Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

The results of your examinations as announced today are indeed happy news; but so long as the education that you get is such that it promotes only ignorance and does not give you the needed strength to promote the prosperity of our nation and traditions, then the education is useless. Of all the branches of education, spiritual education is the real education. When we compare this with the other branches of education, we can see that the spiritual education is like the ocean while the other branches of education are like the rivers. When the rivers go and merge in the ocean, they acquire the depth and glory of the unfathomable ocean. In a similar manner, when all other forms of education go and merge with the spiritual education, they acquire the form and grandeur of the spiritual education. It is only when your education is combined with thapas that there is a possibility of the blossoming of your heart and the ennobling of your ideas.

Thapas does not mean that you should give up everything and go to the forest and stand there with your head on the ground. Thapas is one, with the help of which, you can make your thought, word, and deed harmonise with each other. It is only when such a sacred type of education is given along with proper culture, that there is a chance of the great ideas blossoming properly in you. It is only then that the noble and good ideas that are inside you can be exhibited properly. Education cannot be entirely and wholly related to worldly matters. Education should promote your character.

It is necessary for the students of today to acquire such sacred education and that alone will give us the good results. If today we really want to understand the history and culture of ourselves, then it becomes necessary for us to learn and study the Sruthi and Ithihasas, the components of our Vedanta. When we read such texts, we should take great care to see that our own ideas, concepts, and prejudices are not injected into what we read. We should try to understand the original content as far as possible. In the centuries that have gone by since the creation of such texts, several aspects have undergone a great deal of transformation.

As a result of the passage of time, we find that the continents on the earth, the seas, and the very sources of the rivers have undergone great changes. A river which may have flowed in a particular direction some centuries ago will be flowing in a different direction now. That river may have changed its course. We will find that there is a very marked difference between the course taken by a river some centuries ago and the course taken by the same river at the present time. But when the man of today looks at the course taken by the river today, he transfers it to what is in his concept; and he thinks that the river took the same course some centuries ago also. This is not right.

There is a small example for this. We ask ourselves the question, is the land which we now call Lanka the same as the one which existed in the Thretha Yuga as the land ruled by Ravana at the time of Ramarajya? No, this is not so. At that time, Lanka was hundreds of miles away from the tip of India and at that time, it was at the equator. As time went on, and as we moved from the Thretha Yuga to the Kali Yuga, this particular island, which was on the equator, drifted hundreds of miles northwards. When we look at this island, which we now call Lanka, we find that it has shifted to the north of the equator.

It was recorded in the Greek history that this island, which we now call Lanka, was completely submerged under water when the oceanic catastrophe called the Atlantis occurred. The Greeks were no ordinary people. They were very advanced in sciences and were very knowledgeable in many fields. They were describing the fact that Lanka was submerged in the ocean and drifted away and this phenomenon was being accepted by them. At that time, these people were so advanced that they had travelled to the moon and designed several types of air transport and were such that they had mastered the science of flying.

As we know, today the entire world regards the standard of time as the Greenwich standard time. In World History, it is known that the astrologers of that time were taking the longitude passing through Lanka and when the sun rose on this longitude they took it as the standard time for the calculation. It is on the basis of this standard of time that our people decided on the time of the birth of Krishna, the time at which Krishna gave up his mortal body, and the dates of the Mahabharatha battle, and so on. When the Pandavas lived, the time scales were determined on the basis of this longitude which passes through Lanka. When we take this as the basis, we come to the conclusion that the period which we now call Kali Yuga started in the year named Pramadi, in the month named Sravana, and in the fortnight named Bahula and on the day called Ashtami. According to the English calendar, this will be described as February 20, 3102 years before the advent of Christ. In order to bring out this aspect of the commencement of a new Yuga on February 20, 3102 B.C., our ancestors have been calling that day as Ugadi, or the day of the beginning of a new era. As this was the commencing day of a new Yuga, it was called the Ugadi.

When looked at from this angle, we should also learn a different aspect, although it is not very pleasant. This particular day called the Ugadi is also the day on which Krishna gave up his mortal body in a sacred place of pilgrimage called Prabata near Dwaraka. There is a proverb, according to which we think of all kinds of extraordinary and unusual ideas when we near our end.

The Yadavas, the community in which Krishna was living, had some such strange ideas then; and they brought about their end themselves. Although Krishna was preaching the acceptance of only sathwic food, the Yadavas violated this sacred injunction on a holy day. When they were performing a religious ceremony, they used articles which should not have been used and prepared food containing meat. They also partook of alcoholic drinks and consumed these articles. On account of such food and drink, they became intoxicated and lost their balance. They began to beat each other and they reached a stage when they prepared to kill each other. In this manner, they extinguished the entire Yadava clan. It is in this context, bearing in mind the ideals which Krishna had promulgated, that Gandhi also wanted to forbid meat eating and alcoholic drinks; but unfortunately he did not succeed.

