Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

One may possess beauty, nobility, goodness and brotherliness, but all these are useless without culture. A life without culture is like a temple without deity, a field without water and current (electricity). How can this type of life attain peace and happiness in this vast world?

Today, countries like America and Russia may feel proud of their position in the polity of nations due to their power and position, advancement in research in various fields, and great scientific progress. Both of them can boast that their advancements in the fields of science and technology are unequalled by any other country of the world.

But Bharat (India) not only achieved great advancements in science since the time of the Vedas, it also put them into practical use and set great ideals. So, Bharat of today has its roots in the Vedic period of the distant past. The sacred Vedic mantras (incantations), powerful yantras (mystic diagrams), and potent tantras (esoteric doctrines) had their origin in Vedic times.

The Vedas have been the very life-principle of the spiritual life of the Bharatiyas (Indians). Nobody can say that Bharat had an ordinary historical past. The sacred Vedas had their origin in Bharat. And it is the people of Bharat who have kept the Vedas alive by chanting their Mantras and studying them in depth.

Sage Viswamitra was a great Vedic scientist, who discovered the Gayatri Mantra. Not only that, he invented many potent weapons like fire missiles, light missiles, also by making use of the energy of the sun. He gave many such weapons to Lord Rama.

This happened thousands of years ago. It shows that the Bharatiyas were not backward in the field of science. In fact, modern scientific advancements achieved by many countries today are based on the inventions made by the Bharatiyas after due research and experimentation in the past, but later on they discarded them. In modern times, some overseas countries also conducted experiments on Vedic mantras.

Bharat was the leader of the world not only in science but arithmetic also. In ancient times, many principles of Indian arithmetic were adopted by the Romans. In this way, if we carefully examine we will see that Bharat was advanced in many fields.

But, unfortunately, the Bharatiyas could not properly disseminate their knowledge to others due to mutual jealousy and lack of unity among the Bharatiyas. In the field of medical science,

Sage Bharadwaja of Bharat made many inventions. In fact, his inventions in the field of surgery were the basis of many modern inventions in surgery.

Besides the scientific knowledge, the world needs to know about dharma (principles of righteousness), because, as it is said, “If you protect dharma, dharma will protect you (Dharmo rakshati rakshitah).” It is dharma that protects the world. The principles of dharma were given to the world by Emperor Manu.

Similarly, Sage Gautama gave a system of logic (nyaya sastra) and Chanakya a system of economics (artha sastra).All these philosophies had their origin in Bharat. Similarly, Bharat is the storehouse of all powers of mantra, yantra, and tantra (incantations), mystic diagrams, and esoteric doctrines) Without trying to know the great powers and capabilities of this sacred land of Bharat, modern students are turning toward the West for their education.

Not only this; Bharat is the land where womanhood found its glory in women like Savitri, who could bring her dead husband back to life. It is necessary for you to know the powers and capabilities of Bharat. Another Indian woman who brought glory to women was Sumati, who could even stop the sun from rising so as to save her husband from death. Men and women of Bharat have been exhibiting such great powers from ancient to modern times.

Nobody can say that Bharat is the land of an ordinary culture. Her culture is as vast and limitless as the ocean. If you try to pump out the water of the ocean with the help of a number of huge pipes, the level of its water does not decrease even by an inch. So much water evaporates daily from the ocean by the heat of the rays of the sun, but there is no decrease in the level of the ocean. Similarly, many rivers may flow into the ocean but they do not cause any increase in its level.

Indian culture is like the ocean, which remains unaffected by the influence of external factors. It is always balanced and changeless. Equanimity is called true yoga (Samatvam yogamuchyate).

Although the Indian (Bharatiya) culture was subjected to many dangers, it withstood all those, and it is as vibrant today as it was in the past. Many countries tried to destroy this culture, but none was able to shake it. Hence, Indian culture, in fact, represents the eternal form of the Atma.

But the people of many overseas countries do not give due importance to it; even Indians (Bharatiyas) do the same. They limit its importance by interpreting it as ‘the way of life’.

