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Divine
Discourse on 11th October 2005 - Dasara
Vision of the Divine
Text of the Divine Discourse
delivered by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 11th October 2005,
Dasara, in Sai Kulwanth Hall, Prashanti Nilayam
Dear students!
All people in the world desire to have the vision of God and, in
fact, crave for the unique opportunity to merge in His divine
effulgence. This intense yearning for that great privilege is
not a novel phenomenon. It has been there ever since human
beings appeared in the world. In consonance with this yearning,
several sages and seers in the past have craved for the vision
of God and ultimate merger with divinity. This is truly an
ancient tradition. Thus, the singing of the divine glory has
been passed on from generation to generation in the country of
Bharath. Right from start Narada has been an incessant singer of
the glories of the divine name. What is the use of mere chanting
of the divine name for one's own satisfaction? He, therefore,
advocated the nine-fold path of devotion:
"Sravanam, Kirthanam, Vishnu Smaranam, Padasevanam, Vandanam,
Archanam, Dasyam, Sneham, and Atma Nivedanam" (listening,
singing, constant contemplation on God, serving His lotus feet,
salutation, worship, servitude, friendship and self surrender.)
One day, Narada prayed to Lord Narayana "Lord! we are only
chanting the divine name, but the essence of the divine name is
in you. It is only when you bless us to partake of that divine
essence, our life will be sanctified." Some people misunderstood
the prayer of sage Narada and started doubting the efficacy of
namasmarana in attaining the lotus feet of God. Opinions
differed. Arguments and counter arguments for and against
following a particular path continued. Such differences of
opinion have been there right from ancient times. Some people
tried to argue with Narada saying, "Sir, we are not able to
visualise God." Narada replied, "As much is your yearning, in
proportion shall be the grace." Each individual in this world
follows his own chosen path. But, the Paramathma is one
for all!
In Dwapara Yuga, Radha, a great devotee of Lord Krishna
continued to pine for His darshan and constant proximity.
She had a sister by name Prabha. Prabha was, however, against
such intense yearning, for Him. One day Radha was going to
Brindavan singing the divine glory of Lord Krishna. Her sister
Prabha and her husband were also accompanying her. Prabha used
to be constantly in the company of her husband. She could not
bear her separation from him even for a moment, just as Radha
could not bear the separation from Krishna. However, Radha
continued to pray to Krishna to change Prabha's mind and develop
devotion in her for Krishna. Krishna, however, counselled
patience saying, "Why do you worry? A time will come when she
will also develop intense devotion and yearning for Me." Krishna
used a variety of plays to bring about a transformation in the
hearts of several people. He used to display several leelas for
this purpose. Since Radha was longing for a change of heart in
the case of her sister Prabha, Krishna told her, "You wanted Me
to change the mind of your sister and develop devotion in her.
Let her witness the glory of My leelas and develop faith
in My divinity gradually. Once she realises the nature of My
divinity, she will herself become an embodiment of divinity, in
keeping with the saying "Brahma vid Brahmaiva bhavathi"
(one who realises Brahma will become Brahman verily). Some
people worship Me with devotion (bhakthi), others
constantly contemplate on me with hatred (dwesha). I am
indifferent to both dushana (abuse) and bhushana
(praise). I am beyond all dushana and bhushana. I
accept all in an equal attitude. Prabha continued her hostile
attitude towards Krishna for some time. In course of time, there
was a perceptible change in her attitude. One day, she
accompanied Radha to the place where Krishna was happily
spending His time in the midst of Gopikas, singing and dancing.
Prabha from then on continued to spend her time blissfully in
the divine presence of Krishna. Both Radha and Prabha used to
share this divine experience daily. Thus, Krishna could bring
about a change of heart in Prabha with His divine leelas.
God is unblemished and pure. In fact, He corrects the mistakes
that are there in the devotees and takes them into His fold. He
will not distance Himself from anyone. Lord Krishna is a
Leelamanusha vigraha (donning a Human vesture as part of His
divine sport). Both Radha and Prabha firmly decided that they
would not move away from the company of Lord Krishna. In fact,
Krishna gave a glimpse of His divinity to Radha on one occasion
and explained to her, "Radha! Humanbeings are entangled in
maya (illusion). They are deluded to think that God in human
form is also a human being like them. You can not develop love
towards a person without developing attachment to him. This is
true in the case of God in human form also. Hence, first you
will have to develop attachment to a particular form of God, in
order to love God. In order that people should develop
attachment to the form of their choice, God assumes several
forms. However, God is unblemished and remains an embodiment of
purity".
