DIVINE DISCOURSE VOLUME 2 1961-1962

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48. Open your eyes
UPPULUURI Ganapathi Shaasthry has a title that very few scholars have. He is called
Aamnaayaartha Vaachaspathi ---the Master Expounder of the Meaning of the Vedhas. I had
permitted him to speak for as long as he liked; indeed, I had encouraged him to make a long
speech for just after this he is opening the Vedhashaasthra Paathashaala---an institution that is
dear to his heart when established anywhere, but dearer to him because it is established here, in
the Prashaanthi Nilayam. In fact, he sees in it an important step in My Plan of Vedhic revival.
But he was so over-powered by Aanandha that he could not proceed with his speech even for a
few minutes. As he said, he spoke even those few words just to express his debt to the Vedhas. It
is not only his debt but the debt of all humanity. The Vedhas have shaped India and India shaped,
is shaping, and will shape, the rest of the world.
The Vedhas are without beginning or end; they are eternal messages caught by developed
consciousnesses in the silence of meditation. Loyalty to the Vedhas has faded often in the past
also and so the present 'decline' which Ganapathi Shaasthry deplored is just a passing phase.
Dhuurvaasa was a reputed Vedhic scholar; he had the music of the Saama Vedha on his tongue
and the cinders of anger in his eye; a strange combination, indeed. Seeing this absurdity,
Saraswathi, the Goddess of Learning and Liberation, laughed in derision. The sage was stung to
the quick; he threw a curse on Her and she was born on earth as the daughter of Aathreya. There
was a brother too, a feeble minded chap incapable, in spite of the efforts of the skilled teachers,
of even pronouncing the Vedha aright. He was beaten with a rod, but that only made him weep
helplessly. Saraswathi was moved with great pity. She intervened and saved him from physical
torture. She taught him the four Vedhas and the six Shaasthras and he became a great Master.
Vedhas are in need of revival again
Meanwhile, the Vedha had faded from human memory and, as a result, famine stalked the land.
Rishis were reduced to skeletons. They yearned for the Vedha, for that was the sustenance on
which they lived. Saaraswatha, the brother of Saraswathi, prayed to Chandhra (the Moon). She
made the each sprout forth edible plants (Saakha), on which the Rishis decided to live.
Saaraswatha taught them the sixty different sections of the Vedhas but so thick was the fog that
had descended on the Vedhas that the sages who learnt the Vedhas from him were confounded by
cynical critics. Naaradha had to assure them that what they had learnt was the genuine Vedha
itself, but even he could not remove the main of doubt. They jointly approached Brahma. He
said, "You were all able to get this Vision of Me as a result of your Vedhic study; you can have
yourself become Brahma when you practise what you have studied." That was how Saaraswatha
Maharshi revived the Vedhas once in the past.
Reasons for the present sorrow and suffering
Now again the Vedhas are in need of revival, of promotion. Someone has to prevent the axe from
reaching its mots, the goats eating the sprouts. Do not be too conceited, feeling that the Avathaar
has come for you particularly. I have come for the sake of Dharma. And, how is the avathaar to
guard Dharma? Well, Vedhokhilo Dharma Moolam---"The Vedhas are the root of Dharma."
When the Vedhas remain unharmed, that is to say, when the Vedhic scholars are unharmed, the
Vedha will remain ever-green in the heart of man. That is the real Dharma-sthaapana.
You may ask, "Well. The Lord has incarnated. Then why should the world be torn by strife and
stricken with sorrow?" Why, even when Lord Krishna was here, there was war and wickedness,
strife and sorrow. The husk will have to be pulled out, the pure saved always from the impure.
The present suffering is mainly due to the lapses in discipline among the professed followers of
the Vedhic path, their disregard for the morality laid down in the Shaasthras and their absence of
faith in the ancient scriptures. What use can a blind man make of a lamp, however bright it may
be?
You may ask why Pandiths and Vedhic scholars are passing through hard times now? They are
mostly hungry, ill-clad and homeless; that being the reason why no one comes forward to join
Vedhic schools? Paatasaalaas are becoming defunct. But I want to tell you that the Pandiths and
Shaasthris have come to this pass because they have themselves lost faith in the Vedhas They are
like the proverbial cat which is loyal to two homes and is denied food and comfort in either. The
Pandiths have one eye on secular matters and secular studies and another on the spiritual. Let
them be fixed in that faith, faith in the Vedhas. Then the Vedha will keep them happy. Because if
the Vedha cannot make a man happy, what else can? Like the hotel-keeper who goes to a
druggist for a pill when he gets a headache, while that same druggist goes to the same hotel for a
cup of coffee when he gets a headache, the West comes to the East for mental peace and the East
is enamoured of the West for what it considers necessary for mental peace!
