Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

GOD is all-pervasive and is the indweller of all beings. Likewise, the five elements, which are nothing but divine manifestations are also all pervasive and allpowerful. The whole world is pervaded by the five elements, bound by the five elements and it functions because of the five elements. It cannot function even if one of the elements is absent. Therefore, for every man, the five elements are like his five life principles. No one can comprehend the power of these elements. However, every man must necessarily know the significance of these elements. He alone is truly blessed and meritorious who understands their significance and acts accordingly. In fact, he would have achieved the objectives of human life, i.e., the Purusharthas. It is the bounden duty of every man to recognise the import of these elements. The five elements are the cause for man’s pleasure and pain, good and bad. The five elements confer on man happiness or misery depending on how he makes use of them. Their names and forms may appear simple, but they are highly powerful.

Having been born, man lives for a few years, and ultimately gives up his body. The five elements are responsible for man’s birth, growth and death. The five elements are spread right from both microcosm and macrocosm. They are present in man from top to toe. So, it is imperative that man should know the secret of these elements. Having understood the significance of the five elements well, Buddha made concerted efforts to gain control over his five senses. He taught Buddham Saranam Gachhami, Sangham Saranam Gachhami. He used his intellect to understand the truth and shared his wisdom with society. First of all, he exercised control over his vision. Among the five senses of perception, the eyes are endowed with immense power. They have 40 lakhs of light rays in them. Today man is putting his senses to misuse and, as a result, his body is becoming weaker day by day. His life span is being reduced by his unsacred vision and the sensual pleasures that he is indulging in. Lakhs of light rays in his eyes are being destroyed because of his unsacred vision. That is the reason man is developing eye defects. Today many people undergo cataract operations to set their vision right. The doctors may say, man develops eye defects because of cataract, but in fact, it is the result of unsacred vision. So, one should have proper control over one’s vision. Whatever be the spiritual practices that one may undertake, one cannot derive their benefit without having control over one’s vision. All the Sadhanas like japa, thapa and dhyana confer only temporary satisfaction. These practices cannot help you to have control over your vision. In fact, the entire srushti (creation) is based on your drishti (vision). The netras (eyes) are verily the Sastras (sacred texts).

Along with control over vision, one needs to have control over one’s tongue. There are 3 lakhs of taste buds in the tongue. As man has become a slave to the taste, he consumes various delicacies and, in the process, spoils his tongue. Not merely that he makes his tongue utter unsacred words, but also hurts others’ feelings by using harsh words. His life span is further reduced by the misuse of his tongue in this manner. Likewise, all the senses are losing their power as they are being put to misuse, thereby cutting short his lifespan. So, first of all, man should keep his eyes and tongue under check. When these two are controlled, man’s energy is revitalised. The power that one cannot attain from years of penance is obtained when man puts his eyes and tongue to sacred use.

Do not cause pain to others by using harsh words. In fact others are not others but your own self as the same principle of Atma is present in all. The one who causes pain and the one who suffers from it are one and the same. So, never speak in such a way as to hurt others. That is why I tell you often, talk less, but you are not taking My words seriously. You are unable to understand to what hazards will excessive talk lead you in future.

Only then will your eyes attain the sacred power by which you will be able to visualise the Divine Cosmic Form. Spiritual practices will yield greater rewards if senses are kept under control. Unmindful of the power of the senses and without making proper use of them, man is under the delusion that he can achieve great rewards by undertaking various practices which are physical and worldly in nature. But in reality, one cannot get anything out of these practices except temporary satisfaction. First of all, man should exercise control over his senses. Never listen to anything that is evil. If any situation arises, leave the place immediately. Hear no evil, see no evil and talk no evil. Make every effort to be away from evil. Only then will spiritual power grow in you more and more. Why did our ancient sages and seers go to forests to spend their lives in solitude? It is only to control their senses. True spiritual Sadhana lies in controlling one’s senses. Without sense control all spiritual practices will prove futile. Instead of using the tongue to utter evil words, why don’t you chant the Divine Names like Rama, Krishna and Govinda? You are piling up sins because of the misuse of the senses. The sins that you have piled up may not be visible to the naked eye, but they are sure to put you to suffering. That which is not seen will make you eat the fruits of your action. O man, understand this secret of karma (action).

