SWAMI’S DISCOURSES AT SAI SRUTI KODAIKANAL - APRIL 1996 [Part -3]

[Guest guest]

Om Sri Sai Ram

SWAMI’S DISCOURSES AT SAI SRUTI KODAIKANAL DURING APRIL 1996 [Part -3]

7. KEEP SACRED THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS TO REALIZE THE ATMA [April 12, 1996]

Embodiments of Divine Love,

In this world conditioned by the three attributes (Sattva-balance, equanimity;

rajas-passion, propensity to be active and Tamas-dullness, inertia) where there

is a combination of pain and pleasure, man is unable to recognize his innate

Divinity. The whole world is full of attachment; man will be happy the day he

renounces attachment to evanescent forms. This attachment which is due to ego,

leads one to disrepute and pain. As long as one is egoistic, one does not

receive true Love from anyone. The day one becomes detached; he will receive

Love from everyone. Therefore, start gradually to reduce worldly attachments.

As long as he has anger man will have no peace and happiness; to have spiritual

progress, happiness and peace, he must control his anger and reduce his

desires. The man with anger will achieve nothing; he will commit mistakes and

sins causing people to shun him. Life is a long journey and desires are the

luggage. Less luggage makes travel a pleasure, so in the journey of life one

must reduce the luggage; so discriminate in this life what is necessary and

what is not.

During his life, man experiences many changes; life is an ocean consisting of

waves of both pleasure and pain. One is happy when one's desires are fulfilled

and unhappy when they are not. The spiritual heart rather than the external

world should be the source of man's happiness. It is not possible in life to

separate and keep the pleasures only and remove all of the hardships. Without

knowing pain and displeasure, one cannot appreciate any happiness or pleasure;

pleasure and pain are like the two cotyledons of a bean seed, or two sides of

one coin; pleasure is an interval between two pains. One must keep the spirit

of equanimity in both pleasure and pain, profit and loss. Difficulties and

hardships are necessary because they lead to thoughts and ideas or teach

lessons to enhance spiritual transformation and happiness. One

must face the resistances inherent in life and march ahead to Divinity; for this

we need God's grace. Today, though man is working hard and wants to deserve

grace and happiness, he is undeserving. Why is man far from fulfilling his

needs for permanent Joy, Peace and Bliss? It is because he has no control over

what he listens to and what he speaks.

When one loses control over his actions and vision, he is away from God's grace.

See no evil, see what is good. Hear no evil, hear what is good. Speak no evil,

speak what is good. Man today is looking at the world with a perverted, impure

vision. All are seeing only other's faults, not their own. What kind of person

are you if you seek another's faults? Rectify your own faults. As is the

thought, so is the feeling; as is the feeling, so is the experience. If your

feelings are good, your actions will be good and if your vision is sacred, the

world will appear sacred. Once the gum Dronacharya asked Dharmaraja (the

Pandava King) how matters in the Kingdom were progressing.

Dharmaraja replied that all persons were good, with sacred ideals, and he

extolled their manner of living. The subjects, who were pure and selfless,

loved their king as they loved their own parents. Next Duryodhana was asked how

his Kingdom was progressing. He replied that he had not seen even one good man.

He informed the gum that all were evil. Dharmaraja's vision was sacred so

everything appeared sacred to him; Duryodhana's vision was mean so everything

appeared evil. Good and bad are not intrinsic to the world, but are only found

in one's thoughts and counter-thoughts. If one has sacred vision, then

everything appears to be good. This entire creation was and is being created by

God; God is the cause and creation is the effect. The whole universe consists of

the relationship between the cause and the effect, is pure and

pious, and should be extolled as Divine.

Narada extolled it as, "pure, attributeless, eternal, and unsullied." From the

ocean, numerous different forms of waves rise; all have come from one ocean. A

wave consists of some water and foam having the same content as the ocean.

Likewise, symbolically, every individual is like a wave on the ocean of sat

chit ananda', therefore in all beings there exists sat chit ananda.

Though ornaments are many, gold is one,Though pots are many, clay is one,Though

cows are many, milk is one.

