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Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
July 22, 2001
The Sunday Talk Given by Anil
Kumar
Different Categories of Religions (Part Two)
July 22nd, 2001
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram.
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of our Most Beloved Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
First Category: Ignorance-Oriented
Last time we met, we spoke about the various categories of
religions. Out of the seven categories, we learned about five. The
title of that talk was ‘Different Categories of Religions’ (Part
I). This morning we will discuss the remaining two. Now I will
give you just an overview, for the benefit of those who could not
be present last time, since it is not possible or desirable to
repeat the whole thing again.
The first category, the first type of religion, is
ignorance-oriented or ignorance-centered. Such people are dogmatic.
They are penchant and very often idiotic. They do not compromise;
they do not listen; and they do not care to know others'
viewpoints because of their Himalayan ignorance. So the first
category is ignorance-oriented. They also take to violence.
Second Category: Fear-Oriented
The second category is fear-oriented religion. Fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom. Why have fear of God? "Because I’ll be thrown
into hell if I do certain sinful deeds. As I read the description
of hell, I’m going to be fried on a frying pan in hot oil, and I’ll
be reduced to the level of potato chips! (Laughter) Or, I’ll be
kept in the hot sun and dried like a fish! I don’t want to be in
trouble, because I know there is a hell. There are people in hell
who will torture me. They will make me walk across the edge of
this world, and make me walk through fire." So, to escape that
torture of hell, I have a religion.
This is fear-oriented religion. They speak more of hell,
punishment, torture. Whether there is a hell or not, you do not
know. But by believing in hell, you lose the joy and thrill of the
present. You lose the enjoyment, the excitement, and the bliss of
the present. You don't enjoy anything at all, believing that
bloody hell follows you. Hell follows you everywhere, and all the
steps you take are only to avoid hell. This is fear-oriented
religion.
Third Category: Greed or Need
The third category of religion is greed-oriented. This type of
religion is born out of greed or need. We belong to this group -
greed or need. Here is an example: "I want my son to get a seat in
the medical college. So, I get up at 4.30 – 5 o’clock in the early
morning and follow the nagarsankirtan (the early morning bhajan
chanting in the ashram) religiously! Again, I sit at 2 o’clock in
the afternoon and have darshan. Then I attend evening bhajans with
closed eyes, thinking (of course) of engineering school fees and
not of Baba. But I'm highly religious because I'm need-oriented."
Greed-based religion thinks and acts like this: "When my first
daughter is to be married, I go around Lord Ganesha nine times in
the morning and nine times in the evening, until He is totally
disgusted with me! Ganesha then will say, 'All right! I will send
some fellow to you!' (Laughter) After, when she’s married, I'll
say, 'Thank you, Ganesha. See you again when I next need you. Bye!'
" (Laughter)
So, when there is some kind of a problem or a need, whether it is
official, in the family, or in the business, whether it is a
personal, community, or collective problem, it is need-oriented or
greed-based. Whatever the problem may be, it is a need-oriented or
greed-based religion. This is the third category.
Fourth Category: Calculation and Cleverness
The fourth kind of religion is based on calculations and
cleverness. What is meant by 'calculations and cleverness'? These
people go on arguing until you lose all interest in religion. This
is because they speak about a level that they have not experienced
and of which they have no real knowledge. We can know who is a man
without experience because simple things are made quite
complicated by such a person, whereas a person with experience can
put things in the simplest possible way. When the person without
knowledge uses certain words and expressions, their inexperience
shows. They are not practical.
Therefore, the fourth category is based on logic or arguments.
This is very dangerous because one person may say, "Follow the 'Non-Dual
Path'." OK, his ideas seem to be good. Then the next day, another
man comes and says, "Follow the 'Dual Path'." Oh, I see! The dual
path seems to be good.
Afterwards, I see the third man on the third day who says, "Follow
the 'Qualified Non-Dual Path'." At this point, I'm not qualified
to follow any of the three as I am in so much confusion! (Laughter)
There are other men advocating 'Materialism'. All this is very
convenient. So, by listening to so many different people, I feel
comfortable doing nothing at all! This is confusion confounded!
