MAKING UNPLEASANT THINGS ACCEPTABLE IS SADHANA

[Guest guest]

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.

 

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.

 

I want to know if Swami ever said something specific about Jehovah or

Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

Jehovah and Witness are not separate. Jehovah is God and God is the

Witness. So, Witness and God are not separate. God is the Witness.

I can speak anything in front of this mike, something acceptable as

well as something not acceptable. But this mike will never say, " This

is acceptable; this is not acceptable. " The mike is only a witness.

Similarly, Jehovah, the Divine, is the Witness. He is not separate.

That Witness, Christians may call Jehovah, Hindus may call Vishnu.

Saivites may call Siva and so on. They are not separate.

 

What is the goal of human life?

 

Goal is futuristic. A goal is to be reached. A goal is to be

attained. A goal is strenuous. A goal is stressful. A goal is

doubtful. There is no goal at all. There is no goal to reach. Why?

Because goal means time and space.

 

If the bus station is my goal, it takes ten minutes to reach it. If

the bus station is the goal, there is one mile of distance. So, goal

involves two. Time and space. But life is beyond time and space. How

can life be purposeful and goal-oriented?

 

Life has no goal or purpose. We just set our own goals to reach. And

once we think that we reached the goal, our ego is bloated. Once we

feel that we have not reached the goal, the balloon of ego, the

football of ego is deflated. So it is only an ego play, that's all.

 

LIFE ITSELF IS A GOAL UNTO ITSELF

 

My friends, there is no goal to reach. Life is enough of a goal unto

itself. We may have passed through millions of lives in the past. We

may have had the life of a stone, the life of a tree, the life of a

bird, the life of an animal; so many lives we went through in the

past. And then we reached this human life. So this life itself is a

goal unto itself.

 

Therefore, to think I have got another goal is emptiness. It is a

void. It is an abyss in the mind. It is only a play of the ego to set

goals. It is only a play of the ego to set a purpose for your life.

It is not like that.

 

Purpose is nothing but business temperament. " I have come to

Puttaparthi to say thanks to Swami that He gave me a job. " A business

relationship. " I have come to Puttaparthi because I am in search of a

good bridegroom for my daughter. " So see, a business.

 

GOAL-SETTING IS A PLAY OF EGO

 

So, wherever there is some purpose, there is a shadow of business.

But God is not a business. At least, I am sure. I will give you some

examples I know.

Swami was talking to some people. Swami started looking at a

parent. " Oh! When did you come? "

" Swami, this morning. "

" Oh! I see. Why? "

" Swami, my daughter is studying and… "

" Oh! You have come for your daughter, not for Swami. " (Laughter)

Finished. Finished! " You have come for your daughter, not for Swami. "

Another instance: Swami was talking to a senior officer. " Oh, good!

When did you come? "

" Just now, Swami! "

" Oh, I see! Why? "

" Swami, I have come to Dharmavaram on official duty. " (Laughter)

" Oh! Office! Not for Swami. "

This is goal-oriented. This is purpose-oriented. So, if I have some

purpose, I will come. " Swami, I have come for my examination. "

" Oh! Examination. Not for Swami. "

Therefore my friends, the goal or purpose that we set for ourselves

is nothing but the play of the ego. It is nothing but business;

nothing but a transaction on the worldly plane. That is the reply I

can give you.

 

I am a 19 year old boy. I am not serious about life. How can I

develop seriousness?

 

He can say `19 years' (instead of '19 year old') as he is not

yet `old'! (After all, no one is old.)

Oh! My friends, life is not serious. Life should not be serious. No.

Life is fun. Life is music. Life is dance. Life is full of festivity.

Life is full of joy. Life is ecstasy. Life is bliss. Seriousness is

sickness. A spiritual man will never be serious.

We see many people who are `serious' in the name of spirituality.

They are misguided people. They are people who have not understood

religion at all. They are non-spiritual. I am sorry to say that. To

remain serious is a curse in life.

 

SWAMI`S SERIOUSNESS IS A DRAMA TO CORRECT US

 

Can't you smile? The calculation is like this: There are 84 lakhs of

species in creation. It is only Homo Sapiens, the human being, who

can smile. If a human being cannot smile, well, should I call him an

insect or a mosquito or a bed-bug? I do not know. (Laughter)

We find our dear God smiling and smiling all the while - in a

wheelchair or in the car, on the dais or behind the curtain, in a

festival, totally relaxed. We will never find Swami serious. He

pretends to be serious to correct others. Seriousness is something

that He pretends. He acts serious, but there is lot of fun on the

inside.

 

I can tell you one instance. Somehow, Bhagavan was upset with a

teacher. The teacher was sitting behind Swami. I was sitting very

close to Him and Swami was like that, as usual. Nobody could notice

it.

 

He was talking to me, almost in a whisper, " See how serious that

fellow is! How nicely he is crying! "

" Huh? "

That fellow finds Swami's face serious, but He is joking with me!

(Laughter) Joking!

" See? I find all ego in his eyes. Let him end himself. "

" Huh? "

" How nice it is! " (Laughter) Is He serious?

Then there was another occasion. Let me not mention the name of that

man. He is a judge in the Supreme Court. Swami was blasting him

heavily because he was irresponsible or something like that.

Swami was looking at me. That gentleman doesn't know Telugu. He was

looking at me smilingly and said, " See how nicely that fellow is

crying! (Laughter) He should learn; he should know how to behave! "

" Huh? "

" You liked it? "

" Huh? "

And the He gave a heavy blasting to that man –same time, same God

 

Ram Chugani

Kobe, Japan