Sri Sathya Sai Baba Articles

Talk by Anil Kumar on February 25th, 2001

WAITING IS SPIRITUAL



OM… OM… OM…

Sai Ram.

With Praanams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Of all the evils, pride is the first and foremost. Pride is the first enemy to every spiritual aspirant. To every spiritual seeker, pride leads to total ruin, the complete downfall. Of all the enemies, pride is number one! The rest of the enemies follow in quick succession. If we do not allow the first enemy, we'll be saved from the rest. We have got to be extra careful with regard to the first enemy, pride.

My friends, a miracle happens in our life so that we gain entry into the mansion of Divinity. We come to know of God. We come to know of Bhagavan through a miracle. When you are desperate, when we are hopeless, when no one is ready to help us - no rescue, no refuge - at that time a miracle happens.

A miracle has a purpose behind it. A miracle will get us into the interior of Divinity. A miracle is a doorway. A miracle is a main gate. It is not the be-all and end-all. We cannot expect miracles to happen throughout our life. If miracles happen throughout our life, if every accident is saved, if every death is prevented, if all calamities are totally gone, the Law of Nature is not strictly followed. The rule of Creation is not followed by the Creator Himself. He'll be interfering. He'll be managing or manipulating, or tampering with His own Divine Law. He would not do it.

Therefore my friends, let us be very clear that a miracle is only the doorway to get into the mansion of Divinity. And the rest of the things, all the precious things, happen in life slowly, as we follow His Teachings. The more and more we follow His Teachings, the rest of the things will happen. That's why many people say, "Sir, in the beginning, I had a wonderful experience. Now I am not having any." In the beginning, it happened because of His Grace. Later, your effort is required. Your effort is expected. Therefore, the subsequent happenings and experiences are based upon our effort.

The greatest miracle is our attitude, not any windfall nor any money treasure chest coming to you. That is not a big miracle. There are many people who get money. It is not a miracle. The miracle is the attitude towards life, the attitude you have, the kind of relationships you establish, how equanimious you are, how you respect others. That is the greatest miracle. You are not ruffled. You are not confused. You are not lost by certain things, which would have really made you frustrated had you not been a devotee.

I repeat: Any simple thing would agitate you. Any unexpected situation will naturally disturb our peace of mind. But having come to Bhagavan, we have known how to receive things. We have known how to accept things. We don't rebel. We do not retaliate. We do not react. We are not revengeful. We have developed day-by-day the spirit of or the attitude of acceptance. This is the biggest miracle! Acceptance to a given situation joyfully and happily, with all readiness, unconditionally. That is the greatest miracle of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Before I go into the details of this morning's talk, I want to draw your attention to one more point. We are not sure whether Swami would look at us or not. He may not look at us. We are not sure whether He would take our letter or not. We are not sure of the interview. But we are sure of one thing - WAITING and WAITING! (Laughter) If I try to be smart enough and manage to occupy the first row, to occupy a good vantage seat, try to show the letter, the good Lord prefers to say, "Wait, wait." (Laughter) When we desperately need Him, when we need His immediate guidance, if we just pick up some courage and get up, the Divine response is, "Wait, wait."

Wait is an expected thing. Then what is this waiting? What do you call this waiting. Let me say a few words about this because it is very important and interesting. When Swami wants us to wait, what does His word 'Wait' convey? Is it anything like waiting for a job? Is this waiting like waiting at the airport to catch the next flight? We always wait for the next flight, whether to Detroit or St. Louis or New York. Yes, we wait there at airports to catch the next flight. Is it anything like this, waiting for the next flight?

To catch the next train, I wait there at the platform. Is it anything like that? I wait for a promotion. I wait for an audience with you. So is it anything like that? What is waiting? What does that "wait" mean? Why should Bhagavan tell this wait to everybody? If He does not say so to you, there is something wrong with you! (Laughter) It means there is something wrong with you, nothing wrong with Swami!

