Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

COMPLETE faith is most essential if you want to experience Divinity. There should not be even an iota of doubt. One living without faith in the Divine is like a lifeless corpse. I would relate a story to illustrate the power of faith. A young boy used to go from his village to school which was in a nearby town. He had to cross a forest en route to the town. Generally he used to return home well before sunset. One day; it so happened that he had to leave the school late in the evening and darkness set in. The boy was afraid to walk through the forest in darkness and told his mother that he was afraid to walk in the night without company. His mother said: "Why are you afraid? Whenever you are in need of company, shout aloud calling your brother. He will help you." The boy asked her: "Who is my brother?" The mother replied: "He is none other than Lord Krishna. God is mother, father, teacher, brother, relative, friend and all. Whenever you are in trouble don't hesitate to call on him for help." The boy had full faith in his mother's words. In these days, even if God himself tells, nobody believes. That is why Jesus declared: "If I were to be a child everyday for a while, with full faith in my mother, how happy I would be!"

Another day the boy was returning home from school late at night in the darkness. He shouted: "Anna Krishna" (Brother Krishna). After a few moments Krishna appeared before the boy in the form of a lad and told him- "Why do you fear when I am here? I shall escort you home." He accompanied the boy to the village outskirts and disappeared. The boy told his mother how the brother helped him true to her words. The mother said: “He helps not only you, but everyone who seeks his help." From that time onwards, the boy used to call the brother whenever he needed his help and Krishna never failed to respond. Gradually he picked up courage.. When you have full faith, God will surely help you and make you fearless. People who have faith in God will never be let down. But those who have no faith suffer. You need not search for God. It is God who is searching for a real devotee. The mind's speed is unparallelled. It is only became of lack of control of mind one gets into bad temper, which causes loss of discrimination and spells ultimate ruin. It is imperative that one should control the temper and avoid getting angry.

Let me cite an incident from the life of Babu Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India. Rajendra Prasad had a very good servant by name Rathna who was exemptionally faithful and served him for a long rime to the satisfaction of his master. One day he was asked to clean his room. Rajendra Prasad had kept a pen given to him by Mahatma Gandhi, in one of his books. When the servant was cleaning the table the book fell down and the nib broke. He became nervous but told his master the truth begging his pardon for his mistake. On hearing this, Rajendra Prasad shouted at him in rage and asked him to get out and not to show his face again as the pen was a highly valuable gift from Mahatma which he had broken. Then the servant pleaded that he could not survive without him and sought his forgiveness. But Rajendra Prasad was in no mood to listen to him and went out bidding his servant to get out of his sight.

During the night, Rajendra Prasad could not sleep as the memory of his having driven away his servant was haunting him. When he got up next morning he missed his usual morning coffee which Rathna would usually serve him. He reflected over his behaviour and felt sorry for having sent out such a faithful servant for no big fault. He realised that it was his own mistake to have kept the pen carelessly in a book instead of keeping it in a safe place. He sent word to Rathna and took him back seeking his pardon saying: "Rathna you are a good boy. It was my mistake to have kept the pen in the book. So you must excuse me for my rash action." He asked him to continue to serve him till the end of his life. Anger comes from temper inside and one who yields to this bout of temper is bound to suffer. You should control anger and avoid talking or acting while in an angry mood. Another instance of how anger gets the better of even a very good person can be cited from the Mahabharatha.

Ashvathama prayed to Kali to help him to keep his vow of killing the Pandavas before sunset next day and got a sword from her. Dhraupadhi heard about this and said- "The Pandavas are the five life-principles and I am the sixth. How can I live after they are gone?" So saying, she prayed to Krishna as He was always their saviour whenever they were in trouble. Krishna appeared before her and asked her why she had called Him. She explained how Ashvathama had obtained a sword from Kali with Her blessings for his killing the Pandavas before sunset next day Krishna said: "The word of Mother Goddess has to be fulfilled. At the same time the Pandavas have to be protected as they are my devotees. I shall have to devise a master plan." He summoned sage Dhuurvasa. Though God can act on His own, sometimes He uses others as instrument. Dhuurvasa was glad to have dharshan of Lord Krishna and asked Krishna as to why he was called.

When Krishna said his help was needed, he remarked that everyone needed God's help and it was strange that God was seeking his help. Dhuurvasa said: "Lord, I shall surely follow your command." Krishna disclosed His Master Plan. He asked Dhuurvasa to prepare a pit large enough to hide the Pandavas therein. He said: "You should spread some branches of tree to cover the pit and sit on the top of the pit. Ashvathama will come to you. You may tell the truth, but change only the tone." Ashvathama came in the afternoon and prayed to Dhuurvasa in all humility to disclose the whereabouts of the Pandavas, as he was a Thrikalajnani (one who knows the past, the present and the future). Dhuurvasa said in an angry tone: "The Pandavas are under my feet." As everyone knew the effects of Dhuurvasa's rage, Ashvathama did not dare to proceed further and incur the sage's dreaded wrath. He slipped away from the place. By that time the sun had set and the Pandavas were saved.

God's signs of pretending to get angry are only for the good of others and to protect humanity. God has to act in different ways in different situations. God has no anger in Himself. When He takes human form He has to act as a human.