Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

THERE is none in this sacred land of Bharat who is not aware of the epic Ramayana. The Ramayana sets ideals for the individual, the family and the society at large. Since ancient times, thousands have heard the story of Rama. But not many have tried to put its teachings into practice. Man by birth is a human being but he is not making any effort to understand humanness. He is achieving progress in various fields but his mind is not getting transformed.

What is the use of man’s existence if the mind does not undergo transformation? He is changing his dresses, not his mind. He would do well if he changes his mind instead of changing his dresses. All the spiritual practices like meditation, penance, etc., will prove futile if there is no transformation of the mind. Mano Moolam Idam Jagat (the mind is the basis for the entire world). Man is not making any effort to understand what is most important on the path of spirituality.

Man is born with three types of debts - debt to God, debt to sages and debt to parents. God is present in each and every cell of human body in the form of Angeerasa and it is He who protects and sustains human life. Man is therefore deeply indebted to God who vibrates in every limb of his body in the form of divine energy. The only way man can clear his debt to God is by undertaking sacred actions and by working for the welfare of fellow human beings. That is why the path of service has been prescribed for man to clear his debt to God. Man should serve not with the feeling that he is doing favour to others, but with the understanding that he is repaying his debt to God. Every little act of service reduces a certain amount of your debt to God.

You should not crave positions of authority.

You should realize that body has been given to you to serve others. A true servant is a true leader. You should sanctify your life by taking to the path of service and returning your debt to God.

The second debt that man has to repay is the debt to saints and sages. The ancient sages and seers knew the past, present and future of man. They knew the secrets of Dharma. They, therefore, prescribed various codes of conduct and spiritual paths for man so that he might find fulfilment in this life and hereafter. Man can repay his debt to the sages by following and practising their teachings in letter and spirit.

The third debt is the debt to one’s parents. Parents take great pains in fostering and educating their children. Mother is the first teacher for man. The Vedas proclaim, “Mathru Devo Bhava, Pithru Devo Bhava” (revere the mother and father as God). In order to repay the debt to one’s parents, one has to find a way so as not to be born again.

Once you are born with this garland of karma (action), you should lead your life in such a way that you are not born again. Man is born to repay these three types of debts, not for accumulating wealth and wasting his life in worldly enjoyments. People in the modern age claim themselves to be devotees of God, but their actions betray their claims.

Once Buddha was traversing all over the country in order to propagate Truth. On reaching a particular village, Buddha felt tired and was not in a position to deliver his discourse. So, he told one of his chief disciples to address the congregation. Buddha went inside to take rest. As he could not get sleep, he was listening to what his disciple was saying. The disciple said, “O people, a person like Buddha was never born before and will never be born again in future. We are all very fortunate to be his contemporaries. So, make the best use of this golden opportunity.” On hearing this, the congregation gave a thunderous applause. Buddha came out and asked his disciple, “Nityananda, how old are you?” Nityananda told that he was thirty-five years old. Buddha then asked, “Have you traveled far and wide?” Nityananda told that he had visited only a few cities. Then Buddha chided him saying, “You have not seen much of the world. You are just thirty–five years old. With what authority can you say that a person like Buddha was not born before and will not be born again? Many noble souls were born and many more will be born in future. The world cannot exist if there are no noble souls in it.” None Can Describe The Divine Principle There is no place in the world where God does not exist. You may not be able to see, but the whole universe is permeated with divinity. All that you see, say and do is nothing but God’s Will. None can describe the divine principle. Today you are celebrating Sri Rama’s birthday. No benefit accrues from celebrating the birthdays of noble personalities unless you put their teachings into practice. It is said, “Ramo Vigrahavan Dharma”(Rama is the embodiment of Dharma). His speech was suffused with truth and His conduct radiated peace. Can there be a greater ideal than this? All names and forms are His and He is the embodiment of Truth, Awareness and Bliss.

The four brothers Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna were not ordinary mortals. Looking from the worldly point of view, Dasaratha was the king of Ayodhya. It is a mistake to think that Ayodhya was a city where Lord Rama was born. Once Ashok Singhal asked Me as to what was the correct birthplace of Lord Rama. I told him Rama’s birthplace was mother Kausalya’s womb. I also told him not to confine Rama to a physical form. Rama is allpervasive. What is Ayodhya? It is an impregnable place where enemies cannot enter, i e., Hridaya (spiritual heart). Dasaratha signifies the chariot of the human body consisting of ten senses. He had three wives, namely., Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra who represent sathwic, rajasic and thamasic qualities, respectively. These three wives had four children, namely., Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Satrughna who represented the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana Veda respectively. True devotion and surrender lies in understanding the inner significance of the Ramayana.

