PEARLS OF SWAMI’S MESSAGES

[Guest guest]

Om Sri Sai Ram

PEARLS OF SWAMI’S MESSAGES

“The desire to know God, to love God and he loved by God is not a desire that

binds. When awareness of God dawns in all its splendour, every worldly sensual

desire is reduced to ashes in the flames of that awareness.”

Love is God. Where   love is, there God certainly is. Love more and more people,

Love them more and more intensely, transform the love into service, and

transform the service into worship that is the highest discipline in

spirituality.

“ God is the source of all love; love God and love the world as vesture of God;

no more, mo less. Through love you can emerge from the ocean of sorrow. Love

for God loosens worldly bonds, saves man from the torment of Birth and Death”.

“As the air we breathe is of God’s creation and available to all, so the

awareness of God and His power and mercy has to all. True seekers on the

spiritual path must hold on to this message. Then the conflict between

disparate faiths and credos disappears by itself, and peace and love will be

restored on earth.”

“Diversities in attitude and practices are natural and ought to be welcomed.

There is no place for one overall faith. Rivalry among those following

different faiths cannot bring peace nor prosperity to any country.”

“Whatever scriptures one may study, whatever sadhanas one may practice

or pilgrimages one succeeds in getting rid of the impurities in the heart, life

will remain worthless and meaningless. Purification of the heart is the essence

of all teachings and the basis goal of life. ”

“For accomplishing any objectives two things are needed, individual effort and

Divine Grace. The two are like the negative and positive poles of a magnet. If

there is only Divine Grace, but not proper effort on the part of the

individual, the object cannot be achieved. Divine Grace is always there. We

need not go far to seek it. The efforts made to secure it are called Sadhana.”

ON PURPOSE OF LIFE

As a boy he spends his time playing with his friends;As a youth he after the

fair sex;Even in the old age he does not think of GodBut keeps lamenting and

feeling sorryFor not having this and that.He is not able to give up his bad

habits,Is not interested in devotion.He ruins himself and wastes his life.

The human beings are highly intelligent. But man does not know where to direct

his intelligence. He does not put it to proper use even when he knows what is

right. If he is questioned as to who is responsible for this state of affairs

he is not prepared to accept personal responsibility. 

You must first have a clear understanding of the nature of the goal- God or

Goodness or the Universal Absolute, whatever the name – its grandeur, its

beneficence, its magnificence. Then, that understanding itself will prompt and

urge you towards it. The Universal of which you are a unit is pure, true

egoless unlimited and everlasting. Contemplate on it and eternality will

manifest itself, more and more every day.

You may have accumulated riches, acquired deep scholarship and achieved health

and strength. But, unless you have gained in addition, a vision of the Supreme

Sovereign, and an aspiration to be ever in the ecstasy of that vision, all that

has been garnered by you is mere lumber. India has a great epic, the

Mahabharatha, which describes a war between the Kauravas and Pandavas. The

Kauravas had superior financial and military resources. They approached

Krishna, the Incarnation of the Lord, for help; they were content to receive

from Him a large army and huge quantity of hardware. The Pandavas sought from

Him only His grace. The Lord agreed. He came over to their side, alone and

unarmed. He held just a whip and drove the horses of Arjuna’s chariot! That was

all, but that was all that was needed for victory. The Kauravas were defeated to

the

uttermost; the Pandavas won the empire and eternal fame.

ON MIND

A single wife is enough to give much agitation and turbulence to the home. With

two wives the problems are intensified beyond estimation. A person with two

wives is put to great hardships. What would be the situation of a fellow with

ten wives? Imagine! Well

ON HUMAN BODY

The human body has been given to you for a grand purpose - realising the Lord

within. If you have a fully equipped car in good condition, would you keep in

the garage? The car is primarily meant for going on a journey   get into it and

go. Than only is it worthwhile to own it. So too, with the body. Proceed, go

forward to the goal. Learn how to use the faculties of the body, the senses,

the intellect, and the mind, for achieving the goal and march on. This human

body is given to man to undertake good activity (sarera madyam kalu dharma

sadhakam). Of all the living beings the human life is the rarest. Do not

consider yourself unworthy and low. The human life is to be surrendered to

Narayana, God. Human life is gifted to us only for that purpose. Humanity

should attain Divinity. Human life has evolved out of animal life, but its

destiny is to attain God. Unfortunately man is turning back towards the level of

animals. He is in a 'reverse gear'. 'You should not use this reverse gear'.

