Ceiling on Desires” Part 1

[Guest guest]

August 28th, 2005

"Ceiling on Desires" Part 1

 

 

 

OM…OM…OM…

 

Sai Ram

 

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

 

What is Desire ?

I am so glad to be with all of you again this morning. I was thinking of a

subject on which to speak, and it suddenly occurred to me to talk about an

activity which is very, very important to all members of Sai organisations.

What is that activity? It is called 'ceiling on desires', a practice adopted

and followed by all members of Sathya Sai Organisation all over the world. What

do they do? They reduce their expenditures and expenses, save this money,

deposit it in the bank and then remit it to the Sathya Sai Central Trust

account.

 

If their habit is to drink coffee, they will stop drinking coffee, save the

money and deposit it in the bank. If they have planned a weekend trip, they

will forego that pleasure and deposit the money that they would be spending on

that. So 'ceiling on desires' is a program to save money that we normally spend

on certain pleasures, comforts, picnics, luxuries, etc. The money thus saved is

deposited in our bank, and finally sent to the Sathya Sai Central Trust. This

was the practice, and has been ever since I was the State President of the

Sathya Sai Organisation in Andhra Pradesh.

 

My friends, I would like to combine this with what Swami says on the same topic,

to give you some idea about the meaning. Some people, like me, may feel, "I

don't have many desires, so how can I have a 'ceiling on desires'? So, I'll

continue as usual, and apply the 'ceiling' later, if the need arises!"

(Laughter)

 

I also have some questions before me that I shall try and answer. If I can cover

it all, well and good; if not, we will continue in the next talk.

 

What is a desire?

What is a desire? When do you desire? Why should you put a full-stop to the

desire? What does desire actually mean, spiritually, physically,

psychologically? What is a desire?

 

Well, I want to let you know, my friends, since we are all a spiritual group

here, the English-speaking people want to go into the subject in depth, for

which I am very grateful (and also to Bhagavan). They want me to speak about

the spiritual aspect, and finally the scriptural view-point of 'ceiling on

desires'.

 

MAN MINUS DESIRE IS EQUAL TO GOD

If God desires, He becomes a man. When man gives up desire, he becomes God. God

plus desire is equal to man. Man minus desire is equal to God. That's all. So

the difference between God and man is only desire. Once this is given up, it is

easy to experience Divinity.

 

Why do we desire? If I am God by not desiring, why do I continue to desire? That

is our next question.

 

Desire arises because of attachment with the world. As I am attached to the

world, desires emanate, desires originate and desires multiply. So desire is

because of our interaction with the world. The more I interact with the world,

the more desirous I will be. Those who do not interact with the world, like the

sages, saints, prophets

and aspirants, are detached from worldly, sensual pleasures and comforts, and

therefore they have no desires. So the root cause of desire is association with

the world. By 'world' I mean the world of the five elements and the community

around; the entire surroundings, ambience and environment. Attachment to this

world is the cause of desire. But real spirituality is different.

 

NON-SEEKING IS SPIRITUALITY

Some people say, "I desire to see God." Or they say, "I desire to merge in God."

Others have the prayer, "I desire to see God, to speak to Him and to experience

Him." This is altogether meaningless. If we go deeper and deeper into

spirituality, the desire to be with God and to talk to Him is meaningless.

Don't misunderstand me. I am not an atheist, and this gathering is not for

atheists.

 

A great philosopher of our time clearly said, "Non-seeking is spirituality.

Non-desiring is spirituality." This seems quite funny, because people say, "I

am in search of God and have gone around the world in search of Him." No, you

cannot seek Him and you cannot desire Him. Therefore, non-desiring and

non-seeking are true spirituality.

 

Divinity is all-encompassing

In connection with this, Baba Himself has a poem, which I will not quote because

you do not know Telugu. The opportunity to exhibit my scholarship is a

temptation; but up to now, I have not given in to that vanity! (Laughter)

 

In that poem, Swami said the smallest of the small and the biggest of the big is

the eternal Witness, which is Divinity. The smallest of the small, meaning

smaller than an atom, smaller than a molecule, less than a fraction of an

electron, is Divine. And the biggest of the big, bigger than Mount Everest,

more spacious than the planet Earth, vaster than the ocean, is Divinity.

