SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - Volume IV [Ch. 3, 4, 5, 6]

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In view of the ensuing glorious event of the 80th Birthday of the Divine Lord

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we are posting the Divine Messages titled as

‘Sathya Sai Speaks’ for the benefit of our members and all the Sai devotees the

world over. We request members to pass on/forward/spread these Divine messages

to your Sai circle so that they also derive spiritual benefits and bliss from

them. These Divine Messages are not only for Sai devotees, they are for the

entire HUMANITY. Lord Krishna taught humanity the ways and means of salvation

for mankind in ‘Bhagavad Gita’ in Dwapara Yuga. ‘Sathya Sai speaks’ is the

Bhagavad Gita of Kali Yuga. - With Sai love, Sai brothers -

’’

***

Om Sri Sai Ram

SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - Volume IV [Ch. 3, 4, 5, 6]

3. THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

I HAVE been coming off and on to Trichinopoly since fifteen years but this is

the first time I am imparting Ananda to such a large number of the citizens.

The Grihapravesham (entering the new house ceremonially), for which A.K.C.

Natarajan is glad I have come, is just an excuse; giving you all this happiness

was the primary purpose of My coming over. Your joy is My joy. Today A.K.C.

entered the new house that he built for himself; I want that you should all

build new houses for happy living, and install the Lord therein. I do not mean

houses of brick and mortar, but houses of good thoughts, good words, good deeds

and good company, where you could live calm and collected. Invite Me for the

Grihapravesham of such houses and I shall most readily agree. In fact, then,

the house is Mine already and I do not need even an invitation to come

and enter it. These houses are for worldly comfort; that house is for spiritual

joy. And My Place of Residence is the pure, aspiring heart.

'Deho devaalaya': the body is the temple, it is said. That is the real house of

A.K.C. and of each one of you. You are going about with a temple, where God is

in the innermost shrine. The body is not a mass of flesh and bone; it is a

medium for mantras (sacred words or formulae) which save when they are

meditated upon. It is a sacred instrument earned after long ages of struggle,

equipped with reason and emotion, capable of being used for deliverance from

grief and evil. Honour it as such; keep it in good condition, so that it might

serve that high purpose; maintain it even more carefully than these brick

houses; and, always preserve the conviction that it is an instrument and

nothing more. Use it for just the purpose for which it has been designed and

given.

Feel strong with faith and devotion

Above all, at this moment, it is urgent that every one should inquire into the

true, the pure and the permanent. For, there is at present a delusion about

values. Even the leaders of people are hugging the false hypothesis that

happiness can be got by means of wealth or health, or housing, or clothing, or

the cultivation of skills in handicraft and manufacture! The bird sits upon the

bough that sways in the storm, confident of its wings, not confident of the

bough whereon it sits! So, you too should feel strong because of the bough of

the objective world, whereon you have perched.

You know from the experience of the Cauvery river floods that nothing can save a

man from drowning in the floods, neither status, nor caste, nor wealth nor even

health, unless he knows the simple art of swimming. Need I say that crossing

the ocean of worldly life, reaching the other shore of the sea of Birth-Death,

is similarly possible only for those who know the art of spiritual discipline?

Those, who are trying to build the human community on a foundation of wealth

(dana), are building on sand; those are who seek to build it on the rock of

righteousness (dharma) are the wise.

Practice a fraction of what you preach

Dharma moolam idham Jagath: Righteousness is the root of this world. Obey it and

you are happy. The evil man is a coward, haunted by fear. He has no peace within

him. Respect for the parents who started you in life and brought you into this

world, to gather the vast and varied treasure of experience, is the first

lesson that Dharma teaches. Gratitude is the spring, which feeds that respect.

It is a quality that is fast disappearing in the world today. Respect for the

teacher, for the elders, for the wise---all these are on the decline. That is

why righteousness is fast disappearing and losing its hold.

