Swami teaches... Faith, service and human values are educare's base

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Sai Ram Light and Love

Swami teaches...

Faith, Service and Human Values are Educare's Base

Life is like a football ground and each one of you a ball. Your good

qualities like Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love are on one side, and bad

qualities like attachment, pride and hatred on the other. Both sides kick the

ball and try to score a goal. The poor ball must suffer these kicks so long as

it is bloated with the air of egoism in it. But once the air is let out, the

kicks also stop.

At this critical hour in the history of the world, when the demonic forces

of fear and anxiety, injustice and inequity are raging in wild fury, it is the

duty of every human being to be equipped with spiritual strength, so that

person may not be overwhelmed by the storm. Faith in God is the tonic that

human needs to get back health and happiness.

Human life has to begin with faith and end with bliss. Complete faith is

most essential to experience Divinity. The ancient myth below is illustrating

the power of faith.

A young boy used to go from his village to school which was in a nearby

town. He had to cross a forest en route to the town. Generally he used to

return home well before sunset. One day; it so happened that he had to leave

the school late in the evening and darkness set in. The boy was afraid to

walk through the forest in darkness and told his mother that he was afraid to

walk in the night without company. His mother said: "Why are you afraid?

Whenever you are in need of company, shout aloud calling your brother. He will

help you." The boy asked her: "Who is my brother?" The mother replied: "He

is none other than Lord Krishna. God is mother, father, teacher, brother,

relative, friend and all. Whenever you are in trouble don't hesitate to call on

him for help." The boy had full faith in his mother's words. In these days,

even if God himself tells, nobody believes. That is why Jesus declared: "If I

were to be a child everyday for a while, with full faith in my mother, how

happy I would be!" Another day the boy was returning home from school late

at night in the darkness. He shouted: "Anna Krishna" (Brother Krishna). After a

few moments Krishna appeared before the boy in the form of a lad. "Why do you

fear? I shall escort you home." He accompanied the boy to the village outskirts

and disappeared. The boy told his mother how the brother helped him true to her

words. The mother said: “He helps not only you, but everyone who seeks his

help."

When you have full faith, God will surely help you and make you fearless.

People who have faith in God will never be let down. You need not search for

God. It is God who is searching for a real devotee.

"Who am I?" everybody asks. This chance of a lifetime of mental and physical

activity is a letter encased in an envelope, which you have to drop into the red

box, called Nature (the Universe, Creation); but, you have to write thereon two

lines who you are - your real address. And, more than this, where it has to

go, which destiny this life has to attain, the address to which the envelope is

to be delivered.

Also two fundamental questions arise: From? To? And, for both, you have not

discovered the answer.

Science-minded people would answer the question, 'Who am I?' by saying "I am

a body which contains about: 10 gallons of water, I gallon of lime, carbon

enough to make 9,000 pencils, phosphorus enough to make 11,000 matches and as

much iron as there is in a nail two inches long." All this stuff would seem to

cost only about a hundred rupees, but actually even if you spend ten million

rupees, you cannot make a human body. For, the human body has arisen out of

Divine Will, it is alive on account of Divine Power and it is able to act as a

result of Divine Grace. We imagine that the eye sees and the tongue eats but,

in truth, the eye does not see, nor does the tongue eat. It is the Divine Will

within us that operates every one of the senses.

 

1 + 1 + 1 + 1 is equal to 4. But I + I + I + I is equal to only 'I' for, the

'I' is, the same in everyone. To recognise this is to truly know one's real

identity, the One, the Atma. The Atma is bliss, beauty and wisdom, but we allow

It to be tarnished by the ego. (The ultimate fate of the seemingly high and

mighty demons like Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, Ravana, and Kumbhakarana is

widely known. These people had undergone severe ascetic discipline and thus

earned many skills and powers, but they were ruined by the ego).

There is another example from today. At a particular place, when Swami was

about to give discourse, one person switched off the fan. Swami asked him, “Why

did you switch off the fan? We need it now. It is very hot here.” That person

replied saying it was he who donated the fan, and his name was written on the

blades of the fan; unless it was switched off his name would not be visible.

Engage in humble service and egotism will fade away.

 

Seva is a better form of sadhana (spiritual effort) than even dhyana

(meditation); how can God appreciate the dhyana you do, when adjacent to you,

you have some one in agony, whom you do not treat kindly, for whom you do not

make all efforts to help? We are born into this world for carrying on seva.

