DIVINE DISCOURSES
AND MESSAGES FROM
Notes taken by Mr. K.S.Srinivasa Raghvan who resides at Parthi are given below. The comments within { } are your humble servant's.
"With Swami's Grace, I could be at His Immediate Presence on GuruPoornima day this year. The day started with anticipation and excitement. The crowds swelled. The Sai Kulwant Hall was splendour galore. The decorations were a feast to the eye. I was reminded of Swami's description in the Rama Katha Rasa Vahini and in the Ramayana Discourses of the splendour and the beauty of Ayodhya and Mithila and the decorations done during the time of the Rama-Sita marriage and the coronation of Rama. The word must have gotten around widely that there was no token system for darshan that morning and first come first seated that day because when I went at 3 AM that morning, there were already several other eager-beavers ahead of me. But, we could not go anywhere because the sevadals advised that people could start moving about only after 3:30 AM as per the ashram rules. So, we waited and at a bit shy of 3:30 AM started our sprint across the ashram grounds to near the Ganesha statue for assembly and an orderly entry to the darshan hall.
With His Grace, panting or not, I was rewarded with a first row seat and a most memorable darshan of the Lord who is beauty personified. After the morning darshan and bhajans, the announcement was made in English and Telugu by Sri Anil Kumar that Bhagavan had kindly consented to give a discourse in the evening at 4 PM.
Dashing through a brief and hurried lunch, I was back at the waiting place and re-entered the Sai Kulwant Hall amidst the milling crowd of fellow pilgrims and again, was graced with a seat per my desire where I couldwatch and hear the Guru on this most auspicious day. The hall was fully packed and people were standing outside the hall on both ladies' and men's sides.
The Lord floated in so beautifully well before 4 PM and the world came to a stop literally. Watching His every moment, almost mesmerised in Him, was an experience beyond description. The Love that He is, He walked ever so slowly to every nook and corner of the hall,as it were, making sure that every one in that vast assembly had His Darshan. He walked out of the hall on the ladies side and gave darshan to the ladies waiting outside. He moved amongst us on the men's side, walked out to give darshan to the men waiting outside. As He walked outof the gate, He raised both His Hands in benediction, a loving gesture that brought an instant applause. He walked slowly around the remaining sections on the men's side and finally sat down on the chair ever so gently. As He sat down, the contentment and the joy of the people with Him broke into an instantaneous applause that the Love responded, as it always does, in an exemplary way. Swami got up with a gesture of tremendous happiness on His face and gesturing with His Hand as if to say What is this? Look at this! He descended the steps, walked a bit more on the ladies side giving additional darhsan. It was so full of joy!
Leisurely, he walked back to the stage and gestured to the young boys who were to chant the vedas to come behind Him and get ready before the microphone. As He went back and sat down on the chair again, there was again applause from the audience wanting more darshan. Swami made a playful gesture with His Hand and the formal program started.
At the end of the discourse, powerfully simple and electrifyingly fast as usual, after the Managala Arathi, as Swami started going out of the darsan hall, there was an on-the-spur-of-the-moment call of praise to the Lord (Akilaanda Koti Brahmaanda Naayakaa...) that I heard from a full-throated voice behind me in the crowd. I was deeply moved by this. It was a traditional call,practised in the temples and in the lineage into which Bhagavan had chosen to take birth. Above all, it was a spontaneous reaction of Love greeting Love. With an apparently unconcerned detachment, the orange robe and the halo of hair slowly moved and progressively receded from my eye-sight."
Love
S K Swami
Your Admin Servant.
Notes from Bhagavans Discourse on Guru Poornima (July 9,1998)
Na japam na theertham
Na saasthraani japannapi
Samsaara saagarodhare
Sajjanam sevanam vinaa
[Neither by penance nor by bathing in sacred rivers, nor by study of scriptures, nor by meditation can the ocean of life be crossed. It can be crossed only by service to fellow beings. (Poem)]
Embodiments of Love,
Man follows variegated spiritual practices seeking redemption but they won't get him the liberation sought for. Doing penance is for his own personal benefit and not for welfare of the world. Meditation (japam)is also for one's own pleasure and not for the welfare of others. In order to get rid of the ills of the worldly life and attain liberation,rituals are not the means. One should work for the welfare of the fellow beings. Seva or service with love, chanting the name of God is the right method to attain liberation.
