Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

There are some qualities which are always ac companying the jiva. His sorrows, his birth, his work, his hatred, his likes and dislikes, his lack of discriminating power and his ignorance are qualities which are always accompanying the jiva. Ignorance gets mixed with lack of discriminating power. Lack of discriminating power gives rise to attachment. Attach-ment gives rise to anger. Anger gives rise to hatred. Hatred gives rise to birth and sorrow. All these qualities are related to each other in an inseparable manner.

For sorrow, birth is responsible and for birth, one’s own karma is responsible. However, we may ask if sorrow is natural to man or is it coming halfway through one’s life? Truly, if sorrow is natural to man’s life, he cannot get rid of sorrow all through his life. There is no basis for us to think that sorrow is a natural quality for a human being. If that is so, it could not be got rid of by any method.

Once we destroy the natural quality, then the very substance will also be destroyed. No man will make an attempt to destroy his own true form. For jaggery, sweetness is the natural quality and when the natural quality of sweetness disappears, will not the jaggery also disappear? When the jaggery and this natural quality both disappear, then jaggery itself will not exist.

The capacity to burn and the capacity to shine are naturally qualities for fire; and when the capacity to burn and the capacity to shine are destroyed or removed, fire also will not exist. When both the fire and its natural qualities are removed, then fire will disappear and will turn into coal. The form and the natural quality are inseparably connected with each other. By this analysis, we come to the conclusion that sorrow is not the natural quality of man. This is something which has come accidentally from outside.

There is a very good example for this. When man is happy and getting on well, nobody will go and ask him why he is happy; but when man is steeped in sorrow, others will go and ask him why he is in sorrow. Here we see that sorrow is something which is not natural. Happiness and bliss are natural to us. Truly, while being the embodiments of Atma and while being naturally wedded to bliss and happiness, yet because of our connection with the external world, we sometimes suffer from sorrow. All sorrow is something like a passing cloud.

If a mother puts the child in a cradle and if the child is playing and is happy, then the mother does not worry at all. She will go and do her work. If after a few minutes, the mother hears the cry of the child, she will come running in confusion and in haste and will look into the cradle to discover whether there was an insect or a mosquito or something which caused pain to the child. Here, when the child is happy, the mother takes it in a casual and natural manner. But if the child is crying, she immediately thinks that there is something unusual and starts searching. Dasaratha is one who recognised that happiness and bliss are natural qualities. It is because Dasaratha recognised that happiness is a natural quality of human beings, in his own home, the four Vedas in the form of Rama, Laksh-mana, Bharatha and Satrughna were playing happily. They are the embodiments of the Vedas. Sri Rama chandra represents Yajur Veda which says that dharma is the most important thing and the practice of dharma is necessary for us during our life. Laksh-mana accepted Rama’s order as final and was repeat-ing his manthra in that manner; and thus Lakshmana represents the Rig Veda. Bharatha was always in the belief that singing the name of Lord Rama will give salvation and he thus represents Sama Veda. Satrughna followed the advice of three brothers Rama, Lakshmana, and Bharatha and attempted to destroy all the enemies. Satrughna can, therefore, be com-pared to the Atharva Veda. Here Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Satrughna respectively represent the Yajur Veda, Rig Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. They were born as children of Dasaratha. Truly, the brilliant sunshine in the form of Rama, because it fell on the moon, the mind and the city of Ayodhya; people were enjoying the coolness of the moon and the brilliance of the sunshine coming from Rama. Citizens of Ayodhya were lucky that they were living in this scared atmosphere, playing, singing, and enjoying the sacredness.

