SWAMI’S DISCOURSES AT SAI SRUTI KODAIKANAL - APRIL 1996 [Part -7]

[Guest guest]

Om Sri Sai Ram

SWAMI’S DISCOURSES AT SAI SRUTI KODAIKANAL DURING APRIL 1996 [Part -7]

19. DEVOTION IS THE EASIEST PATH TO GOD [April 24, 1996]

Embodiments of Divine Love,

It is quite possible to win a debate in an assembly of scholars in a noble

court. It is possible to fight a war and come out victorious. It is possible to

be a king and rule a kingdom. It is possible to gift in charity cows and wealth.

It is possible to give up desires. However, to control the mind and body and be

steady in meditation or Samadhi is not so possible.

For the protection of the righteous and the destruction of evil, God takes a

human birth to re-establish Dharma. In this life, devotion is what one should

be drawn to. To love the world is not true Love. To love external objects,

people and transient things is a waste. This is not Divine Love (Prema), but

only attachment. Only Love directed to God can be called devotion. Devotion is

a synonym for intense Love. The outer expression of devotion is called Dharma,

and the one who understands Dharma will develop Love and one who has Love will

be able to develop Dharma. Dharma and Prema are twin birds. As man is losing

these values of Dharma and Prema, his life is like a desert land.

At one time Duryodhana fell at his mother Gandhari's feet for her blessing to

win the battle he was about to engage in. As Gandhari knew that Duryodhana was

not following the path of Dharma, her heart did not allow her to render her

blessings though Duryodhana kept on begging. Gandhari said, "Wherever there is

Dharma, there shall be victory." Later they paid respects to their Guru

Dronacharya who told them that, where there is Righteousness, God will be

present. Because God was an intimate friend to Arjuna, his life reflected Love

and Dharma. If Love and Righteousness are practiced. Divinity which is latent

becomes patent. There is nothing higher than this Divine Love which motivates

all men to share with one another. Many devotees in the past have attained God

through Love. You are nowhere without

devotion to God, even though you may have plenty of power. Although Duryodhana

and Dushasana had plenty of wealth and prosperity, without Dharma they did not

have God's support. Those who were against God and relied on physical strength

rather than Divine strength were ruined. Take Ravana and Kumbakama. They were

very strong soldiers, but Ravana, even though he could construct the entire

country and was very wealthy, despite his abilities he could not reach God to

attain liberation. They thought they could please God with their abilities and

strength. Ravana who was a great scientist and who was highly educated and very

affluent met the same end. You may feel proud of all your wealth, but it will

not enable you to attain liberation. God submits Himself only to the devotee

who has intense Love.

Kuchela who had a large family was very poor. Since he was the childhood friend

of Krishna, Kuchela's wife advised him to seek the help of Krishna. Kuchela

visited Krishna to seek

His grace for the removal of his poverty. The moment Krishna saw him. He got

down from His throne, bugged him, stared at him from top to toe and talked at

great length with him. Oh mind, don't ask. Without asking, the result will come

sooner. If you worship God with Love, He will look after you.

Lord Rama did the last rites of Jayatu without his having to ask. Sabari, too,

attained her heart's desire, the Darshan of Lord Rama, without asking. God is

present in all of creation. Based on the devotee's feeling, God will appear in

that form. Therefore, only through true Love can one take control of and attain

Divinity. Devotion means total control of the mind, worldly attachments and

desires. One can experience Divinity through devotion alone. True devotion

means total unconditional Love. A diamond alone can cut another diamond.

Devotion (Bhakti) is derived from the word Bhaja which means worshipping the

Lord through practice. Devotion is worshipping and serving, feeling happy and

making others happy. Through this path many attain Bliss. Sakkubai prayed,

"Krishna, how long should I suffer and remain in misery. Is there no justice?

Do You not have compassion? Am I not Your servant?" Why was she suffering? She

was suffering because she could not feel near to God but by pining she could

feel near to God. There were many devotees like Tulasidas, Ramadas and Tukaram

who all suffered for God. Ramadas prayed, "Lord, I am Yours. Why are You

keeping me at a distance? Have I done any wrong? I only wanted to spend all the

money collected by me to make a temple for You. As a result. King Taneesha

punished me and imprisoned me. Why should I suffer? O Rama because I could not

bear the thrashing I received from King Tanesha's soldiers I blamed You.

