The devotee who spoke first here now was, let me tell you,
denying God for twenty-five years and it is only since five years,
after seeing Me, that he has changed. Of course, many people have
had no experience which could change them and so they are not to
be blamed of their want of faith. So too, this Seshagiri Rao here
was finding fault with his son and daughters for coming to
Puttaparthi, and himself for long refusing to come! One day at
Bangalore, there was a function in the house opposite his, for I
had gone there. During Bhajana (group singing of devotional
songs), this man hesitantly crossed the road and peeped into the
hall and I went forward and called him and made him sit near Me. I
asked him to come to Puttaparthi and invited him to 'examine' and
'experience'. He has been with me ever since; it is now eighteen
years since he first came here. This is just the reason why I came
to sow the seeds of faith, in religion and in God. You might have
heard some people say that I became Sai Baaba when a scorpion
stung me! Well, I challenge any one of you to get stung by
scorpions and transform yourself into Sai Baaba. No, the scorpion
had nothing to with it! In fact, there was no scorpion at all! I
came in response to the prayers of sages, saints and spiritual
aspirants for the restoration of Dharma (righteousness).
The root Cause of all this Restlessness
When there is a sign of a little unrest, the police constable
appears on the scene; if the mob gets unruly, the inspector rushes
in; and if it becomes violent, the Superintendent of Police has to
be personally present on the scene to quell it. If, however, the
situation waxes hot, the Inspector-General has to make himself
available, is it not? This is a situation in which the
Inspector-General is taking overall charge of the situation. The
Mahaapurushas, the Mahaathmas, the Jnaanis, the Yogis and the
Dhevaamsa-sambhuuthas (sages, savants, saints, yogis and divine
personalities) have had their try, and they will all be
co-operating in the task of re-establishing righteousness and
clearing the path for the world attaining Shaanthi (absolute
peace).
The greatest defect today is the absence of Aathma vichaara
(the inquiry into the nature of the self). That is the root cause
of all this Ashaanthi (restlessness). If you are eager to know the
truth about yourself, then even if you do not believe in God, you
will not go astray. The pots are all of mud, the ornaments are all
of gold, the clothes are all of yarn. There is a unity where one
saw only diversity; the basic substance is one and indivisible.
That is Brahman (supreme reality), that is the Aathma, which is
your own basic substance too.
This Aathma vichaara is best found in the Upanishaths. Just as
a river's flow is regulated by bunds and the flood waters are
directed to the sea, so too the Upanishaths regulate and restrict
the senses, the mind and the intellect and help one to reach the
sea and merge individuality in the absolute. Study the Upanishaths
with a view to act accordingly, to put the advice into practice.
Scanning a map or turning over a guide-book will not give you
the thrill of the actual visit, nor will it give you a fraction of
the joy and knowledge of a journey through that land. The
Upanishaths and the Geetha are only maps and guide-books,
remember.
Call upon the Lord in your own Heart
There is the story of a rustic who sat among a gathering of
devotees and listened to the exposition of the Geetha by a great
Pandith. All were wonder-struck by the scholarly commentary which
the Pandith gave and his learned disquisition on each word and
phrase and the rustic, though the exposition was very much over
his head, seemed to attend very closely of he was all the time in
tears! When at last the Pandith asked him why he was weeping, he
surprised everybody by the sincerity of his Bhakthi. For he said
that he wept at the predicament of the Lord, who had to sit at the
head of the chariot and half turning his neck hold forth so long
to convince the dull-witted Arjuna. "How much pain must He be
suffering in His neck?" he asked and wept. That was real devotion,
a sure passport to spiritual victory. He had identified himself
with participants in the episode and the whole setting had become
alive for him.
You need not even read the Geetha or the Upanishaths. You will
hear a Geetha specially designed for you if you call upon the Lord
in your own heart. He is there, installed as your own charioteer.
Ask Him and He will answer. Have the form of the Lord before you
when you sit quietly in a place for meditation and have His name,
that is, any name when you do Japam (repetition of holy name). If
you do Japam, without that picture or form before you, who is to
give the answer? You cannot be talking all the time to yourself.
The Ruupam (form) will hear and the Ruupam will respond.
All agitations must cease one day, is it not? The Dhyaana of
the form and the Japam of the name - that is the only means for
this task.
Stick to the Name and Form you like the most
The secret is: you should 'be', but not be as in sleep, when
you are aware deep down within you, that you are. Only, sleep is
enveloped in Maayaa (delusion). Awake from that delusion, but
immerse yourself in this sleep that is real Samaadhi
(superconscious state of bliss). Japam and Dhyaanam, are means by
which you can compel even the concretisation of the divine grace,
in the form and with the name you yearn for. The Lord has to
assume the form you choose, the name you fancy; in fact, you shape
Him so. Therefore, do not change these two, but stick to the ones
that please you most, whatever the delay or the difficulty.
Do not get discouraged that you are not able to concentrate for
long from the very beginning. When you learn to ride a bicycle,
you do not get the skill of keeping the balance immediately. You
push the cycle along to an open maidan and hop and skip, leaning
now to one side and now to the other and even fall with the cycle
upon you on many an attempt before you are able to ride with skill
and never again to worry about the balance. Automatically, you are
able to make the necessary adjustments to correct the balance, is
it not? After getting this skill, you can ride through the narrow
streets and lanes and you do not need an open maidan; you can
negotiate your vehicle through the most crowded thoroughfares. So
too practice will equip you with a concentration that will sustain
you in the densest of surroundings and the most difficult
situations.
