Swami teaches... Part 2. Efforts for Inner Transformation

[Guest guest]

Light and Love

 

Swami teaches... 14 - 16 October 2007

 

Part 2. Efforts for Inner Transformation Human has sent into the world, in order that he/she may use the time and the opportunity to realize the Truth that he/she is not human, but God. (Nevertheless, everything in its own good time, as the saying goes. A flower blooms; but a long time elapses before it grows into a fruit and is filled, with nectarine juice. A child is born; but it takes a long time to grow into a strong intelligent member of society). The wave dances with the wind, basks in the Sun, frisks in the rain, imagining it is playing on the breast of the Sea; it does not know that it is the Sea itself. Until it realizes that Truth, it will be tossed up and down; when it knows it, it can lie calm and collected at peace with itself. The creation emerges from Truth and merges into Truth. Is there a place where Truth does not exist? Visualize such pure and unsullied Truth what is the essence of Atmic Reality, the Great One. Truth may sound like a simple word, but it is very important to know its greatness. The entire Universe is dependent on Truth. If the very basis is lost, what is left of our life? Truth is one, but sages refer to it by many names. All types of wealth, comforts, and conveniences are based on Truth what neither can be hidden nor be changed. Truth is that which the same remains in the past, present and future. All human values are based on Truth. By legend emperor Bali was the personification of generosity and truth. To uphold his promise, he sacrificed everything. Young Vamana requested three paces of land. Bali promised without a moment’s hesitation. His preceptor Sukracharya however dissuaded him. He told Bali, “Vamana before you is Vishnu Himself. Once you promise Him anything, you cannot transgress it. "Bali replied to Sukracharya that there was no greater sin than going back on one’s words and, he upheld the promise made to Vamana. Bali was prepared to undergo any misery while maintaining Truth. So, Lord Vishnu sent him to the netherworld Pathala and gave him all the comforts of living. Being in Pathala, he attained eternal life. Emperor Bali attained his eternal life through Truth and Love. (Emperor Bali, though born in a family of demons, he was filled with divine thoughts. It is the consequence of the great merits of Bali).

Truth is undercurrent of all happenings in the Universe. Trees are able to stand firm and grow, because of the roots that have spread out of your sight. This world is so plentiful, so charming, so rich, so comfortable, so regular in its movements and moods, because it has an unseen Master the sustainer of the seen. Have faith in His Grace, and lead a virtuous life, a life devoted to service of the weak, a life spent in thoughts about the might and glory of God. How should devotion to God express itself? Not in ostentatious external forms like smearing vibhuti, wearing a special dress or flaunting a japamala. For spiritual seekers on the nirguna (without qualities, attributeless) path is not always necessary to go in search of temples and shrines for worship. The body itself is a temple and the indweller is the eternal God. God is not to be found in the temple or in a palace. Find Him in your heart. Do not judge others as inferior, because they do not participate in bhajans (groupdevotional singing), nagarasankeerthans (public devotional singing by moving groups), or different study circles. Bhajans and japas do not constitute the whole essence of bhakti (devotion). Sometimes even the rituals you perform, meditation and worship may be in fact negative. (You are sitting in meditation rotating the beads of your rosary, but your mind is doing purchases in the market). You must yearn for the Love of the Lord. Along with your studies, cultivate devotion and spiritual discipline. You can be very wrong, if you estimate a person's spiritual development, by mere externals. Inner purity cannot express itself through pompous show. Only one, who sees into every heart the Divine source, can know who resides therein: Rama or kama (God or selfish desire). Of course, disciplines like bhajan, nagarasankeerthan and japa (silent repetition of God's name) are needed for cleansing the mind. They cure the terrible malady of birth and death, as the external medication of these sadhanas (spiritual practices) so the internal medication of dhyana and sheela (meditation and virtuous conduct) are both essential.

External discipline is Dharma Vidhya (the acquisition of righteousness as a way of living); internal discipline is Brahma Vidhya (the acquisition of spiritual experience as a perpetual treasure). When one cultivates the inner look, one attains the conviction of the basic equality of all. Every individual is a pilgrim on that road proceeding at his/her own pace, according to qualification and the stage reached by its means. The advice that appeals to one of you or applies to one of you might not be appropriate to another, who has traveled less distance or reached a more advanced state. When one person follows one line of sadhana (spiritual discipline), it is specifically for his/her benefit; do not take it as prescription for your benefit also. Each has a different make-up - mental, physical, and spiritual. (When a person is obese, doctor advises certain types of food; when a person is lean, doctor advises other types). When doctors who treat diseases of the body have to prescribe different remedies, how much more specific and personal must be the remedies for the complex and varied conditions of mental situations and spiritual yearnings and aspirations? Unless you make earnest inquiry, you cannot discover the remedy applicable to your temperament and its problems. Study with faith and devotion. Delve into the significance and the meaning of what you read; and, always have before you the goal of putting what you read into practice. What have you gained? Knowledge, what this or that author says or this or that sage teaches is not what a study circle or individual must aim to acquire. Not information, but transformation; not instruction, but construction should be the aim. The proper directions of study are - reading, reflection, and regular application in life. Study is work. Inquiry into the value and applicability of what is studied is worship; the experience of the validity and value of the practice is wisdom. Once a famous pandit (learned scholar) was expounding the Bhagavad Gita before a massive gathering; he gave an elaborate explanation of the sloka (verse) recounting the Glory of the Lord, through the media of different epithets. The Lord, he said, is Kavi (He knows the past, the present and the future), Purana (the Ageless One, the effulgent light and life-spirit in all beings), Anu-shasitha (He who lays down the Law which regulate the Mind and lead it on to its source and sustenance, the Universal Spirit). The audience was amazed at his encyclopedic scholarship; but that was all. He had no experience of the God whom he was delineating in such attractive colors. He had only learnt it from books. You must be guarded against pride that infects the scholar who has mastered a certain number of ancient texts.