If wealth is lost, you can get it back. If a friend is lost, you can get another friend. If wife is lost, you can get another by marrying again. If your body is lost, you can not get it back. This body is sacred and is intended for doing work.It is the work of serving others. You have therefore, to keep the body in sound condition and do right action (Dharmic action). As a human being, endowed with intelligence and thinking capacity, what is the useif you do not understand the mystery of human life? The faculty of searching is a gift for the human. It is the faculty which helps man attain proficiency and mastery in several types of arts and crafts like sculpture, painting etc. But, man uses the faculty to search for Truth. This is a furtile pursuit. When one sees a tree, he sees only that portion of it which is above the ground level with its branches,leaves, flowers and fruits etc., and not the root which is the basis for the tree. But the one in search of Truth will see the tree as a whole including the root. Similarly spiritual seekers see the root {and the whole tree} which is the proper pursuit. They understand that the entire tree can not thrive if the root is damaged. The correct search is to see the tree as a whole and not only the portion above ground.
When the Devas and Asuras (demons) were churning the Ocean of Milk, the first thing to come out was the poison. But, they were not disappointed and continued the churning without break. Subsequently, Lakshmi( Godess of Wealth), Iraavatham(the elephant), and so many valuable things came up including Amrit or nectar. How was this possible? It was because they never relaxed their efforts in pursuit of their goal. Actually man's heart is the Ocean of Milk. The heart is churned by wisdom. Sometimes, one has to meet with disappointment while making efforts to attain the goal. But one should continue the efforts. With the feeling of Dharma, justice and good qualities like compassion and love will come out. Compassion and justice should mark the actions of man. You should not give scope for untruth. Man today is searching for only temporal and transient happiness. It is not correct. You should search for Eternal Happiness or Bliss which is the Truth. In the process of seeking worldly pleasure, you may have some satisfaction which is not lasting, but you can not experience Divinity.
When we want to locate the position of the star Dhruva in the sky, we point out the direction in relation to a tree. But it is onlyfor the purpose of locating the star. The tree is not in any way connected to the star! Similarly, whatever we speak and act in search of Eternal Truth stimulates experience of Divinity as they only point to the direction of Divinity. If you see a big ocean, thick forest, it is only indicative of the beauty of Nature and forms part of your search for Truth, and helps in your search too.A huge tree comes out from a tiny seed and a full grown bird comes out of an egg. You get butter from milk. These are all evidences of the Eternal Truth. The whole world operates by the three aspects of Divinity namely Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution. We come across all three aspects in out daily life too. These are manifestations of Divinity which is the Eternal Truth. In spite of such evidence of Divinity, you go on asking, Where is God? But to search for the Truth that is God is rather difficult. To be precise, God is truth in truth, falsehood in falsehood, the badness in bad things and actions, goodness in good things and actions, Punyam (merit) in Punyam and Paapam (sin) in acts of sin. It is said in Upanishad that God is the essence (raso vai saha). God is like the sugar in syrup. You can't have syrup without sugar. Heis also like butter in milk, to be realized only after due process of efforts. Divinity is there in every drop of creation. You have to experience it.
Scriptures of different religions like the Quoran, Vedas, Upanishads,Bible and Granth Sahib speak of the existence of Divinity. You can not see a place without God. Any person from any country in the world atany time cannot deny this. Some may not be aware of this. Once the awareness is realized, they will be experiencing it. In the English word, they use the word, GOD. In this itself, you may perceive the existence of God. 'G' stands for Generation, that is, creation. 'O' stands for Organization, that is, sustenance. 'D' stands for Destruction, that is, dissolution. God has all these three aspects. We can understand the significance of this on further analysis. Generation is His Will (Creation); Organization is also His Will (Sustenance); and Destruction is also His Will (Dissolution). World can not exist with out these three aspects. It has to go on with the help of these three aspects of the Divine only. The human thoughts come from the heart. If the heart is pure, the thoughts, words and actions will also be pure. When we make our hearts perfect, all our activities will be good. When you get difficulties, you should not despair because joy comes only after difficulties. You will not get joy separately. Fructification of sorrow is joy. Truth is one.
