Swami teaches... Swami's highest miracle - Love tames the elephant

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches.... (6-8 April 2005)

 

Swami's Highest Miracle - Love Tames the Elephant

 

The Lord is devoid of attachment or hatred. He comes on a Mission and is

bent only on that task. It is His nature to support the right and admonish the

wrong. His task is to restore vision to human, to turn human's footsteps along

the path of morality and selfcontrol, so that human being may achieve

Self-knowledge.

Krishna drove the chariot of Arjuna during the fateful days when the

fortunes of the Paandavas were decided at the point of the sword. Imagine, the

Lord of the Universe holding the reins of Arjuna's horses!

Through His Teaching Swami holds the reins of His devotees' and followers' mind

for their own benefit and happiness. The attempt to darken the splendour of

Swami can never succeed, except by one means: Suppose Swami-splendour is

indicated by a line of a certain length. Efforts to shorten it by wiping or

erasing it will not make it shorter. But if you draw by Its side a longer line,

then, automatically, it will become shorter. So do the things that Swami is

doing, on a grander and more impressive scale, then the fame of Swami will

certainly diminish. Of course one must have the qualification and the authority

to enter on that attempt. However, time should not be wasted in such games: it

is best spent in realising one's Divinity and serving society. The person

who can make Swami give up His task in fear has neither yet been born, nor will

ever be born hereafter. A dog barks at his own reflection imagining it to be a

rival. Other dogs, not knowing the reason, take cue, and the whole area is

drowned with barking. Some bay at stars, but the stars are unmoved.

It is said that Swami tries to attract people by miracles; the miracles are

not 'performed' in order toexhibit power; they just happen, and serve as

evidence of the power. Love is Swami's highest miracle. Love can make you

gather the affection of all mankind. Expand your heart so that it can encompass

all. Do not narrow it down into an instrument of restricted love.

Swami's power cannot be a subject for a university examinations; it is a

subject for universal examination. This power is limited only by His Own Will.

But when a near and dear relationship is established, one can delve a little

deeper into the Swami Mystery. That is the highest achievement possible.

Intelligence being the special mark of humans, every effort must be made to

amplify and sharpenit so that it may be a fit instrument for understanding the

inner and the outer worlds. Along withintelligence, character has to be

cultivated in equal measure, for then alone can the intelligence be used to

serve society. The readiness to renounce one's pleasure in order to relieve the

burden of another is a prime virtue of character.

Education is to be valued not as a means of earning one's livelihood, but as

the essential requisitefor a happy, peaceful and progressive life leading man

from the animal stage of existence to thepresence of the Divine. One who lives

for the sake of eating is indeed a great sinner; one who lives for the sake of

reaching the full awareness of own innate Reality is blessed.

Your master is own heart, where God resides. All of you are Divine in

reality; differences in name and form are but temporary and external.

 

There are four chief types of people. Those who see only good in everything

and everyone; those who see the good as good and the evil as evil; those who

see the good as evil and the evil as good; and, lastly, those who do not see

the good at all, because even the good they see they transmute into evil. Of

these one can tolerate the first three, perhaps, but the fourth type is

definitely demonaic.

The Lion is the King of Beasts, the Monarch of the Forest. Human too is a

beast, like the jackal, the cheetah, the tiger and the lion. The elephant is

the largest of the animals; its footprints are biggerthan those of any other.

The lion and the elephant are mortal enemies. There is a deep lesson that

Nature teaches you through this: The Mind is the elephant thattramples through

the jungle of life, restrained by no fear, regulated by no rule. But, the

elephantis dreadfully afraid of the lion who symbolises Buddhi (the intellect).

All have to bend before the throne of intellect, which confers the highest

Bliss. The mind is dumb before the dictates of the intellect; but, before the

sense and their demands, it acts as instigator. Make the mind subserve the

intellect; then, the path towards God is straightened and smoothed. Progress

is to be judged by the quantity and the quality of work done.

Mind, Speech and Action are the three instruments assigned to human. The

mind is the breeding ground for all thoughts of 'do' and 'do not', all impulses

of 'will' and 'wont'. It collects and treasures every impression that the senses

inflict on the consciousness and is easily enslaved by glitter and glamour. It

jumps to conclusions. It listens more to the chatter of silent conversation

with the ego, and it cannot overcome the confusion caused by it. It seldom

weighs the pros and cons.

Today, most of humans have not awakened to the seriousness of this problem.

One is perpetuallyengaged in gossip centred on others, winnowing their conduct

to discover vices, and dwelling ontheir faults and failings. The mind gets

polluted thereby. Human being transforms the mind into anewspaper, highlighting

hold-ups, crimes and conflicts of the day and giving place for the same,day

after day. The mind undergoes a series of shocks and knocks, which weaken it.

Eventrivial incidents agitate it for long. Then how can it be used for the

ultimate purpose of liberatingus from becoming slaves of the senses?

Speech, one of the chief reflector of mind's action is produced cheap, but

it has high value. It can elevate as well as demean person. Listening to a

speech, a zero can rise into a hero or a hero can collapse into a zero. It can

inspire or plant despair. It must be true and sweet, not false and pleasant.

Frenzy, fanaticism and gusts of anger have to be controlled, for they lead

to disasters whose range is beyond calculation. By constant practice, these can

also resort to the vow of silence. Be conscious that every word we utter or

hear will leave an impression on our consciousness, and provoke reactions which

may or may not be beneficial. Every action has its reaction on oneself and on

others. This is the law of nature.