The entire creation of multiplicity of forms consists of God alone. Nature is

kriti meaning an act of God. Nature is made of five elements (earth, air, fire,

water, ether) which are equally distributed in all. God is in all beings -

"Easwara Sarva Buthanam." When an individual practices oneness, there will be

no anger. Sugar is one but sweet meats are of different types, shapes and

forms. When once you recognise the Divinity (sugar) in all, you will be able to

recognise the oneness of the Atma. It is only due to seeing the diversity of

names, forms and attributes that we believe diversity to be reality when it is

not. One should not criticize. Those who point out other's mistakes do not know

their own. By first seeing and then removing our own mistakes the Divinity

within us will shine.

The love between mother and child is attachment, the love between husband and

wife is affection, love between friends is friendship, love between God and

devotees is devotion. Though the Love is one only, as it is used differently,

it has different names. What must one do to develop this Love? Penance and

meditation are done only for mental satisfaction. All spiritual activities are

undertaken with the mind only whereas true Love is beyond the mind. Divine Love

is the only One which permeates the entire world. There may be crores (100,000)

and crores of names and forms, but the Self in all is One. When many zeros are

added to the number one, it goes from 10 to 100 to 1000 to 10,000. Where did

the zeros get their value? Only from the '1'.

Remove the 1 (God) and all (men) are zeros,Only the 1 (God) is the Hero.The

world (name and form) is the zero.

1+1+1+1+1 = 1 = Yoga (all of the individual sparks comprise the one Paramatma or

Super soul.)

This oneness is termed 'yoga'; combining or bringing together is yoga. The unity

of the individual and Divinity is to be taken as yoga. Physical exercise is of

no value to achieve yoga.

The complete control over the mind can be called yoga. To go within oneself to

know the nature of one's mind, one must reduce his desires. The day we have

less desires, we will attain happiness. Unlimited desires lead to diseases. For

example the normal body temperature is 98.4°F, but if it reaches 99°F, that

would be fever. Normal blood pressure is 120/80; a disease may cause the blood

pressure to reach 90. One should understand that life is a limited company; in

order to remain safe and secure everything one does should be under limits.

Once the limits are crossed, one can become mad; therefore, make every effort

to control the senses.

Once a poet prayed, extolling the tongue, "Oh Divine tongue who would not utter

a lie, how can I express your sacredness?" How are we making use of this

tongue? We should not harm anyone with our words. We should speak softly and

not blame anyone. The tongue is capable of committing four sins (1) falsehood,

(2) excessive talk (3) accusing others (4) imaginings. The other organs like

the eyes and nose have only one function each, the eyes to see and the nose to

smell, but the tongue tastes and talks, and must be controlled. Observe

silence, and then you would be able to conserve more energy, improve memory,

and attain more Divine power.

Also, if you speak more and more you may commit more mistakes. Thus, you must

learn to make proper use of the tongue. Through limited talk you will realize

supreme inner happiness. Your tongue should not harm anyone; Swami always says

to "Help ever, hurt never." This is the proper Sadhana. But today as the eyes

are always watching bad rather than good things, one is losing his

discrimination. See no evil, see only what is good.

For example, Kechaka (a character in the Mahabharata Epic) had evil vision, and

ultimately lost his life. No one would ever have the name Kechaka, because of

his bad reputation. The Ramayana teaches this lesson of the importance of good

character. Manthara, the servant-maid of Kaikeyi, poisoned the mind of Kaikeyi

on the eve of Rama's coronation. Manthara's bad feelings and words fouled the

sacred heart of Kaikeyi with the result that she ultimately lost her husband

and Manthara soiled her reputation. No one today will keep the name Manthara,

because the world dislikes her. So, never listen to bad things and spoil your

purity and good character.

Duryodhana also had an evil mind, and so his entire clan was ruined. In the

whole of India, no one would have the name Duryodhana. Though there exist today

many men of Duryodhana's nature, no one would carry that name. There are many

good ideals depicted in the stories and epics of Bharat. Ravana, the demon

king, was an expert in sixteen forms of knowledge, but practiced no human

values. What was the use of all this education? Having learnt everything

external, a foolish man does not know his own nature. Although he may have a

high position, a mean man does not trans form

himself. Man studies endlessly until death but all his knowledge only helps him

to argue more cleverly. We should only study that which teaches us how to

become immortal. So, Ravana who never gave up all bad deeds and thoughts caused

the ruin of the entire clan. Among all the people in Bharat no one will keep the

name, 'Ravana'.