Religion is not an argument or logic. Religion is not simply an
explanation or a sacred text. Spirituality is not an exposition.
Spirituality is an experience. Religion is not an explanation, but
an exploration. One has to explore and dive deeply into the ocean
to collect the pearls of wisdom. Superficially, the ocean will
show you rising waves,or, near the shore, you can collect
fresh-water mussels. While on the contrary, the pearls are deep
down at the bottom of the ocean. So, dive deeply and explore. Be
exhilarated, but do not exploit.
So, it is a kind of exploration and experimentation. It is not
simply listening. Religions have become a matter for argumentation,
debates, logic, scholarship, and bookish knowledge. We hear these
sort of talks and forget them there on the spot itself. They don’t
deserve to be remembered, as arguments create counter arguments.
This is the fourth category of religion.
Fifth Category: Intelligence (Sath)
The fifth category of religion is based on intelligence (Sath).
Last time I spoke of a distinction between intellect and
intelligence. At that time, I discussed with you all the arguments
and points related to the difference between intelligence and
intellect.
Here is a short summary: We are intellectual; however, we are not
intelligent. Please be clear about this. We are not intelligent;
we are intellectuals. What do I mean by intelligence? If I am
intelligent, I should know how to synthesize, how to bring
together, how to be harmonious, how to make a blend out of many
pieces. To be harmonious, to synthesize, to blend, to combine, and
to permutate is the job of an intelligent man.
An intellectual man believes in pieces, in fragments, and in
half-knowledge, which is dangerous. We are intellectuals because
we specialize in only one branch of knowledge, in only one area.
This is intellectual. On the other hand, an intelligent man will
have a total view, a holistic view, and a kind of awareness. This
is what is called 'religions based on intelligence'.
Last time we deliberated sufficiently along these lines. Now let
me speak about the two categories of religion that are left.
Sixth Category: Meditation (Chit)
The sixth category of religion is based on meditation. People have
very funny ideas about meditation. (I am never too tired to repeat
this, as I have told you earlier, because these audiences are not
always the same.) We have made meditation ridiculous, a mockery, a
farce, and a cheap business.
You may not like it when I make these negative remarks. But please
go through the newspapers and see for yourselves. There you will
find an advertisement: 'Meditation in Thirty Days' for only five
hundred rupees. Should we think, "Oh, those rishis and sages did
not have enough money! Therefore, they spent hundreds of years in
penance, in the forests meditating. While now, new initiates can
easily purchase meditation classes, paying only five hundred
rupees for a week!" We are very good in doing business with
religion. Is meditation so cheap that one can learn it in a week,
by paying five hundred rupees? Who is the buffalo who can teach us
like that? Nonsense!
My friends, having come to the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba, please remember this. Let this be a sort of
self-reminder. I am reminding myself of Baba’s words. That is all.
That it is the job of a teacher - to remind you. I have no extra
authority. I do not stand on a higher pedestal. I don’t have any
extra experience or devotion. I am one among you, or the least
amongst all of you. The only credibility and qualification I have
is that I am a teacher here, used to speaking publicly since my
childhood.
Secondly, I enjoy the nearness with Bhagavan. For that reason, I
know certain things that He speaks of to people, which are not
available for larger, wider sections of the audience to hear.
Having been blessed with this opportunity, I like to make use of
this chance to share it with others. I consider this my
responsibility and derive great joy from it. Once these talks are
recorded, they will help posterity.
Today meditation has become a matter of business. It has become so
cheap. But, what is true meditation? Meditation is the withdrawal
of the mind. When the mind comes to a standstill, when the mind
does not exist anymore (positively, negatively, or in a worldly
way), this 'thoughtlessness' (thought-free-ness) is meditation.
Positive thinking, after all, is thinking. So also, negative
thinking is still thinking. So, thoughts should totally stop. The
moment thinking stops, we become thought-free (without thoughts).
This thoughtlessness is meditation. So, meditation is beyond
positivity (positive thinking) and negativity (negative thinking).
It is a thoughtless or thought-free state. So, thoughtlessness is
meditation.
(May I remind you again that everything I speak here is collected
from Bhagavan’s Divine Discourses. None of these ideas are my own.
