All-India Conference of Workers of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organizations
22 November 1970
Topic
The mind must be allotted some heavy piece of work to hold it down. This work is called dhyaana. Keep the mind above the upper lip, between the two nostrils, right:. in front of the bridge of the nose. Inhale through the left' nostril, closing the fight with the right thumb. As the breath goes in, it utters So (meaning, He); then exhale through the right nostril, closing the left nostril. As the breath goes out, it utters ham (meaning, I). Inhale and exhale slowly and deliberately, conscious of the identity of He (the Lord) and I (yourself) which it asserts, until the breathing and the awareness grow into an unnoticed process. Keep the mind as a watchman, to note the incoming and outgoing breaths, to listen with the inner ear to the Soham that the breath whispers, and to witness the assertion of your being the Divine, which is the core of the Universe.
As regards the technique of dhyaana (meditation), different teachers and trainers give different forms of advice. But I shall give you now the most universal and the most effective form.
The devotee who spoke first here now was, let me tell you, denying God for 25 years, and it is only since five years, after seeing Me, that he has changed. Of course, many people have had no experience that could change them, so they are not to be blamed for their want of faith. So too, this Seshagiri Rao here was finding fault with his son and daughters for coming to Puttaparthi, and himself for long refusing to come! One day at Bangalore, there was a function in the house opposite his, for I had gone there. During bhajans (group singing of devotional songs), this man hesitantly crossed the road and peeped into the hall, and I went forward and called him and made him sit near Me. I asked him to come to Puttaparthi and invited him to “examine” and “experience”. He has been with Me ever since; it is now 18 years since he first came here. This is just the reason I came to sow the seeds of faith, in religion and in God. You might have heard some people say that I became Sai Baba w...
Repetition of the Name and meditation are means by which you can compel even the concretisation of the divine Grace, in the Form and with the Name you yearn for. The Lord has to assume the Form you choose, the Name you fancy; in fact, you shape Him so. Therefore, do not change these two, but stick to the ones that please you most, whatever the delay or the difficulty. Do not get discouraged that you are not able to concentrate for long from the very beginning. When you learn to ride a bicycle, you do not get the skill of keeping the balance immediately. You push the cycle along to an open maidan and hop and skip, leaning now to one side and now to the other and even fall with the cycle upon you on many an attempt, before you are able to ride with skill and never again to worry about the balance. Automatically, you are able to make the necessary adjustments to correct the balance, is it not?
DEAR STUDENTS!
All things in the cosmos are the gifts of God. They are manifestations of His Will. Some of them, however, have to be used carefully. When they are used intelligently after due enquiry, they can serve as boon-companions and give us happiness. Indiscriminate and reckless use of these things may turn them into our worst enemies. For example, there are objects like fire, a knife and electric current. It is only when they are used in the right way that you can benefit from them. If fire is not handled properly, it can cause great harm. A knife is helpful only when it is used carefully. Electricity serves us in many ways - by lighting bulbs, running fans, etc. Because of its multifarious uses, if one tries to be friendly towards it by touching a live wire he will get a shock. In the same manner, man's sense organs have to be used extremely carefully When the senses are used on right lines, they are of immense help. But if they are used in the wrong way, they can cause gre...
WHETHER one is a renowned scholar with expert knowledge of the deeper levels of religious lore, or a monarch revelling in the brilliance of palatial luxury, or a hero of many battles, or a miserable victim of poverty - if one has no devotion to the Lord, one does not deserve homage, honour or attention.
The physical body, the senses, the mind, the intellect - these are all to be considered as the clothes we wear. We are advised to control our senses but this can be done only when their true nature is analysed and known. When that is not known, various obstacles present themselves. The body is known as dheha , which means 'that which is consumed by fire.' It is burnt on the pyre when life departs and consumed by the flames of desire when life persists. It burns on the pyre of anxiety and fear, even when alive! There is another word, shareera , meaning 'that which wastes away,' which also means body. While living, it is afflicted by wants and wishes which rob it of peace. When dead, it b...
THE peace or distraction, calm or anxiety that one gets is the product of one's thoughts and deeds. It is dependent on one's attitude and behaviour to oneself and others. There are many who take up the process of dhyana or regular meditation on the Name and Form of God, who are able to quieten the agitations of the heart and open the way to inner realisation. But, dhyana should not be vacillating or wavering from one ideal to another. It should not be reduced to a mere mechanical text-book formula, a rigid time-table of breathing through alternate nostrils, a meaningless stare at the tip of the nose. It is a rigorous discipline of the senses, the nervous current, and the wings of imagination. That is why it is said, the dhyana is the valley of peace that lies on the other side of a huge mountain range, with the peaks named the Six Foes. These are lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and envy. One has to climb over the range and reach the plain beyond. One has to rend the veils, befor...