 

In other words, the biggest of the big and the smallest of the small is

Divinity, the eternal Witness. In that poem, according to Baba, Divinity is

all-encompassing, all-embracing, everlasting, immortal, and so vast and

infinite. So when God is everywhere, from the smallest of the small to the

biggest of the big, and I say, "I am seeking God", something is wrong with me.

(Laughter)

 

when God is everywhere, how can there be desire?

God is everywhere.

 

When I see my friend Lakhi sitting in front of me, why would I say, "I'm looking

for Lakhi? Where is he?"

 

"He's there in front of you!"

 

Similarly, when God is everywhere and yet I say, "I am seeking God", something

is wrong with me. You find God by non-seeking

, not by seeking. When you seek, two points come in to the picture: space and

time, both of which are of the world. As the philosopher said, "Non-seeking is

spirituality."

 

When Baba is in the mandir (temple) or when my God is in the Poornachandra

Auditorium, I have to walk two furlongs to go there – space. And time – at what

time can I see Him? So time and space come into this picture of seeking. But God

is beyond time and space. God is everywhere. Then, what is the point of saying

'seeking'? I can seek a person or I can be in search of an object. I can seek

an experience, but I cannot 'seek God' as He is present all the time.

Therefore, it is absolutely correct when Baba says, "Non-seeking is religion;

non-seeking is spirituality."

 

Supposing I say, "I desire a glass of water" when I already have water. What do you say in reply?

 

"Oh man, there is already a glass of water here. Why do you desire a glass of

water when it is already here?"

 

So desire must be for that which you do not have, or for that which you are not.

You desire what is not available. When it is there available all the time, "with

you, in you, above you, below you, around you," (as Baba puts it), why is there

this question of desiring God? He is already there. Why desire Him?

 

I desire to have a watch because I do not have a watch. I desire to have a

camera because I do not have one. So you can desire that which you do not have.

You don't desire that which you already have. Suppose I say to you, "I desire to

have a head." (Laughter)

 

You would think, "Oh, oh, we made a big mistake coming here. You have gone mad

and maybe you will make us mad, too." (

Laughter) So you don't desire to have a head. You have a head already.

 

Similarly, when God is everywhere, in you, above you, all over, from microcosm

to macrocosm, how can there be desire?

 

"I desire oxygen to breathe." What have you been breathing till now? (Laughter)

Is it carbon dioxide or sulphur dioxide? So my friends, let us be thoroughly

convinced of the basic fact that searching for God cannot be a desire. I desire

Him. I desire to be with Him. I desire to be in Him. All are meaningless once we

are aware of the fact that He is everywhere all the time.

 

That is the first spiritual point which I want to bring to your attention.

 

Baba is everywhere

Someone once came and asked Swami, "Swami, I want a flat in Prashanti Nilayam,

preferably in the West Gate, where there are recently built apartments with

spacious rooms." (Laughter)

 

Swami said, "You already have a flat. Why do you ask for a flat?"

 

"No, Swami, I don't have a flat; I want an apartment here."

 

"You have one already."

 

"Where, Swami? Where is the apartment I own without my knowledge?" (Laughter)

 

Baba said, "Why do you want a flat?"

 

"To be with You, Swami, whenever I come here."

 

Baba said, "You already have the apartment."

 

"Arre, where is it, Swami?"

 

Swami said, "Your heart is your apartment where I stay. I'm already there!"

 

This is a spiritual thought that may appear to be so simple, but yet it requires

a deeper spirit of inquiry, a thorough understanding, and ultimately the Divine

experience. Till then we have to pass through all these stages.

 

We had a sub-warden in the Sri Sathya Sai Hostel at Brindavan, in Whitefield,

Bangalore, who is no longer living. His name was Bala Krishna. When Swami

stayed in Brindavan, we used to get many phone calls from those who want to

come to Bangalore. They want to know whether Swami is there or not. If He is

not there, they can go directly to Prashanti Nilayam. They ask, "Where is

Baba?"