)
The next point is about optimism and pessimism. Optimism is always
endless hope. He who lives endlessly in hope is an optimist, while
he who believes in a hopeless end is a pessimist. So, the one
believes in a hopeless end, while the other believes in endless
hope. Endless hope is optimism. Hopeless end is pessimism. But
meditation is neither optimistic nor pessimistic, neither a hope
nor an end. Meditation is beyond both because both of these are
related to the mind. "I am hopeful." Why? My mind is hopeful. Or,
"I am hopeless." This means that the mind is in a state of
hopelessness. So, being hopeful or hopeless are two attitudes of
the mind. But meditation is beyond the mind. It is neither
positive nor negative.
Up and Down the Ladder
There is another point: Imagine a big ladder with many rungs or
steps. People climb up the ladder; they can also climb down the
ladder. Am I right? Intelligence is like climbing up the ladder,
whereas intellect is like climbing down the ladder. Intelligence
is upward, whereas intellect is downward. So, the religion of
logic, the religion of calculation, which is the fourth category,
is the one of the intellect going downward. The religion of
intelligence is the one climbing the ladder upward.
The sixth category of religion, based on meditation, is neither
upward climbing or downward climbing. Meditation means throwing
the ladder away altogether! (Laughter) Throw the ladder away! When
the ladder is there, you will feel like climbing. That is
intelligence. Or, when the ladder is there, you may climb
downward. That is intellect. Just throw the ladder. Have nothing
to do with the ladder.
What does this mean? You either climb up or go down. But instead,
remain where you are - don't climb up and don't climb down. Just
remain where you are. Be with your own Self, undisturbed, in the
stillness of your heart, in all serenity, in all solemnity, in
solitude, in Aloneness (All-Oneness)! Living in one’s own Being -
this is the religion of meditation. Religion of meditation is to
be with one’s own Self, not with the body, not with the mind, and
not with the intellect. To be with one's own Self, to be with the
Being, to be One with that Being, the Self, is called the religion
of meditation. This is very, very necessary for everybody.
Procedures of Meditation
Why do most people close their eyes in meditation? They close
their eyes, sit with their vertebral column straight, and
meditate. Why? The reason is that once you close your eyes, you
automatically turn inward. Dhyana Vahini, is the book written by
Bhagavan, which conveys the secrets of meditation and the
procedure for meditation. When you meditate, you should sit
straight and not lean on others or sleep on the lap of the
neighbor! (Laughter) We cannot doze or move. We have to be alert,
awake, and aware. We should not go to sleep.
In the beginning, some people may say, "I meditate". But within a
couple of minutes, we hear them snoring! (Laughter) It is 'loud
meditation' or 'meditation with sound facility', a 'public address
system'! (Laughter) But genuine meditation is not like that.
Meditation is being awake with the eyes closed. Normally, once we
close the eyes, we may sleep. But in meditation, I close my eyes,
but I do not sleep.
What do I do with my eyes closed? I don’t manipulate; I don’t
manage; I don’t plan for my prospects; I don’t dream of a state
when my enemy loses the game; I don’t dream of when I will be able
to control everybody and fly high! This is all nonsense! Many
people close their eyes, but the mind is in the marketplace or in
the office or with the enemy. Mind is always dreaming of the fall
of the enemy. Mind is always expectant. But meditation is not this
dirty game of the mind.
With the eyes closed, one proceeds to turn inward to the very
Being of life. What does this mean? It means you don’t think
anymore. You have no more desires, no more hopes, and no
hopelessness whatsoever. When there is no planning, the mind turns
inward and you forget your association with the body and the mind.
You start thinking of the Expansion of Love, as Bhagavan puts it.
Then you start feeling the Consciousness all around. You feel that
the Divinity in you is the same all around., Visualizing and
perceiving this Cosmic Consciousness everywhere is meditation.
Bhagavan joked about the kind of meditation that we do: It seems a
fellow was meditating when suddenly, (Anil Kumar knocks twice on
the table) there is a knock at the door. This man, who is sitting
in meditation, shouts immediately to his wife, "Go! The milkman
has come. Open the door. It is time for my cup of coffee!" This is
'coffee meditation' - not anything else!
