Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Man can cognise the working of the world by understanding the nature of the gross body, the subtle body, the causal body and supercausal body. The gross body, (the Sthoola Shareera) which is of inert nature is composed of elemental substances like calcium, iron, water, etc.

The Subtle body is Mayaswaroopa (illusory form). In the dream state, the mind not only creates itself but also experiences pleasure and pain, fears and agitations. In the subtle body, these illusory creations of the mind are experienced. These experiences are felt to be real only at the moment. Maya is that mental state in which the existent appears to be non-existent and the non-existent appears to be existent. All the experiences in the dream state are seen in the waking state as unreal.

What is real and true must be existent in the waking, the dream and deep sleep states. Truth is that which is true and unchanging at all times - past, present and the future. Hence the Subtle body is associated with Maya.

The Causal body (Karan, Shareera) is only an image or reflection of the supercausal body (Maha-karana). The supercausal represents the supreme principle. It is as a reflection of the supreme that the causal, the subtle and the gross bodies function.

In the waking state, the mind is bound by the limitations of time and space. In the dream state, the mind creates its own world. It is related to time alone. For example, you get into the train tonight and reach Bombay the day after tomorrow. In this you see the mind at work in respect of four things: the reason, the actual journey, the arrival at the destination and the completion of your duty. You notice that the actions performed in the waking state are marked by Kala (time), Karan (cause), Kartavya (duty), and Karma (action). How long did the journey to Bombay take? The Journey took thirty-six hours. The reason for your journey was - some job to be done in the office. But in the dream state, you will notice that all the four factors of Kala, Karana, Kartavya, and Karma are not present. The journey, that took thirty-six hours in the waking state, takes only five minutes in the dream state. All that happens in the dream state occurs in fleeting moments. What is experienced in a life of forty years, is covered in two minutes in the dream state. In these forty years, you have completed your education, got married, got a son, educated him, and sent him abroad. But the entire panorama of these events is covered in a few minutes in the dream state. What you experienced in a dream vanishes the moment you wake up. While the ordinary mind triggers the action in the waking state, it is the Supermind which activates the dream state.

An individual experiences a feeling of delight on waking from deep sleep state. It is the absence of the mind in the deep sleep state which is the cause for such delight. It is the mind which is the cause for either joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain. The joy derived in the deep-sleep state is attributed to the higher mind. This is associated with the causal body. The relationship between cause and effect accounts for all the happenings in the world. The Divine is the cause and Cosmos is the effect. This is the Mahakarana which is responsible for all that happens in the universe. This is known as the Illuminated Mind. This is the Power that illuminates every thing in the world.

To experience this Cosmic Principle we need a divine form. This is the Superdivine Self. It is called Purushatva. The Purushatva is in fact the Overmind i.e., the Divine aspect. Such Divine aspect is called Purushatva.

We repeatedly utter ‘I’ several times during the day. Where is this ‘I’ seated? This is in fact the Purushatva aspect. This ‘I’ is in every creature. Every person in ordinary course of conversation makes a mention of ‘I’ in respect of his actions, as in ‘I am going,’ ‘I am eating,’ ‘I am doing.’ Therefore in every individual this ‘I’ represents the existence of this great aspect of Purushatva. What is the meaning of Purushatva? Just by wearing a pant and shirt one does not become a man. The word ‘Pu’ represents the Divine aspect that vibrates all over the body from top to the bottom. ‘Pu’ means ‘Purushatva.’ How does it get the name ‘Purusha’? The body is a sacred place (Puramu) in which the Jeevi lives and therefore he is known by the name ‘Purusha.’ It may be the body of a woman or a man. It is just a difference in sex, because both man and woman experience hunger, become angry and they have common emotional agitations.

