Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

He who has understood the truth that Siva (God) and the Jiva (individual) are one and the same is the true Brahmajnani (one who has known the Brahman). Siva and Jiva are not different from each other, since the same divine Atmic principle is present in both. One who has realised this truth is a true human being. The objective of human life is to understand this truth.

One cannot be called a human being by his physical form alone. Human life is the noblest. Man must think how to lead his life in a befitting way. Man is called manava, meaning not new. But man has another name, Partha, which means Prithvi Puthra (son of Mother Earth). All the powers that are present in the earth are present in man also. None can visualise the powers that are latent in the earth. One can understand the presence of these powers by deep enquiry and investigation. These powers are infinite, unfathomable, and unrevealed. Man, since he is born of the earth, naturally has all these powers.

It is stated in the Mahabharata that the Pandavas spent twelve years in aranyavasa (exile) and one year in ajnathavasa (incognito), i.e. living amidst people without revealing their identity.

Likewise, though there are infinite powers in man, they are not revealed. These are known as ateeta shaktis (transcendental powers). These are psychic in nature and have been termed so by scientists. Man is thus a repository of enormous energy of various kinds, viz. light energy, electric energy, radiation energy, and above all energy of the Self (Atmic Shakti). But for this energy, man cannot eat, drink, move, laugh, or do anything for that matter. Man, though blessed with such powers, is forgetting the latent divinity and is leading the life of an animal. The reason for this is the perversion of buddhi (intellect). Our ancient epics like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata give many instances to illustrate this.

Krishna went to Hastinapur as an emissary to bring about a compromise between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Duryodhana, due to the perversion of his buddhi, did not pay heed to Krishna’s counsel. Though he knew what dharma was, he did not put it into practice. What happened to him ultimately? He ruined himself.

Similar was the case with Ravana. Though he was one of great penance and wisdom, he did not pay heed to the good counsel of his wife, Mandodari, and the teachings of Narada and other saints and sages. Ultimately, he too ruined his life. The same can be said of Hiranyakasipu. He was a great scientist. Modern scientists could reach only the moon, but Hiranyakasipu could go even beyond the sun and the stars. Such a great scientist did not adhere to dharma and ultimately met his doom.

Vali, on being questioned by the sages as to why he banished his own brother, Sugriva, from the kingdom, gave a concocted version of the truth, magnifying Sugriva’s mistake and concealing his own. Again, the reason was perversion of his buddhi.

In the Mahabharata, Amba put the entire blame of her predicament on Bhishma, ignoring her own folly, and developed hatred toward him. Similarly, Viswamitra developed enmity with Vasishta for no fault of the latter.

Great scientists also could not comprehend the reality and understand the difference between truth and untruth due to lack of the power of discrimination. Today, modern man considers truth as untruth, dharma as adharma, and vice versa. Since ancient times, Bharat (India) has given utmost priority to sathya (truth), dharma (righteousness), and nyaya (justice). In spite of knowing what is truth and righteousness, modern man is not adhering to them due to the perversion of his buddhi (intellect). Modern society is not able to protect dharma and control injustice.

Not merely that, man is forgetting the truth and distorting the meaning of dharma itself. He gives various contradictory definitions of sathya and dharma. Does the fault lie with sathya and dharma? No. The mistake lies in the manner in which the buddhi is utilised. That is why we pray to God to illumine our intellect, as stated in the Gayathri Mantra. Sincere prayer earns divine grace Ganapathi is the embodiment of buddhi (intellect) and jnana (wisdom). Truth emerges out of wisdom and ultimately leads to ananda (bliss). This is the teaching of Ganapathi. Where there is no truth, there can be no bliss. “Trikala badhyam sathyam (Truth is changeless in the three periods of time).” Dharma is also changeless in the three periods of time.

The injunction of the Vedas is: Sathyam vada, dharmam chara (speak the truth and follow dharma). But nobody pays heed to this dictum. Today, people misinterpret Truth as that which is expressed, seen, heard, and experienced by the senses. Similarly, dharma is also misinterpreted. This is in fact prakrita sathya and prakrita dharma (worldly truth and worldly dharma). This is related to the outward path (pravritti). The inward path (nivritti) is related to the fundamental truth and righteousness (sathya and dharma). But today no one seems to be taking cognisance of this, let alone practicing it. Vedokhilo dharma moolam. (The Veda is verily the basis of dharma).

God is the embodiment of sathya and dharma. So, whatever God says is sathya and whatever He does is dharma.

It is the primary duty of man to obey the command of the Lord. Disobeying the divine command amounts to transgressing the fundamental principles of sathya and dharma.

