Sai Baba Gita - Through Effort Humans can Transform their Lower Nature

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Through Effort Humans can Transform their Lower Nature

The sage addressed the gathering, "Dear animals. All that you have just spoken

of is true. Whenever a spiritual teacher does something or says something to

us, it is meant for our own good. It is intended to promote our inner

development and also our friendship and good understanding with others. But as

soon as this friendship flowers and understanding blossoms forth, human beings

become suspicious and think that something bad is being done to them. To your

face, they will offer salutations and use words of praise but behind your back

they will criticize and revile you. Filling themselves with opposites like that

and with low forms of cleverness, they waste their intelligence and their lives.

All the defects that have been pointed out here are certainly true and present

in humans. As for food, sleep, breathing and such things, there is absolutely

no difference between humans and animals."

The sage continued, "I do want to point out, however, that there is one

specialty in human beings that is unique, in which they cannot be compared with

the animals. Animals may inherit a streak of cruelty. Once they have acquired

that they cannot change it. A tiger, however hungry he may be, will not eat

rice and curry. He only aspires to have mutton. He will not settle for just a

little tea and biscuits. However much he may try to change his habits, he will

not succeed. On the other hand, if sufficient efforts are made by humans, they

can transform their cruel nature and any of their bad habits. The most

important difference between humans and animals is that humans, with effort,

can bring about a complete transformation in themselves, whereas animals will

not be able to accomplish that. These special capacities and skills for

transforming themselves are only available to human beings."

The fox got up and said, "Swami, we will concede that human beings have these

special capacities for changing themselves, but if they do not make use of

these capacities, do they deserve the high status that they now enjoy?" The

president declared, "If anyone has the capacity to change himself but does not

use it, then he is much worse than an animal." At this all the animals burst

into an uproarious applause. The cheering went on and on until the president

gaveled for order. The sage then repeated the principal point he had just

made... that any human beings who had the capacity for doing good, but who did

not use this quality to improve their own behavior and develop the good within

themselves, were, without a doubt, worse than animals. Then the sage added,

"What is the use of all the learning that human beings accumulate? Will it

change their faith? As soon as bad thoughts enter their heads, their thinking

becomes dull and they become like idiots. In learning and skills, humans

have attained a high status. But all this learning is only for the sake of

procuring some bread. They use their education only to fill their bellies and

to eke out a livelihood."

At this point, the fox got up and added to what the president had just said, "In

the process of eking out their livelihood, humans use all kinds of unethical

means. In this respect, it is clear that we animals are much better than human

beings." The fox got carried away by his own rhetoric. He continued for some

time on the same theme. "We are always fair in gaining our livelihood. In all

respects, when compared to humans, we are far better. Really, we are the BEST!"

He got an exuberant, almost riotous ovation from the whole four footed assembly.

Everyone agreed whole-heartedly with this appraisal and urged the fox on to say

more. But now the enthusiasm had exceeded its limits and the president pounded

the gavel and called for order. The sage arose and made a few additional

remarks. He explained the second major difference that make human beings

unique. He said, "Man has been able to conquer maya, he has been able to master

illusion. Once he has achieved that, he is able to

experience the atma, his own true divine self. Then he can reach the state of

nirvana, the exalted state of eternal bliss. This is a vital difference between

humans and animals.

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Sai Baba Gita, Compiled and edited by Al Drucker - Published by Atma Press -

http://www.atmapress.com - ISBN: 0963844903Online Edition:

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