The Yadava community, which was then subjected to this distress, lost their lives. In this battle even Vasudeva was killed. However, many Yadava women, who were not there, survived. Balarama also was killed in this battle. Within a short time, Vidura came to that place. When Vidura looked at that place, it struck him as a place of terror. Uddhava also reached the place at that time. When Uddhava looked at that situation, he was afraid that his close friend Krishna may also have given up his mortal body, and he was looking for Krishna’s body. Arjuna also helped Uddhava in this quest. They were looking everywhere for the body of their dear friend. In that gruesome fight, they were told that the body of Krishna was cut and dismembered and parts thrown at different places. Arjuna and Vidura thought that they could not identify Krishna’s body. In that situation Vidura and Arjuna thought that it was no use for them to live in a world in which Krishna was not living, and they prepared to drown themselves in the Yamuna river. It was a time of great disaster, and as a consequence, all the air and surrounding waters became greatly polluted and that was polluting the whole atmosphere.

While both Vidura and Arjuna were looking at the river, they found a blue cloth fluttering at some distance and heard a sound from that place. Vidura was greatly surprised and wanting to know what it was, he ran towards the sound. Under a tree, he found Krishna sitting in a very peaceful manner. It looked as if Krishna was also preparing to give up his body, but Krishna did not think it proper to give up his body when his friends and relatives were so near. With a view to sending Uddhava away, he taught him the Bhagavatha and asked him to go and bring Arjuna. Uddhava appeared to be happy and wanted to share the news of Krishna’s safety with Arjuna, and he ran towards Arjuna.

Observing that Uddhava was now far away, Krishna gave up his mortal life. When Uddhava and Arjuna came near the tree, they found that the body was no longer there. They watched this situation for two to three days. They felt that Krishna had decided that the purpose of his human existence was over and he had given up his mortal body at that time. They then came back to Dwaraka. Sathyabhama, Rukmini, and the gopikas were in great sorrow as they had lost everything in their lives, and Arjuna and Uddhava were unable to look at their suffering. Arjuna thought that it was not good to leave the women alone at that place. So he took his Gandiva and proceeded to take them to Hastinapura.

On the way, the forest tribes attacked them and wanted to take away the women from the group. Since Arjuna was leading them, Sathyabhama, Rukmini, and the other gopikas were shouting for his help and requested him to save them from this situation. Earlier, Arjuna took part and was victorious in several battles.

He had showed great strength in the battle of the Mahabharatha and in the battle of Khandavavana. Arjuna had shown great courage and strength on many occasions.

On this particular occasion, he could not even lift his Gandiva and take aim. Then Arjuna thought, “All that strength shown was because of Krishna; and when Krishna is not there, I am not even able to lift the Gandiva.” He felt that although his hand had been holding the Gandiva all these years, it was the strength of Krishna that was using it, and he felt very helpless at that time. As Krishna was his Antaryami (inner motivator) all those years, he had felt strong; but now that Krishna was no longer in him, he felt like a bag of leather.

The inner meaning of this is that, so long as Arjuna felt that Krishna was there in an ordinary human manner, he had all the strength; but as soon as he felt that He was no longer there, he had lost all the strength and the will to fight. Just because Krishna’s gross body had left, Arjuna thought that Krishna had left him. Because he was under the illusion of identifying Krishna’s gross body with Krishna himself, he lost all his strength. To think that one is full of weakness is not correct. The correct attitude is to regard God as formless, without attributes. We should take it that God is present in us. That should be the right attitude. So long as one has a form, it is quite natural that he thinks of that form; but since that form has to be forgotten some day or the other, it is good to concentrate on the formless supreme and give up attachment to a form. Our Vedanta has taught us the philosophy of vairagya, or detachment, to help in this process of concentrating on the formless supreme power which is behind every form.

It is inevitable that the jiva should leave the body; if the jiva does not leave the body, then the body has to leave the jiva. This body is like a water bubble on the surface of water. This water bubble is born out of water, lives on water, and survives on water, and finally it gets dissolved in water. It is only when we develop a correct attitude to the formless supreme power that we will be able to have permanent happiness.

If we take a ball and hit it on a hard ground, it will rebound to the extent determined by how hard we hit the ball on the ground. If we hit this ball on a soft muddy ground instead of hard ground, it will not be able to recoil, and in fact it will even get entangled in the muddy ground. In a similar manner, if the pure aspect of divinity goes and hits a sacred heart, it will rebound. If, on the other hand, we have a muddy and impure heart, when divinity impinges on such a heart it will get stuck and entangled. Therefore, purity of one’s mind, and an exemplary life are essential. Truth and honesty are to be regarded as two eyes for us. For these two eyes, we have a disease of selfishness; and because our eyes are inflicted by this disease, we are not able to have a pure and clean heart. Young people should have purity of mind. They should take great care to protect truth and honesty. This was the ideal taught and demonstrated by Krishna.