In this definition, what is the meaning of ‘life’? Also, we should understand the meaning of the term ‘way’. ‘Life’ connotes sacredness and auspiciousness. It bestows on humans all types of sacredness, idealism, convenience, and happiness. Every Indian should understand this principle of culture.

However, the scope of Indian (Bharatiya) culture is not limited to Bharat alone. It forms the foundation of all the cultures of the world because it gives the message of humanness and teaches mankind to live together happily with unity and harmony.

People may be born in different countries; they may have different colours, forms, and names; but all of them belong to the same human race. Wherever we may go, we will find the same human race without any differences whatsoever. This is the basic principle of Bharatiya culture.

Not only that; Bharatiya culture has given many languages and systems of philosophy to the world. It gave to the world an ideal economic system, which can withstand many ups and downs. Chanakya laid down an ideal economic system in his famous work Artha Sastra. The country is in the grip of many economic problems because it has ignored the principles laid down by Chanakya.

The basis of Chanakya’s economic system is the principle of “discovering God (Daivanveshana). From time to time, many other learned men interpreted it as ‘search’. But this is not the real meaning. Where should one search for God, who is present everywhere? Who can search for Him, who is immanent in every being? How do we search for God?

He cannot be attained by spiritual practices like chanting (japa), meditation (dhyana), devotional singing (bhajans), or worship. All these are noble acts, which help to make the mind steady.

What do we really mean by discovering God? Getting rid of attachment, hatred, and pride is what leads us to find God. When fire burns, it gives rise to flame. If we ignore the fire, it will be covered with ash. How to remove this ash? In fact, where did this ash come from? It came only from fire, and it has covered the fire.

Similarly, where do clouds come from? They come from the rays of the sun. The clouds that are born out of the rays of the sun cover the sun. In the same way, if you do not use the water of a well, moss starts forming on its surface. In due course, this moss covers the water. Similarly, when eyes develop cataracts, they block the eyesight. Where did the cataract come from? It came only from the eyes, not from anywhere outside.

The ash that comes from fire should be blown away to uncover the fire. When the ash is removed, the fire becomes visible. Similarly, when a strong wind drives away the clouds, the sun becomes visible; it is not born anew. When moss is displaced, water becomes visible. And when a cataract is removed, our eyesight is restored.

In the same way, attachment, hatred, and pride cover up man’s divinity. Hence, if we cast away our attachment, hatred, and pride, then the divinity immanent in us will become visible to us. This is what the sacred texts of Bharat (India) have been directing the people to act upon since ancient times.

In ancient India, all the people knew Sanskrit. As the time passed, Sanskrit suffered a decline. All the great teachings of Bharat and its entire history are contained in Sanskrit only. Unfortunately, people are not aware of this great and rich treasure of Bharat. Today Indians (Bharatiyas) are unaware of their divinity and reality because they have forgotten their culture, which treasures this supreme knowledge.

Humans today is beset with worldly desires. The aspiration for the realisation of inner divinity is on the decline. Therefore, first and foremost, one should develop inner aspiration; all that is outer is fleeting and momentary.

You are all young men and women. It is at this age that the waves of desires are strong and powerful. That is why Adi Sankara said:

Why should one be proud of one’s youth? It comes in the middle of one’s life, stays for a fleeting moment and goes away. But we consider this transitory stage of our life as permanent; that which gives us permanent happiness, we consider it as ephemeral. We should not act in this manner.

All the education that we acquire should bring about refinement in us. But, due to the effect of Kali Yuga, even learned people consider the acquisition of secular education as the main goal of life.

Once Sankaracharya went to Kasi (Varanasi) with his disciples. There he found an old Brahmin who was repeating “Dukrun Karane, Dukrun Karane ...” while learning the rules of Sanskrit grammar written by great grammarian, Panini. When Sankaracharya heard him repeating this phrase again and again, he thought how foolish it was for this man to engage himself in such a futile pursuit. By merely learning the rules of grammar, he could not achieve anything worthwhile. He wondered why he was wasting his time by acquiring this type of education.

