Swami teaches... Part 3. Efforts for Inner Transformation

[Guest guest]

Light and Love Swami teaches... 17 - 20 October 2007

 

Part 3. Efforts for Inner Transformation Spirituality is the foundation of education. The whole Universe is University for you. You can imbibe wisdom from the sky, the clouds, the mountains, the rivers, the daily phenomena of sunrise and sunset, the seasons, birds, trees, flowers, the insects, in fact, all beings and things in Nature. Approach these teachers, with awe, reverence, and humility; they will respond with their lessons. Do not worry that you have no mastery of Samskrith; Samskar (purification act) is enough equipment, for the university that lies around you. Samskrith is the language of the ancient scriptures and of classical literature; Samskar is the language of the heart, the refined medium of fruitful communion with Nature, in all the manifold outpourings of Divinity.

To obtain skill to speak in language of heart, you must first learn about what others think you are. They deal with you as a body, with a specific name and an identifiable form. Then, you must learn about what you think you are. You are aware of your mind and its tricks, its prejudices and preferences, its passions and pursuits. You are aware of your individual consciousness, of your version of 'me' and 'mine.' Learn about the mind as an instrument, which can harm you if used unwisely or help you, if used wisely. You have to learn about yet another 'you' what you really are. For, you are neither the body, nor the mind. You are the embodiment of purity, power, love, bliss. The miserable little prison named 'individuality' has to be denied. You are free, but you fancy you are bound and mope in the cell you imagine is limiting you. The sages of Bharath knew that the mind is an instrument, which can bind human, or release from bondage. One has to understand its working technique, as well as its potentialities. You must learn how to wield it, rather than yield to it. It is the mind that weaves the pattern called the 'I'. The way in which mind establishes this ego and elaborates it into a multitude of shackles is called maya (deludious force).

The mind prompts the senses to project into the outer world of objects, for it builds up notions of pleasure and pain, of joy and grief and constructs a whole array of urges and impulses. It resists all attempts to escape into the Eternal, the Universal, the Absolute.It protests when the individual is eager to become conscious of own identity with these, but, when it finds determined opposition to its tactics, it surrenders and disappears.

When human is established in the experience of the Great One, there is no desire, for who is to desire for whom or what? So, human has to diminish desire to become free from delusion; desire comes of attachment; deliverance comes from detachment. You put money in a bank and you become attached to the passbook issued by the bank. You keep it in an iron safe and scan its pages lovingly. They may loan the money you gave the bank to some one you do not like, but you do not care. You have the passbook with you. Now what exactly is yours? To which were you attached so deeply? To the money, the passbook? To none of these things. You were attached to prestige, comfort, show, greed: things that arose in your mind as desire, as urges; to your own ego, basically. In the world today usually exists prosperity without peace and abundance without happiness. For the sake of filling the belly, we enter into studies, acquire professional qualifications, and engage in business activities, all for the sake of accumulating wealth - endless accumulation of properties and possessions. A certain amount of money is necessary for leading a good life. However, money is a double-edged weapon that can be used for good or bad. Food, clothing, shelter - these are incidental; the more you have, the greater the bother, the anxiety, the fear. Do not entertain excessive desires. Better that you lead a life of moderation. Human being fills the days with unremitting labor being immersed in perpetual anxiety and worry. Busy beyond description, with no time to stand and silently contemplate the Creator's handiwork, he/she is troubled by strange inexplicable misgivings; human runs helter-skelter after hollow comforts; he/she is blinded by hate and greed. The ways in which human spends days are really ludicrous in the extreme. Human craves happiness and is ever on the go in all directions in its pursuit. Moreover, when human finds that when secured, the happiness is but a flash in the pan of misery, he/she starts cursing him/herself and others. Though all the sacred books, all the saints of all the lands and all the creeds, and all the teachers and preachers have been saying that God alone is the source and spring of lasting happiness, human usually turns a deaf ear to the counsel and goes own blind way.

Caught in this toil and turmoil, human has lost knowledge of the one anchor that will save from the tornado, namely, discipline of the vagaries of the mind. That discipline has to be learnt and practiced as early as possible in life; it is not to be postponed to old age. Each one must take up some spiritual effort in order to cleanse the mind of lust and greed, of envy and hate. Come out of the well of ego into the sea of the Atma of which you are a part. Go into the silence within you. More than all, set right your habits, purify your conduct, cleanse your behavior. Control yourself and do not yield to the snares of friends or society or, what is miscalled social convention and become a prey to this and other bad habits. (For example, one bad modern habit that has taken deep root is the smoking of tobacco, an evil that is fast becoming universal. It destroys health, happiness, energy, and even charm. Smoke will not quench your thirst or fill the hungry stomach. It disfigures your face and denigrates your lungs). There is the story of a young man who was riding a cycle on a dark night along a crowded road; the police officer on duty asked him to stop and alight, for, he had no lamp on his cycle. The fellow, however, shouted, "Policeman! Keep away. Of course, I have no lamp; but, beware; I have no brake, either!" That is the pathetic condition of nearly every one now. No one, as a rule, has the lamp of wisdom, and the brake of sense-control. How then can they go along the road to Ananda without causing injury to themselves or others? Human has need of wisdom and self-control. True worship is control of the mind. (Letting your mind wander while your hands are performing the motions of worship, is no worship at all).

