Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

EACH one has come embodied into this world of joy and grief, of growth and decay, of hope and despair, in order to discover the way home, to get back to the source from which he has strayed into this wilderness. This has to be done within the allotted time of sojourn, from each day the Sun steals a &action away. But, man is attracted by the phantom lights and noises of the wilderness, by the seeming sweetness of its impact, and he ignores the call of destiny. The senses lead him on and on, deeper and deeper into the maze, until he dies with a moan and a whimper, instead of with a smile and a gesture of gratitude. The years between birth and death are spent in wasteful acquisition and worthless achievements - for, all the time, his heart is sore with unsatisfied desires and unhealthy emotions, that affect the tranquillity that is his real reality. This is the delusion that has been haunting man, the maya (illusory power) that has been shadowing the Divinity that is his essence. It is only by the cultivation of detachment, by denying the senses the thrills they thirst for, it is only by diving deeper into the depths of one's being, by believing that you have some depths that will reward exploration, that one can capture the exhilaration of that tranquillity. This is the highest morality, for when this is done, man is saturated with love and has no trace any more of malice or hate or greed or lust. The vision is purified by the ideal of the unity of all in One and the proliferation of One as all. The tendencies towards hate, malice and greed which cause individual and social conflicts and complexes can be overcome by yoga (divine communion) and thyaga (renunciation), the practice of emotional imperturbability and the reduction of wants and mental cravings. This is the message of Bharath, through the centuries, declared and demonstrated through cleat, convincing precept and countless unimpeachable examples.

The feeling that activity is "mine" and that it is for the sake of some benefit, that must accrue to "me" - it is this that causes ill-feeling, sorrow, and illnesses. The ego exults or bewails; it laughs and weeps; it competes and mopes; it swings like a pendulum between joy and grief. It gives man no moment of rest, of equanimity. It is agitated when the fruit of the activity is less than expected, or even when it is more, or different, or distorted. That is why the Shruthis (divine scriptures) prescribe that everyone should dedicate all his activity to God who knows best what benefit everyone deserves and who doles out the fruit in the manner He Wills. But, there are many who doubt or question the very existence of God to whom all the intelligence, the vitality, the virtue, the urges which lie beneath activity are to be offered in worshipful activity. For such, the Divine occasionally, out of innate Grace, reveals Itself, through the marvellous manifestation of glory, beyond the limits of the human. The doubters receive without asking; me door is opened without even a knock; the answer is proclaimed for all to hear.

Take the illness which came into this body, for example. It is the nature of the human body to generate disease through faulty food or foolish habits. This explains the illness of ordinary men, not the illness that you witnessed during the last two days. That was an illness assumed, willed, in order to relieve a person, who could not have survived it or even borne it without perturbation. This is one of the functions of the Divine, for which it has incarnated - the pouring of Grace on the devotee. The appendix was inflamed and it became an abscess, which the doctors said could be cured only by an operation immediately done. The devotee could not have borne that agonising pain; I have come with this body in order to save these other bodies from pain and suffering. This body will ever be free from illness and pain; disease can never affect it. That is the real truth.

One day, Krishna developed a type of agonising stomach-ache! The sage, Naradha, happened to put in his appearance and witness the suffering. He was upset, and he prayed that he may be commissioned to bring to Him the drug that will cure the pain. "There is just one drug that can assuage it, but can you bring it for me?" asked Krishna. Naradha said, "Tell me; it will be done!" "Bring for me the dust of the feet of any real devotee; that will stop the pain," replied the Lord.

Naradha moved out very fast to procure it, but at the door, he remembered that he himself was the most earnest and sincere devotee. So, he turned back and suggested to the Lord that the dust of his own feet may be used. But, the Lord said, "No; no. Egoism has tainted it and so it has contaminated the drug." So, Naradha had perforce to go abroad and seek it from others who he knew as great devotees. But, no one of them gave him the dust! Some were afraid, some were ashamed, some withdrew fearing sacrilege, some asserted they were not devotees, being only mere aspirants of Grace.

Then, Naradha went into Brindavan where the simple Gopees were. He told them of his plight and Krishna's pain. At this, each one of them collected the dust of the feet and within seconds, Naradha's hands were full of packets. "Rush with these; may the pain cease!" - that was their response. The petty little ideas of superiority or inferiority, of pride or humility, of shame or fear did not enter their minds. "The Lord is in pain; it must be cured," that was all they knew and cared to know. They did not stop to inquire whether the Lord could really be suffering, whether the dust of their feet had any curative property, whether the mission on which Naradha had come had any deeper meaning for them or the world! They heard, they gave, they prayed, they were happy. They felt the pain that Krishna had; they responded to the command. They were all equally affected, and their reactions were all equally prompt and sincere. You must surrender your judgement to the Lord; then, the Lord will assume full responsibility and be the guardian, guide and motive power. It is such a devotee, a person who has surrendered everything, even his judgement, to Me that I had to save, by taking over this illness and going through it. The signs of that illness have disappeared today and they shall not recur again. There is also another reason that lies behind that episode. The Divine is recognised by gifted people as the vast, the magnificent, the beautiful, the mighty, the majestic, the awesome. But, for the generality of mankind, the consciousness that each one is a miracle sustained by God, that each breath is a witness of God's Providence, that each event is proof of His Presence, comes but rarely in life. When this Body, that is apparently human, behaves as if it is filled with suprahuman potentialities, then, amazement draws the attention of all towards the Divine that is the inherent nature. Off and on, it becomes necessary to give this lesson to mankind, so that faith in God and power to recognise Divinity are added to human faculties. Then only can the mind of man be turned from the world to the Master of the Worlds. On Tuesday, the thousands of Goans who had assembled in the City to listen to Me were disappointed; I had to inform them that the rescue of devotees is paramount among tasks and so, I know they had to go away disappointed. But, I shall very soon meet them again and give the Anandha for which they thirst.