At the time of sorrow man cries, so also the woman; while hungry man eats and so the woman; man becomes angry and so the woman. Therefore, we see here that they have the same emotional levels. But there may be a man who may suffer within and another expressing it in loud wailing. We should not look into such differences because their bodies are sacred places for God to live in. In every body there is this Divine aspect. The entire world is a reflection of both the gross and the subtle forms. The cause is God. The effect is the world. There is both the gross and the subtle. In the life of every man there are blissful experiences. The five elements, the five sheaths, the five senses, the five life sources, the mind, the intellect, the ego - all these combine together and become twenty-four aspects. In these twenty-four aspects, this ‘Mahapurusha’ becomes the twenty-fifth. Therefore the twenty-five aspects together become this human body. Just as these twenty-five aspects are contained in a man, so this world too has twenty-five aspects. The body, the nation, they are the object and its reflection. There is no difference between these two. But if one observes from the worldly point of view, one finds many differences. This is the true characteristic of Maya or illusion. This Maya aspect makes man forget the reality and thus puts him into lots of difficulties. In this connection, Ramdas sang in philosophic overtones about life’s tribulations and the essence of life’s philosophy.

Everything is illusion in the waking state. When you sleep you are immersed in a dream.

You believe only in the dream and you believe it as true. How long will this dream last! This will last till you wake up and ignore this dream. But which is true, the dream or the waking state? This is a day dream and that is a night dream. So both are dreams.

The Emperor Janaka believed in right action. He had no attachment to the body. One day after dinner as he was discussing with some of his ministers he fell asleep. He was made to sleep comfortably on the bed by his attendants. After a little while he woke up. He was unable to realise which was true - the sleeping state or the waking state. He did not answer many questions that were put to him. The ministers were confused about the state of the Emperor’s mind. He did not answer any question, but was just repeating the words, “which is true - this or that?” They requested the queen to come. He did not give any reply to her questions. He was talking again to himself - this is true or that is true. Vasistha Rishi came there. He studied the situation and through his divine powers he could realise the king’s predicament. He said to the king “Neither this nor that is true.” You experienced certain things in the dreams, as well as in the waking state. In the waking state, there is no dream. In the dream, there is no waking state. But ‘You’ are both in the dream state and in the waking state. So ‘You’ alone are true. In both the states ‘You’ are present and therefore ‘You’ are omnipresent. ‘You’ lived in the past, ‘You’ live in the present and ‘You’ will live in the future. The ‘You’ aspect is timeless and therefore is Divine.”

All those truths that are said and written in Vedas and in Upanishads are related to man alone. We speak of God as ‘Ashataishwarya’ (eight aspects of wealth). But no, it is man who is the form of ‘Ashtaishwarya.’ God is described as attributeless, timeless, pure and eternal. But, these attributes are given by man to Divinity because of His own ignorance.

An individual acquires a lot of power and knowledge. From where does he get these? It is by virtue of his own effort. For when he was born, he did not know even the alphabet. By sheer perseverance and deter-mination, man can achieve anything. But he is tied by limitations because of the mind. He thinks of himself and his family and this is nothing but selfishness. He should realise that there is a society beyond the family. Without the society, family is irrelevant. We don’t take the society into consideration, and therefore we are unable to understand the Divinity within us. You love the world, you desire everything in the world. It is not the human welfare you desire. It is only for your welfare you desire the world. This world is our society, and we should reach the society. Today we face numerous problems because of selfishness and narrow-mindedness. From the word ‘I’ you evolve into a family, from family to society. Every individual should work for the well-being of the society; and if he does, there will be no problems, no sorrow and no agitation. We can live in a world free from any emotional disturbances.

When men get rid of the narrow egoistic feelings born out of ignorance, they will experience Divinity. The Vedas exhorted human beings to strive together for achieving the highest goals of life. The essence of the Vedas is summed up in one idea, namely the sense of the spiritual unity of all human beings. This is the realisation of Divinity. This is real ‘Advaita’ (Non-dualism).

Declarations like “Aham Brahmasmi” and “Tat Twam Asi” are cited as pronouncements proclaiming Advaita. But this is not correct. These statements themselves refer to two entities: Aham and Brahma, Tat and Twam. The recognition that the one and the same Atma dwells in all beings is true Advaita. The bulbs may be of different sizes, colours and voltages, but they are illumined by the same electrical energy.

