Questions & Answers

[Guest guest]

229 It seems in one of the discourses, Swami said, " You are only a

puppet. " Are we puppets? How can we be puppets? It has disturbed our

minds. Why? Why should we be puppets?

 

To say, " Why should I be a puppet? " is the quality of a puppet.

(Laughter) To feel " Am I a puppet? " is the quality of the puppet. A

puppet does not know that it is a puppet; whereas the Master knows

that you are a puppet. Do you understand?

 

Therefore, " why should I be a puppet? " That feeling arises out of

ignorance, ajnana. To know that I am a puppet is jnana or wisdom.

Wisdom lies in knowing that I am a puppet, in being aware that I am a

puppet. " I am an instrument " is the awareness or knowledge.

" Am I a puppet? " Good. You are a child. " Why should I be a puppet? "

Very good. Himalayan ignorance! (Laughter)

 

HIGHER LEVEL OF AWARENESS

 

So, the real knowledge, the real awareness knows that I am a puppet

and I have to dance and act in accordance with the director, the

puppeteer behind it. The puppeteer goes on moving the strings and the

puppets dance on the surface. They do not know why and how they dance

because the puppeteer is behind, pulling the strings in different

directions.

 

Similarly, this question arises out of ignorance. This question

arises due to a lack of awareness. This question arises because of

our worldly nature. This question arises because of our little,

simple achievements and attainments.

 

" I am the boss of my office! Oh! Am I a puppet? Why? " Oh! I see.

Being a boss is also a puppet show. (Laughter) Part of the puppet

show. So, to know that I am a puppet is a higher level of awareness.

 

228 I am well-educated and learned, with good cognisance of

spiritual precepts and Baba's teachings. I know myself as a part and

parcel of God for sure, without a doubt. I know that Swami and I are

one. And I have all the correct knowledge and mastery over desire.

Still I don't have money, I don't have a job, (Laughter) and no

shelter. What am I to do? I know that I am God, but have no job. I

know I am God, but have no shelter to live in.

 

Waah! No shelter, what am I to do? I know that I am God, but I have

no job. I know I am God, but I have no shelter to live in. Arey! Poor

God!

 

Have the correct idea of God, at least. (I am not speaking from the

point of experience.) If I conceptualise, if I visualise, if I have

an idea in accordance with the scriptures, God does not need a

shelter because God is everywhere. A shelter is required for a person

who is at some place. We need shelter. Yes. Because I am here, I need

shelter. But when I am everywhere, why do I need shelter? So I am

God; but saying, " I have no shelter " means you are not God! Because

God does not need shelter as He is everywhere.

 

TRAVEL FROM DUALISM TO NON-DUALISM

 

He is inside; He is outside. He is within; He is without -- in the

ocean, in the sky, on the mountain, in the deep valley. He is

everywhere. Why? All are in Him. The cosmos is in Him; the universe

is in Him. Then, why does He need a shelter?

 

So, this is only a non-dual statement with a dual background: " I

don't have a job. " When all jobs are God's and your job is God's job,

you are God, meaning you give jobs to everybody. So why do you bother

about your job? You say, " I am God. " God gives us jobs – His is the

employment exchange office! Then why do you worry about your job as

you are the giver of all jobs! So it is not so!

 

You are dual. Definitely you are dual. You are separate from God. So,

you need food and shelter from rain. Being separate from God, I need

all these things. Therefore, let me travel from duality to non-

duality. Let me make a journey from duality to non-duality. Let me

speak of non-duality, while my life is dualistic. Let me slowly

travel from dualism to non-dualism. That's what I can say.

 

227 If all are the same, why must we serve? Whom must we serve?

 

A very good question, from a modern man, an electronic, computer man.

If all are the same, why should I serve anybody? Who is serving whom?

Ah! Excellent question.

 

The answer is this: If you really believe that all are same, when

others are eating, you don't eat. (Laughter) When others are

sleeping, why should you sleep? While others have their cup of tea,

why should you have your cup of tea?

