Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Ayodhya was gaily decorated for the coronation of Lord Sri Rama. Joy and jubilation were writ large on the faces of everyone. The crown that Manu, the first Ikshvaku Emperor, had worn would now be placed on Sri Rama’s head. The venerable priests of Ayodhya, namely, Vasishta, Vamadeva, and Jabali were waiting eagerly to place the sacred crown on the head of Rama. Kings, viceroys, deputies, etc., thronged to the capital from the far flung corners of Aryavarta. A big board was hung across the main gate, with the statement: “Those who abide by sathya and dharma are free from the fear of death.” Lord Rama devoted Himself to the task of the spreading of truth and righteousness. In His reign, the people of the country, big or small, young or old, men or women, the enlightened or the unenlightened, were steadfast in their adherence to truth and righteousness. As the king, so were the subjects (yatha raja tatha praja). As the king, so were the ministers. As the ministers, so were the administrators. As the administrators, so were the people. The three brothers Bharatha, Lakshmana, and Satrughna exercised great care and attention in the practice of dharma throughout the kingdom. Reports regularly reached the King about the people who transgressed dharma.

The reign of Rama was called Rama Rajya, the reign of Righteousness and Truth. People were not afflicted by diseases. Children did not die at tender ages. Women did not suffer from widowhood. Rains came on time and people prospered. Rama Rajya was marked by peace, prosperity, and harmony. All these, i.e. Rama Rajya are assured in a kingdom where there is a ruler like Rama, priests like Vasishta and Vamadeva, and able guardians like Bharatha, Lakshmana, and Satrughna.

The people in the Kingdom of Rama were always full of gratitude and thankfulness. Any good turn done to them never went unacknowledged. Even Rama, on the day of coronation, expressed His deep gratitude to all those who rendered help to Him. First and foremost, Rama expressed his gratitude to the great Vanara hero, Hanuman, who traced the whereabouts of Sita and rendered invaluable help. Secondly, Rama expressed His deep debt of gratitude to the bird Jatayu, who gave up his life while trying to rescue Sita. Thirdly, Rama thanked the vanara king, Sugriva, who had placed his army and himself at the service of Rama during the search for Sita and in the battle against Ravana. Next, Rama thanked Vibhishana, who had helped Rama in wading through the webs of illusions created by the demons and who had done great service to Rama. The vanaras belonged to another kingdom. They had nothing in common with either Rama or Sita. Yet, they willingly sacrificed their lives in the battle. To these vanaras, Rama did not fail in expressing His gratitude. In this way, Rama extended His heartfelt acknowledgement to each and every one who had helped Him in the battle.

Herein lies an important lesson that the Ramayana teaches. One must be grateful throughout life to one’s benefactor. He alone is qualified to be called a man who extends this kind of thankfulness. An ungrateful person is a demon. Demons and humans do not differ in physical forms. They are categorised based upon their behaviour. Demons are those who possess evil feelings and do bad actions. Those perverted people who disregard the kind deed done to them and indulge in only harming others are demons. Those foolish ones who consider falsehood to be their very life breath have been called as demons. In the world today, man finds untruth to be very dear to him. He is behaving most unrighteously. Yet, our Vedas have declared: “Sathyam vada dharmam chara.” They call us to speak the Truth and practice Righteousness. But today, the words Truth and Righteousness hardly feature in daily conversation.

Righteousness has an objective existence of its own, and does not depend upon your belief. It has its own quality and form. We call as fire that which has the capacity to burn. The capacity to burn is the natural quality of fire. Whether you believe it or not, fire will have the capacity to burn. This capacity to burn does not depend upon your convictions about what fire can or cannot do. Whether you touch it knowingly or unknowingly, it will still burn you because that is its quality. Similarly, consider ice. Coldness is the natural attribute of ice. Whether you believe it or not, it would still display its coldness. If this feature is absent in it, it cannot be termed ice any longer because it has lost its quality. Take another example. The Sun shines. Shining brilliantly is its natural attribute. You may not be able to see the Sun shining brightly. But the Sun will still shine, and this capacity is not based upon your belief. You may be unable to see it due to the clouds covering it, or you may be blind. Just because you cannot see, you cannot say that the Sun is incapable of shining.