Please, kindly excuse me."

Immediately, Rama and Lakshmana took the form of two servants and went to King

Taneesha to pay off Ramadas' debt. When the king inquired as to who they were,

they replied, "We are Ramayya and Lakshmayya, the servants of Ramadas."

Immediately the king changed his mind, greeted them and ordered Ramadas to be

released. It is only due to the devotion of the devotee that the Lord bears

everything.

Kabir and Tulasidas were great devotees who expressed their devotion through

Love. The path of devotion is very easy in that no physical exertion or money

is required, but only Love. To control the mind and the senses is not easy, but

thousands have attained God through devotion. Many could not reach God through

the other paths such as raja yoga and karma Yoga. In the beginning any venture,

such as riding a motorcycle is difficult, but gradually one succeeds. In the

Bhagavad Geetha it says, "First practice." By constant practice of righteous

deeds one can give up bad qualities; then one would be able to continuously

think of God which is the true prosperity and real wealth. In Kamataka, a

devotee named Mankamma spent all of the time thinking of God in the following

manner: For the entire lake, the lotus

is the decoration (beauty). For the decoration of a village, houses provide the

beauty. For the sky, the moon is the source of beauty. For the sea, waves are

the beauty. In the sky of our heart, the shining moon (mind illuminated by

Atma) is the real decoration. For a devotee, Vibhuthi ash is the decoration.

God is everywhere in the world, in, around and beneath everything; there is no

place where He is not. All names and forms are His. Easwara manifests Himself

when a devotee prays with a sacred heart and pure selfless Love.

Thyagaraja continuously chanted the name of Lord Rama. Once he went in search of

Rama, since he thought Lord Rama had gone somewhere. He was repeating Lord

Rama's name and praying, "When can I see Your smiling face? Why are you

punishing me by Your absence?" Some pure hearted pilgrims noticed his

footprints and carried him on a palanquin. Some robbers, who noticed him,

thought him to be a very rich man and decided to attack and rob him. But

suddenly Rama and Lakshmana manifested themselves with bows and arrows.

Thyagaraja was not even aware of this impending attack and did not call out for

help from the Lord. The thieves then fell at his feet. When asked why they were

doing so, they replied that they were being chased by two men with bows and

arrows. Thyagaraja was surprised but then he understood and

said, "O Rama! Thieves were attempting to rob me but You protected me; the

thieves saw You but I didn't. You are always in front, above, beside and on

either side of the devotee, protecting him. The thieves got your Darshan, but I

did not." Though the thieves saw Rama and Lakshmana they did not recognize Them.

Thyagaraja went to the Kaveri River for his bath and collected the idol of Rama

which was thrown inside. He said, "O Rama! come home; I will worship You! O

God, son of Dasaratha, I cannot bear any longer to be without You."

Then he experienced the vision of the Lord. Of all the persons in the whole

world, only the devotee can attain the vision of the Lord.

The scriptures give you knowledge, but one need not read any sacred text. Pure

Love alone makes God manifest before the devotee. The entire universe is

contained in Prema. The word Prema is divided into: 'Pre-ma', which means that

except for Love, nothing else of value exists. Prema is a mighty continuous

flow of Love. The spiritual path is convenient for everyone to follow and does

not involve any business transaction. The three life principles in the triangle

of Love are: don't ask, give and don't take, and be happy. Our happiness depends

on following the path of Love. God too will dance if you are happy and He will

also make you dance in ecstasy.

Everything is contained in the name, "Ra, a, ma." All the bad qualities within

will be removed by chanting the name Rama. 'Ra" stands for fire and when

chanted it has the potency to bum sins; "a" stands for the moon, which pacifies

and cools the mind; "ma" stands for the sun, which dispels darkness. Darkness

here refers to our ignorance about the Truth. So one can pacify one's emotions

and dispel one's ignorance and agitation through chanting the name Rama. Lord

Rama's name alone can make you understand this trinity. One should

wholeheartedly sing the name of Rama to destroy all one's sins.