So, he asked him, “Oh foolish man! How will this learning liberate you? How will repetition of ‘Dukrun Karane, Dukrun Karane’ protect you?” Thereafter, he recited this famous verse:

Oh foolish man, chant the name of Govinda. The rules of grammar will not come to your rescue when the end approaches.

There is no mistake in learning grammar. Moreover, the grammar of Sanskrit written by Panini is very valuable. In fact, the existence of a language depends much on its grammar. But it is not the grammar that people need today. In fact, there have been so many distortions in language that the language itself has not remained the real language. In any case, learning the rules of grammar does not help and protect one.

One should constantly chant the divine name of Govinda (Lord Krishna). Where does this Govinda live? He is in you only. There is no place where God is not there; He is present everywhere. That all-pervasive God is present within and without (Antarbahischa tatsarvam vyapya Narayana sthita). God is present both inside and outside.

But those with little knowledge say, “I am searching for God.” This is sheer foolishness. God is not the subject of search but the subject of realisation. Your Divinity will manifest before you when you get rid of your bad qualities. Your evil qualities have covered up your divinity. When you remove this covering, you will have the vision of your true form.

Man is the repository of many powers. Scientists today have made many inventions. The powers that these inventions show are, in fact, immanent in every person. Scientists do research on outer objects; they do not undertake inner research.

Suppose, we take a picture of a man with a camera. What will the picture show? It will show the clothes that he has put on his body; it will also show the colour of his clothes. It will show his outer form, not the inner limbs of his body. Only an X-ray will show his inner limbs and bones.

The type of education that we have today islike the camera photograph. Our culture and spirituality are like X-ray, which show our inner reality. Spirituality is most essential for the human being. But modern education is without ethical, religious, and spiritual content.

Sage Viswamitra performed great penance (tapas). Through penance, he invented many types of weapons. Possessing such potent weapons, why did he seek the refuge of Rama? Why did he solicit the help of Rama to kill the demons? He did so because he was bound by certain rules. He wanted to perform a ritual (yajna), and the injunction is that the person who performs the ritual should not indulge in any kind of violence while performing the ritual. Having taken the vow to perform the ritual, he was not to harbour feelings of anger and hatred. He had to have total purity. Therefore, he wanted Rama’s help.

But who is Rama? Not the son of Dasaratha. “One who pleases is Rama (Ramayati iti Rama).Rama is our Atmarama (inner Self). The principle of the Atma is present everywhere and in everyone. It is the conscious divine power in every person. It is immanent in everyone in the form of their conscience.

Never act against your conscience. Consider this as divine command. We make many efforts to have the vision of God, but there is no need to make any efforts. If you love wholeheartedly, that is enough. Then, your conscience will manifest itself on its own. Here is a small example.

Mother gets engaged in her work after making her child lie down. The child falls asleep. But soon it wakes and starts crying. Hearing the crying of her child, the mother leaves her task and comes down. She lifts the child in her arms and the child stops crying.

In the same way, a person cries for God’s help when they become the victim of many troubles and difficulties in this world. Then God comes down immediately. What type of crying makes God rush to a person? Only when that person loves God and prays to Him wholeheartedly. This prayer is the person’s crying for God.

Not only that. The mother comes down and runs to the child without considering the musical mode and rhythm (the raga and tala) in which her child cries. The child’s cry is the only thing that she considers while rushing to it. People cry today also. In fact, they all cry. But what do they cry for?

People do cry today. But they do not cry for God. That is what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said. Someone asked him, “Swami, can we also have the realisation that you have attained?” “Y es, surely you can attain. You can talk to God as I am talking to you,” he replied. “But how? You cry for your wife, your children, for your job, for your position. But, do you cry for God? If you cry for God, surely God will become manifest before you.” God is not somewhere away from you. He is in you only. But you are not able to know God, who is within you.

Many people wear spectacles on their nose. They take them off while washing their face and put them on again afterward. Can you find your spectacles if you search for them elsewhere when they are there on your nose?