Similarly, man is also characterised by a quality. What is this quality? It is to undertake every task with trikaranasuddhi, which means the unity of mind, speech, and body. This is the feature that qualifies one to be called a man. Trikaranasuddhi is the dharma of man. To think something in the mind, speak something else, and do something totally different from both is adharma (unrighteous). Today, if unrighteousness is rampant, it is due to the lack of unity in thought, word, and deed. Starting from the educated ones to the illiterates, there is no sign of anyone observing this unity.

He who believes not but acts as if he believes is sure to be destroyed, sometime or the other. Such a person is one with the demonic attributes. Today, Truth and Righteousness have totally disappeared. Virtuous and ideal men and women must strive to protect Truth and Righteousness. The country in which the men and women live as followers of Truth and Righteousness will always be bountiful. Truth and character are most important. If such men and women come up, Bharath will sparkle with prosperity and auspiciousness. Since ancient times, Indian culture has handed to the world the wealth of spiritual lore. It has always blessed the entire world to be peaceful and happy (Loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu).

Kings, citizens, chaste women, sages and prophets strove to safeguard Righteousness. Even the common householder lived by the principles of Truth and Righteousness. What is the reason? The king was himself a strict follower of Truth and Righteousness. Hence, there was ample opportunity for the people also to live like that. Today, the rulers themselves are not adhering to these principles. How then can the people be expected to do so? This is not the fault of the people. These are all the defects of the rulers. It is because they are not proper that the world has to suffer the present situation. Everyone is selfish. Each is bothered about fulfilling their own evil desires. Each person hankers after power and position. Everywhere, one comes across only rulers who are selfish. None is concerned about the welfare of the people, their happiness and comfort.

If the country is to prosper, then the ideals of the great souls must be followed explicitly. It is by following the sages of yore that our country has been able to survive at least in this state until now. The great ones gain nothing out of this. What was the reason for Sage Vasishta to reside in the palace of Dasaratha? He did not need the riches, mansions, and gold of the Emperor. Sita too told Hanuman the same. She said, “Hanuman! It is not possible to satisfy you with wealth, gold, mansions, and other such items. Even if I were to bring the three worlds and give it to you, I will not be able to repay my debt. You are such a great renunciate and devotee. Because of these two qualities, you can go around all the three worlds. Because of your travels, all the three worlds will be secure and prosperous.” Narasimhamurthy said (in his speech earlier) that we must earn Truth and Righteousness. These are not materials that can be earned. They are already present in you eternally. They were born along with you. Did you earn your head after taking birth? Have you purchased your hands after being born in this earth? Just as these have all appeared with you at the time of your birth, so too, Truth and Righteousness have appeared with your life, during your birth. They need nor be searched for, nor need they be earned. It is not a commodity that can be supplied. They spring naturally from the heart. They are as essential to you as your life. All you have to do is to protect what you already have. You need not earn anything else. Truth and Righteousness are your birthrights.

Today, rights are being demanded without adequate responsibility being discharged. A person who does not discharge his duty has no rights. It is sheer ignorance to create a hullabaloo for rights. What are the rights you are demanding? You do not even have the right to demand anything. In fact, if you have discarded Truth and Righteousness, you do not even merit living on this earth. You can live on this earth only if you live with Truth and Righteousness; otherwise, you may build your house in the city of Lanka! A true man is he who believes and follows Truth and Righteousness.

It has been said that renunciation is essential for this. What is renunciation? People define it as giving up house, wife, family, and wealth and retiring to the forests. This is a grossly mistaken definition. Renunciation is to be able to consider sorrow and joy with the same vision. It is to be able to experience criticism and praise with the same feeling. It is to be able to endure and enjoy both loss and gain in the same light. True renunciation is the destruction of the feeling of duality. Renunciation is marked by faith in Divinity. Hence, renunciation does not mean giving up everything. Let anyone praise you or censure you; receive both with the same poise. Do not be ecstatic with joy, nor be crushed when sorrow strikes. Do not weep when censured, nor laugh when venerated. This is true renunciation. Many do not understand the real meaning of renunciation and take it as meaning giving up everything. Nothing need be given up, except for the differences and duality.

