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Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
August 12, 2001
The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar on
August 12th, 2001
"Search for Truth" (Part Two) plus
New Commandments (Part One)
"Search for Truth" (Part Two)
An Overview of Last Week’s Aspects of the Mind
The Fourth Aspect of Mind Is Sleep (Dream State)
The No-Mind State Is Deep Sleep
The Conscious Deep Sleep or Samadhi
The Significance of Miracles
The Fifth Aspect of the Mind: Memory
Remembering and Living in the Past
Indifference Caused by the Past Being Projected onto the Present
New Commandments (Part-I)
Codes of Conduct in the Scriptures
The First Commandment: Give Up ‘I’
The Second Commandment: Cultivate ‘We’
The Third Commandment: Cut Out ‘Ego’
Living With God is Education
Spirituality is Not an Achievement
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram.
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
"Search for Truth" (Part Two)
An Overview of Last Week’s Aspects of the Mind
Last week we considered the various aspects of the mind. We
explored how the mind acts, how it reacts, how it receives, and
how it reflects. We will complete the remaining two aspects this
morning. Then we will begin a new subject.
First, here is a bird’s eye view of what was discussed last week.
There are several aspects of the mind. The first aspect is what we
call direct cognition, prathyaksha pramaana. This is where you
receive things directly by seeing and listening. Another way
mentioned of receiving information is inference, anumana pramaana.
The final way is aptha vaakya pramaana (believing in and following
the sayings of those who are close and dear to you). The mind
receives right knowledge through these three ways.
I also discussed the second aspect of the mind regarding how it is
capable of receiving wrong knowledge. The third aspect of the mind
is imagination, vikalpa. (I don’t have to say anything more of
imagination to anybody because almost all of us imagine things. We
imagine our stature, image, and intelligence. We also imagine
everything about others also!)
The Fourth Aspect of Mind Is Sleep (Dream State)
The fourth aspect of the mind is sleep. In Sanskrit, sleep is
called sushupthi, the sleeping state of the mind. What is sleep?
Let me speak a few words about this. Do most of us really sleep?
Do we really know what sleep is? To tell you honestly, we have
identified ourselves with our body and mind. We totally react to
the external world - the people, society, stature, class, politics,
business, and so on. Even when we go to bed, we go on dreaming of
the waking state! What happens here in the waking state is dreamt
about there in the dream state. The action is here, then the
reaction comes there! The desires that are not fulfilled here are
fulfilled there. So dream is a continuity of the waking state.
I don’t want to dream of a person attacking me. I don’t want my
enemy to appear in the dream and kick me. Yet, still my enemies
appear in the dream. Why? It is because the enmity is so deep and
so intense that my enemy also wants to give me trouble even in
dreams! Am I clear? The wife nags me in the waking state and she
continues to go on nagging me in the dream state also! The son
goes on pressurizing for money. In the dream also he appears,
asking for a money order to be sent. (Laughter) Am I right? So,
dreams bring forward all the aspects of the waking state. They may
be positive or negative. But, in either case they are only
concerning worldly, mundane things. For that reason, that is not (real
deep) sleep. It is dream state only.
We are both happy and unhappy in the dream and waking states. I am
happy when I am successful and miserable when I'm a failure in
both of these states. The dream experiences are the same as those
of the waking state. I think I’m clear. In other words, dream is a
carbon copy, a prototype of the waking state. They are both
nothing but the different moods of the dancing mind. It is the
East and West, South Pole and North Pole, obverse and reverse.
That’s all. The instrument (mind) is the same. But the nodes,
reeds, and tunes are different.
Similarly, the dream carries the effect of the waking state. This
is why we do not experience non-dual bliss in dreams. This is also
the reason why we find some people shouting while they sleep,
because they dream all dirty things there. (Laughter) Some people
talk so loudly that nobody in the neighborhood can sleep! Someone
very closely related to me snores very loudly while he sleeps. It
has the sound of a tractor or a bus! (Laughter) In addition to
that, he adds certain dialogues also: "Mmmmm! Mmmhhhmmm, mmmm!" A
thief would not even enter the house, hearing all this noise, as
he is talking so loudly there in dreamland! (Laughter)
So my friends, let us refer to that state of real sleep. Dreaming
is not real sleep. Real sleep should not be like the waking state.
