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Love and Unity – Your True
and Eternal Property
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
delivering His Divine Discourse on 9th April, Ugadi, 2005 at
Prashanti Nilayam
Text of the Divine Discourse
delivered by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 9th April 2005,
Ugadi, at Prashanti Nilayam, Sai Kulwanth Hall
The creation emerges from truth
and merges into truth, Is there a place in the cosmos where truth does not exist? Ponder this pure and unsullied truth with wonder and joy.
(Telugu poem)
The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish
sooner or later but the indweller has neither birth nor death.
The indweller has no attachment whatsoever and is the eternal
witness. The indweller in the form of the Atma is verily God
Himself. (Telugu poem)
The melodious songs and Bhajans of the devotees from Hyderabad
this morning was a joy for the ears and feast for the heart.
Divine love is the most precious thing in this world. No amount
of extolling its virtues will exhaust its greatness as no living
thing of this world can be devoid of the influence of love.
Saint Thyagaraja sang:
From an ant to the Brahman, in Siva or in Kesava, You do
indwell in pure unsullied form of love, oh Rama, please be my
protector too. (Telugu Poem)
What is the form of an ant and what is the form of Brahman?
Brahman is infinite. On the other hand, ant is a tiny creature.
From the physical point of view, there can be no comparison
between the form of an ant and the form of Brahman. But from the
spiritual point of view, Divinity is immanent in both.
A hungry bear once went to an anthill and pleaded with an ant
saying, "I am unable to bear the pangs of hunger. Please give me
some food." The ant could not control its laughter. It said,
"How can a tiny creature like me alone provide food for you? I
don't have sufficient food to satisfy your hunger, wait, let me
see what can be done." It is natural for ants to store food for
six months in their anthills. It went inside and with the help
of its fellows brought out some of the food that had been
stored. The bear wondered, "How could a tiny creature like an
ant store so much food?" If one has the desire and puts in the
necessary effort, one can amass anything; it does not matter
whether one is big or small. It is said, Jantunam Nara Janma
Durlabham (out of all living beings, human birth is the
rarest). Ants, though tiny in form, are able to acquire food,
share it with friends and also store for future. But, modern
man, in spite of being endowed with intelligence, is frequently
unable to earn his food even for a single day. Is it not a
matter of shame? In this world, there is no being superior to
the human intelligence. But they are unable to make proper use
of their intelligence. They conduct themselves in an unworthy
manner because of their selfishness and self-interest. Humans do
not lack for anything in their life. There is everything at
their disposal. They lack the discrimination to make proper use
of the resources available. They are not able to give up their
petty qualities and rise to a higher level. There is a lesson to
be learnt even from ants. When an ant bites ones leg, one feels
the irritation and immediately tries to kill it. But they are
not making efforts to kill the evil qualities within themselves
which are making their lives miserable.
Embodiments of Love! In this vast world, no matter where you look, you cannot find
any motive power more powerful and more valuable than love.
Deep-rooted selfishness and self-interest are making man's
intelligence perverted and leading him astray. When you give up
selfishness, humanness will blossom in you and your latent
powers will manifest. Your power of intelligence will become
manifold.
Embodiments of Love! Nowadays students are reading a wide variety of books. But there
is little use in studying a Pustaka (book), if the Mastaka
(head) is filled with rubbish. Students are filling their heads
with useless information and in the process are misusing their
energy. There is no point in going through a number of textbooks
over and over again. They cannot save you from the cycle of
birth and death. You should acquire such knowledge, which will
make you immortal. Present day students have become proficient
in bookish knowledge. They have the intelligence to answer any
question from the textbook. But they are not making efforts to
translate their bookish knowledge into practical knowledge.
One may acquire a high academic qualification such as M.A.
and B.A. and attain exalted position, One may amass wealth, perform acts of charity and attain name
and fame, One may have physical strength and enjoy a long and healthy
life, One may be a great scholar studying and preaching the Vedas, But none can equal a true devotee of the Lord. (Telugu Poem)
The knowledge one acquires should be utilised for the benefit of
society. We should utilise our wealth and knowledge not for
selfish purposes, but for the welfare of others. God has given
you the human body not merely to eat, sleep and enjoy worldly
pleasures. Paropakarartham Idam Sariram (human body is
meant to do good to others). The body is given to you so that
you make proper use of your intelligence and power of
discrimination and manifest your innate human values. Of what
use is your education and intelligence if society is not
benefited by them? Presently man is making new discoveries and
inventions but till this day he has not really understood the
purpose of human birth. What is the meaning of the word Manava
(human being)? 'Ma' means Ajnana (ignorance), 'Na' means
without, 'Va' means Varthinchuta (vrittih yasya sah)
(to conduct oneself). Hence, Manava is one who conducts himself
without ignorance. But, these days we hardly find anyone leading
a life of wisdom in consonance with the name Manava. In spite of
being endowed with high degree of intelligence, man is
frittering away his life in vain pursuits. Before undertaking
any task, he should enquire whether it would befit the title of
a human being. He should accept everything as the Will of God.
