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Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
September 17, 2000
The Main points from the Sunday Talk given by Anil Kumar on
September 17th, 2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(A) STORIES UPDATED
(1) Muslims Come to Prashanti Nilayam
(2) "Black and White, Both Are In Me."
(3) "If You Are Both Happy and Healthy, I Am Happy."
(B) TALK:
(1) On Fear of God
(2) Fear Takes Us To Worry
(3) How To Be Free From Worry
(4) On the Fear of Death
(5) Socrates
(6) Who Is a True Guru?
(7) What Is the Job of a Master or a Guru?
(8) God Does Not Have Any Anger
(9) God Promotes Us To the Higher Step
(10) The Story of an Old Devotee
(11) Guru Has a Body To Take You Out of Body Consciousness
(12) The Teachings of a Guru Touch Your Heart and Not the Mind
(13) Don't Have Doubts
(14) A Real Guru Will Always Speak About Your True Nature
(15) What Is 'Upasana', According To Bhagavan?
(16) God’s Compassion Has No Limits
(17) Total Passive Surrender
(18) Constant Integrated Awareness
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram.
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of our Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
(A) Stories Updated
It has become conventional just to think of what Swami has said on
the verandah to the boys because most of you may be anxious to
know what He talks about. I think I updated all that. But two days
back, I should inform you of what happened to keep you abreast of
the times with the latest information! (This is the age of Telecom,
you know, electronic media! We have got to be very fast in our
communications!)
(1) Muslims Come To Prashanti Nilayam
Two days back you must have watched Muslims here in Prashanti
Nilayam. Muslims wear a special white cap with embroidery. So from
a distance you could make out that they are Muslims. My impression
of Muslims is this - that they do not usually go to any temple.
They are very, very rigid about it. They do not accept prasadam (blessed
food), none whatsoever. (That’s my observation, subject to
correction by anybody.) They are very rigid and they don’t attend
any other discourses referring to other religions and faiths. That
has been my experience so far.
But the moment I saw them in large numbers, I could not believe it!
I had to put on a ‘question mark’ face. When Swami passed by me He
said, "Come here. You distribute prasadam to those people."
Because the fact which I could not swallow, the impression or
prejudice which I had been entertaining over years, had got to be
dispelled now.
So He made me distribute the prasadam to them. I had to bend
everytime to distribute - me, the fellow who used to receive
prasadam! To distribute is difficult! Eating is quite easy.
Distribution one has to bend. OK. It’s Lord’s Command. What can we
do?
After completing this He said, "Did you distribute to everybody?"
"Yes, Swami."
"Did you eat any?"
I said, "I did not even smell!"
Then He said, "That’s why they were adequate! That’s why the stock
was enough for distribution! Had you started eating, it would have
ended with yourself!"
And then I said, "Swami, it’s really wonderful, unbelievable to
find Muslims here in Prashanti Nilayam."
He said, "Why not?"
"Why not? Because my experience goes that usually they don’t go to
any other temple and they are very rigid about it. Fundamentalists."
Then He said, "No, no, no, no." He didn’t like my comment.
Then I said, in order to provoke a comment from Him, "Swami, they
have got all sorts of hatred and anger towards Hindus. Therefore
they do not attend any temple. They do not listen to Rama or
Krishna, as far as I know."
Do you know what Baba said? "They may hurt anybody. They may have
hatred or anger, whatever qualities they may have. Hatred and
anger, they have to leave them outside to get into My Presence.
They have to leave them outside. All your jealousies, all of your
bickerings, all of your quarrels, you have to leave them outside
at the gate and only then, enter and come to Me," He said.
It is really a very, very beautiful statement. We find Iran and
Iraq never sail together. We also know Soviet Russia and the
United States do not go together. India and Pakistan's
relationship is universally well-known! Better not discussed! And
even among Christians, the Catholics and the Protestants don’t go
hand-in-hand. Among Hindus, the Vaishnavites and Saivites, they
don’t see eye-to-eye with each other. If a Vaishnavite, a follower
of Vishnu, happens to see a Saivite, a devotee of Shiva, he has to
take bath immediately because it is inauspicious to look at the
face of a devotee of Shiva! That has been the spirit of love
between them!
Under these circumstances, is it not wonderful to find all living
together, all sitting at one place, Muslims, Christians, Hindus,
of all denominations, of all subsects, singing together the Glory
of one God. Why? Bhagavan said, "All your hatred and anger, you
have to keep it outside and then only get into this Mandir."
Yes. But my friends, as we go back, let us not pick up our baggage
again and go! That is the caution I can tell you. All that baggage,
we kept it outside. But while going back, we collect our baggage
there! Let us see that we do not collect it again. Let us empty
ourselves of all this prejudice and bias.