Liberation is an extremely subtle state of being; devotion is the easiest way to

reach this state. Liberation is very close and intimate; God is one's nearest

and dearest friend. We call people our 'friends' according to their positions

and status. Today’s friends maybe tomorrow are enemies, but God is always with

us and in us. One should develop devotion with that indwelling God. What is the

reason for man's restlessness today? It is his loss of self-confidence which

leads to misery. We should have self-confidence, self-satisfaction,

self-sacrifice and reach self-realisation. The first, self-confidence, is like

the foundation of a house. The walls are self-satisfaction, the roof is

self-sacrifice, and life is self-realisation. We must always enquire, "Who am

I?" We say my body, my mind, and my senses, but who am I? I am

not the body, the mind, or the senses; these are only my instruments. I am the

Master. If you take the body, mind and senses along the wrong path, it is your

mistake. To avoid error, follow the witness in the body, the 'conscience'. The

senses are 'conscious'; conscience comes from consciousness; consciousness

comes from Brahman who is all-pervasive. The entire creation has come from

Brahman', there is no place without Him.

God (Brahman) cannot be known objectively. In order to know the Divine, one must

experience Him beyond the mind and intellect. One cannot see air. So too, God is

also everywhere, but one must experience Him to know Him. The way to experience

God is only through Sadhana, (spiritual practices). For example, when we put

sugar into a glass of water initially it remains at the bottom. Unless one

stirs it with a spoon, it does not readily dissolve. After stirring, when you

taste it, you see that it is now a syrup. Similarly, the body can be compared

to the tumbler with sugar the Divinity. There is no taste in your life at

present because you are drinking the water of worldly desires. Take the sugar

of Sadhana to enable you to taste the syrup of Divinity. One should use the

Buddhi (subtle intellect) in order to experience one's

Divinity. Then one would be able to experience the Mahavakya, Tat twam asi which

means "That thou Art," (You are God), as well as to experience, "Poornamadah,

Poornamidam, Poornath Poorna Mudhacyathe" - "That is full. This is full."

"Ayam Atma Brahma," a Mahavakya, means this Atma is Brahman. What is Prajnanam

Brahmaf It is not derived through study; it is "Constant Integrated Awareness";

total awareness is God. For example, I tell you that this is a cloth (Swami

holds up a folded handkerchief); this is not awareness (prajnanam). But once

you open it up, it is total awareness; total awareness is not a segment. Total

understanding is the nature of Brahman that exists within everyone. Ignorance

is not our true nature, but we are covered by the ash of ignorance like a live

ember is covered by ash. The ash has its origin in the fire only, but if you

blow away the ash, you would be enabled to see the fire. The fire of Divine

awareness is always shining, but the worldly desires cover this Divinity. If

you blow away the ashes of worldly desires, prajnanam

would result.

Take for example a tree full of birds. How can one get rid of those noisy

creatures making a mess all over? One should clap his hands loudly and wake

them up. Similarly, in this tree of life, there are birds of desires that make

the heart impure. In order to cleanse it, sing Bhajans and chant the names of

Rama and Krishna.

8. DEVOTION, SACRIFICE AND SURRENDER [April 13, 1996, Tamil New Year Day]

First Baba sang:

"Om sarva bhavantu sukhinah,(Om, may all beings be happy)Sarve santhu

nirmaya,(May all beings be free of disease and ill fortune)Sarve badrani

pashyanthu,(May all beings see only that which is holy, beautiful,auspicious

and blessed)Makascid dukhabhag bhavet."(May none be unhappy; may

inauspiciousness not prevail)

Embodiments of Divine Love,

Bhagawan wishes that you all should be happy, safe, secure and enjoy longevity.

Although today man is practicing devotion to God, it is in vain as he is not

practicing ethical and moral values. Why does man not practice ethical and

moral values? The reason is the selfishness that has been in man's heart for

many lifetimes. Everyone has a selfish motive in whatever he thinks or does. We

love a person not for that person's sake, but for our own sake. We love the

material objects too only for our selfish reasons. In this material age such

peculiarities are increasing, but human values are declining. Man today is

behaving like a demon criticizing and attacking everyone. He does not care to

follow God's will. In every field one is entertaining narrow-mindedness. One

must sacrifice one's selfish individual desires in order

to attain the Divine state.

