Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

“MAMAIVAMSO Jeevaloke Jeevabhoothas-sanathanah” declares Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Thus the ideal is set for the entire world that all beings are sparks of the Eternal Divinity. Without understanding the import of this great truth, many aspirants are suffering from anxieties and worries, bereft of self-confidence. Those who are sparks of Divinity have no reason to get into grief at all. The Divine has no worry or grief. He is Eternal Bliss Himself! How then can His sparks be subject to worries? It is only due to the non-realisation of their real nature that people get worried. They are carried away by the momentary and transient worldly comforts and ultimately plunge themselves into grief.

This is nothing but sheer animal quality. A compassionate heart is the natural feature of human being. Therefore, what is the use of reading the scriptural texts? What is the use of studying the Bhagavad Gita without making any effort to put the teachings into practise?

Arjuna asked Krishna, “Why are you putting us to this harrowing experience of fighting the battle, and why have you burdened us with family problems and other difficulties, while we have been always following the righteous path and are devoted to You?” Krishna smilingly replied, “Oh Arjuna, you made me sit on your chariot as a charioteer. This chariot is after all susceptible to destruction. You have not made Me sit in your heart, which is the eternal chariot. That is mantra, whereas this physical chariot is yantra (machine). Yantra has no life, while mantra has the life force. You say that you think of Me. This is only smarana, and not anusmarana – smarana is time-bound, while anusmarana is constant contemplation, beyond time and space. If you do anusmarana, you will experience Divinity within.” Krishna said, “Mam anusmara! Youdhyacha” Think of me even in the battle-field and fight. You will have no trouble at all.

Arjuna asked Krishna, “How can I constantly think of you? I have to perform my duties to my family and rule the kingdom.” Krishna said, “No doubt, these are your rightful duties. You have to take of your wife and children and discharge your responsibilities given by God. But when you do your duties thinking of Me, you will have no difficulties.”

There are two ways in which you do your duties. One is apeksha, that is being desirous of results, which is worldly. Nirapeksha is doing duty without any desire for the result. Apeksha is marakam (deadly bondage), Nirapeksha is tharakam (liberation).

Man is traveling in these two paths. Let us take an example. The principal of a college is transferred to another place. As long as he was the principal of the present college, he was in charge of all the furniture, equipment in laboratories and other appurtenances. He cannot take any of these things with him, since they belong to the Government.

But, when he vacates his dwelling place, which might be a rented house, he loads all the things in the lorry and takes them away to the new place. Even old chappals, broomsticks, and similar items he will not leave behind. While he delightfully leaves behind the equipment and things in the college, he takes away all his belongings from the house. The sense of “mine” makes him collect all these.

What is associated with attachment is marakam ajnd what the principal leaves behind without attachment is tharakam. He is only a temporary trustee and custodian for the safe upkeep of the college property.

Similarly one should do their duty in the world with detachment. If you go on doing with attachment to the object, you are acting under illusion. You must understand the principle of tharakam. Use the gifts of nature to the maximum, but all the while do not forget that it is only temporary and you cannot claim permanent ownership of any. Living in the mundane world, you should not become a slave of attachment, which will cause restlessness. All materials of creation belong to God. All beings are His belongings, as all are sparks of the Divine. With this attitude you have to discharge your duties.

Man is experiencing trouble because he is not contented with his lot. Thinking of the past and worrying about the future, man becomes restless.

God is the embodiment of love. Love can be attained only by love. Love knows no doubt at all. Divine love is selfless. Where there is selfishness, there is fear. Love has no fear. It does not expect any reward. Love is in all. Tread the divine path of love. You cannot experience this as long as your heart is filled with selfishness. Love of God always gives and never receives. Worldly love always receives and never gives. Spiritual love gives, and goes on giving. Worldly love never gives, but is only ready to receive with full of greed.

In my opinion, in the ephemeral world, it should not be a one-way traffic. You have to receive from God and give to the world. It is a pity that man never follows this. And always keen only to receive with no trace of giving. Hence man suffers. To receive from God is a true affluence. To get from the world is a symbol of poverty.

Buddha stated that the richest man in the world was not the one like his father, who was an emperor, but one who is contented with what he has. You have to check your desires and put a ceiling on them. One who has multiple desires is poor. Only by controlling desire you can reach the goal.

