Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

The body is the temple of the Self; the world is a structure raised on one strong pillar, "I". For, when this "I" is dormant during deep sleep, there is no world, so far as you are concerned. You are alone, when you sleep. Before you were born, there was no world for you. After you die, there is no world of which you are conscious. To get this jnana (knowledge) fixed, you have to pass through the preparatory schools of karma and upasana. Karma (dedicated activity) helps to cleanse the heart of egoistic impulses; upasana (contemplation) helps to focus attention on the Universal and the Absolute. Then jnana emerges. This is what the Shastri referred to as the conjunction of three rivers, in the poem he read now. Once you win that jnana, you are the equal of the wisest, for there is nothing more to know. Karma and upasana depend upon the dharma of the particular stage of your life, as well as the guna that rules you. Even amritha will be harmful to life, if it is drunk through the nose. There is a way of life, a method of uplift, a path of progress, distinct for every seeker, different from those of others. The true Guru knows which suits you best. I t does not mean that the Guru is partial or prejudiced; it only means that he is kind and considerate. For, he does not insist on all men wearing the same straitjacket. A washerman had a dog and a donkey; the donkey to carry the clothes to the river and back, the dog to watch the clothes hung to dry. One day, the dog refused to bark, for it was illtreated that morning by the master; it was mum even when a thief was bundling up the clothes. So, the donkey decided to bray in order to warn the washerman. But he mistook it as sheer impertinence and so, without pursuing the thief, he belaboured the poor beast for all its pains! Each must do only one's allotted task; or else, confusion will arise and multiply.

When dharma (which means, that which is worn, the apparel, clothes) was sought to be removed from the wearer, the Lord blessed Dhroupadi, with the grant of an unending series of saris. Today, the Sanathana Dharma which is the robe of Bharatha matha (Mother India) is sought to be taken away by her unworthy and deluded sons and so, the Lord has come to grant solace and strength. You will see splendid saris pouring into her lap from every door of the Durbar Hall, where she is being insulted. You will witness this great miracle, by the Avathar (God incarnate) come to protect her honour, her heritage of Athmic treasure. The whole secret lies in detachment or vairagya. The tongue has oil, fat and greasy substances rolling over it; but, it is unaffected by these; it does not become greasy. The eye is unaffected by the collyrium. The mind too must be unaffected by the experiences of success and failure, of gain and loss, of well-being and illness; it must be surrendered at the Feet of the Lord. Let His Will prevail. What profit does your little will bring you? Just close your eyes for five minutes and think of the profit your efforts have won for you. One wish leads to another; one bond brings about ten others. You marry; you get a daughter who has to be given in marriage; you struggle to finish your education; you struggle to finish your son's education; he struggles to finish his son's. Thus it goes on, like a never-ending chain. 'This one wish if fulfilled will be enough, I won't ask for anything more", you say; but I know you will come and ask for something else, which is the consequence of that wish. It is in the very nature of human desire; for, the joy one gets through its satisfaction is imperfect, limited, temporary, pregnant with grief. You sow bitter seeds and pray for a harvest of sweetness. You wail over the soil, the plant, the rain. What can they do? The seeds themselves are diseased, defective.

The Vedhic injunction, given through the sages, is "Sathyam vada; Dharmam chara" - Speak the Truth; walk in the path of Virtue. Harischandra knew the authority behind that injunction. He respected that authority and followed that injunction whatever the consequences. He lost his kingdom, his honour, his everything. He sold his wife and son as slaves; himself, he had to sell for cash! He was reduced from being the occupant of the Imperial Throne to watching over the cremation of corpses and collecting fees therefor. He had to refuse the fight of being burnt, to his own dead son and insist on the fees being paid by his own helpless Queen! But, he stuck to Truth and won. Truth will win, whatever the obstacle; otherwise, the Vedas would not have commanded man to stick to it.

The Lord has to take the Form that is suitable for the task He has to fulfil. To catch a gang of dacoits, the Police Officer has to move among them as a dacoit. That is why the human form has been taken. But, who, challenged with impunity by their own wives, dare challenge the Avathara and ask for proofs! Of course, if you desire to understand, you are welcome; be near, watch, learn and believe. Put on the role if you have the courage and the conviction that you can enact it well. Are you not tired of playing the parts of beggar and clown, in scene after scene, birth after birth? Aspire for the nobler role, at least now, in this birth.