The second day also the Muslims were there.
And He said, "Why are they still there?"
He asked me. Who are we to tell? So I said, "Swami, how do I know?"
Then Swami said, "Look here, I constructed a school for them some
time back – for Muslims, an Arabic school and they have the
Primary School classes run over there. They want some extra rooms
to be constructed now. So they have come for money."
"Oh, Swami, is that so?"
And then He said, "You can also again distribute prasadam there."
Very big-sized, mega-size ladus! The others yesterday were only
micro-size. These were mega! They were quite fine. So attractive.
They were so fresh! But "Father lead us not to temptation!" was my
prayer at that time.
I distributed all ladus and returned. And Bhagavan went there and
spoke to those Muslims brothers. From a distance I could see
smiles. I could also hear claps and loud cheers.
So when Swami came I said, "Swami, what is it? Why are they
clapping like that?" He was very kind enough. He did not say, "How
are you concerned?" My stars were good that day!
And you know what He said? "They want to construct a Kalyana
Mantapam, a place where weddings will be performed for Muslims.
They want a Community Hall where Muslims can perform the weddings
there."
"Oh Swami, is that so?"
"They want to make it ‘Allah Sai Kalyana Mantapam’."
We’ve heard the name ‘Allah Sai, Moula Sai’ in bhajan songs. But I
have not heard of a Kalyana Mantapam like this: ‘Allah Sai Kalyana
Mantapam’.
"Oh, Swami, 'Allah Sai'?"
"Yes."
Then I asked, "So what are You going to do? What was Your response?"
Bhagavan said, "What response? I called immediately engineers and
asked them to get it ready for them at the earliest. When they ask,
I will do it immediately."
People speak of the unity of religions, the fellowship of faiths
in high language. Well, here is Bhagavan who translates into
action what all He stands for, what all He speaks about, by
granting them schools, by constructing a Kalyana Mantapam for them.
Well, that’s no ordinary thing. That I wanted to share with you.
Om Sai Ram
(2) "Black and White, Both Are In Me."
Another point I also wanted to share with you: Yesterday evening,
the latest information…I give you the hot-hot things from the oven,
I tell you…one gentleman came for Bhagavan’s darshan. I know him.
I have heard him speak earlier.
Swami called out, "Come on, come on." That man came and had
padanamaskar. And then Swami went on speaking about that
gentleman: "He’s from Zambia. He’s running a school there. He and
his wife, both of them work for the school. It is running very
well. Most of them are native Africans. Most of them are Africans,
black," He said.
How to continue the discussion is my job now?
"You mean to say black people?"
Then He said, "Hey! Don’t talk like that!"
I purposefully did it. I know the danger involved! As life risk is
not there because Swami is there, no problem. Had I said it in
USA, I would have been finished!
"Black people?!?"
Bhagavan said, "Hey, don’t say that! All are same to Me. All are
same, black and white, no distinction."
Then I said softly, "We have differences, Swami. We have
differences."
Then Swami said, "That’s why you are suffering! That’s why you are
suffering since you have differences!"
Then Bhagavan said, "I don’t have any difference because the black
and white, both are in Me mixed. Both are in Me mixed. Both of
them are mixed in Me. So there’s nothing like one being above the
other. No difference. Both are in Me."
That’s what Bhagavan said just yesterday evening.
Om Sai Ram
(3) "If You Are Both Happy and Healthy, I Am Happy."
To keep you again informed of the latest, this morning Swami was
passing by and He spoke to one young man working there in the
hospital. He was inquiring about the health of a VIP, a very
important man. He was just asking him, "How is he?"
He said, "He’s alright. He’s alright."
Then Swami said, "Is he happy?"
That young man said, "He’s happy, Swami."
"Is he healthy?" He said.
"Swami, he’s healthy."
"Oh." Then Swami walked a few steps and said, "Healthy man should
be there. He should be healthy in the hospital. He should be
healthy. But some of you are happy, but you are not healthy. But
if you are happy and you are healthy, I am happy. If you are both
happy and healthy, I am happy." That’s what Bhagavan said.
Then He looked at me and I said, "What a subtle distinction you
brought between the two: happiness and being healthy. Healthy and
happy, they should go together."
That’s the remark that Bhagavan made this morning.
Om Sai Ram
(B) TALK:
(1) On Fear of God
We often think of one important factor everywhere in our life.
More than love for the Lord, most of us have fear of God. When we
have this fear towards God, we cannot call it devotion. In fact as
Bhagavan says, "God is dearer and nearer than one’s own parents."
When God is so near and dear, nearer and dearer than our own
physical parents, if we are afraid of Him, if we fear Him, can we
call it devotion by any standards? No.