People talk loud and long from all kinds of platforms about right conduct,

divine love, peace, compassion, truth (dharma, Prema, Shanthi, Dhaya, Sathya),

etc.; this gets published in the newspaper next day and there their purpose

ends. The paper of today is waste paper tomorrow! It is used for packing,

thrown into the dust-heap, and burnt as refuse. That is the story of all

platform professions. Put into practice a fraction of what you preach.

Just as the body is the house you live in, the world is the body of God. An ant

biting the little finger of your foot is able to draw your attention to the

spot, and you react to the pain, making an effort to remove the tiny enemy. You

must similarly feel the pain, misery, or joy or elation, wherever it is evinced

in the entire land; you must make an effort to protect the land from the enemy,

however remote may be the place where the enemy has presented himself. Be kind

with all your kin. Expand your sympathies; serve others who stand in need to

the extent of your skill and resources. Do not fritter away your talents in

profitless channels.

Every person consumes quantifies of food, but does not stop to calculate what he

does in return to the society that helped him to live; the food must be

transformed into service, either of one's best interest, or of the interests of

others. You should not be a burden on others or an enemy of yourself. Mere care

of the body is profitless, for the body is only a container, a despised

container, when the spark of Divinity, which it contains, goes out. No one will

take in a corpse, if rain interrupts the funeral; a wayside shop may permit you

to keep your shoes for a while, while you go into the nearby temple; but the

corpse never! That is something disgusting, whose sight has to be avoided.

Start the first step with Namasmarana

Turn the key in the lock to the right, it opens; turn the same key to the left,

it is locked. So too, turn your mind towards the objective world, it is locked,

caught, entangled. Turn it to the right, away from the objects of the senses,

the lock is loosened, you are free, deliverance is at hand. How to turn it

right? Well, begin with remembering the Lord's holy name (Namasmarana), as the

first step. All journeys start with the first step. That will itself take you

through the second and the third, to the very goal.

I have to tell you one other point. I find that certain devotees have announced

that I will be going from here to their places and even arranged processions

and public meetings, without My permission. You have seen here itself how the

Municipality had to present their Welcome Address to Me, at the Pandal here; I

was not consulted about this programme before, nor had I agreed to it. Tens of

thousands had gathered at the Municipal Hall. At Salem and a number of places

between this town and Bangalore, people have organised such functions. When I

have given My word, I keep up to it. That is why I came all the way from

Tirupati, starting at 11 a.m. and motoring till 10 in the night. I knew that

A.K.C. had announced here that I would reach by 10.30 p.m. and so I stopped for

about an hour some miles away on the road, so that his guess might prove true.

A.K.C.

was wondering when I came, how I came exactly at 10.30 as per his announcement

over the mike a few hours previously. Perhaps he forgot that I could hear his

announcement miles and miles away. And who prompted him to make it, may I ask?

When I say that I am coming, I do come; but these over-enthusiastic devotees at

Salem and elsewhere are causing great hardship to the thousands whom they

mislead. Please hereafter do not be led away by all kinds of rumors that I am

visiting this place or that, on My way to this place or that. Test the

authenticity of each such piece of news before you believe.

Trichinopoly, 3-2-1964

What are problems? Whatever they are, they are all transient In relation to

eternity and of no lasting consequence. What are thoughts? They are creative

force within man, and represent the free will given to man by God. Life should

be full of joy and it will be, if you live your life in complete harmony with

God. - SHRI SATHYA SAI

4. BRAHMANANDA LINGA

PANDITH Uma Maheshwara Shastri and Veerabhadhra Shastri both spoke on the

Principle of Godhead, (Bhaagavath-thathwam), as far as they had grasped it, and

as far as language can express it; for, it is something beyond expression and

explanation. It has to be experienced and once experienced, the richness, the

fullness, the extent, the depth of that experience can never be communicated to

another. Man must feel that his highest destiny is to have that experience. He

is not a despicable creature, born in slime or sin, to eke out a drab existence

and be extinguished for ever. He is immortal; he is eternal. So, when the call

comes from the region of immortality, he responds with his whole heart. He

refuses to believe that he will die. He laughs at Death and treats him as a

harmless casual visitor. For, there is something in him that whispers a

challenge to death. He is a mixture of Deha and Deva---of the mortal and the

immortal. If liberation means the stoppage of grief and the acquisition of joy,

then, it is easy. What you have to do is to place all your burdens on God; that

makes you carefree, grief-free. Then, when you take everything as the Lee/a

(Divine play) of the Lord you love, you clap your hands in bliss whatever may

happen, for it is all His Divine Play and you are as happy as He is, when His

Plans are going through!

