Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

THIS day, Guru Pournami, is celebrated by people as thanksgiving Day for their spiritual preceptors, those who initiated them into spiritual disciplines, manthra recitals, meditation, japa and the study of sacred texts. We have a popular saying, "Without a preceptor, all learning is blind." But, this refers to authentic Gurus, those who have the double qualification of gu and ru: gu meaning, devoid of gunas and ru meaning, devoid of ruupa - that is to say, those who have transcended Form and Flavour, those who have merged in God, or the Atma Itself. It is only these who can help you to attain.

The Vedas declare that the Mother, the Father, the Acharya (Preceptor) have to be treated as God. The Mother brings forth and trains the emotions and intelligence, and fosters and feeds the body during the critical first few years of life. The father protects and guides, and supports till the child is able to fend for itself. The Acharya opens the inner eye; he shows the way, for joy and happiness, here and hereafter. So, the responsibility of the guru is overwhelming.

Today, we have gurus who scheme for earning riches and status; their minds are poisoned by the fumes of egotism and greed. They cause even the faithful to desert the path of discipline which they have entered. Others have vast learning and consequently, they suffer from swelled head and the infection of competition will not accept such men as His favourites. You may put in an envelope a letter written in exceptionally beautiful style, containing precious sentiments and decorated with charming drawings - but, unless you affix a 20 paise stamp, it cannot reach the person whom you address. On the other hand, the paper may be crumpled and cheap; the sentiments may be commonplace; the style may be poor. But, fix the stamp - it reaches the destination! What is essential is the yearning, the anguish. If that is evident, the prayer will reach God.

Every object in nature, every incident in time, is really speaking, teaching you a lesson, as the postal stamp does. Dakshinamurthy was one morning walking in slow steps along the seabeach. He looked at the waves - and drew a lesson therefrom. He saw the waves slowly but systematically, carrying towards the shore a bit of straw, passing it on from one crest to another, until it was deposited on land! The sea is a broad expanse, it is deep and mighty. But, yet, it is constantly engaged in clearing itself from all extraneous things. It knows that, you must not neglect a desire, for the reason that it is a straw. Force it back, on to the shore, where it can do no harm. Eternal vigilance is the price of peace and happiness.Dakshinamurthy exclaimed, "Wonderful! The Sea has taught me a great lesson." - the lesson that danger lurks, when desire raises its head.

Take the example of Seetha. She was the daughter of the greatest jnani and philosopher of the age, Janaka. She was the consort of the Lord; her father-in-law the mighty emperor Dasaratha. Nevertheless, when her lord was exiled and sent into the forest for 14 years, she gave up all the luxuries to which she had become accustomed, and insisted on being taken by Him into the same forest, as His companion. What tremendous detachment, what admirable adherence to the dictates of morality! But, when she saw in the woods, a 'golden deer', desire entered her heart; as a result she had to suffer the agony of separation from the Lord. That is the tragedy of desire, arising from the senses and the mind. He who instructs you to give up desire is the real Guru.

Each religion emphasises one name and one Form of and recommends them for acceptance. Some even insist that God has no other Name or Form. But, the Reality is beyond name and form, Akshara (the indestructible, eternal) as the characteristic and Om as the Form. You reach the Akshara stage - the stage of attributeless unity - in three steps of Sadhana:

(i) I am Thine,

(ii) Thou art mine, and

(iii) Thou art myself.

Through Sadhana, one must transcend the duality of I and You. I is only the reflection of You in this body. The consummation is reached when duality is superseded. That is why it has been declared, "It is good to be born in a church; but, it is not good, to die in it." That is to say, before life ends one must go beyond the limits set by institutionalised religion and reach the vast limitless expanse of the Atman, which pervades all. As the Judge from Calcutta said just now, in his speech, the head is of no help in this Sadhana; the heart must win the goal.

Ramadhas of Bhadhrachalam used to write on palm leaves hundreds of songs on his favourite Deity, Rama; the leaves accumulated into a gigantic pile. One day, Ramdhas stood by its side and wondered, "Am I the fellow who wrote all this? Did I write them for my satisfaction or for pleasing Rama?" He carried the whole pile and threw them into the Godhavari River; Only 108 songs floated above the waters; the rest sank and were lost for ever. Those 108 came forth from the heart; the rest were products of intelligence, cleverness. They rose from the head. God does not reside in the head; He is Hridhayavasi, the Dweller in the Heart. Keep the heart cool, pure and soft - as the moonlight is on this day - the GuruPoornima Day.