For all work, there will be consequences and a result. There will be an echo and a reflection for all that we do. For this, a good example was being demonstrated by Dasaratha. On one occasion when he was young, he went hunting in the forest. While he was waiting at a spot during the night, he heard some sounds and being an expert hunter, he could locate the object by the direction of the sound. He shot an arrow in the direction of the sound, and soon he found that the arrow which he shot had killed the son of a rishi. He felt very sorry, and he took the dead body to the father of the boy and requested that he be excused. When the rishi realised that his son was dead, he was steeped in sorrow and was weeping with the dead body by his side. In this agony, he cursed Dasaratha and said that for this sin, he would also suffer in a similar manner and die when his son is not near him. Dasaratha recognised that whatever one does, the consequences will be inevitable and unavoidable. Dasaratha purified himself by telling himself that he must suffer the consequences of what he had done. Dasaratha was a rishi amongst the kings. He realised that sorrow is something which comes and goes and he set an example to the world by his own life.

Every individual character in the story of the Ramayana has been projecting an important ideal. Not only this, when Dasaratha realised that he was growing old, and that his strength and vitality were diminishing, then he showed to the world that he should no longer undertake the task of being a ruler.

One night during his sleep, he felt thirsty and he took out water from the jug and tried to put it in a tumbler and wanted to drink it; but he found that when he was pouring water from the jug into the tumbler, his hands were shaking. He did not sleep that night at all. As soon as the day dawned, he sent for the Gurus Vasishta and Vamadeva. He told the Gurus that the vitality and the strength of his organs has diminished, and therefore, he cannot rule over the country. He requested them to make all preparations to install Rama on the throne. Here he established the truth that an individual who has no control over his own organs had no right to rule over the country. In the matter of ruling over the country, Dasaratha realised the proper code of conduct for the king, and the proper code of conduct for the people. Whoever the individual may be, however great he may be, he must recognise the conditions around him and adjust himself to the surroundings. But in certain instances in Ramayana, especially when Rama was going to the forest, it has been said that Dasaratha could not bear the sorrow, and that he fell down in a swoon. Here also Dasaratha was proclaiming that such sorrows are incidental, and they come because of our relationship and attachment to the human body. For an individual, there are no children before they were born. In those conditions, how does one understand either the sorrow or the pain caused by one’s own son? It is only because of the bodily relationship that the father will experience sorrow. It is obvious here that any sorrow or pain caused by a son is something which comes halfway during one’s life and is not natural to him.

Before one is married, one does not know anything about the attitudes of one’s own wife. Prior to the marriage, whatever difficulty the girl may come across, the husband is not going to worry about it. But once the marriage is performed, even if the wife has a small pain or difficulty, the husband also suffers great sorrow. The truth becomes clear from this example that these sorrows and difficulties come halfway in our life, and that they are not natural to us. Because Dasaratha understood this truth, he could bless Rama when he was about to go to the forest. He could advise Rama not to have any difficulties in the forest, and that he should come back quickly and happily. This is the blessing which he gave because he knew the situation. Rama was adhering to truth at all times and because of these qualities he will have no problems in the forest.

Rama was an ideal son. It is often believed that if one has a son, then there will be no difficulty for the father in attaining salvation. This is not always correct. Did not the Kaurava king have many sons? What is the benefit which he got out of all his sons? Suka did not have children at all, did he not get salvation? Dhritharashtra, who had one hundred sons, did not have even one son left to do the last rites for him, while Suka attained salvation without any children. It does not follow that either good or bad will come out of the children. It is only when the sons take to the right path that good will come to the parents. The son who had enjoyed the grace and kindness of his father should repay this with gratitude by doing such good things in return. For the sacred birth of a human being, the parents are the main cause. If by securing such sacred human birth, man does not show gratitude in return to his parents, then it is a useless life.