 

Bala Krishna, a very funny and crazy man, quite elderly but not senile, used to

give this reply, "Baba? He's everywhere." (Laughter)

 

"Where is Swami?"

 

"He is everywhere."

 

"No, sir, is He in Bangalore?"

 

"No, no. Why Bangalore? He is everywhere." (Laughter)

 

This reply will naturally annoy and irritate everybody because that's not the

answer they want. But it is true.

 

ask yourself the question, "Who am I?"

A long time ago, I spent some time with the senior citizens in the Kulwant Hall.

All the senior citizens sat there, and I was with them because my next promotion

is to that group! (Laughter) I wanted to establish my link then, so that they

cannot say later, "There is no room for you." (Laughter) I move with children

and seniors - children to keep myself young in spirit, and seniors to be with

them later.

 

It so happened some time back that there was a gentleman, no longer with us,

whose name was Chopra. He was a very interesting man.

 

Swami gave a very elderly person an interview and a man from Kerala assisted him

to the interview room. Swami then said, "All Kerala men will assist you." But if

Baba doesn't look at you, they resist you. Assist or resist – it all depends

upon if His Divine eyes look at you at that point of time.

 

Because Swami called him for an interview, this gentleman Chopra asked me, "Mr.

Anil Kumar, who is he?" What reply can I give? I didn't know the elderly

gentleman who was called for an interview, and I didn't want to say, "I don't

know."

 

We should encourage senior citizens to laugh a little bit, because in the past

they were always working. They were workaholics, like alcoholics. We get very

tired and mentally stressed. We become intellectually impoverished and

spiritually bankrupt. (Laughter) At least, let this be the time to relax and

enjoy and some fun in life. Earlier there was no time for fun, only pressure.

Living under pressure, from pressure to pressure, that's why the blood pressure

shoots up! (Laughter)

 

That's why I wanted to make everybody laugh and so I said, "Mr Chopra, what is your question?"

 

He said, "Who is he?"

 

Then I told him, "You have come here to know who you are, not to know who he is.

(Laughter) Instead of saying, 'Who is he?' ask yourself the question, 'Who am

I?'"

 

All the elderly people laughed and laughed.

 

Though it was just a joke, it is a fact. Baba said once, "If you know who you

are, you will know the whole universe. You will know the entire cosmos. When

you do not know yourself, there is no point in knowing others because you will

never know them in spirit. You will only know them by form and name, not in

spirit."

 

Therefore, my friends, desiring or seeking God is meaningless in the context of

religion and spirituality.

 

Don't do, then you will experience god

The third point I want to bring to your attention is this: Someone asked Ramana

Maharshi, "Swami, what should I do to experience God?"

 

A good question: "What should I do?" It is a genuine question from a spiritual seeker.

 

Ramana Maharshi said only, "Don't do. Then you will experience God." (Laughter)

 

This fellow was utterly deflated. (Laughter)

 

"I travelled this country in search of Sage Ramana Maharshi, the greatest man next to Adi Shankara

(a teacher in the field of non-dualism, in the 8th century) so as to ask him,

"What should I do to experience God?" and then he says, "Don't do!"

 

So he went away, determined not to come again. But another man said to him, "Why are you upset?"

 

"Ramana Maharshi says, 'Don't do.' What does he mean? I want to do something to experience God."

 

This other person, who had read and studied some Ramana Maharshi literature,

gave this answer: "All doing is psychological."

 

'I want to do something.' This thought of doing gets translated into action

later. Doing is a process prompted by thought. Thought is a product of the

mind. Mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts and counter-thoughts. 'I want to

do japa' (repeat the Name of the Lord) is a thought. 'I want to meditate' -

thought. 'I want to worship' - thought. 'I want to pray' - thought. So all the

'I want to do this and that' is psychological - a thought process. But God is

beyond the mind.

 

Some people say, "I saw a blue light when Bhagavan was passing by."