Some of the religions, some of the faiths, emphasize this factor:
fear of the Lord. But Bhagavan Baba always says, "Do not fear God.
Love God. Live in Love. God is Love. Love is God." That’s what He
says repeatedly.
Then why do we fear Him? We often fear Him because as Bhagavan
says, "Why fear? Why fear at all?" The answer given by Bhagavan is
"Where there is a mistake, there is fear." Because of the mistakes
committed by us, we have fear. We fear everyone.
(2) Fear Takes Us To Worry
When there is no mistake or blemish, we don’t need to be afraid of
anybody. We can afford to be fearless all the time. All right. If
we fear God, it does not end there. The fear takes you to another
step. That’s the reason why we have to cut it off or chop it off
at the beginning itself, uproot it. Because if fear is allowed, it
takes us to worry. Fear takes us to worry. We go on worrying. And
what is worry according to Bhagavan? "Worry is mentally-created
fear."
(My friends, I am not tired to repeat any number of times that
these are all the teachings and sayings of Swami, nothing of my
own because I am fortunate that I do not know anything else. I am
very fortunate because I am free from confusion. I am not confused.
I will not confuse you. Too much of reading confuses me, and you
are left in a state of confusion confounded!)
So what is worry now? Mentally-created fear. Third question: How
to be free from worry? First, what is fear? Second, what is worry?
Third, how not to get worried? How not to worry. We worry, yes.
How not to worry? We always want to find a solution for our
worries. Solution for our worries is not a guarantee for total
stop of the worries. No. We should find out this: how not to worry.
(3) How To Be Free From Worry
Bhagavan gave two answers, two points here: One, live in the
present, live in the moment, live in existence. Because we live in
the past, we worry. We want to live in the future, we worry.
‘After thirty years, who will take care of me?’ ‘After twenty-five
years, what will happen to me?’ Anything may happen to you, but
nothing will happen to the world.
So it is all unnecessary worry and anxiety. We get worried for
nothing. Those that live in the past, those that live in future,
they only worry. In order to see that we do not worry, the only
solution, the answer provided by Bhagavan is, "To live with the
moment. To live in existence. To live in the present. That’s all."
And at one time He has gone to the extent of saying, "I do not
know what worry is. Really I want to know how worry tastes, even
now. Well, I don’t know the taste of it." That’s what Baba said.
"I don’t know what worry is. I don’t know how you people worry. I
want to know what worry is." Dear God wants to know what worry is!
But sometimes He makes us get worried by not looking at us, by not
taking the letters, yes. Shall I say He is a source of worry at
the time of darshan line? Yes.
So, then Swami says, "I don’t know what worry is. I don’t worry
anytime. The reason is things happen on their own accord. Things
that are destined to happen, things that are sure to happen, they
happen in their own way. By your worry, you are not going to
change the scheme of things. By your worry, you are not going to
change the destiny. You are not going to change the Will of God.
Why worry? Let things happen. That’s all. What is bound to happen,
will happen. So, don’t worry of the future. Don’t worry of the
past. Live in the present." That is one way of not worrying at
all.
The second point He said how not to worry is this: If you are
aware of your true Self, if I abide in the Self, if I know my true
identity there that I am the Self, the Divine, the Atma, the
spirit, the consciousness, I don’t have to worry. Why? Because my
true nature is consciousness. My true nature is the Divine which
is changeless, which is not affected by changes of time; which is
not affected by changes of circumstances or events that follow in
sequential order. The Self does not know what jumps and bumps are,
what ups and downs are, up on the peak, then down into the valley.
The Self remains all the same. So, when once I know that I am the
true eternal Self which is immortal, which is nectarine, which is
eternal Truth, unpolluted, changeless, immovable, unshakable,
deathless, you don’t have to worry. That is the second point that
Bhagavan said.
(4) On the Fear of Death
What is the highest fear that most of us have, or the worst of the
fears? What is it that creates the highest intensity of fear
amongst everybody of any country? That is death. Death is the
greatest fear. It creates fear of the highest intensity. What does
Bhagavan say? How to be free from the fear of death? What was His
point?
Bhagavan said one point: "Death is the dress of life." When I
change my body, I have to consider that I am changing my dress.
That’s all. When I change my dress and wear a new suit, a new suit
straight from Sears or Penny’s or Mercury’s, from a department
store like that in the USA, I don’t have to cry. I should feel all
the more happy.
So when you change your dress, you feel all the more happy because
you look young enough. You draw the attention of everyone. You are
more handsome. Therefore, death is the dress of life. This death
is going to make you attain youth, change the worn-out body, the
body which is rather tired out.