Similar is the state of humanity today. One is searching for one’s spectacles, saying, “where are my spectacles? where are my spectacles?” while having them on his nose all the while.

Those who search for God, who is within them, behave like fools. Where will you search for yourself? You yourself are God. God is present everywhere. There is nothing without God; there is no one without God; there is no sound without God; there is no object without God. God is immanent in every object and every person.

How can you know Him? Air is all around you. Can you see it with your eyes? No, you cannot. But you can hear its sound with your ears. Can you deny the existence of air only because you are not able to see it with your eyes? How can you live if there is no air? There is air, but it is not visible. You cannot catch it. But you cannot say that it is not there.

Similarly, you cannot deny the existence of God merely because you are not able to see Him with your eyes. You exist. So does God. You are there only because God is there. Develop this faith in you more and more.

How can you attain God if you have no faith? Have faith in yourself. Faith in yourself, faith in God; this is the secret of greatness. If you have no faith in yourself, you cannot have faith in God. Then, how can you attain God? It is not possible even in many births. You do not recognise the Self that is within you and search for it everywhere. You need not go anywhere; you need not search anywhere.

The search that man makes these days is also very peculiar. It is an artificial search, whether it is in the field of worldly matters, science, or spirituality. Our search should be suffused with love. That is the only method to know God. All our efforts are futile without love.

Our research is only for selfish ends, and all our education is meant merely to earn our livelihood. When you conduct research with the broad feeling of “May all the people of the world be happy (Loka samasta sukhino bhavantu),” you will certainly attain your objective.

Many countries today are conducting research in many new areas of science. But these are not new. Bharat was quite advanced in many areas of research thousands of years ago.

How long ago did Hiranyakasipu live! He was a great scientist, who conducted research on the five elements and established complete mastery over them. He even reached the moon and tried to reach the stars. He made an attempt to destabilise the Pole Star (Dhruva Nakshatra). As a result of that, the world began to be plunged into total devastation (pralaya).

Can any scientist today equal him? Modern scientists have not been able to achieve even one thousandth part of what he achieved thousands of years ago.

Students should understand the divine power of Bharat. Even child Prahlada taught his father, “Oh father! You have conquered all the worlds in a trice but when you are unable to conquer your own senses and mind, what is the use?” What is the use of all your achievements when you are unable to have control over your senses?

Prahlada told his father that he had learnt everything and his guru had taught him all aspects of education. When Hiranyakasipu asked him what he had learnt, Prahlada replied,

When his father asked him what the essence of education was, Prahlada replied that the essence of all education was “Om Namo Narayanaya”. Om is the primordial sound principle (pranava), which was present in the beginning of the universe. That is the primordial sound from which all the Vedas emerged.

It was Sage Saraswata who taught the Vedas and Upanishads to his disciples during Vedic times. “The Vedas are infinite (Ananto vai Veda). The infinite Vedas originated only from the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet.

Children know that there are 26 letters in the English alphabet. Any number of voluminous books can be written with these 26 letters. The violin has four strings, using which four hundred Ragas can be played.

Since knowledge of the Vedas was acquired by the sages by hearing, they are called “srutis,” which means the texts that have been obtained by hearing. In the beginning, only three Vedas emerged: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, and Sama Veda. Together, they are referred to as “Trayee (Three)”.

The Rig Veda is in the form of mantras. What is the meaning of mantra? It means contemplation on what is heard and putting it into practice (Manana trana sammilitam iti mantra). That is mantra.

One who does all the three, i.e. hearing, contemplation, and practice, is a real human being. This is what is meant by “The proper study of mankind is man.” There should be complete harmony between thought, word, and deed. That is real mantra. Many learned people have taught this principle of mantra.

There is immense power in mantra. There is great power in Pranava. What is Pranava composed of? It is composed of (the syllables) akara, ukara, and makara represented by three letters A, U, M. When we chant AUM, all three sounds merge into one.