In man three transformations are necessary, that are indicated by the letters

SAI. "S" stands for spiritual change; "A" stands for associational change

(society); and "I" stands for individual change. With the changes in these

three the country too would change. Without individual transformation society

cannot change and if society doesn't change, spirituality cannot develop. When

man is defective, society too becomes defective as every individual is a part

of the society. So one must sacrifice, think of God and lead a Divine life

rather than following a narrow pathway. Today the downfall of Bharat (India) is

the result of the multiplication of individual desires. As man is wildly running

after wealth and is drowned in mundane worldly affairs, he is deluded, having

-forgotten Divinity altogether. As a result, his life is now a total waste.

Today, human beings are without human qualities. They are human in form only,

merely acting. Man has only part-time, temporary devotion, as he is not praying

whole -heartedly. Man should not forget his Divine state and that God is the

goal of his life. Man is full of anxiety and is degrading himself into an

animal instead of upgrading himself to the Divine stature, thus man is

proceeding in a reverse direction. Forgetting God and considering worldly

comforts above God, man falls into illusion. Thus one finds the man, but only

in appearance not in his behavior. He acts like a devotee, speaks like a

devotee but selfishness is the underlying factor. Therefore, there is no peace

at the individual and social levels,

the characteristic of this modern age. Although science has progressed due to

many scientific inventions, all of man's senses are out of control.

What is the use of science without self control? Scientists today have forgotten

the cause and the basis of the universe. Every person must develop devotion and

sacrifice to attain the Divine state.

In Tamil Nadu there have been many good men. Highly educated men have been in

Chola King's regime and court kings are fond of horses. Once there was a Tamil

king who loved horses so much that he sent his Prime Minister abroad to

purchase them. During his journey the minister met a holy man named Thinikannan

and was inspired by his teachings. After some time, as the Prime Minister did

not return with the horses the king discovered that the money given to buy the

horses had been invested to build a Shiva temple. The king had him arrested and

placed in prison and questioned him as to what he had done with the money. The

minister replied, “Money is the gift of God. It is out of the grace of God that

every limb in one's body moves. Not even a blade of grass can move without His

will. Out of the macrocosm has come this microcosm

(the body). Oh king! Of what use is all of one's intelligence. What is the end

result of our existence? You do not understand Oh king! That by virtue of some

good luck you have become a king. Out of misfortune, I have become only a

minister. I should offer my all to God." It is only when the knowledge of

spiritual ideals spread that the human qualities will blossom in mankind. Just

as a lotus blooms/so does our heart brighten like a lotus when we think of God.

It was with this feeling that I spent all the money to build a temple for God.

For all things in the world, man's mind is responsible. Man will only become

free, when he turns his mind more and more to God. Man must do Sadhana

(spiritual practices). We have valuable gems in Bharathiya culture. Follow

them. .If every individual becomes transformed, only then Bharat can become the

ideal for the whole world. Since then the minister began composing verses on

God. Many of his verses are available under the name "Thiru Vachagam."

His verses shine like gems. The name of the minister who wrote the verses is

Manicka Vashakar. Everyone should be like this minister.

Today man has no love for God. He loves only his wife, children, wealth and

property. Right from his birth to his death he is involved only with his

family, so he is unable to accomplish anything. If people are only after wealth

and not God, then they are only behaving like devils — a slave to money. Though

man spends all his time in amassing unlimited wealth, he dies in restlessness.

What is he going to take with him when he goes? He cannot even take a handful

of dust. He should spend at least a moment thinking of God, rather than always

thinking of his wealth and property. Since one does not think of God, he has

forgotten his human qualities. Out of the twenty- four hours in the day, spend

at least five minutes on thoughts of God. Most are not able to concentrate on

the Lotus Feet of God for even one second. How

can anyone earn Peace or Bliss without God? One is able to experience Divine

Bliss only through thinking of God. Sacred words should come from one's heart

and one should perform sacred services with his body. This is the only way to

obtain purity and give value to one's body. The harmony of the trinity

(tri-karana suddhi): thoughts, words and deeds, have to be practiced to obtain

inner purity. Chitababu, (the speaker who spoke prior to Sai Baba's discourse)

said that Seva (selfless service) and Prema (Divine Love) are the two main

things in life. When you ride a bicycle, two wheels are necessary to give

balance. Two wings are necessary for a bird to fly. Likewise, every human being

can fly from earth to heaven through the sacred tasks of Seva and Prema.