 

You have not reached that state. You have not experienced that all

are the same. You are only saying all are same, so why should I

serve? You are not convinced of the truth that all are the same. If

you are convinced, if you have experienced the truth that all are the

same, you don't have to serve anybody. It is only Baba who can say

that.

 

" Swami, why don't You eat? When all of us are eating, when all of us

are at the dining table with so many delicious items, why don't You

eat? "

 

It is Baba who said, " Why should I eat? "

 

" Swami, why not? "

 

" When all of you eat, don't you know that it reaches Me? "

 

That's why He doesn't eat. Just to make others eat, just to give

company to others, He pretends as if, as though, He eats. If I copy

Swami's style of eating -- just one spoon of ragi – by next Sunday,

you will not see me! (Laughter) Then there will be someone else to

talk to you. (Laughter) Impossible! Not only should I eat, I should

eat spicy stuff also -- oily stuff and all that. (Laughter) We have

got preferential eating. So at this stage, I cannot say all are the

same. No, no, no! I am different. Spicy food is necessary for me.

So, " all are the same " is an experiential, existential conviction. It

is an experiential, existential conviction, not just a verbal, vocal,

oral expression. Therefore, until you experience this conviction, you

will have to serve others.

 

226 How do I get connected with Bhagavan? I am studying in a very

good college. But I am missing the link with Bhagavan. How do I get

connected with Bhagavan?

 

This is a question from a college student. To get yourself connected

with Bhagavan is to do what is expected of you. As a student, if you

study well, you are connected to Bhagavan. As a student, if you make

your parents happy, you are connected to Bhagavan. As a student, if

you are obedient to your teachers, you are connected to Bhagavan.

As a student, if you are always in good company, you are connected to

Bhagavan. As a student, if you have got healthy habits, you are

connected to Bhagavan. If you participate in some service activity or

go to some educational activity of the Sai centre, like Bal Vikas, or

Education in Human Values or Educare, or join the bhajan group, or

read some good book, you are connected to Bhagavan. There are so many

channels to establish your contact with Swami. Swami will never leave

you alone. Swami will never desert you.

 

BABA WILL NEVER FORGET YOU

 

On a flight, on your journey to Tokyo or Hong Kong, when you are

helpless, when you feel strange, all alone, you will find someone on

the flight with the ring given by Bhagavan. You will find someone

wearing a T-shirt with " Sai Ram " written on the back! (Laughter) You

will find someone reading " Man of Miracles " written by Howard

Murphet. You will find someone with Baba's picture as a sticker on

their baggage.

 

You may forget Him, but He will never forget you. Baba chases you;

Baba haunts you. When there is no light, you may not get a shadow.

You will get a shadow only when there is light. Baba is a shadow,

whether you are in the light or the dark. That light is our life.

That light is our delight, from which you can never de-link. You

think that you have de-linked but, He will never allow you to be de-

linked. He follows you.

 

HE IS WITH YOU, IN YOU, ABOVE YOU, BELOW YOU

 

There are number of instances. A fellow had to go to a Holiday Inn,

in the company of people who are used to taking alcohol, because of

some business session. He had to go along with other businessmen for

a cocktail party. The glasses were filled. When all the others could

have the taste of alcohol, this fellow's glass was full of aqua,

water, Bisleri only. (Laughter) Same bottle. Alcohol is in all other

glasses. H20, water, in his glass. Even if you want to have alcohol,

He will see to it that it becomes water. Even if you want to have

water, He will make it milk. He will make it ambrosia, amrit.

Yes, He can do it because He follows you. He is with you, in you,

above you, below you! So, there is no question of being de-linked.

Impossible! This kind of link with Baba is eternal. This link with

Baba is for lives to come. He said, " I shall not forsake you even if

you forsake me. " And He said, " I shall not leave you until I take you

to that height that I want you to reach and attain. I shall not leave

you. "

 

Therefore, my friends, be assured that He is not going to leave us,

which calls for greater responsibility, higher grades of simplicity,

higher levels of humility, more prayerfulness, more respectfulness,

more gratitude towards Him.