In this human life, we can learn this Truth of Ekam(one) (Ekaathmaa sarvabhoothaathmaa). The same Atma is in all beings. Humanbody is a combination of the five sheaths - Ananamaya Kosa, PraanamayaKosa, Manonmaya Kosa, Vijnaanamaya Kosa and Anandamaya Kosa. The wisdom to understand this in vouched to only man. Hence human life is the most valuable one. You do not make good use of this, but waste it in worthless pursuits. Man is endowed with all virtuous qualities. How can he be considered as lowly? He is not able to understand his own nature. He is harping only on Annamaya Kosa or food sheath and does not attempt to go further to the other sheaths.This causes lack of peace (Asaanthi).
Narada did not have peace and sought the help of Sanathkumara in enlightening him on the way to get eternal peace. Sanathkumara asked Narada as to what all he knew. Narada said that he had mastered all the Vedas, Upanishads and scriptures but could not find the way to eternal bliss. Sanathkumara told him that these are all worldly and impermanent and so he can not have permanent peace through them. Scientists say that Metaphysics starts where physics ends. Spirituality begins where physical identity ceases. As long as you identify yourself with the body, you cannot have permanent peace as the body is transient and perishable. Body is just an instrument as you say, "my body", "my mind", "my intellect" etc. You are different from these. Once you understand this truth, you will be free from grief. Body is impermanent even though divine is latent in it. All these are negative while Atma, the Divine only, is the positive. Them ain cause of restlessness is this negative approach. You must have awareness that you are the Master and master the mind. Book knowledge is giving you only worldly things. Prema and Thyaga are the most important.
Queen Victoria had a Prime Minister by the name Williams, who was a highly educated and accomplished politician. He was doing his duty with love and a spirit of sacrifice. He used to tell people in a pleasing way even if he had to tell something not palatable to them. His biographer has mentioned all these good points in his life describing him as a great statesman. His nobility demonstrated Divinity. When you get Bliss you become God. Man has sacred values. He is not putting them to practice. Divinity is in every one. Man indulges only in pleasures relating to the body. He attaches more values to diamond and gold. But for man giving them the value, they are nothing. Man himself is more valuable than anything else in the world. Man is more valuable than all the wealth of the world put together. Prema is his Praanaa. Love is his life-breath. Love is God. Live in Love. Develop love expanding it tothe entire humanity. All the world is so vast. Your love also should be vast. It should not be limited to the few. Then only you will reflect the real human values. Man may face many difficulties but he must treat them as passing clouds. Values are very important. They are not merely ideals but the prescribed Dharma for the human life. The day you deviate from Dharma you ruin yourself. Dharma is sustaining in spite of the lapses in following it by many people. The gigantic tree has its sustenance from the roots.
The culture of many countries can not sustain for long while the Bharathiya culture has survived several challenges and it is still surviving because of its deep root in Divinity. It is permanent(saaswatham) and changeless. Modern people do not understand it properly. You enjoy a lot of comforts today thanks to advancements of science but you have no peace. What is the use of having all comforts without having peace?The late Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of England during war time)said that man experiences and enjoys everything in the world and conquers allexternal elements but he has not conquered himself. The same thing was told by the boy Prahlada to his father. He said, "Oh father! You have conquered all the five elements and all the worlds. But what is the use? You have not been able to win over your senses or mind." The first thing to be achieved is the control of the mind. This can be achieved only in following the spiritual path. The significance of Guru Poornima is that you pay obeisance to the Guru. Who is a Guru? Not the teacher who teaches all wordly subjects. God is theonly Guru. {"Gu" stands for gunaatheethaaya, the one beyond all traits and characteristics. "Ru" means roopaatheethaaya , beyond all forms} People do offerings now a days to the so-called Gurus who covet worldly wealth. The true meaning of Guru is one who removes the darkness of ignorance. Gu - ignorance. Ru - destruction. One who destroys ignorance is Guru. We now find that the so-called Gurus themselves are in darkness. How can they remove the darkness of ignorance in others? Even in the spiritual field, it has become a business where money plays a vital role. It cannot be called spiritual teaching.
Spirituality consists of Divine Love which never takes but only goes on giving. This is its sanctity. You must tread the spiritual path which is Nivrrti marga (inward) instead of proceeding on Pravrrti Margawhich is external and only worldly. Whatever you do, you do as offeringto God. You may study upto high standards and occupy high positions but you should never forget to offer all this to the Divine. Good conduct and sterling character form the basis for human values. Truth should not be forsaken.