So we should be happy to hear His word, "Wait, wait." We should be so happy. We should take this waiting as a positive thing. Waiting is positive. Waiting is not negative. Sometimes we are depressed. Sometimes we get disgruntled. Sometimes we get disgusted, more so when our neighbor gets the interview! (Laughter) More often than not, when some people whom you don't like get an interview, the blood pressure shoots up! (Laughter)

So that attitude, that waiting, is a miracle. When Bhagavan says, "Wait, wait", it is positive. Bhagavan is positive. Our body is negative. Our senses are negative. Mind is negative. Intellect is negative. But the Divinity within us is positive. That Divinity within us, which is positive, is Bhagavan Himself. And that Bhagavan, Divinity, in me who is all-positive, tells me to wait. So how can that waiting be negative? Impossible! Any jewel, any ornament, made out of gold must also be of gold. Any pot made out of clay is also an earthen pot, a clay pot. The same stuff should be there. So our positive God tells you to wait. It means waiting is positive. I think I am clear.

We feel so badly because our mind is negative. As our mind is negative. Therefore it views this waiting with all the negativity and then passes through the pain and suffering. Let us learn from this moment that waiting is a positive thing.

Second point: Waiting is spiritual. We don't want to wait because we have instant food: ten-minutes food, five-minutes food. Every food anytime, instant food! Instant coffee, instant interview, instant liberation (which would also go instantly!) (Laughter) All that is obtained instantly, leaves instantly! All that comes easily, goes much easier than another obtained. So my friends, let's know that waiting is spiritual. It is not anything spontaneous. It is not anything instantaneous. It is not anything, a second's time or a minute's time. It's not like that. Waiting is spiritual.

Third point: Waiting is discipline. Most of us, who are not used to the discipline, feel restless. 'Let me get up, go and sit there, because Swami is likely to come that way. Let me get up.' Or, 'Let me go from here and talk to a person who got interview so that he'll give some secrets or some mechanics or some dynamics or some technique on how to get interview!' We talk to people and we move from place to place when we are not capable of waiting. So waiting is discipline which wants us to sit where we are, which expects us to remain where we are, undisturbed, unperturbed. Waiting is positive. Waiting is spiritual. Waiting is discipline.

Then fourth point: How should we wait? How long should we wait? "I have been waiting for about twenty years." "Oh, I see." I have told it many times, and yet I don't feel ashamed to repeat it any number of times. I waited for seven long years. During that seven-year's time, Bhagavan never cared to look at me. I was non-existent, (Laughter) a vacuum, empty. That's all. A-void. I was non-existent for seven years. Swami asked everybody, "You get up! You get up!" as if I was not there. (Laughter) He never looked at me for seven years. On the other hand, for four years or so, He avoided the whole line where I used to sit. (Laughter) All my neighbors, all my friends were promoted at a time because Swami never came that way! That was for seven years.

So this kind of waiting is not to be calculated in terms of time. We should not calculate waiting in terms of time because some say, "I waited for six months!" "Oh-ho." Another: "I waited for two years." Or, "I have been coming here for the last seven years, waiting here, each time for a month's time." This means we are calculating. We are measuring. We are estimating waiting in terms of time. Therefore we feel the pain. Therefore we are frustrated.

Waiting is not to be viewed, is not to be measured, in terms of time because God is beyond time. God is timeless. Time is nothing but that which is related to the mind. It is only the mind that tells you that it is ten-thirty. It is the mind that tells you it is eleven o'clock. It is the mind that tells you the time factor, the slot left for you, how long you should spend at a clip, when you should be there, when you should vacate. It is the time that tells. Mind is time. Time is the mind. But God is beyond the mind. So God is called Achinthya: chinthya = thought, achinthya = beyond thought. God is Achinthya, beyond thought, beyond mind. This means God is timeless. God is beyond time. Therefore to calculate, "I have been waiting here, you know, from twelve o'clock in the hot sun…I have been waiting here, you know, till six o'clock in the evening…" Umhum. That won't apply.

