Swami teaches... Dedicated to the embodyments of the Divine Atma

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram Light and Love Swami teaches... 30 - 31 December, 2005

Dedicated to the Embodyments of the Divine Atma

For each individual, there is a New Year Day, a day which marks the

completion of revolution round the Sun, that is to say, the awakened effulgent

Intelligence, capable of conferring on individual discrimination anddetachment.

Ardent seekers have sought the key to all knowledge, the One thing that, if

known, all else is known, namely the Divine, that is latent in every atom of

the Universe; they have described It as something that is beyond words, beyond

the ken of human imagination and understanding.

Today civilisation and culture are bound up with knowledge of the physical

universe. The scientists or realists believe that the Universe is a

conglomeration of atoms in varying patterns which have assumed manifold forms

and names. But this is only partially true. The the spiritually oriented point

out to the materially oriented, that a firm base is essential for all these

transformations to happen. The Universe must have fundamental principle or a

basic force or energy or phenomenon; as basic as clay is to the pot. That

fundamental principle is, according to spiritual point of view, the Atma

(Divine spirit). This knowledge leads to the unfolding of the Spirit and the

sublimation of life. It should serve to promote ethical values to lead a

well-regulated and disciplined life.

( In the world there is a great deal of talk about freedom. Largeness of

heart, refinement of sensibilities and purity of the mind constitute true

freedom. Freedom does not mean living as you please. Selfcontrol,

self-satisfaction and self-knowledge constitute together the supreme expression

of freedom. Freedom today has been equated with license. This is a travesty of

freedom).

All things seen as objects lose their identity in the bottomless pool of

time. Human is engaged in fallow pursuits and nefarious tactics, which fail to

provide the key to the Absolute and the Eternal. Does the key exist in the

outer world or in the inner? So long as human embroils him/herself in the

'Seen,' impossible to see the 'See-er.' So long as attention is caught by the

flowers in garland, one cannot cognise the string that holds them together.

Inquiry is essential to discover the base which upholds the garland. So too,

inquiry alone can bring intohuman experience the Atmic base which upholds the

objective sensory world.

 

There has been several exlanation of Atmic Reality and concern to It

expressions from different angles. There is another one, more proper.

Atma alone is the ever-full and ever-fresh spring of bliss. Atma, persists

unchanged, however many changes the thing motivated by It might undergo.The Atma

contacts the senses of perception and affects the mind; it awakens the intellect

to discriminate and decide upon the lines of action. Atma activates the

instruments of thought, speech and action, of expression and communication.

Each cell is motivated by the Atma; it is in each of them, as well as in every

spot of space. When we realise it as such, it is experienced as effulgent,

total splendrous light; endless, incomparable, unique light. The ancient seers

ignored the world as irrelevant; and immersed themselves in inner inquiry until

they contacted the Universal Atma and filled themselves with Ananda(Bliss). They

were blessed with Universal vision, absolute delight and eternal wisdom.

The Atmic energy as the Basic Truth motivates every Being in the Universe -

human, animal, bird, worm, tree and grass, the stars, planets and galaxies. (Of

course, the Universe in which we exist is cognised by our senses and we take it

as true and real. But it cannot be accepted as Basic Truth, for anything that

changes does not deserve to be so called. Also, it appears differently to

different living beings at different levels of consciousness).

The Atma cannot be grasped through metaphors and examples. How can the

limited comprehend the Unlimited, the now measure the Ever, the wayward

understand the Stable? Every one has the thirst to realise It and be with It.

Thousands proclaim the glory of the Atma but only a handful strive to attain

it. (Since devotees stop halfway and start extolling the Guru and his teachings

rather than experiencing their value and validity, the Atma and the Infinite

bliss It can confer, remain undiscovered by aspirants).

There are three inextricably interdependent - the body (with all the powers

of consciousness enclosed in it), the Universe and the Atma, either

individualised or universally immanent. Both materialism and spiritualism

seek the fundamental Universal base; one discovers it in matter, the other in

the Spirit. The Atma takes on a form and body to experience and cognise the

Jagath (Universe), just as cotton takes on the form of yarn to be cognised and

experienced as cloth. The cloth is both, the yarn and the cotton. Cotton is

pictorially the fundamental base, the Atma.