In the spiritual path, one may follow many ways. The state President, Krishnamurthy, mentioned about sravanam and keerthanam (listening and singing about God). Though these are different types of devotions, there are some stories pertaining to them that create doubts. We have so many names in the world. Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Rama, and Krishna, and so on. No one has seen them in human form. This created some doubts in people from abroad. They are the qualities in every one. Vishnu represents the sathvic or pious quality; Brahma representsthe rajasic or passionate quality; and Siva represents the thamasic or negative quality.

Siva is present in everyone as ardhanareeswara (half-male and half-female). He has his eyes opened partly. If the eyes open fully, it will cause the destruction of the world. If the eyes are closed, one gets sleep. So his eyes are half-open, concentrating on the tip of the nose. You find that most of the pictures show Easwara (another name for Siva) in a meditative pose, seated in padmasana (lotus posture), with his partly-opened eyes concentrating on the tip of the nose. This is the right type of posture in meditation.

Siva is described as the one with moon on His head, the river Ganga flowing through His ears, snakes being wound around His wrists as bangles, and so on. He is one who takes a form without human quality. He is in the form of a linga (eggshaped form of Siva). “Leeyathe gamyathe ithi lingam (Linga is one that takes you to the goal and liberates you).” Vishnu is the sustainer. Man meets with a lot of obstacles in the devotional path. He helps you to overcome these obstacles and takes you to the goal safely.

Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are all-pervasive. They are everywhere. They transcend time and the gunas (qualities).

Vishnu has the shankha (conch), symbolizing sound, and the chakra (discus), symbolizing the wheel of time. Both sound and time come under the control of God. Sound comes from the navel. So, Brahma the primordial sound is depicted as born out of the navel of Vishnu. Silence is Easwara. That is why you generally see Siva seated in the posture of meditation. You must discern the unity of the three different aspects of God. Sound, time, and energy are all under the control of God. Siva is described as Trinethra, Trishula, and Trigunatheetha (beyond the three gunas, three eyed, and with a trident). These have inner significance.

Man has two eyes. But Siva is said to have three eyes. The significance is that man knows only past, present, whereas Easwara can see the past, present, and the future too. It does not mean that Siva has a third eye on his forehead. This is the artificial imagination of the people. God is one and but described in different ways. Jeeva, the individual being, and God are one. Daiva is Jeeva and Jeeva is Daiva.

When Swami says, “You are God,” many people may feel perplexed. When you tell yourself “I am God,” you will breed only good thoughts. You become what you think. Darwin thought of the form, which he propounded as evolution of man. Ratnakara (later hailed as Valmiki) thought of Rama and had Rama always in his heart. Prahlada constantly thought of Hari and had Hari’s vision. When you think you are good and have good thoughts, you will not do bad deeds. You will think good, see good, and do good deeds. If you think you are separate from God, you can never merge. God is Atma within you. He is the conscience.

I often tell the students about four F’s: Follow the master (Conscience), Face the Devil (that is, desire for money), Fight to the End, and Finish the Game. Finishing the game is mukthi (liberation). You have taken human birth and you have entered the sacred human life. You have to attain divinity in your life time. There is nothing more valuable than this. By making appropriate efforts, you can accomplish anything, and by contemplating on God you get divine strength. Because of the monkey mind, you entertain doubts.

When Krishna was a child, once there was a heavy downpour. Krishna asked all the people to come under the Govardhan Hill, which he would lift and make a canopy of. Some people doubted how the small boy could lift a hill and did not want to come under His shelter. All those who doubted and did not come under the shelter died, while all those under Krishna’s shelter survived duly protected by Him.

Balarama once complained to his mother, Yasodha, about Krishna, that he was eating mud. The intention of Balarama was to make known to the world the Divinity of Krishna. It should not be construed as an action taken by him to get Krishna punished.

Yasodha asked Krishna why he persisted in taking butter from other houses and went to the extent of eating mud, when she had so many delicious things at home for him. So saying, she gave a slap on Krishna’s cheek. Krishna questioned his mother, “why are you punishing me, mother? Am I a fool, or a child to eat mud?” He asked her to look into his mouth, which he opened wide.

To her astonishment, she saw the whole universe in his mouth. She exclaimed, “Is it Vishnu Maya? Is it a dream? Am I Yasodha? What I saw was amazing. Was it true?” she realised Krishna was not an ordinary child.