Just as rupees have no value in America where dollars are valued, similarly in this 'spiritual exchange currency counter', time evolves through days, months and years. But this is not valid in the spiritual world. No. There are two counters here: the counter of the world for all immigrants and the counter leading to God. Gate 1 and Gate 2, you could say like that. So Gate 1 (the world) requires of you time. But at Gate 2 (the Divine), there is no time factor there. So let us be convinced of this point, that waiting has got nothing to do with time. Why? Because time is the mind. God is above time. God is timeless. God is the Master of Time.

Then what is waiting? Waiting on other occasions, from the worldly point of view (Gate 1), if there is prolonged waiting, it is disgusting. Supposing I say, "I would like to meet you at ten o'clock." You go on waiting: ten-thirty, eleven, eleven-thirty…You go on waiting. At twelve o'clock you say, "It's not worth waiting for Anil Kumar any longer!" You don't feel like waiting for me any longer because prolonged waiting is disgusting. We get vexed to wait for a long time in any worldly matter.

But in spirituality, a prolonged period of waiting is alleviating. It is energizing. It is elevating. It is sublime. It is ecstatic. This waiting is a dance. This waiting is a song. This waiting is a melody because in this waiting there is joy. In this waiting there is bliss. In this waiting there is yearning. There is pining. There is expectation - something like the waiting of the Beloved.

The husband has been elsewhere for six years, away from the wife. She's waiting and waiting, waiting and waiting, until he arrives. She doesn't wait out of disgust. Any woman who waits with disgust is not waiting. There is something wrong there. You have to question the motive behind her feelings. The Beloved waits for the Dear. We wait for the near and dear joyfully. When Bhagavan is expected at ten o'clock, we'd reach there in the morning at six o'clock. We know the Pourna Hurthi people reach here right from five-thirty. We see people sitting there right from six o'clock or even four-thirty!

But I have not seen anybody disgusted or vexed or with a long castor-oil face or tired. No! We are very happy to wait for Bhagavan! Why? Do you wait for a flight like that? Come on! Nobody does! If you have to wait for one hour, you will take that fellow to the court because you'll be losing your job! (Laughter) You would take him to court! On the other hand, you would put it on Internet, "This certain airline, it is better you don't get in because you'll be delayed for a lifetime!" (Laughter)

So elsewhere, we'd be disgusted. We'd be worried. We get tired waiting. But to wait for God, there is a thrill! There is excitement! So waiting is a matter of joy. Waiting is blissful. Waiting is a dance. Waiting is melodious music. And elsewhere as we wait, what do we do? At the airport or the railway platform, what do we do when we are supposed to wait? We try to go to the bookstall. We try to go to the cafeteria. We try to go to at least the shoeshine man. I saw people there in the USA, people sitting relaxed there on the chair, getting their shoes shined. Oh, fine. That's a good way of waiting. So one can wait like that by going to a cafeteria, having a Sprite or a 7-Up, whatever that is convenient.

But in this process of spiritual waiting, you don't go anywhere. You don't talk to anybody. You don't need any soft drinks or hot drinks. You don't need anything. You close your eyes. You reflect within yourself. In waiting, you reflect upon yourself. This means that waiting is meditation! Now who will say, "I don't want to wait"? Nobody can say because waiting is meditation. You go in. You close your eyes. You want to be left alone to yourself. You don't want to be in a crowd. You don't want to be among many, many people. You don't want to be disturbed. You want to be alone. You want to reflect within. You want to concentrate within yourself. You want to think of God. You want to read some book, Sai literature. That is meditation. So waiting is meditation. Waiting is blissful. Waiting is spiritual. Waiting is discipline. Waiting is a matter of joy. God wants us to wait joyfully. God wants us to wait ecstatically so that God will appear. God appears when we wait joyfully.

Once it so happened, totally annoyed, totally out-of-mood, in a bit of frustration, I happened to put a long face on because I felt very badly. He was talking to everybody, minus Anil Kumar, as if I am a highjacker. (Laughter) I was feeling so badly, so I had on a very long face. Suddenly Bhagavan asked me, "Get up! Translate."