None can fathom the divine Leelas of Lord Krishna.
Sometimes, He manifested in His full divine glory. Sometimes, He
behaved like an ordinary human being. Yet another time, He acted
as a simpleton. Nevertheless, Krishna was Krishna, i.e., God in
human form! In fact, even the Gopalas and Gopikas who moved
constantly in the company of their dear Lord Gopala and were
witnesses to several divine Leelas could not fully
appreciate His divine nature. The question that constantly
baffled the minds of people was why Krishna should indulge in
such divine Leelas. It was only to develop in the minds
of His devotees intense attachment to His form and thereby
develop devotion in them. He had no desires at all, excepting
this. The constant company of Radha developed intense devotion
in her sister Prabha. Finally, as is the company so is the
transformation. "Tell me your company I shall tell you what you
are!" Accordingly, Radha and Prabha became one in the end. In
fact, Prabha's real name was Chandrika and her mother used to
call her by that name. All others used to call her Prabha.
It is very difficult to bring about a transformation in the
human mind. Only God can accomplish this task. Several people
approach Me and pray "Swami! Please change the mind of my son.
He has developed hatred towards his parents for some reason; we
do not know why. Normally, he is a good boy. He never takes to
bad ways. Please Swami! Change his mind so that he will behave
well towards his parents." A mind is a mind after all!
Sometimes, some people are beyond redemption. I therefore
express My inability in such cases. It is said "Manomoolam
idam jagath" (the mind is the basis for the entire objective
world).
"A knotted gnarled tree
trunk may be made straight as a pole
A shapeless hunk of rock can be carved to form a beautiful
divine idol
Is there a one who can make the wavering human mind
unruffled?"
(Telugu Poem)
It is only when man develops faith
in God that God will come to the rescue of man. In fact,
divinity is not confined to any form. It is a power and that
power is infinite. Such an infinite power can accomplish any
difficult task. God may assume a number of forms, but the divine
power is only one and the same. The same Atmatattwa that
is residing in this body as the indweller is present in every
human being as well. For example, you may refer to the electric
current as DC or AC, but the basic nature of the current is the
same. Similarly, the Atmatattwa is the same in every
human being. Considering the prapthi (deservedness) of
the concerned individuals, God interferes to bring about
transformation in them.
While doing so, God will conform to some form of self imposed
norms. Transformation of the human mind can not be brought about
by a human being or by chanting some manthra. It is only
when God wills so, is it possible. God can accomplish anything
and everything. He can be present anywhere and everywhere. In
keeping with the declaration "Ekam eva advitheeyam Brahma"
(Brahma is only one, without a second). God does not change. If
He changes, the whole universe will change. It is a serious
misconception to think that God has changed. God is truth,
eternal and unblemished. None can change such a Paramathma
(supreme self). It is not easy to comprehend the divinity.
Embodiments of Love!
No human being's love equals that of God. God's love is
unchanging. He may assume any number of forms, but His love
towards human beings remains unchanged. God is attributeless,
pure, eternal, unsullied, final abode, enlightened, liberated
and embodiment of sacredness. You may call God by any name ?
Venkateshwara, Rama, Krishna or Saibaba. Only names differ, God
is only one. That is why divinity has been explained as "Ekam
eva advitheeyam Brahma" (Brahma is only one, without a second).
Some people may think that God has assumed a human form like
Rama or Krishna and hence now there is no God. What has really
happened in this example is that God has not changed, He remains
changeless irrespective of the form He assumes. It is only a
change in our perception of God. God's will is immutable.
Embodiments of Love!
Cultivate pure love; for, purity is unity and that unity is
divinity. Let your individual love be transformed into pure love
for God. Sometimes, people have a doubt whether God's love
towards them had undergone a change. Never; God's love will
never undergo a change. For example, you have a log of wood. You
can make any kind of furniture with it, like a chair or a bench.
But the basic material, that is wood, remains the same.