In a village a water tank was built with a golden tap. There was a small river

beside the water tank. For the opening ceremony, some guests and dignitaries

were invited. One of the dignitaries opened the tap, but the water did not

flow, so a connecting pipe between the river and the tank was made. But between

the tap and the tank there was no connection. The tap is the devotee and the

water tank is God. When the devotees connect themselves to God, Love flows.

King Tanesha asked Rama and Lakshmana (as the two servants), "Who are you?" They

replied that they were servants of Ramadas. Ramadas, Korokumber, and Sakkubhai

are examples of true devotees. Valmeeki composed the Ramayana, and Vyasa also

composed some epics, but neither of them understood the Divine. Pothana was a

great pandit and devotee. His cousin Sri Nathar once requested Pothana, "Give

your Ramayana to the King. Pothana refused. So Sri Nathar, very angry, burnt

Pothana's house. Everything was burnt except the Ramayana. At the time Pothana

was away from his home, his son was ploughing the field. His son asked Sri

Nathar, "Are you okay?" Sri Nathar replied, "I am okay, but you see for

yourself," and he departed. ... When Pothana desired to write the Ramayana, he

was not able to find the beginning for

the text but completed the last part of it which read, "Rama is everything." He

left the book in this state, lying open and went to take a bath in the river.

When he returned, he saw that the beginning of the verse had been written by

Rama. On a full moon day to see the moon does one need a small lamp? No. The

moonlight will enable you to see the moon. Similarly, one can realize God as a

result of his own Divine feelings. The relations who do not help you when you

are in need, the illiterate and uneducated and horses that cannot run should be

discarded immediately. These days, people who are intelligent still hold onto

these things and suffer.

A teacher was giving instruction and the student was looking somewhere else. The

teacher asked him, "How much has got in?" The student replied, "Only the tail is

left out." The teacher was asking about his understanding of the mathematical

problem, but the student was looking at the rat in the hole in the ceiling.

Each person is seeing from their own perspective, so they miss the correct

path. Forty years ago the Maharaja of Mysore Jayarsamarajandra Udyar and

Ramasami Mudalyar, Tirulaxshmanaswami Mudalyar and the mother-in-law came to

see Swami. All of them visited the

Chamumundeswari Temple. Because the temple was close to their residence, the

seventy-year-old mother-in-law had never visited it. Because the temple was

close to her home she did not recognize the importance of it. When something is

close to us we do not recognize the value of it. Until we lose our eyesight, we

do not understand the value of it. There are a lot of people who come to Swami.

When everything is available, we do not appreciate the value of it. The people

who do not understand this principle are not

human.

Swami sang "Prema Muditha Manase Kaho, Rama, Rama Ram" after His discourse.

20. THE DIVINE STATE IS ATTAINED THROUGH DETACHMENT

[April 25, 1996]

Embodiments of Divine Love,

All forms represent Truth. When you realize Being, Awareness, (Sat Chit) you

will be in Peace. Human beings come from Sat Chit Ananda. As all names and

forms are auspicious and Divine, the entire universe including the human form

represents "Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram" (Truth, Auspiciousness, Beauty). The body

may change but the Atma or Truth is changeless. Plato, the first disciple of

Socrates was determined to propagate Truth, Auspiciousness and Beauty.

Aristotle was the first disciple of Plato and Emperor Alexander was the first

disciple of Aristotle. They all propagated Truth, Auspiciousness and Beauty.

Aristotle being the preceptor of Alexander, wanted to direct his mind on

spiritual lines to take him out of the mundane life. When Alexander was ready

to invade Bharat, Aristotle warned him: "It is a

sacred land and it is your good fortune to go there. Do not enter there in order

to fight with Bharathiyas. In Bharat every cell and atom is sacred. Go but don't

have hatred towards them. O Disciple, bring back four things: First, bring with

you the dust of the feet of devotees from Kasi and Benares. Secondly, bring

some sacred water from the Ganges River which was born out of the feet of Lord

Vishnu. With the matted locks on the head of Lord Shiva, with the third eye in

the centre of His forehead, with red lips and red dot, having full compassion.

Lord Shiva manifests there. The Ganges has fallen on the head of Lord Shiva so

bring Ganges water. Thirdly, bring back the Bhagavad Geetha which contains the

celestial songs sung by Lord Krishna during the great Mahabharata war.