Duality in life occurs for our own welfare. Sorrow and joy are both for our own good. At this moment, you may be suffering from some sorrow. Who knows what joy this sorrow is going to present in the future? While traveling, you may climb a small hillock. You are deluded that you are at a height. But you have to descend again. Do not get worried that you have reached the plateau. Continue with your journey, you will once again encounter another ascent in the road. These joys and sorrows are like the ups and downs. A sense of equanimity must be developed; this is true renunciation.

During her separation from Rama and her captivity in the Ashoka gardens, Sita was feeling despondent. Ravana had decorated the gardens in a most pleasing manner, in the foolish hope that by seeing these decorations, Sita would accept him. Sita did not succumb to this worthless and temporal beauty around her. However, when a small monkey sat on the branches and sang the glory of Rama:

Sita heard it with great delight. She was anxious to know who was singing the glory of her Lord in this land of rakshasas (demons). She lifted her head and looked around. Is a monkey a pleasing sight? Does it have any beauty? It has a funny appearance. But at that time, the monkey looked most beautiful to Sita. That beauty lay in the singing of the name of Lord Rama. When she heard the name of her beloved, she was delighted. That is why it is said that ‘Beauty is joy.’ That joy lends substance to life. Beauty without joy is of no use. In this way, the Ramayana teaches the value of beauty and joy.

What gave Sita and Rama enormous joy? It was nothing but the happiness of the people that gave extreme joy to them. The practice of Truth and Righteousness by the people gave joy to Sita and Rama. They never asked anything else from the people. They were always giving away to people several things and looking after them with much love. Down the ages this has been the feature of all Avatars. It was always so.

Even now, what am I asking from all of you? Not even a small coin! All the students are being given free education and free medical treatment. The library facilities and the laboratory facilities are free. I am not desiring even a little from anybody. There is only one thing which makes Me truly happy. When you develop into ideal students, that is enough to give Me happiness.

Today in the world, dedication and devotion are found where money is paid for education. More devotion and dedication are there when money is paid and treatment taken from the hospital. For a heart operation, a sum of rupees two lakhs is demanded. The right to admission into a hospital comes only with that amount. People think that the doctor there must be a very great specialist to charge such a large amount. Such is the foolish belief of people! In the operation theatre, they are cut open like a pumpkin and the patient is then thrown into the Intensive Care Unit. The patient is not bothered about after that. Here, not even a pie is collected by way of any fees. Surgeries are performed with care and the patients are shifted into nice comfortable cots with springs and cosy mattresses. Appropriate food is given to them with love, as in their own house. And yet, some people say it is nothing big. Why has this feeling come? Because fees are not collected here! In the opinion of the common man, he who charges the maximum fees is the best and the biggest of the doctors! Such Institutes and Schools are also considered to be the best. You will develop interest only at such places. Today, people have been overtaken by such stupidity! It appears that because they are getting everything free, there is no value. In truth, it does not matter what they think. Whether they see it as valuable or not, the value will always remain. But I always wonder and feel sad at their ignorance.

If education breeds such stupidity, what is the use of such education? Do you require to strive and struggle so much and study just to fill this small belly? You go madly after earning money. There is nothing great in earning money. Bandits and thieves are earning money in huge amounts. Even the beggar in the street is earning well. There was once a beggar who used to bury all his earnings in a pit, cover it up, and then sit over it. How long could he protect his money? When the time came, he had to leave his body. The Corporation workers came to collect his body for disposal. They spotted the pit on which he used to sit. They were curious and dug up the pit. In it was found a sum of rupees three lakhs (three hundred thousand)! Do you need to run abroad to earn these lakhs of rupees? Do you have to study something special for earning this amount? Why must you study? You must study to acquire wisdom and not wealth and prosperity. Wealth will come and go. He who aspires for wealth will not foster character. All students must strive to develop character. Wealth is not important. So many emperors have passed through this earth. So many kings have ruled and passed away. They were not short of strength and prowess, yet they earned a bad name because they had no character.

During the past ten days, you must have realised what kind of character Ravana had. None could equal him in wealth. Kubera (the treasurer of the gods) was his own brother. He had a fortress of gold. There were wide avenues in his kingdom, and tall mansions. Pearls decorated the walls. Such was the wealth that he had. But of what use was it all? He had no character. Ultimately, he had to leave all his riches and go. Hence, you must first develop character. True education develops this character. There is absolutely no use of wealth in the hands of a person without character. He will experience the same fate as Ravana.