The best Saadhana for the Beginners
Do not be under the impression that I will be angry with you if
you don't accept Me as the Dhyaana ruupam (form for meditation)! I
am not concerned at all; you have perfect freedom to select the
name and form that give you necessary encouragement. When you
meditate, the mind often runs after something else, it takes
another road. You have then to plug that outlet by means of the
name and the form and see that the even flow of your thoughts
towards the Lord is not interrupted; if it happens again, use the
name and the form again, quickly. Do not allow the mind to go
beyond the twin bunds, this side Naama and that side Ruupam! Then
it will not stray into a third place.
First, when you sit for meditation, recite a few Shlokas on the
glory of God, so that the thoughts that are scattered could be
collected. Then gradually, while doing Japam, draw before the
mind's eye the form which that name represents. When your mind
wanders away from the recital of the name, take it on to the
picture of the form. When it wanders away from the picture, lead
it on to the name. Let it dwell either on that sweetness or this.
Treated thus it can be easily tamed. The imaginary picture you
have drawn will get transmuted into the Bhaava chithram (emotional
picture), dear to the heart and fixed in the memory; gradually it
will become the Saakshaathkaara chithram - when the Lord assumes
that form in order to fulfil your desire.
Use the Body as an Instrument for spiritual Practice
This Saadhana (spiritual practice) is called Japa sahitha
dhyaana (meditation on the Lord's name and form) and I advise you
all to take it up, for it is the best for beginners. Within a few
days, you will fall in line and you will taste the joy of
concentration. After about ten or fifteen minutes in the initial
stages and longer after some time of this Dhyaana, have some
Manana (inward contemplation) on the Shaanthi and the Sowkhya
(peace and contentment) you had during the Dhyaana; that is to
say, bring back into your memory the joy you experienced. This
will help your faith and earnestness. Then, do not get up suddenly
and start moving about, resuming your avocations. Loosen the limbs
slowly, deliberately and gradually, and then enter upon your usual
duties. Taste the fruits of Dhyaana and learn to relish them; that
is what I mean by this process of Manana (repeated reflection).
Be careful about your physical health also. Satisfy the demands
of nature; the car must be given the petrol which it needs.
Otherwise, your head might reel and your eyes might get blurred
through sheer exhaustion; how can thoughts of the Lord be
stabilised in a weak frame? Only, do not forget the purpose of
this body when you are tending it. A road-roller is fed with oil
and coal and other types of fuel. But why is it kept in good trim?
In order to mend the road, is it not? Similarly, remember that you
have come embodied, so that you might realise the end of this
cycle of birth and death. For that sake, use the body as an
instrument.
Flying hither and thither, higher and higher, the bird has at
last to perch on a tree for rest. So too, even the richest and the
most powerful man seeks rest, Shaanthi. Peace can be got only in
one shop, in inner reality. The senses will drag you along into a
mire, which submerges you deeper and deeper in alternate joy and
grief, that is to say, prolonged discontent. Only the
contemplation of unity can remove fear, rivalry, envy, greed
desire - all the feelings that prompt discontent. Every other
avenue can give only pseudo-contentment; a day will come when you
will throw away all these play-things and toys and cry, "Lord!
Grant Me unruffled peace." The dacoit Vaalmeeki prayed so; the
confirmed atheist too has one day to pray for peace and rest.
Engage yourself in good Thoughts and Deeds
People hug brass pots and take them to be gold, but they have
to polish them so that they may appear bright. One day, they will
get disgusted with this constant polishing and scrubbing; they
will pray, "Release me from this scrubbing, this birth, this
suffering and this agony." Life is short; time is fleeting: your
Saadhana is creeping at tortoise speed. When will you decide to
proceed a little faster? Your Saadhana is like the answers you
write at the examination. If you get only 5 or 6 marks, then the
examiner will strike out even that, saying, "What is the use of
these few marks: it will take him neither here nor there." If you
get somewhere near the passing marks, then grace will give you
just a little more so that you may pass, provided you have been a
diligent, well-behaved student.
Engage yourselves in good deeds, good company and good
thoughts. Fix your attention on the goal. You have not realised
yet the secret of this advent. You are indeed lucky, more
fortunate than many others. It is only when Yasodha found every
length of rope a little short to go round His belly that she
discovered He was the Lord. So too, you will realise every
description of My Mahima (divine glory) a little too short of the
actuality; and then you will get convinced. Meanwhile if you study
the Shaasthras and know the characteristics of the Avathaar of the
Lord, you might get a glimpse of the truth regarding Me.
You will know the Truth when you experience
There is no use arguing and quarrelling among yourselves;
examine, experience; then you will know the truth. Do not proclaim
before you are convinced; be silent while you are still undecided
or engaged in evaluating. Of course, you must discard all evil in
you before you can attempt to evaluate the mystery. And, when
faith dawns, fence it around with discipline and self-control so
that the tender shoot might be guarded against the goats and
cattle, the motley crowd of cynics and unbelievers. When your
faith grows into a big tree, those very cattle can lie down in the
shade that it will spread.