Fourthly, if possible bring back a Sanyasi (renunciant).

Foreigners in the past had such sacred thoughts about Bharat. Bharat was a land

of Truth, Righteousness, and Sacrifice, but today it has become a land of

pleasure. In those days there was harmony between the thought, word and deed,

and the people understood the correct meaning of "manusha" (man). Thus it was

said, "The proper study of mankind is man." A true human keeps his thought,

word and deed in harmony; every noble soul strove for this triple unity. God

provides tests and then accepts and confers Divine protection. We should not

understand them as only simple tests; since there is no other suitable word we

say test. God tests you to strengthen the latent Divinity in you. In Bharat,

the Rishis undertook penance in the forests by suffering great hardships and

sacrificing food, thus they lost all body

awareness and were enabled to recognize Divinity.

In Bharat, there was a certain kingdom named Satyajit. The prince of that

kingdom was also called Satyajit. One day he was hunting in the forest when he

came to a hermitage to take rest. A Sanyasi of the ashram thought that he

looked like a prince. He told Satyajit that he had only the ashram and nothing

else to offer.

When one offers a leaf in worship to God, what does it mean? It is not just

different plants that should be offered; the leaf symbolises the body with the

three attributes. We offer a flower also in worship. It is not the one that we

purchase in the market, but the flower of the heart that blossoms and blossoms,

that should be offered to the Divine. We offer fruit, but it is not the fruit we

eat but the fruit of the good qualities manifested through the tree of human

life. Thus it is the fruit of the mind that God wants. We offer water but it is

not the water from the tap, lake, rain or Ganges

that one should offer but the tears of devotion to God. So the leaf, flower,

fruit and water are all symbolic. In those days, the people offered their body

as leaf, the heart as flower, the mind and fruit of actions as fruit and tears

of Love and Bliss as water to God.

Then the Sanyasi asked the prince who he was and where he had come from.

Satyajit replied that he had come from the Kingdom of Satyajit. The Sanyasi

then told him that Satyajit means one who speaks Truth, who acts righteously,

and who lives with Divine thoughts. The Sanyasi wondered if Satyajit was

following that which his name indicated.

In this world everyone has been given names. In the name Sundaraja, Sundar means

beautiful but the one who carries this name may not be beautiful; so the name

may be one thing and the reality another. Nowadays we name a person Dharmaraja

but he may not be practicing Dharma. We name a person Harishchandra, but he

will never speak the truth. So conduct today often does not reflect the meaning

of the name.

The Sanyasi asked who had named him Satyajit and whether he knew the meaning of

his name. He explained that Satyajit means one who knows no misery, to whom the

whole world is Divine, whatever happens. The Sanyasi desired to test him, to see

if he was living up to his name. He said, " Boy, stay in my ashram and I will

give you these ochre clothes." The boy obeyed, just as Rama had obeyed

Vishwamitra. The Sanyasi then took Satyajit's discarded clothes to the kingdom

of

10pt">Satyajit. At the gate to the Kingdom he met the watchman and informed him

of the prince. He said, "Look here, your prince has been killed by wild animals

and I have brought his clothes." The watchman was not affected in the least by

this news. He simply replied, “His time was up, so he died; why are you

surprised." The Sanyasi thought that this was an answer given through total

neglect by a mere watchman.

The Sanyasi then met the king, placed the clothes in front of him and informed

him of the death of the prince. The king merely replied, "Why are you crying?

The body is like a water bubble. All relationships, like passing clouds, did

not come before our birth nor will they accompany us after our life. So why

worry?" The Sanyasi thought that the father hated the son or else he may have

many other wives and many more sons so the prince's death was no loss. Just as

Dasaratha paid heed to Kaikeyi and drove Rama out, he too may not be bothered

about the loss of one son. The Sanyasi then went to the queen, thinking that

she is bound to feel sad. She said, "Don't feel sad. It is only a body. In the

evening all the birds come on the tree to take rest, but in the morning, the

tree is empty. We are all birds;

what is the relationship between the tree and the birds? Birds come to the tree

but there is no relationship between the tree and the birds. In the morning,

all the birds go. Why should you feel sad? The tree is one, and has no

relationship with anyone.