 

225 Today I accept things. But how do I accept unpleasant things

with joy?

 

This is a common question. How to accept unpleasant things with joy?

I don't say that it is pleasant to sit there for three hours in the

morning and three hours in the evening; because your knee joints will

tell you how pleasant that is! The backache will tell you how

pleasant it is. It is very difficult. Yet, pleasant or unpleasant is

more or less based on our temperament, based on our attitude. So,

pleasant or unpleasant is temperamental. It is an attitude. It is

psychological. It is the way of the mind.

 

Let us take the Japanese. Anyone from Japan works like a grinding

mill. He is ready to work. Though the country was totally lost, it

could come up in the field of science and technology within no time.

Although Hiroshima was brought down to ashes because of bombing

(Hiroshima and Nagasaki, you must have heard of those two places),

today Hiroshima is the most beautiful city. Out of rubble, they

created a most beautiful city.

 

MAKING UNPLEASANT THINGS ACCEPTABLE IS SADHANA

 

It is an attitude. If we can make unpleasant things pleasant, I

consider myself triumphant, victorious. It is a win! Simple example:

I am a smoker. (Of course, I am not. I am giving an example, as of

today.) (Laughter) Example: I am a smoker and somebody tells

me, " Don't smoke. " This is very unpleasant to a smoker. But if he

stops smoking, which is quite unpleasant, he has won; he is a winner.

If an alcoholic stops drinking, yes! He is a winner. So, in making

unpleasant things pleasant, there lies your success. There lies your

win. That is sadhana.

 

Sadhana, spiritual practice, is nothing but making unpleasant things

pleasant, making unpleasant things acceptable. Sometimes certain

things happen in our lives which are not acceptable to us, which are

shocks. Some calamity happens in the family. Some death happens.

Property is stolen or job is gone. You are deserted by kith and kin --

some shocks, which are very unpleasant. When these unpleasant things

are accepted with a spiritual background, with spiritual trust, with

spiritual strength, YES! Then you are the winner. On the other hand,

if you just take unpleasant things unpleasantly, you are the loser.

You have lost the game. Success depends upon that.

 

REPOSING FAITH IN GOD

 

Simple example: When you are a legal heir, you have all the rights in

the court of law to be the king; but if you just abandon that

kingship and go to the forest, you are the winner. That's what Sri

Ramachandra did. Sri Ramachandra was the legal heir of the kingdom,

but He left the kingdom went to the forest, so He became great. It is

not pleasant to go to the forest for a king. He could make the

unpleasant thing very pleasant. That made Him chivalrous. That made

Him a hero for all ages to come.

 

So, your heroism lies in making unpleasant things pleasant, through

some effort. This is only possible by reposing faith in God. It is

only faith in God that will make unpleasant things acceptable.

" Why did God do this? "

 

Don't question it. " God, give me strength to face this. Give me

courage to face this. " That should be our attitude.

 

224 I beg of you to explain terms like Love, Faith, Trust, Belief,

and Sincerity.

 

This is a big question. Each topic would be enough to be the title

for a whole talk for an hour at least! But this is a wholesale

question. Something like if you went to the wholesale market. So he

wants me to tell him about all these points at a stretch - Love,

Faith, Trust, Belief, and Sincerity. OK! I shall also try to give him

an answer in the form of a `package deal', using the modern

terminology or nomenclature. All right, let me do that.

 

BELIEFS ARE SOCIAL, COMMUNITY-ORIENTED AND TEMPORAL

 

Let me start with belief. Belief is social. Beliefs are social,

community-oriented. A simple example: When I see a black cat in the

morning, the moment I get up from bed, something bad is going to

happen. That is belief. The same black cat will confer blessings to

another fellow. So, a belief need not be common to everybody. Belief

need not be same to everyone. Beliefs are social. Beliefs are

community-oriented. Beliefs are followed for the time being.

