipline and one has to necessarily obey the commandments.

In the next stage of rudra if we look at the origin of this word, we realise that it is a deity who is associated with sorrow. This is how the word rudra or its equivalent rodana (wailing loudly) signifies that all life forces function on account of divine strength. For instance, as soon as a child is born we expect the child to cry loudly. In fact, if it does not cry loudly it implies that all the life forces are still silent. It is only when the new born child is able to cry loudly and freely that we come to the conclusion that all the life forces in the child are functioning normally. We think that there is going to be some disaster for the child if it is not crying properly. This has to be interpreted as saying that the newly born child is proclaimed to the world with rodana or a loud cry. This is the power of rudra. The meaning of this is that God is present in that child in the form of rudra and by uttering a loud cry God is handing in the rasa or the life force to all the organs in the form of rudra. There is an alternative name Angirasa for this situation. Since God takes the task of giving the life principle to all the organs in this case He is called Angirasa.

The child that is born proclaims itself its arrival in the world with a loud cry and the same child will end its life also with the same cry. This individual who is born questions himself with a loud cry, “Who am I?” “Who am I?” When the same person ends his life, he ends it by crying, “Soham, Soham”. The individual who begins his life by asking the question, “Koham” or “Who am I?” ends his life by finding the answer to the question saying, “Soham” or “I am He”, this process of realising one’s true nature is called Vedavid or one who knows the Veda. It is in this context that divinity makes one utter a loud cry and is in this aspect called Rudra.

In common parlance we understand rodana as something connected with sorrow or pain. This, however, is not the correct understanding. Here, we must understand that divinity is being expressed by one’s breath - by inhaling and exhaling. God is expressing himself by means of the loud cry and that is why he has the name Rudra which has its origin in Rodana. In calling this sound which comes with a view to protect one’s own body by the name Rudra, there is an inner meaning.

We generally associate the word rodana with something which causes pain or suffering to the body. That is not the correct meaning here. This period of Rudra has been mentioned as the intermediate period and we have to understand this word to mean that in this period divine energy is being handed down to you.

In the third stage of one’s life named Aditya, just as the sun takes away all the essence out of water in the form of vapour, so also Aditya extracts the life force out of all the organs in the human body in this period and therefore this is called Aditya. Here we have to understand the significance very carefully. When the rays of the sun fall on the salty ocean or impure water, the sun leaves the residue or the impurity behind and only takes out pure water in the form of vapour. On the same analogy, when we say that Aditya is taking away the life force from our organs, he is leaving behind all the bad thoughts, bad qualities and bad work and taking away only your good qualities and good ideas in the form of essence. The inner meaning here is that the good and noble ideas that you have are going to be imprinted on the heart of the Aditya or the sun of your life. We should understand here that the impure thought in you is not going with the Lord in this period. Therefore individuals who want to reach God and become one with Him or merge in Him should see good and do good in their lives. It is only the impure portions of you that are left behind and are stuck in the world. The Sruthi teaches us that impure thoughts are not taken by Aditya. It is only the sacred ideas that are taken by him. The Veda preaches such noble and sacred thoughts and ideas.

Since Veda has emanated from the Paramatma Himself, it was considered as a poetical text. The work of a poet takes the form of poetry and this is the meaning in calling the Veda a poetic text. This poetic text of Veda was composed by Paramatma Himself as the author and therefore the divinity of Paramatma as well as poetic beauty are both to be found in the text of Veda. The Sruthi has declared that since the Vedas had emanated from the Lord, the poetic texts are regarded as the outcome of the Lord and God is here regarded as a Poet par excellence who composed the Vedas.

In this context, we should analyse what is it that characterises a poet. Here, a poet stands for one who is able to visualise in one moment the past, present and future. The poet is one who has this capacity. It is in this context that the Bhagavad Gita has extolled the Lord as a kavi (poet), as a purana and as an anusasita or one who lays down the metre. During the past one month, those of you who have been reciting Purusha Suktha must have learnt that the word kavi can be applied only to Paramatma.