Please go through the Sai literature and you will see that Swami
says these things. Bhagavan tells another example: There was
another man meditating. Suddenly he smells all the cooking smells
from the kitchen, and he asks his wife, "What are you preparing
for breakfast? Get it ready!" This is not meditation! It is
'kitchen meditation' or 'coffee meditation', though the eyes are
closed and the doors are bolted! Why do all this?
There is another category of people who meditate. These people
meditate conveniently from 4.30 to 5.30 in the early morning. They
also bolt their doors so that nobody could disturb them, even if
they get into samadhi or sleep! (Laughter) Outside the family
people say, "It’s time to get up and go to the office."
But when this man comes out of the puja room from his meditation,
he goes on shouting at everybody! He shouts at his son for not
getting up on time. He shouts at his daughter for not getting
ready. And he shouts at his wife for not purchasing all the
provisions needed for the week. So what has he meditated on? Only
on his son, his daughter, and the provisions. Can you call this
'meditation'?
How can he become so normal (his ordinary, worldly way)
immediately after meditation? How can he act in such an abnormal,
strange way immediately after meditation? It can only mean that
what he is saying to his family members has been the focus of his
attention during this so-called 'meditation'. My friends, this is
not meditation by any standard!
Religions based on true meditation means: identification with the
Self; being with your own Being; withdrawing from the small self
(ego); reaching the thoughtless state, the desireless state, which
is beyond both positivity and negativity, optimism and pessimism.
It means to be always alert and aware.
So, religion based on intelligence, Sath, is the fifth category.
The sixth category of religion, based on true meditation, is
called Chit or awareness. The seventh and last category of
religion is based on ecstasy.
Ecstasy and Excitement
Ecstasy means Ananda (bliss). My friends, let’s speak for a couple
of minutes about Ananda. Do we know what ecstasy is? We have heard
the word 'ecstasy', but we are never ecstatic. We are 'erratic',
we are 'lunatic', and we are 'cosmetic', but we are never
'ecstatic'! 'Ecstatic' refers to a state of ecstasy. We are
excited, but never ecstatic.
Ecstasy and excitement are different. I’m not playing with words.
I am not a professor of English. For your information, I'm a
teacher of bioscience (botany), which has nothing to do with
language. (Plants do not speak, but they make me speak! But that
is a different story!) So ecstasy and excitement are different.
Ecstasy is spiritual, while excitement is physical.
Recently, I meet a friend after twenty years. I also met another
colleague of mine after thirty-eight years. I cannot say, "I'm
ecstatic to meet you." If I were to say such a thing, my friend
would think, 'He doesn't know English!' You cannot be ecstatic
simply because you meet a friend after such a long time. However,
I may be excited, yes! I may go on talking with him, even jumping
all around in eagerness. Any people watching will say, "This
fellow is excited!"
Excitement is a state that comes to you suddenly and unexpectedly.
A long, cherished, dear beloved appears before you. (Anil Kumar
claps his hands together.) That makes you excited! Or, when
suddenly I win a lottery, Kaun Banage Crore Pathi! (Laughter)
(Note: In Hindi, this literally means, "Who will be the owner of a
crore?" This is the name of a popular Indian quiz show, the grand
prize being a crore of rupees, the equivalent of $213,000).
Suddenly they announce, "You are a Crore Pathi" (the winner of a
crore)! What excitement! So, when I win the lottery, I am excited.
When I meet the beloved, I am excited. Or, suppose the government
confers a title on me, I am very excited.
Excitement is worldly, physical, and temporary. I cannot be
excited twenty-four hours a day unless there is something wrong
with my mind! (Laughter) Someone would take me to a psychiatrist!
It is not possible to always be excited. So, excitement is
temporary, worldly, and physical. It is related to one’s
unexpected moments of happiness. Happiness to the millionth power
is excitement. Joy to the billionth power is excitement. But
ecstasy is different.