The genuine status of Man

"Eashwara sarvabhoothaanaam hriddese Arjuna thishtathi.O Arjuna, the God

resides in the heart of all beings," says Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita. He is

not to be found specially in cities like Amarnath, Kasi, Tirupati, Kedharaam or

Gokarnam. Just as every drop of the ocean has the salty taste, the composition

and the name of the ocean, so too every single being has the Divine taste and

composition, and the name of the Lord. Only you do not realise it so clearly.

The river Godavari realises itself by reaching the Sea; man realises himself by

merging in the Absolute. That which merges with the goal is Lingam: Leeyathe

gamyam ithi lingam. The space encased in the pot must become one with the Space

that traverses the entire Universe, by the negation of the attachment, which is

just an artificial creation of the deluded mind. That

attachment must disappear; that inferior status of manhood that now satisfies

him must give place to the status of Reality of God (Maadhavathwam), which is

the genuine status. That is the task for which Sai is calling you; that is the

work for which I have come. A Judge of the Supreme Court may, while at home,

play with his grandchild and bend on all fours for the little fellow to mount

his back and then He may crawl on the floor when the child cries "Holla"; but,

all the while his status as a Judge does not suffer diminution, nor does he

forget it. So, you too must always be conscious of the high calling on which

you have come; you should not disgrace it by any mean or meaningless act or

word or thought. I have come to give you the courage to conceive yourself as

the Supreme Truth (Paramatma) you really are; to give you the intellectual

power (dheeshakthi) to grasp the reality. That alone can destroy the delusion

born of ignorance.

Have the deliberation first

Step by step, you reach the end of the road. One act followed by another leads

to a good habit. Listening, listening, you get prodded into action. Resolve to

act, to mix only in good company, to read only elevating books, to form the

habit of remembering the Lord's name (Namasmarana) and, then ignorance will

vanish automatically. The Divine Bliss that will well up within you by the

contemplation of Ananda Swarupa (Bliss Personified) will drive out all grief,

all worry. Shiva, it seems, laughed when He took a good look at the Chariot

that was provided for Him when He started out to slay the Thripura-asuras, the

demons of the three bodies, Sthuula, Suukshma and Kaarana---the Gross, the

Subtle and the Causal. Vishnu, the Charioteer, was mostly in Yogic Sleep

(Yoganidhra), the stable Earth was the Chariot, and the

two wheels were the Sun and the Moon, two spheres which never revolved in

unison! That laughter laid the demons low; there was no more need to proceed

against the demons. How did the evil forces that dwelt in the three bodies die?

They could not exist where there was Divine Bliss; for, they are products of

grief. Develop Ananda; then evil impulses and tendencies will vanish, for they

will not get any foothold in the heart.