You must have seen a dog drink water. It does not gulp the water but licks it slowly. It will continue to drink like that, even if it were to go near a big stream. Similarly, a wealthy person will neither enjoy the wealth nor allow others to enjoy it. He derives no peace and joy because protecting his hoarded wealth turns out to be a big problem for him. Then why have such wealth? One definitely needs money. It must be enough for your daily life. You must not be under somebody’s debt and control. You must be able to run your family comfortably. You must be able to discharge your responsibilities. But desiring wealth much in excess of this causes one to miss the goal of life. Bad qualities, bad feelings and thoughts are direct consequences of excessive wealth.

You see everywhere that it is only the wealthy and their children who enter into evil activities. Those who befriend such people also will suffer the same fate. Hence, though money is essential, to consider it equal to very life and the goal of life is wrong. Everything must be thought over, weighed carefully, and only then experienced.

Similarly, only when he has the correct behaviour will a person be called man. In him must rise the Divine feelings. He must lead his life with the constant remembrance of God. God is the support for this life. The body is merely an instrument. A life-force propels this body. That life-force is ‘I’. Hence ‘I’ am the Master. You are getting joy merely by looking at the instruments. In the process, you are forgetting the Master. This is a big mistake. True education is that which will enable you to forget these instruments and concentrate on the Master. The body is merely the field (kshetra). While traveling, you visit a spot for some time only. Later, you move away. During the entire process of traveling, staying, and leaving, the Indweller of the body (kshetrajna) is present. It is only the place that has been visited had left.

Efforts must be made to realise this principle of Atma, which is the eternal truth. Instead, you may decide against bothering about this Atma and be happy with the body. You may think that this body can be useful to attain pleasures and joy. If you think deeply about this matter, you will realise that the same pleasures, comforts and enjoyment that you are desiring with your body are also experienced by dogs and monkeys. What education have they obtained? Which university have they attended? They have not earned any degree. Is it then the kind of happiness that you must earn with your education? It is a gross mistake. You must study about the Atma. You must take as your basis that which remains invisible to the eye. Foster that, and your worldly happiness will also be taken care of.

A small example. There is a gigantic tree. There are several branches to this tree. Each branch has several fruits in it. You desire to have the fruit. You are able to see the fruits, branches, and the tree itself. You believe that the tree is the reality. That is ignorance. Hidden away from sight are the roots. Unless these roots are manured and watered regularly, they cannot give you the fruits and flowers that are seen. Similarly, you are able to see the pleasures and joys of the world outside. All of these are dependent upon the power of the Atma. You are inhaling air. Where has this air come from? It is from God alone. The Sun and the Moon are shining. Which scientist is able to get them shining like that? None of them can do it. It is possible only through Divinity. The heavy downpour you see and all the five elements are under the control of God. He is their Master and is also the sixth element! Today, we are forgetting such Divinity and considering the temporal objects to be the real thing. This is a gross mistake. Students must understand an important point. Do not go for the external. There is a Divine power existing, which is unseen by you. It is this power that gives you everything for experiencing.

Sita was imprisoned in the Ashoka gardens. There was none there whom she could call her own. She was a helpless and weak woman. She gave up food and sleep. Though in a weak condition, she did not give in to the mighty Ravana. Her innate strength protected her from any harm. Ultimately, Ravana’s strength turned out to be highly inferior in comparison to Sita’s inner strength. Her strength was associated with Divine effulgence. That strength is inherent in everyone and not merely in Sita alone. That is the reason it is said, “Mamatma sarva bhutantaratma.” Starting from the millionaire to the pauper, everybody has this power latent in him. Why must not man utilise this power? When the lamp is shining in your own house, how foolish it is to go for the light in your neighbour’s house! You would be called a fool. Similarly, you need not conduct any investigations. You need not banish yourself to the forests. You need not perform meditation. All you have to do is to turn your vision inward. Follow the divine command. There is no greater wealth than that. Good virtues alone are the true wealth in this world.

Where are these good qualities? What is this body that you are so proud of?

This is the body you are so proud of! What is your true Self? It is not this body. Do not consider the swaroopa (form) as the reality. It is the inner nature (swabhava) that is important. If the inner Self is developed, the outer body will enjoy happiness by itself.