On another occasion, when Krishna asked Balarama whether their mother was at home, Balarama retorted, “Is Yasodha your mother? No. She is fair. Nanda is fair, but you are dark in complexion.” Krishna complained to Yasodha and enquired about this. She said, “What Balarama says is true. You are the son of Devaki. I have no male child at all.” When God assumes human form, some people have to suffer. Without this, Divinity cannot be recognized. Sugarcane has to be crushed to get juice, and it has to be boiled and processed to get jaggery or sugar out of it. Sugar can be used in coffee or tea or cool drinks or to make sweets of different types. When you consume it, you get joy.

Parents of Avatars also have undergone suffering. Devaki was lamenting that though she was the mother who gave birth to Krishna, Yasoda was enjoying His childhood pranks. Similarly, Kausalya, the mother of Rama, was also lamenting over the separation of Rama, who had to go to the forest for 14 years.

Why did Rama go to the forest? He wanted to demonstrate to the world that one has to follow the words of his father, however difficult it may be. The Avatar (incarnation) has to do so many things, which may not be liked by some.

Last night, showers came, and there were hailstones also in the rain. Though the hailstones may hurt people, they too contain only rain drops. They are not different. When you experience some troubles, you should take them as hailstones which contain the water of love of God. Whatever tests that God gives you, it is out of love only. It is wrong to worry about them, as they are gifts of God. You should remember always that you are a spark of the Divine. You should resist the apparent obstacles and accomplish your tasks.

Each person likes some types of sweets. One may like laddu, another may like burfi, yet another jilebi. Whatever may be the name and form of the sweet, the common thing in all these is sugar. Similarly, each one may do sadhana (spiritual exercise) in his own way. You have no business to comment or criticize them. It is his or her choice. But all lead to the same goal.

You should approach everything with divine thoughts. We have a large number of devotees assembled here, many from different countries abroad. Their names and forms are different. Their languages and dialects may be different, but Divinity is common in all. You may choose the name and form of Jesus, Easwara, Rama, Krishna, and so on. Whatever the name, God is one. “Om Ithyekaksharam Brahma (Brahman is the one letter word “Om”).” You hear the harmonium being played in the bhajan. The sruthi is one. When you press the different reeds, you get the different sounds, sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, da, ni – the seven swaras. But the air that passes through the box and causes the sound is one. Install the Divinity in your heart. As Krishna told Arjuna, make God sit in your heart, the inner chariot. There He is Mantra Swarupa, the form of sacred sound, and not yantra, which has no life force. Mantra is life. God is Mantra Swarupa and Hrudayavasi (indweller in the heart). If you want to see God outside, your effort is an exercise in futility. Outward look is that of the animal. You should develop an inward vision. Then you can realise God.

When you converse with others, you should do so with respect. You should not use harsh words. “If you cannot oblige, speak obligingly,” is the golden rule you should follow. When you salute others, it goes to God. When you criticise or abuse another person, that also goes to God. You must discourage and control the emergence of bad qualities. When you are in a bad or an angry mood, keep silent. Do not exchange words, which cause the anger to multiply. That is why we say, “Om Santhi, Santhi, Santhi” at the end of the bhajan. Why three times and not four times? It is to cover the three entities: body, mind, and Atma. You should have santhi (peace) in all the three levels.

If you do not keep your body healthy, you cannot have peace mentally. The ancient sages and maharishis have experienced the bliss of the Divine and gave us their wisdom, which they could achieve after penance without any break. They have said “Vedaham Etham Purusham Mahantham, Aditya Varnam Thamasah Parasthath.” They have described what they actually experienced, and addressed the humanity thus: “We have seen God with the effulgence of one thousand suns, beyond the darkness of ignorance.” Thamas (laziness, inertia) represents body and mind. Only if you go beyond the body and the mind can you experience the Divine. He is the conscience. That is why I always advise you to follow the conscience. Body and mind are negative, while Atma is positive.

Prema is positive. This is the most essential thing. Without this, life is useless. Live in pure and selfless love. Love is selfless. Self is loveless. You get light as soon as you put on the switch. You realise the Divine, once you put on the switch of love positively.

When you recognise Divinity in everyone, that itself is the best sadhana (spiritual exercise). Modern spiritual preachers are not considering the welfare of the world. They seek their own welfare selfishly. Your prayer should be for the welfare of society.

What is the form of society? It has no special form. The form of its members constitutes the society. When you pray for the happiness of all, you are also part of it. If you pray for yourself, that is selfishness, and you cannot survive without society. If you purify your heart you can see the reflection of God therein, as you see your own reflection in a mirror.