Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

IT is a great pity that, in this land, which discovered the Divinity of Man and the means by which he can regain that Divinity, which is having a continuous stream of saints and sages who remind man of his grand role as a pilgrim towards God, men have allowed the teaching to decline and the practice to fade! Hearts saturated with this honeyed wisdom have become chalices of poison! Hate has hardened them, greed has sharpened them, pride has polluted them. Once again, man has to be made aware of the spring of joy within him, so that he may be happy and unagitated by anxiety. Human ideals have degenerated so much that man has become incapable of appreciating the beauty, wisdom and power of Avathars (divine advents)! They do not yearn for the intuitive experience of the glory and majesty of which they are themselves parts. They do not lose themselves in the stream of joy that flows from the contemplation of the limitless, beginningless power that is God. This day which you are celebrating as the Birthday of Krishna can best be used for re-dedicating your lives to the attainment of that joy.

Krishna has three separate meanings - the word, that is: (1) Karsh is one root from which the name is derived. It means, "that which attracts"; Krishna attracts hearts to Himself, by His sportive pastimes, miraculous victories over the forces of evil, his charming conversation, His wisdom, His personal beauty. (2) The word is also related to the root, Krish, to cultivate, as a field, for growing crops. The word means, he who removes the weeds from the heart of man, and sows seeds of faith, courage and joy. (3) It is related to the root, Krish, meaning something above and beyond the three attributes and the three eras, and na, means, Sath-chith-anandha. The leelas (divine plays) and mahimas (miracle powers) of Krishna through which He attracts the Love of Mankind, cultivates the harvest of joy in the hearts of His devotees and makes them aware of His being Existence-Knowledge-Bliss are described in the Bhagavatha. Dr. Balasubrahmanyam said now that if you follow my directions, it is as good as putting the Geetha into practice. Arun Kumar Dutt said, that you are all lucky since you have seen many manifestations of My power. But, they are manifested because they have to be, not for exhibiting attainments, nor for drawing clientele. They manifest when needed by the exercise of Will, as naturally, as spontaneously as any other physical act. I am the truth of truth, I guide towards truth, I manifest truth and when men realise truth, they realise Me. Raso vai sah - "He is sweetness". So, the jagath (the Universe), which is His creation cannot but be sweet for those who recognise it as His handiwork. The jagath has to be used to instruct you on the glory and the power of God, so that you may seek Him and reach Him. There are four stages in the journey towards this goal; each one is called a loka, a region which you reach. The first is A-vidhya loka (the region of ignorance and delusion) from which you start, prompted by the chain of grief and pain it inflicts on you. The second is the Vidhyaloka, where you penetrate into the Vijnanamayakosha (the intellectual plane) and are able to distinguish between the true and false, the kernel and the husk. The third is the Anandhaloka, where you are immersed in bliss, at the glimpse of the eternal source of power and peace. And, lastly, you have the Go-loka, where the Go-pala reigns, and all the go's (jeevas, sparks from the Divine), waves of the Premasagara (the ocean of love) are one in ecstasy and enlightenment!

Unless you have love, you cannot claim kinship with the votaries of God; mere ritualistic exactitude or pompous adoration, or loud acciamation will not entitle you to enter the portals of Go-loka! They are as tin and trash before the treasure-chest of love. Love is the bridge which helps passage from birth to death to deathlessness, from death to birthlessness. When you rise from the jeeva-sense to the Dheva-sense (human-ness to God-ness), then, there is no more birth or death. Liberation happens when you love every being so intensely that you are aware of only ONE. Soak your heart in love, soak your acts in righteousness, soak your emotions in compassion; then you attain God soonest.

Now, most people are nearest the temple; but, farthest from God. For, there is no genuniness in the manipulations of the limbs or emotions or impulses or activities during worship. You say, Krishnarpan (dedication to Krishna); but, really, the dedication which the mind performs is to thrishna (desire)! Or it may be dedication to wife or children! It is seldom done to Krishna! God is everywhere at all times; he accomplishes everything. He accomplishes the minor feat of assuming the human form and growing up among men as one of themselves right in their midst, in order to win them over to the path of truth. He gives man the chance to savour His sweetness and glimpse His glory. He acts despite the absence of any compulsion, so that man may be led to do likewise.

The Sage Vyasa happened to pass by when Krishna was washing the horses of Arjuna's chariot in the water of the Yamuna; he shed a tear, contemplating the duty that the Lord had imposed on Himself in order to guide man aright. Krishna played the role of servant to Arjuna, so that: man may know how to serve and thereby rise to sovereignty! Krishna was the servant of even cows and calves! When just a boy, His mother proposed to have shoes for His tiny feet, lest the hard thorny ground of the pasture might injure His lotus feet. Krishna would have none of it; He replied, "I go daily behind the cows and calves to the distant pasture, in order to tend them; I am their servant. How can the servant; go shod before his masters, when they are not shod, himself wearing shoes?"