Kausalya was highly virtuous and even minded. Likewise, Sumitra too was pure hearted, and as her name indicates she was a good friend of everybody (Sumitra). Her ideals were unparalleled. When Rama, before going to exile, went to seek mother Kausalya’s blessings, she lamented saying, “My son! I can’t live without you for a moment.” Then Sumitra consoled her, “Dear sister, God Himself has taken birth as your son Rama. He can never be farther from anybody. But, He has to act according to the time, place, cause and circumstances. Do not feel sad that He is going away from you. He will come back very soon.” What was Sumitra’s advice to her son Lakshmana when he came to seek her blessings before going to the forest? She told him, “My son! Do not be under the impression that you are going to the forest. Ayodhya is wherever Rama is - Without Sita and Rama, this Ayodhya is but a forest. Sita is your mother, Rama is your father. Serve them with love. That is your primary duty.” She advised her second son Satrughna to serve Bharata.

What is the reason for the intimate relationship that existed between Rama and Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna? Here you have to take into consideration an incident that happened prior to their birth. When the sweet pudding emerged from the sacrificial fire of Putrakameshti Yajna (Yajna for begetting children) performed by Dasaratha, sage Vasishta told him to distribute the same to his three wives. Scholars have distorted the truth by saying that the pudding was distributed in different proportions. Dasaratha treated all his wives alike; he had no partiality towards any of them. He divided the pudding into three equal parts and distributed to each of them. He told them to have a ceremonial bath before partaking of the pudding. Kausalya and Kaikeyi were overjoyed. They kept their share of pudding at a safe place and went inside to have a ceremonial bath. But Sumitra was not all that happy. She felt “Since Kausalya is the first wife of Dasaratha, the son born to her has every chance of becoming the crown prince. Even Kaikeyi’s son may occupy the throne as Dasaratha had given word to her father. But the son born to me stands no chance of becoming the crown prince.” Thinking thus, she completed her bath. As there were no fans or hair dryers in those days, she went to the terrace, kept the cup containing the pudding by her side and started drying her hair in the sun. Suddenly from somewhere an eagle swooped down and took away the cup containing the pudding. Sumitra was taken aback. She was not really sad for losing the pudding, but was afraid that her husband Dasaratha might reprimand her for her carelessness. She approached Kausalya and Kaikeyi and explained to them her plight. They loved Sumitra as Sumitra loved them. So, they took pity on Sumitra and gave a part of their share to her. Out of the part of pudding given by Kausalya, Lakshmana was born to Sumitra, whereas Satrughna was born out of the share of the pudding given by Kaikeyi. Hence, Lakshmana, born of Kausalya’s share, was deeply attached to Rama and Satrughna, born out of the share of Kaikeyi, was deeply attached to Bhartata.

Satrughna, started crying as soon as they were born while Rama, the son of Kausalya, and Bharata, the son of Kaikeyi, had blissful smiles on their faces in their cradles. The children of Sumitra puzzled everybody by their incessant crying. Sumitra tried various means to make them stop crying but it was of no avail. Emperor Dasaratha consulted several physicians to cure the strange malady of Sumitra’s children, but nothing worked. Mother Sumitra then called sage Vasishta as a last resort to solve her problem. The eminent sage meditated for some time and said: “Oh mother, you need not administer any medicine to alleviate your children’s suffering. All you have to do is to keep Lakshmana by the side of Rama, and Satrughna in the cradle of Bharata.” Sumitra did accordingly and found that Lakshmana and Satrughna stopped crying immediately. The two children who had refused to drink milk till then started taking food and playing in the cradle. Surprised at this sudden change of their behaviour, Sumitra prayed to the sage to explain the cause of this behaviour. Then Vasishta explained to her, “O mother, Lakshmana and Satrughna are the amshas (parts) of Rama and Bharata, respectively. So, when they were united, they became blissful.” Put An End To Your Suffering By Uniting With God Lord Krishna declared in the Bhagavad Gita, “Mamaivamsho jeevaloke Jeevabhuta Sanathana” (the eternal Atma in all beings is apart of My Being). You are undergoing pain and suffering because you are not uniting yourself with God. You will be rid of all the troubles once you become one with God. Lakshmana’s suffering ended once he joined the company of Rama. He spent his entire life in the service of Rama. Likewise, Satrughna served Bharata all his life. It is next to impossible to find brothers like Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna in the present-day world. We find many twins bearing the names Rama and Lakshmana, but they fight with each other over property and even go to the Supreme Court to settle their dispute. But Rama and Lakshmana of Ramayana attained supreme stage through unity.

