If I ask you, who you are, you may reply, "We are teachers," or
some of you may even say, "We are students". But, both statements
are not true! You are Saadhakas (spiritual aspirants); that is the
real fact. I am glad your Saadhana is moving at a satisfactory
pace. You have brought Me among you, as a result of your sincerity
and enthusiasm. I am always specially interested in the service
done to children and I must say, you have taught them good
lessons, in a spirit of love. Some of you, I find, are a bit
over-enthusiastic! You have taught the children stories that are
too long, and made them cram the whole stuff. Do not tax their
memory overmuch. Short stories, 20 to 25 lines long will be the
best. Don't make them learn by rote, for, what they learn under
pressure, because I am coming and a programme of story telling has
to be arranged, will soon be forgotten. It will not transform the
mind by soaking into it. The incidents and the morals they
illustrate have to be imprinted on the heart. They must learn not
'by heart,' but for and through the heart.
I find you are instructing them in Bhajan, story telling and
writing stories and essays. The stories they recite or write are
culled from the epics and Upanishaths (scriptures of supreme
reality). Good. But, instruct them in meditation too, for a short
while, each day. Let that habit be inculcated even at this age.
Five minutes of prayers and another five minutes of Dhyaan
(meditation) will be a good exercise, whose taste itself will
persuade the children to make it a habit. The tender mind has to
be fed, with tenderness.
Story of Shabari's entry to the Hermitage
Shabari had a very tender compassionate heart. How she came to
sage Maathanga and stayed at his hermitage is a very interesting
story. Her marriage was arranged by her parents, and as was the
custom among the Aadhivaasis (tribal folk), a goat was to be
offered to the tribal Goddess, on the night previous to the
ceremony, in order to win the grace for the couple. When Shabari
came to know about this slaughter, she wept, and fell at the feet
of her parents, praying them to save the goat. She asked, "How can
our married life be happy, when the dying bleat of this goat is
the prologue?" But, the father pushed her aside and proceeded with
the cruel rite. That night, Shabari stole out of that den of
torture, and hid herself in the depths of the jungle that was not
far off.
When day dawned, her parents as well as the groom's party were
plunged in grief and anxiety; they combed the area, even where she
was lying low amidst the thick bushes, and they went back, saying
among themselves, "She could not have gone to the hermitage, for
no women would be given asylum there". She heard these words and
so, she concluded that the hermitage was the safest place for her.
She felt that some monk will take pity on her, and not send her
back. Maathanga espied her and gave her permission to be in his
habitation. He told her that God in the form of Sri Raama was
coming to the hermitage some day, since he has been exiled into
the forest for 14 years and He is eager to save the monks and
seekers doing Thapas (penance) in the forest from the ravages of
the demonic enemies of peace! Raama, he said, was proceeding from
one region to another, with His consort, Seetha and His brother,
Lakshmana.
Shabari's Heart became Raama's Heart
From that day Shabari had no other thought than of Raama, no
other desire than the desire to have the Dharshan of Raama, the
chance to touch His feet and the opportunity to speak with Him.
Her heart was saturated with the Raamarasa (the sweet juice of the
Raama principle). She had no other Japam or Dhyaana (repetition of
God's name or meditation) or spiritual exercise. She spent her
time preparing for the visit of Raama to the hermitage; just as
she cleaned the paths, she cleaned her heart, too. Pebbles and
thorns disappeared from both, through her efforts. She walked
through the undergrowth and removed overhanging creepers and
briars, for she imagined Raama would not have combed His hair and
it might get caught. She broke the lumps of earth, for she feared
the tender soles of Seetha will be hurt when she walks over them.
She gathered fruits and tubers from the jungle trees and plants
and kept them by every day, for no one knew when Raama will
arrive! And, she took no risks. She tasted every fruit, whether it
was bitter, sour or sweet, so that Raama could eat the best. She
smoothed the surface of all stones that lay by the side of the
tracks in the jungle for, she expected Raama, Lakshmana or Seetha
to sit upon any one of them when they got tired of walking. She
hoped that one of them would rest awhile on one of the rocks she
had polished with great care. Thus her heart became Raama Hrudhaya
(Raama's heart)!
The children of the Sathya Sai Baala Vihaar must know the
Sathya Sai that is residing in their hearts. Teachers also must
take it as a Puuja (ritual worship) of Sai Raama. How to reveal
the Sai Raam residing in their hearts to the children? - that is
the problem that must be directing your work. Sai Raam has to move
about in the jungles of your heart; so, render the tracks wide,
smooth, free from thorn and pebble.
Shabari's high Level of Saadhana
Shabari was so immersed in Raama that the ascetics lost all
lost all awareness of her sex; they allowed her to remain in the
hermitage, after Maathanga related to them her high level of
Sadhana (spiritual practice). Maathanga also left his body and
gave up his hermitage to Shabari, saying, 'you alone deserve to be
here when Raama arrives!'
The Saadhana that Shabari did to earn the bliss of serving
Raama, you do, when you serve Sai Raama in these children. By this
service, you realise the self.
People say that they are doing Paropakaara (good to others) and
Lokopakaara (good to the world). Really speaking, this is an empty
boast. Let us take it that you invite ten people for dinner; when
the ten sit at table, you too sit as the eleventh, don't you? So,
you too consume a share of the dinner. How than can you call it a
dinner for others, an act of hospitality for others? When you do
good to the world, you share in that good, and so you cannot say
that you are serving others. It is self first and help next. When
you carry out the duty you have undertaken to do, God will shower
grace!