Sleep peacefully. Sleep happily. Have a sound sleep, a sleep that
is dreamless, a sleep that has no duality. Have a sleep that is
neither sweet or hot, happy or unhappy, successful or unsuccessful,
neither with profit or loss. Have a sleep with no experiencing at
all. When is it possible? It is possible only in the 'no-mind'
state.
The No-Mind State Is Deep Sleep
In the 'no-mind' state, the mind does not act. The mind remains
stagnate, passive, inert, inactive, or dull. You sleep well when
the mind is in that inactive, dull state. This is called sound
sleep or sushupthi. Shupthi is sleep; sushupthi is good (deep)
sleep. This good, sound sleep is possible when there is no
experience at all, neither happiness or unhappiness. Simply
nothing! When the mind is non-functional, in a 'no-mind' state,
this is called sushupthi.
By God's Grace, we get that experience now and then, maybe once in
a week. Very busy politicians may have this good sleep once in a
year - only annually! For some, it is weekly; for others, it is
quarterly. But in any case, sushupthi is the 'no-mind' state.
I want to bring to your notice certain important points concerning
sushupthi. Some people ask, "Did you have a good sleep last
night?" Why? Why do you put that question? "Oh, did you have a
nice sleep last night?" Does this mean that you were not bitten by
a scorpion or a snake in the dream? Does it mean that you were not
beaten by anybody or that you did not cry in the dream? No! This
means that there were no dreams at all. Yet, we did not experience
that consciously, only unconsciously.
The mind is not functional in deep sleep. You are not aware or
conscious of it. The next morning someone may ask, "Oh, how did
you sleep?" (Your response:) "Ah, wonderful! Oh, it was a
fantastic sleep! So good that I feel very fresh now."
However, when you are in that deep sleep or 'no-mind' state, you
are not conscious. You are unconscious at that point in time. It
is only later, in the conscious waking state, that you are able to
talk about how that deep sleep experience was very wonderful and
good. Only later you will be able to say that, not actually during
the deep sleep experience.
The Conscious Deep Sleep or Samadhi
The conscious experience of deep sleep is called samadhi. This is
the fulfillment, fructification, the objective and end of
meditation. This state of samadhi is reached when I am conscious
of my deep sleep state. It is when I experience the 'no-mind'
state right now (in this conscious waking state).
Unfortunately, people have different connotations and perverted
versions about samadhi. Instead of being transcendental, it
becomes mental. Transcendental and mental are different.
Transcendental means beyond. So, samadhi is transcendental. This
means that it is beyond the body, the mind, the senses and the
intellect. Many people think it is samadhi if they forget their
body consciousness. It is not.
Bhagavan joked, "If you want to have that experience of forgetting
your body, you can have a nice bottle of beer or scotch whiskey."
(Laughter) Beer or scotch whiskey is enough to take you to samadhi
effortlessly! (Laughter) Do you really think that the poor sages
and saints of yore spent years and years in penance to experience
samadhi, whereas today one can get it just with a bottle of
alcohol or a sip of beer? No, it’s not so!
Forgetfulness of the body is not samadhi. Non-identification with
the mind and being free or absent from the mind is called samadhi.
The whole thing is a game of the mind. When the mind becomes a
non-entity, when it becomes pacified and cooled down, that state
is called samadhi. Therefore, my friends, samadhi is not a
separate state or a separate goal. It is not sold in the market
nor can anybody give it to you.
I met a friend a few days back who said, "My guru gave me samadhi."
Oh-ho! I can give you my pen, but I cannot give samadhi. Perhaps
samadhi has another meaning. Perhaps the guru gave him some plot
in the graveyard, a reservation now itself! (Laughter) Samadhi is
not given, received, manufactured, or generated. Samadhi is a
state of having 'no-mind'. The conscious experience of deep sleep
is what is called samadhi. Bhagavan went a step further when He
said, "'Dhi’ means intellect and ‘Sama,’ equality. If you have
that intellect which treats everybody of any country, nationality,
community, cadre, or race equally, it is samadhi." What a
wonderful definition that is!
