Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Every human being in this world is born with three debts. The first one relates to his being indebted to the devas, the second one is being indebted to the rishis and the third one is being indebted to the parents or the Pitru rina. In order to keep the body from becoming infirm and weak, devas in different parts are protecting the human body. Devas in the form of rasa, in the form of vitality and strength are flowing in every organ of the human body. In this context, they are also described as Angirasa. Only when we can use such a human body for the purpose of doing sacred work, will the devas, who are protecting our organs, be satisfied.

If we can participate in good work which is useful to the society, we can please the devas who are protecting the organs of our body and repay the debt which we owe them. The next one is our being indebted to the rishis. In order that human beings may experience happiness and pleasure in a worldly sense as well as in a spiritual sense, the rishis of ancient times have shown many ways in which this can be achieved. Because of this we are indebted to the rishis. So that we can understand what righteous conduct is, the rishis have given us from the ancient times many Sastras.

The rishis were such great saints that they could show us the great ideals that are contained in the Vedas and the Sastras. By following in their foot-steps, by accepting the examples which they showed us and by imbibing the teachings they had given us, we will, to some extent, repay the debts which we owe them. Even if we do not follow and obey their orders, at least to recognise the greatness that is contained in what they have given us by way of the Sastras is, to some extent, tantamount to repaying the debts we owe them.

The third one is the debt towards one’s parents. You are born through your father and he has protected you throughout your life. You have to repay the debt you owe him. Not only that, when a son is born to his father, the son should make an attempt to maintain the dignity, the honour and the reputation of his own father. We should make an attempt to preserve the faith which our forefathers have earned. It is with a view to repaying these three categories of debts that Dasaratha undertook to perform the Aswamedha Yagna and the Putra Kameshti Yagna. In the Aswamedha Yagna, the sacrificial horse is a very sacred element. That should be a pure white horse without any dark patches on it. The ears should protrude out in a beautiful manner. The hair on the neck of this horse should also be very attractive and straight. The tail of that horse should be so long that it touches the bottom of the feet. In the attempt to look for and locate such a sacred horse which satisfies the requirements, some effort is required. During the period of Vasanta, such a horse is let out, and by the time the horse goes round and comes back to the place where it was left, one year will be over and the next period of Vasanta comes in. We should notice here that one Vasanta time has to be spent in searching for the horse, one Vasanta time has to be spent in letting the horse go, a third Vasanta time has to be spent in the horse returning to its original place. Thus the Ramayana tells us that three years have been spent in the Aswamedha Yagna.

After spending three years in performing the Aswamedha Yagna, Dasaratha undertook to perform the Putra Kameshti Yagna. The meaning of the word Dasaratha has been told to you in the past few days. Dasaratha here signifies the ten organs and the body which contains the ten organs. Here, the city of Ayodhya, in this story, has got three main entrances. These three main entrances to the city of Ayodhya are to be taken as the Sathwa, Raja and Thama gunas.

While the Yagnas were going on in this manner, we must realise that the Brahma Muhurtha which is being described as Vasanta consists of two months in the year. The two months have got two names, Madhu and Madhava. During these two months Madhu and Madhava, the sun enters the two rasis and they are Megha and Vrishabha. In the two rasis, Megha and Vrishabha, the sun shines very brightly and it is usually quite warm. We can recognise the period by noticing that the sun is quite strong and fierce during the midday and that all the water that is on the surface of the earth is changed into water vapour by this heat.

The nature of the sun during the Megha rasi in the Vasanta time has been compared with one’s own heart. The primordial sound that comes from one’s own heart has also been called Viswadhara. During that time, the sun takes the form which consists of five different apartments. In the story of the Ramayana, the sun has always been identified with Rama himself. These five apartments, or five layers, which we refer to in the case of the sun during that period, have been named the Annamaya Kosa, the Pranamaya Kosa, the Manomaya Kosa, the Vignanamaya Kosa and the Anandamaya Kosa. The word Annamaya Kosa refers to the material human body. This material human body builds itself on food material, grows out of food and decays when there is no food. The next layer that gives strength and protects the external human body is the Pranamaya Kosa, or an inner layer. This part of the body is called the maya deha. The Pranamaya Kosa is dependent upon the heat created in the body and enables heat to flow in the body and thereafter blood starts flowing into the blood vessels.