All right, fine. What did He say? He gave a general lecture. But now you can know for whom it was meant! (Laughter) What did He say? "God will not look at those faces that are serious! (Laughter) God hates castor oil faces! (Laughter) God would not like to turn that side where there are serious faces!" I thought within myself, 'O good Lord, You can talk to me directly. Why do You generalize things? (Laughter) Why do You generalize? You can tell me directly, "Laugh, Mr. Anil." Fine. Then I thought, "Some of my representatives also are there among the audience. Some of the other prospective serious fellows might be here. (Laughter) Some may get into that dangerous zone of seriousness, tension, and temper. In order to prevent that, Swami might have made that statement to the public.

So when we wait unconditionally, when we wait joyfully, when we wait happily, at a time when you do not feel that you are waiting, experience happens! At a time when you do not know, at a time when you forget that you are waiting, experience happens. I don't say, "experience comes". Please let us correct our English. Experience happens. All those experiences that are spiritual are the happenings, not our doings. All human things are doings. My going to the college is an act, my doing. My getting into the kitchen and eating is an act. I am doing. So all human activities are done, are our doings. But the spiritual things are not done. They just happen.

So spiritual experiences happen when once we forget, when we are unaware, when once we are unmindful of this waiting. Suddenly yesterday…I will tell you the latest! One of my colleagues is a very young fellow, who joined the college eight years ago. Swami has not been talking to him all these eight years. That's not a small period. We have some seniors who were also waiting for fourteen years! Good. It's all right. For eight years, he has not been talking to Swami. But still that man is quite happy. Somehow it so happened that he has been sitting along with us for the last couple of days. I always encourage boys to come as close as possible. I don't want to be an obstacle or a block to anybody. I know what a pain it is from the worldly point of view. I was just talking to him, "Come on, come on!"

Yesterday, most unexpectedly, "Come on, how are you?" Bhagavan said. My colleague was thinking, 'Is it me that He has called or is it someone else?' Because naturally, he may feel, 'O God, what happened to You all these eight years!' (Laughter) He was looking that side and this side. "Hey! I am calling you. Come on, come on," Bhagavan said. And He said, "So nice." He blessed him and materialized a diamond ring for that boy. Now this is an example, an illustration of what I am telling right now. Spiritual experience happens. Divinity manifests at a time when we forget the time, at the moment when we forget that we are waiting, at the situation when we have no expectation! Then it happens.

A simple example: You must have heard of Zen philosophy and Sufi saints. There was one lady of this philosophical association, a lady who was a great philosopher. She was fetching water from the well in two pots. As she was fetching water that morning, as ill luck would have it happen, the two pots fell on the ground and broke into pieces. Just the water was there on that ground. She wanted to take the water home, but it all fell on the ground as the two pots broke. This lady started dancing and singing. Everybody thought something was wrong with her. (Laughter) The two pots that broke made her go mad. It's not worth living. Everybody thought so. Somebody dared to ask, "Look here, we don't know why you are dancing. The two pots broke. There is every reason to feel so badly. Then why are you dancing? Why are you singing?"

This Zen monk, the lady, said, "The two pots broke. That means for me that this pot, my body, would also break. My body is a pot that would also break. Just as that water started flowing in all directions, till now the water was conditioned to being in the pot. The water has been limited in the pot. The water has been within the framework and the size of the pot. Now it is flowing freely in all directions! As the pot of my body breaks, the Supreme Self within me goes freely into the atmosphere. The Supreme Being merges with the entire environment. I am happy, so I am dancing."

She has been carrying water everyday. How is it that enlightenment happened at that moment? Things happen always like that. A spiritual experience, a spiritual awakening, a spiritual enlightenment will not show any signal, will not give any bell. It is not a telephone call. It is not a railway station bell. It's not any kind of announcement that: "At the airport, the flight will be in ten minutes' time. Sorry for the delay." There's no such thing for spiritual experience. There are neither announcements nor bulletins. Suddenly spiritual enlightenment happens. The same thing had happened to Guru Nanak. The same thing had happened to our Kabir. The same thing happened to Tulsidas. To all it happened at a time when they are not aware. So my friends, waiting is a process where we should forget, when we should forget that we are waiting. You wait and forget that you are waiting. That is the point. Because when you are aware that you are waiting, you will be disgusted.

