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Being Near and Dear to God...
Whatever
a man sees in the world arouses fear in him. Detachment alone can
free him from fear. Failing to grasp this profound truth, man is
allowing his desires to multiply, without realising that desires
promote attachment instead of detachment.
As long as man is attached to the body, he cannot get over the
desire to possess the objects that attract him. A man afflicted
with the acquisitive impulse can never get rid of worries. To
overcome this attachment and possessiveness, ancient sages
tailored their educational system so that it promoted
self-control. Self-control also developed humility and thus,
humility became the true index of right education. Control of the
senses is absolutely essential for achieving humility, and
education must promote such control.
Today's educational system is concerned mostly with imparting
bookish knowledge, and students seek education only as a means for
earning a living. This link between education and employment has
to be severed, and education must instead be transformed into the
process of acquiring True Wisdom.
In life, there are two aspects that have to be considered, rights
and duties. Most people are concerned only with their rights and
engage in struggles to secure them. Seldom do they recognise their
responsibilities. This is true of all fields of human activity -
social, political, economic and even spiritual. Lack of
self-control is responsible for all this.
Men should regard their senses as potential enemies and not allow
senses to have their own way. They should be subject to one's
control and direction. What is the easiest way to achieve this
mastery? Only the spiritual path. If there is real faith and
devotion in man, the senses would be powerless against him. It is
the decline in faith and devotion that has led man to become a
slave of the senses.
The prompting of intellectual reasoning should not be identified
with the dictates of the Conscience. Rather, the directives should
come from the Heart. When you dive deep into a problem and enquire
whether what you do is in the interests of your friends and
Society in general, your Conscience will give you the right answer.
Man is made up of three constituents, the body, the Mind and the
Atma. Man needs the body for performing actions. But, if the
actions are done without using the discriminating power of the
Mind, man would be behaving like an animal, which acts on impulse.
Moreover, if the Mind, without relying on the eternal and ever
pure Atma, follows the demands of the body and the senses, the
actions would be demonic. Bereft of the influence of the Atma, the
combination of the Mind and the body can lead to demonic qualities.
However, when one is installed in the Atmic principle,
transcending the body and the Mind, one attains the Divine.
Hence, sanctify all your words, thoughts and deeds. Make your
Heart pure so that it becomes a worthy abode for the Divine.
Excerpts from a Discourse of
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Source:
Radio Sai
E-Magazine, 1st October 2003
http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_01/03OCT01/Blossoms/SSSpeaks.htm
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