With a genuine keenness or readiness to serve others, you can be happy in

any group or community. Derive bliss through seva that is not done with any

desire to get something in return. The very eagerness to serve others will

endow you with the power and skill necessary for the required service. However,

social service should not become show-cial work(!) carried out for publicity or

with the camera in view. Nor should it become slow-cial(!) work. Why go slow,

when you are doing good to the deserving? If you cannot do any good, at least

desist from doing harm; or from finding fault with those who serve you.

To the extent possible, serve society. Of course, you need to take up jobs

and earn your livelihood. But do not be avaricious. Be satisfied with what you

get. King Alexander conquered many kingdoms and seized a lot of wealth. When

his end approached, he realised that he could not take even a single penny with

him. He requested his minister to keep his two hands raised above the head

during the final journey so that thepeople would understand that even the

mighty emperor Alexander had to leave the world empty-handed.

Even a millionaire has to partake of only food; he cannot eat gold. So, be

satisfied with the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter.

 

Teaching is primarily an act of seva along with which you have to practise a

little renunciation. Let us be heroes full of the spirit of service and

sacrifice who are aware of Great Oneness of the Divine Atma. Without a seed in

the past there can be no plant in the future. Do not feel that there is no seed

of devotion or dedication in you.

There was a famous ancient sculptor in Italy Michaelangelo. A friend of his

found him one day chiselling a big piece of rock. The friend told him: "Why are

you working so hard with this rock? Why don't you go home and take some rest.?"

Michaelangelo replied: "I am trying to release the Divine that is in the rock. I

wish to bring out of this lifeless stone the living Divinity that is embedded in

it." If that sculptor could create out of an inanimate piece of stone a living

Image of God, cannot human beings vibrant with life manifest the living

Divinity that resides in them?

What is vidya? It is derived from the root word vid, meaning, ‘to know’.

Vidya is termed as education in English. The term education has its origin in

the Latin word educare, which means to elicit. Educare has two aspects, the

worldly and the spiritual. Worldly education imparts knowledge pertaining to

the physical world. Spiritual education is essential, without which human life

has little value. Spiritual education (educare) is for life, whereas worldly

education is for a living. Educare has two aspects: one is pravritti (outward)

and the other, which comes from the heart, is nivritti (inward).

Today human is found of accumulating information by studying books. Person

likes to indulge in argument and explanation. But in the field of the spirit,

study, experiment and analysis do not take you a long way. What is required is

inner experience resulting from actual practice. Teachers should treat the

students as their own children.

(But, today, one does not find such relationship between the teacher and the

student. Both the teachers and students have become money-minded. As a result

the students do not respect the teachers and the teachers do not have love for

the students. Everyone has an equal right on education. Education should lead

to elevation, not agitation. But, today, we find agitation and passion for

money everywhere).

 

Worldly education, which relates to the head, is ephemeral. Reading,

writing, eking out a livelihood, and attaining name and fame - all these result

from worldly education. Worldly education makes human great, whereas the

spiritual education makes human good. Goodness forms the basis for spiritual

life.

Worldly education is information oriented, while spiritual education is

transformation oriented. The information oriented education makes human a

computer, whereas the transformation oriented education makes human a composer.

Who made the computer? The composer made the computer - such is the meaning of

real education.

Worldly education is negative, and spiritual education is positive. What is

the use of having a bulb without electric current? Secular knowledge is like

the bulb; spiritual knowledge, like the current. Both are essential for the

progress of human and the world at large.

Education is not for worldly progress. It is to set an ideal, experience

happiness, and share it with others. All the elders, the educationists, the

rich, and the students should come together and strive for progress in the

field of education. It is not necessary that you should become a teacher to do

so. On the secure foundational Sathsang (good spiritual company) of your

family, you can build the superstructure of Sathsang in the community, the

state, the nation and the world. When that foundation is absent, you will only

draw down ridicule when you initiate publicity for the Sathsang idea. (There

are many organisations, which preach what they do not practise; there must be

one such in every street).

The base of true education (educare) is built by five human values of

Sathya, Dharma, Santhi, Prema, and Ahimsa (Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love,

and Non-violence) can be compared to the five life principles of human, viz.,

prana, apana, vyana, udana, and saman. A true human being is one who practices

five human values.

Human should fill heart with compassion, always speak the truth and dedicate

the body for the welfare of society. The thoughts, words, and deeds should

always be sacred. The heart unpolluted by desire andanger, the tongue not

tainted by untruth, and the body unblemished by the acts of violence - these

are the true human values in practice.