God has blessed man with intelligence, knowledge and wealth so
that he will work for the welfare of others. But, man is acting
contrary to God's wish and thereby ruining himself. Animals like
bulls and buffaloes render service to man in a number of ways.
But, man lacks the spirit of service that even animals possess.
Without understanding the purpose of human birth, man is
developing demonic qualities and leading a miserable life. Vyashti (individual) signifies humanness and
Samashti
(society) symbolises divinity. Hence, one can attain divinity
only by serving society.
Embodiments of Love! You may be highly educated and intelligent, yet there is so much
you can learn from ants, birds and animals. These lessons of
life cannot be taught in the classroom. Even teachers are not
making efforts to understand the principle of divinity within.
Education is not meant to merely eke out a livelihood. You have
to share your knowledge with others, give joy to one and all and
thereby rise to the level of the Divine. Samatwa
(equal-mindedness) is the hallmark of a true human being. Manavatwa without
Samatwa cannot attain Divyatwa
(divinity). Hence, develop Samatwa in the first instance.
Divine power is latent in every human being. But man is becoming
weak as he is unable to realise his latent divine power. In
order to manifest the divine power, one should cultivate sacred
feelings. Manavatwa has not come into existence in the
recent past, it has been there since ages. Human being is born
from the womb of the mother, but humanness has originated from
divinity and is present at all times. There is divinity in every
human being. As he is unable to recognise his innate divinity,
man is forgetting his very human nature itself. What is the use
of being human only in form but not in practice? Human birth
will find fulfilment only when we practise human qualities. All
the sacred texts such as Upanishads and Sastras are meant to
show mankind the path of redemption. Man should manifest his
latent divinity by following their teachings. The sacred texts
will bring out the hidden treasures of divinity from within.
That is why Bhagawan has introduced Educare programme in the
educational institutions. Education is related to worldly
knowledge. It can be acquired by going through books, whereas
educare is meant to externalise the latent divinity in man.
Education has temporary benefits, whereas educare bestows
everlasting happiness. One cannot become great by mere
acquisition of education. One should practise educare and
manifest the latent values.
Embodiments of Love! Educare is the need of the hour. Only through educare can you
realise divinity which is present in every atom and every cell
of your body. In fact, you are seeing divinity every moment but
are unable to recognise this truth. You can call yourself
educated only when you recognise divinity which is
all-pervasive. Secular knowledge is related to education which
can be acquired from outside. It is mere bookish knowledge,
whereas educare cannot be acquired from books. No benefit
accrues by gathering information from books. What is required is
transformation and it is possible only through educare.
Acquisition of information which cannot lead to transformation
is a mere waste of time. But man has developed a taste for such
information which is but a waste. Man's intelligence, knowledge
and power are all the gifts of God. They have to be nourished
and made proper use of, through educare. Truly, God has endowed
man with immense potential. That is love. It is beyond all
description and measure. There is no greater power than this.
But man is giving up such power without realising its value. He
is under the mistaken notion that love means physical and
worldly relationship. True love lies in unification of two
hearts. People utter this word repeatedly without actually
knowing its meaning. Love does not hurt anybody. It always
helps. Hence, consider love as your true wealth. There is no
property greater than love in this world. You are misusing the
God-given gift of love by diverting it on worldly matters and
sensual pleasures. Your foremost duty is to make proper use of
love by following the dictum, Help ever, Hurt never.
There is no greater Dharma than this.
Embodiments of Love! Love is your only true and eternal property. But, you are
diverting it on mean and worldly pursuits. It should be
treasured in your heart and utilised for sacred purposes. You
may share it with any number of people, it will never diminish.
You are unable to understand and experience love in its true
spirit. Love is the life-breath of every being. In order to
understand love, you have to dive deep into the ocean of love.
Love cannot be understood from a superficial level, you have to
immerse yourself completely in love. Worldly love is such that
you can just taste it and give it up, but once you taste divine
love, you will never give it up. Love is God, God is love.
Hence, you cannot separate love from God. Live in love. That
is the only way you can understand love and experience God.
Embodiments of Love! It may be easy to give lectures on love, but it is difficult to
understand it. Make every effort to experience love. If you
understand the nature of your love, you will understand the love
of others. Love is in you, with you and around you. Once you
understand love, you will become the very embodiment of love.