There are, however, some fools who claim to surrender everything to God and then undergo all kinds of discomforts to safeguard themselves! A villager, wanting to travel to some place, arrived at the railway station with his luggage. He purchased a ticket and boarded the train. Several other passengers also boarded the train with their luggage. This villager was innocent as well as ignorant. It is not that he was egoistic; he was highly concerned that the train may find it extremely difficult to carry so many people along with their luggage. He was doubtful whether his own luggage would be carried or not. Hence, he grabbed his baggage and kept it on his own head! It failed to register in him that the train was carrying both himself and his luggage. You may keep your luggage on your head or by your side. It is still the train that will carry both of you. Hence, keep your luggage aside and relax. In this way, you must offer everything to God. You can stop exerting yourself. He will take care of everything. He will Himself carry everything for you. Such sacred thoughts must develop in you. Without this kind of faith, nothing can be achieved.

Faith is the root cause for anything to happen. It is this firm belief that shapes the correct type of ideal. We must foster faith in Truth and Righteousness. We must develop faith in the command of God. We must not be like the pendulum of the clock, moving to and fro. Man has only one tongue. He must utter and stand by only one word. One day you consider something right, and the very next day you call it wrong. Indeed one minute you call this right, and the very next minute you consider it wrong. Did you speak both of these or was it someone else? You are one! Only one among both can be the truth while the other must be wrong. Both the truth and the untruth reside in you and not outside you. You must not become like the serpent with the forked tongue. You must be like Rama, who always followed the principle of a single word. Rama was characterised by one word, one arrow, and one wife. Hence, one must strive to attain this principle of Rama (Atma Rama). It is not needed to follow the Rama who is Emperor Dasaratha’s son. Follow the conscience. If you are unable to satisfy your own conscience, whom else can you satisfy? Satisfying God means to satisfy your own conscience. Everyone who is the follower of Truth and Righteousness must foster them, spread them in the world, experience them and derive the joy.

Students, You are the ones who will assume the leadership of the country in future. The future of the nation depends upon you. Your nature and character will decide the character of the nation. You should work for the prosperity of the nation, welfare of the world, and universal happiness. First of all, you must follow the command of the Lord. Therein lies your welfare, as well as the security of the nation and society. Only then will your prayer of “Loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu” (may the entire world be at peace) be sanctified. Today, you are uttering the words of this prayer. You are unable to make our own neighbour happy. Then how can you aspire for the happiness of the world? Hence, you must strive for the satisfaction of your own Atma. You must experience the joy of your own Atma. Only then must you distribute that joy among others.

God’s command is the most important one to be followed. Contemplation of the Lord is important. This must be the scripture of your life, and this teaching must be put into practice. Scriptures are those whose teachings must be practised. They must be obeyed. If it tells that a particular action must not be performed, then you must refrain from doing it. If it advises you not to talk much, then you must control your talk. By your talking less or more, I gain or lose nothing. Both the loss and the profit out of this will be yours alone. When you incur a loss, you weep. When you get profit, you laugh. You see so many wealthy men in this world. Though the rich man might have gained a few crores as profit, he is unable to experience joy out of it. Why is it so? It is because of the fear of the Income tax bureau!

Hence, Nature may give you happiness; but on the other hand, it will give you sorrow as well. This is so because in Nature, the pravritti and nivritti paths are intermingled. You must no doubt reside in the pravritti principle, but take care to base your life upon the nivritti. That is your primary education.

Today, you may study any course, and earn any degree. Ultimately, your job has very little to do with what you have studied. Can you show me someone who is doing a job that is related to what he has studied? One passes IPS and joins the University as a Registrar! Is there any sense in this? What a great difference lies between the two fields! Another person does MBA and settles down in a job at a petrol filling station. Is there any relation between the two? The ultimate aim is to get into some job or the other. Must you study so much to attain this objective? There is absolutely no connection between what one studies and the job one does. Few are able to obtain a job suitable to their learning. You must not study in order to struggle for jobs. You must instead earn the “yoga” of Divinity.

That alone will confer all the necessary qualifications and comforts. In order to obtain Divine grace, you must constantly chant the name of the Lord, remember Him and install Him in your hearts. You must constantly obey His command, spend your time in tasks that will benefit others, and rigorously adhere to Truth and Righteousness.