 

There are many who attribute the unrest to religion and who prescribe

irreligion as the remedy. The fault lies not in religion, which always insists

on self-control and purity of intentions, brotherhood and service, but in the

human heart which is tainted by greed and lust. The accusing finger is pointed

at the multiplicity of religions in Bharath, but even people who follow one

religion fight frantically among themselves.

The followers of one and the same religion may torture each other and

slaughter innocent lives with bestial glee. Religion is not responsible at all.

The unrest is due to want of religion, rather than the plethora of religions. It

is blind fanaticism that is to be condemned; not, religion that is against it.

Love of country can also be tainted by fanaticism; it has led human to destroy

by the atom bomb innocent millions living in another country, hoping thereby to

secure the safety of the country one loves. The plan and purpose of the ancient

religions of India are to plant the seeds of Love in the human heart so that

they may sprout into saplings of endurance, and blossom into tolerance,

yielding ultimately the fruits of Peace. Bharath has, from time immemorial,

sought to infuse in the individual, the lesson that human being can be free only

through realisation own identity with all mankind and all beings, alive and

inert. Human being is kin to all, that is the teaching of Sanathana Dharma

(eteral religion).

 

Let's touch another today's actual problem caused by human mind's desire to

wrong experience of lust as unruly desire. On the plea that increase of

population is harmful to the progress of the country, limiting births

artificial means is adopted as a policy and practices are being propagated on a

national scale. This is an absurdly wrong step. What you have to do is to

discover means of growing more food, by, to give one example, utilising the

vast sources of underground water. Artificial means of preventing conception

will promote licentiousness and bring down on the country bestial promiscuity.

Those who encourage these dangerous tactics must rather encourage sense control

and self-restraint through Yoga and Seva, methods advocated in the scriptures by

sages who knew the calamities that are the consequence of irresponsible

fatherhood or frustrated motherhood. The innocent, ignorant victims of this

campaign, can well be educated to master their lower urges and sublimate them

into more beneficial channels. Without mental preparation and determination

these artificial methods may cause insanity and other complexes, ill-health and

manias.

Through the campaign for family planning, they are persuaded to adopt means

by which they have no responsibility for the consequences of that indulgence.

The best method for family planning is the ancient one: making human realise

through Saadhana (spiritual discipline) his/her innate Divinity.

There is no need for family planning when the mind is strong, steady, pure

and free. It has to be given rest, so that the waves can subside and serenity

established. The sages prescribed manana (meditation, rumination) after

shravana (listening to constructive counsel) and nididhyaasa (putting the

counsel to practise) with just this in view. When lust, hatred, anger and

greed are eliminated, the mind obeys our will and can be used for higher

purposes.

 

The very first sadhana one must adopt is the cultivation of inner silence,

to put an end to the endless dialogue with the mind. Let the mind rest for a

while. Do not project on the mind irrelevant details and pollute it with fumes

of envy and greed. Do not agitate it every moment by your non-stop dialogue.

There are other three ways of calming the mercurial mind'

1. Regulated breathing (Praanaayaama). Inhale and exhale in a measured

manner, watching its symmetry and balance; that will diminishthe eagerness of

the inner tongue to wander into conversation. Finally it will give up

thetendency, for good.

2. Engage yourselves in loving service of the diseased and the distressed.

Undertake to teach a few children who have no one to guide them. Let your

thoughts and activities be self-less and sincere. The itch to communicate to

the mind will be healed thereby. By this activity energies are more fruitfully

engaged in serving one's fellows than in talking and discussing with one's

wavering mind.

3. Instead of talking and discussing with one's wavering mind experience

spiritual exercises, some one or more of them, resorted to in earnest and with

regularity. It can be the repetition of Name, recitation of mantras, chanting

hymns or practice of yogic postures. The Gaayathri Manthra can well be resorted

to for this purpose. It is certain to yield quick results.

Some words about the methodology of service.

Very often individuals (and even institutions) trespass into the realm of

others, compete with fellow workers, and sometimes try to establish

superiority, by means fair or foul. Power and position have to be deserved,

before they are desired. Those who seek to serve others and promise to cure

their ills must have the equipment to diagnose the illness and determine the

drug. Service is a difficult and discriminating process; mere amateur

enthusiasm hampers rather thanhastens progress. Learning the technique of

service, cultivating the impulse to serve, these aresteps in equipping a person

for leadership.

Those of you who have had the privilege of serving your unfortunate brothers

and sisters willstand witness that there is no discipline equal to Service to

smother the ego and to fill the heart with genuine joy. A wave of service, if

it sweeps over the land, catching every one in its enthusiasm, will be able to

wipe off the mounds of hatred, malice and greed that infest the world.Attune

your hems so that it will vibrate in sympathy with the woes and joys of your

fellowmen. Fill the world with Love what will warn you against advising

another to do something which you yourself are unwilling to do; your conscience

will tell you that you are telling a lie.

The process of living can be reduced to the formula, "Situation plus effort"

or "Challenge plus response." So too, "Self multiplied by infinity is God,"

whereas "mind multiplied by infinity is Hiranyagarbha or Cosmic Will." The mind

can act as a bridge leading person from the tangible to the intangible, from the

personal to the impersonal. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks.

Vol. 9. "Elephants and the Lion,"Chapter 18;

Vol. 13. "Expand the heart," Chapter 21 and "The Sai Religion," Chapter 23;

Vol. 15. "The triple purity," Chapter 42).

 

Namaste - Reet