Story of unshakable faith of a devotee
Let me tell you an incident which happened while in the previous body at Shirdhi. There was a
lady from Pahalgaon, a simple illiterate devotee. She stored water in her kitchen in three clean,
brightly polished brass pots from three separate wells and she had named the pots---Ganga,
Yamuna and Saraswathi. She always referred to them by those names. Whenever any thirsty
wayfarer called at her door, she mixed water from all three and offered it to the person as
Thriveni Theertha (water from three rivers). Neighbours used to laugh at her faith, but her belief
that the three wells were connected underground with the three rivers that joined at Prayag, was
unshakable.
Her husband started on a pilgrimage to Kaashi. His mother, while blessing him on his departure,
put on his finger her own gold ring and directed him to take good care of it, for it would be a
talisman for him. When he was taking the ceremonial bath at the Manikarnika Ghat, the ring
slipped into the waters and could not be retrieved. When he returned and related this story, he
said, "Ganga waned it; she took it," just to console his mother. When the wife heard this, she
said, "No, no! Mother Ganga will not hanker after the property of a poor old lady. She will
accept only what is offered out of love. She will give us back the ring, I am sure. I shall ask
Ganga; she is in our kitchen." So saying, she went in and with folded hands, she prayed before
the particular pot named by her as Ganga. Putting her hand in she searched the bottom and sure
enough, she got the ring back! She had come to Dwaarakamaayi with her husband and mother-
in-law. It is faith that matters; the form and the name on which it is fixed do not matter. For all
names are His; all forms are His.
The four-fold Mission of Sai
Faith can grow only on the soil of Dharma, with the fertile sub-soil of Vedha. That is why the
Paatasaala (Vedhic School) is started here today. I announced this in October and it is being
started in November. With Me, the resolution and the realisation coincide in time; there is no
time-lag. You may say that only twenty boys have joined now. When a huge country is
administered by a cabinet of twelve, this band of students is enough for the work I have in view.
My task is to open your eyes to the Glory of the Vedhas and to convince you that the Vedhic
injunctions, when put into practice, will yield the results promised. My task is to make you aware
of your errors and the loss you are incurring; not only you who are here just now, but all the
people of India and even the world.
This Paathashaala will grow into a University, establishing branches wherever there are other
types of Universities now. It will afford cool green shade for all. My prema towards the Vedha is
equalled only by My prema towards Humanity. My Mission, remember, is just fourfold: Vedha
poshana, Vidwath poshana, (fostering the Vedhas and Vedhic Scholars), Dharma rakshana and
Bhaktha rakshana (Protection of virtue and devotees). Spreading My Grace and My Power along
these four directions, I establish Myself in the Centre.
These boys will grow into strong straight Pillars of the Sanaathana Dharma---the Ancient
Wisdom, the Eternal Path; they will be the leaders and guides of this land in the days to come.
Parents who have sent them to this Paathashaala have every reason to be happy, for these boys
will be Gems spreading Vedhic splendour everywhere, disseminating Shaasthraic learning
everywhere. I shall care for them as the apple of My eye, more than any mother. They will
always have My Blessings.
Prashaanthi Nilayam, 23-11-1962
Fear is the biggest cause for illness. When you have slight
temperature, you start imagining that it is the beginning of some
serious fever. You say to yourself someone whom you knew had
also a slight increase of temperature, which later became serious
and led to complications and so, you become more prone to illness
than formerly.
Think rather of the instances where fever was prevented or
overcome; think of the Grace of the Lord that restores and saves.
Sathya Sai Baaba

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49. Planning the curriculum
MINISTER Chenna Reddy 'opened' the Puttaparthi School Building an hour ago but the meeting
in connection with that happy event is being held here now, because the village has no place to
accommodate even a tenth of this vast gathering of persons from all over India. The Minister had
seen Me and I had been to his house eight years ago but his yearning to come to this village and
to this Prashaanthi Nilayam has materialised only today. Even today, the opening of the school
building is just an excuse which he has utilised to come to Me. He has hastened straight from the
East Godhaavari District to fulfil this programme and satisfy the yearning of years.