Why do we fight with this waiting? Why? Many people don't want to wait. Why? What is it that feels very much pained to wait? Let us analyze. It is the mind because mind tells you, "You waited for four hours time - a waste of time! Get up!" Or the mind tells us, "You have been waiting for four months. Swami has not looked at you. Come on, go back!" So it is the mind that fights. It is the mind that gets agitated, something like a pebble thrown into the well. A pebble thrown into the well produces ripple after ripple, filling the entire well.

Similarly the mind disturbs. The mind questions. The mind does not accept to wait. That's the reason why our mind always tries to find out the easy method. The mind always wants to find an easy method. For example: How to make money within a month? Have a printing press, make five hundred rupees notes, become a rich man. Yes. How to get through the examination easily? Write down the answers at home. Give it in the examination hall. You'll get through.

So we find so many things going on - the black-marketing, the corruption, even at the time of election, yes, there is rigging of votes. It happened a few years ago, some time back, when I went to the polling booth. They said, "You have already voted. Why do you come?" (Laughter)

"No, I'm coming here now only."

"No, no. See it is marked."

So some good friend must have voted on my behalf! (Laughter)

Had I come to know earlier, I would have rested at home!

So my friends, we want to win the election. We want to become rich very fast, or have our food very fast. But this is all nothing but the game of the monkey mind. Only when this monkey mind stops its activity, only when the monkey mind does not interfere any longer, then we'll be happy to wait for any length of time. I'm not able to wait because my mind is still working. When mind is at rest, one can wait.

Then the heart functions. When the mind is at rest, the heart starts functioning. Heart has been waiting. This monkey mind is making a monkey of this fellow. He's just jumping all around! All right, let us see. He's totally tired, totally exhausted, no more a monkey. He sits. The mind quietens. The mind settles. The mind is not in any way dictating because it is very much tired. At that time, the heart takes charge of the whole activity. When the president is out-of-town, the vice-president will take charge. It happens so. When the principal is on leave, the vice-principal will take charge. Sometimes the vice-principals manage better than the principals! (Laughter) Some principals are helped by their absence! (Laughter)

So what happens is, when this monkey mind keeps quiet, it is the greatest help. The mind keeping quiet is the greatest help to every one of us, so that then the heart will take charge. The heart will take charge at that time. When once the heart takes charge, we are really so happy to wait. Mind does not help you to wait. The heart prompts you to wait more and more.

Mind is an extravert, worldly. Heart is inward, Nivritthi. Heart is inward, while mind is outward. So outward mind is always in haste, is always in a hurry. But the heart, which is within, turned inwards, welcomes waiting. It is not in a hurry because the heart enjoys itself in its own company. It does not want anybody. The heart wants to be all alone. It is the mind that wants company. The heart desires aloneness or loneliness or solitude. The heart prefers loneliness (meaning, being alone). The mind wants a crowd always gathering. So when this mind stops, the heart enjoys that aloneness, which is solitude, which is meditation, and then it takes us to a state of samadhi .

Samadhi is possible when the heart takes charge, but not when the mind is in charge. Nobody can experience samadhi with the mind because the mind is dual. The mind is division. The mind is conditioned. The mind is prejudiced. The mind is biased. The mind is selfish.

"So, Anil Kumar, you are speaking all negative things about the mind. Now shall I be a fellow without the mind?" No, no, no. I am not against the mind. Philosophy is not against the mind. Make the mind useful for the purposes it is meant for. A simple example: ECG - The electrocardiogram is useful to know the beating and the condition of the heart. You cannot use it to know the body's temperature. Am I right? A thermometer has to be used to know the body's temperature. But it won't tell the heartbeat. So every instrument has a definite purpose. But if we want to make every instrument multi-purposeful, multi-dimensional, no instrument is useful.