Instead, we have different titles for samadhi. There are different
people talking about samadhi, so much so that we become vexed and
not interested to know more about samadhi at all. It is not like
that. It is such a natural thing, which is given to everybody. We
all sleep don’t we? Yes. The one who is denied sleep becomes weak.
He cannot work. He loses his health and nears his doomsday. Sleep
is essential. We all sleep. We all enjoy a good sleep, but we are
unaware and unconscious of it. When we are aware of the experience
of deep sleep, even in the waking state, it is called samadhi.
That’s all I want to say concerning sleep.
I am talking to you seriously about these things because there
should be an end to these stories. We may want to go by these
stories and experiences all the time, but when are we going to
learn serious things? When are we going to take to sadhana,
experience and comprehend Divinity, enjoy ourselves, merge and
melt? We have to merge and melt, becoming dissolved.
Here is a simple example. A drop of water is just a drop when it
is in my palm. It has a size, shape, and a taste. When I throw
this water drop into the ocean, that drop becomes the ocean. So,
all the stories and experiences that we have are like that of a
drop. The drop will not last long. It is not permanent. It will
get evaporated. Similarly, the individual experiences are not the
end. They are only the means.
The Significance of Miracles
One topic was made compulsory, to be taught in all training camps
for all Seva Dal (service wing) and members of the Sathya Sai
Organization. This topic is: "The Meaning and Significance of
Miracles." To many, miracles have become a means and also an end.
A miracle is a means to an end. That’s all. It is not an end by
itself.
Bhagavan Baba Himself said one thing: A mosquito rests on the body
of an elephant. The size of the elephant is so big and mighty, and
the mosquito is so small, little, and subtle. The miracles that
you speak about are like the mosquitoes and Divinity is the size
of an elephant. It is very unfortunate that we spend time with
mosquitoes in the daytime and the mosquitoes spend their time with
us in the nighttime. (Laughter) Life becomes only
mosquito-oriented. 'Daytime mosquitoes' are the experiences and
the stories. In the nighttime, there are real mosquito bites! One
has to use Odomos mosquito repellent. How long should this
continue? Shouldn’t we go into the details?
I am not condemning anybody and I am not underestimating anything.
I'm only stressing clarity. That’s all. How many experiences do
you want in order to know that Bhagavan Baba is God? Do you want
them till the last day of life, or do you want one experience on
Monday, two on Tuesday, three on Wednesdays, and so on? What
actually is an experience? If it is positive, you consider it as
an experience or a miracle. However, if it is negative, then it is
considered as a bitter experience. (Laughter) No, no, I'm sorry.
We should understand that all experiences of life are positive.
There is nothing negative in this world. The so-called negative
turns positive later in life.
The Fifth Aspect of the Mind: Memory
Smriti is memory. Everything that is heard and seen, all our
experiences, are recorded in the computer of our biology, the mind.
This is good. If doctors had no memory, we would all have to be
careful about our insurance policies. (Laughter) If engineers had
no memory, the bridges would solve the population problem! (Laughter)
If teachers had no memory, students would not be able to get any
degree in their lifetime. (Laughter) Ask a wife about the husband
with no memory! (Laughter)
Memory is necessary in daily, ordinary life. But memory does not
work in the spiritual experience or path. It is an obstacle, a
hindrance, a bottleneck, and negative. Why? You may say, "Bhagavan
gave me an interview last week and I remember what He said in it."
Then why do you come back for darshan again? If you remember the
interview that you got last year, why do you come again? "Hey!
Past is past! I want to have another one." Right? Swami looked at
you this morning; still you want first line in the evening. Why? "That
is different."