When he then informed his wife, the princess, of Satyajits' death she started

laughing. He could not understand why she was laughing at the death of her

husband. She said, "In this continuous flow of the water of life, we are all

like branches carried away by the water coming together and separating. I am

only one branch and he is another. These two branches have been carried by the

flow of water. In this continuous flow of water, we were united and now we are

not. Why feel sad?"

Then the Sanyasi’s eyes opened. The watchman had replied with courage. The king

and queen were not sad at the loss of their son. The wife who is half the body

of the prince never bothered. Therefore, the name of the kingdom "Satyajit" is

perfect.

The Sanyasi, after returning to his ashram, decided to test the prince by

weeping in front of him. The prince said, "Crying is not natural. When you see

anyone crying you will ask him why he is crying, but if anyone is happy and

smiling you won't ask him why he is happy. This means that sadness is

unnatural, whereas happiness is natural. Bliss is natural. Why are you crying"?

The Sanyasi replied, "Your country has been invaded. Your mother and king are

all killed and you have lost your kingdom." Satyajit replied, "Have we brought

the kingdom with us at birth, or can we take it after death? Therefore why

should you cry? At the time of birth there is no necklace of pearls, gold

chains or precious stones around your neck but only the consequences of your

good and bad deeds from previous lives. Lord Brahma

sends us with a heavy garland, our good and bad actions. Swami, why are you sad?

We brought with us our consequences so we have to experience them. We should not

feel sad as life is full of Bliss, and sadness is only of our making." Thus

Satyajit taught the Sanyasi a great lesson. The Sanyasi prostrated before the

prince. He believed him to be a very noble soul and that all persons living in

the kingdom are noble too, since their thoughts, words and deeds are in

harmony. Throughout his life, man searches for happiness in family, job and

study, pining for Bliss, even though he has originated from Bliss. Happiness is

not to be found in the world or in physical objects but emanates from the heart.

Everything comes from God, so we have to give everything back to God.

In Telugu there is a proverb; "The jackfruit with a rough, tough and thorny

covering has multiple fruits inside, containing sweet juice." The many seeds

inside can be compared to the numerous children and grandchildren. In Bharat

there is oneness but you find separate cultures. Though the components of the

jackfruit are separate, the juice is only one. Thus, mankind is of many

different types of people but the Bliss is one. Unfortunately, we keep in view

only the physical form, action and behavior (outer covering). The nature of the

Atma (sweet juice) is immortal, one-pointed, subtle, pure and unsullied.

Sakuntala spoke to her son Bharatha, "O prince, you have forgotten the promise

you made. You must always keep your promise under any circumstances." Bharatha

means adherence to Truth and Righteousness; this is how our country derived the

name Bharat, so always act in harmony with your thoughts. Bharat is the land of

Truth

10pt">.

The foul smelling body covered by skin houses the temple of God within, thus the

body is a moving temple. When once this feeling persists, you will not tread on

the wrong path. This body with mind is a gift from God. Practice this

one-pointedness towards Truth or God. Satyajit's kingdom epitomized Truth and

Righteousness. From ancient times, Bharat

has provided peace and inner strength for the world. Bharat is the land where

God has taken human birth in the form of Avatars.

Once when Prahlada declared that God was everywhere, the king asked him whether

God exists in the pillar too. When Prahlada replied yes, the king then broke

the pillar and the Lord came out of it in the form of Narasimha (an avatar

whose form is half man and half lion). Here, our body represents the pillar and

when the body feeling is transcended or broken one will experience Divinity. Do

your duty without too much attachment as it is harmful. You must wear the

correct size of shoes or you cannot walk comfortably.

Fill your heart with thoughts of the Divine. Realize that good and bad are only

in your vision; from God's perspective (Truth Beauty and Goodness) every action

and everything is good. Develop the goodness within you, having the faith that

God resides in your heart.

Swami ended His Discourse with, "Govinda Hare, Gopala Hare, Hey Gopi Gopa Bala."

21. DEVELOP LOVE AND SURRENDER TO REALIZE FREEDOM

[April 28, 1996]

Swami sang in Telugu,

One's body is like an iron box that has no value. Like the jewel it encases, God

dwells in the heart as Love.