 

If you tell Swami, He will say, "Hysteria." (Laughter)

 

Some people say they felt a cool breeze touching them when Swami was passing by.

 

Swami says, "Mental." (Laughter) Because all this is imagination.

 

Just toward the end of the academic year, Swami gave a talk: "All the dreams

that you speak of are of your imagination." That talk agitated many people

because we are very comfortable with our dreams and our imagination. So when

Swami says there is nothing in our belief in dreams, our faith is shattered and

shaken. People were asking many questions about it. (We shall go into those

details later where I gave them some answers.)

 

Divinity is beyond thought and word

So all that I say is a thought. Baba clearly said that the real Divine

experience cannot be spoken of, or stated. It cannot be narrated, or described.

He said That which is beyond thought, That which is beyond word, That which is

beyond description is Divine. If I say something is 'That', a thought is still

there in the process. That is the reason why the Upanishads clearly state,

"That which is beyond thought and word is Divinity."

 

All that is experienced by the mind can be expressed. If it is not experienced

by the mind, it cannot be expressed. Therefore, if I am speaking of this and

that, it is at the level of the mind only. It is not the total spiritual or

religious experience. It is only verbal, academic, from memory, or

recapitulated in the mind, computer-like, a feeling or expression, appearing on

the screen, that's all. That's why the Upanishads clearly said, "Beyond the mind

and the word."

 

Therefore, my friends, if people say, "I do this, I do that" as some do,

boasting, "Anil Kumar, I have written '

Sai Ram, Sai Ram' ten thousand times", I say, "You have written it, so what do

you expect me to do? Shall I celebrate? (Laughter) Or, are you going to

celebrate? I don't mind joining you for a cup of tea!"

 

As Ramana Maharshi said, "Don't do. You don't need to do."

 

religion is relaxation

So the definition of religion is relaxation. Non-doing is religion; non-seeking

is religion; relaxation is religion. We do not know how to relax. What is

relaxation? We are often dissatisfied and troubled, under tension and pressure,

and that is carried into the dream state also. As people go to sleep, they again

dream of this pressure.

 

So we have no peace either in the waking or the dreaming state. Therefore my

friends, relaxation is religion. Let not any thought disturb me. Let not any

word disturb me. Let no book be a hindrance. Let no scripture be a stumbling

block. Let my heart be a book. Let my experience, not written expression, be

the scripture. That's the reason why all saints say, "Books will never save

you."

 

Baba goes one step further and says, "The more books you read, the more confused

you will be!" (Laughter) This is just like the number of medicine bottles on the

table will indicate the scale of the sickness of the gentleman…one for

digestion, one for appetite, one for sleep, one to stay awake. (Laughter) So

his table full of bottles speaks of his blood pressure, heart problem, kidney

problem -- all problems until the final problem is solved! (Laughter) So the

more medicines on the table, the more is the person's sickness. Similarly, the

more books one reads, the more is the degree of confusion.

 

That's why some speakers, well-read and scholarly, send us to sleep when they

speak. They start at one point, go to another point and on to another again.

(Laughter) There is no point at all. They start with some point, and then they

go somewhere else, and end up somewhere entirely different. This is because of

too much reading. You can read in the biographies of many top scientists about

how they turn man into an 'agenda'.

 

relaxation means a thoughtless state

So, too much thought is also a nuisance, burdensome, stressful and strenuous.

Therefore, my friends, relaxation is religion. Let us relax. But how?

 

By taking scotch whiskey? (Laughter) Shall I relax? No. Things become much

worse. Shall I take drugs like marijuana? Things become much worse. So drugs,

alcohol, and intoxicants will worsen the situation. It is not relaxation,

because you will become more stressful because of their use.

 

Relaxation means a thought-less state, a state where thoughts are withdrawn and

subside. It is a state when the mind is totally withdrawn and annihilated. That

is relaxation.

 

Now our problem is how to relax. See that. We know how to be tense and worried.