Krishna and his aspect of Love are known to the citizens of Bharath. He is one who has eternal youth. We should understand the significance of saying that he is eternally young. By saying that he is eternally young, we should not imply that he has a young and youthful body forever. This should convey to us the meaning that he has no anxiety and that he has a smiling disposition always. This kind of bliss and happiness also gives happiness to one’s body and bodily health. It is in this context, that it has been said that happiness is union with God. Either for the decay of the body or for the ageing of the body, our own conduct is responsible; and for our conduct, our desires are responsible. For the sake of desires which are connected with the world, we should not use this body. Pain and pleasure are like clouds which move away from our heart. So, all these desires should be regarded as clouds.

It is in this context that the Vedas have compared our minds to the moon and our eyes to the sun. The Vedas have also taught us that our heart is like a sky; and in this sky of our heart, our mind is like the moon in the sky, and our eyes and intelligence are like the sun. In this sky of our heart, our thoughts must be treated like passing clouds. Thus, in the sky of our heart, there are millions of names of the Lord shining like the stars; and on the sky, if we have our mind shining like the moon, that will be a correct situation. This moon, which we have compared with our mind, must be given the status of the full moon. When the mind has been trained to get the form of a full moon, there will be an opportunity to correct and set right our hearts. This sacred text of Mahabharatha has given us so many lessons which will help us make our heart comparable to a full moon. Krishna’s ideals wanted that you should all make your minds pure and accept truth and honesty as the basic things on which our life should be based.

Basing on this, it is also correct for us to decide the day on which he was born. That day on which Krishna was born, according to these calculations, will come to be the 20th of July, 3228 years before the Advent of Christ. If this has to be put in our calendar, it will be in the year Srimukha, month by the name Sravana, fortnight by the name Bahula, and the day of Ashtami. The star will be Rohini and the time will be 3:00 a.m. after midnight. If we count backwards from today, the day on which Krishna gave up his mortal body will work out at 5078 years. If we want to check this, we see that 3102 B.C. and 1976 add up to 5078 years. Thus, since the Kali Yuga has started, we have now gone through 5078 years.

That is also the time when Krishna gave up his life, and that is also the day when the Kali age commenced. This day is also the first day of the Kali Yuga and we call it Ugadi. But the Kali Yuga started in the year Pramadi and so it appears that this Yuga is full of danger and harm. Truly, instead of calling this Yuga as the Kali Yuga, it is right and appropriate to call it the Kalaha Yuga, or the age of quarrels. Whether you go to a house, a village, or a country, we see quarrels. Young people of today should do such things by which this name of Kalaha Yuga, or age of quarrels, is changed to an age of prosperity by living up to the ideals of Krishna.

It is necessary that in this world there should be two categories of people.

Although two aspects are always present, we should try and promote good, happiness, and pleasure. In our own body while good blood is flowing on one side, we find that simultaneously impure blood is also flowing. Even in our homes, we see that while good and pure drinking water is brought from a pipe from one side, the ugly and bad drainage water is sent away by another pipe. They are both present in the same home. In a village or a city, while the drinking water is brought through certain pipes, alongside this will also be pipes which carry the drainage, and both will look similar and clean externally. In the same manner, in our mind there are always two streams going. One will be a stream of good ideas and the other a stream of bad ideas, both flowing together. But, you must make an attempt to accept the good and reject the bad.

In the world there are agitations, there are revolutions, and these are common. In the midst of such revolutions in the world, man must make an attempt to distinguish the right from wrong and separate truth from untruth. People who are young have to make a long journey in this train which we call a society. The older people in this train are such that they will drop out on wayside stations. In this train of society, you are the people who have to travel a long distance, and you should be prepared to take the necessary steps to rectify the defects in that train. You are to set right the faults in this country, and you should imprint the good ideas in your mind. Today, if you think that a particular thing your elders are doing is not right, you should not yourselves do the same thing when you grow up. When you become older you should be prepared to put into action what you now think are the good actions of your elders.

No one amongst us wants to have the consequences of a bad act, but yet we are prepared to continually do bad things. We only do not want to accept the consequences of such bad acts. We all want to have the consequences of good things, but we are not prepared to do good things. If you believe that in order to get good consequences, you must do a good act, then the very first thing that you must accept is to do good things. What you regard as sin should be kept away and you should never participate in such actions.

The harmony of the word that you utter, the deed that you do, and the thought that you get has been referred to as thapas. Krishna told Arjuna that this co-ordination between thought, word, and deed is the real meaning of thapas and that thapas cannot be interpreted as standing on one leg. In fact, Krishna described standing on one leg as a mere physical exercise. The ideals that were handed over to us in the Mahabharatha, the ideal and exemplary life which Krishna led are important to us. I am hoping that the youth will put them into practice in their lives.