At one time, a long time ago, it was a belief not to go abroad. If

any fellow crossed the sea, he would automatically go to hell! Today,

if you don't go abroad, you will go to hell (Laughter) because you

think heaven is on the other side!

 

Chandala yoga. They used to say chandala yoga: If one goes to any

foreign country, it is chandala yoga, meaning he will go to hell.

Today, if you don't go to a foreign country, you are a useless

fellow! You are already in hell; you don't need to go to hell.

(Laughter) So, beliefs are social, which change from time-to-time.

There was belief at one time, here in this country, that a girl

should get married at the age of eight. Ashta varshe bhaveth kanya: A

girl should get married at the age of eight. It didn't matter even if

she married a fellow of eighty years! She was eight and he was

eighty. That was the thing in those days. Now, if any fellow gets his

daughter married at the age of eight, he will be behind bars. He will

be kept in prison. He is punished. So, beliefs are social, which

change from time-to-time.

 

FAITH IS NOT A COMMODITY TO BE LOST

 

Above belief, there is another level -- faith. Faith is individual.

Faith is not common. Faith is not social. Faith is not societal.

Faith is individual. " I have faith in You. " That doesn't mean all of

us should have faith in Him. No. " I have faith in Christ " doesn't

mean that everybody should have faith in Christ. No. So, while

beliefs are social, faith is individual.

 

But faith is shakeable. I may lose faith. Swami is giving me an

interview every time, so I have faith. But later, if He is not

looking at me, I no longer have any faith. I don't say unfaithful. I

only say I don't have any faith. I lost faith. So, you may have faith

at one time and you may not have faith at a later time. Reversible,

revertible, convertible. It may be lost for any silly reason.

There are some people who start coming to this place. " Sir, I lost

faith. " Oh! Faith is a commodity to you. Something like, " I lost my

watch. " Faith is not a commodity. Faith is not a pen to be lost. But,

we look at faith as a commodity, and therefore, we lose it sometimes.

We have faith; sometimes we lose faith.

 

TRUST IS STRONG LIKE A MOUNTAIN

 

But when that faith becomes, steady, strong, unshakeable, unwavering

like a mountain, that is called trust. Trust is an unshakeable faith.

Trust is faith that is so strong, like a mountain. So, there are

three levels: beliefs, which are social; faith, which is individual;

and trust, which is distilled, precipitated, strong, unwavering

faith.

 

That's what we should have. Jesus Christ had such a trust in God that

even while on the cross, He prayed, " Oh! My Lord! Oh! My Father in

Heaven! " What kind of trust this is! Jesus had not lost trust in His

Father even when He was on the cross!

 

For us, the slightest increase in our temperature is enough. In our

case, we doubt whether God is there or not. (Laughter) If we missed

the flight, " What is Baba doing? Is He on vacation or what? "

(Laughter) We doubt Him! This is not trust. Trust means trust, come

what may. That's what it is.

 

LOVE IS ETERNAL AND UNCONDITIONAL

 

And then, love. Belief, faith, and trust I have explained. Now about

love. Love. Let me speak from the negative side, as we take it in the

worldly sense. Love is not lust. Love is not attachment. Love is not

conditional. Love is eternal. Love is beyond age, position, gender,

unconditional.

 

Love is unconditional. Love has got nothing to do with attachment. It

has got nothing to do with bondage. It is not a contract. It is not

give-and-take or possess. Love is unconditional. Love is continuous.

Love is like a river that flows incessantly. Love is like sunshine,

which is available to all. Love is like the cool evening breeze that

gives delight to everybody. Love is like a dew drop on a lotus leaf,

shining like a pearl, so beautiful to everybody.