We know how to worry others. (Laughter)

We live under pressure and we put others under pressure. That's why we find

people with long faces, who have forgotten how to smile long, long ago. Some

people never take pleasure in smiling because they feel happy living under

tension. They find happiness in unhappiness. That's not religion.

 

That's why Baba clearly said, "Bliss is God. God is bliss." He never said, "Pain

is God, God is pain; God is misery." (Laughter) We quote that, but are we

blissful? We are not blissful for the simple reason that we do not relax; for

the simple reason that the mind has never experienced thoughtlessness.

 

waves are the thoughts; THE ocean is consciousness

Consciousness or awareness can be compared to a big ocean; and this ocean

carries waves on its surface. Waves are the thoughts; the ocean is

consciousness. Therefore, it is the consciousness, oceanic, so vast and of

fathomless depth, on which you find the superficial waves of thought.

 

Baba said, "A man stood for hours and hours in front of the sea."

 

Somebody asked him, "Why are you standing there?"

 

"Sir, I want to swim and I'm waiting for these waves to stop." (Laughter)

 

"Oh, oh, they will never stop, so you will never go swimming. (Laughter) Stop

waiting for that to happen."

 

So the thoughtless state can be attained by thought only. When a thorn is

embedded, I use another thorn to take it out. A diamond cuts a diamond. A thorn

helps to take out another thorn.

Similarly, the thoughtless state is reached by another thought. How? By

enquiring from where the thought arises, its origin. We all know that thoughts

arise in a sequence, sometimes irregularly, because the mind is like a busy

marketplace. It is similar to the Hong Kong or Chicago airport, where there is

one flight after another every three seconds!

 

find the origin of the thought

So there are a number of uncontrolled thoughts. Now I need to go to the root of

the thoughts, to where the thought arises. Once you are aware of the birth of

the thought, then the thought-process is slowed. The thoughts don't stop, but

the speed is slower. Slower and slower, slower and slower. So first let us

arrest and control the speed of thought. When the speed is checked, thoughts

stop. Thoughts come to a total halt and that is thoughtlessness, according to

Ramana Maharshi, who gave this beautiful technique.

 

Bhagavan Baba's teachings and Ramana Maharshi's teachings go perfectly together.

After reading Sathya Sai literature, you can understand Ramana Maharshi better.

If you read and practise it straightaway, then you will become thoughtless,

brainless or mindless, which is easy. It is the other side of the coin.

 

So what Maharshi says is, "The ocean is your consciousness, and the waves of

that ocean are the thoughts." You cannot wait for the total halt of the waves

to get into that ocean. No. Go in deeper and deeper, and then you reach that

state where there are no waves at all.

 

Similarly, by the use of thought to find the origin of the thought, thoughts are

slowed down. Later they subside. That is what is called 'withdrawal of the mind'

or manovaakaya.

 

What will happen? Ramana Maharshi says the mind becomes dissolved in the

spiritual heart, hridaya. The mind is separate from the heart, but once I think

of the origin of the thought, thoughts are naturally slowed down. They go, and

the mind disappears into the spiritual heart. Ramana Maharshi says the physical

heart is present on the left side, while the spiritual heart is present on the

right side.

 

desire is a thought

Therefore my friends, desire is a thought. 'I desire God. I desire to be with

Him. I desire an interview. I desire to at least get in the first row for

darshan; and the first row in the canteen!' So these are all thoughts, and God

is beyond thought.

 

That is the state of relaxation. Relaxation is the NO-mind state. But first you

need to KNOW the mind. The mind is a bundle of thoughts. Slowly you get to the

thoughtless state, totally relaxed, the NO-mind state. That is Divinity. That

is

samadhi (perfect equanimity, where the self is no longer there.) If you have an

experience in samadhi, 'I see a beautiful picture; I see Goddess Gayatri

running', arre, arre, again you are in thought! (Laughter)

 

Thoughts turn everyone into a monkey. That is why Baba says the mind is a mad

monkey. People laugh and clap on hearing that. But my mind is as much like a

monkey as yours. Therefore, this non-desiring, non-seeking, total state of

relaxation is Divinity or Godhead. We will be thinking more about those

spiritual aspects towards the end of the talk.

 

I wanted to begin this talk with a spiritual focus on the subject of 'Ceiling on

Desires', emphasising that in the spiritual field, the word 'desire' is

meaningless. The word 'desire' should be dropped. It is not applicable and not

relevant as God is already here, there and everywhere.

 

Now I want to give a few other points on the worldly level, the physical plane -

just landing, and I will take off later! (Laughter) Now for the landing…let's be

earthly.

 

first desire: power and position

These are a few points made by Baba. As an individual, what are my desires? What

are the desires we have in common? One: power and position. If I give you charge

of this veranda, you start to feel you are the highest ranking officer. If I put

you in charge of this gate, you are "Ambassador of India." (Laughter) The mind

is so silly. Any simple minor job or responsibility gives a swollen head. Why?

"I am in charge."

 

I knew a lady who was in charge of rolling the carpets up. She was fairly old,

and very serious about it all. I get so much fun looking at these foolish

people who are very serious for no reason.

 

I asked, "I find you very busy. What job do you do here?"

 

"Carpet rolling -- you know that."

 

"Oh, I see. If carpet rolling makes you roll on the floor like that, then what a

fool I am to ask you such a question!" (Laughter)

So, we have power and position. A person is in charge of cutting up vegetables.

Abbah! He thinks that he is a defence officer, or a military commander. And

what does he do? Cuts vegetables! Therefore, where there is position and power,

you have the power to kick people out. Abba! So what do you do? Kick people out!

(Laughter)

 

This is the first thing that people desire is power and position. This is

because of the ego. The ego is satisfied when you are powerful and have a

position. That is why people want to hold on to positions till their last

breath.

 

We know some people who cannot work, as this is beneath them; but they are seminar convenors.

Arre, he cannot work! This is like a drunkard serving as the prohibition

minister, or like an illiterate serving as a minister of education; or a timid

fellow as a major general. (Laughter) Therefore, my friends, let us be free

from this egoistic tendency, the egoistic attitude of running after position

and power.

 

This is the first desire to be given up; but people feel very uneasy doing that.

A few years ago, I met a very elderly man. I know him very well. He was thinking

about something, walking slowly, and seemed to be very worried.

 

I asked him, "Sir, what's wrong? How are you? Are you OK?"

 

"No, sir. I was doing some work in the store. I had a fracture and had to rest.

Now I am all right. I went to report for duty and they said, 'Your services are

not required.' Therefore, I am very unhappy."

 

Then I said, "Do you think that store will get you to heaven? Why are you

attached to the store? In the next birth, you will have to be born as an

article in the store, like toothpaste or a matchbox." (Laughter)

 

"Is my life now worth living?" he said.

 

I told him, "Sir, you have served long enough in the store. Now relax."

 

Enjoy 'store' days, if you find them heavenly. But come out of the store,

please. The head itself is a storehouse. The abdomen is a storehouse; the

kidney is a storehouse. Empty your stores so that you will be healthy.

 

The problem is that the man was feeling, 'I am nobody since I am no longer in

the store. When I was there, I was somebody, holding a position, in charge of

the toothpaste, matchboxes, and other things.' (Laughter) All that is gone.

That's why he finds life empty. How unfortunate! How miserable he must be! But

being in charge will not take us anywhere, my friends.

 

This craze, this egoistic desire for power and position is the first dirty

thing. It is a block, an island, separating us from God. The one who gives up

this ego and attachment for power and position is the first man to enter the

gates to heaven. It was Jesus Christ who said, "I have come to serve and not to

be served."

 

It is Bhagavan Baba who said, "I have come to serve you. I don't want your

services. Serve your fellowman and society. That is serving Me. That is service

to Me. You don't have to serve Me."

 

So the first desire is for power and position.

 

desire for properties

The second is desire for properties. What does Baba say? You should have

proper-ties not properties. Have proper-ties with God, not properties.

