Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

THE ascent to manhood has been made possible for you all; but this high status among the animals is to be deserved by merging at last in the Divine, that is the goal which the pilgrimage of evolution has in view, since life began on earth as the amoeba on the waters. Faith in that goal and steady march towards it are the signs of one's being aware of the responsibility of being a man. The Call of the Divine echoes in every heart; it provokes the reaction of awe, reverence, affection, love and sacrifice - all ingredients of bhakthi. It translates itself into acts of worship, of praise, of adoration and of rituals and symbolising the majesty of God. Thus the mind gets saturated with Divine thoughts, it is recast in the Divine Mould, until the flow of Anandha is unabated.

Prayer is the very breath of religion; for, it brings man and God together and with every sigh, nearer and nearer. Dhyana is the process of listening to the Song Celestial, the Flute of Krishna, with the mental ears alert on the melody. Yoga is the merging of the mind in the bliss of selfforgetfulness, when the music fills the consciousness. Words like these do not completely denote that inexpressible ecstasy which one gets while back home, after this long exile.

Chandromouli Sastry spoke of manthras, the mystic formulae, which are potent with spiritual enlightenment, the sound and the vibrations they generate have a way of affecting the emotions and impulses of the individual, cleansing them, accelerating them, fermenting them, agitating them, dealing with them in subtle ways known only to the adept. You can pronounce the word "come," in a number of distinct ways, producing as many distinct reactions on those to whom it is addressed. Sounds emanate from the throat, the tongue, the cavity of the chest, the navel, the heart, out of the silent experience of aroused yogic force. But, more than the repetition of manthras and the dispersal of vibrations through raga, thala and bhava (tune, beat and feeling), imbibe the meaning thereof tasting the sweetness. The sweetness of the manthra is beyond the reach of amateurs and beginners; but, the sweetness of sankeerthan (melodious singing of spirituals) captures even at the very first sitting. Modem civilisation is based on technological advance, but, there is a higher technology, the understanding of the consciousness and the transformation of that consciousness into a source of power, through that understanding. This is Sujnana (experiential spiritual knowledge), as different from Vijnana, which science is. There is again Prajnana, which transcends even the consciousness, and takes man into the realm of the One All-Pervasive, All-embracing Principle that is God. This is the Adhwaitha Jnana (Unitive integral knowledge), the culmination of the journey of the spirit.

Veda is said to be the breath of God, for word or voice is breath; the Veda is Akshara, the indestructible, the letter, the symbol for the vibration that spreads and affects the Universe for ever. The Word is valid for all times; it has become the Akshara, the visual symbol. upon the screen of asthi-bhathi-priyam (existence-en-lightenment-bliss), the film of Name-Form is projected, and you ignore the screen and pay attention to the moving gripping film, taking the fleeting as true and the permanent as non-existing. Break the Name-Form complex and fix the mind on the screen, which is Truth.

Manthra means that which saves, when meditated upon. The name of God, any one of His countless ones, can serve the purpose. The name is like the goad that can tame the elephant in rut and make him bend his knees and lift the log on to his tusks. Arjuna entered the battlefield, fully equipped and fanatically determined to destroy his enemies. But, when he stood between the serried ranks in his chariot driven by Lord Krishna, he saw 'my teachers,' 'my grandfather,' 'my kinsmen,' 'my cousins' and he was moved so much by this sense of I and mine that he discarded the bow and desired to return, poor and beaten. He said that he would much rather put on the ochre robe and beg for his livelihood than sit on a throne won by bloodshed! The I that has really nothing to do with earthly possessions deludes him and makes him identify himself with things that are not really relevant. This is the moha (delusion) from which he was saved, by the Bhagavath Geetha. Be unmoved by 'duality;' that is the lesson. Let not defeat or success affect your inner calm, inner joy. See your self as yourself unrelated to others or to the objective world. When you know your self as yourself, you are liberated: that is Moksha. Moksha is not a Five-starred Hotel, or a Deluxe Tourist Home. It is just the awareness of your reality and the rejection of all contrary conceptions. You can recognise yourself quickly and clearly, if you purify your heart by manthra or by the singing of the glory of God. Both will grant you the boon.

Song has been the refrain of the Vedas, the skill of Saraswathi, the Goddess of the Scriptures, the Flute of Krishna, the Pranava of the Conch of Vishnu, the Drumbeat of the Dhamaru of Shiva. Naradha, the Sage who is immersed in the bliss of song, had a problem, once. He was in a quandary, where to get audience with God - where am I to go? He wondered. Shall I go to Thirupathi, Bhadhrachalam, Kashi, Badhri, Puttaparthi or Pandharpur? 0 where? Then, Narayana answered, "Do not worry about any particular place! Madh Bhakthah yathra gayanthe thathra thishtami, Naradha! - "Wherever My devotees sing, there I install Myself!" So, sing from the heart, conscious of the layers of meaning that each word has. You can have God installed in your hearts.

Just as every day you engage in exercises, and consume tonics, calculating the intake of calories and vitamins, paying meticulous attention to the nutritional value of the food, pay attention also to the intake of impressions into the mind - whether they debilitate or strengthen, whether they add to the power of resistance of the mind against the viruses - greed, envy, hatred, pride, malice, etc. Have a meal of good acts of service, divine thoughts, and drink the Premarasa (juice of Love), so that they may be washed down, and digested well. Then, you can be shining in mental health, happiness and wholesomeness.