 

Love does not react. If you scold me, I don't get disturbed. If you

praise me, I don't sit by the side of the Hanuman statue there. I am

not ruffled. I am not frustrated. I am not elated. I am beyond praise

and blame. That is Love. Love is non-dual. Love is detached. Love is

unconditional. Love is eternal. Love is immortal. Love is blemish

less, spotless.

 

LOVE LIES IN THE DEPTH OF SILENCE

 

Love is experienced in silence. Those who we love, we don't speak

about it loudly. I don't say into the mike, " I love so-and-so! "

Unless something is wrong with me! (Laughter) When once you start

speaking in front of the mike about your love, you will make a very

good career in politics. (Laughter) In political talks, " I love my

people! " Certainly you will get some more votes (Laughter) and be

elected to power. Only later, people will come to know how you don't

love them in reality. Love expressed leads to exploitation. Love that

is expressed is false.

 

Love lies in the depths of silence. Love's expression is in the

resonance, in the echo of our heartbeat. The very heartbeat is the

pulsating expression of our love. As the river flows, silence speaks

of our love. As the wind blows, silence speaks of our love. As the

cloud moves across the firmament of the sky, it is the touch of love.

When a child on a swing smiles, that is love. When an elderly person,

an aged man, looks gently and compassionately at you, that is love.

 

LOVE IS DIVINE -- LOVE IS FORGIVING

 

Love is Divine. Love is not human. Love is Divine. It is love that

looks at a sinner and a saint alike. No matter if I am a sinner or a

saint, both of us are the same to God. When two brigands, who were

guilty, were on the cross with Jesus, Jesus loved both of them. They

were rowdies who deserved every punishment! But He loved those two

people as much as He loved his own disciples.

 

Love is forgiving. Love forgives. " Last year you did not say, `Sai

Ram' to me; therefore, today I will not look at you. " Useless fellow

of the first order! If you go on remembering all the past, if I go on

recollecting all your past, all that you have done against me, that

is the quality of a snake. A snake will never leave you; it will wait

until it bites you, then sees you off from this planet. Vengeance is

the nature of an animal. Revenge is the quality of an animal.

 

DIVINE LOVE WILL NEVER JUDGE, EVALUATE NOR ASSESS

 

Love is Divine. A godly man loves and loves. It was Buddha who loved

the person who stood in front of him with a sword to behead him. He

loved him very much. Jesus loved robbers, the down-trodden, and

people who were away from the path of morality, with all compassion.

Love knows not who is a sinner and who is a saint -- saintliness or

sinner.

 

From our point of view, we say, " He is a great devotee. " But is there

any thermometer to show the degree of his devotion? Or we say, " He is

a new devotee, just a beginner. " Who are we to decide? So, this is

our point of view.

 

But to God, all are the same -- saint or sinner. Divine Love does not

discriminate. Divine Love does not judge. Divine Love does not

evaluate. Divine Love will never assess. Many things, nay, volumes

can be said about that Love. As we think of great people, noble

souls, we should know what Divine Love is.

 

LOVE IS LIFE -- LIFE IS LOVE

 

We have not tasted that Divine Love, not even a drop. Because the

love we know is conditional. We know love which is physical. We know

love which is a business. We know love which is worldly. We know love

which is time-bound. People say, " Hello, how are you? " But after

retirement, they will avoid you. Is that love? So long as you are

obliging, people are loving towards you. Once you say you are sorry,

they turn their face away from you. Is that love? Therefore, my

friends, we have not tasted even a drop of Divine Love.

 

A fellow poisoned Baba as a child. He offered some food with poison

in it to Baba. His whole body turned blue. Everybody thought Baba was

collapsing. He cured Himself and finally said, " Don't beat that

fellow. I knew that I was taking poison. " And He appointed him as a

watchman of Prashanti Nilayam, the one who gave Him poison. That is

love!

 

I am afraid I may take any length of time on this topic because

Divine Love is altogether something that we should long for,

something that we should live for, because Love is life. Life is

Love. Life without Love is death. Therefore, that is the final thing

I can say about it.

 

Ram Chugani

Kobe, Japan