In villages, no two persons have the same viewpoint, no two agree; this causes and promotes
illfeeling, misunderstanding, pride, envy, hatred between individuals: but, I am telling this not
only to the people of this village but the people who have come here from a thousand villages,
remember. When it is a question which interests the entire village, do not thrust forward your
little prejudices, your particular hatreds, but think only of the common good, the common
welfare. Then, all your personal likes and dislikes should be forgotten. I am. also known as
Puttaparthi Baaba; therefore, you in this village have every right to come to Me, all of you,
whenever you desire to do any good to the village.
This day, when the Village Elementary School is moving into the new spacious well ventilated
terraced building of its own, is indeed a great day in the annals of this village. It is a day which
starts a new era; when education will grow and will result in virtue, humility and peace.
India has Dharma on its side
I know that your hearts are filled with other thoughts---the thoughts of pushing back the Chinese
from the land they have invaded and occupied, of sympathy to the families of the soldiers who
have been killed and wounded. Minister Chenna Reddy also referred to them feelingly. They
fought for their country to keep the enemy away. It is your first duty to pray for the dead, and to
pray for the happy and victorious return from the battlefield of the gallant fighters. It is your duty
also to search for your own faults and failings and to correct them soon. You have also to
discover and develop all your talents and become strong, self-reliant, full-grown Indians, in order
to save your country and its culture. Above all, you must get firmly entrenched in faith; faith in
the ultimate victory of Truth and Love, of Justice and Fortitude. You have not tried it, and so you
are unaware of the potentialities of faith.
During the Mahaabhaaratha War also, people had the faith that "Where Krishna was, there
victory was certain," for Krishna will always be on the side of Truth and Truth cannot bring
defeat. India has Dharma on its side; that is to say, Krishna on its side, and so the paeans of
victory will sound soon---if they have not already sounded! The Chinese can do India no harm;
for we are not wanting in the strength of Virtues, in Truth, in Justice, in Love, in Forbearance.
These are the real arms, the real ammunition, the armaments.
When Ashwathaama slay entered the Paandava camp and blinded by hate, slaughtered the
sleeping children of Dhroupadhi, she scorned to wreak vengeance on the maddened culprit, for
he was the son of the Guru of the Paandavas and as worthy of reverence as the Guru himself.
That is the nobility that stirred the hearts of mothers in this country. That is no weakness; it
toughens the fibre; it demoralises the enemy, who is rendered a coward by the fear that haunts
him and the hesitation and doubt about victory that dog his steps.
Learning is of no use if not put into practice.
So, be brave and confident. My Birthday Festival will not be marred by any dispiriting news; it
will be made happier for you by quite positive cheerful news, I am sure.
I must now speak about the school which has this function today. Minister Chenna Reddy is also
Minister for Planning and he spoke about the plan for education also. No amount of planning or
even carrying out the plan will help, if the things learnt in schools are not put .into practice. For
example, there are lessons on health and hygiene in the text-books of even the primary classes.
They are all learnt by rote and repeated, but examine how far they are practised. Look at the
village roads, the village well, the village home, the village children and tell Me whether fifty or
sixty years of teaching the rules of health and hygiene has had any effect! If even these matters
involving life and well-being are neglected, I need not tell you that other subjects which are
laboriously taught in schools produce even less effect.
What profit is it for the children to know the length of the Mississippi River or the height of
Vesuvius? Why load them with information they may never require? On the other hand, give
them the tonic to strengthen that spirit---the tonic of the Repetition of the Name of the Lord, the
tonic of meditating on the glory of God, in the silence of the heart. Formerly, children were
learning Raamanaama and the Aksharamaala (Garland of letters) together; “Suddha brahma
Paraathpara Raama,” they used to read and write. Now, they sing, "Ding dong bell; Puss is in
the well." This type of silly meaningless jargon is spreading everywhere like a poisonous
infection destroying the seeds of peace and joy.
The doctor does not give any medicine that comes to his hand: he diagnoses the illness, studies
the patient, his background, his ancestry, his habits, his food, his likes, his dislikes. Then he
prescribes the appropriate remedy. For the illness of greed, hurry, hatred and discontent that this
country, along with the rest of the world, is afflicted with now, the planners of education must
discover the correct remedy. Then they will find that the first few steps in spiritual discipline
must be taught even in childhood. Man has the springs of joy and peace in his heart, even as a
child. Cultivate them, give them the fullest freedom to gush forth and fertilise all fields of
activity---that is the real purpose of education.
Prashaanthi Nilayam, 23-11-1962

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50. Tiny trace of ego
SHAANTHASWAR UUPULAARA (Embodiments of Peace)! I am addressing you thus today;
perhaps I should have said, "Athi Shaanthaswaruupulaara!" for you have shown not only
Shaanthi but Athi Shaanthi (extreme calmness), not mere ordinary forbearance. You have been
squatting on the floor for-nearly three hours. Perhaps you yourselves have not realised it because
Bulusu Appanna Shaasthry's learned discourse on the Geetha and Kalluri Veerabhadra
Shaasthry's interesting discourse on the Bhaagavatha entranced you greatly. I realise that you
also want Me to speak. These florists from Bangalore, devotees since many years---why, since
twenty years, I should say---are preparing a floral jhoola (swing) insisting that I should sit on it
and give audience to all. I have given them My word that I shall not disappoint them. So I shall
be very brief.
You will have known by now that the Chinese, of their own accord, prompted by the mysterious
working of a Higher Power withdrew from the advance lines they held on the night of 22nd and,
as I said, My Birthday was celebrated in an atmosphere of joy. Some unseen force caught them
by the neck and hurled them back. Man is impelled forward in aggressive warfare by the Aasuri
Shakthi (demonaic power) or Greed and Lust but he is compelled to retrace his steps by God, by
the Dhaivi Shakthi (Divine Power).
Appanna Shaasthry is the doyen among the scholars of the Geetha. The Geetha has as many
commentaries written on it as there are hairs on My Head! Yellappa's commentary attempts to
distort the Geetha into a Yellappa Geetha while Mallappa, by his commentary, proves that it is a
Mallappa Geetha and nothing else. Everyone forgets it is "Bhagavadh" Geetha, the Geetha that
Krishna taught and Arjuna learnt. What was Arjuna's condition and how did Krishna cure it?---
that question has been tackled only by the commentary of Shankaraachaarya.
Role of Braahmana in the society
Appanna Shaasthry said that the Avathaar comes for Dharmasthaapana (establishment of
Righteousness) and that is achieved by fostering and safeguarding the Brahmin. A Braahmana is
one who is installed in Brahma Thathwa (essential nature of Supreme Being), who has realised
Brahma Sathyam---that Brahman is the Truth and no other---or at least one who is keenly
following the discipline prescribed for attaining that knowledge. The Braahmin is the instrument
by which society has to excavate the treasure of Brahmajnaana (Sacred knowledge of the
Absolute Reality). Some individual instruments have become blunt and unfit, Why? Many have
lent themselves to other purposes and so rendered themselves inadequate for the task. But there
is no doubt that the instrument can be fashioned again out of the same metal; the Braahmin can,
even now, restore faith and morality by devoting himself to the original function for which he
was designed by the founders of Sanaathana Dharma (Eternal Religion). So long as that
possibility is there, do not ridicule or condemn the Brahmin. Ridiculing him is but ridiculing God
and the Vedhas to which he is the accredited signpost.
Correct your vision, remove your delusion
All this creation and all this history is His Leela or rather, Himself, Brahma Sathyam, also,
Jagath Sathyam. Only Jagath (world) is 'relatively real' until the distinction between Brahman
and Jagath disappears and then even Jagath is seen to be Brahman, felt as Brahman, known as
Brahmam. Then you know Sarvam Brahma Mayam, (All is full of Supreme Being). To be more
correct, there is no separate sarvam (all) to be recognised as mayam (full of). Brahman alone is,
one without a second, Adhwitheeyam, Ekam, Nithyam, Vimalam, Achalam (Non-dual, Single
Eternal, Pure and Immovable). Who created all this variety from that Ekam (Single)? The answer
is, there is no variety at all; so the question makes no sense. No person or force or urge or
concatenation of circumstances or accident produced this multiplicity.
There is no multiplicity! The One remains as One. You mistake it as many; the fault is in you;
correct your vision, remove your delusion, Brahman (Supreme Reality) did not change into
Prakrithi (relative world); the rope does not change into a snake. Only you mistook it to be a
snake. Brahman is Brahman for ever and ever; your ignorance of this fact makes you see it as
Prakrithi. The world stands on one leg, delusion. Cut down that leg and it falls.
