Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

The Rishis of ancient times were revered with the utterance of this laudatory verse as gurus by those who approached them for spiritual guidance. This day being Guru Poornima, when aspirants for spiritual illumination pay homage to the gurus who lead them to the goal, we shall probe into the implications of this authentic summary of the credentials attributed in this verse, to the Sad-Guru or Proper Preceptor.

Brahmanandam:

The Guru is the embodiment of Brahma-Bliss, since he is merged in the Ananda which Brahman is. It is not imported or acquired or attained. It is inherent in every heart. The world, the cosmos, every particle, is Ananda itself but being ever in it, with it, of it and for it, man is unable to be It, on account of the darkness that misleads him and deludes him.

Brahmananda and Man:

The Upanishads attempt to give men a faint idea of the measure of that Brahma-ananda . The Taithireeya Upanishad assumes the height of human ananda as the unit for estimation. A person having all the wealth he desires, all the renown man can earn, all the learning that can be gained, perfect health, perpetual youth, and undisputed sovereignty over the entire globe - his Ananda is an understandable base from which to proceed. A hundred times this Manushi-ananda is the Ananda of celestial singers (Gandharvas ); a hundred times that is the Ananda of the souls of departed beings dwelling in heavenly regions. Hundred-fold of this is the Ananda of the divine entities (Ajanma-ja ). A hundred times is the Ananda of the gods (Deva ); the Lord of the Gods, Indra, is ever in Ananda that is a hundred times more than that of the Gods. Brhaspathi , the preceptor of Indra, has Ananda a hundred times more than Indra ; and Prajapathi , the Lord of Creatures, has a hundred-fold Ananda when compared to Brhaspathi. Hiranyagarbha (the Cosmic Golden Manifestation) is the source of a hundred times more Ananda. The Supremest Ananda, the Brahma-Ananda, which is the characteristic of the Guru, is that of Hiranyagarbha.

Man has the potency to elevate himself to this Ananda. Only he has to get rid of the obstacles that deny this experience. He is Brahmam and so his nature is Brahma-anandam. But, he does not know that all he believes he knows is known only as distorted or deluded. His waking experiences are as unreal and self-contrived as his dream experiences. The I-sense, the ego, constructs the world it is after. It shatters the One into many and takes pride in deceiving itself. It reduces the Ananda by resorting to polluting desires and actions. When 'I' is eliminated, Ananda is experienced fully. One becomes truly and genuinely One's Self when this 'I' does not intrude. 'I' sets one apart and establishes Dwaita (Duality). No 'I' brings together and establishes Unity, One-without-a-second, Adwaitha (Non-dualism). 'I' sense arises, persists and disappears. It is Kshara , liable to deteriorate. The One-without-a-second is AKshara , it is symbolised by OM, the Pranava , the Ever-alive. The Guru who is ever in this consciousness has Brahma-ananda. Such a one is the Guru to be sought.

Parama-sukhadam:

The Guru grants the highest joy. What exactly constitutes this joy? Is it physical well-being? Mental poise? Intellectual alertness? Sharpness of the senses? No. The rishis declare that words return crestfallen after attempting to describe that state. Even the mind with its fast-moving wings of imagination cannot reach that state. The highest joy has its source and spring in the Atma , the spark of the Cosmic Splendour. The person who is ever aware of the Atma in him and in all is therefore the Sadguru.

Kevalam:

Beyond all limitations of time and place the guru is pure chaithanya , Is-ness; his consciousness is all pervasive; that is to say, God alone is the Sad-Guru.

Jnana Murthim:

What is meant by Jnana?

And the sadguru is the embodiment of that wisdom, having unbroken experience of the One. Those who are commonly known as gurus are signposts, name boards. They have not travelled the entire journey and reached the goal. But the Jnanamurthi is with you right through, beside you and before you, smoothing the path until the journey ends in him.

Dvandvathitham:

The Sadguru is unaffected by the inevitable dualities of life: joy and grief, profit and loss, ridicule and respect.

Gaganasadrsam:

Untouched by happenings and incidents but forming the perennial base, like the sky enveloping the nature.

Thath-thwam-asyadi-Lakshyam:

The living exponent and experiencer of the four crucial axioms of the Vedic thought - That-thwam-asi (That Thou Art), Ayam Atma Brahma (The Self is verily Brahman), Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) and Prajnanam Brahma (Consciousness is Brahman).

