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Swami teaches....Part 4
Link to Swami
Teaches....Part 3 Sai Ram Preface
Swami indicates the significant role of His Teaching to the
students - seekers of truth and to all others who are
interested in their spiritual development. Let His words be as
a preface to the subsequent Swami's lesson for devotees and
followers "Swami teaches...". All
of you have great love and adore Swami but that love and
adoration are of no use if you ignore the teachings of Swami.
Even if you do not adore, if you believe in the truth of the
word and enforce it in your daily life, Swami's grace will
always be with you in your life. It is no use if you simply
utter the name of the Lord and do not follow the good things
that go with the Lord. It is just like uttering the name of
penicillin when you are running a high temperature. Only when
you take in the penicillin will the temperature come down.
When you are hungry, the hunger cannot be satisfied by
uttering words like potato and Chapati. If you eat them, it
will be satisfied. It is no use if you only read or listen.
You must try to remember the teachings, put them into practice
and judge for yourself how far you have acted according to the
word. Swami teaches...
today are little different and concludes Swami's advises to
Bhaktha(s). They are quite long,
written tens of years ago, but ever actual as guidelines for
seekers the purpose of life and existence - the expression of
the Divine. By my opinion these advises are as a summary for
spiritual growth for all who longs for it. However, they are
not only for reading, but more for inner contemplation,
separately every point. They are also the discussion topics
for satsanghs in good company of devotees. So, it makes 46
satsangh-discussions with pictorial examples of devotees
experiences (it may be in frame of their culture and national
customs what are in fact not other than diverse expressions of
atmic unity of humanity). Reet. Swami teaches...
(25 January 2005) The Kaliyuga offers
multifarious paths through which a person can acquire
discrimination or viveka. In spite of many schools and
institutions we do not find any increase in human happiness or
peace. We must try to make the best of our present age only
and try to do good things and live happily in this world.
Instead of feeling sorry for the bad things that are happening
in this Kaliyuga, we must try always to be good and remove the
bad from this world. The right way of leading a good life in
this world is the spiritual, moral and ethical way. We must
care for these three paths: the spiritual, the moral and the
Dharmic. On what experience of
these three paths depends? For this way of life,
character is important. Character makes life immortal; it
survives even death. Some say knowledge is power, but it is
not true. Character is Power. Even the acquisition of
knowledge demands a good character. Without character,
wealth, education, social status, all these are of no avail.
It is the fragrance of the flower; it gives value and worth.
Poets, painters, scientists may be great, each in his own
field, but without character, they can have no standing in
society. Ordinarily, society
attaches varying importance to certain qualities from day to
day and fashions in character change with the vagaries of
society. But the basic nature of a flawless character is
eternal; it is the same, whatever the vicissitudes of society.
In that sense, it is eternal, being associated with another
immortal entity, the Atman. Among the qualities
that make up a flawless character, Love, Patience,
Forbearance, Steadfastness, Charity - these are the highest,
these have to be revered. By conscious effort,
habits can be changed and character refined. Did not the thief
Ratnakara become Valmiki, the sage? We should not try to
worship God only for the sake of overcoming the consequence of
all our actions. If you worship Him to get His grace,
Prarabhda, Sanchita and all other Karma will become
ineffective by themselves. Before trying to
rectify these things, first try to know what is Prarabhda,
what is Sanchita and what is Agami Karma. Prarabhda Karma is
that which we are presently undergoing and experiencing.
Sanchita means all the past Karma, Agami refers to Karma that
will follow in future. Prarabhda is in between the Sanchita
and Agami, and we are experiencing this Prarabhda on account
of the previous Sanchita Karma. The result of what we do now
will come in future. I shall give you a small example from our
daily life. We have got a
storeroom in which we stock all our rice. We have already the
old stock of rice in the store. What we have stored in the
room is called Sanchita. When we want to cook, we remove some
rice from the storeroom and begin to cook it. What we bring
from the storeroom for cooking today is called Prarabhda. What
we cook now and what we eat today will pass out of our body
tomorrow. Sometimes what we eat may come out in the shape of a
belch. Therefore, we cannot escape from Prarabhda, we must
experience it in this life. In the storeroom, there is only
rice. When we bring it we will be able to convert it into many
preparations. In this way, we can make the rice into food. We
never change the base which is always rice. Even though there is
Sanchita, if you try to behave in a Sathwic way, in a pious
and good way, you will be able to change even Sanchita. You
may say that in the rice store, there are also stones. They
are as the result of our bad actions. They are in the store
mixed with rice. Before we cook, do we not try to remove the
stones from the rice? So it is quite necessary that when we
experience Sanchita, we can overcome the bad effects to some
extent or a great extent and make them clean, just as we make
the rice clean. Here is a small
example for this. There is an injection bottle. It will be
written on that, that the medicine inside can be used up to
1970. That bottle is there even in the year 1972 and the
medicine is also there in the bottle, but the medicine will
have no power. In the same way, in our destiny there may be
the medicine or Prarabhda but by the grace of God we can
weaken its effect, blunt its effect. Even though it is there,
it cannot trouble us. We can become beneficiaries of God's
grace; we need not be afraid of either Prarabhda or Sanchita
or Agami. Therefore the most important thing we have to try is
to earn the grace of God by which we can overcome all these
bad effects. (Reet's compilation from: Sathya Sai Baba. Divine
Discourse during the Summer Course in Spirituality and Indian
Culture, "Destiny and Divine Grace." May, 1972. Brindavan.