Apply the 'forwards gear' and march ahead- go forwards. You should not stop in

your march forwards at any point- not until you reach your goal. Your

destination. There is only one stop. That is the way to travel through this

life. You are on a pilgrimage (karma Kshetra- yaatrika) in the field of action.

You should reach your goal and fulfill your obligations- this is the true

purpose of life.

ON YOUTH

Youth is like a sweet fruit. The fruit of your heart (hrudaya phala), and the

fruit of your mind (mano phala) must be offered to God. It is difficult to

think of God in your old age when you have lost control over the senses. Start

early, drive slowly, and reach safely. You should start praying to God right

from this tender age. If you do not start praying now when your body is strong,

when you are mentally alert and when your capacity for spirituality is at its

peak when is a better time?

Right at this time when you are physically strong, your senses are under

control; when your mind is full of faith offer the flower of your heart

(hrudaya pushpam) to the Lord. This is the proper offering to the God. But you

do not make such an offering! You indulge your senses, you spend all your time

enjoying with all the senses. The balance of life that is left over which you

no longer is offered to God. You offer to Krishna the flower petals that have

blown away by the wind! When all the senses have lost their strength, their

capacity and their ability what is it that is being offered to God? You have to

serve God when you are at a peak - physically strong, when the senses are strong

(indriya shakti), the mind is stable (mano shakti), the discrimination is clear

(Buddhi shakti) and you are full with wisdom (Jnana shakti). If you do

not surrender to God, at this right time when will you?

START PRACTICING DHARMA WHEN: -

The senses are strong: Indriya Shakti

The mind is stable: Mano Shakti

The intellect is clear: Buddhi Shakti

The heart is full of wisdom: Jnana Shakti

START NOW!

ON SENSES CONTROL      

Consider also the true nature of what is now named Bhoga or luxury, a thing that

drags people away into excitement and insane pursuits. All the variety in taste,

colour and smell of the multiform items of food is, when you consider it fairly

and squarely, a mere drug to cure the illness of hunger; all the drinks that

man has invented are but drugs to alleviate illness of thirst. Man suffers from

the fever of the senses and he tries the quack remedies of recreations,

pleasures, picnic, banquets, dances etc., only to find that the fever does not

subside.

The first step in spiritual training is to curb the lccha Shakti, which prompts

the senses to pursue the objects. If the lccha is for God, it is good; if for

objective pleasure, it harms the individual. If a house is set on fire, it is

incendiarism; if Hanuman sets fire to Lanka, it is justifiable retribution and

a good lesson. If a dacoit cuts off your hand it is Himsa (violence); if the

doctor amputates it, he saves your life and so it is Ahimsa (non-violence)

You don’t eat paddy, do you? You have the sense to remove the husk and then,

boil the rice, before you eat. So also, why do you take in, nature as it is?

Remove the allurement it has, to the senses, make it just an expression of the

Divine Will and then assimilate it.

The fundamental factor in spiritual life is suppression of desire: the surrender

of the individual will to the Divine Will will elevate all thoughts, words and

deeds into acts of worship. When Ravana fell dead, his queen Mandodari lamented

over his body; “You conquered every enemy of yours, except your own lust! You

were pious, you were learned, you subdued even the most powerful foes-but you

allowed yourself to be enslaved by desire. That brought about your downfall.”

 The magnifying glass draws the rays of the sum on a single point and can set

fire to paper or grass. So too, concentration of attention can destroy the

seeds of wanton desire. That is why, I advise a few minutes of Dhyana every

day, both in the early

morning hours and in the evening, after dusk.

ON DHARMA OF THE TONGUE

If you slip and fall you can rise again, but words once uttered cannot be taken

back.Do not expect determination to undertake any task, from the one who does

not keep his words.

In our talk our words should be appropriate to the circumstances and the time.

