A Discourse for Devotees, by Michael Goldstein. M.D. - PART IV

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A Discourse for Devotees, by Michael Goldstein. M.D. – PART IV

As Sai devotees, how do we love Swami? How should we love Swami?

Most of us have some hardness in our hearts. Some of us have enormous blocks of

granite and others, only grains of sand. We must open our hearts and soften

them.

On a superficial level, we are delighted with the beautiful form of Bhagawan

Baba, and fascinated by his divine personality. Is this not love? Yes, it is,

but it is not sufficient, On a deeper level, we feel inspired by the noble

words and actions of Bhagawan Baba, and we aspire to emulate his heroic

actions. Is this not love? Yes, it is, but it is not sufficient.

Finally we recognise Swami as the Embodiment of the most uplifted, noble and

true aspect of ourselves. We turn our minds within, and we see the divine light

of truth and love. We understand that this, our spiritual heart, is our true

identity, and it is one with the Lord. We reach the absence of egoism. The

duality of God and us no longer exists. We fuse with the Lord. We must make an

effort to love God in this way.

To love God has a dramatic effect on our lives. To love God is like diving into

the ocean of the absence of egoism. When we dive into these waters of absence

of egoism we give origin to waves which expand and embrace everything,

concentric circles of sacredness, which eventually include all creation. When

we dive into these waters of the absence of egoism, we submerge ourselves

profoundly in a purification process, which changes us forever and uplifts all

who know us. Such is the nature of unconditional love. It transforms.

Point 5 is be happy.

Happiness is contagious. When we smile, or show a happy gesture, we shine light

in the minds and hearts of our brothers and sisters. We make others happy. And

so they make us happier than ever. And so on successively. Happiness generates

joyousness. The realisation of our own divinity is perfect bliss.

Swami has a marvelous sense of humour. When He smiles and laughs, this makes our

hearts glow and one cannot help but feel very happy. One day I found myself in

the house in Kodaicanal with Swami and a group of students. Swami was talking

to them in Telugu. I could not understand what he was saying. Then he looked at

me and mentioned my name and the boys laughed. I sensed the boys were laughing

because Swami had made a joke about my excess weight. I was sitting facing

Swami and Swami looked at me and laughed with all his heart.

I watched him laugh, I watched his eyes and then I was filled with happiness and

joy. I also started to laugh, even though Swami’s happiness and laughing made me

so happy that I also laughed. Then suddenly Swami stopped laughing. He looked at

me and asked, ""Why are you laughing?" I answered, "I am laughing because Swami

is so happy that it makes me happy". Then Swami became serious and said to the

boys,

"Goldstein is happy because Swami is happy. He is laughing because Swami is

laughing. That is true devotion."

This apparently simple event which I have related is the way in which Swami

often teaches us important lessons. He created this little drama in that which

the joke was about me, but I was happy because Swami was happy and I love him

so much. In this incident Swami used me to demonstrate devotion to the

students. To be happy is very important.

Point 6 be silent within.

To be silent within is to be in peace. Peace is the absence of turbulent

emotion. To be silent within is essential to hear the interior voice of God.

Respect and preserve the interior temple of silence.

The last 3 points, points 7, 8 &; 9 are all about our actions.

Point 7 is to cleanse de mind of all unworthy thoughts.

Do not allow these to create an impression, which causes emotion or action. At

the same time, always accommodate noble thoughts and allow that these cause

uplifted actions.

Swami teaches us that we should consider bad thoughts as devils, which enter

into our minds to sidetrack us from our spiritual path. We should not let them

enter. Bad thoughts generate emotions and actions, which then cause bad

tendencies and bad habits.

Our conscience must sift thoughts and determine if a thought a worthy of entry

into our mind. This results in a good character and spiritual progress.

In one of my visits to Prashanthi many years ago, I played a little game with my

thoughts, whist I was sitting in the Mandir. Every time an unworthy or

distracting thought entered my mind, I shook my head lightly and threw out the

unwanted thought. At first I shook my head so often that I feared the brothers

sitting near me would think that I had developed a neurological affliction.

While I practiced this exercise, I discovered that unwanted thoughts came less

frequently. Since then I have learned that physical gestures are not necessary

to control the mind.

Point 8 is to follow one’s own conscience. To act without delay and with

complete confidence based on the dictates of the conscience.

One day another devotee and I were sitting at Swami’s feet. Swami started to

talk to me. He told me that this man was a good devotee. Swami said that each

time this man had to make a decision he looked within and looked for an answer

within his own conscience. The man never doubted the answer which came. Swami

said that this man asked, ‘Is this correct or incorrect, is it good or bad,

what would Swami do?’ And then the man acted according to the answer he heard

in his own conscience. Swami said that the answer did not always come at once.