The Shastri while describing the various forms of bhakthi mentioned that the bhaktha is like the needle which is always drawn towards the magnet. But the needle has to be near enough; it has also to be clean enough. You stay far away and complain that Grace has not come! You do not scrape off, by the process of repentance, the mud and rust that prevent attachment. You come near for some time and stray away into the distance. I don't mean physical distance at all. You may be physically far, but mentally by My side. I do not measure distance in miles or metres; I am with you, in you, beside you, ever; only you have to be aware of Me and make use of My Presence.

You must become an Artha, torn by intense suffering to sense the Lord. Suffer the pangs of distress. You must realise that mere suffering is fruitless, without the knowledge of the path to attain the Lord. That is to say, you have to be transformed into a jijnasu, a seeker. Analyse the four Purusharthas (four goals of life) and realise that Moksha (Liberation) is the goal, the culmination. Start craving for that, as an Artharthi, the lover of the truest gain. Seek that which, when secured, all else is secured. Finally, when you realise that your true 'Nature is the Atman, you become a jnani. But, this is an arduous path and so, many who are attracted to it leave off and lose themselves. Then, like the winner of a cash prize, who revels in some city like Calcutta or Poona or Madras or who dwells in some place of pilgrimage like Shirdi or Rishikesh until the entire prize money is spent, later they are harassed by the police for loitering in public places for want of a place to rest their heads. Heaven too is like this' a place where you can stay, until your last pie, but only until then! Moksha alone is unchanging, eternal.

You come to Puttaparthi, secure a picture, and taking it home, begin worshipping it every day or every Thursday; but, all that is simply sathkarma (good activity). They won't take you far. You must also develop sath-guna, virtues, good habits, good attitudes, good characteristics, a good character. Otherwise your life is a chain of pluses and minuses, one cancelling the other out, totalling up to a mere zero. When you say, Thath thwam asi (Thou art that), you must have the traits of that which you claim to be. You say, "that and this" are the same; then, reviling that or revering 'that' is the same as reviling 'this' or revering this. There are many who pray to Me to give a name to their children, or to feed them with the first morsel of rice. These are two rites prescribed by the Shasthras. Hence the rite requires that the child be given the Name of God, Panduranga, Venkatesha, Srinivasa, Sathyanarayana, Lakshminarayana, etc. But, you curtail it into L.N. and you forget what the L is for or the N. A 'Rama' does not try to live up to the name he bears; he files a suit against his father and gives his father great misery. A Lakshmana assaults his brother, a Seetha applies for divorce. It is better to be born a boulder than as man with such a character. Why is it that the world reveres Rama and revolts at Ravana? Rama is not its uncle's son or Ravana, its stepmother's child! It is the kinship of the spirit, your innate goodness, responding lovingly, adoringly to the goodness in Rama and reacting revoltingly to the wickedness of Ravana.

It is not enough, nor is it essential that you should repeat the name of Rama loudly; respect it in the fullness of love and admiration. If you have no spring of Love in you, dig into your heart with external instruments like pujas, sthotra (worship and adoration), etc. and it will start to flow.

From tomorrow, I shall be seeing you, one by one, the ailing, the old and the sick first, and the others later. Many of you have come with problems of health or mental worry of some sort or other. They are mere baits by which you have been brought here, so that you may contact the Grace, and strengthen your faith in the Divine. Problems and worry are really to be welcomed as they teach you the lessons of humility and reverence. But, not all continue the attachment they are able to establish; they lose the fortune that has fallen into their hands. You will see the day when the Chithravathi sands alone can accommodate the gatherings that assemble here from all parts of the world; when the sky alone can provide a roof for them all. Many hesitate to believe that things will improve, that life for all will be happy and full of joy, that the Golden Age will ever recur. Let me assure you that this Dharmaswaruupa (Righteousness personified) has not come in vain. It will succeed in averting the crisis that has come upon Humanity.