We should talk with humility and an attitude of obedience and our speech should

be palatable and not cause any agitation. The truth should be spoken without any

reference to our likes and dislikes. We should have full faith and rely upon our

conscience and then speak. When we speak in the manner we will be respected in

our society. We should be very careful in our speech to preserve the prestige,

the esteem and the dignity of the nation, the individual and the society.

Therefore we should consider our words as if our very life depended upon them.

“Sathyam Bruyath Priyam bruyath.” The Vedas say, speak the truth in a sweet and

palatable way. “ Sathyam vada, Dharmam Chara”, speak the truth and follow the

Dharma. “ Na bruyath Sathyam apriyam”, never tell an unpalatable

truth. 

Follow the path of Truth and never utter an untruth. In a case where you may

encounter difficulties and problems by telling the truth, do not utter a lie.

If truth will put you to danger then do not utter the truth, but do not utter a

lie either.

DHARMA OF THE TONGUE

Do not tell lies – Always speak the truth 

Do Naamasmarana, Bhajan and Glory of God

Do not hurt with the tongue – Always speak obligingly

Do not gossip - Do not indulge in backbiting

Do not overeat - Eat Prasadam only - Eat Satwic food

ON DHARMA OF EAR

Inner silence - God is sound in silence

External silence

Sabda Brahmamayi - OMKARA

Attentive listening                                          

Patience and sympathy                                   

ON DHARMA OF EYES

Everything is a reflection of the inner being. At one time Krishna summoned

Dharmaja and charged him to find out if there was a wicked person in the

kingdom. Similarly, he also called Duryodhana and charged him to seek out a

good man in the kingdom. Dharmaja and Duryodhana went in different directions.

Dharmaja came back and said, “ Krishna there is not a single wicked person in

the entire kingdom- all the people are virtuous”. Krishna sent Dharmaja away.

After sometime Duryodhana came. He said, “ Krishna, our kingdom is full of bad

people- I have not come across a single pious or good man”. Then Krishna said “

Yad bhaavam tad bhavathi”. As Duryodhana was full of wicked feeling he saw

everyone as bad. As is the colour of the glasses so is the vision. The vision

of a bad person is bad. Duryodhana was bad, wicked and cruel. Dharmaja was a

Sadhu, pious, truthful, and full of good practice. He was the very

embodiment of dharma. Thus he saw good in people and met only good people. The

vision and the experience of Dharmaja and Duryodhana are based on their own

inner thoughts.

A young man should know how to conduct himself; how to achieve a good

reputation; what sort of vision he should have, how and to what he should

listen and what words he should use. All the three the vision, the ears and the

words should be kept under control. Just because we have eyes does not mean that

we should look indiscriminately at everything. This way you make your eyes

unsacred through sinful acts. What do you really obtain from sinful looks? You

look at a woman in a sinful way just for your mean satisfaction. But when you

do this you lose the very authority to look. You should look at what you are

supposed to. Why? Bhagawan considers it His duty to tell you what is happening

in the world today. In the world today if, an elder brother of 25 years is

traveling with his sister of 20 years, the society thinks they are lovers

because of there are and because they are going out with the ancient

tradition of Bharat even brother and sister should not ever go together to the

cinema, the beach or for shopping. Their father or mother should accompany

them. This was the command in the ancient times. Though the brother and sister

have good feelings within, the world thinks bad of them. We should never give

any scope for actions, which will give us a bad name. The sister must go with

the mother. A mother or a sister must never go alone. The prestige of the

family and respect is important.

The modern youth have looks, you can say, like that of the crow, which looks

with each of its eye in isolation on the two sides. Why? The crow has a long

beak. One eye does not see what the other eye sees. This is natural for the

crow. But you do not have the nose of the crow. So you have to have straight

looks, an integrated vision, a good vision. Good looks beget a good name. Your

tongue should know how and when you should speak. The students should know when

to smile and when not to smile. At times they just look and smile, but even a

smile at an inappropriate occasion can put you into much trouble. 

Dharma of the Eyes

Do not see bad in others; It will get into you!See good, then feelings of

goodness get into you.Avoid trashy materials in books, magazines and on the

T.V.