Move forward towards the Light and the shadow falls behind; you move away from

it and you have to follow your own shadow. Go every moment one step nearer to

the Lord and then, Maya, the shadow (illusion) will fall back and will not

delude you at all. Be steady; be resolved. Do not commit a fault or take a

false step and then repent! Have the thaapam (the deliberation, the decision,

the discipline) first, that is better than paschaath-thaapam, (regret for the

mistake made). Arjuna had thaapam, he saw the consequences even before the

battle began and wanted Krishna to advise him what to do. But, Dharmaraja, the

eldest brother, had paschaath-thaapam, sorrow after the war was over,

repentance after the loss incurred. Reason out and discriminate

Above all, you must take every step in spiritual practice or in the worldly

life, only after deep deliberation and satisfying yourself that it will be for

your good. Otherwise, it will be like the story of the weeping city. One day, a

close female attendant of the queen came to the palace weeping in great sorrow,

and so, the queen began to shed tears. Seeing the queen in tears, the entire

female attendants wept and the weeping spread to the male attendants also. The

king, finding the queen inconsolably sad, also wept profusely in sympathy, and

the sight made the entire city weep loud and non-stop. At last, one sensible

fellow set in motion an inquiry, which passed through person after person until

the queen herself was accosted. She said that her attendant was in sore grief,

and when she, a washerwoman by caste, was interrogated, she confessed that

it was all due to the sudden demise of her favorite ass! When this news spread,

the weeping ceased and there was widespread laughter and shame. Reason out,

discriminate; do not rush to conclusions or be led away by mere hearsay.

I have come to re-form you: I won't leave you until I do that. Even if you get

away before I do that, do not think you can escape Me; I will hold on to you. I

am not worried if you leave Me, for I am not anxious that there should be a huge

gathering here, around Me. Who invited you all here? There was not even a little

notice in print, but yet you have come here in thousands. You attach yourselves

to Me. I am unattached. I am attached only to the Task for which I have come.

But, of one thing, be assured. Whether you come to Me or not, you are all in

Mine. This Shiva Matha, this Sai Matha (Mother of all) has the love of a

thousand mothers towards Her children; that is why I do so much laalana

(fondling) and so much paalana (protecting). Whenever I appear to be angry,

remember, it is only love in another form. For, I have not even an atom of anger

in me; I just evince My disappointment that you do not shape as I direct. When I

direct you along a line of action, reflect on My advice; you have full liberty

to do so; in fact, I shall be happy if you do so; I do not like slavish

obedience. If you feel that it will help you to reach the goal, follow it; if

not, go to some other place; but, let Me tell you one thing: Wherever you go,

you meet only Me. I am everywhere.

Have you heard the story of the rabbit that had borrowed from Mother Earth four

naye paise? She thought that if she moved into a new region she would be free

from the obligation. So, one day she ran as fast as her legs could carry, her

and went far far away from the place where the amount was originally received.

At last, she sat down in great relief and said to herself, "Now no one will ask

me to repay." What was her surprise when from the ground underneath she heard a

voice, "Mother Earth is right under your feet, here. You cannot escape from me,

however far you run!"

So too, you cannot run away from Me. I will demand good conduct, good habits,

good thoughts, good company, wherever you go seeking for refuge! And what

reasons have you to leave? Only those who ignore the joy, the consolation, the

courage, the love and the blessing they have received here, will do so. Only

those who believe the ear and not the eye will do so. In a short time, you will

be witnessing the emergence of the Linga that is formed within; the auspicious

time for the emergence for the Linga is approaching; you see it and you receive

the blessings; but, yet, there will be some among you who will doubt it and deny

it. That is the karma of such; what else can they do?

(Here, Baba stopped the discourse; the movements started, first in the region of

the abdomen, then the chest and the throat; Baba swayed from the side; leaned on

the table; drank water; and finally, after about twenty minutes, an egg shaped

pink Linga emerged from His mouth. Holding it between the thumb and forefinger

of His right hand, Baba discoursed further about it).

Ah! This is the Brahmananda Linga! Symbol of the Universe. Inside it, the nine

planets (Navagrahas) revolve; the entire Universe is represented herein, all

the planets and their satellites, the primal fire, the clouds of primal dust,

and over the anda, there is an eye imprinted, the Jagadekachakshu (the Eye of

the One Eternal Witness). You are indeed blessed; the merit of many births has

brought you here to see the Great Phenomenon, this rare Creation. Years of

worship, or ritualistic vows and fasts, may not give this unique chance which

you now have had, remember. Use this good luck to hear good Godly advice, to

select good company and to strive more earnestly to reach the Goal.