In addressing Paramatma as a poet, the implication here is that he has handed down to the world some selfless and spiritual texts which are full of noble ideas. That is why he has been called the poet. That which is intended to look after man’s welfare and contains the noblest of ideas and that which contains the aspect of the Atma alone can be called true poetry. It is only in the context of the divine poetry contained in the Vedas, that the word kavi becomes significant. However, today even those who write a few meaningless words and produce a few useless sentences are also called poets. Everyone is not eligible to be called a poet. It is only he who is well versed in the Vedas and has the capacity to visualise God in his mind can be called a kavi. Whatever words or writing which come from an individual if they come in the form of vedavani from the depths of his heart having a divine aspect, can really be called poetry.

It is in this context that the text of Bhagavatha, which describes the divine leelas of God, has been acclaimed as one of the greatest texts. Potana, the author of that Bhagavatha, himself declared “the words that emerge from my mouth describe the divine leelas of the Lord; the Lord who is making me utter these sacred words is none other than Srirama; why should I speak anything other than the Lord’s story? I will narrate only His story since it liberates the mankind from the cycle of birth and death”. That is why the Bhagavatha has become a masterpiece of dine poetry.

If anyone writes with ego and if while writing he thinks that he is a scholar and is doing something extraordinary or if he does it with jealousy, that work can only be described as exhibitionism and it cannot be poetry in the true sense of the word.

The students possibly know that Saraswathi’s picture in our mind is one in which she is wearing clean, white and pure clothes which is a symbol of purity. It is in this context that we say Suklambara dharam Vishnum etc. Saraswathi is the goddess of speech and her name is synonymous with Vedavani. This is the reason why it is said that if one’s words come from the depth of his heart and are selfless, then it can be concluded that these words are coming from the goddess of speech and constitute true poetry.

One may ask why we have brought in Vishnu here in the saying, Suklambara dharam Vishnum. The concept of Vishnu here is not the traditional description of Vishnu with the conch, wheel and mace. The word Vishnu here signifies the aspect of omnipresence. There is another word coming here and that is sasivarnam and this stands for the colour of vibhuthi. Traditionally vibhuthi symbolises divinity. This fact is obvious from the various ways in which Easwara is described. One of the descriptions of Easwara is that his entire body is smeared with vibhuthi. The colour of that vibhuthi is greyish white (sasivarnam). This simply means that amongst the several strengths which Easwara possesses is the strength of maya.

There is yet another significant meaning for this. What remains of the human body when it is burnt away is a small quantity of ash. The human body consisting of different organs––the senses of action and the senses of perception, undertaking ever-so-many activities while it is alive, is burnt away after death like a piece of firewood and is reduced to a small quantity of ash. You can purify or transform any matter with agni or fire and all matter is reduced to ash ultimately. The Vibhuthi is a sacred substance and its colour or form does not change further. If you burn iron, it reduces to ash; if you burn wood, it reduces to ash; if you burn the human body, it reduces to ash; if you burn anything, it reduces to ash. Thus, ash is the ultimate substance which does not change its form. When it is burnt, it still remains as ash. The one thing that remains permanent and which does not change is the ash.

This is the lesson one has to learn and constantly remember. It is in this context that several pundits take this ash in the name of the five different elements and bear it in the centre of their eyebrows. The meaning of this is that all the elements in the world are identical with ash. What remains ultimately as an unchanging substance is the ash and this is the reason why Easwara himself wears ash all over His body.

Ash is the only substance which is symbolic and equivalent to God and that is the reason why I create and give vibhuthi to the devotees who come to me. This is to convey to them that ash is permanent and even liked by Easwara. Since the aspect of Vasuvu, Aditya and Saraswathi are all present in this ash, it is neither pure white nor dark but is a combination of both these colours and is described as Sasivarnam.