For example, GOD is one word. What is the spelling of GOD? G, O, D. These three letters constitute this word, GOD.

Every letter has a meaning. The three letters A, U, M denote the three words referred to as “Bhur bhuvah suvaha” in the Gayatri Mantra. These three words refer to three worlds, namely, bhuloka, bhuvarloka, and suvarloka.

Where is bhuloka? People say bhuloka refers to this world. That is not true. It refers to materialisation, i.e. physical body.

The body cannot move on its own, it is inert. Bhuvah refers to vibration, i.e. the life-principle.

Suvaha is radiation, i.e. Prajnana (highest wisdom). Hence, Bhur Bhuvah Suvaha denote the unity of body, life principle, and divine consciousness. Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, and Suvarloka are not present elsewhere; they are within us. You are not one person, but three: The one you think you are, i.e. body, the one others think you are, i.e. mind, and the one you really are, i.e. Supreme Consciousness (Prajnana).

“Brahman is Supreme Consciousness (Prajnanam Brahma). Hence, God is not somewhere else, He is present in you.

The iron safe has little value, but the jewels that are inside it are very valuable. Our body is like an iron safe. Inside it are good thoughts, good feelings, good practices, and good behavior, which are like valuable jewels. We have to safeguard these valuable jewels and make the best use of them.

What is not there, inside us, cannot be manifested outside. All learning is there in you. Gradually, it manifests from within. What is not there within, there is no possibility of its coming out.

Similarly, what is there within cannot be lost. Everything is present within us. Everything in this world is the reaction, reflection, and resound of the inner being.

Develop pure love to attain God. People may do any amount of scientific research. But all research should be suffused with love. No real research can be done without love.

What is research? What is the subject of research? Who is doing research? Why and how is someone doing it? These questions should be asked.

First, ‘search’ yourself: “Am I good or bad?” When you conduct such a self enquiry, you do not need any other witness. That is what is meant by self-witness (Atma sakshi). You should have sacred feelings.

This fundamental principle of research was done in ancient times. Sage Viswamitra could perform intense penance because he had total love for God. The same can be said about Sage Vasishtha. The word vasishtha means ‘special’; his name itself has a special significance. He was the one who adhered to proper discipline in life.

Everyone is endowed with magnetic power, which attracts others. God is the greatest magnet who attracts everyone. Human beings have the magnetic power of varying degrees, but God’s power is 100 percent. That is why the entire world is attracted toward God.

When we go near this greatest magnet, we are charged with His power and become one with Him. “The knower of Brahman becomes verily Brahman (Brahmavid Brahmaiva bhavathi). If you bring an iron piece near a magnet, it is attracted toward the magnet. If you keep this iron piece with the magnet for a few days, the iron piece also becomes a magnet. When you attain the proximity of God and become a recipient of His love, you become God yourself. This is true research.

Hence, you need not undertake any other practice to attain divinity. Develop only the feelings of love in you. This will transform you into a divine being.

In the beginning, the Vice Chancellor prayed to Me to speak about the special features of Bharatiya (Indian) culture. Yesterday, the Vice Chancellor and some other students said, “Swami, this is our adrishta.” What does adrishta mean? They interpreted it as good luck. By good luck they meant good deservedness.

But this is not the real meaning of the word adrishta. A-drishta means that which cannot be seen by the eyes. That is God, who can grant everything to you. He enriches and illumines all your physical, mental, and spiritual faculties as well as furthers your worldly, ethical, religious, and scientific progress. That is adrishta thatis, the benign look of God.

Therefore, adrishta does not merely connote good luck. If you want to attain this adrishta, you can do so only by love. There is no power greater than that of love.

Love is present in everyone - but what type of love? Love today is full of selfishness. We do not want love that is steeped in selfishness; we want love that is selfless.

There is an element of selfishness in the love between husband and wife, between mother and son, between one brother and another, and between relatives and friends. That is worldly love.

Only God’s love is heart to heart. It stays forever and never changes. It can be attained only by love. Bereft of love, if you keep on sitting for chanting and keep rotating the beads of your rosary while your mind is roaming in the market, then what is the use?

