Swami teaches... Part 2. Keep devotion and faith

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Light and Love Swami teaches... Part 2. Keep Devotion and Faith Tossed about on the bitter ocean of mundane existence; Going hither and hither without a rudder or a compass, If only you steady your mind for a moment The Lord will send you, Oh human, His rescue boat. Bharath's culture is rooted in the Vedas and serves as example for the other countries. Music and literature have come from the Vedas. The Sama Veda is the primal source of music. Rig Veda is the source of all literature. Rig Veda teaches the lesson of serenity and stresses that peace is like rose water scent; when it is sprinkled on us, smell it but do not drink it - that is to say, accept it and thrive on it. Rig Veda asks to examine ourselves whether we have the illness and if we have, accept the blame and benefit by it. Devotion is the form of the Divine. Hence, Lord Narayana declared, "I do not dwell in Vaikunta or in the hearts of yogis. I am present wherever my devotees sing my praise, Oh Narada!” So heaven is not some remote place, where people are virtuous and of good character will find Paradise. The Lord resides not only in the hearts of devotees, but also in the hearts of the evil-minded. Once, the child Prahlada approached his mother, Lilavati, and told her, "Mother, there is only one difference between me, who is a devotee of Hari (God; destroyer of sins) and my father, who hates Hari. Ever contemplating on the nectarine sweetness of the Lord, repeating His name, and constantly remembering Him, I am immersed in the bliss of love of the Lord, like one intoxicated. My father, in his hatred of Narayana, has turned his heart into stone and installed Him in it." The Lord, who dwelt in the heart of Prahlada, who loved Narayana, and the Lord who was in the heart of Hiranyakasipu, who hated Narayana, was one and the same. Drinking deep the nectar of Divine Love, Prahlada quenched his heart's thirst and found bliss. Installing the Lord in his stony heart, Hiranyakasipu was unable to allay his burning thirst and experienced endless worries. Human has to live in faith to experience happiness. Where there is happiness there is peace. Realising that the Divine is omnipresent, the devotees make their lives sublime by singing the glories of the Lord and ever dwelling on His name. That will make people self-respecting individuals. Receiving a favor means to be bound to the giver. Grow with self-respect and dignity. That is the best service you can do to yourself and for the Lord within. Prahlada declared in the Bhagavatha: "There is no room for the suspicion that the Lord is here and not there. He can be found wherever He is sought, because He is immanent in everything in the Universe. Saint Tyagarajasaid the same thing when he sang: "Where is your dwelling place, Oh Lord? Wherever I turn I behold you. You are present everywhere. You are omnipotent and all-knowing." The Divine is present not only in human beings. He dwells in birds and beasts and in all living things. So Tyagaraja sang: "Did not a woman devotee (Aparanji) teach a parrot to recite the name of Rama and enjoy your glory?" The knower of Brahman becomes Brahman Himself. Valmiki, who wrote the Ramayana, was so much immersed in the Rama principle that the inmates of his ashram noticed effulgence in his face reflective of the splendor of Rama Himself. The face is a reflection of the inner being. Whatever thoughts and emotions fill a human; they are reflected, in his/her face. Moses,' who was ever dwelling on the glories of God, reflected in his face the radiance and splendor of the Divine. This has revealed in the Bible. Charles Darwin, who was a devoted student of Henslow, followed his teacher's exemplary life and became, in later years, a great scientist recognizing the inextricable relationship between human and God. / It is interesting to note that on the 12th of February 2007 the world marked Darwin Day, the 198th anniversary of the evolutionary theorist's birth. This Day was also 148th Anniversary of the publication of his famous book,”On the Origin of Species.” By modern science evolution of life is coded into DNA. Latest discoveries have led to deeper insights how organisms change over time and transmit those changes to succeeding generations. However, evolutionary theory as other scientific theories is incomplete without spiritual knowledge. Darwin Day symbolically pointed to the bridge between science and faith. Celebration of Darwin Day as underlines that religion and science need not be at contradiction. (More complete information http://www.darwinday.org/). The ways of the Lord in granting relief to devotees in distress or trouble are infinitely varied and often baffling. Below is an example about wisdom of Krishna to solve a complicated problem between Pandavas and the sage. On one occasion, the Pandavas during their exile from the kingdom had strayed into the forest of Romarishi.Romarishi was a sage whose body was covered with hair so long, that it spread as a carpet into the surrounding forest. There was a holy tree in that forest, yielding a very special fruit. The unique quality of that fruit was that once it was tasted one would not have hunger for years and years. But that fruit should not be plucked, it should be eaten after it dropped by itself. So, waiting for the fruit to fall, Romarishi was doing Tapas there. One day, when Dharmaraja and Draupadi were on a stroll in the woods, Draupadi happened to look at this particular tree and saw the luscious big fruit hanging from it. "Can we not take this," she said to her husband, "so that all of us could share it today?" Then Dharmaraja shot an arrow and the fruit fell to the ground. Holding his bow in his right hand, he went to lift the fruit with his left hand. It was so heavy he could not move it. Draupadi also tried to help. Dharmaraja used both his hands, still the fruit would not move. In the meantime, Arjuna also came there and all three tried to lift that fruit, but it would not move. The two younger brothers also came and tried to help lift the fruit but however hard they tried it was no use; it would not move. Finally the strong man, Bhima came. He asked the others to move away and said, "I will lift this." Nevertheless, even Bhima could not succeed. Meanwhile the hair of Romarishi, which had spread over all that area, began to stir. Because these six people were trampling about trying to lift the fruit, Romarishi felt the disturbance as strands of his hair were being trodden and pulled. He realized that there was someone trying to steal the fruit and he became very angry. Immediately his long hairs started to come together and coil round the Pandavas and tie them up. Draupadi realized the danger, and immediately prayed to Lord Krishna. Draupadi called on Lord Krishna whenever she sensed any trouble. Krishna appeared before her. Draupadi fell at His Feet and prayed to Him for help to protect the Pandavas from the danger that was about to engulf them. Krishna told Draupadi there was nothing He could do, since Romarishi was a great sage. As Lord, He resided in the hearts of all rishis, including Romarishi; so how could He do anything against the wishes of that Rishi? However, Draupadi held on to His Feet and said, "You alone can save us. You can do anything you wish to do, in all the three worlds!" Then Krishna said, "All right, I will help you, but all of you should be totally silent, not say a word; you should do exactly as I tell you." Krishna went to each of the Pandavas and whispered His plan, in their ears. He told them: "I will now go to Romarishi's ashram; a little later, you must follow me there." In the meantime, Romarishi was furious with anger. He was about to curse the poachers. At that very moment, Krishna entered the Ashram. Romarishi fell prostrate at Krishna's Feet. He was overjoyed to see Him and asked Him, "What is it I can do for you, Lord?" Krishna kept Romarishi occupied, making a few casual inquiries, till the Pandavas arrived. As soon as the six reached the Ashram and entered it, Krishna fell at the feet of the Pandavas. The Pandavas were feeling very embarrassed, but remembering Krishna's command, they said nothing. Romarishi, seeing Krishna fall at the feet of the visitors, also fell at their feet. Then Krishna introduced the Pandavas to the Rishi. As Romarishi listened to the words of Krishna praising the greatness of the Pandavas, he totally forgot his anger. When Krishna explained these were the people who were tempted by the fruit he awaited, Romarishi was so transformed that he said, "Let them take the fruit. I would like them to have it." By eating that fruit, the Pandavas were able to live without hunger for a long time. The Love of God is the foremost reward to be attained in human life. It is more precious than all the wealth in the world. All wealth and position are obtained by the Love and grace of the Divine. The value of Bhagavad-prema (the love of God) can be realized if the meaning of the term Bhagavan is rightly understood. Brahman, Parabrahman, Sabda are among the terms used as appellations of Bhagavan. Bhagah means "the One who is repository of all Divine attributes and is uniquely worthy of adoration." Ga refers to "One who has all the excellences and who creates, sustains, and reabsorbs everything." The letter Bha has two meanings: Sambhartha and Bhartha. Sambhartha means "One who is competent to make Nature the instrument of the creative process." Because He is also competent to sustain what is created, He is called Bhartha. Bha has other meanings as Shanthi (peace), light, effulgence, illumination. Ga means "all-pervasive." Vaan (or Vanthudu in Telugu) means "One who is capable." Hence, the term Bhagavan means, "The One who is capable of lighting the Divine effulgence, the illumination of wisdom, the Eternal Inner Light of the Soul." There is nothing on the Earth or beyond it, which is equal to the Divine Love. To make all endeavors to earnthat Love is the whole purpose and meaning of the human existence. To lead a happy life, human needs peace of mind. The mind is like the turbulent Ganga. It has to be restrained by the use of brakes, as in a fast-moving vehicle. Dhyana (meditation) is the brake devised for the control of the mind. Dhyana means one-pointed concentration. All the diseases, which afflict human, are the result of agitation in the mind. The enormous growth of disease in the world today is due to the loss of peace of mind. To get rid of illness and to lead a calm, healthy life, human has to cultivate mental peace. Human's mind has three kinds of capabilities. One is Anekaagratha (a wandering mind). Another is Soonyatha (vacancy, emptiness). The third is Ekaagratha (single-pointed concentration). What is Soonyatha? It is the state in which the mind goes to sleep when something edifying is being said. The mind is unresponsive to what is good and beneficial. Such a state of mind is called Tamasic. It is the blindness of ignorance. Anekaagratha is an equally undesirable mental state. It also degrades human.

