Sai message for the day

[Guest guest]

Kindly give a direction to our spiritual pursuit? How should it

continue? Like the flow of a river? What are the restrictions to be

observed?

 

`Nas'reyo niyamam vina.' Everything must have limits without which

you will face risks and dangers. A river that flows under certain

conditions with banks on either side serves irrigation purposes

better. Similarly, the river of life has two banks, one on each side

viz. sams' ayatma vinas'yati': never doubt and `s'raddhavan

labhate ' : by sincerity you develop wisdom. Your river of life

should flow between these two banks. Your faith should not be shaken.

It should never waver. Your faith should be strong and deep. No

adverse situations and negative moments should make you lose your

faith.

 

A life without faith is like a pot with holes. You know that we water

only the roots of a plant. Yet, water is supplied to all parts of the

plant. You do not water the stem, branches and leaves separately.

Similarly, the water of faith, if supplied to the roots of your life,

will take care of everything else related to life. The tree of life

can sustain itself if the water of faith is supplied to its root.

Without this, the plant dries up and is no longer alive. It becomes

firewood. Once you doubt, all that you do will go in vain and nothing

will be fruitful. No amount of scholarship or sadhana can help you if

you allow doubt to step into your mind.

 

A small illustration. There was a pandit in a certain village. Daily

a milkmaid from the neighboring village used to bring him milk

crossing a river by boat. In the process there was necessarily some

delay in supplying milk to the pandit. One day the pandit questioned

her and wanted to know the reason for the delay. She replied, " Oh

Panditji! I have to cross the river by boat everyday to bring milk. I

can only get into the second trip of the boat because the boatman

will load in the first trip all the elders of the village. There is

no alternative left for me. So, I am late " . Then the pandit

said, " Look! Why do you need to come by boat? I suggest that you

carry the milk pots over your head and cross the river chanting God's

name. The river will give way and you won't need to wait for the

boat " .

 

The milkmaid believed in what the pandit said and on the next day she

could come on time and gave him the pot full of milk. Then on his

enquiry, she told him that she could bring the milk on time by simply

following his instructions. The pandit was very much astonished at

this, and could not believe her words and decided to verify the fact

himself. He said to her " Good! Now as you go back I shall follow you

and see you as you cross the river chanting God's name and how the

river gives way for you to cross it "

 

Both of them came near the riverside. The milkmaid acted exactly

according to the pandit 's instructions, viz. chanting the name of

God. The pandit also wanted to act in the same way. He stepped

forward and lifted his dhoti up to his knees so that his clothes

would not be wet. He marched into the river step by step doubting if

he would drown in the river. His doubt became true and he got

drowned. Faith made the milkmaid walk across the river, while the

pandit had no faith in his own words. Hence he drowned.

 

The bank on the other side of the river of life is s'raddha,

sincerity, steadfastness, that confers jnanam, wisdom. You will be

sincere only if you love the work you do. You should have full faith

and love to become sincere.

 

A student cannot pass the examinations if he has no faith that he can

read, love the subject and study it sincerely. So, vis'vasa, prema

and s'raddha are the three steps that give you success in your

attempts. A businessman or a lawyer or a doctor must be sincere, must

have s'raddha, in order to be successful in his profession.

 

So for jnana, you should be sincere and steadfast. What type of jnana

should it be? It is not physical, material, secular or worldly

knowledge. It is the practical knowledge, anubhavajnana that you get

when you are sincere and steadfast. So these are the two banks on

either side of the river of life, doubtlessness and sincerity or

steadfastness. Sams'aayatma vinas'yati : the doubters perish, and

s'rddhavan labhate jnanam: the sincere and faithful attain wisdom.