Desires are burdens which pull us down. Take the example of natural cotton. It

is light and weightless so it floats up into the air. When it is woven into

cloth it falls down due to weight. If you separate the threads, they would

float upwards due to lightness. The heart which should float up towards God

gets heavy due to worldly desires which pull him down towards self-destruction.

If the heart is not possessed with desires, it is able to fly up. Less luggage,

more comfort makes travel a pleasure. Now man desires air-conditioning in his

bedroom, dining room as well as his bathroom. There is no end to bodily

comforts. Man cries when he has to spend one rupee on incense sticks, but

wastes hundreds of rupees sitting in clubs playing cards for pleasure. Having

been born as a human (and heir to God's infinite Peace), man has

much mental agitation. In this modem age many changes have occurred. Though the

latest equipment and conveniences are available, man's mind has not changed.

Without correct mental transformation, man is not a true human being.

It is not the coming new year but one's past actions that are responsible for

all the profits and losses that man would experience and we are suffering now

due to our own bad past actions. Our good deeds bring good results. Shankara

prayed to God as "Kaalatitaya." (The one who is the cause of time and who also

transcends time). Do not waste time. Time is our life; time is our soul; time

is God. So we should not waste time. We should use the five sense organs given

by God for the purpose for which they were given. Use these organs with Divine

thoughts. Do not give up your daily tasks and business (or any profession);

offer all acts to God and then only Bharat would be able to change. In ancient

times Bharat was the spiritual leader of the whole world and Bharathiyas had

broad feelings and prayed for the welfare of the

entire world, "Loka samastha sukino bhavanta" - "Let all be happy." If one has

the feeling he is dedicating all services to God, India will set a good example

for other countries.

In the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Geetha, Krishna said if a devotee offers a leaf,

a flower, a fruit or water to God with love, God will accept u. These symbolize

the following: The leaf is one's body, the flower is one's heart, the water is

the tears of bliss when one contemplates God and the fruit is one's mind. One

should offer these to God. Since man primarily considers his body he gets

intrigued by Maya. Your body is the container that has been given in order to

serve God. You should fill it up with the water of Love, then you would be able

to broaden your heart. The name of man manava means "not new.Ma,"

means illusion, and "nava" means one who has birth and death. You have

continuously laid in your mother's womb life after life. You must understand

the purpose of life. Is it to go abroad to become educated and earn plenty of

money to provide for the dependants? Today man does not understand the nature

of sacrifice. Peace which is so valuable is within man but he is unable to

enjoy it. Each moment one's heart should bloom with Divine feelings. Every

moment is new, so one need not wait for the New Year to begin spiritual

practice. New Year's Day is not meant only for eating a heavy elaborate meal

and sweets, holding festivals and buying new clothes. Man is ancient. He should

inquire, into "Who am I?," understand his nature, experience the Atma and after

doing so, learn to sacrifice. The body is only for identity, and the Atma is

the one to do the sacrifice. Divine Love is the most important attribute for

man to cultivate the principle of oneness. But human behavior today is worse

than that of animals. Animals have a season whereas man has no season. Man is

God's property; what is the use of a life that is not surrendered to God? See

everyone you meet as a form of Love. Today the world is in a bad state. As his

wealth expands, man is deteriorating. He should dedicate his life to God. The

life you have has been given by God and not by your ancestors, like the

property you inherit from them. God-given life should be used for the service

of God. If one cannot do this, there is no life for him. To remedy this

situation develop Love; make your heart full of Love and spread and share that

Love with all. That is worship. Sai's property is Love. Bhagawan’s entire life

consists of Divine Love. Bhagawan only goes on giving and giving. Practice at

least one of His Teachings. You say you are a devotee, but you have no right to

call yourself a devotee of God unless you give at least part of your God-given

love to others. One is a zero in practice, but a hero in words

only. One should have unity in thought, word and action. At least for ten

minutes practice silence and think of Swami's teachings. The world is like a

magnet, full of atoms having magnetism but God is the biggest Magnet. We must

develop the habits of a true devotee to be attracted by God, to get attracted

by the magnet God. Be attracted only to God; then only you can call yourself an

aspirant. The world changes, but God never changes. If you follow God you will

become nearer and dearer to Him and then you will realize true happiness.

Where there is Love there is no pain. Listen to the example of this army

officer. One day when his wife was ill, he cooked and carried food to her in

the hospital. Usually when he returns home from work, all the housework such as

cooking and cleaning has been done by his wife. But now, even though he was

tired, he had all the strength and patience to serve her. Where did that

strength come from to do all this work? The strength came from his love for his

wife. If the love for a human being can produce so much energy, how much more

should love of God produce? By nourishing the love for God man gets profuse

energy to do service.

In forests there are wild animals like tigers and lions. Saints and Rishis live

there, but the animals do not trouble them, because these saints are full of

Love. So develop the spiritual qualities of Divine Love and Equanimity. This

was the type of practice in ancient times in India, but today man is full of

cruelty. One must only give and take love. If you act with anger, the reaction

will be anger. This knowledge is the sacred gift of the New Year. God's New

Year gift to you is Love. Accept everything — love, hate, anger, etc., equally.

In Tamil Nadu state on New Year's

Day, they make a dish for the feast containing all tastes — sweet, sour, bitter

and hot. This is symbolic that one should be able to enjoy happiness and endure

sadness equally. You must realize that events do not take place as you wish, but

as God wishes. If God's wish is to give you pain, you suffer; to give you

pleasure, you enjoy. The entire world consists of sour, bitter and sweet, all

mixed together; accept it. Both pleasure and pain should be accepted as God's

gifts. Follow God's commands and you will attain Divinity. Iron gets attracted

to and sticks to magnets. If you stay close to God, you will become one with

God. The purpose of human life is to understand the unity of the individual and

God. In your spare time think only of God. As you become nearer and dearer to

God, you will feel Bliss. Bliss has no limits; it is infinite.

Swami ended His Discourse by singing "Prema Muditha Manase Kaho, Rama, Rama, Ram. "

9. THE NAME OF GOD IS "I" [April 14, 1996]

Embodiments of Divine Love,

Trees yield fruit only as a service for mankind; no tree eats its own fruit.

Rivers flow to help others; the river does not quench its own thirst. Cows do

not drink their own milk; they give their milk away for the health of others.

Why has the human body been gifted to man? Man takes a human body only to serve

the needy and poor. Today all over the world there exists misery, restlessness

and deprivation. All these are against true human nature. No governments or

weapons have been able to solve these problems. We must install God in the

altar of our hearts. The entire mankind depends on God's grace for everything.

The world can be saved by God alone; man must have confidence in God's grace.

Everyone must fill his heart with Love and render service to his fellowmen.

Right from the ordinary man to the saint, everyone must search for Truth. How?

We must search for Truth by inquiring into one's own thoughts and actions. As

all are sparks of the one Divine Truth, everyone has the right to search for

Truth that is changeless. We must adopt and practice that which will not hurt

anyone.

One may search for Truth through understanding three things: Truth, untruth and

fact. All that we find in the world is a fact, but Truth is fundamental,

cosmic. For example right from the scientist to the ordinary man, if you ask

anyone where the sun rises and sets, he will answer that it rises in the east

and sets in the west. This is not the Truth, but only a fact. If you know the

Truth, the sun neither rises nor sets but as the earth revolves, we get east

and west. The sun does not move but to consider that it moves is untruth.

The eye is very small, yet it is able to see the entire universe. The same pair

of eyes sees everyone, but the feelings when it sees the mother, daughter or a

friend are all different. Though the vision is the same, the feelings are

different. The manner of looking and the feelings one should have towards the

mother should always be respectful. One feels affection towards one's daughter

and endearment towards one's wife. Thus relationship determines the type of

looks or feelings one has towards another.

So what is Truth? Truth is Love though the vision may be distorted.

Unfortunately visions and feelings are all impure due to seeing diversity as

the Truth. We should understand what type of vision we should have; and when,

where and how we should use this vision. This knowledge is essential in the

search for Truth.

There is no mistake in creation; it is God's creation and no one can change it.