Sathya Sai Baba. Prema Vahini. "Noble Qualities From The Path
For The Aspirant." Page 1). Swami teaches...
(24 January 2005) The Thaittireeya
Upanishadh takes the student from the gross to the subtle,
step by step, in its effort to teach him the Divine Principle.
When Bhrigu, the son of Varuna, approached his father, saying,
"Teach me Brahman," he was told in a general way, "Brahman is
that from which all this originates, that in which they live,
and that in which they enter when they depart," and he was
asked to investigate it through meditation himself. Bhrigu declared that
'Food was Brahman,' and when asked to proceed with the
investigation, he proceeded to the next hypothesis, that
Brahman was Praana (life); later, he found that Manas (will,
sankalpa, ichchaashakthi) was Brahman; then he reached the
stage when he could declare that Brahman was Vijaana
(intelligence); the next step was reached when he identified
Brahman Once there was a
hunter who had captured a baby bear and who brought it up as
his pet with great love and care. The bear too reciprocated
his love and behaved like a good friend for many years. One
day, when he was traversing the jungle with his pet, who had
grown up into a hefty beast, he felt overcome by sleep; so he
laid himself down on the grass, asking the bear to see that he
is not disturbed. The bear kept watch very vigilantly. It
noticed a fly that flew round and round and settled on the
nose of the master. The fly went off when it waved its thick
heavy hand; but, it came again, and settled on the nose. The
bear got enraged when repeated waves of the hand did not teach
the fly that his master's nose was not the fly's resting
place. At last, the bear could not bear the insolence any
longer! His heavy palm came down with a thump on the nose, a
devastating whack! The master died on the spot! That is the
consequence of keeping company with the wild and the foolish.
However affectionate they are, their ignorance will land you
into disaster. From Good company to
No-company, Seva is the highest
Saadhana for, God Himself takes human form and comes down to
serve mankind and lead it to the ideals it has ignored.
Therefore consider how delighted God will be when human being
serves human being! There are two
obstacles which prevent person in this valuable effort. The
first is the tendency to compare yourselves with others. This
is very wrong. No two things or no two persons are identical.
Even identical twins grow in distinct ways of life. Each with
his distinct nature, quality, potentiality and destiny. How,
then, can any one compare himself with another and either
exult or despair? We are proud that we are better than others.
All this is very silly when we come to think of it. Secondly, we are in
the habit of justifying our faults, rationalising our errors
and avoiding the responsibility of facing them squarely and
correcting them. These two attitudes thicken man's ignorance
and breed further failings. Every one has God as the source.
No one is higher or lower. (Reet's compilation from: Sathya
Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Speaks: Vol. 7, "Not Loka but Lokesha,"
Chapter 5 and "The wet wick", Chapter 39. 2. The love that is
manifest in all things equally, believe that the same Prema is
Paramathma. 3. The one Paramathma
is in every one, in the form of Prema. 4. More than all
other forms of Prema, humans's first effort should be to fix
6. Those who seek the
bliss of the Atma should not run after the joys of sense
objects. 8. Just as a body
that has no breath is useless and begins to rot and stink
within a few minutes, similarly, life without truth is useless
and becomes the stinking abode of strife and grief. 10. Truth is the
all-protecting God. There is no mightier guardian than truth.