Truth is God. Today the world is in disarray because the principles of sathya and dharma are not scrupulously followed. Man feels proud of his medha shakti (intelligence). Greatness does not lie in merely possessing intelligence. It has to be converted into skill. Only then will there be balance in human life.

Man can acquire wisdom only when he converts his intelligence into skill. But due to the effect of Kali Age, man, instead of converting intelligence into skill, kills it. As a result, his buddhi (intellect) is perverted and there is imbalance in his life.

Under any circumstances, one should never disobey God’s command. The consequences will be disastrous if one were to disobey the divine command.

Sunlight enables man to perform various actions. Yet, the sun remains unaffected by what man does. It is just a witness. Likewise, God is the eternal witness. He is unaffected by what happens around. Clouds, which owe their existence to the sun, cover the sun itself. But that does not in any way diminish the brilliance of the sun. Similarly, God does not stand to lose anything if man, who owes his existence to God, derides Him. Man will certainly reap the consequences of his actions; God is not affected by them.

Just as the clouds originate from the sun, likewise, manas (mind), buddhi (intellect) and chitta (subconscious mind) are formed out of the Atma. Mind is responsible for all suffering, and even rebirth. So, mind has to be diverted toward God in order to escape from the cycle of birth and death.

One can overcome the evil effects of one’s actions by focusing one’s mind on God. Mountains of sin will vanish like mist by God’s grace. For every action, there is bound to be a reaction. But divine grace can provide an escape from the consequences of one’s karma.

In fact, one can rewrite one’s own destiny if one gets divine grace, as was the case with Markandeya. He was given only sixteen years of life span. But he was unaware of this until the night before he turned sixteen. That night, he found his parents full of sorrow. On asking, he was told that his end had approached, and that was the cause of their sorrow. He went to the temple of Easwara, hugged the Sivalinga, and prayed intensely. At the appointed hour, Yama (God of Death) cast his noose around the neck of young Markandeya. Since he was hugging the Linga, the noose fell around the Linga also. Easwara manifested and remonstrated Yama, “How dare you cast the noose around Me?” He cursed Yama to death. Pleased with the devotion of Markandeya, He blessed him with the boon of immortality. This only drives home the point that through sincere prayer, you can earn divine grace, which helps you to attain everything. God is not separate from you. He is present in your body. Body is the temple of God.

Newton wanted to know whether the creation had emerged on its own or whether an unseen force was governing it. He conducted extensive research for several years to know the truth. Ultimately, he gave up all the scientific experimentation and turned inward. Within a span of nine days, he realised that there a ‘divine hand’ was responsible for the entire creation, its sustenance, and its annihilation. Other scientists like Einstein, Schrödinger, etc., came to the same conclusion.

Many eminent modern scientists are also trying to find out the truth about the divine creative principle of the universe. They are not aware of the magnetic power and the electric power that are present in the human body, which is verily a small generator. The jataragni (digestive fire) is the source of heat energy in the body. Before partaking of food, you chant the sloka (verse):

Brahmarpanam Brahma Havir Brahmagnou Brahmana Hutham Brahmaiva Thena Ganthavyam Brahmakarma Samadhina.

Immediately, you get the reply from within:

Pranapana Samayukta Pachamyannam Chathurvidham.

God, who is present in you in the form of Vaishvanara, digests the four types of food that you eat. Jataragni, like a generator, is responsible for the electric power in the body. Human body is a conglomeration of different powers - heat, light, sound, electricity, etc. Unfortunately, such divine powers of body are wasted in pursuit of worldly comforts and luxuries.

Do not crave luxuries but bear with patience whatever comes your way, because whatever happens in life is good for you. Never be disheartened when faced with difficulties or sufferings in life. Have firm faith in the power of the Atma. One who recognises the power of the Atma will not suffer.

The panacea for all suffering is chanting God’s name. Have the firm conviction that you are God. Never be under the mistaken notion that God is the master and you are His slave. You do not have a master; you are the master. Master the mind and be a mastermind. Never forget God’ s name. Never be away from God’s love. Never leave truth and never forget dharma. With one-pointed concentration contemplate on God, nothing else matters in this world.

Many are under the illusion that they have achieved something great in life by amassing wealth, but they do not realise that they have to go empty handed when they leave this world. Do not get carried away by this illusion (bhranthi). Do not waste your life in this illusion. You should understand the difference between Brahma (God) and bhrama (illusion).

The principle of unity in diversity is Brahma, and viewing multiplicity in unity is bhrama.

Nations are many, but earth is one; Stars are many, but sky is one; Jewels are many, but gold is one; Cows are many, but milk is one.