One has to change one's vision to experience Truth. Whatever one utters with

his tongue is heard with the ears. One's ears have been gifted to listen to

good things; man hears music, good sounds, harsh words, etc. One should learn

to discriminate in what one speaks and hears. We should speak softly and

sweetly. Oh, tongue! How sacred you are. You are the embodiment of sacrifice;

you do not keep food in the mouth, but immediately pass it on down the throat.

How sacred and highly respected you are! Oh tongue! it is not your innate

quality to criticize.

Everything is God's creation. When one wears blue tinted glasses everything

appears to be blue. There is no mistake in creation, one needs only to remove

one's glasses. One need not search for God as He is everywhere in everything.

Man searches for Truth in all fields. There is only one God although He is

called by different names such as Jesus, Allah and Rama. All of the thousands

of names are His so there is no question of search. Search applies to the world

but Truth is infinite and never narrow. We do sahasranama (chanting of God's

1008 names); this is a narrow approach as all names are His. There is no name

or form in the universe that does not belong to Him. The creation has emerged

from Truth which is pure and unsullied. Wherever there is Truth, there is God.

Love and Truth emanate from the heart but to realize this

one must love Divinity with a compassionate heart. Today one's heart is like a

solid stone. The fashion today is to have no compassion. The heart is called

"hrudaya," which means "filled with compassion." Since man lacks compassion

today, wicked acts are on the increase. There is restlessness and lack of peace

everywhere because of attachment and differences and the individual feelings of

"I" and "mine." Everyone should have faith in the Divine to develop compassion

and to eradicate worldly attachments, differences and feelings of "I" and

"mine."

We call ourselves "I" but what is this "I"? This "I" is the title of God. Right

from birth everyone is saying "I," so everyone has within himself this title of

God. The Mahavakya (one of four great statements epitomizing the Vedas) "Aham

Brahmasmi" states - "I am God." In Sanskrit "I" is Aham. God does not only mean

the names Rama, Krishna and Hari. He is the Truth whether one is a doctor or a

lawyer or a businessman; all of these are saying "I". If you ask a beggar, "Who

are you?" and you ask a king, "Who are you?" they will reply, "I am a beggar,"

and "I am a king." So know the Self. In today's world, "I" is

always associated with a form, but "I” does not refer to the body; "I" is God.

Mankind today is living a totally ego-based life though it is incorrect to

assume "I" as the ego. Man is full of divisions and perversions such as birth,

growth and death but the true "I" never changes.

Life in the body changes is subject to diseases, dies and therefore it is not

permanent. From moment to moment it gives off foul smells and is dirty and full

of matter like bones and nerves. Surrender this body at the Feet of the Lord who

resides therein. One can attain Divinity only through properly using the

instruments of body, mind and intellect. With the body, so long as we have

life, we must say and realize "Soham"- "I am He," and also "Tat ThwamAsi" -

That Thou art. These days since no one understands "soham" everyone is in

misery. If we make an inquiry into the value of the body, we will know that it

is very low. Every cell and atom in the body keeps on changing. If you keep a

pickle in a jar it would last for one year, whereas if you eat the pickle it

will spoil in two hours. In a flour mill you grind dhal, rice

or wheat into flour. The human body may be compared to a grinding mill. If you

place fruits and other foods into this mill of the body, everything becomes

waste matter. Is a flour mill not better than a human body as a machine?

The human body can be compared to a machine in which the three aspects, Yanthra,

mantra and Tanthra can be found. In this machine, the name of God is the mantra,

the procedures and techniques of the heart are the Tanthra and the body is the

Yanthra. Human life consists of a combination of these three. The heart is the

tantra acting like a switchboard. The mantra "soham" which means "I am God" is

the sound that comes from the sushumna nadi. Each person says soham 21,600

times a day from the heart. Whenever we chant mantras like "Om Namah Shivaya"

we are repeating them not from the heart but parrot-like and

artificially. Although the Japa Mala is in our hands our minds are out in the

marketplace. We murmur Shanthi, Shanthi as words at the physical and mental

levels, while it is the heart that needs Peace. When we feel peaceful, we chant

Om, Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi, slowly but when we are agitated we shout Om,

Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi at great speed. We are not enjoying Peace at the

physical, mental and spiritual levels because our lives and penance today are

all artificial.