When I see Bhagavan, I'm not excited. I'm ecstatic! When you see
Bhagavan, you are in a state of ecstasy. When you get an
interview, you are ecstatic. When I am granted padanamaskar, I am
ecstatic. (Of course, I should be up-to-date in my interpretation:
As we all know, as of Swami's Guru Poornima Discourse, there will
be no more padanamaskar hereafter, unless some 'black-marketing'
takes place!) (Laughter) When Swami says, "Go inside the Interview
Room," I am ecstatic. When He looks at me, I am ecstatic. But when
I meet a friend, I am excited.
So, ecstasy is spiritual. Ecstasy is godly. Ecstasy is Divinity.
Ecstasy is a state beyond the mind and the intellect. Ecstasy is
of the Being, not for the 'time being'. Excitement is for the time
being (for this moment), whereas ecstasy is part of the Being (in
the Being-ness). I think you understand.
So, this religion of ecstasy, Ananda, is non-dual. Religion of
this category is most important. Why? Bhagavan Baba propounds and
explains about ecstasy. He advocates bliss and wants us to follow
this category of religion only, the religion of ecstasy or Ananda.
What does this mean?
"Always Happy!"
As Swami walks along the darshan line, somebody will say, "Swami,
my leg is fractured." "Manchidi. Very good!" (Laughter) He answers
like that. Another fellow will say, "My grandmother died." Swami
will answer, "Chaala Santosham. Very happy." Someone in the third
line will say, "Swami, I am getting married." The Divine replies,
"Chaala Santosham. Very happy." That is ecstasy! Whether there is
a death or a fracture or a wedding, Bhagavan replies, "Chaala
Santosham! Very happy, very good."
Can you do that? Can you say that? Please try it for a minute. If
anyone comes and tells you, "I lost my grandfather," you will not
say, "Chaala Santosham, very happy," unless you have your life
insured! You would not dare to say that. If someone else says that
he has a fractured leg, would you say, "I'm happy"? You would not
dare to unless you had tight security around you!
But here is Bhagavan, who will say "Santosham, very happy" or
"Manchidi, manchidi. Very good, very good" for everything, whether
it is about birth or death, or about weddings or separations. Yes,
He will always only say, "Manchidi, manchidi. Santosham! Very
good, very good. Very happy."
That is the state of bliss! Bliss is not a state that is always to
our advantage. Bliss is not a state that is always in the best
interest of our lives. Bliss is not always advantageous or
profiting. It is not necessarily so. Rather, there may be a total
loss. There may be betrayal. There may be failure or a tragic
death. But yet, bliss continues because bliss is non-dual. Bliss
has got nothing to do with birth and death, profit and loss, or
success and failure because bliss is a non-dual state.
Thanking and Thankfulness
At one time, Bhagavan made the following statement. I think all of
you will remember His words: "I don’t like people praising Me. I
don’t want speakers to praise Me." Would anyone of us be able to
say that? We want everyone's praises only, am I right? We say,
"Praise me only!" But Baba says, "Do not praise Me. I don’t like
it." Why?
When we say, "Thank You, Swami", Swami will say, "I am not a third
person, sir!" What does He mean? When your father gives you a new
pair of clothes, do you say, "Thank you, Father. You are such a
good man. You have given me a nice shirt." Do you speak like that?
It implies that yesterday he was bad because he gave nothing, but
today he is good for presenting you with a new pair of clothes.
Tomorrow, if he says 'no', he'll be bad again. So, you don't thank
your parents. You don’t thank your mother for the nice rice
pudding or porridge or pizza or donuts or pies, do you? Why don't
you? She is your mother and you have every right to ask her for
it. She does not expect any thanks.
Similarly, a third person expects thanks. If you drop a
handkerchief and a person picks it up, you will say, "Thank you."
If anyone gives you a pen, or when you have to borrow a pen, you
say, "Thank you." You thank a third person. That’s why Bhagavan
says, "I am not a third person, sir." You don’t need to thank Him,
but be thankful to Him. Am I clear? Thanking Him is different from
thankfulness. I'm thankful to You, but I don’t say, "Thanks." Am I
clear?