There is another way of understanding and interpreting this process. In the

Upanishads five characteristics of the Universe are mentioned - asthi (being),

bhathi (awareness), priyam (bliss), naama (name) and ruupa (form). Of these,

the last two are temporary, and therefore, trivial. The first three are the

three facets of the everlastingtruth, the Atma.

The categories of Being-Awareness-Bliss (Sath-Chith-Ananda) are also

co-related in Vedanta with bhotha akasha, chiththa akasha and chith akasha

respectively. Akasha is the name for sphere of consciousness. Bhotha akasha is

outer Cosmic consciousness; chiththa akasha is the inner consciousness of the

chiththa (seat of intellect), the centre of discrimination in living beings,

while chith akasha is the pure, unalloyed consciousness that flows from the

Atma. The bhotha akasha is the vast limitless space in which the Sun and

planets are but tiny knots of energy. It is so extensive that the light from

some of its stars, millions of light years away, has not yet reached the Earth.

The chiththa akasha subsumes such an immeasurable bhotha akasha, for the

consciousness illumines and becomes aware of all that exists.

 

While the chiththa akasha is contemplated, he is aware that he is the vehicle

of consciousness, the Chith. While he is saturated with the awareness of the

chith akasha - he effulgence of the Atma - he is the embodiment of Ananda the

third facet of the Atma. When the consciousness is turned inwards, the ultimate

state of Atma Ananda (Soulful Bliss) is attained.

The splendour of the Atma reveals all things, illumines all things. The

Atma, however, is Self-Revealing, Self-illumining. It shines everywhere, in all

things. In spite of any number of changes, the individual persists. Within the

child, which unfolds into the boy, the youth and the middle-aged man, old age

is ever dormant. So, too, it is the chith akasha which unfolds into the

chiththa akasha and finally into bhotha akasha (the objective Universe).

For example, when some one photographs Swami, He appears as a very small

Swami in the negative.But we can enlarge it to the size we desire to have.

Swami in the big photo and Swami in the small one are the same. Can you assert

that this five-foot three inches body, alone, is Swami and that the figure in

that tiny picture is not? The anu (lightest) and ghana (heaviest) are both

true. They are the same, but looked at from different angles.

 

Withdraw from the outer to the inner and learn to visualise the Inner

Motivator, the Atma, that is the lesson which the seers and scriptures teach.

To engage ourselves in the purificatory exercises, to pursue the inquiry into

the reality of God, Nature and Human, and to experience the ecstatic delight of

that discovery, the body is very necessary. It has got to be kept healthy and

alert, free from passion and sloth, balanced and expectant of victory.

For human beings, as a rule, is best, that the Divine is pictured in the

human form, so that human can easily comprehend It and approach It and derive

Bliss out of that contemplation. Human can conceive human qualities and human

attainments, though person can multiply them to the maximum and allow the

resultant quantum to fill and overflow ones heart. Be happy that you have

within you the source of power, wisdom and joy. Announce that you are

unconquerable and free, that you cannot be tempted or frightened into wrong. So

long as a trace of 'I-am-the-body' consciousness persists in you, you have

yourself to search for God; you have to approach the mirror, the mirror will

not proceed towards you, to show you, as you really are.

You sit before the idol and offer praise, the incense of worship, but you do

not now try to grasp the significance of the Divine that you see in the idol.

Inquire into the Will of God, discover the Commands of God, guess what will

please Him most, and regulate your life accordingly. Let this be your New Year

Resolution. Do not get caught in the sticky tangles of outer Nature. Do not

harden your heart through greed and hate. Soften it with Love. Cleanse it

through pure habits of living and thinking. Use it as the shrine, wherein you

instal your God.

Consider for a while the fate of the rulers of all realms, the leaders of

armies and nations, the Presidents and Prime Ministers, emerging-from oblivion

and merging in the same - did any one of these carry with them when they passed

away any portion of their wealth or possession. When one dies, another takes his

place; when he dies, still another is ready to assume the role. And all are

equally forgotten - except those who have heroically realised the Atma and

raised themselves to the Divine State. So, believe that the struggle for

status, for power, of fame and for wealth is not commendable at all.