The cattle were so loyal and loving towards Krishna, because of this intimate bond. When Krishna was invited by Kamsa to Mathura and Akruura, the messenger from Mathura took him in his chariot to that City, the cows and the frisking calves too shed tears at the separation! The beasts had such sincere Krishna-thrishna! Only man has strayed away into the wilderness of ego-infested evils! Every other animal is still treading its allotted path! God takes human form, in order to fill man with gratitude and joy; man sees the power, the wisdom and the beauty of God - -the Sathyam, Shivam and Sundharam - and the vision gives him a tormenting thirst for truth, goodness and beauty.

Krishna dealt with the world as with a sitar, pulling its heart-strings to arouse the melody of comradeship, heroism, love, affection, compassion and conviction. But of these, the two emotions of love and compassion were characteristically His and his own. His breath was love! His behaviour, compassion! Adore Him, placing a garland of tears around His neck; washing His feet with tears, springing from joy at the contemplation of His love! That very worship will endow you with the Wisdom that sages seek, the Bliss that the books extol! Grow in love, meditating on the embodiment of love, called Krishna. When the heart has not melted and softened to the cry of distress, the spasm of pain, the groan of the hungry, when the fountain of love therein is blocked with the tinsels of pride, Krishna will not play the flute in your ear. You may be a master in the service of Krishna; but, without the key of love you cannot gain entrance to the Go-loka where He resides! You may be in Prasanthi Nilayam since years, claiming to be with Swami and near Him; but, without cultivating love expressed in service you cannot know Me.

There was a pupil once, who prided himself on his ancestors and his master; they were great Pandiths (scholars), renowned over the entire realm. His preceptor asked him one day, whether he could answer any question he might ask. The pupil was stung to the quick! He said, "Why this hesitation? Ask, and it will be answered! I come from a Somayaji family; my father is a celebrated savant. I have been learning at your feet for years! Don't I know the answers to all questions." "What is the meaning of the word, Lavana?" the Guru asked. The pupil laughed and said, "O, you surprise me, with this absurdly simple question! Don't I know? Lavana means - cowdung." Well; lavana is a word that is in daily currency in every household and everyone knows, it means 'common salt'! Even this, the conceited disciple had not learnt. This is very much like what some long-standing 'devotees' know about Me! Unless you brighten your vision with Love, you cannot see the Truth. Love helps you to see God in everyone, everyone as Divine. The Jagath is not false, it is not a trap; it is the splendour of God, His reflection. He reflected and the Jagath happened! it is His own substance, manifesting as multiplicity, as latent or potent energy or matter. When activity is in accordance with awareness and awareness is befogged or belittled, dried up or deluded, then, Dharma is descendent, and the Avathar (divine incarnation) appears among men! People tell Me that mankind is on the brink of destruction, that the forces of hypocrisy and hate are prevailing fast in all the continents, and that anxiety and fear are stalking the streets of every city and village of the world; there is no need to tell Me this, for, I have come precisely for this very reason. When the world is on the verge of chaos, the Avathar comes to still the storm raging in the hearts of men. Prashanthi (the higher peace, the calming of perturbations) will be stabilised soon; the demonic deviations from the straight Divine Path will be corrected. Dharma will be revived and re-vitalised, in every human community.

You celebrate the Birthday of Krishna, of Rama and of Sai; but, they have no birth, they do not age; they appear and disappear, like the Sun rising and setting, because you roll and rotate; they are steady and ever-present! They appear so, so that you might realise the Unlimited and forget in that ecstasy the limited to which you are shackled! Do not derive contentment simply adoring pictures and images,, and reading or reciting hymns or songs of praise. Move on to the higher stage of Seva activity, and then, to the highest stage of Anandha, which is Go-loka! Know your Reality and the reality of all beings as revealed to you; that very instant you become Radha and since Radha is Krishna and Krishna is Radha, you enter and merge in the Krishnathathwa (the Krishna Principle), the Divine Truth. Whoever adores Krishna unintermittently, without any other thought or feeling to perturb him, is Radha. See with the eyes of Love; hear with the ears of Love; work with the hands of Love; think thoughts of Love; feel Love in every nerve. The God of Love, Krishna, will come to you on the wave of Love and fill your hearts with Himself!

Do not cage Him in a picture-frame; do not confine Him in an idol. He is all forms. His is all names. He is the Reality of all beings. Infect yourselves with madness for Him, instead of for the World. Some one has written a song about Me, saying that I cure madness and confer madness, that I wipe tears and cause tears to flow! Yes; madness for visualising God is any way preferable to the madness after riches and reputation.

Shed tears of Anandha (divine happiness), not tears of grief. Yearn for the Love that will bring you the Love of God, Prema. I have no power mightier than that. I might change earth into sky or sky into earth, but, that power is nothing before the power of Love that can bind the world and rule the world. Love; do not hate or harm. Even mosquitoes can pride themselves on the capacity to injure and harm, and cause disease! Bugs can do likewise; so, if you feel proud of the skill to harm, you are only demeaning yourselves. Love and serve; that is the Sadhana (spiritual striving) that will reward you best. Celebrating festivals like this has been prescribed by the sages, since they encourage you to ponder over he fundamentals of spiritual progress. A young tree grows better and faster, when the soil around the roots is raked up now and then, so that air and solar rays can penetrate the source of its strength and vitalise it. I bless that you will have the constant contemplation of the Lord and that your minds Will taste the sweetness of the Divine without intermission.