Prashanthi Nilayam, Shivarathri, 11-2-1964

5. THE MANI MANTAPA

KUPPU Bairaagi Shastri and the Srouthi from Mysore gave you the pleasure of

hearing both Vedanta (system of Hindu philosophy based on Vedas) and Veda,

while Veerabhadhra Shastri selected as his subject the Dolothsavam (swing

festival) of Krishna, evidently because today; these devotees from Bangalore,

mostly florists and decorators who have been attached to Me for more than

twenty-two years, insisted on My sitting for some time in this Joola (swing)

they have constructed with such care and devotion. I shall speak only for some

little time, for, there is a Harikatha (musical discourse) later and as I have

often told you, you must learn to respectfully listen to whosoever addresses

you here, for they speak only of things that elevate you and strengthen your

spiritual discipline.

What exactly is the aim and purpose of all the Sasthras (scriptures), the

Bhagavatham (containing tales about Avatars of Vishnu), the Puranas

(mythological tales), these discourses and the Harikatha? Just try to answer

that query. It is to tell man the truth about himself. There is no plot to

mislead you. That is not the desire of the sages who wrote down these annals

and their own experiences. You know only the present, what is happening before

your eyes; you do not know that the Present is related to the Past and is

preparing the course of the Future. It is like the headline and titles of a

film on the screen; as the letters gleam one after the other, you read them and

pass on to the next that comes to view. Each new letter or word wipes out the

one already before your eye, just as each birth wipes out the memory of

the one already experienced.

All have to merge finally

Man does not realise that the end of this cycle of birth and death is in his own

hands. The tree came from the seed and the seed from the tree and so on, from

the beginning of time. Yes; you may not know which came first, tree or seed;

but you can easily put an end to the cycle, by frying the seed. It won't sprout

again. Being extraordinary, man is now descending to levels, which are below

ordinary. The marshy lake. Like the animals of the desert, he is running

towards the mirage to slake his thirst. He claims to have mastered the senses

and all low desires but they sprout at the first chance, like grass after the

first shower after summer.

Just as you seek the udder of the cow for the milk it gives, seek the Lord and

His Glory only in nature. As a matter of fact, Nature is useful only when it

adds to the wonder and awe that it is able to provoke and sustain. Everything

is an image of the Lord. Krishna revelled in seeing His own images in the Mani

Mantapa (pavilion set with precious stones) of His house, when He was a child.

Just as the Lord is pleased when He sees Himself in His manifestation called

Nature, there is such joy welling up in all when they hear the story of the

Lord and how He calls all to Himself. It is the call of the b/tuba (object] for

the prathibimba (image); to merge in it. So, all are entitled for merging; all

finally have to attain it. Otherwise, there is no meaning for the yearning to

become greater and greater.

You might ask Me to speak about my own mystery. It is not easy to understand it.

When you have the chance, gather all the joy you can. There is no use of bolting

the door after the thieves have robbed and fled. Seize the chance and do not

repent later that you missed the opportunity. Remember, you have to come to Me,

if not in this birth, at least within ten more births! Strive to acquire Grace;

Grace is the reward for spiritual practice; the highest spiritual discipline is

to follow the instructions of the Master.

Years of rigorous training make the soldier, who can then stand all the rigors

of warfare. The heroic fighter is not made in a day. So too, the practicing

spiritual aspirant (Sadhak) who can win victories, is not made in a day.

Restrictions and regulations, drill and techniques have been laid down for him

also. Follow them sincerely and steadily and victory is yours.

Prashanthi Nilayam, 12-2-1964

Pain is a gap between two moments of happiness. Happiness is an interval between

two moments of pain. - SHRI SATHYA SAI

6. KASI AND BADRI

LIFE is only relatively real; until death, it appears to be real, that is all.

For the procession of the bride and groom, the father of the bride had brought

an elephant or rather the model of an elephant, correct to the minutest detail;

all who saw it to be alive took the model. Then, while all were admiring the

wonderful work of art and arguing that it was alive, it exploded, shooting

forth lovely little stars and snakes of light that gleamed through the sky. It

was filled with fireworks and when it was lit, the entire stock filling the

inside emerged, with a burst of noise and a brilliant riot of light and colour.