'Being thankful' means having gratitude, while 'thanking' is a
mere routine: "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Why do you say
it? It does not mean anything. Take for instance Air India or
British Airlines. When the flight is over and passengers are
leaving the aircraft, they stand at the gate and go on repeating
to each passenger, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I think they
also practice their smile. (Laughter) We know that they don’t mean
anything. We also don’t say, "You’re welcome" when they say,
"Thank you". We know it’s a routine matter, so we simply carry our
baggage and walk out. (Laughter) But when anyone says, "Thank you"
and he or she means it, we’ll respond with, "You’re welcome." Am I
right? So my friends, thanking is different from being thankful.
So, let us be thankful, but not express "Thanks".
Therefore, bliss is thankfulness, not merely thanks. Bliss is
gratitude, not simply remaining grateful. Gratitude is different
from simply being grateful. "I am grateful to you if you do this.
But if you do not do this, I’ll become ungrateful and become your
enemy!" Gratitude is a fundamental basic quality, like a bedrock.
Gratitude is your quality of life.
Sailaish
Here is a simple example. On the recent Latur trip, Swami was
seated there at the dining table, while all of us were quite busy
watching the number of dishes being served. Some dishes we
relished and some we didn't; some dishes we wanted seconds of and
some we didn’t want at all! We were watching the table and all the
items being served.
Bhagavan, who just sat there watching, suddenly asked, "Where is
Sailaish?" Why should He ask about a person who was not there?
"Sailaish, where is Sailaish?" All of us were there - Ministers,
Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers - but He asked for a person by
the name of Sailaish!
Then I thought, ‘How nice it would be if my name was also
Sailaish!’ (Laughter) 'If Baba calls for Sailaish a number of
times, it would be so nice to have that name also, rather then
having a name that is unheard of, unhonored, unwept for, and
unsung for.' He went on asking for Sailaish. We all just starred
at each other.
Then immediately He called me, "You know the boy who traveled with
us in the aircraft? He did not have dinner last night, and he
didn’t even drink a glass of water until now. Ask him to come!" So
I had to think of that boy, whom I had so conveniently and nicely
forgotten because his job was finished. I tried to remember him
and went in search of him. I found that young man at the gate and
told him, "Swami wants to see you, Sailaish. Come here!"
Now Sailaish became a 'V-V-V-V-VIP'. So-called VIP’s are 'very
insignificant persons'. This person is now a VIP, a 'very
important person'. 'VIP' means both a 'very insignificant person'
and a 'very important person'. When Swami looks at you, you are a
VIP, a 'very important person'. When He ignores you, you are a
'very insignificant person'. We are all VIP’s. The only difference
is that some are 'important', while others 'insignificant'. That’s
all. So, Sailaish became very important. We made him sit, and
Swami personally served him food. Ah, what a lucky fellow! Then I
thought, "That chapter is over.'
But at teatime, Swami again asked, "Where is Sailaish?" (Laughter)
I started looking for him. After finding him, I told him, "You'd
better hang around here so that I don't have to search for you
again. You seem to be the 'man of the match', the 'man of the
season', 'the 'man who won the lotto trip', or the 'most coveted
man' with an Oscar award. You had better stick around here."
(Laughter)
When Sailaish came, Swami said, "This morning you did not eat
well. A few items you did not eat. Now you start eating." I was
thinking, 'Swami could ask me as well! (Laughter) He could ask
some other persons there. Why this one young man only? I don’t
know; only He knows.'
And then He turned towards me and said, "Poor fellow! Sailaish has
been with us, looking after all the arrangements. But he has not
been eating properly because he’s thinking only of what has to be
done. Therefore, since he is thinking of Me, that is why I am
thinking of him." Because I was thinking of the dining table, He’s
not thinking of me! We are thinking of food, but Sailaish is
thinking of Baba. So Baba is thinking of Sailaish! That is what
you call gratitude. Baba is Gratitude personified. Swami is the
very metaphor of gratitude. I am telling you about this boy as an
illustration, as the latest example.
It did not stop there. We went to another place called Nanded,
where there was a very large crowd. These big crowds created such
a heavy stampede that it was very difficult to get into the house.
Swami stood at the gate until Sailaish got into the house. This
fellow was more in demand than the Chief Minister was! Why?