Ekam:

The One; though apparently passing through varied experiences and even no experience while awake or dreaming and in deep sleep, The One is unaffected and remains as One - the guru is firmly established in the One.

Nithyam:

Eternal, untouched by time, the Sadguru is eternally pure, aware, serene.

Vimalam:

Faultless, nothing can tarnish its purity. The Guru has no desire or sense of want. He is perfect.

Achalam:

The Sadguru, which is another name meant for God, knows no change in his primal perfection, whatever form he may assume. The motion picture film projects 16 pictures a second on the screen in the cinema but they give transitory and counterfeit experiences. The Achalam is the unmoving screen.

Sarvadhee:

All-pervasive, all-activating intelligence.

Sakshi Bhutham:

That which has become the witness of everything, everywhere, like the sun which activates but is only witness of the activity.

Bhavatheetham:

He is beyond all urges, emotions, feelings and thoughts.

Trigunarahitham:

Not bound by the three modes of qualities that divide living beings into categories - the serene mode, the active mode and the dull. When bound, you are human, when you are free from entanglements and limiting characterisations, you are divine.

Sadgurum:

The worthy Guru.

Tham:

To Him

Namami::

I offer my reverential homage.

The Guru who deserves homage must possess these attributes. This is only another way of saying that God alone can be the guide, the path and the goal. Gums available for aspirants are themselves deluded into foggy paths and faltering faith. The genuine Guru must have overcome Maya and the ego; he must be free from desire and need. When a person yearns for some benefit or profit and is engaged in sadhana with that view, he cannot be accepted as Guru. The verse which speaks of Guru as Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara is quoted often. But, the One has not broken into three, one part in charge of creation, another who fosters and maintains and the third who dissolves and destroys. The Pranava mantra OM is symbol of the One; it is composed of three sounds A (as in far), U (as in push) and M (as in hum). Brahma is A, Vishnu is U and Shiva is M and all three are indivisibly united in OM. The problem this verse poses is whether Guru is God or God is Guru. The answer is - God is Guru, the ever-present, evercompassionate, the Witness who resides in the heart. This day is celebrated as Vyasa Poornima, the full moon day dedicated to the memory of sage Vyasa. There are four full moon days holier than the rest in the Hindu calendar - the full moon which occurs in the month of Vaisakha, Ashada, Sravana and Magha. This is the month of Ashada. On this day, the day when the moon (the presiding deity of the mind) is full circle and the moonlight cool, pleasant and clear, Sage Vyasa completed the composition of the immortal scripture, the Brahma Sutra. Sutra means string. He revealed that the Brahma principle interpenetrates and holds together the many in the ONE. That principle does not wax or wane, it is Poorna and it projects Poorna, in spite of that projection. The passing cloud cannot act on that fullness. This was what Vyasa, the Guru, taught mankind. Just as God projects Himself as Man, Man too can concretise God, and persuade God to become Man by sincere prayer and agonised yearning. Prahlada's prayer induced the avatar of Narasimha. Prayer and personification are complementary, like the positive and negative poles in the electricity. The dark fortnight and the bright fortnight alternate like grief and joy, pain and pleasure, by God's decree to foster equanimity, to lead man towards reality beyond both.

The reality is cognisable everywhere; why, it is evident most in oneself, when you earnestly seek it. You can experience it, even while performing selflessly your duty to yourself and others. I shall indicate to you today, four directives for sanctifying your lives and purifying your mind, so that you can contact the god within you.

When one does not attempt to transform oneself thus, he is apt to blame God for his sorrows, instead of blaming his unsteady faith! He blames God because he announces himself as a devotee too soon, and expects plentiful grace. Grace cannot be claimed by such; God must accept the devotee as his own. One has to use his talent of discrimination to sift the trash and discard it in preference to the valuable. Doing punyam or good deeds means doing selfless service to others. One has to flee from bad persons to search for and win the friendship of the good, who can cleanse us and heal us. Man is consumed by time; God is the master of time. So, take refuge in God. Let God be your Guru, your path, your Lord. Adore Him, obey His commands, offer Him your grateful homage, hold Him fast in your memory. This is the easiest way to realise Him as your own reality. This is the one and only way.