Talk Given by Sister Phyllis Krystal, (At Youth Retreat in USA)

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Talk Given at a Youth Retreat in USA.....................................................................................................................Sai Baba's Message rests on Your Shoulders by Phyllis Krystal, USAPhyllis Krystal is a psychotherapist and now lives in Germany. She is along time devotee of Sathya Sai Baba and has authored many books. Sai Baba,the Ultimate Experience was her first book and tells much of her life storyand her discovery of Sai Baba. Her next two books explain the methods sheuses in her work, Cutting the Ties That Bind. She has also written twobooks focussed on applying Sai Baba's teachings to everyday life, Tamingthe Monkey Mind and Reconnecting the Love Energy. At 92, Phyllis Krystalleads an active life, travelling, giving workshops, and serving as anadvisor on the National Young Adult

Advisory Committee of the Sai BabaOrganisation in the USA.Phyllis Krystal recently attended a retreat held for the Young Adults inAmerica. The concerns of youth in the modern world are expressed verysuccinctly in this Question and Answer session. The questions of the youngadults reveal the illnesses that exist in modern society, which has largelydisregarded the eternal values of Love, Peace, Truth, Integrity andCharacter. Indirectly, the youth indicate the pressures of living in KaliYuga, the age of discord.This question and answer session reveals the sincerity of young adults intheir quest to be examples of Swami's teachings amid the pollution andconfusion of this age. We let the youth raise their questions and read MrsKrystal's repliesThe Responsibility of the YouthThe youth are the ones who will make the leap into the Golden Age. It isvery difficult for elders to change their

old habits. It is much easier foryounger people to do it. I think the hope of the Sathya Sai Organisationand Sathya Sai Baba's message rests on your shoulders. You have to findyour own methods to deal with the situations you face in today's world. Youwill have a lot of criticism, but that will make you strong. If you stay incontact with the Sai within, He will guide you, because the young peopleare very, very close to His heart. It is not that difficult, it just takespractice. He does not want you to advertise Him. When people ask, then youcan talk about Baba, but you cannot push Baba on to people. If we carrySwami's message properly, people will be attracted and they will ask, "Whatis different about you? You seem much happier than the majority of thepeople."Remaining focused on Swami during Times of DifficultyWe have all gone through times when we felt disoriented and confused.

Iknow so many people who have gone to see Swami in India and all kinds ofthings erupt inside of them. It is as if He has a witch's broom, and Hestirs it so that all of the scum comes to the top. If we do not know wehave these negative tendencies inside, we cannot fix them. We have to beaware of the things inside of us that we have suppressed. As soon as wemake contact with Swami, even if we do not see Him, we will be faced withmany difficult changes. The only thing you can do is say, "I am going togive it to you, Swami." He says, "Give me all your negativity, I can dealwith it." Do not let it overpower you. Just imagine you are taking hold ofit and throwing it at Him. Have an actual image of it and that will make ita lot more real.When our Devotion to God is InconsistentWe all go through times when our devotion is inconsistent. There is no wayaround it. It is a natural process.

Do not worry about it. Just hang on toHis feet during the times that you are feeling that way. Keep asking Him.That is what enlightenment is all about. When we let that light within us,or the Baba within us, run our lives completely, that will beenlightenment. Too many of us look into the future, or we are looking atother people and competing with them. We should never try to compete withanybody else. It is useless. You do not know where you are on your path;you do not know where they are. The only one you can compare with is withthe person you used to be.Looking well kept does not mean Focusing on the EgoFinding the balance between looking neat and materialistic concerns takespractice, like everything else. It requires a lot of planning ahead. Youcan have an internal conversation with Swami. It is amazing how the ideaswill just come to your head if you practice talking to

Swami all day long.You can get so much more done during the day with much less effort and nostrain. He makes a great point of keeping balance in every aspect of ourlife.He says that the body is the temple and that we must take care of it. Wemust keep it clean. We must keep it attractive, as much as possible. Helikes us to be well groomed. It is a very fine line. It does not meanstanding hours and hours in front of a mirror. Keep a standard for yourselfand do not deviate from it. Then, you will not have the problems that manyof you are incurring without realising it. He is very strict about the wayyou dress. He does not want the dress of either the boys or the girls to bedistracting to the opposite group. He does not like people to look untidy.He made a point to me that we must dress correctly for whatever job we do,for whatever group of people we are with, because it is by our dress

