Significance of Shivarathri Sathya Sai Speaks,

[Guest guest]

different departments like education, finance, etc. Likewise in the spiritual

field also there are different departments. They are: Creation, Sustenance and

Dissolution. Each department has a head. Each head has to govern his department

on right lines. There is an overlord presiding over all departments. He is like

the Prime Minister in a cabinet. He is God. He is called Allah. By attributing

different names and forms to God, Divinity is fragmented in various ways. The

one Divine is responsible for the threefold cosmic process. These three aspects

of God can be seen in the English word GOD. 'G' represents Generation - Srishti.

'O' represents Organization - Sthithi. 'D' represents Dissolution - Layam. GOD

represents the unity of the three aspects. There is a misunderstanding about

these three. Layam is considered as destruction or dissolution. Its real

meaning is mergence. 'O' represents organization. It means

protection. 'G' stands for generation (creation). Brahma, Vishnu and Eeshvara

are three potencies lmmanent in man. To understand this it is essential to

follow the spiritual path. Spirituality does not mean leading a lonely ascetic

life. Spirituality means getting rid of attachment and hatred and looking upon

the whole humanity as one. Everyone should understand this inner meaning of

spirituality. Significance of Shivarathri Shivarathri is an auspicious night.

Man is endowed with infinite potencies. All that you experience by way of

seeing, hearing and the like are reflections of the inner being. The

significance of this experience has to be properly understood. For instance,

today is Shivarathri day. You experience the night every day. These are

ordinary nights. They are nights of darkness. But Shivarathri is an auspicious

night. How is it auspicious? There are sixteen aspects for the mind. The moon

is the presiding deity for the mind. Of the sixteen phases of the moon, today

in the fourteenth day of Margashersha month (lunar calendar), fifteen of the

phases are absent. On this day it is possible to get full control of one's

mental faculties. Hence it is considered an auspicious day. Auspiciousness

consists in diverting the mind towards God. This calls for getting rid of the

inherited animal tendencies in man. This is the occasion to recognise the

omnipresence of the Divine in all beings and in all objects. It follows that

whomsoever you adore or condemn, you are adoring or condemning God. You must

follow the injunction: Help ever, hurt never. Every human being has sacred

qualities, based on his Shivathvam (Divine essence). Hence man should realise

his inherent divinity, though his body is made up of the five elements. Thereby

humanness is transformed into divinity. The human birth is intended for the

pursuit of Dharma. Dharma implies harmony in thought, word and deed. When every

person realises his essential divine nature, the entire world will be

transformed. The body and the mind are mere instruments. Man's reality is the

Aathma (Self). Man should use the instruments given to him to perform his

duties well and realise his oneness with God. Unity in Diversity All the

phenomena in Nature proclaim the glory of the Divine. Why foster religious

differences? Let everyone carry out the dictates of the Divine, who governs the

universe. Everything that happens

is by the Will of God. The principle teaching of the Vedhas is that all men

should strive together in harmony and share their joys together in amity.

Through unity, humanity can achieve purity, leading to divinity. The three

great enemies of man are lust, anger and greed. These have to be eliminated.

The greatest quality in man is love. Love is God. Live in love. - Discourse in

Poornachandhra Auditorium on 17-2-1996. - Heart2Heart Team (Sharing with Sai

Love) Ram.ChuganiRam ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp