Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Every item of creation in this world has some distinctive feature and a character of its own. If any item in this world gives up this distinctive aspect, it will destroy itself. Here are some examples for this. Fire has the ability and quality to burn. Water has the ability to flow. Man has got the quality of human nature, and an animal has the quality of being a brute. When the ability to burn disappears, you cannot call it fire. When the ability to flow disappears, you cannot call it water. When the inner vision or the basic human nature disappears, you cannot call him a man. When the external vision or the brute nature disappears, you cannot call it an animal. Here we see that for everything there is an inherent quality, and this constitutes the life for that particular item. To have an inner vision is the natural quality of a human being. By its very definition, an animal can look only externally. One may, in form, be a human being; but if he has only external vision and is unable to see within himself, he cannot be called a human being. He will be called an animal. Because a prescribed quality is being exhibited or worn as a cloak by each one of these items, this quality is also being called its dharma. This dharma takes many different forms. When any one item exceeds the natural dharma or quality characteristic of itself and promotes something in excess, then that will be referred to as an attempt to promote dharma. Just as by effort, a student in a particular class can be promoted to a higher class, an individual by promoting his own natural dharma and giving attention to something higher and nobler can earn promotion to a higher level. A lifeless piece of iron can be converted to a set of several useful implements by successive heat treatments.

Out of a piece of iron which has not been properly treated, and therefore worth only a few annas, by making suitable changes, we can produce a watch which is worth 300 rupees. You should notice here that it is the samskara, or the change that we give to the substance, that brings the value to it and not the inherent value of the untreated material. As in this analogy, an ordinary and unsophisticated human being can, by seeking the company of elevated beings, get an opportunity of elevating himself to the position of a Paramahamsa (Realised sage). Man’s mind aspires to get such sacred wisdom through the use of the sensory organs. In such a situation, because the mind is not able to distinguish between the good and bad, the intelligence comes forward and puts itself ahead of the mind for the purpose of distinguishing good from bad. Even the intelligence cannot, by its own accord, decide between the good and the bad; but it is able to make a judgement of everything that is put before it. In the case of a judge, we know that he will decide between right and wrong only on the basis of facts that are put before him. As in this analogy, the nature of intelligence is such that it can decide between good and bad only on the basis of facts that are put before it; and it cannot go outside the facts. Conduct and practice of dharma is the quality of the mind; and the decision between good and bad, on the basis of facts put before it, is the quality of intelligence. But in the world today, this kind of intelligence can be classified into four different categories. These are - the first is a selfish type, the second is a selfish-selfless type, the third is a purely selfless type, and the fourth is based upon Atma. The first category is always thinking of what is good for one’s own self and makes a decision of being good for one’s own self. It is like the intelligence of a crow. This is very common today, and we find this category in large numbers in the world.

The second category partly selfish and partly selfless - will think of the good of one’s own self along with the good of others. This appears as the ordinary way of life. The third category, which may be described as selfless intelligence, always thinks of others and will think of the kind of happiness that he wants for himself as also the kind of happiness that others must get. The kind of sorrow that he wants to get rid of is also the sorrow that he wants others to get rid of. So long as you feed and look after a dog, it will follow the master. So long as you give a salary to a servant, he will be with you and serve you. If you do not show affection, do not give food, and beat a dog with a stick, even a dog will bite you. Similarly if you do not look after the servant well, and if you push the servant to a distance, the servant will stop serving you. In the same manner, when you wish good for others, you will get good for yourself, and when you wish ill for others, you will get ill for yourself. In that context, realising that the human body is given to you for the sake of causing benefit to others, this third category of persons will always be trying to do good to others. This has been described as the kind of buddhi (intelligence) which is all the time doing and thinking of doing good to others.

The fourth category - the Atma Buddhi is always concerned with the aspect of dharma and the necessity for safeguarding dharma. He always thinks of himself as a messenger of God; and forgetting his own selfish interests, he always thinks of sacrifice and does good to the rest of the world. In this category only truth has the right to make a decision as to what is good and what is bad. Others have no right to make such a decision. It is in this context that our Sruthis have stated Sathyam nasthi paro Dharmaha (There is no dharma other than truth). It is because of truth that the sun and moon are shining. It is because of truth that the earth is revolving round itself. It is because of truth that the world is going on in the way in which it is going on. Truth is the basis of everything. But today man has no faith in truth and does not want truth. The one thing that man does not like today is truth. He is always taking a backward step even in regard to finding out and getting the truth regarding himself. He is afraid of coming to know such truth.