Embodiments of Divine Love,

Every heart is the temple of God. Thyagaraja has declared that God is present in

an ant as well as throughout the entire cosmos. We should pray, "O Lord, You are

present as Shiva and Kesava, please Love me and protect me." Thyagaraja has

declared that Satchidananda (Being, Awareness, Bliss) is present in all living

creatures. But the modern man is

investigating everything external and not what is internal. Though we know that

God is present in everything, we still make mistakes and commit sins.

If we want to know who is greater, the devotee or God, we must make an

investigation. Pariprashna means a prayer offered to God in order to clarify

one's doubts.

Once Narada said to God, "Narayana, You are everywhere. Even though all names

are Yours, it is still not possible to fully describe Your greatness." Narayana

replied, "Narada, you are mistaken; I am not the greatest as I submit myself to

the devotee." Every person should pray that he should be permitted to be the

servant of God's servants. Narada said, "Narayana considers Himself a servant

of God's servants." Narayana declared that Narada who is always thinking of God

is a great devotee. Narayana asked Narada, "You have traveled throughout the

world. What do you think is the most important thing in the world?"

Narada told Narayana that the most important, greatest thing must be the earth.

But Narayana answered, "How can earth be greatest when three-fourths of the

earth is covered by water?" So Narada acknowledged that water must be greater

because it has swallowed the earth.

The Lord continued with His questioning. He said, "But Narada, we have the

ancient tale that when the demons hid in the waters, then in order to find

them, Sage Agastya came and swallowed up the whole ocean in one sip. Do you

think Agastya is greater or the ocean is greater?" Narada had to agree that

without doubt Agastya is certainly greater than the water he swallowed. "But,"

continued the Lord "it is said that when he left his earthly body, this same

Agastya is now appearing only as a small star in the vast expanse of the sky.

Then what do you think is bigger, Agastya or the sky?" Narada answered, "Swami,

the sky is surely bigger than Agastya." Then the Lord asked, "Yet we know that

one time when the Lord came as Avatar, He was able to fit both the earth and

the sky under His one foot. Do you think

God's foot or the sky is bigger?Oh, God's foot is certainly bigger," Narada

replied. But then the Lord asked, "If His foot Itself is so big, what about His

infinite form?"

Now Narada felt that he had come to the final conclusion. "Yes," he said

exultantly, "the Lord is the biggest of all. He is infinite beyond measure. In

all the world there is nothing greater than He." But the Lord still had one

more question. "What about the devotee who has been able to imprison this

infinite Lord within his own heart? Now tell me, Narada, who is greater, the

devotee who has locked up the Lord or the Lord who is locked up by the

devotee?" Narada had to admit that the devotee is even greater than the Lord,

and that, therefore, the devotee must rank first in importance over everything,

surpassing even the Lord.

So such a devotee should never consider himself weak, as God is a servant of

such devotees. If we have God installed in our hearts through our love for Him,

we can have the whole world. So we must develop devotion. We should shape our

hearts into purer more suitable dwelling places for God.

Once a devotee prayed, "Oh God, if you were a tree, I would climb around you

like a creeper. It is my desire to never be separate from you. Oh God, if You

were a fragrant flower, I would go around You like a bee making a humming sound

until I finished drinking the nectar from You. If You were the ocean, I would be

a river and merge into You. If You were the sky, I would be the star shining

there in You. If You were a mountain, I would be the stream running over you.

That is the kind of feeling and intimate relationship that should exist between

God and the devotee. As a flower blooms, it does not invite the honeybee to come

to it. So also, the devotee on his own should go and merge himself in God. There

is no fundamental difference between a river and the ocean, but so long as they

are separate they

carry different names. When once they merge together, they would have the same

name and taste. If I am not there, then there is no taste in you. If you are

not there, there is no taste in me. God without the devotee and the devotee

without God cannot exist. Some people think that God is stone-hearted, but God

is softer than butter. What must one do to melt this soft, sweet butter that is

God? One must apply Love; that is the heat. The more Love (heat) that is

applied, the faster God will melt. This heat is generated by repetition of the

name and simultaneous remembrance of the form of God. When the name and form

are rubbed together, the necessary heat is generated. Nothing melts the heart

of God except the devotion of the devotee.