Emperor Janaka, too, on one occasion told himself, "My great-grandfathers,

grandfathers and father commanded vast wealth and spent their lives in

unstinted luxury. But they have all become the dust out of which they had

emerged. Then why should he hanker after these petty pleasures? Let me use this

life, this physical machine, for realising the ultimate goal, the basic Truth,

the fundamental Atma." Consequent on this firm resolution, Janaka was able to

succeed in the arena of spiritual endeavour. The poet sings, "Janaka had

Godever in his thoughts, even while engaged in discharging his daily duties as

an Emperor. And, by this Raja Yoga (Royal path of Divine communion), he

attained the supreme stage, liberation, from bondage to the individual self."

Once a great Maharaja (ruler) held a big exhibition of paintings and art

products. The finest works of art were on display. The exhibition was open to

one and all. The Maharaja announced that anyone could walk in and take away

whatever one liked. Large numbers of men and women went to the exhibition and

took back with them whatever they fancied. Among them was a lady. She saw

everything in the exhibition. She came out through the main door without taking

anything with her. The Maharaja noticed that of all the persons visiting the

exhibition she was the only one to come out empty-handed. He was curious to

know what the reason for this was. He asked the lady: "Madam, how is it you

have found nothing to interest you in the exhibition? She replied: "There are

innumerable desirable things in the exhibition." The Maharaja asked: "But was

them nothing which you wanted?No," she said. The Maharaja said · "If that is

so, tell me what you desire and I shall give it to you." She said: "Maharaja,

will you promise to give me what I want? Is your offer genuine? Will you keep

your word?Certainly," replied theMaharaja. "If that is so, I want only you,"

said the lady. True to his word the Maharaja surrendered himself to her. When

the Maharaja himself became hers, all that was in the exhibition also became

hers. This Cosmos is a vast exhibition. All are entering this exhibition and

taking whatever they choose. Some seek jobs, others wealth and so on. When you

have entered the Cosmic exhibition, you must seek the Divine. Then, the whole

Universe becomes yours. There is no meaning in going after one thing after

another. There is no end to that process. There is no satisfaction in that.

What you acquire today, loses its charm the next day and you desire something

new. But once the Divine is attained, all things are obtained.

(In the cosmic exhibition, you are seeing, hearing and experiencing

innumerable things. You experience joy, depression, confusion and

disappointment. You have no contentment and continually experiencing loss.

There is no limit to desires. One feels hungry, another is thirsty. If the

thirsty one is offered water, one is not satisfied, one wants a cool drink.

When one is given a cool drink, one wants ice cream. And so on. There is no end

to desires for material things in the world).

 

It is naive to think that one alone is the doer of one's actions. All the

things in the world are not intended for the exclusive enjoyment of any single

person. They are to be shared by all. It is when attachment to the fruits of

one's actions is discarded that the action becomes yoga (Divine communion).

When devotees are united bythe sense of Divine kinship, they will act with Love

towards all. The bliss that is derived from such service is incomparable. It is

a spiritual experience. In the world today one does not see anywhere unity

or love. Life appears to be a totally mechanical affair. Person does not mean

merely the external appearance of a human being. Today we believe in things

which should not be believed and have no belief in the things in which we ought

to believe. People as forget to have have faith in themselves. The Divine

aspect of human's personality will encourage humility, truthfulness, love,

fortitude, detachment and eagerness to serve. Let's cherish the manifestations

of these qualities and practice these whenever there is a chance. The

Upanishads address individuals as "Amrthasya Puthraah!" ("Children of

Immortality.") Try to deserve that honour, to achieve that height. Learn to use

all your skills, all your intelligence, all your time for attaining that

victory. You are Gods in human form, for only Gods can be immortal. The body is

only an instrument to discover the indweller. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya

Sai Speaks. Vol. 10. "Revolutions, resolutions," Chapter 2; Sathya Sai Speaks.

Vol. 14. "The next step," Chapter 33 and "The three Aakaashas," Chapter 36;

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 17. "Service without distinctions," Chapter 27; Sathya

Sai Speaks. Vol. 21. "Seek Ye First," Chapter 11 and "Let Your Light Shine,"

Chapter 15).

Namaste - Reet