So the mind is useful so far as our living is concerned. For our daily living, the mind is useful. For knowledge, the mind is useful. For science and technology, the mind is useful. For business, the mind is very, very, very useful! (Laughter) For politics, the mind is the hero. But for compassion, for Truth, justice, sacrifice, Bliss, Love, Divinity, the mind is useless. The heart should take charge. Because we want to make use of the mind in both the ways, we are losing the second half of life.

Bhagavan gives some example: It seems it so happened that one rat got into an instrumental drum. The rat got into it. That fellow is playing it. The rat went to that side. The fellow beat, 'Da-da' on the drum. So the rat came over to this end. Again the player played, 'Da-da'. Then the rat started running this other way. So when he's playing quickly, the 'Da-da-da-da', the rat is moving that side and this side, back and forth.

That's what we are doing! (Laughter) That is what is happening to all of us! Why? Our life is a drum: This side is spirituality. That side is the world. On the worldly side, there may be some losses, business loss or reversion in our job or delay in promotion or some sickness. Or some family problem will give a big 'Da-da'! When a big 'Da-da-da-da' comes, "Let's go to God!" The rat comes to this side! (Laughter) but when we finally turn towards God's side, He does not look at you. He does not take letters from you! 'Da-da!' (The rat runs to the other side.) Then the mind says,"Let's go home!" So we are all like rats, this side - that side - this side - that side, 'Da-da-da-da-da'. (Laughter) So there is nowhere to live! Therefore my friends, let us use one side. Make use of the mind for the world. Make use of the heart for God and spirituality.

The highest step is beyond the heart - is present as the Atma or the Self or the Soul or Consciousness or Spirit. Names are many. Call it Soul or the Spirit or Consciousness or Atma. You may call it whatever you like. When once you go to the third step, Consciousness, mind and heart do not matter because it has taken the position of Supreme Commander now. When once the Supreme Commander takes charge, these two are lower rank, the heart and the mind. They have to keep quiet. "All right. Let's do what You say." The heart will look up, "Oh Consciousness, tell me what I should do?" The mind is already made silent by the heart. Mind is the junior-most officer. It had already kept its mouth shut because the heart is ruling. When once the Consciousness takes over, the heart also should keep 'mum' (silent) and Atma takes charge now. Consciousness takes charge now.

Then what happens? Let us see what happens. Now when the mind is in charge, happiness and unhappiness, profit and loss - everything is selfishness. Everything is self-centered. Everything is self-interest. That has been the target. That has been the goal, when the mind is in-charge. It made our life miserable because in the morning I am happy and in the evening I am unhappy. In the morning I am happy because I got the interview. In the evening I am unhappy because you got the interview! (Laughter) So the mind is making me like that. So, the mind landed me in difficulties.

Now let me go to the heart. Now how is it making me comfortable? The heart gave me certain values like Truth, sacrifice, spiritual discipline, compassion, and Love. I am happy with it. But sometimes I feel I am at a loss. I have been making sacrifices, but what is it that I got? I have been really truthful, but in what way am I superior to a fellow who is not truthful? I love and I am loving. But in what way am I better than a cruel fellow? So the heart at one time will also get a question mark, whether we are really benefited by the heart or not.

But when once you go to the topmost man, the Major General, the Atma, the Consciousness, these two lower-ranking officers don't talk because now it's under Army control, meaning Consciousness. When Consciousness takes over the control, takes total charge. It starts dictating. What does It say?

"The same spirit is present in everybody. Understand this."

Oh, I see. The mind was telling me that these are my people. They belong to my group. They talk my language. Chi! All narrow things my mind said so far - my district people, my people, my family, my, my, my…Swami said, "If you repeat 'my, my, my' it becomes Maya, illusion. So mind and Maya are synonyms."