Praise too feeds the fire of egoism and fogs genuine faith. The disciple should not flatter the teacher, nor should the teacher flatter the disciple. The relationship should be like that of parent and child. (If the child flatters the parent or if the parent fawns upon the child, it would be ridiculous). However, praise and thankfulness are far different words. (Some time many of us forget this). We have to always be thankful and express thanks for whatsoever service as we thanks God within other person and express our own faith (for our own sake) to God in this way. (Nevertheless, God within as eternal unchangeable witness needs no praise).

It is your duty to serve, and to be good, whether people honour you or throw scorn at you. Liberation and Ananda in your hands already are, packed between the upper cover 'I' and the lower cover 'want'. 'I' means the 'ego;' 'want' means 'desire.' Remove the two covers, the ego and the desire. What remains is Liberation, Ananda. In order to remove the upper and lower covers, intelligence is wanted. That is why Gandhiji went round the country with the prayer Sabko Sanmathi dhe Bhagavan: "O Lord, give every one good intelligence." Intelligence has to be directed to good ends; to seek and discover ways and means of expanding one's Love and deepening one's compassion. It should not descend to cynicism, and the search for faults in others. When a rose is held in the hand, its fragrance can give the holder joy; people standing near can enjoy the fragrance. So too, when your intelligence is saturated with the fragrance of Love, Virtue and Charity you can derive contentment and joy, and those around you also can share in the peace and harmony.

"Attractive people know that Love is not a mere sentiment, but the ultimate Truth at the heart of the Universe" (Deepak Chopra).

Theoretical knowledge is a burden, unless it is practiced, when it can be lightened into wisdom, and assimilated into daily, life. Knowledge that does not give harmony and wholeness to the process of living is not worth acquiring. Every activity must be rendered valid and worthwhile by its contribution to the discovery of truth, both of the Self and of Nature. Of what use is it to know everything about Nature, if you do not know anything of the Self? The Self is Atma, of which the entire Creation is composed and so, knowledge of the Self alone can quench the thirst of human being. Nature is a projection of the Self, and so, unless the Self is known, knowledge of Nature is either distorted or deceptive. You are drawing wealth out of Prakriti (Nature) what is the manifestation of Purusha (God). Nature is not anyone's private property. It belongs to God. When you desire to master Prakriti, and bend it for your needs, you have to earn the Grace of Purusha. Not realizing this truth, some people embark on the exploitation of Nature, out of arrogance and self-conceit.

Ravana sought Sita (who is Prakriti, since she was the daughter of the Earth, discovered by Janaka in the furrow on the field he was ploughing). However, he did not first win the Grace of Rama, the Purusha (God), who is the master of Nature. Therefore, he brought untold disaster on his head and on the heads of all his kinsmen, clan, and followers.

Human today is basing own life on reliance on Nature, forgetting God. This is agrievous mistake. You must place your faith in God, who is the prime supporter of Nature, and enjoy what Nature provides. Look at the modern attempts to understand God by concentrating on exploring the secrets of Nature. The scientific method is the foundation of modern science. It is a process for making observations, recording data, and analyzing data that can be duplicated by other scientists. Science is powerful, but it cannot explain everything. However, the effort should be to realize that Nature has come from God. You have to turn your mind from the mundane to the Divine, from Nature to Nature's God. Admittedly, the phenomenal world presented by Nature is true. The Spirit is also true. Human's journey is not from untruth to truth but from a lesser truth to a higher Truth. Often devotees make a distinction between personal duties and service to the Divine. They look upon worship, meditation the like as Divine service. What they do for their families and friends they accept as personal duties. Hence, there is no meaning in making a distinction between one kind of work and another. In any business in which you engage yourself, treat it as God's work. This is known as bhava-adwaitha (adwaithic attitude or attitude of oneness). Be vigilant, even while engaged in little tasks. Maintain silence, in the recesses of the heart, as well as outside. The Gita says, God's hands and feet are everywhere. Develop the awareness of God, see Him, and serve Him in every living being. You have the instance of people in different bodies, with different forms and names. Nevertheless, irrespective of these differences, they are basically made up of the same five elements. These elements are aspects of the Paramatma (the Supreme Self, Over Soul). Why then should any distinctions be made in our activities between different persons constituted by the same common elements? Together with bhava-adwaitha, you should have kriya-adwaitha (the unitary attitude to work). This means that whatever work you do should be dedicated to God. All such actions become thereby sanctified and divinized, they acquire the unifying quality of holiness. When you begin to enquire into the fundamental basis of all objects, you find that it is only one. This quality is padartha-adwaitha (non-dualism relating to objects).

When bhava-adwaitha, kriya-adwaitha and padartha-adwaitha are properly understood, we can have a vision of the basic Reality. Then the omnipresence of the Divine can be experienced. Engage in some work which will take you out of your narrow self into the vaster magnificence; some task where you dedicate the fruit of karma to God, where you devote your time and energy to share your joy, skill, or knowledge with fellow-men. Alternatively, keep yourself surrounded always by persons devoted to the higher life; persons who will encourage you to move forward along the road towards the goal. By these means, you can achieve cleansing of the mind, so that the Truth can be clearly reflected therein. Sathsang (company of pious and holy people) leads gradually to withdrawal from the entangling activities. (When a cold bit of coal is placed in the midst of glowing cinders, and when the fire is fanned, the coal too gets glowing with fire). Jnana-agni or the Fire of Wisdom operates similarly. (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