When Lakshmana fainted in the battlefield, Rama threw aside his bow and arrow, placed Lakshmana’s head on his lap and lamented, “O Lakshmana, in this vast world I may be able to get a mother like Kausalya or a wife like Sita, but I will never be able to get a brother like you.” Such was the supreme love of Rama for Lakshmana. This is a great ideal for mankind. There is no point in going through the sacred text of Ramayana unless you put into practice the ideals it demonstrates. You should try to understand the purpose behind each of Rama’s actions and how he performed them. There is much more to Ramayana than Rama going to the forest, annihilating Ravana and ultimately being crowned as the king of Ayodhya. He incarnated in order to establish Dharma. What is Dharma? It is that which delights your heart. When man takes to unrighteous means, his conscience will not approve of his acts since every man is the embodiment of Dharma. He is born to practise Dharma. But as he gets carried away by worldly pleasures, he is afflicted with misery.

At the time of going to the forest, Rama tried his best to dissuade Sita from following him. He told her that it would be extremely difficult for her to live in the forest in the midst of cruel demons and wild animals. But Sita was not an ordinary woman. She was the daughter of Mother Earth. She had all the powers of Mother Earth. She insisted that as his wife, it was her Dharma to follow him under all circumstances. She said, “You are the one who protects the entire universe, can you not take care of me?” Rama wanted her to stay back in Ayodhya and look after her aging parents. Then she replied, “I am told that You insisted on your mother Kausalya remaining here and serving her husband. But in my case, you have reversed your stance to say that it is my foremost duty to serve the parents-in-law and not the husband. For the wife, the husband is god. It is true not in the case of your mother alone; it is applicable to all women without exception.” She continued thus, “You are Ramachandra, the moon and I am Sita, the moonlight. Is it possible for the moonlight to be in Ayodhya when the moon is in the forest? Moon and moonlight cannot be separated from each other. Come what may, I am coming with you to the forest.” With such courage and conviction, she was ready to withstand any hardship for the sake of being with Rama. You should put such great ideals into practice in your life.

What happened to Sumitra’s share of pudding that was carried away by the eagle? It was left on a mountain, which Anjani Devi consumed. As a result, Hanuman was born to her. This is the reason for the intimate relationship that existed between Hanuman and the four brothers, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna. Very few are aware of it.

When Sita and Rama returned to Ayodhya, people’s joy knew no bounds. At the time of his coronation, Rama distributed gifts to all those who had helped him in the war, except to Hanuman. On being questioned by Sita, Rama said that Hanuman did not care for any gift and that he had no worthy gift to be given to Hanuman. Then Sita took out her pearl necklace and presented it to Hanuman. He plucked each pearl, put it between his teeth, placed it near his ear and with a face indicating disappointment threw it way in disgust. Surprised at this behaviour of Hanuman, Sita said, “Hanuman, this is a precious pearl necklace given to me by my father, but you are throwing away the pearls without realizing their value. You don’t seem to have given up your monkey traits.” Then Hanuman replied, “O mother, I examined each pearl in order to see whether it had the sacred name of Rama in it. I could not find it in any pearl. Without the name of Rama, they are but stones and pebbles. So, I cast them on the ground. Even the hair of mine is filled with the name of Rama.” Saying so, he plucked out a hair from his hand and put it near Sita’s ear. She could hear Rama’s name emanating from it. Then she started praising Hanuman thus:

It can be said that but for Hanuman, Ramayana would not have existed. He is the embodiment of devotion and surrender. Hanuman is present wherever Rama’s name is chanted. Rama’s name and form are not different. Hanuman experienced this unity. That is the principle of non-dualism. You call yourselves devotees of Rama and go through the sacred text of Ramayana repeatedly, but is there any transformation in your mind? Not at all. This is not true or real devotion, but only a show of devotion. Rama does not approve of pomp and show. He gives importance only to practice. Bliss can be attained only through practice. Try to understand the principle of Rama correctly.

In the story of the Ramayana you must understand the principle of Sita. Before going to the forest, Rama distributed his wealth to the poor. Sita also followed Rama and distributed clothes and jewels. Thus, she attained Rama by leaving her worldly desires. However, in the forest she desired to have the golden deer, and, as a result, became distant from him. Today’s man likewise is bound by desire. When you give up desire, you can attain God. Na Karmana Na Prajaya Dhanena Thyagenaikena Amrutathwa Manasu (immortality can be attained only through sacrifice, neither wealth nor progeny nor good deeds can confer it). You can attain Rama only through sacrifice. From the Ramayana, you have to learn the lesson of sacrifice. You have to install the principle of Rama in your heart. Rama practised Sathya and Dharma all His life. You should firmly adhere to these principles in your life.