We should lead an ethical, moral, and spiritual life. Speak the truth, speak pleasantly, and do not speak unpalatable truth. These three values are ethical, moral, and spiritual, respectively. Following the path of Truth and without swerving from a spiritual life, we should work for the welfare of the whole world. Truth is an internal current and Love is its external flow. If our hearts are full with sacred Love, no evil tendency will enter them. The heart is like a single seat-sofa, not a double sofa, nor a musical chair. There is room for only a single tendency and be it Divine Love. Love emanates from Truth and Truth emanates from Love; one does not exist without the other. The Narayana Principle is the expression of this unity. The inner flow is continuous. This symbolizes Saraswathi, Goddess of learning and eloquence, a daughter of Brahma. You may have seen the rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Saraswathi is the invisible undercurrent. The eternal inner flow of the Saraswathi principle represents speech. Control of speech is of vital importance. If your feet slip and you fall, there is no great harm; but if you slip in your speech, it causes irreparable damage. Of all the human faculties, speech should be used with extreme carefulness. More than other parts of body, tongue is extremely flexible and has no bone in it. You can turn it any way you want and the words you utter seem to dance to any tune that you make. God is the embodiment of sound, mobility and immobility, light, speech, eternal bliss, supreme majesty, delusion and wealth. For the proper evolution of humanity, Truth and Love must have a sound basis. The sounds that you think you produce are all-pervading. Where have they all gone? They are all parts of the Divine vibration. Occasionally, you hear some words or music from here or there, but the Divine vibrations are eternal and omnipresent. That is why the Vedas declare, “Sarvatah Paani-padam ...” this Divine vibration pervades all of us from top to toe. Music is a reflection of Love. All phenomena are reflection, reaction and resound. Life is a reflection; heart is the reality. When the reality is clear, the reflection and the resound will be true representations of that inner reality. Therefore, today we should fill our hearts with love. Love is a loose word. It means many things. There is worldly love; there is physical love, etc. Our tender hearts have turned hard. Why is this? It is our own attitude that is responsible. Our good and bad habits have the effect on the other people. Character, is the quality that has to be safeguarded by one and all. This alone is God’s desire forever. People, not recognizing this truth, spend their time in the acquisition of wealth and in other selfish activities. This selfish attitude should be uprooted from the heart of human. People today are keen to acquire wealth, strength and friendship, but show little interest in developing character. Without character, wealth, strength, and friendship are worthless. Focus your mind on one goal and do not allow it to waver. You have to hold on to it till the very end. If you keep mind changing from day to day, you will ruin your heart. Have control over your wavering mind and deluding vision. However most people fill their minds and spend their time in activities and associations replete with evil; but when they reap the consequences and suffer, they are filled with misery. As every thought emanates from the mind, its consequences are determined. Such was the fate of Ratnamala (the Emperor Bali's daughter). By legend (as in previous part has noticed ), Emperor Bali based all his actions on Truth. Looking upon his subjects as his own children, he performed his duties. He was one who encouraged pure and sacred thoughts and activities. He was called Mahabali, as he was truly great in every aspect of his character. Once he performed a sacrifice called Viswajit, in commemoration of his victory, on the banks of the river Narmada. The Lord incarnated as Vamana at that time. He was born as the son of the saintly couple Kashyapa and Aditi. The young Vamana walked towards the site where Bali was performing the sacred ritual. The boy was brilliant and effulgent, and everyone looked with wonder at his great beauty. Ratnamala, saw the young boy and developed a desire in her mind to have Him as her own child and fondle Him in various ways. However, in the meantime, Vamana had pushed Bali down into the Pathala (netherworld). This event turned her love towards Vamana into hatred and she felt that she could kill the child. The all-knowing Vamana noticed what was passing through the mind of Ratnamala and pronounced, "May it be so!" He told Ratnamala, “Mother, you first desired to breast feed Me. However, seeing your father’s downfall, your desire turned into hatred. You felt like feeding poison and killing Me. You will be born in Dwapara Yuga as Poothana (demonness, who desired to kill the baby Krishna) and feed Me with poisonous milk, and you yourself will die.”

When you are subject to misery, you blame God, but do not realize that your distress is the consequence of your own thoughts. This is why you should have good thoughts and seek good company. Contemplate, by ancient scriptures, what happiness did the demon Somakasura attain by stealing the Vedas and hurling abuses at God? What was the fate of the ten-headed Ravana who abducted Sita? What did Duryodhana, the eldest of the evil-minded sons of king of Kauravas Dhritharashtra, who refused to give the Pandavas even as much land as would a needlepoint occupy, take with him at the end? What happened to the wicked Kamsa (brother of Krishna's mother, Devaki, and killer of her first six sons) ultimately who indulged in the gruesome act of slaying infants? The same will be the fate of the wicked today. If not today, at least tomorrow, they are bound to meet their doom.

People form their own reactions and attitudes to different situations. Such reactions are their own creation and do not conform to the reality of the event. The various attitudes like greed, jealousy, pride, delusion, etc., are inner attitudes projected on others. You attempt to repress and suppress such negative impulses in you. There is no use in such attempts for, sooner or later, they are bound to erupt. Your effort should be to prevent the very entry of such attitudes and feelings in you. Several fuels like petroleum, coal, etc., are extracted deep from the earth. Where did they arise in the first place? Over a long period of time, they have accumulated deep inside. Now they are making their appearance outside. In the same way, evil tendencies like desire, anger, hatred, etc., are accumulated in you, hidden in you. Sometimeor the other, they are bound to come out. So, take care that they do not even make their entry into you. This is the true human value. (Reet's compilation from. Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 1. "The wise ryot," Chapter 14; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 6. "Diminish desires," Chapter 11; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 12. "Full circle or half circle?" Chapter 30 ; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 12. "To those who are Mine," Chapter 31; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 12. "The second visit," Chapter 32; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 22. "The One in the many," Chapter 17; Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 33. "Happiness In Union With God," Chapter 17). Namaste - Reet