The next layer is called the Manomaya Kosa related to the mind. If the Manomaya Kosa is not there, then the Pranamaya and Annamaya Kosas can-not exist. The Manomaya Kosa is responsible for all kinds of thoughts and desires. One’s mind is really a bundle of desires. To some extent, this mind or the Manomaya Kosa helps and becomes a support to the Pranamaya Kosa. The next layer is the Vignanamnya Kosa. The Vignanamaya Kosa has the function of enabling man to get the discriminatory power by which he distinguishes between good and bad. If there is no Vignanamaya Kosa, the other layers Manomaya Kosa, Pranamaya Kosa and Annamaya Kosa will be lifeless and will not be able to function. This Vignanamaya Kosa enables us to learn the nature of matter and how matter functions. We shall here give an example by which we will understand the inner meaning. This is a table and is made of wood. I am making an attempt to hit on this hard matter. When I describe this act of mine, I say that I have hit the table with my hand. This is not a full description. The table has also hit my hand equally strongly. The quality in you, which enables you to recognise the conduct of the table in this act, is the Vignanamaya Kosa. This Vignanamaya Kosa enables us to recognise whatever reactions and resounds exist in all the material world. We can take another example for this. When we open our eyes and look at the external view, we see so many people and so many heads. We ask if it is the eye which enables us to see all this or whether it is the light in the eyes that enables us to see all the heads? No, the light that exists outside the eye is helping the eyes to see all this. It is the joining together of the light that is present in your eyes and the light that is present outside your eyes that enables you to see all the things. We may ask, just because there is some light, does that enable us to see all this matter? It is not so; even if there is light outside the eyes, if you close your eyes, then you will not be able to see the matter which lies outside your eyes. If we regard that the external light is important, by closing our eyes we cannot see the matter. If we regard that the light in our eyes is important, if we extinguish the external light, we cannot see the matter. It is only when both are present that we can see the form of man. In this manner, the inner vision and the outer vision are together responsible for our vision. This is the function of the Vignanamaya Kosa. Truly, if we are perceiving all the creation with our eyes, this creation is being seen because of our eyes. There is no creation separate from our eyes. What we see in the world are all reflections of the forms that are formed inside by our own inner vision. If an artist is painting a picture, he is not painting the picture straightway on the canvas. He first forms this picture in his mind and then he puts it on the canvas with paint. If a director of a cinema directs various actors to do this and to do that, he takes the preliminary steps by which he thinks of this picture in his own mind and then brings the actors into the picture. Similarly, every writer thinks of the theme in his own mind before he writes and then begins to write out the play. So, these thoughts and ideas, which emanate within oneself, have been called Vignana.

All these things have, for their source, the life-giving treasure. This has been referred to as the Anandamaya Kosa. We can conclude that all the four superficial kosas, the Annamaya Kosa, the Pranamaya Kosa, the Manomaya Kosa and the Vignanamaya Kosa are all arising from the base Anandamaya Kosa. The spirit of Atma, which is the base for all these things, is the ananda which is at the bottom of all these other kosas.

Vasishta was a great saint who had a vision of this ananda. He experienced this ananda and knew what bliss was. This is the reason why Vasishta was always described as a Brahmarishi. Vasishta had the great good fortune of performing the naming ceremony of Ramachandra, of giving Him the first morsel of food, of initiating Him into studies and of performing His Upanayanam. Such a great saint with such good fortune will be recognised as one who has had the direct vision of ananda and experienced the bliss of ananda.

