Sri Sathya Sai Baba Teachings - 2.

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The life principles of Man

 

A short compilation from the Divine Discourse of Bhagavan Sathya Sai

Baba: " The life principles of Man. " 9 October, 2001, Prasanthi Nilayam.

 

Prajnana is the unchanging and eternal principle that is in you at

all times and under all circumstances. People call it supreme knowledge,

but the correct translation for this term is

Constant-Integrated-Awareness. This Constant-Integrated-Awareness is

present all over the body. How it is that man is not able to recognise

such all-pervasive divinity, which exists in all the three periods of

time, past, present and future?

 

The life principle that flows through each and every nerve of the

body is verily divine. The life principle that sustains our body is

Prajnana. On this basis, it is said, Prajnanam Brahma. The same thing is

reflected in another divine axiom, Ayam Atma Brahma. It can be

interpreted as 'I am Atma and Brahma'. The third one is Tat Twam Asi.

Tat denotes that which is outside, and Twam stands for innate divinity.

It means that the same divinity is present within and without. That

all-pervasive God is present within and without. That which is seen,

heard and experienced outside is nothing but the reflection, resound and

reaction of the inner being. When reality is within, why crave for its

reflection outside?

 

God has no distinctions or differences. No one can stipulate dos

and don'ts for Him. He can do anything, since He is in everything and is

everything. He has no master above Him. If man wants to visualise God,

he will see Him only in the form of a human being far superior to him in

all respects. So, man should know the nature of a human being to begin

with. All the sacred texts have described God as having human form. It

does not mean that God is confined to a human form. God has no specific

form. People attribute various forms to God. Here we have an idol of

Dakshinamurthi. This form is but your own imagination. It is not the

reality. How can you visualise God who is the very form of the universe?

The Viswa (universe) is made up of five elements. The human body also

consists of five elements. Hence, it is called Viswa (Totality, Whole

creation). The Veda says, with thousands of heads, thousands of feet and

thousands of eyes, Divinity pervade everything. The human's form keeps

changing, but the spirit remains unchanged. Do not follow the body. Do

not follow the mind. Follow the conscience. Conscience is the Atma

(Self).

 

Through steady faith one can attain divinity. One should have faith

in one's own Self. Develop self-confidence, which will lead to

self-satisfaction. When you have self-satisfaction, you will be prepared

for self-sacrifice. Only through self-sacrifice, can one attain

self-realisation. Self-realisation means to realise that you are

everything. Self-confidence is the foundation, self-satisfaction is the

wall, self-sacrifice is the roof and self-realisation is life.

 

You are the embodiment of Prajnana. (Consciousness, Knowledge). It

is not worldly or secular knowledge. This true knowledge is within you.

It is not something that you acquire after you are born. It is with you

right from your birth. But you have forgotten this truth and,

consequently, you suffer from delusion. In this world, everything is an

illusion; nothing is permanent. You have to carry on with your life

sojourn and discharge your duties keeping in view the eternal Atmic

principle.

 

The term Brahma means vastness. Similar is the meaning of the term

Vishnu. So, God symbolises vastness and broad-mindedness. But He appears

narrow-minded to the narrow-minded. As are your feelings, so will be

the result. God is filled with broad feelings. It is not possible for

anybody to comprehend God's Will. Unable to understand the Divine Will,

people forget the yathartha (reality) and lead themselves into anartha

(difficulties). They are carried away by padartha (worldly objects) and

ignore Parartha (Divinity). Take Parartha as the fundamental principle.

Do not repose your faith in the physical world. However, you have to

play your role well in this drama of life. To that extent, you can keep

the world in your mind. If you have firm faith in God, you will perceive

divinity everywhere.

 

All forms of God that are attributed to Him are man's own

creations and imaginations. God is depicted to be having four hands

holding shankha, chakra, gada and padma (conch, discus, mace, and

lotus). If God were really to be born with four hands, people would

certainly put Him in exhibition. What is the inner meaning of God having

these four insignia? Shankha (conch) represents sound; chakra (discus)

denotes the wheel of time; gada (mace) symbolises power, and padma

(lotus) stands for heart. It is only to make you understand that God is

the master of sound, time, power, and heart that He is depicted to be

having these insignia in His hands.

 

Of all the forms of God, the human form is very significant. Who is

a human being? The proper study of mankind is man. It means the

thoughts, words, and deeds should be in harmony with one another. When

you are in the company of God all the time, why should you give room for

worry? In order to understand that God is not separate from you,

undertake sacred deeds. Help others.

 

Sanctify all the limbs of the body in selfless activities. But it is

not that easy to practice. There is always some self-interest in

whatever man does. Self-interest is also necessary, but it should be

within certain limits.

 

Man has the sacred name manishi. When reversed, it reads as shinima

(cinema). Today man has become a 'Cinema manishi' meaning 'one leading

an artificial life'. Today, the world is plunged into utter chaos and

confusion. You find misery, sadness, sin, and anger everywhere. Where

is peace? It is within you.