 

If I have more and more properties, what happens? First, there are personal

safety and security issues. The children are waiting to inherit the property;

waiting to say farewell to this fellow. (Laughter) Properties are

entanglements. I acquire properties, thinking that I will be more secure. But

the very property gives us nightmares. The richest man is never at ease. He

cannot drink water without the thought that there may be some poison in it,

potassium cyanide perhaps. The next man waits to take his property.

 

Therefore, I acquire property thinking I will be comfortable, but the moment I

get the property, I become most uncomfortable. I think I am secure with

property but I feel very insecure the moment I get it. Therefore, we should

have proper-ties with God, not properties.

 

Third Desire: popularity

Three: there is the desire for popularity, to be famous, the craze for name and

fame. Regarding the craze for popularity, well, I think those in Prashanti

Nilayam need not be told about it. You are very popular in the morning, and

most unpopular in the evening. You are most popular when you are given an

interview, and most unpopular when Swami does not look at you. Name and fame,

how fleeting they are! Popularity, how temporary and how momentary it is! This

is well-known in Prashanti Nilayam. Nowhere is it easier to learn it!

(Laughter)

 

I will give you my own experience. Swami visited Bangalore when I was serving

there as college principal. His car rushed into the Brindavan campus where I

was standing with some senior devotees. That day Swami did not talk to me. The

second day, He did not look at me. The third day, it was as if I was a

non-entity – nonexistent; almost an insect or a mosquito; simply ignored!

(Laughter)

 

The fourth day happened to be a Sunday, when we had an assembly

.. Usually every Sunday Swami attended, and would ask somebody to speak.

 

He called to me, "Come on and speak."

 

Well, I spoke and Swami said, "Very nice."

 

Three or four senior people, devotees of long-standing, who had never looked at

my face in the past three days, (ignoring me like Swami) immediately came

afterwards and said, "Anil Kumar, your speech was so nice."

 

"Arre, what was wrong yesterday? You never looked at me." (Laughter)

 

Another senior man said, "Anil Kumar, how nice you are."

 

"I was nice yesterday also." (Laughter)

 

Another man said, "Anil Kumar, your clothes are so nice."

 

"I always dress nicely." (Laughter)

 

Then I understood. These fellows started recognising me only when I was

recognised and noticed by Baba. So this recognition, or this so-called

popularity, when you are famous, the so-called name and fame, is momentary.

This is the best place to know that popularity is not permanent. If you don't

learn this here, you will not learn it even after a hundred lives!

 

Therefore my friends, this craze and desire to be famous and popular is an

indication or sign of ego. It is the ego that wants to be recognised. If anyone

stops me at the gate to Swami's residence, I feel insulted. Seva dals (voluntary

helpers) change from month to month, and they come from different Indian states.

What guarantee is there that you will be known to all? It is not necessary. You

are not the Father of the Nation. (Laughter) And you are not Baba, to be known

by everybody. (Laughter)

 

So if anyone stops me at the gate and says, "Where are you from?" I feel insulted.

 

"Haven't you seen me before? Haven't you seen me here at some time?" (Laughter)

 

"We haven't come here to remember seeing you!" (Laughter)

 

Many years ago, a chief accounts officer of Srinigar cadres (army) said, "Anil

Kumar I want to do some service here."

 

I said "OK, sir." I gave him duty in the Poornachandra auditorium, where he was

to distribute ladoos. This is a chief accounts officer, who has hundreds and

thousands of officers under his control. A chief accounts officer is more

important than an engineer. After all, accounts mean money! (Laughter)

 

So he was a very important man, and the duty given to him was to distribute

ladoos. He was quite happy doing this. One very elderly man who was in charge

of the whole department came to the man and said, "Stop distributing ladoos!"

It was the first time that the chief accounts officer met him.

 

He said, "Why should I stop?"

 

The elderly man said, "Stop, I say!"

 

He replied, "Who are you to tell me that?" And he went on distributing the ladoos to the people.

 

The elderly man could not control him. He then asked, "Do you know who I am?"

 

The chief accounts officer said, "Why should I need to know who you are? I have

come here to know Swami, not you!"