You are disgusted with that body. Why? You cannot walk due to the
joint problems, arthritis. You cannot keep your neck straight and
listen to the discourses because of spondilitis. We cannot get
ourselves exposed to cold weather because of bronchitis. So
arthritis, spondilitis, and bronchitis are the problems at this
age. Memory fails. Vision fails. Hearing is not clear. We
ourselves are disgusted with this body. What is the fun of
continuing in that body?
So death is a celebration! Death is not an occasion of mourning.
Death is not a moment of misery. Death is a joyful occasion. Death
is to be welcomed because ‘old order changeth, yielding place to
new’. This is the law of life. Therefore, we will never be victims
to this fear of death when we are aware of the fact that we are
going to look brighter than before, younger than before, more
energetic than before, more handsome than before, more active and
be more meaningful than before. So it has to be viewed in a
different way because death is a celebration. It is a holy
occasion. It is a sacred occasion. It is not inauspicious as most
of us think.
(5) Socrates
Socrates was a Greek philosopher. Most of us must be knowing him,
must have heard a lot of him. Bhagavan often quotes excerpts from
Socrates’ teachings. Socrates was sentenced to death, as many of
you know. When Socrates was sentenced to death, do you know what
he said? "After all, the body is going to die some day or other."
Smiling he said this.
Socrates smilingly said: "After all, the body is going to die
today or tomorrow. What if you are going to kill me? What if you
are going to poison me? What if you are going to put me behind the
bars? You have sentenced me to death, so what? Because death is
certain. Some day or other, I am going to die. There is nothing
great in killing me because I am going to be lost on my own!"
So he just laughed at it. And further Socrates said, "Death is a
joke to me. Death is the biggest joke. I simply laugh at the death.
Nothing to feel sorry about it." That’s what Bhagavan has said
about Socrates.
Further it is also said that this worry and fear go together
constantly. Bhagavan has put it in a beautiful way: "The eternal
Self, the Atma, the consciousness is immortal, amrita. But when
this consciousness, being immortal, amrita, gets identified with
the body, it suspects death. Therefore, it expresses itself in the
form of delusion. Delusion or illusion is nothing but body
identification. Body identification is a delusion. Identification
with the consciousness is realization. Realization is
identification with the consciousness. Identification with the
body is illusion or delusion." That’s what Bhagavan has said.
(6) Who Is a True Guru?
I am also happy to share with you an important factor regarding a
true Guru or a true Teacher. Let me not use ‘teacher’ because most
of us are teachers, not worth the name! Because we work for our
salaries. So the paid people are teachers by profession, not by
choice, not by birth, not by right. They’re teachers of
professional value, to eke out their living, to carry on their
livelihood. We can’t call them Gurus or Masters or Preceptors.
Preceptors, Prophets, Masters, Gurus are of that cadre who don’t
wait for revision of the salaries, who don’t go on trying for
extra income! That’s what Bhagavan said: They have no body
attachment, no worldly attachment, no worldly relationships, no
bondage. They are men of sacrifice. Only such people are the
Masters then and now and in future.
Who are they? Two points: no body attachment, no worldly bondage.
They don’t have any attachment towards the world. Nothing to do
with the world, nor with repute or disrepute, profit or loss,
praise or blame. They are not at all bothered with the world and
its vagaries. Further they’re not bothered about their own body.
Such people are Gurus.
(7) What Is the Job of a Master or a Guru?
What does Swami say about Gurus? What is the job of a Master or a
Guru? Bhagavan tells you, "The job of a Master is to make you go
within, is to make you turn inward." Unfortunately we want outward
guidance. We want outward messages. We want outward
acknowledgement of our presence. We want outward smiles. We want
outward receipt of our letters. So we want or we go by everything
that is outward. But the job of a Guru is to make you turn inward.
A Master makes you turn inward. We cannot afford to be outward all
through our lives.
Bhagavan will make you pass through that stage even by force at
one time or other. I say ‘by force’ why? He will attract you so
much, taking letters every time, granting you interviews every
time, smiling to make you feel that you are very important. He
takes you to the top of the Himalayas! There He drops you! To such
an extent that you begin to feel, ‘Did He ever talk to me? Does He
know me? Why does He look like that? Why does He not recognize me?
Can’t He just give a smile to me? Why is He like that?’ Life is
like that.
The one who is so close for a long time is distanced later. Let us
not take it negatively, my friends. Those who are distanced after
having enjoyed nearness, they are in the second stage of evolution.
They are in the higher stage of advancement. How, why do you say
that? In the first stage, they enjoy physical nearness. In the
first stage, they enjoy physical proximity. They enjoy all that is
external: smiles, letters, interviews, and all that.