So, the memory does not work on the spiritual path and in the
spiritual experience. I might have seen Bhagavan, spoken to Him,
been blessed by Him, and had an interview. Yet, I don’t allow my
memory to function and just live in that state of memory. No! I am
fresh now, so let me be with Him. Let Him talk to me. Let Him look
at me, at least a smile! Do you see? I'm not over ambitious. I
just want a look of recognition. Why? Because the memory will not
work on the spiritual path.
Suppose I tell you my full bio-data today: "I worked in that
institution for so many years. Then I worked in this school for so
many years." If I start to repeat it again next week, everybody
will leave the hall, except for the man in charge of the mike. He
has to stay in order to pack up the mike and get it ready for
tomorrow! (Laughter) Why do they all leave? Because I told my
experiences already! You learnt it by heart, so why do I want to
repeat it again? You have not come here to have my bio-data. My
experience is different from your experience. I cannot generalize
it. If experiences are generalized, they will lose their validity,
authenticity, and credibility. We cannot generalize, but we can
share. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Remembering and Living in the Past
I cannot go on hammering about my own experiences to everybody. We
find some people who continually repeat their experiences saying,
"In ’72, what happened was…In ’89, when I came…In ’92, while I was
sitting…" Why give this chronology, these dates and non-essential
facts? Please tell me something that is applicable and useful to
me also, not only your individual experiences. You are coming here,
all right? You are very serious. It is very good. You were about
to die, but Baba saved you. It is nice to know that. However, if
you repeat the same story again, I’ll have to pray to Baba not to
bring you back! (Laughter)
You go on hammering to everybody about your own personal
experiences, only to express how great you are! It is a mistake!
It is all vanity, publicity, and an ego-trip. We go on trips, but
this is an ego-trip! Ego-trips land nowhere. There is no arrival,
no departure, no landing. It only flies high, high, high. That’s
all. Let’s not go on ego-trips any longer.
The experiences should be universal. Shankaracharya calls this
Sarvaatrika Poornanubhava. This means 'a total experience that is
applicable to all times'. It is not that which is individual or
that which is conditioned to time and space. Can you call that an
experience? No. That which has happened to you must also happen to
me. What happened to you last year must be happening to you this
year, and also happening to everybody. This is called universal
acceptance.
So my friends, memory, the fifth aspect of the mind, is a block.
It makes me view everything from the past. There are some devotees
who may describe to a 20-year old boy what happened forty-five
years ago. One must be humble and courteous in a place of
spirituality. Etiquette requires it, even if it is a total
pretension. "Forty-five years ago? O.K., yes, Sir!" (Laughter) "Forty-five
years ago, there were no buildings. We were coming since then. We
were sleeping on Chitravati. We all used to come in a line or a
queue, and Swami talked to everybody. Everyone got a chance to
garland Him also." "Oh, I see. Ah." He continues to describe
everything that happened forty-five years ago. He lives in the
past and he won’t allow you to live in the present. Thus, both of
us are put to loss, acting totally stupid, if not idiotic.
Spirituality is not the past, my friends! I can quote any
scripture, any number of statements in support of that. I'm a
teacher and I cannot bluff, nor can I imagine and interpret as I
like. I am not that much of a fool as yet, thank God. Spirituality
is life in the moment, life in the present. Spirituality is
existential, experimental and experiential. On the other hand,
what will happen if I live in the past, dragging and burying you
there also? Let us not live in the past.
Those that live in the past have the aspect of the mind called
memory. Memory is good for academic and worldly purposes, but
memory has no place in spirituality at all. Spirituality is
practiced from the womb to the tomb, from the beginning till the
end. Truly speaking, it has neither a beginning nor an end.
Spirituality is a pathless land. So, memory cannot be called
spiritual by any standard.
Indifference Caused by the Past Being Projected onto the
Present
One may ask, "What is the harm, Sir? Why not? Why do you say that?"
O.K. I’ll tell you the harm of memory. Memory is the recording of
the past in the mind, something like a computer. What does mind do
and how does mind act? The past recorded in the mind will project
onto the present. It tries to project everything from the
background of the past.