Now then Atma says, "Stop that nonsense! Nothing like mine and thine. Keep quiet. Oh heart don't doubt. Now I tell you, the same spirit is present in everybody. I am the seed in the entire Creation. I am the seed of the entire tree of the Creation. You are of Me. You are by Me. You are in Me." That's it. That is the taste of Atma. Mind does not say that.

Therefore my friends, when once we go to the level of Atma, there is neither this mind nor the heart. It is the Super Mind or the Over Mind. That is what Bhagavan has been speaking to us about during the Birthday Celebrations. The Consciousness or Awareness is presiding.

A question was put to Bhagavan: Where is this Consciousness or Awareness? The Consciousness is present everywhere. Why do I not see it? Air is everywhere. Do you see that? I don't see it. But where is the air? Everywhere. How do you know? I am living. I am alive. I breathe, so the air is everywhere. Therefore the presence of air is proved by our breathing process. The fact that I am alive is enough to state that there is air, though I do not see it. Similarly, the Consciousness may not be seen. But the very fact that the whole thing functions, that the whole thing acts, that the whole thing is energetic, that the whole thing shows vibration is because of Consciousness.

Swami gives a simple example: The whole body is materialization. This means it is made up of material. It is made up of the five elements. It is inert. It is passive. So the body is made up of material - materialization. And this body acts: The hands shake. The head thinks. The legs walk. Why? Because of vibration. When there is no vibration, the body will not act.

Here is a simple example: paralysis. When the body is paralyzed, there is no vibration there so he is not able to lift his body freely. So for the materialization to act, to function, to move, to work, vibration is necessary. This vibration is because of Consciousness, which is radiation. So Consciousness is radiation. Consciousness is Awareness. Consciousness is Enlightenment. Consciousness is Awakening. Consciousness is Spirit, is Atma, Bliss. That Consciousness (which is radiation) comes out by way of vibration, making this body (which is materialization) act.

Bhagavan Baba, in what a wonderful, mathematical, sequential way He puts things! Bhagavan's Discourses will never make anybody confused. He makes it so clear: Consciousness is radiation, which passes through our body (as vibration), and makes this body (the organs and limbs) act and function (as materialization). Radiation - Vibration - Materialization. Am I clear?

And now with this vibration, the body, is conscious. Conscious refers to the body - materialization. We use this word 'conscious' in a lot of ways. If one goes on dressing the hair at the airport, or applying lipstick there, or wherever there is a mirror, we feel like standing to check up how fine we are (though in reality awful!) (Laughter), we are conscious of our personality. Supposing if I start looking at you suddenly, you'll be thinking, 'Is anything wrong here? Why is he staring at me?' Suddenly you become (self-) conscious. If I look at you continuously, you become self-conscious. So conscious refers to the body. Conscious means the body or materialization.

The next state is conscience. Conscience is the higher state, which is vibration. Conscience is vibration. And above that is Consciousness, which is radiation. So radiation, Consciousness, Spirit, Self, or Atma, is the highest.

It is not out of context if I tell you it is my surrendering prayer. Please believe me, I am speaking from the bottom of my heart. When Swami asks me, "What do you want?" I shall not ask Him for anything because there is only one thing I want. That is to be born again and again and again and speak on His Message like this. That's all. (Applause) To be born again and again, to speak like this, enjoying while speaking, the thrill and excitement and ecstasy and the dance in the melody of the Message of the Avatar. To dance to the tune of the Avatar! That's what I want. Nothing else. Because I know what it is. I know its taste, because we enjoy ourselves!

So from the topmost rank of Atma, the Spirit, the Soul, Consciousness, radiation, we come down to the level of conscience, vibration, and function at the bottom level of conscious or materialization.

All these things we can reflect upon in the process of waiting. If we are in a hurry, we don't think of conscience. If we are in haste, we don't think of Consciousness. We go inward from materialization to Consciousness during this process of waiting. This process of going into the radiation happens in this process of waiting. We can go from Consciousness to conscience to conscious (materialization) in the same way that we can go from New York to Chicago, from San Francisco to Indianapolis. We can go in any direction.

