Live by Atmic Consciousness rather than by Body Consciousness

[Guest guest]

"Deepak Arjandas Bharwani" <saienterprises

 

I do not accost one particular date in the calendar as My birthday,

for I consider the day when Divinity blossoms in your heart as My

birthday in you. Therefore:, each of you should individually

celebrate such a day as My birthday. The day when you resolve to

practise My advice, to follow My directives, to translate My message

into acts of service, and to engage in Sadhana - that day is My

birthday for you. The 23d day of, November, which you now honour as

the day on which I was born, is only like any other day if you

celebrate in a routine, ritual fashion. Adore man; the adoration

reaches Me.) Neglect man; you neglect Me. Of what avail is it to

worship the Lord and to suppress | man. His counterpart? Love for God

must be manifested as love for man, and love must express itself as

service." Sai Baba, SSS, Vol. X, pp. 41 & 42

 

Today being Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's Birthday - An Article by

Dr. K.Tharmaratnam Sri Sathya Sai Society, Singapore has been sent to

us to be shared with all the devotees of Sai......Swami has blessed

this Sai Vahini Journal in Prasanthi Nilayam.....

 

Swami advises:

 

Live by Atmic Consciousness rather than by Body Consciousness

(A simplified explanation based on Swami's discourses)

 

Swami has been telling us over and over again, to live our lives

illumined by Atmic consciousness and not dictated by body

consciousness. Using Swami's discourses, an attempt is made to

explain the above. The topic is wide and hence the concepts are

simplified to understand the broad basis.

 

Difference between Atmic Consciousness and Body consciousness

 

The relative differences can be explained using an analogy of a horse-

drawn chariot. Here, the horses represent the senses. The chariot is

the body. The driver represents the mind. And the passenger is the

owner of the chariot - the Indweller or Atma.

 

When the horses draw the chariot on their own, without the driver

controlling them, due to some impulses of their own, the journey is

not safe. This action, done impulsively by the mind without

discrimination, is called animal level action.

 

When the chariot moves with the driver in command, with the driver

listening to the directions of the owner, this behaviour is called

human level action. Here, our actions are performed using our

discrimination and guided by our Conscience. In this human level

action, the discrimination is provided by the intellect while the

Conscience prompts righteous actions.

 

In-between these two levels, is the Body consciousness action. Here,

the driver ignores the owner's advice and proceeds driving,

distracted by the outside scenes of the world. The mind is possessed

by ego, greed, selfishness etc, and the advice from the Conscience is

not heeded. This level, therefore is lower than the human level

mentioned above.

 

Above these levels is the Atmic Consciousness level, wherein the

following three aspects are acknowledged as truths by our mind

without doubt. These are: Our bodies have to be discarded one day,

and therefore they are temporary. The Atma is the same permanent

reality in all of us and is also Divine, an aspect of the Universal

Consciousness.

 

Since the same Atma which is Divine, also resides in all humans then

we should recognise and respect every one as God. This is difficult

to practise in a working environment. Hislop has given a practical

solution for recognising God in all. Hislop says, "Recognising God

in every person is a secret between God and you, and you do not tell

the other person. Rather, you treat the person according to his

actions and status. For instance, if you meet a taxi driver, you

salute the God in the taxi driver. .. but treat him as a taxi

driver." (Seeking Divinity, pp139)

 

Attributes of the Atma

 

Swami enlightens us about the essential attributes of the Atma.

Although the body is perishable, the Atma is imperishable. The Atma

is also the indwelling God. It is also the vital force which

activates, all functions of our body. Without the Atma, the body is a

corpse. The Atma resides in the (spiritual) heart and radiates

spiritual energy as Consciousness or Inner Voice.

 

Atma is like the electric current that flows in an electrical wiring

in a building. Although the current is the same, some bulbs are

bright and some are not. Similarly in case of the humans if the

accumulated impurities in our hearts and minds are purified, the

effect of the Atma can be felt more intensely. Dirt is like dust on

the outside of a bulb. If the dust is removed, the light shines

bright again.

 

How does the human heart get impure?

 

The heart is masked by impurities of bad actions accumulated over

many births, including the present one. To quote from Swami:

 

"The human heart, which can be compared to a gramophone plate,

contains in it, all the traits of past lives. The reaction, resound

and reflection of all that you have seen, heard and experienced, are

contained in it. The infinite ocean, the mighty mountains, and all

the different places that you visited, are imprinted in your heart…"

(Necklace of Nine Gems Vol 5, pp48)

 

>From the above quotation, we could infer the following:

 

(i)All our actions and activities in our past births are stored in a

storage device in our heart and updated continuously, including from

the present birth as well.

 

(ii) We can therefore infer that all our tendencies and good and bad

actions follow us from our previous lives.

 

(iii)The actions done by us shape our future, as it has shaped the

present.

 

(iv) Thus, we are the cause for the accumulated impurities in our

hearts and not anyone else.

 

(v) Also, we cannot hide anything from Swami the Indweller of our

hearts.

 

(vi) Fortunately, we cannot read our own karmic data, but only the

Divine can.

