Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

It is part of human nature that man desires to reach the presence of the Almighty, see Him and be ever with Him, for deep within the human heart is the urge to reach the place from which he has come, to attain the joy he has lost, the glory which he has missed. Man is himself divine and so it is a matter of the' deep calling unto the deep, of the part calling for the whole, of the sky in the pot yearning for the sky surrounding it. Attempts to reach the presence have to be made quick and fast, for death lies in wait to snatch man away. Birds soaring in the sky can see carrion on the ground; but they do not see the net laid to catch them. So too, man is able to see far into the future by means of his intelligence, but when it comes to the finale of death which awaits him, he is blind.

To reach the presence of the source of Bliss, that is, God, you must tread the foot-steps of the great saints and seekers, like Jayadeva, Gouranga, Meera, Ramakrishna and others. Practise their teachings, follow their example. The path of dedicated activity, of surrender to the Highest, of incomparable Love towards the embodiment of prema - that is the sweetest path, giving joy at every step that is won. Hari nama (the Name of the Lord) which all these seekers had on their tongue is described by them as sweeter than all the sweet things put together. Like a lamp held in the hand which will illumine every foot of the journey, because it will come with you however far you go, the Name will illumine every minute of your life. When Radha was asked what she wanted from the Lord, she answered that she was content when she had Him and did not seek anything else from Him.

The mind fancies that it can get joy from the objects around, about which the senses give it information. The mind can be mastered by jnana (Supreme knowledge), that all is Brahmam or that all is His Play. To realise that the world is but the Lee/a of God and that you are but a puppet in His hand, you must learn bhakthi from the Gopees. They were so saturated with the attitude of surrender that they lost all body-consciousness and had only one Form before their eye, one thought in their mind, one song in their hearts, that of Krishna. Their bhakthi was not a superficial pose, an escapist stratagem, or a temporary aberration. It was the very breath of their life; the very reason for their existence. A man heard the noise of a thief entering his house at dead of night; so he asked his wife to weep aloud, while he found fault with her in a loud voice for requiting him to get back from the pawnbroker's shop all her jewels, or at least her mangalasuuthra (marriage pendant), which he had pawned for three rupees that very day. He pleaded direst poverty; he had not even a pie in the house; what could he do? Hearing this story, the thief chided himself for all the trouble he had taken to break into the house and quickly made his exit from it. Tricks may gain success in worldly affairs; but they cannot deceive the all-knowing One. Tricks will only recoil on the seeker. When thieves like egoism slyly try to rob you of the gem of jnana that you have treasured in your anthahkarana (inner consciousness), seek His help to overcome them. And help will be rendered. The mind is the enchanter, the usurper who has established sovereignty over you. During a marriage festival in a certain town, there came into the house an elderly lady whom the bride's people revered because they believed her to be the kins-woman of the groom, and the groom's people honoured her because they took her to belong to the bride's party. She managed to enjoy the hospitality of both parties for weeks, until someone with a sense of curiosity started an enquiry into her bonafides. Each party disowned her and as soon as the enquiry started, the lady disappeared.

The mind too will disappear as soon as the enquiry starts, for it is like cloth composed of the warp and woof of yarn. Each yarn is a desire, a wish, an attachment. Remove them and the cloth vanishes. Delusion is the cotton, desire is the yarn, mind is the cloth. Through vairagya (detachment), the warp and the woof can be pulled out. The sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) must have as his security personnel, viveka (wisdom) and vairagya. Then he can move through the world unharmed.

A sanyasin (monk) once went right into the house of a zamindar, but he was surprised to find that the master of the house was having a mud bath; when asked why, he said, I want to show that I cannot afford anything costlier; though to tell you the truth, for you are a monk to whom I can confide this, I have hoarded a pretty heavy pile for a rainy day. The sanyasin called him a fool and exhorted him to spend it on good works while he could. Do not be like the bees, which get only smoke for all the days of toil they spend at the hive to hoard the precious honey in the combs. They are smoked out and the comb removed for the honey. Do not postpone its disposal until the last breath, he said.

Give the world only secondary importance; the primary place should be reserved for loosening its coils. The Jagadjanani (Mother of the Universe) will hurry towards you and caress you only when you cast off the dolls and cry. Yearn from the very depths of the heart, yearn with your whole being. Leave no sesham (balance) of attachment in the mind; then only can you get the grace of Sesha-sayee - He who reclines on the Supernal Psychic Serpent. Do not care for the cynicism of the worldly minded; they may try to drag you into the by-lanes, away from the royal road of viveka-vairagya. Even Avatharas are targets for small men who reveal in pouting venom on the great; how then can those who seek to expand their affection and universalise their vision escape? The Pandavas never lent their ears to slander about Krishna; they had an understanding of His Glory and they surrendered completely to Him. Krishna too reciprocated their love. He declared that Dharmaraja was His head, Arjuna His shoulders, Bheema His trunk and Nakula-Sahadeva His feet. He Himself was the heart. That was the relationship between the Pandavas and the Lord. That is the relationship between all beings and God; only the Pandavas recognised it, believed it and benefited by it, whereas Others do not. The Lord is the Hrudayavasi (dweller in the heart).

On hearing the news of Krishna having left the world at the end of His Mission, Dharmaraja decided on the Mahaprasthanam, viz., trekking alone in the Northern direction, silently without turning back, until one falls dead. He proposed this step to Bheema and asked him what he had decided to do Bheema then answered,"Brother! Have we become today different from what we were when the great game of dice took place? Then, you staked us and lost us, without asking for our approval. Now too, when you decide on one course as the best for yourself, it is best for us too, for we are like the Panchapranas of one body, the five vital airs that sustain it jointly. "Their 'body' was one and Krishna was their heart.

For the Gopees and Gopalakas (cowherd girls and boys), Krishna was the heart. That is how they appear to us in the Bhagavatha. They revered Krishna as their Pathi, Master, Lord; for, really speaking, the Lord is the only Purusha (true strong personality). All the rest are A-balas, feminine, weak. the weaker sex. Even the most heroic of men moan and weep while in distress; in silence and solitude. They have moments of helplessness, as much as the others. When they are irresolute and haunted by doubts, they resort to prayer and supplication; they too are weak. It is only the Lord who can be said to be strong under all circumstances, impregnable, imparting strength to all. So, when you read about the prema of the Gopees, remember that all beings are 'feminine' and the Lord alone is the Purusha. It is only through prema that God can be persuaded to reveal Himself and jnana earned. Now I must stop; because these devotees from Bangalore have put up a floral jhoola (swing) and they are insisting that I should sit in it and swing. I do not appreciate this. How happy I would be to swing in the jhoola of your hearts! In the jhoola of Omkara, to swing to the tune of Thatthwam-asi (thou art that) rising from the hearts of living beings from all the seven worlds - how magnificent that would be! You seat on the jhoola set up in your hearts, not Madhava (God) but manas! That is why mankind is denied peace and joy.