But the man persisted in his enquiry until he received an answer. Swami put

great emphasis on the importance of this process in spirituality and said that

this man was a good devotee because he had faith and always followed this

process.

We must recognise that our conscience represents God within us. The commanding

morals which come from our conscience must be respected.

Finally, point 9 is to focus oneself in Swami, to focus oneself in the Lord, His

divine name, form, love, teachings and actions.

The constant focus on the spiritual is essential to be able to reach our

spiritual purpose. We can focus ourselves in one of His names and forms, we can

focus ourselves in the great spiritual principles, in those on which all

religions are based. We can focus ourselves on the generosity and sacredness

which we see around us. They are all expressions of the loving universal

consciousness which is God.

The spiritual movement is that movement which has the purpose of taking us to

the realisation of our inherent divinity. To move in the correct direction it

is important that we consider our own perspective, attitude and actions. I have

given you a formula which consists of 9 simple points.

Our perspective should also include living in the present and not to be worried

about the past nor the future, the reactions of people nor the events of the

world. Our attitude should be loving, happy and silent within. Our actions

should include discarding unworthy thoughts, following our conscience and

focusing on Swami.

I advise you from my heart to draw up your own spiritual plan to reach your

spiritual purpose. Your own plan will be adequate for who you are and where you

are in your spiritual understanding.

Swami has given us another spiritual tool. He has put his name to a spiritual

movement, the Sathya Sai Baba Organisation, so that we, His children, can learn

to love one another and bring unconditional love and service to the world.

Humanity has no life without universal consciousness. Swami teaches us that

universal consciousness is the omnipresent divinity, it is divine love. This

universal consciousness resides in the heart of each man and woman and provides

life to the mind and body. Universal consciousness is realised and appreciated

by each one of us by way of our conscience.

The Sai Organisation, or any spiritual Organisation, has no life without the

conscience of each man and woman in that Organisation. It is not spiritual, it

is not of God, nor from God, if it is not immersed in, and if it is not

saturated by, the universal consciousness, or unconditional love. This can only

happen if the Organisation is guided by the conscience of each man and woman

acting together in the spirit of unconditional love. It is for this reason that

Swami has given His name to the Organisation.

Swami repeatedly says that He is a source, not a force. He is a spiritual

source. The Sai Organisation should also de a source, not a force. It should be

a source of light and love. In everything we do, people should feel an

unconditional love and obtain spiritual benefit, they should feel uplifted.

That is the nature of a genuine spiritual movement.

As members and co-ordinators of the Sathya Sai Baba Organisation we should

consider ourselves servants of the people whom Swami has already called and of

those he will call in the future. We should have a solid faith in the divinity

of our Lord, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and believe that he will motivate

and touch the hearts of everybody that they may commence the spiritual path.

The spiritual path of a particular individual can include, or not, the name and

the form of our beloved Bhagawan Baba. That is between the Lord and every

individual heart. But all the names and forms of God are one. The eternal

spiritual principles are one for all the religions and everybody.

We in the Organisation should consider ourselves spiritual doorkeepers. What are

the duties of a spiritual doorkeeper? We greet with love those who come to the

door. We open the door and thus we provide access to Swami’s teachings and

programs. And what is more important, we provide access to Swami’s love if the

Organisation is functioning correctly. Finally, as spiritual doorkeepers, we

protect the establishment. We protect the sacred name of Bhagawan Sri Sathya

Sai Baba. We do this assuring that everything that happens within the Sai

Organisation, under the name of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, is worthy of His

Divinity.

We should remember that He is the omnipresent witness and we should trust that

all we do and everything that others do as part of the Organisation will obtain

His approval.

My beloved brothers and sisters,

In conclusion, we are all apparently different. Different in names forms

experiences, nationalities, races and religions. These differences are the

clothing that our spirits wear to act and interact in this world, to be able to

play the role in the divine drama of the creation.

Although, having said our lines, having sung our songs, having danced our dance,

we take off our makeup and our fancy dress. We return to our solitary beings.

And here we discover that we are all part of the one, of the loving universal

consciousness, which is God! Our beloved Bhagawan Baba is the incarnation of

this divine universal consciousness. He is constantly reminding us that we are

all divine consciousness. We are all divine love.

Today we have reflected upon the nature of God and man, upon our spiritual

purpose and our plan, and time, time, time.

Now is the time for you and for me, and for everyone everywhere, to advance

towards the realisation of our innate divinity!

Jai Sai Ram

(The original Spanish text with this English translation is available for

members of SaiDISC via

SaiDISCCONFERENCE%20DELIVERED%20TO%20DEVOTEES%20v2.01a.htm

)