This is how you should visualise unity in diversity. Try to understand the significance of the names Ganapathi, Vinayaka, and Vigneshwara. You are Ganapathi yourself. This morning, you all heard Susheela sing a song, “Adugaduguna gudi undhi (there is temple at each and every step).” Our body itself is a temple of God. “Deho devalaya proktho jeevo Deva sanathana (body is the temple and the indweller is God).” The jeevanajyothi (light of life) that is present in the body is Paramajyoti (the Supreme Light) itself. This light is not subject to change and cannot be extinguished.

The body is bound to perish one day or the other. The body may die, but not the mind. Such a mind has to be controlled. That is the true sadhana (spiritual exercise). You will not have any troubles if you offer your mind to God. Mind is very fickle. It is not steady even for a minute. So, it should be ever engaged in work. Only then can it be brought under control.

What work should you assign to the mind? Let the mind be a watchman at the gate of your nostrils. Let it observe what is going in and what is coming out. So is inhaled and Ham is exhaled. So symbolises that which is good (Divinity) and Ham stands for that which is bad (ego). Then the mind will understand that the Divinity has to be taken in and ego has to be given up. Mind is like a mad monkey. Unless it is kept busy, it will go according to its whims and fancies. The only way to keep a monkey busy is to make it go up and down a pole repeatedly. Likewise, the mind also has to be kept busy by contemplating on Soham Mantra.

Who is Ganapathi? He is the Adhipathi (master) of all ganas - five senses, five elements, and five life sheaths. The human body consists of five koshas (sheaths): annamaya kosha (food sheath), pranamaya kosha (life sheath), manomaya kosha (mind sheath), vijnanamaya kosha (wisdom sheath), and anandamaya kosha (bliss sheath). Man progresses only up to manomaya kosha. He is unable to go up to the sheaths of wisdom and bliss. Since Ganapathi is the master of all five koshas, one has to take refuge in Him in order to reach the state of bliss.

The elephant is known for its intelligence. Ganapathi is depicted as having an elephant’s head since He is very intelligent. Ganapathi is also known as Vinayaka, meaning one without a nayaka (master). He is the master of siddhi (spiritual attainments) and buddhi (intellect). So, one has to pray to Vinayaka in order to acquire siddhi and buddhi. You have to make proper use of your intelligence in order to earn the grace of Vinayaka.

Shun bad company. Seek good company. Only then will your life be redeemed. Very often, I remind the students that by joining bad company, you become slaves. You should be masters, not slaves. You all know what happened to Kaikeyi on listening to the words of Manthara. No one loved Rama more than Kaikeyi. But when her intelligence was clouded, she believed the words of the wicked Manthara. To one with perverted intellect, truth appears as untruth and vice versa. Due to the effect of bad company, the mind gets polluted. So, right from the tender age, “Tyaja durjana samsargam, bhaja sadhu samagamam, kuru punyamahoratram, smara nithyamanithyatham” (run away from bad company, join good company, undertake righteous actions day and night, and enquire into that which is permanent and that which is ephemeral). One should not develop unnecessary contacts. Your interaction with others should be limited to basic courtesies like, “Hello, how are you?” Never disobey the command of God Embodiments of Love! You are under the false impression that today is the birthday of Vinayaka. He had neither birth nor death. He has neither beginning nor end. He is the eternal witness.

This life is temporary. You should suffuse it with spirituality. All the festivals of Bharat have deep inner meaning. They are highly sacred. Festivals are not just meant for preparing delicious items and consuming them. They are meant to remind us of Divinity. On festival days you decorate your houses with buntings and green leaves, and you also wear new clothes, discarding the old ones. Likewise you should give up your old rotten habits and cultivate new and sacred ideas. You should step into a new life with sacred qualities.

Never disobey the command of God. If you do so, you will ruin yourself, like Ravana and Hiranyakasipu. They developed hatred toward God and ultimately met their doom. Never doubt the existence of God. He is everywhere. Ek Prabhu Ke Anek Nam (one God has many names). Never forget Him. Contemplate on Him incessantly. That is the main objective of human life.

What do you have to offer to Vinayaka on this day of Vinayaka Chaturthi? Today people spend a lot of money in offering various fruits and preparations to God. All these offerings are made only as a ritual. Ultimately, people themselves consume them! No benefit accrues from making these offerings. Patram, pushpam, phalam, toyam - these are the four things that you should offer to God. Here patram (leaf) means body. This body may wither away at any moment. So, never develop attachment towards the body; instead offer it to God. Pushpam (flower) means hridaya (heart), the flower that will never fade. Mind can be compared to phalam (fruit), and toyam stands for tears of joy.

All these should be offered to God. This is the offering that God expects. I hope that you will put into practice what has been said and sanctify your lives. I bless you all and bring My Discourse to a close.