Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Prema Swarupas, Students, Boys And Girls! Other People Who Are Assembled Here This Afternoon!

Our country, Bharath, is one which has handed over spiritual strength to all parts of the world. While civilisation under the pretext of modernity is spreading all over and is bringing about many changes in man’s life, yet we see that the basic spiritual aspects are not undergoing any change. From this we should learn and understand how strong and how very deeply rooted the spiritual facets are. It is not possible for anyone to stop or slow down this flow of Jnana or spiritual wisdom. While the lamp of spirituality shines brighter and brighter, we will recognise that the so-called individual freedom, advocated by modern civilisation will lead one only to the darkness of ignorance. How long will this kind of foolishness sustain to obscure the spiritual facets? How long can walls which have no foundation stand? From times immemorial, our ideas and traditions have stood firmly on the foundations of Vedas and religious practices.

We have had the strength of spiritual gems behind them. Such foundations cannot be disturbed by perverse ideas in the name of modernity. The so-called educated people are caught in the fangs of lust and desire and are unable to extricate themselves from their vicious hold.

Education today cannot be called education at all, since it is not accompanied by the necessary purification. From time to time it is necessary to introduce reforms in education. If man is not able to take good education to his heart and if his education has no culture behind it, he will be worse than an uneducated washerman. A person who is educated in several branches of knowledge thinks that he has great wisdom, but in reality, he does not know himself. Such a person cannot give up meanness inherent in his nature. If one really goes into the details of the kind of education which one is getting today, one finds that it is of an argumentative type not helping man to become wise. Why submit yourself to such education? You should really acquire such education which will lead you to immortality. When we ask the question, “Who is the blind man in the world?”, the answer that comes is, “An educated person who in spite of his education does wrong things, is the blind man.” There is no meaning whatsoever in feeling proud of such education.

That kind of knowledge alone can be called real education which will enable you to open your heart and reveal to you the nature of Atma. Education which does not enable you to understand the divine essence and control your senses cannot be termed education at all.

Education should inculcate divine feelings in you. It should enable you to understand that the daily events occuring in man’s life are as per the Divine will and that there is what is called “Eternal Truth”, which links man’s life to the environment and community around him. True education consists of character, truth and good conduct. Character, truth, good conduct and the ability to sacrifice are the essential components in any type of education. Devoid of these qualities, it becomes worthless. True education gives you humility; from humility you get the deservedness; from such deservedness you will get wealth; from wealth you will get dharma and from dharma you will get happiness in the material as well as spiritual world.

Dharma is not something that has been created by man. Man’s ideas have no power to shape or change the form of dharma. You can only follow dharma. It is not something that you can change. Dharma has been in existence long before you came into this world and therefore you have to follow it. Dharma is not going to change for you. A man can select a woman as his companion and vice versa, but no one can select and exercise his choice regarding dharma. Dharma is like a mother. One can choose a wife, but no one can choose a mother. Dharma is in the same position as one’s mother. We have no choice to change dharma. We have to follow dharma and enjoy the fruits of dharma. If there are people who say that there is nothing like dharma, it is like saying that there is nothing like a mother for them. Man is using such meaningless words and is undertaking to follow a path which is utterly wrong. This country of ours, Bharath, which was ever cheerful and smiling is passing through difficult times now. The main reason for it is our modern ideas, which have destroyed all our value systems. The students of today must push aside such foolish ideas which are totally wrong and be prepared to lead our country into a prosperous future by following the prescribed dharma.

The duty to uphold what has been taught to you during the past one month lies on you. The first thing you should do is to accept your mother and father in your home as living gods, satisfy them and keep them happy. Every Mother and father will be hoping and dreaming to see their children have good character. In order that their dreams may materialise, they will put themselves to many troubles. Do not undertake any step to cause pain to your mother and father. This should be the very first good quality which the education you receive should inculcate in you.

After that, make an attempt to understand the sacred principles of our culture and try to put them into practice. If we simply go on using the word dharma and not putting into practice even a bit of what goes under the name dharma, all that will simply be adharma. Today the situation everywhere is such that we think of one thing, say something else and do something entirely different. Such things are not going to promote peace in the world.

How can one get peace if one holds the atom bomb in his hand and simply goes on shouting from house-tops that peace is wanted in the world? Similarly if you always practise adharma and keep on shouting that dharma is to be protected, how is dharma going to be protected?