INTEGRAL VISION is to see the total picture, not to see like a crow who sees

with each eye in isolation.

ON FOOD FOR THE MIND 

All that you take in is ahaara, or food. Bhajana is food to the mind (Bhajana

manasukahaaram). You decorate and paint a chariot. This mind, which we do not

see with the physical eyes, is like the chariot. What is the use of merely

decorating the chariot if the horse is not fed properly. Such a chariot is fit

for a museum only. First of all you have to see to it that the horse is strong

enough. The mind has to be strengthened with mano Shakti. How do you obtain

mano Shakti? Through good thoughts, good feelings good emotions and good

sentiments.

Dharma of the Eyes

Do not see bad in others; It will get into you!See good, then feelings of

goodness get into you.Avoid trashy materials in books, magazines and on the

T.V.

INTEGRAL VISION is to see the total picture, not to see like a crow who sees

with each eye in isolation.

ON FOOD FOR THE MIND 

All that you take in is ahaara, or food. Bhajana is food to the mind (Bhajana

manasukahaaram). You decorate and paint a chariot. This mind, which we do not

see with the physical eyes, is like the chariot. What is the use of merely

decorating the chariot if the horse is not fed properly. Such a chariot is fit

for a museum only. First of all you have to see to it that the horse is strong

enough. The mind has to be strengthened with mano Shakti. How do you obtain

mano Shakti? Through good thoughts, good feelings good emotions and good

sentiments.

ON REAL ORNAMENTS

Hathasya bhushnam dhanam – Charity is the ornament of the hand

Kantham sathyasya bhushanam  - Truth is the ornament of the neck. 

Srothram Dharmasya bhushnam - Listening to the words of Dharma is the ornament of the ear. 

Bhushanai Kim Prajanam?  - What is the use of any other decorations?

What other decorations do you need? We should consider that virtues are our

ornaments. Peace is the ornament of the noble souls, speech is the decoration

of the mankind, bliss is the jewel gifted by God.

ON FOOD

The prayer:

“Brahmaarpanam Brahmahavir Brahmaagnu Brahmanahutam Brahmeva Tena Gantavayam

Brahma Karma Samadhinaha”

is recited at the time of offering. When food is offered thus to Brahman it

becomes sacrificial food, or Prasadam. Before the offering it was merely

delicious food, but after the offering it becomes Prasadam. It becomes sacred.

It has no impurity or defect any more when it is Prasadam that is eaten.

You should eat to the extent that the stomach can accommodate the food

comfortably. If you eat to excess, it leads to indigestion. Sometimes we don’t

observe discipline and we don’t follow the command of the stomach. When you

pray before eating with the prayer “Brahmarpnam…” you always get the Divine

reply from inside “Aham vysyanaro”. That means you should eat to the extent

needed. But because the food is tasty, you may eat more than you need.

Vysyanaro will caution you, “Don’t eat anymore! If you load yourself with too

much food, you will get breathless and sick.  Sickness leads to other diseases.

When the stomach is upset, it will give rise to other complaints. Therefore a

part of your stomach should be kept empty. When this is followed, your eating

is under discipline. Every day you should observe this discipline. All that you

do

from morning till evening – sitting, standing, walking, everything should be

under discipline. Then your life will be a disciplined life and this is the

yoga of Karma, which will give you all the skills you need in life.

ON DISCIPLINE

Birds and animals, without any trace of knowledge or education follow their

discipline wholeheartedly whereas man with all his intelligence does not follow

the minimum discipline observed by these birds and animals.

For proper discipline, there are certain requirements. You should keep your body

pure and clean. To keep the body pure, you should undertake good actions. Only

through good activity is the body purified. You can purify your mind through

good thoughts. Once you purify these two, the intellect becomes pure all

through. These are the benefits of discipline.

ON DESTINY

Sow the seeds of thoughts, Reap the Fruit of actionsSow the seeds of action,

Reap the fruit of attachment and habitsSow the seeds of attachment and habits,

Reap the fruit of characterSow the seeds of character, Reap the fruit of

destiny

Good thoughts lead to good destiny

Bad thoughts lead to bad destiny.

 

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