You are all familiar with the word Chaturbhuja. In one hand, He holds the wheel of time, and in another, He holds the conch, a symbol of sound, and in the third, He holds a mace, a symbol of physical strength and in the fourth, He is holding the lotus, a symbol of the heart. This is the meaning of the four divine hands holding time, sound, strength and heart and this is why He is called Chaturbhuja. In the insignia that are given to the Lord, the chakra represents the wheel of time, the conch represents the aspect of sound, while the gada or mace represents the physical strength and the lotus represents the heart.

We have understood easily the meaning of the word Chaturbhuja, and the next name is Prasannavadana and this signifies the aspect of the ever-smiling face of the Lord.

While true poets thus describe the Lord with devotion and purity in their hearts, there are others nowadays who give perverted meanings for the same description of the Lord. They also call themselves poets. According to such people, Suklambara Dharam means one who carries clean white clothes (washed and dried clothes) and Vishnuhu stands for omnipresent or that which can be seen everywhere and Chaturbhujuam is taken to mean one with four legs and prasannavadanam is interpreted as expressionless and resigned countenance. They have concluded that that which has an unchanging and expressionless face, that which moves about everywhere aimlessly, that which has four legs, and that which carries white clean clothes is the donkey. Thus, they equate Lord Vishnu with a donkey. People who give such twisted meanings to sacred poetic expressions are the real donkeys.

When we talk of poetry, it should describe sacred things and should give us noble ideas and an elevating experience. Only such can be called poetry. Everything that is written cannot be called poetry. But today it is unfortunate that individuals who give such twisted and incorrect meaning to various sacred words, and who defile sacred dharma and duty have become several in number and because of this all faith is disappearing and disbelief and lack of faith is taking its place.

It is absolutely necessary that you should fill your heart with ideas which are divine. You must think that the words are coming from the seat of Saraswathi in your body. You should also think that any work that you undertake is arising from the seat of Aditya or Bharatha within yourself. Our whole life is intertwined with the aspect of Ida, Saraswathi and Bharati. It is necessary that you should use your physical body for fulfilling the purpose of your life which is to remember the commandments of Ida and the words of Saraswathi. Also, remember that the words that you utter come from Saraswathi and are thus sacred. Remember also that you should undertake sacred work that will take you close to the aspect of Aditya.

What you have heard in the past one month has two important aspects that is Bharatha and Brahman. Constantly contemplate on them and recapitulate again and again. Remember the inner meaning of these words and put into practice. It is only when you put them into practice that you will be able to propagate these ideas to others with whom you come into contact. If you only hear what is told to you and do not put it into practice you will only be hearing all your life and you will not be putting anything into practice. Put into practice what you have listened to and prepare yourself to listen to more good things. These two words Bharatha and Brahman are not limited to a particular time or country or a community. They are not limited to any one sex or religion. They are very much wider in application. They do not relate themselves to either the brahmacharya ashram or the vanaprastha ashram or to the grihastha or sanyasa ashram. They refer to the totality of life. They do not refer to one individual or one country. They refer to the whole of mankind. They are broad ideas and refer to all countries and to all times.

You should get rid of all the narrow ideas that you might have had in your mind earlier. All these days I have been talking to you about things which are essential for you to lead your normal daily life in this temporal world. I have also stressed certain aspects of the spiritual world. Thus I have spoken about the material as well as the spiritual world. In the few days that are left, I will join you wholeheartedly and sing with you, play with you and talk with you and in this way I will be able to communicate to you what is here at Brindavan and why you have spent all your time at Brindavan. You should also know who is in Brindavan and what is the aspect of the person that is heading this Brindavan. I hope that in the next two days, I will communicate to you the answer to the question - Who is Sai Baba? - by being one with you, by mixing with you and by talking to you. In this manner I expect to give you immense happiness and send you back with pleasure to your places.