Senses are like life principles for every man. Once you rein your senses, your life will be peaceful. You should not only avoid evil talk, but should also talk less. Your speech should be short and sweet. Sages like Valmiki, Vyasa and great devotees like Potana composed sacred texts and sanctified their lives. Emulate their ideals and make your life exemplary. Read sacred texts composed by such noble souls. Today people read books that pollute the mind. It is a very bad practice. Be it reading, writing, seeing or talking, let everything be good. Do not commit any mistake knowingly. You can experience divinity in humanity by putting the senses to proper use. One can visualise the Divine manifestations and become Divine himself only through sacred use of the senses. Man, unaware of his innate divine potential, considers himself low and leads a life of delusion. He thinks there is a power superior to him and makes efforts to attain it. There is no power superior to him.

There is only one, not two. It is a sign of ignorance to think that there is something different from you and be in search of it. Multiplicity is your own imagination.

You can understand this truth once you control your senses.

People are under the mistaken notion that they derive happiness when their desires are fulfilled. In fact, happiness results not when desires are fulfilled but when they are controlled. One can enjoy the state of bliss by controlling one’s desires. One who craves fulfillment of his desires is always restless. Desires correspond to pravritti (outward path) in which there is no happiness whatsoever. You are deluded by your thinking that there is happiness in the world, whereas you are distancing yourself from nivritti (inward path).

For everything, love is life. To attain that state of love, make proper use of your senses. Buddha visited many noble souls, studied sacred texts and undertook various Sadhanas. Later, he realised that all those related to Pravritti (outward path). Ultimately, he realised that happiness lay in making proper use of the five senses. He stopped reading sacred texts, he did not visit noble souls any more and gave up all the spiritual practices. He understood that whatever Sadhana was done with this ephemeral body would yield fleeting happiness only. True and eternal bliss will result only when Sadhana is done with pure and eternal feelings. When Buddha started exercising control over his senses, he experienced infinite bliss, which he could not contain in himself. He hugged his cousin, Ananda, who was by his side then and said, “Ananda, I have attained the state of Nirvana and am unable to contain the bliss within me. I am ready to give up this mortal coil.” On hearing this, Ananda started shedding tears. Then Buddha said, “Oh simpleton, instead of rejoicing over my attaining this state of bliss, why are you grieving over it?” You are looking for fleeting happiness in worldly matters, whereas Buddha strived to attain bliss in the spiritual realm, which is true, eternal and immortal. As you are immersed in worldliness, you are distancing yourself from immortality. Though you are committing many sins, you do not consider them as sins. You think that they are quite natural to human beings. You keep committing mistakes, yet you pray for pardon.

Actually, one should never seek pardon for the mistake committed. One should be prepared to undergo the punishment. Only then can you be free from defects. If a person commits a serious offence, he is put in jail. He is released only after he undergoes punishment for the required period. Likewise, you will be redeemed once you atone for your sins. Likewise, if you want redemption, you should be prepared to face punishment for your mistakes. Exercise control over the senses and see that you do not repeat them.

By chanting the Vedic verses, which are sacred, one gets immense bliss. That is why even Buddha, who did not believe in the Vedas in the beginning, developed interest in them. People were under the impresssion that Buddha opposed the Vedas. Later Sankaracharya tried to erase this misconception, saying that Buddha was never against the Vedas. He said that people themselves were going against the Vedas out of ignorance. Buddha conquered desire, which is not possible for everyone. One need not do any great Sadhana to conquer desire. You will not be troubled by desire once you understand the inner meaning of life. Today man is prepared to stoop to any level for money. He pretends to be a great devotee of the Lord and tries to cheat people. Is this what he is supposed to do? No. He should conquer desire and control the senses.

You are young and yours is the right age to exercise control over the senses. You can make use of them in a sacred manner. Once you know the proper path, you will never give up. You can understand the teachings of the Vedas only when you cultivate good qualities. You can cultivate good qualities only by good practices. There may be a few obstacles in your path, but never give up.

Today we are celebrating Guru Purnima. Purnima means full moon day. Then who is a Guru? The modern Gurus whisper a Mantra into the ear and stretch their hand for money. Such people are not fit to be called Gurus.

A Guru is necessary to make you understand the formless and attributeless Divinity. Since it is difficult to get such Gurus, consider God as your Guru.

Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu, Guru is Maheswara. Consider Guru as your everything. In this world, everything is a manifestation of Divinity.

All are embodiments of Divinity. In fact, all that you see is nothing but the Divine Cosmic Form (Viswa Virat Swarupa).

This means all the heads, all the feet and all the eyes that we see in this world belong to God. When the Vedic statement, Sahasra Seersha... was made, the population of the world was only a few thousands, but now it runs into a few hundred crores. In those days, people considered everyone as Divine. They believed in the Vedic dictum,

Divinity is not restricted to a particular place. God is here, God is there and He is everywhere. You are developing differences out of delusion, but Divinity is One and only One. It is the duty of a Guru to propagate such principle of oneness.

