Sathya Sai Vahini - Chapter 7

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Sathya Sai Vahini

 

Chapter 7

Be Yourself

 

He who has visualised the Atma principle that animates all can never

condemn the religion of any one. He will never enter any religious

squabble or conflict. He will never talk lightly or demeaningly of

another's faith. He will never disturb or despise the faith held by

another. Only the ignorant with no spiritual experience, only those

who do not know the depths of truth, will embark upon the

condemnation of the faith of others. It is very unbecoming of man to

indulge in or encourage religious conflicts, to ridicule the rites

and ceremonies through which others adore God, and to label the

religious practices of other people as 'superstitions'. For, each one

has accepted the practice and holds on to it, since it confers Ananda

on him!

 

The One is spoken of, by those who know, as Many. The same thing is

seen and experienced in different ways, by different people,

according to the angle of vision and the level of intelligence and

awareness. Different persons describe the same thing or experience

differently. How can any one declare that they should not do so? Or

that what they describe is wrong? No one has the right to disparage

or deny.

 

Only those who strive to transcend the here and now and become aware

of the Transcendent Principle of Godhead deserve the name Hindu.

Those who revel in hurting others do not justify that name.

 

The inner core of Bharathiya culture is this realisation of the Unity

of Atma principle that fills each heart with Universal Love. Those

who are aware of this Unity and are well established in it, are kith

and kin of Bharathiyas, whichever country they may live in, whatever

language is native to their tongues. Many human communities have, as

the basis of their beliefs, the theory that man is a bundle of

matter, and that this matter is subject to the laws of physics and

chemistry. In the languages of the West, death is denoted as " the act

of giving up life or Jiva " , whereas in the language of Bharath, it

is " giving up the body or the Deha " . This is due to the faith of the

Westerner that he is the body and the faith of the Bharathiya that he

is not the body. The Bharathiyas assert and know that they have Atma

as their Reality and that the Atma is enclosed in a body. The two

views are widely disparate. A civilisation that is built on the

shifting sand of worldly pleasure can last only for a little while.

It will disappear from the surface of the earth. On the other hand,

the civilisation of Bharath and of the countries that value and

follow the civilisation of Bharath have survived for centuries and

are vital even today. They show new and refreshing signs of more

creative life. This fact has to be kept in mind by those Bharathiyas

who have dedicated their lives to the imitation of other

civilisations and cultures.

 

Imitation cannot build a stable culture. It can never become

'civilisation'. It is a sign of cowardice, not a quality that can

ensure progress. It is the royal road to downfall. How can man draw

inspiration for uplifting himself, if he is engaged in hating himself

and devaluing his achievements? The Bharathiyas should feel no sense

of shame, when he brings back to memory his forefathers, and the

elders and teachers of the past who built the culture that nurtured

him.

 

Instead, he ought to feel proud of his forefathers and the elders and

teachers who shone among them. He must be proud that he has such

persons as his ancestors, that his nation is of such holiness, and

that his country is one that is endowed with such sacred

characteristics. The children of Bharath have to fill themselves with

the proud consciousness that in their native land were born wise

persons who had attained the heights of self-realisation, as well as

many others who had risen to peak of perfection.

 

Manifest the power that lies in self-exertion! Do not resort to the

weak stratagem of imitating others. Instead absorb the good qualities

that others may possess. We plant a seed in the soil. Then, we supply

it with the ingredients it needs - water, air, manure. The seed

sprouts; it grows into a sapling; it becomes at last a huge tree. You

will notice that it does not become either soil, or manure, or air or

water. These it makes use of; but, it sticks to its own nature and

grows into a tree.

 

May you too live like that tree. Of course we have much to learn from

others. There is no need to doubt this fact. Those who refuse to learn

thus, declare themselves fools. Whatever can promote your spiritual

advance, you can learn from others. Imbibe them to the full, according

to the lines laid down for your own progress in your own moral path or

Dharma. You must live as you, not as some one else. Do not allow any

one to divert you away from your innate nature. Be immersed in your

God, in your own imaginings and feelings, in the Bliss that springs

from your own heart, and in the delight derived from your Sadhana.

