Swami teaches... Be alert and vigilant on journey of life

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram Light and Love

Swami teaches... 20 - 22 February 2006

Be Alert and Vigilant on Journey of Life

The Divine, after creation, did not keep all powers within but gave them to

mankind. God is the Creator. But He did not retain within His hands the

responsibilities relating to the Creation.* He gave to human beings all

capacities. But He laid down a condition relating to the use of these

capacities. People are free to live as they like. They can utilise all the

material objects in creation. There can be no objection to this from anyone,

not even from God. Human has the freedom to enjoy the things provided by the

Creator. But human should exercise discrimination to determine what are

beneficial and what are not fit to be used. Because all things are available,

one should not use them as one likes for the simple reason that each use is

accompanied by its natural consequences. One cannot avoid these consequences.

If you are prepared to face the consequences, you can act as you want.

Prakrithi (Nature) is like a mirror. It reflects your action. Standing

before a mirror, you offer a Namaskar to it. The image in the mirror reflects

your actions. If you attempt to hit the image, the reflection will hit back.

Basing on this law of action and reaction, the Vedanta declared: "Whatever your

thought, that you become."

Very much anterior to science is the Veda. Science seeks to know all about

creation, but the Veda reveals the knowledge about the Creator. All the natural

sciences are concerned with knowledge about created things.

 

There is an internal relationship between Nature and Divinity. The scientist

should develop an integral approach towards Nature, Human and Spirit. Then is

possible to realise the underlying divinity that unites the human being and the

cosmos. We need today a science that can promote love. Instead of Spirit of

Love, we are witnessing today a "splitting of Love." The Spirit of Love is

being broken up and destroyed. Thereby love is receding to the background.

Human today indulges in greater cruelty than wild animals. It would be an abuse

of language toregard as human beings people who indulge in large scale killing

of each other. Human has lost respect for life.

Where is our boasted progress? Many scientific inventions are extremely

useful to human. But if they are not properly used they can cause great harm.

For instance, television, internet can be valuable means of educating and

entertaining people. The fault lies not with the television, internet, etc.,

but with the excessive and wrongful use of the instruments. It is like a knife

which can be used for slicing vegetables or stabbing a person. It is only when

science is linked to spirituality that the results of science can be fully

harnessed for the good and elevation of mankind.

Long time ago the young lad Prahlada told his father, "In a brief period you

have been able to conquer all the worlds; but you have failed to master your

senses and your mind." Likewise, today we are acquiring mastery over the

external universe, but are unable to control our senses. It is only when we use

science for control of the senses will we be able to bring Science and

Spirituality together and integrate the two.

"Among studies, I am the study of the spiritual", declared Lord Krishna in

the Gita. He also observed, "I am the embodiment of spiritual knowledge."

Pursuing spiritual studies, the ancient sages realised spiritual truths and

divinised their lives. From ancient times it has been the greatness and glory

of Bharath to proclaim to the world the message of human welfare and praying

for the good of all mankind. The world acclaimed the fame of Bharath.

 

Together with spirituality it is essential to have morality. Morality means

ethical behaviour. It is the supreme duty to demonstrate such conduct in daily

life.

"Through perseverance anything can be accomplished," is a well-known adage.

For instance, goodness in a person is like a piece of burning charcoal.

However, the fire in it is covered by the ashes of worldly desires. When the

ashes are removed by sadhana (spiritual practice) the fire of goodness is

revealed. But this remains invisible because it is enveloped in a cloak of

worldly attachments. It is obvious, therefore, that more than knowledge,

what is essential is the refinement of human behaviour and Samskara (conduct).

Sacrifice and charity are more important than wealth or position. Hence, for

every individual, practical knowledge of the world is more essential than mere

position or authority. The first prerequisite for this is the promotion of

human values.

Because of the absence of human values, it has been impossible to

demonstrate the value of human existence.These human values can be developed by

spiritual practices and by no other means. When human values are implanted in a

heart that is sacred and spiritual and nurtured there, that they will flourish

and shine in all their splendour. Unfortunately, today human's heart is filled

with narrow selfish concerns.