(8) God Does Not Have Any Anger
Now that Swami stopped talking to them, now that Swami stopped
looking at them (not with any ill feeling because these feelings
have no place in the Divinity), they begin to look within. God
does not have any anger. Anger and Divinity do not go together.
God is Love. Love and anger cannot go together. He’s not angry.
It’s only our guilty conscience that makes us feel like that.
Some people come and tell me, "Ah! Swami’s not looking at me. He’s
angry with me!" If I feel that God is angry with me, I think it is
only a feeling of ego. Why do you think that you are that
important as to be the cause of anger to God Himself? He’s not a
small man! If you are really the source of anger to God, you are
really very great! I don’t think He will disapprove or be angry
with simple, petty, little things, the trivia. After all, we are
negligible, decimal, atomic, fractional.
So, to say that ‘God is angry with me’ is only our ego. "I have
committed some mistake, so Swami’s not looking at me!" It is only
our guilty conscience. The sense of guilt makes you say that. Let’s
not feel guilty. Guilty conscience is worse than guilt itself.
Guilt is smaller, is small, while guilty conscience is big. The
actual guilt will never make you punishable, but guilty conscience
will make you go on worrying, go on feeling sad. That affects your
performance, your life and it will tell on your face also because
you will wear a long face as you feel guilty.
So, my friends let us not consider ourselves very important like
that, thinking that ‘God is angry with me. He’s avoiding me’ as if
this Incarnation is just for our purpose. We’re not brothers of
Ravana, Kitchaka and all that. Certainly not. Nor near cousin of
Satin the Great! Why should we feel like that? So God has no
anger. God has no prejudice. Nothing whatsoever.
(9) God Promotes Us To the Higher Step
So He stops talking to you. He avoids you. He doesn’t draw you so
near which all He did some time back, only to promote you
forcefully into the higher step. Because we don’t go to the next
step.
When He does not talk to you, what do you do? You close your eyes!
Sightless. When once we close our eyes, we feel Him within. We
talk to Him from within. We feel Him. We try to realize Him.
Externally, we search for Him; internally, we realize Him.
Externally we talk to Him; internally we feel Him. Externally we
enjoy Him; internally we are blissful. Externally we see His
separateness; internally we observe and experience the oneness
with Him. Internally we will enjoy and experience oneness with Him.
Externally you get separateness, you get joy, which is only
temporary.
So the second stage, it is a stage of progress, a stage of turning
inward. Think of Him, feel Him, be one with Him. That is the job
of a true Master. If he craves for publicity, if he craves for
recognition, appreciation, claps, cheers, acknowledgement,
advertisement, publicity and all that, he is not a true Master.
Swami can go on saying, "Hello, hello, hello! How are you? How are
you?" He doesn’t do that. Why? He’s not for the mediocre thing.
Please remember my friends what Bhagavan has said: "I don’t praise
anybody on the face. I don’t want anybody to praise Me. I don’t
praise you and I don’t want you to praise Me. Why? I and you are
one. Where is the need to praise anybody? When I am you, why
should I praise myself? When you are Me, why do I need to praise
you?"
Just understand the basic philosophy. If we don’t have that
understanding, we feel disgruntled, disappointed and frustrated.
That happens between the first stage and the second stage. This is
also unavoidable. First stage, nearness. Second stage, frustration.
Third stage, inward path. That naturally happens. In the
transition it happens.
(10) The Story of an Old Devotee
One gentleman came and met me a few days ago. Let me not mention
his name because I haven’t asked his permission. He was so close
with Swami in those days. Swami stayed at their residence. He said,
"But for three or four hours in a day, twenty-four hours I spent
with Him, Sir. Not once, but spread over a decade and a half!"
He has been with Swami throughout. I was so happy. He was telling
of the miracles of those days. He lost his mother. His is a royal
family. He lost his mother and this gentleman, who is grown-up of
course (He is just seventy-one years young!), in those days long
back, he was talking with his father. Mother was no more. When
both of them were talking in a public hall, please believe me, in
the public hall there, mother who is no longer alive, who died
long back, came out of that wall it seems. She came from the wall,
sat there and spoke to both of them. She spoke to both of them,
the father and the son, "How are you? What is with you?" and then
vanished into the wall. He came and told me all this.
"Oh, so great! Ah, Sir, now what is the problem?" I asked.
"He stopped talking to me, Sir."
"He stopped talking to you?"
"Yes. He doesn’t look at me." He has shown me the small letter
from his daughter-in-law who wants some guidance from Swami,
whether to go into surgery or medicine, MB or MS. She wants some
guidance from Swami. "Sir, my daughter-in-law wanted me to hand
over this letter. I am waiting for the last six days."