Here is a simple example. When Swami says, "There is no trace of
selfishness in Me from top to toe. I am completely selfless," our
hair should stand straight on end and we should clap. We should be
so happy and thrilled to hear that statement! Instead, we are calm
and composed, like in a chemistry lab - colorless, odorless, and
tasteless! Why are you like that? You say, "Swami said a similar
thing last year." Oh. (Laughter)
This state of indifference, of non-receptivity, and
non-responsiveness is due to the past being projected onto the
present now. So that statement does not benefit you. Please
examine yourself! Some people will walk with you after Bhagavan’s
speech and they will say, "Swami said a similar thing last year or
four years ago." It is recorded in their memory. Please, don’t
miss the present. I am not calling the past false, no! But when
the past is projected onto the present, you will miss the taste,
the beauty, the grandeur, and the freshness of the present.
Here is another simple example: Let's say your wife serves you a
hot, hot cup of coffee, the first one in the morning. Amritha (the
Divine nectar of Immortality) is nothing when compared to this
first hot cup of coffee! (Laughter) That is Amritha! Instead of
enjoying it and saying, "Ah! It's very nice! It's a good cup of
coffee" you say, "It was also very nice yesterday." Just watch the
feelings of your wife and then tell me this evening. You won't get
coffee tomorrow! (Laughter) Your wife will say, "All right! So it
was nice yesterday. Thank you! How about today?" So the point is,
when you project everything from the past memory, the beauty of
the present is lost and the freshness is gone. Memory is a
handicap in that way.
You must have heard of Lord Buddha. He lived for forty years after
the attainment of enlightenment. (Enlightenment is also called
liberation, moksha, or nirvana.) During these forty years, he went
on propagating Truth. He never spoke or made any mention of the
past. Everything that happened to him was fresh and new.
In the evening, you may go for a walk. You will enjoy the breeze,
but you won’t say, "How about the breeze yesterday or last year or
the year before last?" What does the TV report say? "There will be
a slight shower in California. You will have a bright day in
Colorado." But what about your own experience right now?
Spirituality wants you to drop the memory, bury the past and live
in the present moment.
Last but not the least there is another great danger of memory.
What is it? The past will not allow you to heed the present. So
you miss the present. Memory of the past has two bad qualities:
first, it makes you an exhibitionist - one of vanity, ego, pomp,
and show. Secondly, it projects the past onto the present, so that
you miss the present. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to
forget the past.
That brings us to an end of our discussion on the different
aspects of the mind, which I started last week. I'm sorry if it
has been long and drawn out. I had to explain it like this, as
these topics are ones that require deep thinking. They need to be
pondered over and reflected upon for a considerable period of
time.
New Commandments (Part One)
Codes of Conduct in the Scriptures
My friends! All scriptures have specific codes of conduct. The
Holy Bible says, "There are Ten Commandments that God wants you to
follow." The Dhammapada of Buddhism wants you to lead a certain
specified pattern of life. Hinduism speaks of yama and niyama, the
social code and the individual code of conduct. Every religion has
a definite text, a code, a set of rules and regulations that one
must abide by and follow. Or else, they will also threaten you: "If
you don’t follow these rules, you’ll go to hell, where you’ll be
roasted and fried like potato chips! So be careful! But if you
follow all these Ten Commandments, you will go to the heaven."
What is heaven? "You may become old here, but there in heaven, you
will be ever young, an ever-green hero. People who are beautiful
will surround you. But here on earth, there are ugly as well as
beautiful people."
Oh-ho! These are all the promises attributed to heaven. They are
all imagination. There’s no heaven and hell, no! Absolutely not!
They give this description to make an ordinary person understand
what they must follow. That is all. Heaven is here now. The
moments that we spend with Bhagavan, when He looks at us or grants
us an interview, that is paradise. It is even more than heaven, if
there is really any such place. When I am depressed, frustrated,
lose balance of mind, or suffer from any sort of blame or
unnecessary allegation, that is hell.
Heaven and hell are two states of life, not different strata or
locations. They are not geographical. Had there been heaven, Neil
Armstrong could have gone to heaven instead of going to the moon.