12. Have undiminished
kindness towards all beings and also the spirit of
self-sacrifice. 13. You must also
possess control of the senses, an unruffled character and
non-attachment. 14. Be always on the
alert against the four sins, which the tongue is prone to
commit: 15. Try to prevent
the five sins that the body commits: Killing, adultery, theft,
drinking intoxicants and the eating of flesh. It is a great
help for the highest life if these also are kept as far away
as possible. 16. One must be
always vigilant, without a moment's carelessness, against the
eight sins that the mind perpetrates: Kamam or craving;
Krodham or anger; Lobham or greed; Moham or attachment;
impatience; hatred, egoism, pride. human's primary duty is to
keep all these things at a safe distance from himself. 17. Human's mind
speeds fast, pursuing wrong actions. Without letting it hurry
like that, remember the name of the Lord at that time or
attempt to do some good deed or other. Those who do thus will
certainly become fit for the Lord's grace. 18. First give up the
evil tendency to feel envious at the prosperity of others and
the desire to harm them. Be happy that others are happy.
Sympathise with those who are in adversity and wish for their
prosperity. That is the means of cultivating love for God. 19. Patience is all
the strength than man needs. 20. Those anxious to
live in joy must always be doing good. 21. It is easy to
conquer anger through love, attachment through reasoning,
falsehood through truth, bad through good and greed through
charity. 22. No reply should
be given to the words of the wicked. Be at a great distance
from them; that is for your good. Break off all relations with
such people. 23. Seek the company
of good men, even at the sacrifice of your honour and life.
But be praying to God to bless you with the discrimination
needed to distinguish between the good men and the bad. You
must also endeavour, with the intellect given to you. 24. Those who conquer
states and earn fame in the world are hailed as heroes, no
doubt; but those who have conquered the senses are heroes who
must be acclaimed as the conquerors of the universal. 25. Whatever acts a
good or bad man may do, the fruits thereof follow him and will
never stop pursuing him. 26. Greed yields only
sorrow; contentment is best. There is no happiness greater
than contentment. 27. The
mischief-mongering tendency should be plucked out by the roots
and thrown off. If allowed to exist, it will undermine life
itself. 28. Bear with
fortitude both loss and grief; try and search for plans to
achieve joy and gain. 29. When you are
invaded by anger, practise silence or remember the name of the
Lord. Do not remind yourself of things which will inflame the
anger more. That will do incalculable harm. 30. From this moment,
avoid all bad habits. Do not delay or postpone. They do not
contribute the slightest joy. 31. Try as far as
possible within your means to satisfy the needs of the poor,
who are really Daridranarayana. Share with them whatever food
you have and make them happy at least that moment. 32. Whatever you feel
should not be done to you by others, avoid doing such things
to others. 33. For faults and
sins committed in ignorance, repent sincerely; try not to
repeat the faults and sins again; pray to God to bless you
with the strength and the courage needed to stick to the right
path. 34. Do not allow
anything to come near you, which will destroy your eagerness
and enthusiasm for God. Want of eagerness will cause the decay
of the strength of man. 35. Yield not to
cowardice; do not give up Ananda. 36. Do not get welled
up when people praise you; do not feel dejected when people
blame you. 37. If among your
friends any one hates another and starts a quarrel, do not
attempt to inflame them more and make them hate each other
more; try, on the other hand, with love and sympathy to
restore their former friendship. 40. Whatever people
may say about the faults that you know are not in you, do not
feel for it; as for the faults that are in you, try to correct
them yourself, even before others point them out to you. Do
not harbour anger or bitterness against persons who point out
your faults; do not retort, pointing out the faults of those
persons themselves, but show your gratitude to them. Trying to
discover their faults is a greater mistake on you part. It is
good for you to know your faults; it is no good your knowing
others' faults. 42. The Lord is
understood only by the Bhaktha; the Bhaktha is understood only
by the Lord. Others cannot understand them. So, do not discuss
matters relating to the Lord with those who have no Bhakthi.
On account of such discussion, your devotion will diminish.
43. If anyone speaks
to you on any subject, having understood it wrongly, do not
think of other wrong notions which will support that stand but
grasp only the good and the sweet, in what he says. True
meaning is to be appreciated as desirable, not wrong meaning
or many meanings, which give no meaning at all and cause only
the hampering of Ananda. 44. If you desire to
cultivate one-pointedness, do not, when in a crowd or bazaar,
scatter your vision to the four corners and on everything, but
see only the road in front of you, just enough to avoid
accidents to yourself. One-pointedness will become firmer if
one moves about without taking one's attention off the road,
avoiding dangers, and not casting eyes on others' forms. 45. Give up all
doubts regarding the Guru and God. If your worldly desires do
not get fulfilled, do not blame it on your devotion; there is
no relationship between such desires and devotion to God.
