Discourse of Sathya Sai Baba, Prashanthi
Nilayam, 4 March 1962
Published by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust
You have heard four people speaking now on the magazine,
'Sanaathana Saarathi' and the value derived from it by readers. I
know that you have been squatting for an hour or so and you will
come again for longer sessions later in the day which will
continue the whole night. Let Me tell you that far from
sympathising with you, I commend your endurance, for such
hardships make your lives worthwhile. To call it a hardship is a
sign of delusion and ignorance of values. Just now the entire
country is under the shadow of a fear, the fear of Ashtagrahakoota
- the conjoint effect of eight planets that converge in one line
for some short time. In order to ward off the evil, persons who
have so far never spent a pie on charity are spending lavishly for
Yajnas, Puujas and the propitiation of planetary powers. So far,
so good; let some money flow from one pocket to another which is
more needy. Let money circulate.
Let the spirit of charity grow, even out of panic. But
calamity, danger, death cannot be avoided for all time; they are
inevitable factors of life; you have to learn to live bravely with
them. This can be accomplished only by uninterrupted prayer, not
by spurts of worship actuated by sudden fear. Purify your hearts,
your thoughts, feelings, emotions, speech; strengthen your nobler
impulses; then, no panic can unnerve you; nothing can shake your
stability, your Prashaanthi (inner peace).
Lord's Leela to reveal the Nature of Bhakthi
Your prayers will be heard and answered; the Lord has no
distinction of big or small, of high or low. There was in Bengal a
Bhaktha named Maadhavadhaasa, who realised when his wife died,
that he had lost his Griha (home), for his Grihalakshmi (wife) had
passed away; so he gave all his riches to the poor, donned a Gerua
(yellow) robe and wandered alone as a pilgrim to the Jagannaatha
shrine. There he did such deep penance that the concrete image
soon became the abstract reality and the abstract reality became a
perpetual vision. He lost all sense of time and space, of Chith
and Achith (awareness and ignorance). Then the Lord, with
Subhadra, His Shakthi-aspect, moved towards him and placed before
him the gold plate used by the priests to keep food in front of
Jagannaatha in the sanctum sanctorum. When Maadhavadhaasa awoke to
his gross surroundings, he saw the gold plate with the pile of
delicious food upon it; he ate his fill and returned to his inner
paradise which he had left for a while.
Meanwhile, the plate was reported lost, assumed to be stolen,
and discovered by the seashore near Maadhavadhaasa, who was
promptly arrested and led to the lockup by some very efficient
policemen. He was beaten mercilessly but did not seem to mind it a
bit. The chief priest that night had a dream in which Jagannaatha
asked him not to bring food for the Lord again into the shrine,
for: "You bring food for Me, and when I eat it, you start beating
Me!" Then he realised that it was all the Lord's Leela to
demonstrate the devotion of Maadhavadhaasa and teach others the
real nature of Bhakthi.
Some scholars and Pandiths of Puri did not feel happy at this
sudden rise to fame of a stranger from Bengal; so they called
Maadhavadhaasa into their midst and challenged him to an
intellectual duel. Maadhavadhaasa was not a Pandith of that type;
he had learnt the Shaasthras only as a staff to help him walk, as
a guide to action; not as a stick to beat others with. So he
accepted defeat even before the bout began and signed a statement
to that effect, which the leading Pandith was only too glad to
accept because Maadhaavadhaasa had a reputation for scholarship
which was really frightening.
The Lord will not allow a Devotee to be harmed
The Pandith hurried to Khaasi with that token of victory; he
waved it before a gathering of scholars and demanded that they
should all pay him homage as superior even to Maadhavadhaasa. But
the Lord will not allow His Bhaktha to be humiliated. When the
signed statement was opened and read, they were all amazed to find
that it was a statement declaring that it was Maadhavadhaasa who
had achieved victory and it was the Pandith who had signed
underneath acknowledging his own defeat! The Lord will not be
silent when the Bhaktha is insulted or harmed.
But, remember, the word is Bhaktha. Well, who is a Bhaktha and
how can you claim the privileges of that position? Unless you have
unshakeable faith, you do not deserve that name. If you are rooted
in that faith, success is yours, without a doubt. But do not think
that I am angry or displeased with you on that account. This
evening, the Lingodhbhava (emergence of egg-shaped stone of Shiva)
is My duty, My responsibility, rather My nature which must reveal
itself on this holy day.
I gave Kasthuri and Thirumalachar shawls and blessed them at
the beginning of this meeting since they wrote My life in English
and Thelugu: the book called "Sathyam Shivam Sundaram." Some of
you might have wondered why I liked the publication of this book
on My life. Well, I like the production of all kinds of things and
so, why should I not like this? I responded to the prayers of
devotees and allowed them to write it. "Ramayathi ithi Raama" - He
who pleases is Raama. The joy of the Bhaktha satisfies the Lord;
the joy of the Lord is the reward of the Bhaktha.
Truth is the basic Reality of you all
The title, "Sathyam Shivam Sundaram" is full of meaning. It
speaks of Me as immanent in every one of you, remember. Sathyam
(truth) is the basic reality of you all; that is why you resent
being called a liar. The real "you" is innocent; he will not
accept an imputation that is false. The real "you" is Shivam -
joy, happiness, auspiciousness - but not Shavam (corpse). It is
Shubham (beautiful), Nithyam (permanent), Aanandham (bliss). How
then can you bear being called otherwise? The real "you" is
beauty, and so you resent being called ugly. The Aathma has got
entangled in the body which it does not like; it is weighed down
by shame when you identify it with the body and attribute to it
the weaknesses and deficiencies of that physical vehicle.
The 'Sanaathana Saarathi ' is the result of My Sankalpa
(resolve). My Uthsaaha (venture), My Aanandha (bliss). Nothing can
stand in the way once I have decided on any step. When the
Paramaathma Thathwa (principle of supreme soul) assumes human form
and appears, not with Mahaa-shakthi and Mahaa-swaruupa (supreme
power and form of the supreme), but with Mayaa-shakthi and
Mayaa-swaruupa (power of illusion and form of illusion), it is
difficult to comprehend it, especially when you are in an
uncertain vacillating mood. Once you understand the purpose and
the procedure, all doubts will cease.