Your hearts are very sacred and pure. In those pure and unwavering hearts, you have to fill the sacred aspect of the Paramatma. You are all wearing white clothes and assembled in this Hall in the Whitefield. Just as you are wearing pure white clothes outwardly, you must also make your hearts pure and white internally. You should remember that the characteristic feature of education that you have acquired here is to make you clean and pure both internally and externally. Further, all of you who have to become the future citizens of this country and uphold the honour and dignity of the country should also uphold dharma. If you find a person who preaches peace and dharma but himself practises violence and adharma, you should be prepared to oppose him with all your strength. Students should be prepared to punish anyone who has his legs and yet behaves like a lame person, anyone who has his eyes and yet behaves like a blind person, anyone who has mental strength and yet behaves like a weak-minded person. The word punish used here should not be interpreted as causing physical harm or trouble. The word punish here means that you must teach them good ideas and good habits to enable them to distinguish right from wrong.

Having in your mind the sacred aspect of Saraswathi in several forms such as Brihaspati, Vachaspati and Prajapati, you should see that you do not behave in a violent manner - shouting slogans in the street. If you do so, you will be promoting anarchy and not the divine spirit which you are entrusted with. Do not take to wrong path in the educational institutions. If you find other students doing this, you have to tell them that the purpose of education cannot be what they are indulging in. You should adopt the right attitude and help other students also to adopt the right attitude. It is possible that you have some inconveniences in your college. You should then approach the concerned persons in authority and see that the inconveniences are removed. Instead of this, if you take to the wrong path and turn violent, you will bring disrespect to the very name and avocation of a student. You will be abusing the culture and training that you have received. By following anarchic practices, you are simply ruining the reputation of not only your own Institution, but the whole country.

Agitation is not the proper method. It is a characteristic of weakness. It is only a weak person who gets excited and agitated. In their excitement, some say that they have achieved their objective, but this achievement is often temporary. If you look at a problem in a peaceful manner and spend some time in thinking it over in depth and arrive at a proper solution, the result will always be of lasting nature.

Some of you have expressed the feeling that you have spent a very happy one month. Since the time has now come for you to leave Brindavan, you have tears in your eyes and that those tears have manifested themselves in the form of rain drops. Instead of having a feeling that leaving Swami is causing you pain and hurt, it is better to take a firm resolve that the ideas acquired here should be put into practice in your daily life. Many learned people and scholars have told you several things which made you happy. The best way of showing your gratitude to these teachers is by adopting at least a few of their teachings in your daily life. That is the best return you can give to your teachers. Do not have the idea that Brindavan is a summer camp and your home is somewhere else. This is not the right type of thinking. You should think that you are in your home when you are in Brindavan. All people here in Brindavan constitute one single family. There is no question of having a feeling of separation, when you develop such an ideal. Although from a bodily aspect you are away from each other, from the point of view of closeness of the heart it can always be said that all of us are very close to each other.

You should not forget all the happiness that you have had here immediately after you reach your home. If you forget all the happiness that you have acquired here for the past one month, it is of no use. After you reach home, you will find that there are Sathya Sai Organisations doing spiritual work. I am hoping that you will join such organisations and recall to your mind all that you have learnt here and continue to live in this experience. Only when the boys and girls who participated in the summer camp go back to their places and pass on the bliss and happiness which they have acquired here to others with whom they come in contact, can they be said to put into practice what they have learnt here. The kind of happiness and the good ideas that you have learnt here must be retained by you till the end of your life, enabling you to enjoy a peaceful and purposeful life.

One student expressed the idea that a workshop had been started in Brindavan on the 20th May and that a large number of cars which were out of order and in need of servicing had been brought and left in this workshop and that during the one month they had all been repaired and they are now returning home. This metaphor should not end in mere verbal expression. You must realise in practice that you are going back as repaired cars. Then only there is some justification for these words. If you can keep them as repaired cars and take the cars along the royal path and not put them back in lanes and bylanes, then you should have really meant what you are saying. If these cars which have now been repaired deviate from the royal road, they will again return to the workshop for repair. Such frequent repairs will in fact render the cars useless junk and they will become irreparable.

You have now reconditioned the cars of your body and having reconditioned the car, you must also drive it carefully. Because you are not good drivers, the cars were getting frequently out of order. The car can not be kept in a good condition unless you have a good driver. Having now reconditioned your cars, take Sai as your good driver who will drive your car for the rest of your lives. Then the car of your lives will not be spoilt. You have listened to many good things. There is no need for me to keep on repeating these things again and again. I am hoping that you will constantly think of what you have learnt here and put it into practice.