During a conversation at Bangalore, a gentleman was telling me that he was taking bath in the river. I asked him, "Where is the river in Bangalore?" He meant the drainage water overflowing on the roads as river. Because of this miserable state people suffer. The cause of diseases so widely prevalent in people now is pollution. Water, air, food and everything external is polluted. Not only this, but the mind of people is also polluted. Man becomes sick because of pollution of mind. Most of the ailments of people now are more psychological than physiological. This is the result of excessive thinking. Dr. Hardy was an expert doctor. He was treating patients with cardiological trouble and was thinking too much of the ailment. Finally he himself fell a victim of the ailment and died. There was another case of a doctor treating patients for indigestion. In course of time, he himself died of indigestion which he could not get over.
Mind plays a big role and due to worry, even doctors themselves become victims. Mind is the cause for liberation and bondage. You have a lock and key. If you turn the key to the right, it locks. And turned to left, it opens. Similarly, mind is the key of heart which is locked. You turn to the right direction to God and get liberated. And when you turn {it} towards world, it lands you in bondage to the world. You should not allow the mind to be directed towards the world.
Many people approached Ramakrishna Paramahamsa seeking emancipation. Vivekananda also went to him and asked him, "Have you seen God?" When Ramakrishna replied, Yes, Vivekananada asked him further how he saw God. Ramakrishna said "I have seen God in the same way as I see you." Vivekananda asked, "Why is it that I am not able to see him?" Ramakrishna smilingly replied, You are seeing God, but do not realize this. You see the world with human feelings while I see the world with divine feeling(Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi). That is the difference!Man cries for his wife, child and all other things. But does he cry for God? If you cry for God, you will, see Him Face to Face." Ramakrishna thus cleared the doubt in the mind of Vivekananda.
You have to make efforts to realize God. You are making efforts for the sake of your family, friends and relatives. Even if you spend a trifle fraction of these efforts towards God, you can realize Divinity. The gates of the heart where He dwells are open. But you are not making efforts to enter. Love is the key to open the doors of your heart which is the abode of God. With out Love, you can not achieve this.You pray, You are mother, faher, relative, friend, wisdom, wealth and all for me, O Lord {Thwameva Matha Cha Pitha Thwameva, Thwameva Bhandhuscha Sakaa Thwameva, Thwameva Vidhyaa Dhravinam Thwameva, Thwameva Sarvam mama Deva Deva} It is also said, Mother is God, father is God, teacher is God , guest is God {Maathru Devo Bhava, Pithru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, Athithi Devo Bhava}. No doubt, it is said that mother, father and teacher are equal to God. But parents live at home and the teacher is in his Ashram. It is only God that dwells in your heart. You may respect your parents and teacher and serve them. But you have to worship God who is within you. He is the indweller of heart (Hridyanivasi). Body and senses are not permanent. They may go away at any time of life. Death is certain. Body is full of dirt, bones and flesh. You should not attach undue importance to it. Chant the name of God, join both hands and worship Him. To realize this, your ego should be completely rooted out. Where there is ego, there is no love.
Embodiments of Love,
Ahamkara (ego) and Mamakara (the sense of possession as mine) are the root cause for all evil qualities. Only when you give up these, yourealize your Divinity. Talk with love, live with Dharma and be in peace. If you can not oblige,at least speak obligingly. This is the way to realize the Divinity in you. Rasovai saha - God is the essence of life. Every individual is divine. Eswaras sarva Bhoothaanaam, Isaavaasyam Idham Sarvam See the divine in every being. The vision you get varies according to the color of the glasses through which you see. See everyone with the glasses of Prema (Love). Spectacles may appear to be an obstacle for the vision. But it helps in having a clear vision. You must put on the appropriate type of spectacles which will aid your vision. If you wear wrong glasses, you may not see correctly. Wearing the glasses of Prema, you will develop other virtues like compassion.
If we are keen to experience the Divine, we must devote ourselves to the Divine. Men go through various troubles for the sake of wealth, relations, position and power. If they were to devote a small fraction of that time to thoughts of God they would experience freedom from the fear of death. If you think only of world, how can you get peace and bliss?
Concentrate on the love of God.
Although one's mother, father and preceptor are to be adored as divine beings, they are not God. God should be worshipped as mother, father, preceptor, kinsman and friend. Father, mother and preceptor dwell in their respective abodes. But God dwells in your heart. Love the Lord who resides in your heart. All other objects of love are impermanent. What is the use of education if you have not learnt to worship God?