Then there is one-pointed concentration of mind. This is what everyone needs most today. Unfortunately, today the spirit of commercialism is rampant even in the fields of sports and entertainment. When the idea of making money is predominant, concern for health recedes to the background. "Art" has come from "heart," but today the heart has been divorced from the arts. One purpose of Swami's Teaching is from the whole heart with the help of the Divine power to restore this for humanity. From His Teaching as echoes, “Give because you love. Recognize the light in all beings. Let our energies flow outward. Give of your time, your help, and your love to others." Swami stresses that we should try to make our lives meaningful by sacrificing personal comfort for the sake of our fellow beings.

 

Today we think of our rights and responsibilities. On one side, we have the so called individual freedom and fundamental rights, and on the other, we have our responsibilities and duties to be performed. We are no doubt anxious about our individual freedom in the same proportion. We should do full justice to our social obligations and establish the reputation of our country and its culture. Human cannot live in isolation like a drop of oil on water surface. Human is a product of society. Human has to live in it, grow with it and work for it with the devotion and faith to the omnipresent God. With your faith and devotion is necessary to be aware that human being must be yoked to Samsara and broken; that is the training, which will teach that the world is unreal; no amount of lectures will make you believe it is a snake unless you actually experience it. Touch fire and get the sensation of burning; there is nothing like it to teach you that fire is to be avoided. Unless you touch it, you will be aware only of its light. It is light and heat both; just as this world is both true and false, that is to say, unreal. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 1. "Sharanaagathi," Chapter 2; Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 13. "Thirty-five and sixty-five," Chapter 10; Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 15, "Light and warmth," Chapter 10; Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 19. "The ways of the Divine," Chapter 6 and "Sanctified by three Avatars," Chapter 19.; Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 21. "Earn God's Love," Chapter 4). Namaste - Reet