The person who was with Swami for twenty hours a day for over a
decade and a half, today is in a position of not being able to
hand a small chit to Swami!
I said, "Sir, really I share your feelings. I am so sorry."
Then he said, "No, Sir, I don’t feel sorry."
"Why? Why don’t you feel sorry, having enjoyed nearness so much,
why don’t you feel sorry? Why?" Had he said "I worry," I would
have just consoled him for some more time. When he said, "I don’t
worry," well, I am at a loss now because I am prepared to console
him, with all my points ready, being a teacher!
Well, he said, "I don’t worry."
I said, "Why?"
"Sir, this is the time to think of the past. This is the time to
think of those golden days. This is the time to think of the
togetherness with Swami. This is the time to meditate on those
beautiful days and moments of being with Swami. It is a time to
recall, to bring back to memory, all the sweet, nectarine Vedic
words that Bhagavan said in those days. I think this is sadhana,
the spiritual practice, that I am supposed to do now."
I said, " Perhaps Swami sent you to let me know this message now
because anything that comes to me will never go to waste!"
ABC: Anil Kumar Broadcasting Corporation! It will go, yes! You
cannot keep it, anything like secret! Because I derive greatest
joy in sharing with everybody. Yes! The moment Swami speaks to me
there, I wait for a chance, then I run out there and tell somebody
and come back. It is something like the cup which is full of
coffee. It starts spilling out. When it is full, it spills out.
Well, my cup, the heart, is so small that it spills out very soon!
Or it has got some holes, and it just oozes out! I can’t help it.
(11) Guru Has a Body To Take You Out of Body Consciousness
So my friends, a true Master talks from within. He wants us to
turn inward. He communicates from inside. Further Swami goes to
another extent, takes us to another step. What does He say? "The
one with body feeling (that ‘I am the body, this size, my height,
my weight, my chest, my complexion, my personality, the perfume
that I use, the dress I put on..that body identification) - the
one with body identification will consider his Guru as the one
having a body. You’ll also take Him to be a person. You’ll also
consider him to be an individual. You’ll also consider Him
embodied, in the form of a body. Because you have got the body
feeling, you think that your Guru also is the one with a body."
Now Swami says, "Guru has a body to take you out of body
consciousness. No body consciousness. To make us lose this body
consciousness, Guru has a body. To drive us out of this body
feeling, to take us away from the body attachment, Guru has a
body." See that. Who will tell that explanation?
And further He said, "The one who thinks of Guru, limiting him to
this body, has no understanding of a Guru at all." Let us not
think that Swami is only this much, no! Smallest of the small,
biggest of the big. It’s just to please us, to make us happy that
He has got that form. But He is actually formless.
The formless God has got a form to take us to that state of
formlessness. And He smiles and talks with all affection, with all
love and compassion, with attributes, in order to take us to that
stage of attributelessness: from saguna, ‘attributes’ to nirguna,
‘attributeless’ state; from sakaara, ‘form’ to nirakaara,
‘formless’ state. That is the transition, that is the journey that
we have to pass through for which Guru has come down on earth in a
human form. That’s what Bhagavan has said in His discourse.
(12) The Teachings of a Guru Touch Your Heart and Not the Mind
Another point: Bhagavan’s teachings appeal to our Heart, not the
mind. Bhagavan’s teachings touch our Heart, not the mind. How do
you say? This is a statement of Swami’s. "The teachings of a Guru
touch your Heart and not the mind." Why? Mind is emotional. Mind
is passionate. Mind is rather ephemeral, ever-changing. Mind is
momentary and gets transformed from moment-to-moment. Mind in
sushupthi, in deep sleep, is non-existent. In thoughtless stage,
mind vanishes. In a state of desirelessness, mind disappears. Mind
exists because of thoughts. Mind took a form because of desires.
When there is no thought, when there is no desire, there is no
mind at all. But the Heart is eternal, Hridaya.
What is the Heart? I am not speaking of the heart of the
department of cardiology in a general hospital or in a
Super-Speciality Hospital. Please kindly go through the back
issues of Sanathana Sarathi where Bhagavan mentions clearly,
"Spiritual Heart is on the right side. The physical heart is on
the left side." Baba said this. (Please believe me. I am
accountable for every word I say. I know that. I can give you all
the page numbers and sentences if you so want.)
"The spiritual Heart is on the right side."
"Oh, I see. What does it do?"
"The spiritual Heart communicates with the Sahasrara. There are
chakras in our body. Sahasrara, located in the brain here, is the
thousand-petalled one. The spiritual Heart establishes its
connection with this Sahasrara through an important connection,
the live wire, if you want to call it, called Sushumna. Sushumna
is the live wire that connects the spiritual Heart to the
Sahasrara, the thousand-petalled one, in the brain or the mind.