You experience the disappearance of this variety, this multiplicity, this Prakrithi, this world
based on delusion, every day but you do not hold on to that experience. That is the tragedy!
When you are asleep, what happens to your world? In what are all your manifoldnesses
subsumed? What is the source of the feeling of joy which sound sleep brings? Sleep keeps a tiny
trace of the ego as a memento of the world and so, when awake, you are the same deluded
individual, pestered by creatures of your own fantasies!
That is why I very often tell you not to identify even Me with this particular physical build-up.
But you do not understand. You call Me by One Name only and believe I have One Form only.
Remember, there is no Name I do .not bear, there is no Form which is not Mine.
Prashaanthi Nilayam, 24-11-1962
If your thoughts centre round the body you will have worries about
pains and illnesses, real or imaginary;
if they are centred on riches, you will be worried about profit and
loss, tax and exemption& investment and insolvency;
if they roam round fame, then you are bound to suffer from the ups
an downs of scandal, calumny and jealously.
So, let them centre round the seat of power and love which deserve
willing submission and let your whole being surrender to it. Then,
you will be happy for ever.
Sathya Sai Baaba

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51. Sprouts of faith
VEERABHADHRA Shaasthry described very realistically the childhood pranks of Krishna and
explained their significance. That has refreshed you, as I can see, for you felt them and
experienced them. Raama is the embodiment of Truth and Dharma and so there is a sternness
about Him but Krishna is Prema and His story confers Aanandha quickly and spontaneously to
one and all. The prema in the human heart responds to the call of that Divine Prema; it surges up
and overflows.
Krishna came with the Yogashakthi (Balaraama), as His Brother and Maayaashakthi (Maayaa) as
His Sister. That is how Mahaashakthi (Supreme Power) gets born. Devaki, the mother, could not
take in the splendour of the divine form, with all its inseparable glory, and so the child had to be
transferred at His own request to Yasodha, who had prayed that she should be favoured with the
privilege of being the foster-mother of the Lord! Sparshan or contact with the Divine is said to
confer the boon of liberation from the bonds of karma; so, when the infant Krishna was taken by
Vaasudheva's hands, the chain that bound them fell off; the bolts flew from the prison door, the
locks opened of themselves; when he moved on towards the river Yamuna, the floods parted in
front of him.
Love of the Gopees is beyond physical awareness
In the divine story, you will observe one special fact; no incident is unconnected with the rest, no
happening is without significance. For example, Parashuraama exterminated the Kshathriya
rulers of his time by systematic campaigns directed against each. How then, why then, did
Dasharatha and Janaka survive? The truth of the matter is: Parashuraama made two exceptions
under which his victims could save themselves and survive. This secret was known only to these
two survivors. He had resolved within himself that he would not kill a bridgegroom or a person
engaged in a yaaga So, whenever Parashuraama reached the frontiers of their kingdoms and was
on the point of crossing them, Janaka got himself initiated in preparation for a yaaga (ceremonial
sacrifice in which oblations are presented) and Dasharatha fitted himself out as a bridgegroom
about to wed another princess. Of course, this was according to the Divine Plan, for Dasharatha
had to live to get Daasharathi and Janaka had to discover Jaanaki.
The Love of the gopees (milk-maids of Dwaaraka) about which so much philosophical
speculation and analysis was made before you is, let Me tell you, Sahaja prema---the genuine
prema that is beyond physical awareness, that is unaffected by praise or blame. It is not like the
thin filament of oil floating on water, which comes off on the finger when it is touched. It is like
the lotus stalk, which penetrates deep down through all the layers of water into the soil
underneath; but the leaf floats above, unaffected by the water which gives it the essential
environment. Man should struggle similarly to rise above the sensory world which is his
inevitable environment; the sensory world tempts you to strive for this triviality and that, but like
the gopees, you should discard the hankering and fix your eye on the vitally precious fountain of
joy. The gopees had no other goal, no other ideal, no other wish. It was a surrender of the self---
complete unquestioned, unwavering.