 

How can we overcome our bad tendencies?

Swami explains man's predicament:

 

"The mind is the wind that brings to us the smells of the world…….The

sensory world is the cloud, that hides the soul or Atma, which ever

shines in the firmament of your heart. Train the mind to disperse the

clouds, rather than gather them. Every aspirant has to do this by

following a systematic discipline. You cannot reach the peak in one

jump; it is a hard job to negate the evidence of the senses; one has

to overcome the tendencies that have grown through hundreds of

births..."( SSS 12.4.1958)

 

The key sentence here is: "It is hard to negate the evidence of the

senses; one has to overcome the tendencies that have grown through

hundreds of births." Almost all of us can relate to this

predicament. Our mind is often pulled on one side towards worldly

desires, and at the same time pulled on the other side towards the

spiritual path with Swami as our guide. Swami tells us not to worry

about our past and asks us to take up appropriate Spiritual Sadhana

to transform ourselves. Swami's Grace can burn off our Karmic debt

once He is pleased with our Sadhana. Once we accept Swami as our

guide, He will guide us in our lives. That is why we are fortunate to

be born in this very unique period, when the Paramatma or God, has

taken a human form.

 

Let us recapitulate the important aspects of Atma which are:

 

(i) Our soul or Atma is Divine and therefore has inherent divine

attributes.

 

(ii) Atma is said to reside in the spiritual heart and the Heart is

the seat of noble qualities, reflecting human values like Sathya,

Dharma, Shanthi, Prema and Ahimsa.

 

(iii) Atma is the entity that gives life to the body through the Five

Pranas. Without the Atma or soul the body is a corpse, a dead body.

 

But we normally do not have a clear perception of this all-important

Divine entity, Atma. The reason is that Atma being very subtle cannot

be seen either by the eyes or the mind. Atma is always the `see-er'

and not the seen. That is, no one else can see the Atma except a

realised soul or Paramatma. It is just like saying that the eyes

cannot see air. But the mind can experience the Atma through intense

spiritual sadhana.

 

Is Atma the Experiencer?

 

When we eat our food, who is the enjoyer or experiencer? We normally

feel that our taste-buds and associated sense organs are the

enjoyers. But what about the Atma, the one who gives the life forces

for our bodies to function? Swami enlightens us on this topic:

 

"What is it that relishes the food that is consumed? The body or the

Spirit? What is it that enjoys fragrance or is moved by

companionship? Inquiring in this manner, it will be found that it is

the Atman that is the enjoyer and not the physical body. The body by

itself is gross and is incapable of experiencing joy. It must be

recognised that the Spirit transcends the mind and the intellect and

pervades the entire

cosmos…"

This could be explained as follows:

 

The Atma, is the permanent entity in all our births but we change our

gross bodies. This means that our gross minds also change. Thus the

Atma is the permanent entity that records our activities and would be

the witness of all activities, as well as the enjoyer for sathwic

activities. But it is seldom that we realize that the Atma is the

witness to all our bad actions. Thus we should rather have our

actions pleasing to the indwelling Atma, who is also Sai. In the

Bhagavad Geeta, Lord Krishna also advises Arjuna to choose the "Good"

instead of the "Apparently Pleasant". Here "Good" refers to the

noble attributes of the heart influenced by Atmic Consciousness like

Sathya, Love, Compassion, etc. "The Apparently Pleasant" relates to

worldly desires that are pleasant to the mind. Thus we should choose

the "Good" rather than the "Apparently Pleasant" for our own

salvation.

 

Relationship between Jivatma and Paramatma

 

Swami beautifully explains the relationship, between Jivatma and

Paramatma:

 

"The Upanishads state that there are two birds, the Jivatma and the

Paramatma, that sit on the tree called the body. One bird eats the

fruit of that tree while the other simply looks on as a witness. But

the wonder is that the two birds are in reality one, though they may

appear as two. They cannot be separated since they are two aspects of

the same reality."

 

This means that our Jivatma is indeed the Paramatma, the Indwelling

formless God. Indeed God or Paramatma has blessed us human beings,

for HE has His office in our hearts. Now we understand why Swami

says, that we are also God. Swami further says, that the God that we

have been searching for, in Temples and in Churches, is indeed the

Atma in our hearts. Over and over again, Swami in His messages

exhorts us to realise the God in us.

 

Some may think Swami is only at Puttaparthi. True, the manifested

Paramatma is Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, at Prasanthi Nilayam. But

as unmanifested Universal Consciousness, He is everywhere and He is

also the resident in our Hearts. One interesting acronym of SAI is:

See always inside; S = see, A = always, I = inside. This acronym

should remind us that Sai is the Indweller of our hearts as well.

This is best illustrated by a Leela of Swami.

 

Once Swami asked a lady devotee from Greece to address the students

and teachers at Trayee. This lady, wife of a medical doctor, was

actively involved in Seva activities. Once she organised a group and

went to Croatia, then affected by civil war and was rendering service

to war victims. The members of the group distributed packets

containing food, medicines, clothing and along with them, a small

photo of Swami.