Similarly, God's love always remains unchanged. God can
accomplish any task. Sometimes He may give darshan to
some people, while others may not have this benefit. Much
depends upon their mental attitude. Cultivate unflinching faith
and single-minded devotion to God. Several Yogis and renunciants
yearned for the darshan of God, but few could win that
grace with unflinching faith and single-minded devotion to God.
Sometime ago when I visited Rishikesh, I gave darshan to
Swami Purushothamananda living in the Vasishta cave located on
the way to Badrinath in the Himalayas. He was doing thapas,
living alone in that cave. He used to keep a small oil lamp in
that cave. The cave was located a little interior from the road
point. He used to purchase milk and make some tea with it. That
was his only food. Rest of the time, he was always immersed in
thapas. Days rolled by. After sometime, he did not have
enough strength to come to the road point for purchasing milk
and again getting back to his cave. Hence, he made his trips
less frequent, that is, once in a week, to obtain milk. One day,
he came to know that Bhagavan Baba was staying in the Sivananda
ashram for a few days. He was longing to have Swami's
darshan. He, therefore, sent a letter through a messenger
praying "Bhagavan! Please come to our cave and grant darshan
to me." I was aware of his intense devotion towards Swami. I saw
his letter and I immediately rushed to Vasishta cave to give him
darshan. The entrance to the cave was closed with a door.
Purushothamananda had no energy left in him to get up and open
the door. Kasturi accompanied Me during My trip. He was quite
strong then. Both Kasturi and Myself tried to open the door. At
last we could succeed in opening the door. Purushothamananda was
extremely happy on seeing both of us. He wanted to spend a few
minutes alone in the Divine Presence of Swami. He, therefore,
advised Kasturi to go inside the cave and have a look at it.
Kasturi, with his journalistic inquisitiveness went in.
Purushothamananda fixed his gaze on Me and was lost in bliss.
After a few moments, he regained his normal self. I told
Purushothamananda that I would visit his cave once again. The
very next day I visited Purushothamananda and spent some time
with him again. After My return to Sivananda ashram,
Swami Sivananda was a bit disappointed that I visited
Purushothamananda's cave twice and did not find much time to
spend in the Sivananda Ashram.
On my second visit to Vasishta cave, I took a piece of paper
from Kasturi and wrote a particular date for My next visit to
Purushothamananda's ashram. On the scheduled date,
Purushothamananda took a holy bath in the Ganges and was eagerly
waiting for My darshan. Deeply lost in contemplation on
my Divine Form, he had divine vision after sometime. A few
minutes later, he left his mortal coil in that deep samadhi
state itself. The news was conveyed to Me while I was in Delhi.
I was informed by a telegram that Purushothamananda merged in
Swami. I confirmed the news saying, "yes, yes". Strangely, his
birthday and the day on which he attained samadhi were
one and the same. Later on, when the door of the Vasisthta cave
was opened, the entire cave was smeared with vibhuti! The
body of Purushothamananda was later let into the river Ganges by
the disciples of Sivananda. From then on, the name and fame of
Purushothamananda spread far and wide. The disciples of
Purushothamananda thereafter visited Prasanthi Nilayam to have
My darshan. They stayed in the ashram for full ten
days. I provided them good accommodation and all conveniences.
They enjoyed Swami's darshan, sparshan and
sambhashan in full measure and finally left for their place,
carrying with them the love and blessings of Swami.
Purushothamananda was a noble soul. He was really a
Purushothama (the best among men). This is the story of
Purushothamananda.
Every one was happy to read in newspapers that Bhagawan Sri
Sathya Sai Baba had visited on two days the ashram of
Swami Purushothamananda. Your happiness is My happiness. The
Vasishta cave is still as it was when Purushothamananda lived
there. It is perfectly clean and holy, permeating divine
atmosphere in the entire ashram. The disciples of
Purushothamananda told Me: "Swami! The entire atmosphere in the
ashram is permeated by divine vibrations. We feel as
though Swami Purushothamananda is still with us". I told them:
"Fine! You continue to feel his presence there and enjoy bliss".
During My last visit to Delhi, I arranged for conducting
bhajan on Purushothamananda's birthday, keeping a photo of
Purushothamananda there. Thus, several sages and seers display
intense love and devotion towards Me and pine for My divine
darshan.
Source:
http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Dasara_Discourse_11_10_05.htm |