Swami teaches... 46 advises for seekers of truth

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches... today are little different and concludes Swami's advises to

Bhaktha(s).

They are quite long, written tens of years ago, but ever actual as

guidelines for seekers the purpose of life and existence - the expression of

the Divine. By my opinion these advises are as a summary for spiritual growth

for all who longs for it. However, they are not only for reading, but more for

inner contemplation, separately every point. They are also the discussion

topics for satsanghs in good company of devotees. So, it makes 46

satsangh-discussions with pictorial examples of devotees experiences (it may be

in frame of their culture and national customs what are in fact not other than

diverse expressions of atmic unity of humanity). Reet.

Swami teaches... 23 January 2005

46 Advises for Seekers of Truth

Listen carefully, I shall tell you.

 

1. Prema, love, should be considered as the very breath of life. 2. The

love that is manifest in all things equally, believe that the same Prema is

Paramathma. 3. The one Paramathma is in every one, in the form of Prema.

4. More than all other forms of Prema, humans's first effort should be to fix

his love on the Lord. 5. Such love directed towards God is Bhakthi; that is

the fundamental test, the acquisition of Bhakthi. 6. Those who seek the

bliss of the Atma should not run after the joys of sense objects. 7.

Sathya, truth, must be treated as life-giving as breathing itself. 8. Just

as a body that has no breath is useless and begins to rot and stink within a

few minutes, similarly, life without truth is useless and becomes the stinking

abode of strife and grief. 9. Believe that there is nothing greater than

truth, nothing more precious, nothing sweeter and nothing more lasting. 10.

Truth is the all-protecting God. There is no mightier guardian than truth.

11. The Lord who is Sathyaswarupa grants His Darsan to those of truthful speech

and loving heart. 12. Have undiminished kindness towards all beings and also

the spirit of self-sacrifice. 13. You must also possess control of the

senses, an unruffled character and non-attachment.

14. Be always on the alert against the four sins, which the tongue is prone

to commit: a. Speaking falsehood b. Speaking ill of others c.

Backbiting and d. Talking too much. It is best to attempt to control

these tendencies. 15. Try to prevent the five sins that the body commits:

Killing, adultery, theft, drinking intoxicants and the eating of flesh. It is a

great help for the highest life if these also are kept as far away as possible.

16. One must be always vigilant, without a moment's carelessness, against the

eight sins that the mind perpetrates: Kamam or craving; Krodham or anger; Lobham

or greed; Moham or attachment; impatience; hatred, egoism, pride. human's

primary duty is to keep all these things at a safe distance from himself.

17. Human's mind speeds fast, pursuing wrong actions. Without letting it hurry

like that, remember the name of the Lord at that time or attempt to do some

good deed or other. Those who do thus will certainly become fit for the Lord's

grace. 18. First give up the evil tendency to feel envious at the

prosperity of others and the desire to harm them. Be happy that others are

happy. Sympathise with those who are in adversity and wish for their

prosperity. That is the means of cultivating love for God. 19. Patience is

all the strength than man needs. 20. Those anxious to live in joy must

always be doing good. 21. It is easy to conquer anger through love,

attachment through reasoning, falsehood through truth, bad through good and

greed through charity. 22. No reply should be given to the words of the

wicked. Be at a great distance from them; that is for your good. Break off all

relations with such people. 23. Seek the company of good men, even at the

sacrifice of your honour and life. But be praying to God to bless you with the

discrimination needed to distinguish between the good men and the bad. You must

also endeavour, with the intellect given to you. 24. Those who conquer

states and earn fame in the world are hailed as heroes, no doubt; but those who

have conquered the senses are heroes who must be acclaimed as the conquerors of

the universal. 25. Whatever acts a good or bad man may do, the fruits

thereof follow him and will never stop pursuing him. 26. Greed yields only

sorrow; contentment is best. There is no happiness greater than contentment.

27. The mischief-mongering tendency should be plucked out by the roots and

thrown off. If allowed to exist, it will undermine life itself. 28. Bear

with fortitude both loss and grief; try and search for plans to achieve joy and

gain. 29. When you are invaded by anger, practise silence or remember the

name of the Lord. Do not remind yourself of things which will inflame the anger

more. That will do incalculable harm. 30. From this moment, avoid all bad

habits. Do not delay or postpone. They do not contribute the slightest joy.

31. Try as far as possible within your means to satisfy the needs of the poor,

who are really Daridranarayana. Share with them whatever food you have and make

them happy at least that moment. 32. Whatever you feel should not be done to

you by others, avoid doing such things to others. 33. For faults and sins

committed in ignorance, repent sincerely; try not to repeat the faults and sins

again; pray to God to bless you with the strength and the courage needed to

stick to the right path. 34. Do not allow anything to come near you, which

will destroy your eagerness and enthusiasm for God. Want of eagerness will

cause the decay of the strength of man. 35. Yield not to cowardice; do not

give up Ananda. 36. Do not get welled up when people praise you; do not

feel dejected when people blame you. 37. If among your friends any one

hates another and starts a quarrel, do not attempt to inflame them more and

make them hate each other more; try, on the other hand, with love and sympathy

to restore their former friendship. 38. Instead of searching for others'

faults, search for your own faults yourself; uproot them, throw them off. It is

enough if you search and discover one fault of yours; that is better that

discovering tens of hundreds of faults in others. 39. Even if you cannot or

will not do any Punya or good deed, do not conceive or carry out any Papa, or

bad deed. 40. Whatever people may say about the faults that you know are

not in you, do not feel for it; as for the faults that are in you, try to

correct them yourself, even before others point them out to you. Do not harbour

anger or bitterness against persons who point out your faults; do not retort,

pointing out the faults of those persons themselves, but show your gratitude to

them. Trying to discover their faults is a greater mistake on you part. It is

good for you to know your faults; it is no good your knowing others' faults.

41. Whenever you get a little leisure, do not spend it in talking about all and

sundry, but utilise it in meditating on God or in doing service to others.

42. The Lord is understood only by the Bhaktha; the Bhaktha is understood only

by the Lord. Others cannot understand them. So, do not discuss matters relating

to the Lord with those who have no Bhakthi. On account of such discussion, your

devotion will diminish. 43. If anyone speaks to you on any subject, having

understood it wrongly, do not think of other wrong notions which will support

that stand but grasp only the good and the sweet, in what he says. True meaning

is to be appreciated as desirable, not wrong meaning or many meanings, which

give no meaning at all and cause only the hampering of Ananda. 44. If you

desire to cultivate one-pointedness, do not, when in a crowd or bazaar, scatter

your vision to the four corners and on everything, but see only the road in

front of you, just enough to avoid accidents to yourself. One-pointedness will

become firmer if one moves about without taking one's attention off the road,

avoiding dangers, and not casting eyes on others' forms. 45. Give up all

doubts regarding the Guru and God. If your worldly desires do not get

fulfilled, do not blame it on your devotion; there is no relationship between

such desires and devotion to God. These worldly desires have to be given up

some day or other; Bhakthi feelings have to be acquired some day or other. Be

firmly convinced of this. 46. If your Dhyanam or Japam does not progress

properly or if the desires you have entertained do not come to fruition, do not

get dispirited with God. It will dispirit you even more and you will lose the

peace, however small or big, that you might have earned. During Dhyanam and

Japam you should not be dispirited, desperate or discouraged. When such

feelings come, take it that it is the fault of your Sadhana and endeavour to do

them correctly.

(Extract-compilation from Sathya Sai Baba. Sandeha Nivarini. Dialogue VII).

 

Namaste - Reet