thatwe are accepted (in society). If you are dressing according to Swami'sprinciples and still receive negative looks and attention, just try to beoblivious to it. There are many things that happen in this world, and wecannot control all of them.Friendship with Members of the Opposite Sex and DatingIf you are going to date at all, you should with the intention of marriage.In some cultures, the two partners do not even meet until suddenly they arefaced with one another. In our Western culture, we get to know one anotherbefore we get into a marriage relationship. I think that is why some of thearranged marriages really worked out better than we in the West wouldunderstand. They did put people together who were compatible. Sometimes Isee people who are completely incompatible, and I wonder how they ever gottogether in the first place.Many of the things that Baba says are for

the Indians. With Westerners, Hewill frequently say, "Your customs are different." When you have afriendship with someone of the opposite sex, there is an attraction that isnaturally built in so that the race can survive. He always says that untilyou are married, the relationship should not be consummated, for the simplereason that it is like playing musical beds. This is not good for either ofthe people. It is not conductive to a spiritual path, and it loads each ofthe people with all kinds of tensions. He tells all the boys at His Collegeto look at every woman either as their mother if they are older, or astheir sister. He is quite strict with them.There are many questions about how we should work out Swami's teachingseveryday life. Swami always seems to say that when you are worshipping, thetwo sexes should be separate. He gives very specific reasons for this. Whenpeople of the

opposite sex are sitting close to one another, or mingling,there is a current that occurs, like an electric current, between thedifferent people. It distracts the people from worship. In our country, youcannot avoid friendships with members of the opposite sex. We are throwntogether in work and school situations. We naturally develop friendships.How to deal with LustI know that the temptations are out there now more than ever because we arebombarded through television, movies and other media. That is why Swamiwarns us not to fill our minds with undesirable movies or magazines or anykind of media that stimulates us just on the physical level. He says in theCeiling on Desires program that it is not just, what you take in throughyour mouth that is food, it is what you take in through all of your senses.You have to watch and be responsible for yourselves, each one of you. Thatis

the most important thing we can do. Do not let somebody else tell youhow you should behave. Just be strong. The only way you can be strong is tokeep asking Baba to help you.The best way to deal with these desires is to sit with Baba's picture andtalk to Him as if you were sitting in front of His feet in the ashram. TellHim exactly what you are feeling and what questions you want Him to answer.You have to be very dedicated and really do it. I told you, I always askSwami to think, feel, speak, act and love through me all day. That reallysets the stage. Then you have solid ground to work on because you haveasked Him. Only when you ask Him, will He help you. He has made a point ofthat many, many times in my presence. You have got to ask. A lot of peoplesay, "Oh Swami, I don't like to keep asking you all in the time." However,He says, "That's your duty." He cannot help until you ask. You

must find atime when you are seriously asking from your heart to His. That is the onlyway you can control, or give up some of the feelings that you at your ageare going to have. It is perfectly natural. Built into the human system isthis attraction, just so there will be more people born. Do not feel guiltyabout it, just accept it. "Yes, I've got these feelings. All right Swami,if this isn't appropriate right now then you take care of it." He wants ourtemple (the body) to be kept as clean as possible so that we can worshipHim within our own bodies.Who is the Right Person to Marry?People are put together where there is a karmic connection. They havesomething to work out. You can feel the connection. It is almost as if youalready know the person. If that does not help, you just have to pray thatBaba will bring you the person that He wants you to be with.The Role of

Marriage in SpiritualityIn our culture, men and women get together. They have friendships. Theyhave relationships. However, whether or not it is acceptable depends uponwhat is involved. Swami feels very strongly that God should come first. Allrelationships come second. We should not be attached to any otherrelationship as firmly as the one with the God within us. He says that weare God. That has to be our chief concern. He says that when two people gettogether in marriage it is very much like taking two very rough stones andputting them in a jar and shaking them up together so that the rough edgesof each one, having friction with each other, can polish each other's roughedges. He says that is essentially, what relationships are all about. It isthe same with families. It is the friction that is necessary to get all ofthe rough edges of each person completely smoothed out.You have

certain things to work out in this life karmically. There arecertain things in past lives where we have digressed from the proper way ofliving, and we have got to work them out. If we keep on changing partners,we are not giving ourselves a chance to work out the karma we could beworking out with that other person. Sometimes the tensest relationships arethe most helpful for both of the people.Sairam,Vikashni(Sharing With Sai Love) Ram.ChuganiRam ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp

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