When others try to prevent you from doing this, whatever plans they

weave and whatever contrivances they employ, resist them at the cost

of your own lives. Do not deny yourself that Divine Awareness and

that Divine Ecstasy. This is the exhortation that echoes through the

Paramartha Vahini of the Bharathiyas. Pull down the barriers that

stand in the way and obstruct the free flow of the culture of this

land that confers such sweetness and strength. Clear the channels

through which it flows and cleanse them. Then it can flow its course,

unimpeded.

 

Sai has willed that this country, Bharath, has to take this Sadhana.

For too long a time the theistic Dharma of this land has stopped

moving. Its characteristic has been for a long time, static. Now, it

has to be made dynamic. It must vitalise the daily life of every

human being. It must enter and fructify the palatial Rajbhavan and

the lowly hutments of the poorest in the land.

 

It is the treasure of every one; everyone has the right to inherit it

and benefit by it; having been born as man one has a valid claim to

share it. For this reason, Bharathiyas have to take it before every

door and welcome everyone in each home to share it. As the air we

breathe is, in God's creation, available to all, the Dharma of the

awareness of God and His Power and Mercy has to be available to all.

Bharathiyas must hold on to this wide outlook and the Universality

and Unity of this message, the conflicts between disparate faiths and

beliefs will disappear of themselves and peace and love will be

restored on earth.

 

Imagine a house full of darkness since centuries. You may enter the

house and pray to the darkness to leave the premises; or, you may

shower abuse on it for days together; or, frighten it by threatening

force. The darkness will stay; it cannot be diminished at all. It

will not yield to your tactics, it cannot be scared out. But, light a

lamp, and it will flee that instant. The lamp of wisdom can save man

from age-long darkness. This truth has to be well recognised by man

and, once recognised, he has to shape his life accordingly.

 

Man has an immensity in him; this is the core of Bharathiya thought.

It is really a mystery how man came to regard himself as one

condemned to fall! A person might strike us as demonic or as divine;

in both the Atma is the Reality, to the same extent. You cannot say

that Atma in one is less and in the other, is more. When faults are

found in any one, you will have to conclude that there are

deficiencies in behaviour, that is all. Do not conclude that there is

no Divine Atma in him. As a result of the company he keeps or the

inefficiency of the society in which he grew, faults have grown in

him. They are not native to his nature, which is Atmic. You will have

to provide him good company and beneficial surroundings and persuade

him to enter them. You should on no account condemn him as a born

incorrigible, and keep him apart.

 

The body is composed of cells, which are made up of atoms. The atoms

are also physical phenomena. They are fundamentally jada, or

composite or un-feeling. The Vedanthins speak of a subtle body,

separate from this gross body. That too is physical. It is the centre

of subtle skills and force. It is in this body that all the subtle

mental feelings and agitations take place. Every force can work only

through some medium or other, which is physical. The same power that

operates the gross body works through the subtle processes of

thought. They are not two different entities. One is the subtle form

of the other, that is all.

 

What is the source of these powers? If we delve deep, we will find

that there are two things in nature, Akasa and Prana. Akasa is the

source of all the gross and subtle material one encounters; when

Prana or Life-force contacts it, due to the impact, the Akasa

principle transforms itself into either gross or subtle, in varying

proportions. Prana too is omnipresent, like Akasa; it can also

penetrate everywhere,and everything. Like the blocks of ice that

water becomes and that float on water and that move about on water,

the Prana acts on Akasa and bodies appear. Prana is the force that

moulds the Akasa into various forms. The gross body is the vehicle of

the Prana that it has shaped out of Akasa. The subtle body is of the

form of thought, feeling etc.

 

When the subtle body is transcended, the awareness of the Reality

becomes manifest. Just as the nails on the fingers persist, however

often we pare them, as part of our gross body, the subtle body too is

an integral part of man's make-up.