Why would one want to go to the moon after all? There is only dust
on the moon. But here are so many promises concerning heaven!
So, every religion comes forward with a certain code of conduct.
The most popular and effective code prescribed and followed by
people are the Ten Commandments. They are similar in every
religion. The content is the same, only the language differs.
That’s all. We say 'petrol' and you say 'gasoline'. We say 'rupee'
and you say 'dollar'. Thus, only the terminology differs.
This morning I want to make a humble beginning and share with you
a few thoughts on an altogether different style, order, and nature
of 'Ten Commandments'. They are not the same as in the Bible. Not
that the Bible is outdated. No, no! (I have got the highest
respect and reverence for the Bible. I am the product of a
Christian college, which I am very proud of even now. Today, if I
am what I am, able to communicate with everybody, this much
committed to the Sai Baba mission, the whole and sole credit
should necessarily go to my Almamater, the Christian College. Yes!
I received training there.)
The First Commandment: Give Up ‘I’
Now I want to present to you 'Ten Commandments' of a different
nature. The first command is a one-letter word, the second command
a two-letter word, and the third command a three-letter word and
so on. The number of letters of each command corresponds to its
number on the list of Commandments. I think I'm clear.
So, what is the first command? What is the most damaging letter in
this world? (Someone says, "I") ‘I’! That's good! ‘I’ is the most
damaging letter. The first command is to give up this 'I'. We don’t
follow that. (Laughter) We always say ‘I’. "I was in Australia. I
was in New Zealand." 'I', 'I'! The first command is to forget,
remove, and cut off that ‘I.’ It is kept first on the list because
it is 'a must' on the spiritual path.
As long as I hold on and cling to the ‘I,’ I will have to continue
to live for some more time. The cycle of birth and death will
continue eternally, unless and until the ‘I’ is cut off. When the
most damaging thing in this world, this 'I', is cut off there will
be Awareness. Then you will attain the state of enlightenment
(Nirvana) or liberation. So, the first commandment is to forget or
drop this 'I'.
The Second Commandment: Cultivate ‘We’
The second two-letter command is this: The most satisfying, most
gratifying, and 'most wanted' thing is ‘we'. Cultivate this 'we'.
Just yesterday in His Discourse, Bhagavan was stressing, "The day
is soon approaching when there will be unity." That’s what He said,
if I remember right. I think you can identify me. I only am the
one who translated yesterday. (The living proof is that I have not
changed my outfit yet either!)
Bhagavan asked a first-year degree student, "How many brothers do
you have?" The boy answered, "Swami, I have two brothers."
(Swami:) "Two? Tsk! All are brothers! Why do you say only two?"
Happiness comes when we have the feeling that all are brothers and
sisters. He doesn’t like or approve of only 'one brother' or 'one
sister'.
Bhagavan gave this definition: "In spirituality, one should travel
from the position of ‘I’ to the position of ‘we.’" We go on giving
definitions of spirituality any number of times. We get confused
and we successfully confuse others! Many people are very
successful in confusing others! Let us pray to God to be away from
such people. Let them be confused. There are psychotic centers for
them, but we are not ready to be admitted there! ‘We,’
collectiveness, community, society - this is to be followed. This
is the very highly satisfying second command, cultivate 'we'.
The Third Commandment: Cut Out ‘Ego’
The third command involves a very dangerous three-lettered word:
‘ego.’ Some medicines, like concentrated sulfuric acid, are
labeled as " Highly Poisonous - Be careful. Not for Internal Use".
No one is supposed to take it. On the label of certain other
medicines, it is written "Poison, Be careful". Unless a doctor
prescribes it, no one is supposed to take it.
Ego is a poisonous three-letter word. You may survive after taking
poison, but it is not so with ego. (Laughter) Ego is such a
dangerous thing. Bhagavan has mentioned this again and again.
Bhagavan is the best surgeon to operate on this ego. This Avatar
may tolerate anything, but not the ego.
Not only that, He does the surgery today on the ego which you
might develop ten years later. You may become egoistic next year.