So, from inward-to-outward is a sign of haste. It is a sign of being in a state of hurry. Going from conscious to Consciousness is a process, which happens in this holy, sacred, spiritual experience of 'waiting'. So waiting means contemplation. Waiting means concentration. Waiting means meditation. Waiting means eagerness. Waiting means aloneness. Waiting means being prayerful. Full of prayer, we wait for Him.

So my friends, the period of waiting is cut short when we wait happily, when we wait joyfully. When we welcome this waiting, the period of waiting naturally is cut short. The more we are disgusted, the period will get prolonged. It is something like a knot. Slowly you should remove the knot. But if you are in a hurry with the knot, it becomes tighter. Then you have to cut it. You cannot untie it. The knot becomes tight if you have to remove it in a hurry. But slowly you can remove it.

So this waiting is what is called penance. Why? Yogis and sages, they waited and waited for the Lord to manifest and bless them. That is penance. Waiting is tapas. Waiting is dhyana. Waiting is prathana. Though in the worldly way waiting is negative, in the spiritual way it is totally positive.

A man with ego and pride will not wait. A simple example: A Central Minister came for Bhagavan's Darshan. Swami had left already. He had gone upstairs there in Brindavan. Being a Central Minister, other VIPs like the Collector, an ambassador, top officials with all paraphernalia, they all had assembled.

This Minister was looking that side and this side.

He asked somebody, "Where is Swami?"

This gentleman said, "Swami has gone up."

"Shall I go up?" he asked next.

"No, sorry, you cannot go."

"When is He going to come?"

"I do not know."

He asked the Collector and the State Minister because he is the Central Minister. He asked everybody. "What is the flight time? I want to meet Baba."

They were asking everybody in the ashram, "Where is Baba? When is He coming?"

"We do not know." The standard answer! (Laughter)

I was watching the whole drama there, though it was college time. The time was up, but still it was worth waiting - behind the bush, of course! (Laughter) Brindavan gives you certain trees and shade to hide yourself in, unnoticed. Let us take advantage of everything! (Laughter)

Swami did not come down. This man looked that side and this side for ten minutes very restlessly and then he left. The whole convoy left.

In the evening, in the Trayee Brindavan gathering, Swami asked me, "Why were you late to the college?" (Laughter)

I said, "Swami, me? Late to the college?"

"Yes, you are hiding behind the bushes! So you were late!" (Laughter)

Oh! The cat is out of the bag now! (Laughter)

"Why were you there?"

"Swami, the Central Minister came."

"He did not come for you! (Laughter) He has not come to see you! Why were you there?

"Swami, I wanted to see what will happen!" (Laughter)

"What happened? What happened?"

"Swami, nothing happened. That's why it shocked me. Nothing happened. That is a shock. Had something happened, I would have been happy."

Swami said, "Why?"

"Swami, I expected that You would come down. I expected that You would talk to Central Government Minister."

He said, "Anyone will have to wait for Me. I will not wait for anybody. But (this is important) all officers, all ministers, they are all grand. All top people have to wait for Me. But I wait for my devotee. I wait for my devotee! (Applause) If you are in a hurry, you can go. Let him go. I don't care about it."

And further He said, "I don't come down for him. I don't come for these fellows." What did He say? "If it is left to Me, I don't come down. No, I don't come down for anybody. But devotees can bring Me downstairs! (Laughter and applause) Like all the ants that gather, like all the ants that collect, carrying the jaggery, the sweet, from this place to that place, I am the Sweet. My devotees are the ants. They can carry Me anywhere!"

That is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba! (Applause)

And so my friends, this process of waiting is essentially Divine. I wanted to talk to you about this process of waiting in particular this morning so that we may enjoy waiting for God. Let us enjoy this waiting for the Lord because when we do so, we get into the field of Infinite Bliss. It may happen all of a sudden, unnoticed!

May Sai bless you! Sai Ram.

© 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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