Love in speech is Truth. Love in action is Righteousness. Love in thought

is Peace. Love in understanding is Non-violence. So, Love is the underlying

principle of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, and Non-violence.

(In olden days the teachers were called acharyas, meaning those who practice

what they preach. Today teachers cannot be called acharyas because they do not

practice what they preach. The modern teachers are experts in giving platform

speeches, whereas the acharyas of ancient times were proficient in

practicalscience).

Human should never lose any of the five human values. If you do not honour

Truth, you lose one of your life principles. Truth is your Atma. The culture of

Bharat teaches, Sathyam vada dharmam chara (Speak truth and follow

righteousness). These values are the same for one and all. People all over

the world are praying for peace in the world. How can this peace be attained?

It is only through the practice of Sathya and Dharma (Truth and Righteousness,

Right action). Today, most people are leading a life bereft of Sathya and

Dharma, resulting in lack of Peace (Santhi), which in turn has lead to the,

absence of Prema (Love). How can Ahimsa (Non-violence) exist in the absence

of these four values? Violence is rampant everywhere be it home, bazaar, or

factory.

If our clothes get dirty, we change them because we are ashamed to appear in

dirty garments. If our house, is dirty, we try to clean it so that visitors may

not get a bad impression. But when our minds and our hearts are polluted, we do

not feel ashamed. Is it not strange that we should be so much concerned about

the cleannessof our clothes or our homes, but are not concerned about the

purity of our hearts and minds which affect our entire life? The value of an

individual depends on their culture. The real meaning of the word culture lies

in giving up bad thoughts and bad actions and cultivating sacred thoughts and

performing noble deeds. The country is not a mere piece of land; it is an

assemblage of citizens. For the country to progress, the citizens have to

cultivate moral, ethical, and spiritual values.

Person must realize the immensity of the play of the Divine Will which

manifests Itself in such abundant variety. (But what does classical science say

of this Will? It declares that we should not believe things that we do not see.

The Divine Will is beyond our power to see, so It cannot be testified to be

real).

The sages and seers who have from time to time investigated the nature of

God from the ancient past to modern times, have discovered that there is only

one God and that He is known by various names and say forms. 'Ekam Sath, viprah

bahudha vadhanthi’, say the Vedas.

How can the One have so many names and forms? Well, don't we prepare sweets

with various names and shapes, though they all have sugar and taste sweet

because of it? To recognise this Unity as Reality of Atmic Oneness one needs

training.

 

Swami reveals thisTruth nearly in every His Discourse from different

standpoints and entwines this with pictorial examples from past untill today

through infinite angles of humans actions and processes in the nature.

 

You read this compilation by Swami's Teaching and feel all this to be true.

Certain things are happening to you, and this appears to be real and no dream.

Later you have a meal and go to bed. The castles and towers you see in dreams

melt into nothing when you open your eyes. While you dream, the thing is very

real, but when you wake up it turns out to be unreal and the waking stage seems

to be real. But both are dreams - one, a night dream and the other, a day dream.

During both dreams you are present and you experience the events. So you alone

are real; the rest is a mixture of true and false. Understand this and keep a

balance between pleasure and pain, joy and grief.

When a well is sunk, the soil that is dug out becomes a mound by its side.

Some pay attention tothe pit, others to the mound. Consider both with

indifference. The soil that was the well has now become the soil that is the

mound. This is the eternal see-saw. The Sun sets in West when the Moon rises in

the East. These dualities are part of Nature. So long as you are here, try to

practise equanimity.

Swami has no experience of either grief or anxiety because these are but

dream experiences. They are not real. Some persons may praise you, others may

blame you: both are in fact unreal. From the standpoint of wisdom, Maya is

unreal; in the vision of the enlightened saint, Maya is absent. It is a

peculiar, anirvachaniya (indescribable) phenomenon. To the jnani, who has

crossed the shores of change and difference, it is non-existent; to those

relying on reason, it is inexplicable; to the ordinary human, it is a fact.

(Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 10. "Raam and kaam," Chapter

3; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 14. "Teaching is a saadhana," Chapter 7; Sathya Sai

Speaks. Vol. 17. "Manifest your Divinity," Chapter 9; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol.

27. "The power of faith," Chapter 15; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 32, part 2.

"Human Values and Education," Chapter 1).

Namaste - Reet