So, He will do the surgery this year itself in order that you’ll
never be egoistic again in this lifetime! Those who are physically
close to Bhagavan and the residents who have been living here for
a number of years know pretty well how Bhagavan acts as a very
successful surgeon. Bhagavan will understand how egoistic you are
by the way you walk toward Him after He calls you. Your sitting
posture and your mode of talking will also certainly indicate your
ego.
Once Bhagavan was asking everybody in a nice way, "Do you know
driving? Do you know how to drive a car?" When He asked me I
answered, "Well, I don’t know Swami." I am most successful and
happy when I ride my bicycle without falling, let alone drive a
car! Finally He repeated the question to one gentleman. This
gentleman answered gruffly, "No, no!" Swami stepped away, again
returned and said, "What?" This man replied gruffly, "No!"
Couldn’t he have said politely, "No Swami, I do not know"? Is he
an Alsatian dog or what? (Loud laughter) The way you talk and
express yourself will certainly indicate if you are egotistic or
not. Ego will certainly find some expression or another. "What’s
the time now, Sir?" Someone answers gruffly, "Eleven o’clock!"
Wow! (Laughter) He has got a Ph.D. in 'Ego' - 'Dr. Ego'! Or, "Sir,
when is the darshan time this afternoon?" Again, the response is
spoken rudely, "I have no time! Move along!" Ah-ha! That is the
ego personified.
A devotee asks humbly, "Sir, are there any chances of Swami
calling me?" 'Sir' replies rudely, "You ask Him!" (Laughter) A
final example: "Can I sit there?" (The rough response:) "No! Push
him from that place!" We see some people who are violently devoted!
That means their devotion is violent! (Laughter) They express
their devotion by harassing other devotees. (I don’t understand
them.)
The ego will not keep quiet. It will find some opportunity or
other to express itself, even in ordinary words. Supposing I am a
new man, a freshman, and I have come here to Puttaparthi for the
first time. I say, "Wow! I had a thrilling experience with Swami!
I had very nice darshan this morning." Another man may answer
gruffly, "So! Every day there is a nice darshan. Why do you say, 'It
was a nice darshan this morning?' " That fellow’s ego is affected.
He is not able to tolerate seeing me happy.
Some people are happy when others are unhappy! However, we should
be happy when others are happy. We should be delighted making
unhappy people happy. Our presence should make everybody smile.
Please. Yes! If anyone puts on a long face as if some surgeon is
about to come to take him into an intensive care unit for surgery,
if his presence creates all tension and anxiety, may God help us
to be away from him!
Your presence should make everybody smile. The moment they look at
you, they should happily say, "Hi! How are you?" On the other hand,
your presence should not cause others to think despairingly, 'Oh,
he’s coming. Let me avoid him. (Laughter) He’s a trouble-shooter.
Let me go this other way in order to avoid him. Let me look that
way, so that he may not identify me.' This is a tragic experience,
a life that is not worth living at all. A life that gives comfort
to all, making everybody laugh and smile as they enjoy your
happiness and learn certain things from you, this is a life worth
living.
Living With God is Education
When Bhagavan gives His darshan, observe how He talks and moves
about. This is an education. If we are prepared to observe and
learn, every gesture, every posture, every conversation, every
smile, and every movement has a message. If you are really
receptive, you can continue to learn because living with God is
education.
This morning you must have noticed that the whole verandah, the
whole campus, and the whole day were entirely busy due to the
visit of the Vice-President of India and his family. Bhagavan was
positively very busy. The Vice-President had to go to Bangalore
just now. Perhaps he is in Bangalore, visiting the Super Specialty
Hospital right at this moment. He was in a hurry to go and Swami
was in a greater hurry to send him. So, we can understand how busy
Bhagavan and these people are.
When they were seated there on the verandah, waiting for His call,
our beautiful God silently moved towards the Primary School
children. (Laughter) He called one little boy and asked him, "What
did you eat for breakfast?" (Laughter) Is that more important than
the Vice-President of India? Bhagavan started pinching the boy’s
cheeks saying, "Ah! What did you eat? How many idlies (a South
Indian breakfast of rice cakes)?" Baba wanted to know the idlie 'score'!