On many occasions Vishwamithra showed a considerable amount of jealousy towards Vasishta. On some occasions, Vishwamithra also tried to kill Vasishta. Still, Vasishta was so generous that he treated Vishwamithra with great kindness. Such peace and such prema and freedom from hatred and jealousy can come only to great saints who had a direct vision of ananda.

You should not think that maharishis and yogis are ordinary people, who are only putting on an external appearance for some selfish purpose. You should understand the significance and inner meaning of Vasishta who had all kinds of strength and powers in him, conducting himself as an ordinary purohit in the house of Ramachandra. Vasishta remained as a purohit in that household, not because of the wealth of Dasaratha, but because he was fully aware of the fact that Narayana Himself came in the human form of Ramachandra. He was desiring the company of Ramachandra and such sacred thoughts took him to the household. Vishwamithra was also like that. His great achievements and his courage are indescribable by ordinary words. He had very many potent weapons with him. He never cared for the great weapons which he possessed in his own house. He knew that Narayana, Himself, came as a young boy and was born in Dasaratha’s household. So all that Vishwamithra did was based on this knowledge. All the great saints knew very well that Ramachandra was the incarnation of God. Yet they would not communicate this information to others. They were conducting themselves in a manner which indicated that Ramachandra was an ideal human being, who came for the purpose of teaching ideals to people. These great saints were regarding Rama as an ideal human being, but knew very well that He was God, Himself. In such circumstances, it is not possible for any human being today to discuss the right and wrong of what took place at that time. Divinity is something which one cannot establish or understand easily.

It is not possible for us to describe our ancestors who were born earlier than us. It will not be possible for a grandson to describe where and how his grandfather was born. So it is with regard to great people, who were born and who lived much before us. How can we describe their faith in God and their relationship with God? There is one parallel for this. When we ask the question, who is your father? You give a reply that so and so is your father. How do you know that person is your father? You have accepted it because your mother has told you so. If you have no trust in what your mother has told you, there is no chance of your believing that that person is your father. Just as your mother’s evidence is useful in recognising and accepting a certain person as your father, in order to recognise and accept the existence of God: Veda is the authority. Further, if you are asked when you were born, you give the reply giving the time, the date and the place. How do you know the date when you were born? For this also, the elders, your father and mother tell you the date of your birth and you accept it. In all these matters, only such statements made by people who lived earlier than you can be taken as authority. You yourself cannot con-stitute an authority in such matters. When we take the people who lived before us as authority for this purpose, similar authority in the matter of God can be given only to people who understand what divinity is and who have the divine aspect in them. Only that person who has tasted the juice of cane sugar can describe the taste of the juice. To some extent, by experience, one can describe the taste, but one cannot describe its form. When we ask the question, how is sugar? We can say sugar is like white sand. But if someone asks you to describe the nature and the form of sweetness in the sugar, it is not possible to do so. In a similar manner only those people, who have immersed themselves in the experience of God, can even have the right to attempt to describe anything about God. Others cannot do this. God is present everywhere in the form of Atma. His effulgence is shining in every heart. If such effulgent Atma is not present, man cannot live in this world even for a moment. It is present in all of them and is at the same level in all the human beings. It is possible to establish and describe that kind of divinity only when we identify ourselves with divine features. Our names, our forms, our tastes, our likes and dislikes may differ from one person to another. These are simply differ-ences which arise out of our desires. There is one small example for this.