(For example, some people, afflicted with envy at the reconstruction of

Sanathana Dharma are attempting to undermine its basic beliefs and create

confusion in the minds of the youth. The kokil's song is harsh to the ear of

the crow, but the crow's criticism will not silence the lark. The swan is

defamed as ugly by the duck, but that does not worry the swan in the least, nor

can the duck decrease the glory of the celestial swan. Defamation, criticism and

slighting are all to be set aside, unrecognised; they shall not be valued at

all. They also do some good in their own way, for they help to emphasise the

excellence and bring it more to light. It is a foil to make the thing shine

brighter. Besides, when one person says 'no' and another says 'yes,' it is an

individual problem.

A dog barks at 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).

 

The mission on which every individual has come is to merge the individuality

in the Universal. The life that each being is leading is saturated with the

Divine. It is the Divine that inspires, that activates, that leads and fulfils

the life of each being, however simple or complex its physical structure may

be. From the atom to the Universe every single entity is moving towards the

estuary where it merges in the sea of Bliss. The Divine Life is the very

breath of all beings; it consists of Sathya, Prema and Ahimsa (Truth, Love and

Non-injury).

(How can any one be false to another when there is no other at all?

Falsehood comes out of fear. No one is loved more than the Self: so, when

all is the self-same Self, all is loved as the Self is loved. Who is to injure

whom, when all are but one)? How to lead the Divine Life? There is no

special membership that entitles you to it. Every struggle to realise the Unity

behind all the multiplicity is a step on the path of Divine Life. The Divine

Life does not admit of the slightest dross in character or delusion in

intellect. So, people dedicated to it must emphasise this by precept and

example. Wipe out the root causes of anxiety and fear and ignorance. Anxiety

is removed by faith in the Lord; the faith that tells you that whatever happens

is for the best and that the Lord's Will be done. Quiet acceptance is the best

armour against anxiety. Sorrow springs from egoism, the feeling that you do not

deserve to be treated so badly, that you are left helpless. When egoism goes,

sorrow disappears.

Prema (Love) directed to the Lord is called bhakthi (devotion). For treading

the path of devotion, one needs only Love Bhakthi can be spoken of as having

several stages.

Mukhyabhakthi is the stage where the seva (service) of the Lord alone

matters and it is its own reward; the devotee does not seek anything more than

just the service of the highest, done to the utmost of capacity.

This gradually becomes Paraabhakthi, where nothing except the Name and Form

of the Beloved is cognised. Again, there is what is called Gounabhakthi,

which is coloured by the three Gunas (inner qualities): the attitude of the

afflicted, the seeker of worldly comfort, the sincere inquirer and the Jnani

(the wise person) who is silent and content with the realisation that all is

He/She.

For treading the Bhakthi marga (path of devotion), one needs no scholarship,

nor wealth nor riches, nor ascetic rigours. Prema (Love) - that was all they

had and that was all they needed. By sadhana, japam, dhyanam and systematic

cultivation of virtue, this Grace is converted into clouds of truth. When prema

embraces humanity, we call it dhaya (compassion), the quality not of pity but of

sympathy; sympathy which makes one happy when others are happy, and miserable

when others are unhappy.

(You have seen beggars singing in the streets? They have each of them a pair

of cymbals in one hand by which they mark time, and a single-stringed instrument

in the other, to the twang of which they tune their singing, The song will be

harsh if it is out of tune. The song of life has also to be similar; keep up

the daily tasks and sing away in joy to the tune of prema).

 

Train the mind not to feel attached to things that change for better or for

worse. Do not hold before it the tinsels of worldly fame and riches; attract it

towards lasting joys derived from springs inside you. The mind itself will then

become the Guru, for it leads you on and on. It is the mind that fills the

image made by the potter with the Divinity which the devotee sees in it; it is

the mind which fills the shrine-room with thefragrance of holiness.

