Upanishathic Prayer leads to Aathma Vidhya

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches... (21 January 2005)

Upanishathic Prayer Leads to Aathma Vidhya*

The process of living is the swinging of a pendulum from smile to tear.

Childhood is too tender and innocent; youth is too full of folly and faults,

middle age is muddled with problems and possible remedies; old age is spent in

regret over past failings and falterings. When can an individual taste some

little sincere joy? Nature is the vesture of God. It images the Supreme. It

shines through the machinations of the mind. The inner core of each living

thing is God. Joys and sorrows are the results of the mind's involvement in the

transient and the trivial.

Give up what has to be cast away, know what has to be attained, then,

Aanandha becomes your unruffled nature. So give up the idea of the world being

valid; know the reality of the Self and attain the Source, the Brahman. This is

the significance of the Upanishathic Prayer.

 

Asatho maa sath gamaya (Lead me from the Unreal to the Real) Thamaso maa

Jyothir gamaya (Lead me from darkness to light)

Mruthyor maa amrutham gamaya (Lead me from death to immortality)

This is a prayer asking to be led from the Jagath (mundane world), which is

constantly beingbuilt and rebuilt, resolved and dissolved, into the Divine

whose Being undergoes no change. The darkness symbolises the ignorance which

induces identification with the body-senses-mind-reason complex. The light

reveals the Divine core, over which all the rest is superimposed by the fog of

faulty vision. Death affects only the body-mind complex. When we are led into

the light, we become aware that we are the undying Aathma, and so we become

immortal.

 

It may be said we are praying every day. But prayer is not the pronouncing

of words. Prayer is the yearning one experiences to awaken the divinity latent

in the heart. A heart without words is far more precious than words without a

heart. Words cascade from the tongue but they are mere froth. People blabber a

billion words but never do a deed. Be examples in doing, not doling out advice.

Revere the world as divine; "Yaccha kinchith jagath sarvam drishyathe

shruyathepi vaa," saysthe Upanishadh. It means, "All that is seen or heard is

God.Anthar bahischa thath sarvam,vyaapya Naaraayanah" - The inner world and

the outer world are both immersed in God. "OMThath Sath", the Upanishadhs

declare. "Thath" is That, the Cause "Kim yath thath" - these threewords are to

be thought over. Kim (what?) yath (which?) thath (that). Thath is the

Brahmaprinciple. Thwam (you) is the Effect, the Jeeva, the Individual.

Prayer must emerge from the effect to the cause. The individual self has to

yearn for the Supreme Self. It must emerge from a pure heart. Prayer (drinking

cup) must be clean both on the outside and the inside. Prayer should not arise

out of the tongue, as music rises out of a gramophone record. When the song

does not come from your depth, when you are not involved in it, how can it draw

God unto you? Your self must achieve confidence. Then, that self-confidence will

lead to self-sacrifice and self-realisation.

 

We must delve beyond the body, beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond

the intellect and reach the source of all these - the Aathman. It is the

substratum, basis and source of all else. For everything we see there has to be

a base, which we do not see. For the car that is moving, there is the road,

which is the stationary ground for the car to move on. The car may swerve but

the road does not swerve. If the road also moves, what journey can the car make

and whereto? So also, the Aathman is the basis for the functioning of the mind

and senses and body.

A human being marches from the status of self to the all-inclusive Self,

from Aathma toParamaathma. Towards the success of that march, all Nature can

provide advice and guidanceuntil the very end. The real Guru one must rely upon

is Nature, saturated with God. God does notteach us direct; He teaches us

through Nature which surrounds us.

So, do not renounce the world or condemn Nature. Do not restrict the God of

the Universe to any one Name and Form. Love all names and forms. Expand your

letter world-wide.

The Universe is a manifestation of God. So also is the 'individual. All

these three are like Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, the Trinity. Actually there

are no Three, they are one, it is unified Godhead.

Every cell in the human body is God, though under a microscope you cannot

find Him. A pure heart, a cleansed mind, a God-filled consciousness will help

you to listen to the voice of the God within you. The words above shine

from Aathma Vidhya what is only the true education. The education today is

(mainly) oriented towards earning money only. For feeding a small stomach,

should one have to learn so many things? There is knowledge of music, knowledge

of arts, science, etc. But all pale off into insignificance in the light of the

knowledge of the spirit. All other branches of knowledge are like rivulets

which flow into the sea. (nadeenaam saagaro gatihi). Just as all rivers flow

into the ocean, all types of education will find their true fulfilment when

they lead and end up in spiritual knowledge and wisdom only.

You should not think that worldly life and spiritual life are different. Do

not make such distinctions like spiritual life is sugar and worldly life is

tasteless water. You haveto stir the water in the glass, and let the sugar at

the bottom dissolve well; then enjoy drinking thesweet mixture. In this way,

worldly life should be blended and harmonised with spiritual life.

(Reet's compilation from: Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 15. "The

Universe - the Guru," Chapter 15, "Eternal harmony," Chapter 8 and Vol. 16,

"The daily prayer," Chapter 2).

 

* The spelling what in Swami's texts has used was not changed.

 

Namaste - Reet

[Guest guest]

Thank you brother Reet for another uplifting insight into babas message and our

life. i enjoy reading your contribution to the group

god bless you