How then can such a man, who is afraid of truth within himself, take to the path of truth? On the platform we speak, like a parrot, words like truth, prema (love), ahimsa (non-violence); and in our daily life we do not have faith in truth, we do not practise ahimsa, and we do not follow the path of buddhi. In that context, the young people of today must learn to put into practice these words and not simply utter them in a meaningless way.

Man’s life depends upon three things - his words, his thoughts, and his deeds. Whatever desires one gets, one will exhibit them and take them to his mind. For getting a thought, mind is the basis. The thought that comes to your mind will be exposed to the world as the word of the mouth. Once you utter this word of your mouth and expose the thought that has come to your mind, in order that you put it into practice, action comes on. It is only when there is a harmony between this thought, word, and action that man will be in a position to recognise his own true nature. When one is able to put these three - thought, word, and action along Students!

the right path, then do we earn punya (merit from good deeds); but if we put them along the wrong path, then we will earn sin. We come to the clear conclusion that for good and bad, the three basic things are thought, word, and deed. In order, therefore, to purify our thoughts, words, and action, we should undertake some kind of sadhana (spiritual practice). We should make the right attempt to bring about the harmony between thought, word, and deed. This is what was meant when they said that the proper study of mankind is man.. There is a necessity for us to enquire whether this kind of human nature is present today or not.

The cost of all items in this world is going on increasing, but the value of man is going on decreasing. Because man has not got the fortune to understand the real value of human nature, he himself is acting in a manner causing the value of a human being to come down day after day. In the very first instance, we must make an attempt to purify and ennoble the thoughts that come to our mind. When thoughts come surging to your mind, you should spend at least a few minutes enquiring whether such thoughts are good thoughts or bad ones, and whether they are for the good of your country, and whether they are going to be helpful or not to the community around you.

As soon as thoughts come to your mind, you must make an attempt to spend time and decide whether those thoughts are good or bad. If they are bad thoughts, you must immediately put them aside; and if they are good thoughts, you must make an attempt to promote them. When a thorny plant is seen, it is removed the moment it is recognised as a thorny plant; but when a good fruit tree comes up, we try to take care of it and promote its growth. In the same manner, in the field of your heart, as soon as bad ideas sprout, you must pull them out and throw them away. As the seeds grow into a big tree, man also must try to grow and become Madhava (God) ultimately. For both these paths, our own qualities have the basic responsibility. Whether in lifeless matter or in living matter, the promotion of good qualities will depend on the way in which you promote and nurture those qualities. Everything that is born in this world must change. Change is a natural quality of all things that are born in this world. How can things that change from moment to moment give permanent happiness to people? Permanent happiness and bliss can be got only from permanent things and not from changing things. Today, in the very first instance, we should make the necessary attempt to make sacred the thoughts that come to our mind. The young people of today get all kinds of meaningless thoughts into their minds. For those who get these meaningless ideas and thoughts, sacred ideas will be of great help. Man has no rest and peace. Man who is suffering from such an anguish can be helped very much by his entertaining such sacred ideas. Our sacred thoughts have prescribed a Karma Kanda, the path of work, by practising which, we will be able to generate good ideas and sacred thoughts. Our body has not been given to us for only eating in the morning, afternoon and evening. The body of ours must be sanctified by doing good work at prescribed times. Time, action and duty should be regarded as man’s primary responsibility.

From time immemorial, there have been sacred sayings in our ancient texts; and it is not appropriate for us to forget these and not pay any heed to such sacred things. If we make our thoughts, words, and deeds sacred, there can be no better way for man’s emancipation. If each student asks himself the question as to why he is going through the process of education, he will get the answer that it is for securing such and such a degree or for securing such and such a job or authority; and he will, all the time, think of what he will get in return as a result of the education and degrees that he is seeking. This cannot be the right attitude of a student. For him, the right attitude should be to ask himself how his degree will be of use to the community and the country in which he lives, or how he can be of use to others. Life should be a process of give and take, and it should not be a one-way traffic with you being at the receiving end always. All the different branches in education, unfortunately, look as if they have no essence in them. They appear as things which are simply enabling us to just carry on in this world. Good education must be such that it covers both worldly and spiritual matters. Out of education comes humility, and out of such humility comes the right to acquire good qualities and from such a right, you will be able to acquire wealth. Once you acquire wealth, you will be able to follow the path of dharma; and once you follow the path of dharma, you will be happy in this world as well as in the spiritual world.

Do not be under the impression and illusion that your education is for the sole purpose of begging for a livelihood. Remember that the education that you get should enable you to do some good to the community that you live in, and the world that you are born into. Just as there is a flash of lightning in the sky whenever clouds gather in the sky, so also, where there is education, there should be wisdom like a streak of lightning. When such sacred wisdom shines in the clouds of your heart, then only will your education enable you to do some good and be of some service to other people.

Today we regard education as just that which we learn in a school or a college or a university. No, this is not right. The entire universe is a place of education for us. Whether it is a workman, or an agriculturist, or a businessman, there are so many things that he has to learn in this world. In fact, every moment in this world we are learning so many things irrespective of what our profession is. In fact, in our lives that kind of education which goes under the name of general knowledge is very essential. Here is a small example. Let us take the case of a student who has taken an M.A. degree and marries a girl who has taken a B.A. degree. In due course, they have a son. If this son gets a cold or a fever, they will be in a terrible confusion not knowing what to do. They will take the son and run to a hospital. If you have not got the courage and the capacity to handle a situation in which your child gets sick, what is the use of an M.A. degree or the B.A. degree that you acquire. The meaning of this is that in your daily life, if you want to meet a situation and face it, you do not have to take an M.B.B.S. degree; but you have to acquire general knowledge in addition to the knowledge in your own subject. The very first thing that the student has to understand is what is essential for him in his daily life. Let us ask ourselves a question. If we want to acquire a B.A. degree, we can purchase text books, read in our house and pass the examination. For this, why should we go to a college? By going to a college, you have the company of students of different types, we have different attitudes; and by being with them, you get the necessary discipline by which you can face and find solutions to situations which you might face. While you will get a pass by getting marks in subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Zoology or Botany, there is something else which constitutes the basis of all these subjects and that basis is discipline. If you do not get the necessary qualifications in this broad subject, there is no use of getting marks in a specialised subject. Our students should take care of this aspect. It does not matter even if you do not get marks, but you should have the proper discipline and see that you do not earn remarks. You should make an attempt to respect your teachers. You should make an attempt to satisfy your teachers by your behaviour and conduct.

Prahlada had said that one who teaches you the very basis of education is the real teacher, and one who tells you that all that you have to do is to reach the divinity of God, is the true father. Such is the teacher and such is the father that you have to seek. But unfortunately, today neither such teachers nor such fathers are available to you. Teachers of today are themselves not following the correct path, and accordingly, the students who learn from such teachers are also not following the correct path. Both are really deceiving the community in which they live. In this young age of yours, while you are still in your youth, the kind of sacred thoughts that generate in your mind and the sacred experiences that you go through will determine the future for you. A young lad by name Mohandas Karamchand attended the drama of Harishchandra, whereby he learnt the importance of truth. He went back to his mother and told her that he would stick to truth in his later life, and by sticking to truth, Mohandas Karamchand evolved into being known as Mahatma Gandhi. Even in those days, there were teachers who wanted to put Gandhi on the wrong path. When the teacher tried to put him on the wrong path, Gandhiji did not yield. He stuck to the truth, and because of this, he ultimately succeeded even though it meant disobeying his teachers.

Maybe today some teachers will try to give you the wrong path; but if your conscience tells you that it is the wrong path, then it is better for you to disobey the orders of the teacher and follow the right path. The kind of pictures that we witness today, and the kind of dramas that we see today, or the kind of wall posters that we see are such that they cause distortions in your mind and destroy the very human nature and the sweetness of your heart. Because of the destructive nature of what you see, you are getting such bad ideas. The pure, unwavering, and clean minds of people are being changed and spoiled by the atmosphere around us. The kind of attraction is very transient and can never be true. Such artificial attractions can cause great harm to us. This is responsible for several accidents that occur. Because there are several such things that happen in your daily life, there is a necessity for me to tell you about these common incidents. Some persons, either to go to a library, or to a college, or to fulfil some other duty, go on the motorcycle in the bazar. In such a situation, the person who is driving the motorcycle must keep his attention on driving and must ensure that he reaches his destination without harming others. He should concentrate on reaching his destination safely. But the person concerned is not accepting and following this duty. He goes on his motorcycle at a great speed and he does not have his attention on driving. His attention is directed towards the wall posters and he gets involved in an accident by hitting against a car or another automobile. The only result of this attracting wall poster is harm.

There is a necessity, at this point, for me to narrate an incident which actually took place. In Kerala, the bus accidents used to be very large in number. This issue was taken to the assembly and several people pointed out the reasons for this large incidence of accidents. Following the advice given by the people, the government followed many approaches but still the accidents were not reduced. When I visited Trivandrum and went to the house of a responsible person, he asked me the question, why, in spite of all that they had done, were accidents not reduced? I gave a seemingly trivial advice. Immediately this advice was followed, all the accidents stopped. In the Kerala state, women made a special appeal to the authorities that they should be given reserved seats in the front area of the bus, just behind the driver, so that they may travel comfortably and avoid the jolting that one gets in the rear seats of the bus. Because of this, all the time the driver was looking in the mirror to see these ladies and hence accidents occurred in large numbers. You can see how such a foolish attraction by the driver was causing so much harm.

In man’s mind today, he is giving room for and promoting foolish thoughts. In the minds of young men, who are the future citizens of this country, such thoughts are coming and they are becoming traitors to their own country. Today you call yourselves students, but in fact you are not seeking Vidya, you are seeking material pleasure.

You should set aside imitation and you should develop your own inner strength. Whether it is in our conduct and behaviour or in the way in which we dress and talk, all seems to depend on imitation. You have a life of your own, you have desires of your own, and you have a mind of your own; but by imitating and following the mind and actions of someone else, you simply turn yourself into a slave. You are an independent person. Where does this come from and what is the meaning of swatantra (freedom)? You have freedom of thought or swechha. This word swechha comes from a combination of “Swa” and “Ichha.” You follow the dictates of your own desires but never undertake to follow the desires of others. Introspect well on your desires and think carefully; and if you feel that it is good, follow it; but if you think that it is bad, give it up. But man today does not take such a step. He is ever ready and is always attempting to imitate others.

What you see with your own vision cannot represent the ultimate truth. Your vision is looking at the entire creation. When the whole creation constitutes what you see, then you change yourself into the one who sees. When the eye itself becomes what is seen, then your intelligence becomes that which sees. There is an example for this. You are all sitting in this congregation. Your ears are here. Your eyes are here. If at this instant of time, your mind is thinking about something in your village, then even while you are here and while your ears are here, you will not be able to listen to what Swami is speaking. Even though you have your eyes here, you will not be able to see what is in front of you. Thus, while the mind is elsewhere, even if the sensory organs are here, they cannot function as one who sees or one who hears. But sometimes even the mind is seen and the intelligence becomes the seer. In some cases and instances, even the intelligence becomes the seer and the Atma becomes the seer. Thus what witnesses everything is the Atma and nothing is superior to this. Intelligence is useful to you as seer only with regard to worldly matters, and intelligence is indeed very superior to the sensory organs.

There is a small story to illustrate this. In a village, a blind man and a lame man become friends. The blind man had legs and the lame man had eyes. The lame person sat on the shoulders of the blind person. The lame person was serving the purpose of seeing the passage and steering the blind person. The blind person had his legs, and he was using his legs to move about. In this way they were moving and begging. They were moving from village to village in this manner. In the middle of their journey, the lame man saw a heap of large cucumbers. He said, “Dear brother, if we can stray a little and go to the left, there are many cucumbers there; and we can collect some cucumbers and then go our way.” The blind man said that if there are so many cucumbers, it is not likely that they are unprotected. Just think a little before we go near the plant. The lame man then said that there does not appear to be any fence or protection. The blind man then suggested the possibility of a watchman keeping watch over the plants. The lame man then said that there was neither a fence nor a watchman keeping watch over the cucumbers. He wanted to go and eat the cucumbers. The blind man then said that if they were truly good cucumbers, would they be left in such large numbers in an unguarded manner? They are surely likely to be bitter cucumbers unfit for eating. Indeed here, the intelligence has worked and the sensory organs have not worked. When they tasted the cucumbers, they were found to be indeed bitter. It is obvious from this story that intelligence is superior to sensory organs. Atma is superior even to intelligence. Following the dictates of the ultimate Atma it is called Svechha. We have changed this word into freedom a kind of freedom that is enjoyed by an animal.

We all have the form of a manava (man). We have the form of a human being. We have the superior intelligence and even after using this intelligence, we still conduct our lives in an inferior way. That cannot be the true nature of human beings. Your desires and thoughts should reach the level of being sacred and good. You should look upon the whole world as a conglomeration of brothers and sisters. In the human family, you should understand and experience this brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God. This should be the spirit of all human beings. Only on that day when you are able to practise and proclaim these ideals to the world can we say that you have re-established the glory of this country. Our Vedas and Sastras have given us the answers to questions like how a man should live, how a man should conduct himself, and how he should die.

Birth is not the important thing for man. He should promote a good mind and good thoughts throughout his life and should have it at the time of death. To man, death is more important than birth. Your rebirth is determined by the type of death that you get. If you want a good rebirth and a good life in the next birth, you must also desire a good death. We should not die an uncared for death like a death of a dog.

We should not devote our life to fulfilling meaningless and sensory desires. Our sensory organs should become our slaves, but we should not become slaves to our sensory organs. The day we become slaves to our sensory organs, we will become slaves to the whole world. If we become slaves to our own sensory organs, what kind of strength can we claim? We should be masters to our servants, but should not become servants to our servants. Today, we should make an enquiry as to whether we are living in our house as a master or as a servant. The servant of the house can know and will be able to tell you where certain external things are present in the house. But the master of the house will know where the valuable things are kept in addition to knowing the articles of daily use. He knows where each of the valuable things is locked up. Today, we talk of many things which are external to ourselves but we are unable to take or recognise the valuable spirit that is present inside of our hearts. In that context, we are living like a servant of the house of the body rather than as a master of the body. If we are really the master of the house in which we are living, why is it that we are not aware of the good ideas and good thoughts that are present in us? God is not something present outside you. He is present inside you. Similarly sin is not something which is external to you. It is decided by your own action. The moment you realise these two truths, you will not be a servant to your sensory organs. They will be your servants.

The things that you listen to here must be proclaimed to the community and you must be prepared to put them into practice. If you want the lamp to shed light on all places, then you should keep the lamp at a height. If you put this light in a pit, how is it going to shed light around? So the sacred ideas in you should be put at a height, in an elevated place, so that the whole world can see them. You should not put them inside the pit of your heart and make them stagnant.

Our body is like a machine. We have the machine of a radio and through the radio we listen to several programmes. Where are these coming from? Is the radio generating them or are they generated elsewhere? These programmes are being generated in some other broadcasting station, and those programmes are being transmitted to us through the radio. The radio is not generating the programmes. Like this, when we listen to a person’s thoughts or ideas, we must realise that they are not coming from his mouth. They are being transmitted through him after they are generated from his heart. He only transmits them like a radio. There is an origin, there is a source from where these sounds are generated. Radio is only an instrument through which these sound waves are transmitted to us. The human body is like this radio. The source is the atma and all ideas and thoughts are being generated at this source, the atma. You may ask the question as to what are good thoughts and bad thoughts if they are all coming from the sacred atma. But why should you classify them as good and bad thoughts? In the process of tuning the radio, you are making a mistake. In this process, the thought that we want to listen to is something, and the station to which we tune is something different. Not only this, in order to enable us to listen to the right thing, the manner in which you make the tuning and the adjustment should also be proper. Our desire is one thing, and if our action is not in tune with that desire, we are having this difficulty. We want to listen to one station, and we tune to a different station. It means such sacred ideas which you want to promote and such sacred ideas which you want in your mind should guide your actions. That is, whatever you do must be to promote such sacred ideas. The ideas and thoughts will not be called good if they are good only to you. They will be called good only if they do good to the whole world.

In man, there are four kinds of desires that emanate. One aspect is to regard the faults of others and one’s own faults as being on the same footing and speak on that basis. Another aspect is to speak about the good that is in him and speak about the faults that are in others. The third aspect is to speak about the good in him as well as the good in the others. The fourth aspect is to claim the good that is not in him and speak about the faults that are not in others. This is the worst aspect of the whole lot. Today, we must make a determined effort to root out this fourth aspect. We must be prepared to put into practice the ideas that we want to proclaim to the world.

When Sankaracharya wanted to propagate his philosophy in the entire country, he did it with only four disciples. In each college, even if we get ten students who are willing to practise and proclaim these ideals to the rest of the world, that is enough. Every student should make an attempt to make this determination.

It is not as if there is no obvious reason for organising this summer course in Ooty. As soon as the summer vacation comes, it is customary for students to plan for different things, and they have many ideas. They want to have the pleasures of life in this vacation. Submitting oneself to these desires and wasting one’s time is one aspect. There are ample opportunities for the students, in the summer vacation, to misuse the facilities that they have. Wasting time is like wasting life. In order to make sure that you do not waste your time, we are making efforts to convert these holidays into holy days in this sacred place. In this sacred time, you should acquire sacred and good ideas and you should be prepared to communicate these ideas to others with whom you come into contact. From tomorrow we will take some specific topic like the Mahabharatha or the Bhagavatha or the Ramayana and will make it possible for you to have sacred ideas and thoughts. Today is your first day, and I have given whatever is necessary for you to lay a strong foundation for what you are going to get in the rest of the days. Without spending more time, I will bring the discourse to a close.