We prepare Mysorepak, gulabjam, barfi, kheer and so on. While we have prepared so many different sweets and we enjoy them in different forms and tastes, yet we know that what is contained in all these different forms is only sugar. That is the spiritual aspect. Because of taste, you say that you want such and such a sweet and you eat it. The sugar in all the sweets is one and the same. It is only the form that differs. In the same manner, although God is present everywhere yet in some circumstances, at a certain time, in a certain place, in a certain person, He gives a particular experience. In a human body, we have a hand, a cheek, a tongue, and a nose. Through the nose, the hand, the cheek and the tongue, it is the same blood that is flowing. Although the same blood is flowing through all these limbs, if you take a laddu and put it in your hand, will the hand be able to taste the laddu? No. While it is the same blood everywhere, it is the same heart that is pumping the blood, yet depending upon the place, each component of the body experiences the same thing in a different manner. In the same manner, although in all human beings there is the same Easwara, the same divinity that is present, yet depending upon that individual’s karma, he will experience it in his own way. To enjoy such experience, one should make an effort, one should do sadhana. It is not right to feel jealous when we look at someone experiencing some joy in life. Such bad qualities will cause harm only to ourselves. No good comes out of feeling jealous. The tongue eats iddlies, sambar and various other types of food. If the eye feels jealous and tells itself that it is also an organ of the body, and that it should also enjoy the iddlies and sambar and if you put iddlies and sambar into the eyes, there will result a great deal of harm. The eye has the right to see, but it should not attempt to eat. On the contrary, thinking that the eyes have the great capacity to see, if the mouth wants to see and begins to see, it obviously cannot do so.

It may appear to us that the eyes are different and the mouth is different, but we should be able to recognise the common divine spirit which is in the eyes and in the mouth. We must understand the internal connection between these organs. We are walking on a road. The eye locates a thorn on the road but the legs avoid the thorn and jump over it. The eye has not gone and told the leg and warned it about the thorn. As soon as the eye sees the thorn, the leg takes care to avoid the thorn. The eye may take the attitude that, after all, the thorn is on the road and, if some-thing happens, it is the leg that is going to be hurt. Why should the eye worry about it? However, the eye does not take this attitude. It helps the leg immediately to locate the thorn. We can look at it in a different way. The leg has got a thorn into it. As soon as the thorn gets into the leg, it causes pain and the eye begins to water. The pain is on the leg but tears come out of the eye. If only we look in some depth at this inextricable connection between the eyes and the legs, we will recognise divinity commonly present in all our limbs.

In the same manner, certain connections which are coming out of the spirit of Atma are present without our knowing them. So we should never hate this spirit of Atma, which is present in every human being.

We may listen to many discourses and may read several books, and we may hear about divinity in so many different places. Unless your heart is pure and clean, all this is not going to bring you any benefit. All this will amount to putting valuable material into a pot which has several holes in it. What you put in will go out of it. By a conscious effort, we should try and put into practice at least one or two things which we learn. Just by hearing words, we are not going to have the vision of divinity. If you have potato and chappati on your plate and keep on repeating the words potato-chappati, potato chappati, that is not going to come into your stomach. If you want to get this potato and chappati into yourself as food, then you must make your mouth and hand do some work. If you want to really enjoy the bliss of divinity, then you must give work to your hands by which you do bhajans and work to your mouth by which you sing the glory of the Lord or you must undertake such work which may be useful to others or do service which is free from selfish interests. You must utter words which are happy and blissful. Even if you do not have the right to understand and experience Divinity, at least a good word must be uttered by you. You cannot always oblige, but you can always speak obligingly. It is only when you can utter sacred words with your mouth and do useful work with your hands, that you will be in a position to understand divinity.

By simply uttering unnecessary words and talking too much, you are only causing harm to your own memory and to your own strength. In the olden days, the rishis used to observe complete silence because of this. By adopting complete silence, the rishis were promoting divine strength in themselves. We can certainly talk when it becomes necessary, but it is not necessary to talk and use words when it is not re quired. Sound is a form of Brahman. Of all the eight qualities which have been associated with Brahman, the first one is the quality of sound, Sabda Brahman. To some extent, if you undertake to put this into practice and not go on talking unnecessarily, then there will be a definite improvement in you.

Great sages like Vasishta and Vishwamithra, by observing silence, could enjoy and have the vision of the Anandamaya Kosa and they could set good examples to the world.