(Bhagavan is very happy if anyone eats a large number of idlis.)
"Oh, eight? Why not ten! Come on, eat!" (Laughter) Bhagavan was
pinching his cheeks and enjoying his smile, while the Vice
President and other dignitaries were there waiting on the verandah!
One can afford to do this if one is totally free from 'I'-ness or
ego. Such a one is free with everybody at all times. On Monday, a
worldly man says, "I have an appointment from 10 to 11AM, you can
see me at 11:15." A businessman says, "I cannot see you on Monday
because I have got some business meeting. So let’s meet on Tuesday."
The one with no 'I'-ness, with no ego, is prepared to interact and
mingle freely with everybody at anytime.
I know one incident that I cannot forget. One time Bhagavan
visited the Chowdaya Memorial Hall in Bangalore. It is a beautiful
building, built in the shape of a violin. There was a music
concert and all Central Government Ministers, Governors, and other
top people were seated there. Somehow they were good enough to
show me some chair, as my services were required. (But if I went
today, even the watchman would not allow me inside. I know that.)
Instead of talking to the Central Government people there in the
front row, our God Bhagavan climbed up the steps. He started
talking with someone 85 years old, seated in the 15th row! "How
are you? You are not coming to Puttaparthi these days. How is your
health? Perhaps you’re not keeping fit? How are your children? I
remember you visited Puttaparthi ten years ago." Would you do that?
If I know one VIP, I will not be able to look at the faces of
others around. Why? After all, who is a VIP? In front of Bhagavan,
who is a VIP and who is not a VIP?
I’d like to quote V. K. Gokak's famous quotation. He was second to
none in scholarship. He used to always say, "This Mandir verandah
has seen so many people sitting and then going. (Laughter) After
all, you are someone today, but someone else the day after
tomorrow." How can one feel like a VIP here? Who is a VIP? Can
there be any VIP for God? No! All are equal. Why consider
ourselves important? It is nothing but ego to think, "I want to be
known and recognized. I want to achieve." This idea comes because
we have a wrong notion of spirituality, believing that it is an
achievement.
Spirituality is Not an Achievement
My friends, we don’t need to learn anything at all. It is enough
to bear in mind this one sentence: Spirituality is not an
achievement or an accomplishment. Spirituality is a reminder. It
is a constant remembrance of who you are, recognizing the Divinity
within. We consider ourselves as achievers because we think
spirituality is an achievement. When there’s no achievement, how
can there be an achiever? Where is there success or failure? No!
Failure and success are worldly. You are spiritual.
Bhagavan always says, "You are the embodiment of Truth, Peace, and
Love. You are God." When Baba said this, I asked Him, "Swami! How
am I to believe it? How am I to accept it?" He answered, "Then,
consider yourself as a he-buffalo!" The Scriptures say that you
are Divine. Even the Holy Bible declares, "God made man in His own
image." Who can help us if we say instead that we are in the image
of a buffalo or a monkey? We should know the basic Truth and fact
that we are the Self.
The Self is eternal existence, immortal, pristine and pure.
Bhagavan uses the words, "Nithya, suddha, buddha, mukthi." This
means that Self is eternal, ever vibrant, ever radiant, ever
effulgent, ever new and non-polluted. You are that Self. This
awareness is what we call spirituality, which is possible only if
we give up this three-lettered dangerous word, 'ego'.
So, this morning we covered the first three commands: Give up the
one-letter, ‘I.’ Cultivate the two-letters, ‘we.’ Cut out the
poisonous three-letters, ‘ego'.
Next week we will cover the rest of the new commandments.
Om Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityormaa Amritam Gamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi!
Once again, thank you very much!
© Anil Kumar Kamaraju 2004 - Here
reproduced for personal use of the devotees for the purpose of
seva.
Anil Kumar website:
http://www.internety.com/anilkhome/ -
http://www.internety.com/saipearls/
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