Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

This region is called Konaseema, the Delta, the Endland; it is famous as the home of traditional scholarship in the Vedas and the Shasthras; it has a large number of Sanskrit Schools even today and the number of pandits versed in Vedhic lore still following the rigorous discipline laid down by the Dharmashasthras (religious scriptures) is large enough to win the respect of the people of this country. When the region has won fame as the repository of spiritual learning, it must also be taken to be the teacher of detachment from the pursuit of artha and kama (wealth/power and sense pleasure), both of which have to be restrained and regulated by dharma,the first among Purusharthas. It is indeed a great misfortune that, in this Kali Age, India which upheld the Adhyathmic (spiritual) ideal for centuries and stuck to it, in spite of economic and political upheavals, is entering the competitive struggle for existence, irrespective of the moral code which the ancients laid down. Dharma is the swaruupa (form) of India; Sathya is its swabhava (innate quality). But most people today feel that happiness is to be sought for, by whatever means. This evil doctrine has caused discontent among all classes, and in the attempt to relieve the discontent, further adharma is being resorted to. This is the situation that prompted Me to found the Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha; many pandits of this region are members of this Sabha. They have now this great chance to use their talents in the service of humanity and to spend life in fruitful activity. Activity results in either joy or grief, due to the attachment with which it is done. ‘I’ and "mine" are the two fangs of the serpent; pluck them out, then, you can safely handle it and play with it. You need not give up activity. As a matter of fact, you have to be intensely active. In this Karmabhumi, it is only through karma that you can transcend karma. Birds and beasts are not aware of this secret; man alone can select and accept the karma that is most profitable for liberation from the chain of karma. If he seeks happiness by satisfying the demands of the sense, he learns that happiness won by that search is inseparably mixed with misery.

You know from experience that deep sleep gives you maximum happiness. Think over it for a while; have you ever, in the waking stage, experienced that degree of calm; of quiet, of equanimity, of happiness? That is why nidhra is said to be the nearest approximation to samadhi. If even the impulses and. instincts and thought-waves dormant during sleep disappear, then, the joy becomes perfect and full. This happens when the Sun of jnana illumines you. That drives away even the minutest speck of darkness; in fact, darkness is just the absence of light. There are three principles that have to be overcome before knowledge (jnana) can dawn: the Physical (Dehathathwam); the Sensory (Indriyathathwam) and the Mental (Manasthathwam). Even the mind has to be overcome before the One can be cognised; for, the mind seeks variety and change; it revels in the contact with the objective world called vrittis. The prevention of these vrittis in the mind, of the ever-widening circles in the Manasa- Sarovara (the Lake of the Mind), whenever a wish or thought or a resolution is dropped into it - that is the function of the science called Yoga, Union. Union of what, with which? Union of "Thath" with "thwam", of you and the rest, resulting in the One, without a Second.

You have met here in such huge numbers so that you may learn from these Pandits and from Me that "Yoga is desirable and possible." The path can be known by a little reasoning and thereafter, it can be trodden step by step until the goal is reached. You have come in hundreds of thousands from all the villages and towns for miles around, spending time, money and exertion. Take back this lesson from here, retain at least this much of knowledge, that attachment causes pain and detachment results in joy. But, you cannot easily detach yourself from activity; the mind clings to some thing or other. Make it cling to God, let it do all things for God and leave the success or failure of the thing done to God, the loss and the profit, the elation or the dejection. Then, you have the secret of Shanthi and contentment. To get this attitude of surrender, of dedication, you must have Faith in God. This world is His play; it is not an empty dream; it has purpose and use. It is the means by which one can discover God; see Him in the beauty, the grandeur, the order, the majesty of Nature. These are but shadows of His Glory and His Splendour; that is why, the Vedas have three sections or Kandas: Karma, Upasana and Jnana. Karma leads to the consciousness of the ever-present, immanent, all-powerful God. Upasana (adoration of that God), leads to the knowledge that He is in all; when you experience that there is no Second, that is Jnana! In the past, when people were observing the discipline which gave them shanthi and soukhyam (peace and contentment), they were happy; they could not be swept off their feet by fear or disappointment. But, M.A.'s and B.A.'s are today unable to get jobs suited to their standards; the income is too poor for their own sustenance. They are helpless and unhappy; they do not help their parents or make them happy.

The Vedhic scholars themselves have fallen victims to this rash for jobs and degrees, for their children too run after the glittering tinsel of a degree, which does not fill their stomachs or fulfil the cravings for peace and calm. They have lost faith in the Vedas themselves; else, why should they discard them so fast, in exchange for a few rupees? Nevertheless, there are some, in Andhra Pradesh also, who preserve their faith and who are serene in the face of everything. They are not known to newspapermen, they are not news; they live apart and happy. Nobody worries about them and they do not worry any one. People, nowadays, know the history of film stars, while they are profoundly ignorant of their own history. Pay attention to your real needs; cultivate virtues that will add .joy to you and others, not habits that ruin your health and empty your purse and lower you in the estimation of others. I want bhakthas (devotees) to improve their behaviour and character. It is no good attending the temple and sharing loudly, with cymbals in your hands, in the singing of devotional songs there. They are but external signs of enthusiasm. God watches the bhavam, not the bahyam. - the thought power behind, not the pomp above. The two injunctions of the Vedas are: Sathyam Vada, Dharmam chara - Speak the Truth, practise righteousness. Sathkarma (good deed) is the tree, Sad-bhava (good intention) is the root. The Sadbhava is that which serves your best interests, viz. lasting happiness, final liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Take the mind off the sensory pleasures and fix it upon God; then, bhava gets pure; whatever you think or say or feel will be for the good of yourself and others.

Some people laugh at spiritual aspirants and call them idle visionaries who seek something that is not tangible, that cannot be weighed and valued! How can any one ignore the foundations and be content with the knowledge of the walls and the terrace? You can be free from fear only when you are confident of the strength of the foundation. You do not see your breath or weigh it; but, breath is the very sustenance of life. The unseen is the basis of the seen. If you are caught up in the meshes of the seen, you cannot know the importance of the unseen.

This ought to be known to every one, not the mountains of information that is filling the head now. The key for liberation is contained in the Vedas and these Pandits have it. That is the reason why Bharath lays claim to be the Guru of Humanity. If that claim is to be respected, Indians must themselves live the life. Every one must be immersed in Shanthi (peace), derived from dedicated work, work offered as worship, work done with no desire or attachment for the benefit therefrom. But, what do we see today? There is no peace in the home or in the mind, no cordiality between brothers, no reverence for parents, no love between partners. You must first achieve victory at home; you can then call on others to strive for victory. Mere devotion is not enough. It must be regulated by reason and discrimination. Or else, it will not flow along sane lines. Reason makes devotion a sharp instrument. Reason out the purpose of your sojourn on the earth, the purpose of the intelligence with which you have been endowed. Then, devotion will encourage you to fill your days with steady, controlled activity, towards Liberation.