(Laughter) Bhagavan was just expressing His gratitude in this way,
by showing concern for that boy, who might otherwise be ignored or
even left behind.
Being in that state of gratitude is to be gratitude itself. This
is bliss! To be just grateful is only worldly. To be loving is to
be love itself. This is bliss! To be a friend is worldly. You can
be a friend to a few people, but you cannot have the whole world
as a friend unless you are a cheat or a politician. Politicians
say, "Brothers and sisters," but they don’t mean it, excepting
their own blood relations.
Instead of being a friend, one can be friendly. Friendliness is
bliss! To be a friend is worldly. To be a lover is worldly,
whereas to be love itself is spiritual. So my friends, I can speak
to you for any length of time about these things - this aspect of
bliss, which is friendliness, which is Love itself, which is
Gratitude embodied.
Peace and Bliss
Just one more word about this before I go on. Some people have
achieved something through the religion of meditation. "Sir, I
believe in meditation." That's very good! "Sir, I have been
meditating." That's encouraging! But they miss something in life.
Even though they are successful in meditation, still they miss
something valuable in life. They are in peace, but not in bliss.
Peace is different from bliss. Peace is a preparation to be
blissful. Peace is the precursor to bliss. Peace is the procurer
of bliss. Peace takes you to bliss. So, peace is not the ultimate.
It is penultimate, while bliss is the ultimate.
You find some people who are highly spiritual, but very serious.
Their faces are frightening! (Laughter) Their faces bring an
instant sense of fear in us. Their faces will make us feel that it
is better if we are far away from them. They are not dangerous. In
fact they may be highly spiritual. But they have not tasted bliss
yet.
Bhagavan Baba is the best example. He is bliss and He makes you
blissful. We are blissful in His Presence because Bhagavan is
bliss. God is bliss and bliss is God! Live in bliss! Baba is
bliss! So, in His Presence, we are blissful. Why? He takes you
beyond the state of peace to bliss.
"At home, I meditate. In the Mandir, I meditate. I experience
peace. I know what peace is. I'm not disturbed, I'm not agitated,
and there is no tension or pretension. I enjoy the stillness of my
mind. I have identified with my Being. Still something is
missing." There is enough daal, but the salt is missing. If a
little salt is added, the daal will be tasty. So, you have the
peace, but the salt of life, bliss, is still missing.
Therefore my friends, bliss is the ultimate experience. Bliss is
to be coveted. Bliss is the culmination of spirituality. (Here
Anil Kumar repeats a Sanskrit sloka.) The Upanishads say, "The
whole world came out of bliss; the world is sustained by bliss;
and finally it annihilates in bliss. Bliss is everything."
Sathyam Jnanam Anantham Brahmam.
Anandam Shivam, Sathyam.
That Anandam or bliss is Brahman. Therefore, bliss is life.
How do you experience the bliss of life? The bliss of life wants
you to experience life as a festival. Life is a dance. It is
music. It is a celebration and it is laughter. Life is not high
blood pressure or hypertension. Life is not serious. Life is
jubilant. It is laughter and music; it is a festival and a dance -
look at Nataraj (Lord Siva, who dances the Cosmic Dance). Life is
so beautiful! Enjoy this festival of life. Beautify life. Life is
not to be condemned.
Swami always uses three words: sausilyamu, beauty; saumanasyamu,
understanding; and Jivanopaadh, to live life. Life has to be
lived! But we don’t live life; we leave life! You can live life in
jubilation, in laughter and enjoyment. You can live life in a
state of bliss!
For this, there are three points that I want to share with you
before I finish this morning.
The Three States: Birth, Death, and Love
There are three states, two of which we know well. The first state
is birth; the second state is death. The first date we know. But
the second date we do not know. However, it is for certain. We all
know these two doors of birth (or entrance) and death (or exit).
The first state creates the body, the physical birth. Death, the
second state, is an unknown. Where I will go, I don’t know.
Some people say that you go to the grave. Some people say that you
go to the tomb. Some people say that you stay as you are, but
without the body. All right. You can describe ninety different
possibilities, but nobody has returned to tell me, "This is what
happened to me after death." (Laughter) So, please forget about
it. The first state, the door of birth, is known. The last state,
the door of death, is unknown. One is the physical state; the
second is an unknown state. This is life.