Today all of the Malayalis (refers to persons who speak an Indian dialect and

reside in South India) are celebrating the New Year with full festivity. Most

festivals last only for one day but you should always develop sacred thoughts,

not only on festival days. You should have the faith that you are the

embodiment of Supreme Eternal Bliss and have the fortitude to tolerate all

troubles and anxieties that come in the way. You seek comforts like air

conditioning, comfortable sofas, good food, etc, but these are not the true

comforts. True comfort is with God who confers Supreme Happiness. What is

Brahmananda? It is a

state of Supreme Happiness, Nondual, Eternal Spirit, Immovable, Eternal witness,

beyond Comprehension and Attributeless. All these attempt to explain the nature

of Brahman.

When man has all the worldly comforts, the resultant stage is only the happiness

of man. The Bliss of God in Gandharvananda (a celestial state of being) is a

hundred times more. Beyond Gandharvananda is Brahaspatierananda, which confers

a hundred times more Bliss. A hundred times more than this is

Prajapateirananda', a hundred times more is Hiranyagarbhananda. In the word

Hiranyagarbhananda, "Hiranya" means "gold." Just as pure gold would not

tarnish, Hiranyagarbhananda, a part of Brahmananda, is the highest Bliss. That

which changes from moment to moment is untruth. The changeless Truth is in your

heart and all of these states of Bliss are in your heart. Happiness is worldly

while Bliss is Divine. Happiness keeps changing; one may eat food and

experience happiness, but after two hours one is hungry again. "Santosha" means

having happiness only for sometime.

The physical heart is on the left side while the spiritual heart is on the right

side. The left is left. After sometime leave the left, that is the physical and

material life and follows only the right, not the left. Fill your heart with

good thoughts and feelings. All worldly education is just to earn a living.

What university did the birds and beasts attend? The purpose of true education

is to attain Bliss. When the year is full of Love with sacred thoughts and acts

that is the New Year, not the day of celebrations with sweet desserts and new

clothes.

One should not have hatred toward any religion. All are one so be alike to

everyone; you should respect all. Whoever you respect, it amounts to respecting

God. If you criticize anyone, you are criticizing the God who is their reality.

All religions, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity teach only what is good. Every

Hindu should be a good Hindu; in fact, a better Hindu. If a Muslim hates a

Hindu, he is no Muslim. On this occasion of the New Year, remember that God is

One. The three things to keep in mind are: Don't forget God, don't rely on the

world, and don't be afraid of death. These three are important. Death is

something you must face some day, so don't worry, face it bravely. Be ready to

die, but never leave (forget) God. Do not believe in the world because it is

continuously changing. You cannot travel in a boat made

of stones because it would sink. In this changing world, God is the only Truth.

Rather than criticizing anyone, develop your love more and more. Do not pray

for the individual "I" only. Here is a cloth woven with threads. Even if the

form changes, the original cotton does not change. Likewise, in this changing

world, there is something that does not change. The world is one large house

and India is a room. All of the countries can be seen as different rooms. There

are no differences in the rooms; only they are separated by the walls. One may

be used to having a livingroom, a diningroom and a bathroom, but if the walls

are removed, there would be one big room. Cut off the walls of attachments to

"me" and “mine" and have faith in one

Divinity. Truth is one, but it is referred to in different ways.

When some people declare that they have no God, you tell them that they may not

have a God, but you have a God. You must have steady, strong faith. If anyone

says there is no God and you agree and say yes, you are weak. Faith is God.

Never lose faith. Those that deny God are unwittingly staling that God does

exist. When one declares that there is no God the very fact that he is saying

"There is" means that he is acknowledging that existence. Bharathiya (Indian)

culture is full of Bliss. The Vedas belong not only to India but to the entire

world.

Om saha navavatuSaha nau bhunaktu,Saha veeryam karavaavahai,Tejas vinaavadheet

amastu,Maa vidvishaa ahai.Om, shanti, shanti, shanti!

(Om, May the Lord protect us, May He cause us to enjoy, May we exert together,

May our studies be thorough and faithful. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace!)

Swami ended His Discourse by singing "Sathyam, Jnanam,Anantham Brahma", "Govinda

Krishna Jai,Gopala Krishna Jai" and "Subramanyam Subramanyam."

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brothers

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