Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

The ever auspicious Lord The manifest form of Om, the one who has come to teach, The One who churns for butter, the hearts and minds of men, The Friend, the charmer, the liberator from blinding bondage, The Comforter of those who clamour and pray, the Destroyer of currents that drag,

The Consoler of torn hearts, like the moon so cool, The Derider of Pride, the Healer, curing birth and death, The Lotus-eyed, the Negator of Time, Himself the process and the play of Time,

The Thief who steals for Himself the pure minds of the good, Beauty embodied, the child of Dhevaki, Vasudheva, Son of Vasudhev,

The glory of the Yadhu race, is here, with you, beside you. THE man who is unable to imbibe true wisdom which broadens the mind, and to explore the inner truth about life, cannot promote the welfare of the world. The well-being of the world depends on the well-being of society and the latter depends on the welfare of individuals. All these are mutually interdependent. They are integrally related to one another. Hence the need for individuals in society to be truthful in thought, word and deed. The spiritual principle dearly warns those who mouth slogans of peace but indulge in acts inimical to peace. Human life can be truly understood only in the context of harmony and co-operation. For this to be realised, one must engage oneself in service to society. Such service is rooted in spiritual faith.

Man today is exploring outer space, but does not know the truth about himself. Those who cannot know their own true nature cannot accomplish much. They cannot perceive the Real. And without perceiving the Real, they cannot realise Anandha (Divine Bliss). There is nothing that man cannot achieve, but before attempting anything he must recognise his powers, role and purpose in life. As long as he is bound by ignorance of his true nature, he cannot escape from sorrow.

The Cosmos, as has been said before, is a manifestation of the Will of the Divine. To realise the Divine, however, it is not necessary to explore Prakrithi (creation). Everything in the universe is subject to change, impermanence and disappearance. How, then, does it acquire such importance of value? This is because of the Jeevis (the human beings) without whom the universe will be valueless. Here is a small example. In cities like Madras, Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta there are millions of people. In these cities land costs hundreds of rupees per square metre. But, for the same price one can buy many acres of land in a jungle. Why is land so costly in cities? It is because of the density of population in them. In a forest, remote from human aggregations, land has little value.

Man is the most valuable being in the Universe. He is also the creator of all values. The goldbearing ore that is mined from the earth acquires value after it has been extracted and refined by human effort. Likewise the rough diamond that is got from a mine becomes extremely valuable after it is cut and shaped by man. Immersed in worldly concerns and looking upon material things as the source of happiness, men become victims of unhappiness. The material world can only produce sorrow. Man must turn away from the material to the Divine. Involvement with the mundane should yield place to the quest for Self- realisation.

Life is like a tangled skein of yarn. The more you try to unravel it, the more tangled it becomes. Life is like a tank infested with crocodiles. It is difficult to cross it avoiding the crocodiles. But it has to be done. Life is like a block of ice that is continually melting away. Before it melts completely, the truth has to be realised. People believe that man is controlled by navagrahas (the nine planets). But he is in fact the creature of two evil planets, Raga (Attachment) and Dhwesha (Hatred).

Life is a short play on the stage. This body is like a bubble. The mind is always fickle. In the Geetha, Arjuna confesses to 'Krishna that the mind, which is constantly vascillating, is difficult to control. Nevertheless, man has to concentrate on his true destination. What is this destination, the goal and the aim of life? The Bhagavatha and the Bhagavath-geetha have made this clear. Our destination is the source from which we came. As long as the individual is caught up in the Prakrithi (phenomenal world), his mind will be unsteady and vacillating. As long as there is life in the body it is Shivam (sacred). Once life goes out, it is nothing. The Vedhic declaration, "Soham" ("He is I") is demonstrated by the inhaling done during breathing. When you exhale and utter "Aham," you are giving up the "I". "So-ham" proclaims the identity of the individual and the Divine ('I am He'). This identity will not be understood as long as one is caught up in the tentacles of the material world.

This is the truth about God. If one asks, "Where is that God?" the answer is given in the 18th canto of the Bhagavath-geetha in Stanza 61. Krishna has declared there: "Eeshwarahsarvabhuuthanam hriddheshe" (The Lord resides in the heart region of all beings). We study the Geetha. We adore it. There is daily recitation, but no practical application in daily life. The one who realises his identity with the Divine will not cause hurt to any one. Service to the public is true worship of God. The power of the divine permeates everything. Our journey is from the individual to the Universal from 'Swam' (mine) to 'So-ham' (oneness with God), from 'I' to 'we'. The effulgent Sun can be seen only with his own light. Similarly, only by the grace of the Divine can one obtain a vision of the Divine. No skill, intellectual effort or scholarship is required to experience the Divine. Just as clouds may obscure the Sun, the clouds of egoism, attachment and hatred prevent one from seeing the Divine. Prayer and sadhana are the means by which these clouds are dispersed. Sadhana (spiritual discipline) is the royal road to reach the Divine. The human make-up is a mixture of good and bad traits. One in whom the good traits predominate, tends to see only the good in others. Those who have equal-mindedness see the good and bad qualities impartially. It is necessary therefore to cultivate good qualities.

Whether one does good or bad acts, there is no escape from their consequences. Knowing this, our ancients always sought what was good and auspicious. This is the meaning of the worship of Shiva. When we speak of Shiva Rathri, we refer to the night that is associated with Shiva, that is, an auspicious night.

Shivam means that which is auspicious. The Shiva principle is totally free from anything that is inauspicious or unholy in any circumstance. When incarnations like Rama and Krishna appear in human bodies, they have some inauspicious associations related to their bodies. Although they incarnate for the purpose of saving the world, protecting the devotees and uplifting humanity, they have to shed their bodies sometime or other. Hence in the name of such avathars, the honorific 'Sri' is prefixed to indicate the sacredness of their advent. But for Shiva no such appellation is needed because Shiva transcends corporeal limitations. Unlike Sri Rama or Sri Krishna there is no "Sri Shiva" or "Sri Shankara". Shiva or Shankara is always auspicious. The realisation of oneness with Shiva means the attainment of immortality. "Chandhrama manaso Jathah," says the Purusha Shuktha (The mind arose from the moon). The Moon has sixteen digits. Likewise the mind has sixteen digits. On Shivarathri night, fifteen of the Moon's sixteen digits are invisible, and only one digit can be seen. The mind also is in the same state. If during Shivarathri one meditates on God, one can achieve nearness to the Divine. Supreme sacredness of Shivarathri consists in realising oneness with the Divine through meditation on God.

What you deny is the Reality; only the Divine exists. The world is the unreal. Forgetting the Real, men are lost in the pursuit of the transient. The world must be viewed as the reflected image of the Divine. All acts must be done as an offering to the Divine. True devotees of God should not attach any importance to differences of religion, caste or sect. These are merely differences in name and form. Realising that the sacred Shiva principle is present in everyone, the devotee should not look down upon anyone or cause harm to others. Dr Chenna Reddy spoke about greatness of the name "Samba Sadhashiva." Sa + Amba + Sadhashiva represent the union of the Universal Divine Mother and the Universal Divine Father, who are eternally auspicious. Sambashiva is the embodiment of the Shiva-Shakthi union. The world may change, but the Shiva principle is unchanging. The same union of the Universal Divine Mother and Father is represented by the name and form of "Sai Baba."