Sai will not tolerate hatred among devotees
Let me tell you of a devotee, a woman in a small Maharashtra village who lived in the last
century. She went through even the little details of life in this spirit of dedication. Walking was
to her a pilgrimage; talking was japam. Even when she threw off a ball of cowdung after
applying it over the floor used by her husband to keep his dining plate while eating, she said and
felt Krishnaarpanam---"May this be an offering to Krishna!" Her thapas (penance) was so
sincere that the cowdung reached Krishna and struck to Krishna's idol in the village temple every
day!
The priest saw the mysterious defilement; he was amazed, he was lost in terror; he cursed
himself that he had lived to see that ignominy daily, about noon, the idol being defiled by the
same size of cowdung. He hung his head in shame. As he walked along, keeping the disturbing
phenomenon all to himself, one day, he heard that particular lady exclaim, "Krishnaarpanam" as
she, like many other housewives, threw the tell-tale cowdung ball. He suspected; he noted the
timings, the quantity, the material etc., until he was convinced that she was the culprit for the
disfiguration of Krishna, the difilement of that liveliness. Then he beat her so severely that her
arm that threw the dung was fractured.
When he returned triumphantly to the temple expecting to be profusely blessed by the Lord for
punishing the wicked woman, he was shocked to find Krishna's right arm fractured and bleeding,
exactly like the saint's arm! The poor fellow wept in his agony and said, "I beat her only through
love of you; she spoilt your charm, Oh Lord." Krishna replied, "You must love all whom I love,
remember." Here too, I want that you should so behave, or at least love yourself, that is to say,
love your own better self and 'best interests.' I will not tolerate envy or malice or hatred among
devotees; nor will I allow you to hate yourselves or think of yourselves as mean or weak.
Disturbing the faith of others is treason
A word to the men who are gathered here: you must live up to the glory of your inner purity and
strength. You come from distant places at great expense but you bring with you all your habits
and prejudices, your proclivities and preferences; without making any effort to purify them, to
suit the holy place which you have sought. Here too you seek and secure the company to which
you are accustomed; namely, the company of the factious, the envious and the wordly. Come to
Me with mean desires and you will be disappointed! I will not worry if you do not come again. If
you destroy or disturb the faith of others or the devotion of others, it is ingratitude, treason; it is
like pouring glowing cinders on a heap of flowers.
If the child gives up its mother, how can it grow? Keep attached to God, so that you may grow.
Do not clip off the sprouts of faith in your heart or in the hearts of others. It is that Faith that
gives poignancy to the yearning for God and which wins ready response. Raamamuurthy, who is
here, called out "Swamee" in that poignant sincerity when his wife's saree was in flames; she was
too frightened to call Me. That call took Me to Aukiripalli and, though only a quarter of the saree
was left unburnt, she was saved.
Cheats who trade on the faith of devotees
Talking of faith, I must issue a warning. Many people are collecting money in various places
using My Name for various purposes like arranging receptions, building temples, doing puuja
etc. That is unauthorised and against My wish and command. Do not yield to such requests and
encourage this practice, which I condemn. Then there is another set of people who trade on your
faith. They advertise that I have 'possessed' them; that I am 'talking' through a medium or a stove
(!) or some other thing. Treat all such people and their agents or brokers as you treat cheats; if
you do not treat them so, then you are also accomplices in the cheating process.
There are others who gather groups of followers and admirers and collect money exhibiting mine
idol or image that has been 'given' by Me or advertising mine other sign of My Grace. Some of
them even declare "Baaba sent me to you to take from you some money" or "Baaba has given me
this" or "Baaba blessed me specially thus and thus" and then ask for your help or your praise or
your purse! I ask you to chastise all thee types of men and turn them away---whoever they are.
Prashaanthi Nilayam, 25-11-1962

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52. Grief and God
MANY things have happened here since 3-30 p.m. when you all gathered. The programme
began with the Burra Katha (folk-tale) on Paarvathi kalyaanam (marriage) by the girl students of
the Saadhuvamma High School and it ended with the kalyaanam of Krishna, described by
Veerabhadra Shaasthry. In the middle, Ganapathi Shaasthry told you of the origin and meaning
of the Sanaathana (ancient) social order, as laid down in the Vedhas and the Shaasthras. Out of
the many plausible interpretations of the Shaasthras, you are prone to attach yourselves to the
one that pleases your own prejudices; so it is essential to hear such Pandiths who know the
authentic meaning and who will not deviate from it in order to make the exposition popular.