To establish the truth of such statements to the world, it was Dasaratha who told Rama in Ramayana, “Go to the forest for the sake of adhering to truth.” Dasaratha had no kind of attachment, and he had the ability to discriminate between the right and wrong. He was not an ignorant person. Dasaratha recognised that all attachments are only relationships between one body and another and such is a purely worldly attachment. On one occasion when the Sage Durvasa visited Vasishta, Dasaratha was asking him for the chronology of his own dynasty. Dasaratha put the question to Durvasa with a view to finding out whether his family will uphold truth and dharma. Even at that time, Durvasa told Dasaratha that the sons he was going to have will be the embodiments of dharma, and that they will protect Truth and will have several good qualities. From that day, he was thinking that even if he has only one son, that will satisfy him provided that son will bring him reputation and glory. It is in that context that it has been said that it is better to be a swan and live for a short time rather than be a crow and live for a long time. What is the use of having barrels of donkey’s milk? To have a spoonful of good cow’s milk is better. So, even if it is one individual, if that one individual can spend all his time in serving the community around him, it is enough.

When the strength of your body, the strength of your mind, and the strength of your intelligence are good and powerful, if you cannot use your life for helping others, what is the use of your life? It will be a waste. You cannot lead your life like the oil drop on the surface of water, without touching the water. Your birth, your life, your mode of conduct are all connected intimately with the community around you. If that community around you is not remembered by you and if all the time you think of your selfish interest, you are not going to be any good at all to anyone.

Truly, having been born in the sacred country of Bharath, having experienced the traditions and culture of Bharath, if you cannot imbibe the good in that culture, then life itself is a waste. You may listen to many discourses, you may yourself give several discourses; but if all that you hear and all that you say is not put into practice in your life, life itself will become unreal and artificial. If you simply hear about delicious food and delicious plates, is your hunger going to be relieved? Will the poverty of a poor man be removed if you tell him stories about money? If the capacity of several medicines is told to you, is your disease going to be cured? Is your poverty going to be removed if you are told about all the wealth in a bank? Sitting in darkness, if you simply talk about the brilliance of a thousand candles, is the darkness going to be re moved? So also in our heart, the darkness of ignorance and jealousy must be removed not by talking but by practice of good conduct. After removing this, even if you have a tiny little bulb, it will be useful.

Young people, instead of telling a hundred things and talking about a hundred things, you should be prepared to do at least one thing and demonstrate it to others as an ideal. Truly, you should recognise the truth that sorrow, pains and losses come halfway in your life. They are not born with you. Such things which come halfway will also go away halfway, and they are not going to stick to us permanently. When we can recognise this truth very well, all the sorrows and pains are not going to trouble us at all.

You have been listening to several stories from Ramayana.From amongst the ideals that we have found in Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, Satrughna and Dasaratha, at least one or two must be picked up by you and put into practice in your life. If you cannot do that, you will have wasted your time. Not only would you have wasted your time but you would have made your life purposeless and would have missed making good use of the opportunity that has come your way. Do not always seek authority. What you should try and do is service. Use your body, mind and intelligence in the path of doing service to others. You should recognise that this human body is given to you for the sake of helping others. We have been hearing day after day, the great ideals that have been taught by great religious teachers. If after listening to so many good things, there is no change or transformation in you, then all your life becomes a waste. All the religions teach only one common destination, and one good sacred path. All the religions together have taught us only good. If the minds of men are good, which religion is bad? The blemish and fault are in our minds and not in any religion. Rama ruled His kingdom in peace recognising that the people’s happiness is His hap piness and recognising that the people’s prosperity is the primary concern of the king.

Rama never thought that He was the king and that people are under the king. He never had any jealousy or ego in His mind. He regarded Himself as a driver who had to lead the people. Rama, by His own conduct, would make the people go along the right path and demonstrate to them the ideal path. All that He had said or done was only for giving happiness to the people. For setting an example to the people and for protecting the truth, Rama sent His own wife to the forest. If it was for sticking to truth and dharma, to Rama it did not matter whether the person involved was the wife He married or the son who was born to Him.

Young people, I am hoping that you will re-establish Rama Rajya in this sacred country of ours. You must synchronise your thought, word and deed. You will be betraying your own country, if you follow a path where your thought is one and you utter words which are quite different and your action is different from both of them. If you betray your country, your whole life will become useless. If you cannot proclaim with pride that this is your mother country, that this is your mother tongue and do your duties to them, what is the use of living? It is as good as being dead.