 

The lady said that the people were very happy that her group had gone

there to help them. One person held up Baba's photo, and said, "We

know this person". The lady was naturally very surprised and asked

them, "How do you know Him? Have you heard about Him?" They

replied, "No, but we have actually seen Him here." The lady could not

believe them and asked them "Seen Him in Croatia? What was He doing

here?" They replied, "Just what you are doing - distributing food,

blankets and medicines."

 

After the electrifying narration, one of the devotees present at

Trayee remarked, "Swami this is absolutely extraordinary". Swami

replied, "For you it is extra-ordinary, but for Me this is quite

ordinary and routine." One way of understanding Swami's statement is:

When these God-loving people at Croatia were desperate and cried for

God's help, the indwelling God in them heard the plea and manifested

as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to give them solace. Answering calls

from devotees of God all over the world is routine for Swami.

 

Choice of Atmic Consciousness to influence our

life

 

Although we seek explanations on the different aspects of the Atma,

we can only have a glimpse of one of the many facets of the many

dimensions of the Atma at our level of consciousness. If our life is

to be influenced by Atmic Consciousness then what is the path to take

to tap our Atmic Consciousness? There are quite a few paths that

could be followed depending on the aspirant's interest. One sadhana

that Swami tells us often is Love All, Serve All. Thus, a major

portion of our sadhana should reflect the theme "Love All, Serve All".

 

Swami also gives a very simple formula:

MAN – DESIRE = GOD

 

While this appears to be a simple formula, it would require lot of

effort to let go of our desires. How do we do eliminate our

desires? Before that, let us look at the working of our minds from

what Swami observes, rather that what we feel! All of us will be

surprised at our inefficiency in using our minds. To quote Swami:

 

"The mind is engaged in two activities: Aalochana or planning and

Sambhaashana or dialogue. Both these follow different lines. Planning

is intent on solving problems that present themselves before the

mind. Dialogue multiplies the problem and confounds the solution

causing confusion and adoption of wrong and ruinous means to solve

them. The inner conversation and controversial chatter continues from

morning till night until sleep overtakes the mind. It causes ill-

health and the early setting of old age. The topics on which the

chatter is based are mostly the faults and failings of others and

their fortunes and misfortunes. This perpetual dialogue is at the

bottom of all miseries of man. It covers the mind with thick

darkness. It grows wild very quick and suppresses the genuine worth

of manhood…."

 

Hence, our minds are often preoccupied with worldly thoughts and

therefore cannot be relied to do spiritual sadhana through the mind.

We have two choices to curb our minds. One of the choices is to make

the mind empty while doing the Sadhana, which only Rishis or Jnanis

are capable and not suitable for many of us.

 

The other choice is to fill up the mind with Sathwic thoughts all the

time, so that our negative Vasanas will not sprout as thoughts and

will die away in due course. Swami explains this with a story of a

king who wanted to do ambitious projects for his kingdom and prayed

to God for help to get specialist workers. God answered his prayers

and said that a "Genie" would be assigned to the king but he should

keep the Genie fully occupied. The king was pleased as he had many

projects in mind. But the genie could finish the work so fast that

the king panicked and prayed fervently to God again. God appeared and

suggested that the king ask the genie to build a tall tower and

afterwards ask it to climb up and when it reached the top to climb

down and to repeat this process. Thus the Genie was kept fully

occupied in climbing up and down when there was no other work. The

king was relieved. Likewise, Swami has given us the holy task of

chanting Namasmarana to keep our monkey mind engaged with the

thoughts of God whenever the mind is free from our day-to-day

work.

 

Swami has even structured our Sadhana in such a way that we would be

able to do this while fulfilling our duties. Most of us spend

considerable time working for a living. After all, work is worship.

Next we spend time on family Sadhana, which includes our

responsibilities to our parents and family and also on group Sadhana,

for instance participating in spiritual or service activities at our

Sai centres. Then we spend time on personal Sadhana. Our own

personal Sadhana could be an inward pilgrimage to experience the

Atma. Our Sadhana would be full and complete if the Sadhana is done

with total surrender or thyaga. This last category of Sadhana is

important because the negative tendencies of the mind will have no

chance to sprout and will therefore die. The result the mind will be

receptive to welcome the Atmic Consciousness and the Buddhi could

shine with additional splendour.

 

Some may wonder whether it is worth living without worldly enjoyment.

It is a valid enquiry. Swami does not want us to live as a recluse.

In short we like to live in this world reasonably comfortably, but if

we are inclined on the spiritual path then we should love the Lord

dearer than the World. We should also remember that NOW is the

golden opportunity, a unique and rare gift to us, to be guided in our

lives by the manifested Lord, Bhagawan Baba. May Bhagawan give us

the needed will power to choose consistently, the "Good" rather than

the "Apparently Pleasant" throughout our life.

 

Om Sai Ram

Dr. K.Tharmaratnam

Sri Sathya Sai Society, Singapore

 

source: Sai Vahini, 2004 issue, published by the Sri Sathya Sai

Society, Singapore.

web source: http://sathya-sairam.tripod.com/health/swami_advises.htm

 

With Love & Light

Deepak Bharwani