One day there was a priest praying to Lord Shiva in the temple. He noticed that

a yogi was keeping both of his feet on the lingam and resting his head on Nandi

(the bull (dharma), the vehicle of Lord Shiva). The priest became very angry and

exclaimed to himself, "He is not a yogi, he must be a madman." The priest asked

him, "Are you in your right mind?" The yogi replied, "Tell me where there is no

Easwara (God), so I can rest my feet there." The priest was still very angry. At

that moment a lingam manifested in the temple; lingams continued to manifest

wherever this yogi placed his feet. This story illustrates that with

broad-mindedness one will be able to realize that everything is Divine, and

that one's own heart is the temple of God.

Narada once requested Narayana to publicize His permanent address for the entire

world to know. Narayana replied, "Wherever My devotee sings My glory, there I

will install Myself. Kailash and Vaikunda are only My branch offices; the heart

of the devotee is My head office."

Radha told Krishna, "The priest has not permitted me entry to the temple because

I am a woman. O my mind, the Ganga and Yamuna rivers containing pure water meet

at the centre of the two eyebrows. The Ganga and Yamuna Rivers, symbolizing the

devotee's flow of pure Love and Devotion, meet between the eyebrows." It is here

that the devotee realizes God. The physical form of God can be seen with one's

naked eye, but the Divine form can be seen with wisdom's eye (the third eye or

the sixth Chakra centre). Having traveled all the distance to visit a temple,

we close our eyes to experience the Divine form. The formless God is seen by

the eye of wisdom, so when you close your eyes you will have inner vision as

there is no greater temple than one's own body. One must develop Love to know

consciousness, the indweller. In the process of developing the inner vision,

though one will face many

obstacles, one must continue to do spiritual practice in all aspects of one's

life. As we retreat more and more from the unreal, material life, God advances

nearer and nearer to us. God feels that the devotee has spoilt himself, so God

wants to catch him and reform and transform him.

Birth, life on earth, family life, childhood, old age, failure and death are all

full of worries. Happiness and misery are both worries. Human life is like the

fruit of a tamarind tree (at the first taste, sour, but later sweet) with

twelve types of worries, but where inside sweetness lies. Man fulfils his

material desires, but never attains permanent happiness. A couple may celebrate

their marriage happily, but up until the marriage they would have had many

worries. When the couple marries, the mothers weep; people cry in happiness

too. In this world every action is full of worry. When there is a plan to build

a house, there is worry. In old age at last, people desire to develop devotion

to God to get rid of all their worries. If one has devotion to God he will have

no

worries.

One goes on labelling rooms in one's home as the bedroom, the bathroom, the

kitchen, etc., but it is only the walls in between that are the cause for the

rooms. If one removed the walls, there would be no bedroom or bathroom, etc.;

there would only be a big hall. These walls symbolize the attachments that

prevent the realization of the unity of existence. Develop attachment to God

instead, so that one can develop broad mindedness. What is the disposition of a

parrot within a cage? Is it happy? Man is also confined like a parrot within a

cage; His freedom lies in merging with Divine Love. In order for one to be

successful in any endeavor, he should have Love for God. Man is presently

searching for freedom but it will only come to his feet with Divine selfless

Love. God is not greater than a devotee; when

one acquires devotional Love, God will submit Himself to that devotee.

There exists a fort with seven rounds of walls containing a garden in the

centre. We must sing the glory of Rama to light the lamp in the interior

garden. Truth is the wick for this lamp. Anger, lust, greed, envy, delusion,

hate, and jealousy are the seven walls that prevent man from knowledge of the

way to enter the garden inside the fort. If one sings the glory of Lord Rama,

God will make him reach the inner garden so that neither the fort with the

walls nor the inner courtyard could keep him bound.

Man is always standing on one limb of a tree (ego), and at the same time is

holding onto another branch (attachment). When man gives up his hold and lets

go (surrenders), he will reach God. With continuous thoughts of God, make God

the tree and yourself the creeper.

Swami ended His Discourse by singing, "Rama, Rama, Rama Sita; Rama, Rama, Rama Sita."

CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brothers

/

 

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