Students! The more you understand the principle of love, the nobler you
will become. Once you understand the principle of love and put
it into practice, others will also try to emulate you.
In the epic Ramayana, not only the four brothers, Rama,
Lakshmana, Bharata, Satrughna, but also their wives played
important roles. They demonstrated great ideals to the world.
People extol only Rama and ignore the model conduct of the
others. In fact, each of them was as great as Rama Himself. You
might have heard of Sumitra, the mother of Lakshmana and
Satrughna. People do not attach much importance to her role in
the Ramayana. In fact, her name does not figure prominently in
the epic. She was a paragon of virtues. Her name Su-mitra itself
signifies that she was a good friend to one and all. She shared
her happiness with everyone. Kausalya and Kaikeyi had one son
each, whereas Sumitra had two sons.
When we enquire into the reason, we can understand the mystery
behind it. When Dasaratha performed the Putrakameshti Yaga,
the Yajna Purusha appeared and handed over the vessel of
sacred pudding to Vasishtha. Vasishtha gave the sacred pudding
to Dasaratha who in turn distributed it equally between his
three wives. Kausalya and Kaikeyi took their share of the
pudding to their respective Puja rooms. Each of them was happy
thinking that her son would be the heir apparent to Ayodhya
throne. But Sumitra had no such thoughts. She carried her bowl
of pudding to the terrace and placed it on the parapet wall
while drying her hair in the sun. Suddenly, an eagle swooped
down and carried away the bowl of sacred pudding. She
immediately ran down and informed Kausalya and Kaikeyi about
what had happened. Kausalya and Kaikeyi came to the rescue of
Sumitra and shared their sacred pudding with her.
Kaikeyi gave half of her share to Sumitra. Kausalya did the
same. In due course, Kausalya gave birth to Rama, Kaikeyi to
Bharata, and Sumitra to Lakshmana and Satrughna. The sons of
Kausalya and Kaikeyi were happily playing in their cradles
whereas Sumitra's sons were crying all the time, day and night,
without even taking food. Sumitra went to sage Vasishtha and
told him about her predicament. Sage Vasishtha closed his eyes.
His Yogic vision enabled him to know the truth. He said to
Sumitra, "As you partook of the sacred pudding given by
Kausalya, you gave birth to Lakshmana who is an Amsa (part) of
Rama. Similarly, Satrughna is born out of the share of pudding
given to you by Kaikeyi. So, he is a part of Bharata. Put
Lakshmana by the side of Rama and Satrughna by the side of
Bharata. Then they will rest peacefully." Sumitra did as
instructed by Vasishtha. The children became peaceful and
stopped crying. Sumitra felt very happy at this and said to
Kausalya and Kaikeyi, "Lakshmana and Satrughna are your gifts.
My children will serve your children. Lakshmana will serve Rama
and Satrughna will serve Bharata. It is my good fortune that my
sons will serve their brothers." This was the basis of the
intimate relationship between Rama and Lakshmana, Bharata and
Satrughna.
Sumitra used to experience ineffable bliss, since her two sons
Lakshmana and Satrughna were always in the company of Rama and
Bharata. She was never depressed by the separation of her
children. No one knows why certain things happen and for what
purpose. As the four sons of King Dasaratha were growing,
Lakshmana always used to accompany Rama and Satrughna would
accompany Bharata. Both Lakshmana and Satrughna were mighty
warriors. Without them, there can be no Ramayana at all!
Lakshmana was born to serve Rama and Satrughna was born to serve
Bharata. Lakshmana was the Embodiment of Love. Similarly,
Satrughna used to serve Bharata with all the power at his
command. Thus, the four brothers Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and
Satrughna were inseparable. Hence, it is not correct to say that
Rama was born to Kausalya, Bharata to Kaikeyi and Lakshmana and
Satrughna to Sumitra. Though their mothers were different, they
always used to move about in the company of one another. The
four brothers Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna are parts
of the same substance and facets of the same Divinity.
Similarly, their mothers Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi used to
move always in the company of one another. There was no discord
between them. The unity between the four brothers was in fact
the sum and substance of the story of Ramayana. None can
describe in full the glory of Ramayana. Each one attempted to
describe the glory of Ramayana in his own unique style. With the
result, a number of literary works on Ramayana have become
available today. The human nature is not limited to the mere
form. It consists of the body, mind, intellect, senses and above
all, the heart the seat of love. The Ramayana is a great story
of intense interaction between these five aspects of human
nature. It is not possible for anyone to fully describe the
interplay of these factors in Ramayana, however much one may
strive.
Once, Kausalya was engaged in some work. Meanwhile, Bharata came
running and sat on the lap of Kausalya and started crying.