You sit for meditation. What is meditation? Are you sitting for meditation or posing for a photograph? You cannot attain God by posing to meditate. There is only one path by which you can attain God, and that is the path of love.

It is not possible to attain God without love. Therefore, transform your worldly love into love for God. Then whatever work you do, it will be transformed into worship. You work in an office or work as a doctor, engineer, or teacher. Do all work to please God.

Your love for God should not be limited to speech alone; it should come from your heart. Then you can attain God in a moment.

You need not search for God because He is present wherever you are. Your father and mother may be a little distant from you, but not God. God is always with you, in you, above you, below you, and around you. To attain such a God, love is enough. Strengthen the bond of your love with God. Only then can you attain God.

As the Vice Chancellor also said, the culture of Bharat (India) shows the easy path of Godrealisation. People in earlier days used to tie buntings of green mango leaves on the doors of the houses on festive occasions for decoration. But now people use plastic leaves for such decoration.

During a marriage function, our ancients used to erect a pandal with green leaves. Why? Do you think that they did so because Shamianas were not available in those days? No, no. During marriages and other functions, a large number of people gather at one place. In those days, even the illiterate villagers knew the scientific principle that the green leaves take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, absorb carbon, and release life-giving oxygen for us. Hence, scientific knowledge is not new.

In those days, villages were located in the centre of a vast forest, where ample supply of oxygen was available to the people. That is why they were free from diseases. Heart diseases were not even heard of. Asthma had no existence at all; so was eosinophilia.

Trees do so much good to man by giving lifesustaining oxygen. People are not able to realise this truth. They are cutting down trees with increase in population with the result that today there is deficient supply of oxygen. In this way, we are ourselves inviting dangers for us.

Science and technology have assumed great importance in the world today. Without these two, you cannot exist. We cannot live without electric light. We get bright light when positive and negative currents combine. Both are essential. We also have negative and positive thoughts in us. When your mind is filled with negative thoughts, you cannot have positive divine thoughts.

First of all, develop positive desires in you. Then there will be no scope for negative thoughts to enter. Our negative thoughts are the cause for our difficulties and sufferings. All the worldly and negative thoughts are, in fact, lifeless thoughts. Hence, develop positive thoughts.

Your physical body is negative, and the lifeprinciple is positive. The combination of these two results in radiation, which is, “Brahman - the embodiment of truth, wisdom, and eternity (Sathyam Jnanam Anantham Brahma).” That is truth. That is wisdom. Wisdom is divine knowledge. We should have the power of wisdom and it can be attained only through love.

Today, people try to acquire only general knowledge. But what is the use of having mere general knowledge? They should add common sense to it so that they will have practical knowledge also.

Do not think that all scientific knowledge is only with countries like America, Russia, and Germany and that Bharat (India) lacks it. In fact, all knowledge of science to overseas countries has come from Bharat. Bharat has given the entire scientific knowledge to the world. The entire knowledge of weaponry is there in Atharvana Veda. Not only this, the science of health is also contained in the Atharvana Veda, on the basis of which Sage Bharadwaja made many inventions in the field of health.

In fact, all types of education have come from Indian sages (Bharatiya rishis). Even knowledge of arithmetic has its origin in Bharat.

In arithmetic, 1+1 = 2. But in spirituality, it is not true. Similarly, you say, 3–1 = 2. This is a worldly, negative answer. But spiritually speaking, 3–1 = 1. How? The world may not accept this, but I do accept it. According to Me, it is true. How? Here is a small example.

Suppose you are standing before a mirror. Here, there are three entities: you, your reflection, and the mirror. If you remove the mirror, the reflection also goes (loud applause). In the beginning, there were three entities: you, your reflection, and the mirror. Remove the mirror from these three entities and only you remain, because the reflection also goes with the mirror.

You are God. Your reflection is the individual soul (jiva) in the mirror of nature. When you forget nature, you become God. Then there is no individual soul. You consider yourself the soul when you are associated with nature.