The seventh category of religion, the religion of bliss, opens the
third in-between door. We have a first door and a last door and
now we have a central (middle) door. What is this door? It is the
door of Love. This door of Love is at the center. But we do not
know about the existence of that door. We do not know about the
presence of that door. We are not aware of that door because it
has always remained closed. Because the door of love has been
closed, we know only of the two doors of birth and death.
Why is this door of Love closed? "I love my people, I love my
family, I love my business, I love my house, my…." - my, my, my,
my, my = maya, maya, maya! Swami says that if you repeat quickly
the word 'my, my, my, my', it becomes 'maya', meaning illusion.
So, the closed door means contraction of love, which is death, as
Baba has said. Expansion of love is life, and contraction of love
is death. So, when the door of Love is closed, it is death. This
door of Love has not been kept open so far. So my friends, let us
open the central door of Love now, the door of 'expansion Love',
which is life.
By opening this door, what happens; what is the advantage? We die
while living; we die while alive! (I'm not mad, my friends. Let me
explain.) What happens when there is Love? The ego dies. There’s
no more ego when you love. An egoistic man can never love. If an
egoistic person still loves, we call him an actor. It is a drama!
Swami says, "Show, show, drama, drama!" This means, it is only a
pretense.
A man who truly loves will never be egoistic. The death of the ego
is the secret of Love. When the ego dies, Love is born. So my
friends, when I open the door of Love, my ego is dead. Ego is the
cause for the cycle of birth and death. Through Love, I die while
in life because my ego is gone. This is Immortality or
Amrithathwam or Eternity. Eternity or Immortality is
'death-while-in-life'. This is what we call 'jivanmuktha', meaning
'one who is liberated while being alive'.
So my friends, liberation or moksha, is not a state after death.
Moksha or liberation is the state that one gets while in life.
Death, while in life! How? The death of your ego makes you
immortal, makes you eternal. Therefore, let this body entertain
the feelings of the heart, Love. The heart entertains the feelings
of Love and travels towards the state of the unknown, the state of
Immortality. So, from our known birth to the unknown state of
death, open the door of Love, leading to Immortality.
May Bhagavan bless you!
Thank you very much!
(Anil Kumar closed his satsang by leading the bhajan, 'Bhaja Mana
Narayana...')
Om Asatoma Sadgamaya
Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya
Mrtyurmaya Amrtamgamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ji Ki Jai!
Sai Ram,
Thank You!
Glossary for the Sunday Talk 22-07-2001
(Taken from "A Glossary of Sanskrit Words Gleaned from Sai
Literature")
Amrithathwam: (pg. 20) Immortality
Ananda: (pg. 21) Bliss; unconditioned joy
Anantha: (pg. 23) Endless, without end
Brahmam (pg. 86) It is all-pervading; immanent in the whole
cosmos. It is Param Aksharam, the Highest Indestructible,
indescribable
Chaala santoshan: (Telugu meaning very [chaala] happy [santoshan])
Jivan muktha (pg. 165) Attaining liberation while still alive
Jivanopaadhi: (Telugu word meaning livelihood, means of living)
Jnana (pg. 166) wisdom
Manchidi (Telugu word meaning ‘good’)
Maya (pg. 229) Illusion. Maya is the power of bewilderment which
gives the appearance of reality to that which is unreal, and which
hinders the perception of the real.
Moksha (pg. 233) liberation, merging
Muktha: (pg. 237) one who has realized the Self or one who is free
from
Padanamaskar: (pg. 257) Obeisance at the feet of the Lord or a
holy person. It also signifies surrender of the self.
Sathya (pg. 341) Truth that persists without change at all times
and at all places
Saumanasyamu: (Telugu word meaning satisfaction of mind;
agreeableness)
Sausilyamu: (Telugu word meaning beauty, grace, elegance;
goodness, excellence; lightness, suppleness, fleetness
Shivam: (pg. 351) auspicious, graceful. Blessed
© 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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