Today there are many good disciples, but it is very difficult to find a true Guru. We have many good boys among our students. However, even if one or two are bad, all of them will earn a bad name and will have to face punishment. Here is an example. When you sleep at night, you are bitten by one or two mosquitoes. The next morning, you spray insecticide and kill all the mosquitoes though you were bitten by only a few. Likewise, God punishes those who join bad company. That is why it is said,

Whenever bad qualities like anger and jealousy crop up in you, do not be carried away by them. Control them. Keep telling yourself, “Anger is a bad quality. It will lead to bad actions and ultimately put me to ruin.” When you are angry, sit quietly in one place and drink cold water. Chant the Divine Name. Then your anger will gradually subside. If your anger persists, go to a place of solitude and walk briskly for half a mile. There are many easy paths to control one’s anger. But the youth today are not making any effort to control their anger. When they get angry, they take it as an opportunity to hurl abuses at others. It is the worst sin. Through prayer and contemplation on God, you should try to control the evil qualities in you.

First of all, control your vision and tongue. You are incurring a lot of sin because of evil vision and you are bound to face its consequences. When you make use of your senses for evil purposes, the children born to you will also be evil-minded. So, see no evil, hear no evil and talk no evil. In olden days, people used to take care to see that pregnant ladies did not see or hear anything bad. They used to narrate to them sacred stories of the Lord, give them good food and convey only good news. They did so because they knew that if the mother had good feelings, then the children born to her also would have good minds. The sins committed by the parents will certainly affect their children too. When Subhadra was in the family way, one day Arjuna was describing to her the intricacies involved in entering the Padmavyuha (lotus maze). He had described to her in detail how to enter the Padmavyuha and when he was about to tell her how to come out of it, Krishna appeared on the scene and took away Arjuna saying, “This is not the proper time to talk about these matters. It is not Subhadra but the child in her womb who has been listening to you all along.” That is the reason why Abhimanyu knew only to enter the Padmavyuha and did not know how to get out of it. As a result, he was caught in the maze, and ultimately he was killed.

God is watching all that you do. You may think that others do not know what you are up to. You may hoodwink others, but can you ever hoodwink God? He knows everything. So, always do good. All your sins will be atoned when you make proper use of your senses. When you become angry, you lose all your power of discrimination and behave in an inhuman manner. So, whenever you are angry, leave the place immediately. It is better to be away from sin rather than commit sin and repent later.

I want to tell you one more point. You may feel pained by what I am going to tell you now, but I am happy about it. From today onward, I am not going to give Padanamaskar to anybody because I and you are one. God is present in all.

Understand this truth. From today onward, I have resolved not to give Namaskar, to anybody. You may do Namaskar to your parents as they and you are not aware of the truth that God is present in all. Since I know the truth, I shall follow it. The same Atma is present in you, Me, and everyone else. So, no one needs to do Namaskars to anyone for that matter. If you still want to do Namaskar, do it mentally. Bring your palms together and say, “Swami, I offer my ten senses to You”. That is enough. You don’t need to touch My feet to do Namaskar. Understand the truth that God is in you and act accordingly. Then you become God. If somebody is given Namaskar, others are feeling jealous. I am stopping this practice of giving Namaskars only to see that such feelings of jealousy do not sprout in you. Wherever you are, offer your Namaskar mentally. That gives Me happiness. I have told you this many times, but you have not put it into practice. Touching Swami’s feet and extolling Him are wrong practices.

From this Guru Purnima, develop sacred feelings and enjoy supreme peace and bliss. Everyman aspires to attain Ananda. How can he attain it? There are five koshas (sheaths) in man annamaya (food), pranamaya (life), manomaya (mental), vijnanamaya (wisdom) and anandamaya (bliss). Make every effort to reach vijnanamaya kosha. Only then can you attain anandamaya kosha.

Lead a happy and blissful life and share your happiness with others. You do not know how great this ananda is. Just as a small piece of wood becomes fire when it comes into contact with fire, so also when you are close to Me mentally, you become Divine. Your mind will be illumined and will dispel the darkness of ignorance in you.

Do not feel dejected that Swami has spoken to you in this manner. Consider it as good for you. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. When I am walking amongst you, others will find it disturbing if you fall at My feet. From today onward, make proper use of your senses and follow what has been told to you about Padanamaskar.