Did you understand the meaning of this or not? Let Me give you another example.

It is daytime. Therefore, you can see the entire world - and also the sorrows that envelop it. At night, you go to sleep. Then there is no world; nothing is seen, and sorrow is also not there. When the world is not there, sorrow is also not there. Only when the world is there does sorrow exist. Hence, we say we forget the world in meditation, perhaps for a short while.

When we are immersed in bliss, we forget the world. When existence and knowledge (sat and chit) combine, bliss (ananda) results. Students should realise this.

What is the meaning of ‘existence (sat)’? It means ‘being’, which connotes existence. It always remains without change How does it not change? There is sugar in your hand. You may put it in coffee, tea, laddu, Mysorepak, or payasam. You may put it in anything, and its sweetness remains the same. That is ‘being (sat)’, which remains changeless everywhere. Besides, it gives sweetness to whichever thing it is added.

Sugar is ‘being, water is, ‘knowledge (chit)’. The nature of water is that it flows downward. Even if you pour it on the top of a hill, it comes down.

Sugar is sugar, water is water. When sugar and water combine, then there is no sugar and no water: Only syrup remains. What does it mean? It means that when being (sat) combines with knowledge (chit), bliss (ananda) results.

Therefore, you should unify both. This symbolises the unity of the true self at the individual level (jivatma) and the Supreme Atma (Paramatma). It denotes eternal and non-dual bliss. There are no two entities, only one exists.

God is one without a second (Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma). Hence, we need not make efforts in many ways to attain God.

Love all. Have faith that God is present in all. Merge your individual self with the divine Self.

For students, there is so much to know about the culture of Bharat (India). What is not in our culture is not anywhere else.

Modern students have a peculiar way of thinking. On the pretext that Swami has said there is only one caste of humanity, these students think of marrying someone out of their caste whom they like. Yes, it is true that there is only one caste of humanity, one race, and one religion. But what about culture? Do not merely think of caste, think of the culture also.

There are different cultures. One culture is different from the other. Similar cultures may combine with each other, dissimilar may not. Hence, whatever work we undertake, we should first give a thought to our culture also. That means tradition. You can attain progress and prosperity when you follow your traditions. Therefore, certainly adhere to our traditions.

Due to the influence of modern education, students today do not understand what equality is. Thyagaraja said, “Oh Rama! In Your pure and unsullied form of love, You in-dwell all beings, from an ant to Brahma as also Siva and Kesava. Please be my protector too.” He said, “Oh God! You are present in both an ant as well as Brahma.” However, when an ant bites us, we kill it; when Brahma comes before us, we offer our salutations to him. Where does the equality go then? When God is present in an ant, shouldn’t we offer our salutations to it? But, we don’t do it because we keep only the form in view.

Form (akaram) is not important, but bliss (anandam) is important. Divinity is present in both the ant and Brahman.

The ant is so small, but when it bites, it causes so much pain! Where does so much power come from? Even a scorpion is small, but when it stings, it causes unbearable pain. From where has it acquired so much power?

When a tiny creature like an ant is endowed with such great power, then how much power would a person have? People are endowed with all powers. No human being is without such powers. A person unaware of their powers undergoes sufferings. The person can easily attain bliss (ananda) once they are aware of their powers. Therefore, imprint God on your heart and enjoy the bliss derived therefrom.

It is essential to keep our body sacred. In order to keep it sacred, we should chant the divine Name. We should perform meditation to make our mind sacred. Do chanting (japa) with meditation (dhyana) and meditation with chanting. Love should be the undercurrent of both chanting and meditation.

We hold a cymbal in one hand and another in the other hand. The sound is produced only when both are brought together. In the same way, when chanting and meditation are in unison, we can enter into the state of nondual state of Supreme Consciousness (nirvikalpa samadhi), which is our true state. This cannot be attained by merely doing some spiritual exercises. For this, deep love and faith are required. Therefore, develop more and more faith and cultivate more and more love.