(Laughter)

 

Abba! This elderly man's ego! Abba! It was like a boil or an ulcer! (Laughter)

He found out that the man came from Andhra Pradesh. Immediately he called me.

"Anil Kumar, meet me in my office."

Then I thought, 'I am finished.' We have to be packed ready to leave any day,

and every day is a bonus. (Laughter)

So I know that to be dismissed is a possibility. 'He is going to finish me

off.' (Laughter) I went to see him.

 

He said, "Not now, come at 7:30 in the evening."

 

"Sir, you wanted to meet with me immediately."

 

"No, no, at 7:30."

 

I said, "Oh." Then I thought I might need some insurance coverage. So later, I

took along with me some elderly people who would vouch for me, who are my

well-wishers.

 

That man started blasting me. "Who is that man? I asked him not to distribute

ladoos, but he ignored me. Why did you put him there?"

 

I heard him out patiently because I was already prepared emotionally. So I just kept quiet.

 

Then he said, "Why do you keep quiet?"

 

"Sir, do you want me to fall at your feet, or do you want the chief accounts

officer to fall at your feet?"

 

"The chief accounts officer?"

 

"Yes, he has thousands under his control. He wanted to do some service and he's

doing it here. He's an intelligent man."

 

Then the next question, "Why do you put inexperienced people there?" (Laughter)

 

Then I said, "Sir, the Poornachandra auditorium is full of devotees, senior

citizens, intellectuals, VIPS, etc. So I thought a man of that status should be

put there."

 

"No, no. He has no experience."

 

"Sir, who has experience in the field of distributing ladoos? (Laughter) We have

experience only in eating ladoos, not in distributing ladoos." (Laughter)

 

For the first time, that man laughed. People never knew he had teeth! (Laughter)

"All right, then! You go!"

 

"You go first." I said. "Abba! Be considerate toward everybody. They have all

come for Swami. I apologise to you on his behalf. He is a good man, as I said."

 

 

So what had affected him? Not the ladoos. Not the distribution of ladoos. What

affected him was his ego. 'When I asked him to stop, he did not stop.

Therefore, I shall stop him from coming to Prashanti Nilayam.' That was his

intention.

 

power, position, properties, popularity

Therefore my friends, ego is expressed like this: power, position, properties,

popularity. I desire to be popular. No! I desire to have properties. Certainly

not! Desire for these things is a block; like a curtain to stop us seeing, like

a thorn that penetrates deeper and deeper into our lives, making us miserable

and preventing us from enjoying the beauty of the place.

 

The next thing is that we have desires at the national level, (and also at the

community level), to have control and power over other nations, to dominate

them. I am the country with the most atom bombs. This is the country that can

control the economy of the world. This is national ego, national desire. The

desire to be number one in the world is also at the national level.

Exploitation and domination come into being at the national level of ego.

 

comparison and competition

Then, as an individual or as a community, what is the root cause for this

desire? The root cause of this desire at the psychological level is comparison

and competition. I think, 'Mr. Muthu, my friend, is closer to Swami.' I am

happy until I compare myself to him and then I am unhappy.

 

So comparison is something that makes us unhappy. Let us not compare. You are

happy in your own way; I am happy in my own way. Perhaps nothing else will make

you happy other than this, which is the cause for your happiness. And I have no

reason to be unhappy about that; therefore, I am happy always.

 

Someone asked, "Anil Kumar, why are you happy all the time?"

 

I said, "I have no reason to be unhappy; therefore I am happy." You may have

thousands of reasons to be unhappy. Continue to be unhappy because you find

happiness in unhappiness! (Laughter) No, not really.

 

So my friends, to be happy is to first give up comparisons. The second is

competition. We compete with each other, irrespective of age, position, and

experience. We compete. The way we compete with each other is really very

silly, utterly ridiculous.

 

There are many things to be said on 'Ceiling on Desires' and on what Baba says

about it. I will end with the spiritual insight on this topic next week. Thank

you very much for your patient listening. (Applause)

 

OM…OM…OM…

 

 

Asato Maa Sad Gamaya

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya

 

Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

 

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti