Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

EDUCATED persons did not seem to have any regard for moral values. They have no gratitude for those who helped them in times of need. They have no consideration for their kith and kin and do not hesitate to inflict harm on them. Students who have gone through many years of higher education are reported to have behaved in an unworthy manner. Educated young men and women do not behave like cultured human beings after a few months of married life. Many lead miserable lives. What is the value of an education which does not enable a man to do his duty by his wife and children?

The first requisite is the elimination of the bad.-. qualities prevailing among educated persons. They have to return to the path of morality and right conduct. Many educated persons have neither fear of sin nor love of God. Those who appear to be pious and god-loving have no genuine good qualities and by their external postures seem to be attempting to impose even on the Divine. It is this kind of hypocritical behaviour which is vitiating the atmosphere everywhere and promoting-disorder and confusion. Everyone should, therefore, embark upon getting rid of bad traits and implanting divine qualities. Man should realise the divine within. For this the path of love is the means.

Of the four Yugas - Kritha, Thretha, Dhwapara and Kali Yugas we are today in the Kali yuga (Iron Age). The Kritha yuga is said to have begun in the Vaishakha month; the Thretha yuga in the month of Karthika and the Dhwapara yuga in the month of Mrigasirsha. The ancients celebrated the days of the beginning of each yuga in an appropriate manner, with due ceremony. By efflux of time, with the decline in human qualities, the significance of these observances was forgotten and the Ugadhi day came to be observed only as the beginning of a new year in the almanac. Thus the beginning of the Kali yuga, which was originally in the month of Magha, came to be observed in Chaithra masa, when the Sun enters the Mesha (Ram) asterism and marks the beginning of a new year. The Ugadhi is not celebrated as in olden times. We have now only new year days based upon the position of the Sun or the Moon. The name of the new year is Rakthakshi. The name is obviously dreadful. Rakthakshi means bloodshot eye. It is only when one is filled with hatred and greed and wickedness that one's eyes turn red. But it is wrong to judge anything by the name only. The name may be attractive and sweet but the person may be quite different. A man with the name Dharmaraja (the King of righteousness) may be evil from head to foot. A person named Sundararaja (a prince of beauty) may be loathsome.

Rakthakshi bears a dreadful name, but the year is likely to prove a very peaceful one. The ruler for this year is Chandra (the Moon deity). His minister is Shukra. Moon and Shukra are well disposed towards each other. More than that, Suurya (the Sun), who is the presiding deity for food crops, is favourably placed. Suurya is capable of destroying everything and creating everything. This year, because of the Sun's position, there will be no lack of rains and there will be sufficient foodgrains.

Looking, however, at the world scene as a whole, there is fear about the likelihood of a disastrous war, because of conflicts between countries in different parts of the world. It is likely that peace may be affected in some areas, but there is no ground for apprehending any grave crisis. No major calamity appears likely this year. All godly persons should strive to promote the welfare of the world by their prayers and actions. There was a famous sculptor in Italy known as Michaelangelo. A friend of his found him one day chiselling a big piece of rock. The friend told him: "Why are you working so hard with this rock? Why don't you go home and take some rest.?" Michaelangelo replied: "I am trying to release the Divine that is in the rock. I wish to bring out of this lifeless stone the Living divinity that is embedded in it." If that sculptor could create out of an inanimate piece of stone a living Image of God, cannot human beings vibrant with life manifest the living Divinity that resides in them? What is the reason for this incapacity to realise the Divinity within? It is because we do not realise the soiled cover in which it is wrapped up. If our clothes get dirty, we change them because we are ashamed to appear in dirty garments. If our house, is dirty, we try to clean it so that visitors may not get a bad impression. But when our minds and our hearts are polluted, we do not feel ashamed. Is it not strange that we should be so much concerned about the cleanness of our clothes or our homes, but are not concerned about the purity of our hearts and minds which affect our entire life?

To purify our hearts and minds, the first thing we have to do is to lead a righteous life. Our actions must be based on morality. Indulging in abuse of others or inflicting pain on them is not a sign of human nature. The evil that we do to others ultimately recoils on us. Auspicious days like Ugadhi should be used for making resolutions to change our ways of life and to purify our behaviour by giving up all bad qualities. Discourse on Ugadhi, Thelugu New Year's Day,