Then this mind establishes contact with the rest of the body."
"So what, Swami. What is it? What do you want to convey?"
"Heart is the center of energy. Heart is the generator. Heart is
the transformer. Heart is thermal power station. From this Heart,
the energy flows through Sushumna and enters into Sahasrara. From
there it is supplied to the body."
So the body is energetic not on its own. Even after death, the
body is there but it is not active. The body does not receive
energy. So body receives energy from Sahasrara, the
thousand-petalled mind, head or the brain, and this Sahasrara gets
energy from the Heart. So the Heart, the spiritual Heart, is the
center of energy. That spiritual Heart is consciousness. That
spiritual Heart is the spirit. That spiritual Heart is Atma. That
spiritual Heart is our real being. It is our true nature. It is
ever existent. It is eternal.
(13) Don't Have Doubts
So, this is spiritual Heart, yes! Bhagavan’s teachings touch our
Heart, not the head because when these teachings touch our head,
we begin to decide, "Was what Swami said correct or not? Is it
right or not?" Somebody said, "Sir, Swami said…Is it true?"
"When Swami said it, why do you doubt whether it is true or not? I
don’t understand. Can you say false also? Well, I don’t know.
Whether right or wrong?"
"Sir, Swami said it. Is it right or wrong?"
"When Swami says it, it is right!"
"Is it true or false?"
"It is true! Why do you doubt it?"
We doubt it because when the message goes to our mind, the mind
tries to judge. It tries to discriminate. It tries to decide. But
when the message goes straight to the Heart, it seeps in. It goes
in deep, something like blotting paper that absorbs ink; something
like sand into which water sinks. When there is heavy rain,
because of the water that falls on the ground along the seashore
or any sandy area, it seeps in deeply. It is absorbed completely.
Similarly, Guru's message, when it touches our Heart, it is
absorbed. When it goes to the head, mind decides, judges, goes on
thinking. All teachers’ teachings touch our mind. But Guru’s
teachings reach our Heart. The teachings of a Guru reach our Heart,
whereas the teachings of a teacher, they just touch our head,
awaiting our discrimination what we want to decide.
(14) A Real Guru Will Always Speak About Your True Nature
Another point is also this: A real Guru will always speak about
your true nature. My friends, what is it that is common in all the
Sathya Sai discourses? I believe that there are 31 volumes now of
Sathya Sai Speaks, 10 volumes of Vahini’s, 10 volumes of Summer
Course discourses. 20 + 31 = 51. All these books, all these
hundreds of discourses, what is the common thread? Only one thing:
revealing our true identity, that you are not the body, that you
are not the mind.
You are Atma. You are consciousness. You are the spirit. That is
the only message, the underlying current, running through all
these 51 volumes, all these hundreds of discourses. In every talk,
He lays emphasis on this: Divyatmaswarupalara! Embodiments of the
Divine! That you are an embodiment of the Divine, that you are
Atma. In every talk He necessarily mentions this because it is the
quality of a Guru. The highest and the greatest teaching of a Guru
is to remind us of our nature, to help us to find our true
identity.
Bhagavan goes one step further. "Forgetfulness of our true nature
is death. Remembrance of our true nature is life or birth." In
order to live our lives well, not simply like any other machine,
but to live well, let us live in the full awareness, in the
constant remembrance of our true identity.
(15) What Is 'Upasana', According To Bhagavan?
What Bhagavan says is this: A true Guru tells you only one method.
He does not show you so many methods. He does not confuse you. He
does not burden you. He does not strain you. He does not allow you
to be under stress and strain and effort, exertion, exortion, no,
no. No exortion, no exertion. A simple thing, only one formula:
Upasana.
What is Upasana according to Bhagavan Baba? Upasana is the
experience of our true nature in the waking state, in spite of the
objects around and our senses being alert.
In the waking state, our senses are active. I see all of you. I
hear all of the sounds. All objects are there. My senses are alert,
quite receptive, sensitive, because this is the waking state. In
this waking state of senses being alert with the objects around,
if I still manage to be aware of my true nature, that is called
Upasana. Upasana: upa – near; asana – sitting, comfortable sitting.
'Comfortable sitting near our true Self, near our true nature,
near God within’, that is Upasana.
But the traditional, conventional meaning of Upasana is so
confusing that you give up making any attempt because after
starving for 15 days, getting up at midnight for 15 days - well,
in the meantime we get exhausted that’s all, leave alone
realization. Impossible! Upasana is not a conventional meaning
that Bhagavan Baba gives you. He comes forward with a new approach.