It is because the doctrine of human unity, based on the spiritual oneness of all beings, is not propagated in the right manner that we have today many divisions leading to many conflicts. Differences between people professing different faiths are not due to differences in the teachings of different religions but due to mental attitudes of those belonging to these faiths. All religions teach the same good ideals. Those who preach hatred on the basis of religion are perverted people. The broad vision of Bharatiya culture testifies the glory of Divinity and the fundamental oneness of humanity.

Today we have lost the sense of morality, respect for truth, respect for right living and respect for our nation. We should protect our culture, tradition, truth and right living. The true culture of Bharath is enshrined in “Sathyam vada Dharmam Chara.” The great Vedic statements should be put into practice. We look at the bulb and think that the bulb is burning, but in fact it is the current which causes illumination. We just look at the content and not the base of the content, and thereby we create problems for ourselves. Here is a tumbler. Without any base how can water be contained? Therefore the tumbler is the base. The water is the content. So also, the Divinity is the base and the world is the content. God and the world are forms of cause and effect. Lord Vishnu is the cosmic form of the universe into which we should carefully make an enquiry.

Everything is God’s manifestation. This perspective must be developed by us. There is nothing like good and bad in this world. In the eyes of God, there is no such thing as bad. It is only the vision of the observer which is defective and finds defects in others. Because of changes in time, things look different. But the form of truth is the same. We eat the fruit because it is good. Tomorrow it will become refuse. We say it is dirty. This is ignorance. If the fruit does not change into refuse, how can you be healthy? What ever you have eaten, the good in it is absorbed by you and the bad is rejected. We consider the pulp of the sugarcane as useless. But we forget the sweet juice it has given us. The pulp was once a part of the sugarcane. When the juice is removed, it becomes pulp. Therefore, for the juice, the pulp is the base. Once you cross the river there is no use of the boat. Today we throw away the pulp because there is no more juice in it. Is this all our gratitude? The boat that has helped to cross should be taken care of, and we must extend our gratitude to it. But today, gratitude has lost its meaning. Human aspect has become zero in man. Truly speaking, the human being is a compound of Humanity and Divinity. By acquiring knowledge, man does not become great nor does a man become small without it. But if he develops broadmindedness and follows the path of truth, he is considered very great.

During Ramakrishna’s time there were many pundits. But both Ramakrishna and his wife Sharada Devi were totally illiterate. Vivekananda tried to correct Sri Ramakrishna’s pronunciation for he could not even utter the word ‘pension’ properly. But Ramakrishna is treated as a divine phenomenon even today. What is the reason? He followed the path of truth. He could realise that Truth alone could lead him to merge with the Divinity. That is what Bhagavatha preached: “You should go to the place from where you have come.” That is the main objective of life. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, though ignorant of letter followed the path of truth. But today, there are very few who respect the truth. They however perform ‘Sathyanarayana Vratha’ once in year. For Ramakrishna, Sathyanarayana Vratha was the holy Trinity of word, thought and deed. In this context, it is said in English, “The proper study of mankind is Man.” But where is this man? He is just a form. He is not a man in practice. We should attempt to become men in practice. We should reach that supreme stage. But today people rush to the supreme court. One should attempt to reach the supreme state that is the supreme Divine Self. We have to experience this stage in our life. In every man, there is mind, Supermind, Higher Mind, Illuminated Mind and Overmind. All these are in man. Therefore, he is divine. There is a small example.

Man is only five feet tall; then how can the whole world be in him? You have gone to America, have visited Japan and Germany too. If you come back and close your eyes, all these sights of America, Japan and Germany could come back to your mind as they all get into you. Though you are small in stature, they came into you and therefore you are gigantic in stature. You have a very broad heart in spite of the size of your body. The galaxy of stars twinkle in the sky. You can visualise them in a mirror. In the same way, our heart is a mirror. You can visualise the whole universe in it. So, there is nothing greater than your heart, and therefore there is no God superior to yourself. You develop this faith in you. Then alone you can become ‘Vishwa Swaroopa.’ If you think you are small, you will continue to be small. ‘Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi,’ ‘Yadh Bhavam Thad Bhavathi,’ You should think that “I am God,” and this truth will bestow on you the Divine aspect which you should contemplate upon.