Listening to such talks should not end with shravanam (listening) only; follow it up with
mananam (rumination, digestion).
So also, with the talk on the Bhaagavatha, cogitate over it within the four walls of your puuja
room, sitting before the shrine and offering ritual worship. 'Do not treat the Bhaagavatha as a
chapter of ancient. "history; you can experience the thrill now, today, for ever. The Bhaagavatha
is for all time, for the elevation of human emotions in all climes and places. The Vedhas with
their meaningful rites and their deeply significant philosophy are valuable for all time. Once,
someone decided to worship the greatest. He fixed upon 'the earth, but the sea erodes the earth;
the sea too is not so great since Sage Agasthya drank it up; Agasthya is now a tiny star in the
broad sky; but the sky was just enough for one foot of the Thrivikrama form of the Lord; 'and the
Lord is enshrined in the heart of Bhaktha (devotee). So he concluded that the Bhaktha was the
greatest of them all!
Castes have no superiority or inferiority
Bhakthi (devotion) knows no caste; it saves all, ennobles all. Castes have no superiority or
inferiority according to the Vedhas. A sugar doll is all sugar. The hymn. of Purusha Suuktha
speaks of the four castes having come from four parts of His Body. The meaning is that all are
equally high born and equally important. The mouth cannot walk nor can the feet talk. It is the
voice that is obeyed and the arm that protects. Well, all those who felt (and follow the feeling)
that fighting is their righteous duty are Kshatriyas; all those who feel it their duty to study the
Vedhas and the Shaasthras are Braahmins---not those who feel it as their right!
Yesterday, I spoke a few words specially to the men. Today I shall speak to the women. Many of
you become so desperate and dejected that you bemoan your birth and welcome death. This is
very wrong. You cannot flee from your responsibility in the middle of your allotted task. It is a
sign of weakness and cowardice. After all, just think for a moment whether the rich are happy,
the strong are happy, the highly educated are happy or the clever are happy. No one is happy you
will find. If you must be happy, one of two things must happen. All your desires must be
fulfilled, or you should not have any desire. Of these, the reduction of desire is the easier path.
Become more steady in spiritual discipline
Take the troubles that come to you as tests and opportunities to learn non-attachment. It is the hot
summer that sends you to air-conditioning. Grief sends you to God. When a child dies, ask
yourself the question, "Is it for my sake that he was born?" He had his own destiny to fulfil, his
own history to work out. Gauthama Buddha's father was so overcome with grief when he saw his
son with a begging bowl in the street that he told him thus: "Every one of my ancestors was a
King: what misfortune is this that a beggar was born in this line?" Buddha replied, "Every one of
my ancestors had a beggar's bowl; I know of no king in my line." The father and the son walked
different paths, travelled along divergent routes. The blood of the son when transfused may
prove fatal to the father.
Another point: you should all become more steady and regular in your saadhana (spiritual
effort). You must curb the propensity to indulge in inane jabber and idle curiosity. Follow the
discipline laid down for the Prashaanthi Nilayam and become examples for the new-comers!
This applies to the men also. You will have noticed that I do not address you as "Bhakthulaara"
(dear devotees) at any time. For, to get that name, bhaktha, you must have dedication,
unwavering faith and steady discipline.
When the Nirguna Niraakaara (Attributeless and Formless) is available here and now as Saguna
Saakaara (with Attributes and Form), you must use every moment to earn His Grace.
You do not realise your unique good fortune. In the years to come, people will revere you, for
you had a chance that millions could not get; they will worship your pictures in their shrines!
Live and love in such a way that you may deserve that honour.
Prashaanthi Nilayam, 26-11-1962
For Naamasmarana, no expense is involved; no materials are
needed; there is no special place or time to be provided. No
qualification of scholarship or caste or sex has to be proved.
When a bit of iron is rubbed to and fro on a slab of stone, heat is
generated; only, the rubbing has to be vigorous and continuous.
When you do so at intervals and with poor pressure, the iron will
not get hot. So, too, in order to get sufficient heat to melt the soft
heart of the Lord, in order to get sufficient heat to melt the soft
heart of the Lord, rub the name Raam Raam Raam Raam
vigorously and unintermittently. Then, the Lord will shower His
Grace.
If you devote but two minutes and a half in the morning and
another two minutes and a half in the evening the little heart will
cool off twice a day and His heart will not melt.
Sathya Sai Baaba