These worldly desires have to be given up some day or other;
Bhakthi feelings have to be acquired some day or other. Be
firmly convinced of this. 46. If your Dhyanam
or Japam does not progress properly or if the desires you have
entertained do not come to fruition, do not get dispirited
with God. It will dispirit you even more and you will lose the
peace, however small or big, that you might have earned.
During Dhyanam and Japam you should not be dispirited,
desperate or discouraged. When such feelings come, take it
that it is the fault of your Sadhana and endeavour to do them
correctly. Swami teaches...
(22 January 2005) The Atma that appears
in the waking state as the phenomenal cosmos in its gross
form, appears in the dream state in its sookshma (subtle)
form. All the joys and sorrows experienced in the dream state
are unique self-created experiences of the Atma. In the third state of
Sushupti, the experience of the waking and the dream states
are absent. It is the state of deep sleep. In this state
Prajna (integrated awareness) alone exists. Only the breathing
process remains. Prajna is the state of unchanging and
permanent bliss described by the Upanishads.
Swami teaches... (21 January 2005)
We
must delve beyond the body, beyond the senses, beyond the
mind, beyond the intellect and reach the source of all these -
the Aathman. It is the substratum, basis and source of all
else. For everything we see there has to be a base, which we
do not see. For the car that is moving, there is the road,
which is the stationary ground for the car to move on. The car
may swerve but the road does not swerve. If the road also
moves, what journey can the car make and whereto? So also, the
Aathman is the basis for the functioning of the mind and
senses and body.
The
Universe is a manifestation of God. So also is the
'individual. All these three are like Brahma, Vishnu and
Maheshwara, the Trinity. Actually there are no Three, they are
one, it is unified Godhead.
Every cell in the human body is God, though under a microscope
you cannot find Him. A pure heart, a cleansed mind, a
God-filled consciousness will help you to listen to the voice
of the God within you. The
words above shine from Aathma Vidhya what is only the true
education. The education today is (mainly) oriented towards
earning money only. For feeding a small stomach, should one
have to learn so many things? There is knowledge of music,
knowledge of arts, science, etc. But all pale off into
insignificance in the light of the knowledge of the spirit.
All other branches of knowledge are like rivulets which flow
into the sea. (nadeenaam saagaro gatihi). Just as all rivers
flow into the ocean, all types of education will find their
true fulfilment when they lead and end up in spiritual
knowledge and wisdom only.
(Reet's
compilation from: Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 15.
"The Universe - the Guru," Chapter 15, "Eternal harmony,"
Chapter 8 and Vol. 16, "The daily prayer," Chapter 2).
Swami teaches... (20 January 2005) Vedas and Vedanta -
Sacred Light for Jnanis Over the years there were
many who recited the Vedas and carried on Vedic practices, no
commensurate results were achieved? It is because, few of them
understood their inner meaning properly, or their sacredness
and potency. It may be that the sacredness of the Vedas is
such that even mere uttering the mantras without understanding
their full meaning or merely listening to them will have some
sanctifying effect. The potency of the Divine vibrations
emanating from the mantras is such that they confer unique
blissful experience on the listeners. 'Mala' means that which is
impure. As a state of mind 'mala' refers to the condition in
which one regards the impermanence, the false and the unsacred
as permanent, true and holy. Mala is also known by the term
Avidya (ignorance). Ignorance can be removed by karmas
(prescribed actions). Vikshepa (delusion) is removed by
developing the power of discrimination. Aavarana (that which covers or
envelopes an object) can be removed by Upasana (worship).
Upasana (devotional worship) one-pointed concentration of mind
is promoted. And through Jnana, moksha (liberation) is
attained.
Satkarma (right action) results in purity of mind and devotion
promotes concentration. The third stage is jnana
(knowledge). There are different kinds of knowledge. One is
worldly knowledge. Another is general knowledge. What is
implied by the Vedic term Jnana is knowledge of Atma. It
cannot be taught by preceptors or learnt by studying texts. It
cannot be received from any one or offered to any one. It has
to emerge from the inner consciousness. Preceptors and texts
can only help to some extent.
It is this Divine sweetness that
illumines the world. This Beauty, Sweetness and Bliss are all
within you. When you turn your mind to God, the whole universe
will wear a new aspect. Without this internal change, all
changes in the external physical world are of no avail. Only
when the individual changes, the world will change.
Namaste - Reet to be continued |