Kausalya was a bit surprised about the reason for Bharata's
agony. She tried to console him and enquired as to what made him
cry. Bharata replied that they were playing a ball game and each
time Rama was purposely getting defeated in order to ensure the
victory of other brothers. Thus, the unity, love and affection
between the brothers were such that they always tried to please
others. They used to experience supreme bliss in the company of
one another. It was only Lakshmana who could understand fully
the nature of Rama and it is only Satrughna who could understand
fully the nature of Bharata.
The women in Ramayana were also exemplary in nature. When Rama
was going to the forest to fulfil the wishes and command of his
father, King Dasaratha, Sumitra asked Lakshmana to accompany
Rama. Immediately, Lakshmana followed him. He experienced great
joy in accompanying his elder brother Rama to the forest.
Similarly, Satrughna also experienced great joy in the company
of Bharata and accompanied him wherever he went. What does the
name of ‘Satrughna imply? It means the one who destroys the
enemies. Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna were ideal
brothers. It is not enough to merely extol their ideals, but we
must also try to experience that great bond of love in our
day-to-day lives and share it with others. The great epic
Ramayana is not a mere story. It also explains and expounds the
Atma Tattwa. One has to experience that Atma Tattwa with
reaction, reflection and resound. The Ramayana Tattwa has to be
understood properly and translated into our day-to-day lives.
Embodiments of Love! The Ramayana cannot be compared with other Puranic texts. It is
not merely a great poetic work, but a great treatise on human
relationships between parents and children, between brothers,
husband and wife and the king and his subjects. it is only when
we are able to understand the significance of Ramayana in this
larger context, that the country will prosper with love and
affection between the citizens. In a few years time, nay, very
shortly, the whole world will realise the greatness of Ramayana
and try to emulate the ideals set in Ramayana. Today, we find a
wide variety of nations, religions and castes in the world. No.
No. The situation will certainly change. Within a short span
of time, the world will realise the truth:
There is only one religion, the Religion of Love. There is only one caste, the Caste of Humanity. There is only one God, He is Omnipresent.
The greatest truth propounded by Ramayana is the oneness among
humanity. When there is such unity, there will be mutual love
between people. When that mutual love between different people
develops, the whole world can experience great joy and
happiness. Thus, it is only Ramayana that can provide great
joy to the entire humanity. Hence, let every individual
chant the Divine Name "Rama! Rama! Rama!"
Urmila, the wife of Lakshmana was a good painter. She was
painting a picture to be presented to Sri Rama on the occasion
of His coronation. Exactly at that moment, Lakshmana entered her
room. She wanted to get up and look who was the visitor. In the
confusion, the paint got spilled over the unfinished painting.
She felt very bad. "How come this painting got spoiled when
actually I wanted to portray the beauty and majesty of Sri Rama
on the occasion of His coronation and show it to the world", she
thought.
Urmila had a very compassionate heart. She always entertained
noble thoughts. She did not feel sad even for a moment when her
husband Lakshmana accompanied Rama to the forest. She was always
contemplating on Sri Rama during His exile to the forest. Not
only she, the wives of Bharata and Satrughna, Mandavi and
Srutakeerthi were also engaged in constant contemplation of Sri
Rama and praying for His return to Ayodhya. Thus, when they were
in constant contemplation of Rama, their strength increased day
by day. If you analyse the underlying meaning of every incident
in the Ramayana, all of them point to only one principle – the
principle of unity; unity between the brothers, unity between
their wives, etc. Even in times of calamity like when Lakshmana
fell unconscious during the war with the Rakshasas (demons) in
Lanka, Rama did not lose heart, neither Sumitra, the mother of
Lakshmana. She was always confident that no danger would ever
befall Lakshmana, since he was in the service of Lord Rama.
Thus, during the entire period of 14 years of Rama's exile to
the forest, all the brothers and their wives were always
thinking and wishing the well-being of Rama only; so, were their
mothers. Such was the nobility of their hearts.
Embodiments of Love!
Any amount of narration of the greatness and nobility of the
characters in the Ramayana will not suffice and do justice to
the cause. The story of Ramayana cannot be fully described since
it is "His Story".
The stories of Lord Vishnu are amazing, They purify the lives of the people in all the three worlds, They are like the sickles that cut the creepers of worldly
bondage, They are like good friends who help you in times of need, They are like shelters for the sages and seers doing penance in
the forest.
It is therefore, very essential for every human being to emulate
the ideals set by Lord Sri Rama in their day-to-day lives.
(Bhagawan concluded His Discourse with the Bhajan, "Rama Rama
Rama Sita …")
Source:
http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Ugadi_05_Discourse.htm |