Man is like that elephant, true, until the explosion! Before that explosion

happens, man must realise himself. The fireworks are desire, anger, delusion,

pride and jealousy etc., and they now fill this artificial animal, useful only

for the

show. Vedanta, which is like the roar of the lion, saves man from such calamity;

it gives Courage and Enterprise; it makes man a hero. It does not whine or howl

or cry. It drives cowardice away; instills the highest types of

self-confidence. It is the strongest Armour against the arrows of fate. It acts

like a waterproof against the hailstorms of sensual pleasure. It is a curtain

keeping out the mosquitoes of worry, which would otherwise rob you of sleep.

With Vedanta-saturated heart, you are a rock on the shore, unaffected by the

waves of temptation. Vedanta challenges your spirit of adventure, your own

reality. Get into the train of spiritual discipline now; station-by-station,

you will reach the terminus, which is Jnaana (realisation) of you and of all

this. Go to Penukonda, purchase a ticket for Bangalore and sit in the train. Do

not get down in the middle when some station attracts you. The stations are

karma, Upasana (action, contemplation), etc.

You have to pass through them, but remember they are not the termini. The terminus is Realisation.

Harmonious outlook essential

The ghost of Delusion now possesses man; he is prating a language, which is

unbecoming, behaving like an animal moving in a zigzag manner, climbing and

sliding. I have come to exercise the ghost; that is part of My work. This

delusion, that the man who is possessed is really intelligent, has caused great

harm. For example, Pundits spend a good deal of time to argue that Rama is

superior to Krishna or that Krishna is superior, whereas the truth is that each

of them reveals a certain phase of Divinity. The comparison itself diminishes

the integrity of the inquirer. If he has any reverence, he would not attempt an

intellectual estimate; he would try to get an intuitive experience, as

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa did; and, then he would realise that one is as sweet as

the other. Saint Thyagaraja discovered this because he was a mystic, one who

experienced,

instead of arguing over it. He sang that Rama is composed of two sounds, 'Raa'

taken from Naa-raa-ya-na and 'Ma' taken from Na-ma-sshi-va-ya; that Rama is the

harmonization of Vaishnavism and Shaivism (worship of God as Vishnu and worship

of God as Shiva). Harmony is the test of any religious outlook; if it breeds

hate or faction or pride, the outlook is definitely evil. Keep away from such,

if you are interested in your spiritual practice.

Regulate love with virtue and service

I am not attracted by learning or scholarship, which does not lead anywhere

except towards egoism and pride. I am drawn only by devotion. Bring to Me

whatever troubles you have; I shall take them on and give you Ananda. When I

like My devotees, I like their faults too, though some here turn up their noses

and laugh at the peculiar follies and foibles of people who come from all the

various States. I am drawn by the Love which brings you here from long

distances through great difficulties, which makes you happy in spite of the

want of the comforts to which you are accustomed, which makes you put up with

the life under the trees or in the open sheds.

I know that you do not go to the old Mandir (temple) in the village, for as you

say, from there you cannot see Me whenever I happen to pass from this side of

the building to the other! I am here since three hours and you are having sight

of Me (Darshan) so long; but, yet, as soon as I go up into My room, you rush to

the Nilayam to get another Darshan, as I come out into the verandah! What

greater sign of devotion is needed than this yearning for Darshan?

But, this love alone is not enough. In fact, it does not mean much at all. What

is wanted is the regulation of that Love, in the form of virtue and service. If

you achieve that, then there is none to equal you, in this age. As the seed, so

the sapling; as the status, so the behavior; as the teacher, so the students;

as the food, so the belch. Here, renunciation and divine love from the

atmosphere, and silence is the discipline. Do not criticize others; criticize

yourselves rather. Have the name of the Lord on your tongue; the form of the

Lord before your eye. If you shape yourself this way, the place where you stand

will become Kasi, the house, which you inhabit, will become Badri. Let all your

activities be directed towards the purification of your hearts. You have My

Blessings in this endeavor.

Prashanthi Nilayam, 3-2-1964

The play is His, The role is His, The lines are written by Him. He directs, He

designs the dress and decoration, the gesture and the tone, the entrance and

exit. You have to act well the part and receive His approbation when the

curtain falls. - - Sri Sathya Sai

TO BE CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brothers – ‘’

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