(16) God’s Compassion Has No Limits
Then another point: Somebody said, "Baba, where are Baba’s Feet?
Where are they? ‘O Bhagavan, to Thy Feet I offer my humble
salutations. My humble salutations to Thy Lotus Feet.’ Where are
they, Bhagavan, where are they?"
"Your Feet are spread everywhere." The speaker went on speaking
like that. Swami was observing him, letting him go to whatever
extent he would go. And then that man said, "Swami, Your
compassion is so great, Your Love is so vast like that of an ocean!"
Like that of an ocean, as deep as an ocean.
Then Swami said, "Enough. Sit down." Enough. This is His remark: "Why
do you say ‘So vast as an ocean?’ No. More than that. Why? Ocean
has got its limits. Ocean has got its boundaries. But God’s
compassion has no limits. God’s compassion has no boundaries. It
is infinite. It is so vast. So do not compare it with that of an
ocean." That’s what Bhagavan has said.
Therefore Guru’s teaching is another thing. My attempt is this: to
make us realize in terms of Swami’s message, His own message. He
should help us to understand His own message. We can understand
His message through His message only, or else I go on interpreting
in my own way and we can find ourselves in confusion. Bhagavan
said, "You can see the sun in the sunlight only. You can see the
moon in the moonlight only."
Similarly, you can understand Sai's message through His Message
only, not through your message or my message. Ours is ‘massage’,
not message, ‘massage’! Let’s not try to interpret Swami at all!
Because we are the contemporaries of the living, loving God. When
He is there to explain every little thing in detail, why should we
explain? Why should we interpret? It is not necessary.
(17) Total Passive Surrender
And what is Guru’s teaching, as Bhagavan has put it?
"Total passive surrender. Total passive surrender to the magnetic
Divinity within." What beautiful words! Divinity is magnetic. It
means ‘just like a magnet that attracts’. We attract people, of
course, depending upon one’s own standard. Objects attract. All
objects have got this attraction. All human beings have attraction.
It is nothing but magnetism. That’s what Swami has been talking
about in the recent discourses, "You are the magnet. You are the
computer. You are the heat. You are the energy." That’s what
Swami’s talking about recently.
So you are the magnet because you attract everybody, don’t you?
Yes. Or else we don’t have friends at all. We can’t continue to
live in society. We live in society because we attract some
people, like-minded people. ‘Birds of same feathers flock together.’
We attract our own people. That’s right. So it is magnetism.
Now, the Guru’s teaching is "passive total surrender to the
magnetic Divinity within". That Divinity, which is magnetic, to
that Divinity, we have to surrender totally, passively.
Why not actively? Why not? If you are active, you may not be
active later. If you are active, your ego may function. If you are
active, the spirit of ‘I-ness’, the body identity, may raise its
ugly head. When it is passive, the ‘I-ness’ is gone. There is
total surrender to the spirit within, to the Self within. Total
surrender, that is the job of a Guru. That’s what Guru does.
(18) Constant Integrated Awareness
"Swami, why all this? Can’t you give me liberation, awareness
immediately? You’re such a powerful God. Why should I do all this?
I’ll sit in front of You. Just bless me with awareness. I’ll go
back. My flight tickets are reserved. Yes, I have got some
round-trip tickets. I can go back. No problem. Please give me
awareness."
Bhagavan tells you, "Awareness is not given. Awareness is not
taught. Awareness is not inherited like properties. Awareness is
not imported or exported or manufactured. Awareness is to be
realized as that which is already existing. Awareness is already
existing." That awareness is already there: Chit bhava, Chit
meaning awareness. That awareness is already there. Our job is to
realize it. Our job is to feel it. Our job is to be alert,
constant integrated awareness, CIA as Bhagavan says. Constant
integrated awareness, we have got to be aware of that. That’s what
Bhagavan tells.
Now He gives one example: "A Guru is like a doctor. He gives you a
prescription. You have to take the medicine according to the
prescription. You cannot ask the doctor: ‘Take the medicine on my
behalf. You have written the prescription, please take three
tablets a day, four times the mixture. I’ll be alright tomorrow.’
How can you be alright when he takes the medicine?" So, awareness
is not to be realized by the Guru on your behalf. No. He makes you
to realize the Divinity within.
In this direction, we have some more points to talk of, to think
about the role of a Guru, how the Guru brings transformation in
everyone of us. I think this is the most interesting and important
topic to every Sai devotee because mind sometimes wavers. Mind is
sometimes unsteady. So we will continue with this subject next
week.
Thank you very much for listening with rapt attention. Thank you.
Anil Kumar closed his talk with a bhajan and the prayers:
Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityormaa Amritam Gamaya
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu
Loka Smastha Sukino Bhavantu
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti
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