 

It is possible to see the Lord dwell in every being. Swami has been

telling one Truth always in huge amount of angles: every one's master is

his/her heart, where God resides. Every one is Divine in reality; differences

in name and form are but temporary and external. Saint Thyagaraja sang that

the Lord is the inner motive force within the ant as well as the Universe; but

though you may intellectually agree, when an ant bites, you do not feel that

you have come in contact with the Lord in that form? Do not proclaim great

truths aloud; show by your conduct that you attach value to them and that you

are guided by them.

There are many roads through which you can reach Madras; so also there are

many roads to the Lord.

There is also the Adhwaithin who discovers him/herself as the basic substance

of all creation, as Brahman itself. All paths are right; only some are easier,

some more circuitous, some hard.

Swami does not insist that a person should have faith in God. Swami refuses

to call any person a nasthika (an atheist). Beings exist as a result of His

Will, in accordance with His Plan; so no one is beyond His Grace. Besides,

every one has Love towards some one thing or other, and that Love is a spark of

the Divine; every one has ultimately to base life on some one Truth; that Truth

is God. No life can be lived out in complete defiance of Truth; one has to pay

heed to truth and speak the truth to some one in order to make life worth

living. Now, that moment is God's moment and at that moment when he utters the

truth or loves, or serves or bends, person is a theist.

So, it is not even bhakthi that is essential. It is Love, Truth, Virtue, the

eagerness to progress, to serve, to expand one's heart, to take in the whole of

humanity in one's Love, to see all as Forms of the Divine Consciousness.

In the light of the Divine Oneness without Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema

(Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love) the accumulation of scholarship and

education are barren achievements. Without them, all charities and services

rendered to others are ineffective. Without them, positions of authority to

which one is raised, become positions of persecution. Without them, no good act

or meritorious achievement can yield fruit. The education that was practised

in ancient India was far superior and far more fruitful, for it equipped the

student with a healthy spirit of self-reliance. It taught to discriminate

between the flippant and the stable, the upgrading and the down pulling. It

armed against all obstacles on the path of self-culture and self-realisatlon.

It exhorted to oppose, without rest or relief, untruth, injustice and violence.

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

essential requisite for a happy, peaceful and progressive life leading human

from the animal stage of existence to the presence of the Divine, where love

and light reign undisturbed.

Self-confidence is the base for the mansion of life; people must erect the

walls of self-satisfaction and put on them the roof of self-sacrifice. Then

they can live in that house and achieve Self-Realisation.

Awareness is life; be aware of your inner strength and glory. Express that

glory through loving service to society. In Northern India yogis, sages and

monks are addressed as Maharaj, which means Emperor, for an emperor is person

who has a rich treasury of the gems of detachment and service, not one who has

vaults full of precious metals. The wealth that you hoard is not yours; the

wealth that you have shared is yours.

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

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

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

cultivated in equal measure. The readiness to renounce one's pleasure in order

to relieve the burden of another is a prime virtue of character. (Moksha means

liberation; renunciation, too, involves giving up, or liberation. The secret of

both is the same). What exactly has to be renounced? Desire is the worst

enemy and it has to be canalised and reduced with determination until it ceases

to bother. Besides desire, anger and greed also have to be discarded, for they

are present wherever there is desire. Desire is bad even if it is for fame and

authority. It is the avarice for power and pelf that ruins many a human life.

*An example from ancient scripures to this statement.

The wind blows; rains fall. In the Dwapara age, Indra caused a heavy

downpour. The people who were affected by the deluge, prayed to the Lord: "Oh

Lord! We and our cattle are suffering from this downpour. Save us from the

rain." The Lord replied: "I cannot stop this rain. Whatever has to happen in

nature has to goon. But I have the right to protect you from its adverse

effects. Rain comes according to the laws of Nature. But, having regard to

your devotion and prayers, I shall lift this hill and provide shelter to all of

you. But I will not stop the rain." (The reference is to the lifting of the

Govardhana mountain by Sri Krishna). (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai

Speaks. Vol. 1. "Divine Life," Chapter 4 and Vol. 1. "Many roads," Chapter 8;

Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 13. "Expand the heart," Chapter 21; Sathya Sai Speaks.

Vol. 18. "From Creation to Creator," Chapter 4; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 25.

"From Knowledge To Wisdom," Chapter 14).

Namaste - Reet