You are both teachers and students, remember; for, you teach
these children and you learn from Me. You must not have the
consciousness that they are children belonging to others. Treat
them as your own.
Make Children take up some positive Task
When you relate stories to the children, select such stories as
have some reference to the background of the children's home life.
Tell them stories which will implant in the mind genuine disgust
for evil sights, evil entertainments, evil deeds and evil habits.
Tell them how they must forget the wrong done to them by others
and the good that they do to others. Make them take up some
positive task and the negative attitudes will fall off. Good
habits will drive out bad ones.
A wicked man once went to a Guru (preceptor) for initiation
into spiritual life. The Guru asked him to give up at least one of
his bad habits; he gave up uttering falsehood. That night, when he
went to the royal palace to commit theft, he found on the terrace
another person, who said, he too was a thief. He too announced
that he was a thief and both broke into the treasury and divided
among themselves the diamonds found there. The other person was
none other than the king; he pretended to be a thief and he knew
where the keys of the treasury were! While the diamonds were
shared, the honest thief felt pity for the king of the realm who
was losing his entire stock; he asked his companion to leave one
diamond behind, in the safe. And, it was done.
Next morning, when it was discovered that the treasury was
looted, the minister was sent by the king (who had acted as thief
the previous night) to assess the loss. The minister found the
diamond, that had missed the eyes of the thieves. He quietly
transferred it to his own pocket and reported at court that all
the diamonds were gone!
One Step in the right Direction leads to another
The king had got from the honest thief his address, the
previous night, while they parted company, with their separate
bags. So he sent for him and when he stood in court before the
king, he confessed that all but one of the diamonds were stolen by
him and his unknown associate. The diamond was discovered in the
pocket of the minister and the king dismissed him for the lie. The
honest thief was appointed minister, instead, and he gave up his
other evil habits too and pleased his Guru, by his fame as a
virtuous administrator.
One evil habit, if acquired, will lead to a whole gang of them
taking possession of the mind. There is a story for this too. You
can tell the children this. A king once announced that he will
honour with a big gift any Brahmana who will agree to do any one
of three evil things: (1) He must aver that the Vedhas are false,
or (2) He must drink liquor, or (3) He must elope with another's
wife. For a long time, no one within the seven seas came forward
to do any one of these atrocious things. At last a poor Brahmana
on the verge of starvation came into court and offered to drink
liquor, an evil which he considered the least reprehensible of the
three. But, as soon as he got drunk, he began to swear and in the
excitement of intoxication, he shouted in the streets that the
Vedhas are a tissue of lies; he entered the house of his neighbour
and assaulted the lady of the house, like the worst criminal of
the land. One thing led to another, just as in the other story,
one step in the right direction led to another.
Make yourselves holy by consecrated Service
I know that you are telling the children fine moral stories
that will impress on them, silently and spontaneously, the value
of restraint and of love in dealing with nature and life. I know
that your other responsibilities do not give you the chance to
serve them as much as you desire. Train as many as you can, within
the limits that now exist; the Samithi (Sai Organisation) cannot
ask more from you.
This is no imposition from above; it is an inspiration from
within! You are engaged in so many activities that do not lead to
any good; you have to move in groups that you may not like; these
are inevitable under present conditions. So, make yourselves holy
by this consecrated service. This will bring you the saving grace.
By shaping these children in divine form you are helping their
parents too to set their minds right; you are brightening and
cleansing the homes of the pupils.
When that little boy recited the story of the Geetha, so
feelingly, every one was moved; when towards the end, he turned to
Me and Said, "Now, we have this Sai Krishna..." he was so overcome
with Aanandha (bliss) that he sobbed and shed tears of joy.
Perhaps he had a vision of Krishna! So intense was his faith and
his sincerity. His heart was echoing every sentiment that his
tongue was expressing. Children such as he are needed for our
country at this juncture. You have read of Prahlaadha, Dhruva and
other children filled with devotion to God; they lived in ages
that have gone by. You have seen now that such children are here,
in this age too; I am sure they will reform and transmute many
Hiranyakashipus (unbelieving fathers) by their unflinching
devotion and transparent dedication.
Do what God likes, not what You like
Arjuna announced at the commencement of the battle of
Kurukshethra, 'I will not fight against these people'. Then,
Krishna asked him, 'Won't you do what I like?' and he had to
reply, 'Yes. Of course'. Then, the Lord told him, "Look here: I
have come as man in order to re-establish Dharma (righteousness);
yours is the Kshathriya Dharma; it casts on you the duty to fight
against unrighteousness. You will be doing what I like if,
according to the demands of Kshathriya Dharma, you fight, as first
planned". Do what He likes, not what you like - that is the way to
win the grace of God. He likes you to revere all beings, not to
injure or insult any being; he likes you when you do not bear in
your heart the tiniest grudge against any being.
The Baalavihaars run in schools, in the hours now given to them
out of the school time table, are not as successful as those run
by you in your home centres, I know; the School Vihaars try to
make the children successfully ride two horses at the same time -
the regular curriculum and the Sathya Sai ideals. You are doing
your best, I know, and that is enough. Develop cordiality among
yourselves, exchange experiences and share your ideas for
improvements. This is an excellent opportunity for you to feel the
bonds of the Sai family, where each teacher is a sister of the
other.