What does the worship of God mean? Practices like meditation, japa and penance are all tainted by selfishness. True worship of God consists in seeking union with God by realising one's own divinity. With every breath man proclaims that he and the Divine are one in the Mantra "So-Ham", expressed through inhalation and exhalation.
Men must recognise that the body becomes a sacred shrine (Kshetra) because the indweller is God (Kshetrajna). To know that God is the indweller will free a person from all bad qualities.
Egoism is the worst enemy of man. Possessiveness (Mamakara) is another evil trait. Both these should be banished as they are at the root of all vices. When the two evil traits go, man becomes divine.
God Seeks only Love
By developing love, one sees the Divine in all beings. It is like wearing coloured glasses. If you see the world through the glasses of love you will see love everywhere. (cheers). The glasses and the vision must be in harmony. Only with the eye of love can you use the glasses of love to see the loveliness of the world.
There is no greater spiritual path than the path of love. It is through love that such noble qualities as kindness, compassion and sympathy are fostered.
Embodiments of Love!
You are carrying on a variety of spiritual exercises (Sadhanas). God does not seek your Sadhanas. Nor does He seek your devotion. He seeks only your love.
A Devotee and a Servant of God.
A short while ago, K. R. Prasad, a Member of the Sathya Sai Central Trust, came to Me. In the course of our talk he asked Me, "What is the difference between a Bhakta (devotee) and a Dasa (servant of the Lord)". I told him: "Dasa is one who seeks to serve the Lord using his body for the purpose. Bhakta is one who is always thinking about God wherever he may be. The devotee is one who 'always and at all times contemplates on God' ("Sarvada Sarvakaaleshu Sarvatra Hari Chintanam"). Dasa is always thinking of service to God".
Sankaracharya and Padmapada.
Sankaracharya had five disciples. One of them was pure-hearted. The other disciples were keenly studying the Sastras, the Upanishads and other texts. They were also learning logic and grammar. One day, Sankaracharya was teaching these disciples the principles of logic. One of them was primarily concerned with service to the guru; he regarded himself as a Dasa of the guru. He was engaged in gathering clothes of the guru after the morning ablutions, take them to the Ganga, wash them and dry them and bring them back to the Ashram. Thus he was totally involved in attending to the personal needs of the guru. He kept the guru's clothes clean, chanting all the while the name of the guru. Once, on his way back from the other bank of the river, he did not realise that the Ganga was in spate. As he was crossing the river, it rose up to the level of his neck. He looked around, but had no fear whether he would be washed away by the swelling waters. His only worry was how to take the clothes to the guru even at the cost of his life. Placing the clothes on his head and chanting the word, "guruji! guruji" he continued wading through the rivers. Because of his intense devotion to his guru, at every step he took there was a lotus-shaped stone on which he could place his foot. He thereby earned the appellation "Padmapada". Sankaracharya called him and imparted his teachings to him. He told Padmapada: "Service to the guru is a great virtue. You have adored the guru as God. Guru represents the Divine Trinity and is the Supreme Self".
Today, the scriptural saying that the Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara should be understood not in the literal sense, but in the sense that God alone is the real guru. Sankara taught Padmapada that individual preceptors should not be worshipped as gods. Then, he imparted to Padmapada the sacred truth.
The other four disciples used to treat Padmapada previously as an ignoramus. After receiving the teachings from Sankaracharya, Padmapada could repeat the entire Vedic texts at one stroke. He became a good exponent of Vedanta, better than many scholars.
One day Sankaracharya sum- moned Padmapada and asked him to whom he was preaching and what mes- sage he was giving to them. Padmapada burst into a hymn in praise of Siva and said that Sankara was the inspiration for all his teachings and all his discourses were an offering to Sankara. Who is Sankara? Sankara is one who is free from Sanka (doubts).
No one should have any doubts about God. The doubting man can achieve nothing. With total faith and total love, you can accomplish anything.
It should be realised that proficiency in fields like music, literature and the arts is secured by the grace of the Divine. All fine arts are gifts from God. Nothing can be claimed as one's own achievement. The recipient of God's grace will lack nothing. He will have no troubles and he will commit no wrongs because he has surrendered to God. The person who considers God as his all becomes himself one with God. Hence, direct your minds towards God.
Bhagavan concluded His
discourse with the Bhajan:
"Bhajana binaa
sukha santhi nahi".
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