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Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
September 1, 2002
The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar
Conversations with Bhagavan
And Health and Happiness
September 1st, 2002
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram.
My humble salutations at the Feet of Swami,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Sitting Here, I Watch Everywhere
With the Grace of Bhagavan, it’s possible for all of us to meet
here once again this morning. I wanted to bring to your attention
one or two very important points that figured during the course of
conversations with Bhagavan on the veranda. I'm sure most of you
must have been watching Bhagavan talking with the boys there in
the evening. Here are a few points of general importance.
Swami suddenly turned towards one boy and asked him, “How did you
fare in the examinations? Did you write well?”
With a bright face the boy’s answer was, “Swami, very good. I
answered very well.”
Swami paused for couple of moments in silence and immediately
said, “You’re the bluff master. You have not done well, no!”
“Swami, I have done well.”
“No, don’t say that. You did not answer two questions. Be honest.”
I should tell you friends that the boy started shivering!
Then He said, “Hmm. Your mother is suffering from cancer. Is she
all right? How is she now?”
Then the boy started crying. “Swami, she’s a little better. By
Your Grace she’s improving.”
“Hmm, no. She is not yet well, I know. Tomorrow morning you sit
there on the veranda. I’ll give vibhuthi and a medicine. She’ll be
all right later.”
I was just watching Swami all the while He was talking about the
performance of the boy in the examination and his mother’s ill
health. Then He was just inquiring, “What did you have for the
breakfast and lunch?”
Next Swami asked another boy, “How is Raman?”
The boy said, “My grandfather Raman.”
“Oh, your grandfather? I know. I did not say, ‘Who is Raman?’ I
asked, ‘How is he?’ Did you follow My question?”
“Swami, Raman is my grandfather. He’s not well, Swami.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll give him prasad.”
My friends, this is an eye-opener for everybody. Swami was not
simply engaging the attention of the students. It was not just the
process of ‘killing time’.
Now here comes the punch-line. What did Swami say next?
“Sitting here, I watch everywhere.”
Secondly He said, “While conversing with you, I move about all
over the world. I may be found sitting here, but I move
everywhere. I may be talking to you, but I’ll be watching
everybody.”
This is a profound statement that God alone can make. “I can go
everywhere. I can see everywhere. Though I'm seated here, though
I'm talking here, I'm everywhere.” This statement will give
assurance to everyone of us that God will take care of everybody,
that He is everywhere, and that Swami knows everything that is
happening in our lives.
I Know Everything
Then Bhagavan started speaking of a few more instances. He called
one gentleman. He's an employee in the University office. He
appeared for the M. Phil examination. M. Phil is a requirement to
enroll for the PhD program. If anyone wants to join the PhD
program, he must do the M. Phil. first. This gentleman did his M.
Phil. None of us knew it because, while doing his service, he also
did the M. Phil. He never applied for casual leave even for one
day. None of us knew.
Swami called him and said, “Oh, you did your M. Phil. very well.
You got an ‘O’ grade, I know.”
This boy said, “Sir, I never told anybody that I was doing my M.
Phil. or that I got the result yesterday, which was an 'O' grade.
I never told anybody, yet Swami‘s telling me.”
Then I looked at Swami -- staring. He said, “Why do you look at Me
like that? I'm not new. (Laughter) I should take care of your evil
eye. Huh? Why do you watch Me like that?”
“Swami, I'm so happy to know that You know everything, that You’re
everywhere. But at the same time, I'm also afraid of You.”
He said, “Why?”
“I don’t want You to know certain things I do. (Laughter) I don’t
want You to hear certain words that I say. All that is good, You
can hear and see (Laughter). But let there be some censure!”
He said, “No, no, no! I know everything.” Then Swami laughed and
made this statement.
My friends, I'm telling you this only to reassure you, to
reconfirm the Divinity of Bhagavan. It has to be reaffirmed. It
has to be strengthened continuously. It is for this reason that I
share this with you today.
Then Bhagavan said this statement: “Because I know everything, so
many people are coming here.”
This is the second important statement. Being a teacher, I repeat
things - so forgive me for this. The first statement was, “You may
be finding Me here seated on the chair, but I see everywhere.”
And, “You may be watching Me talking with you, but I’ll be moving
all the world over.” That is the first statement. The second
statement is, “Because I know everything about everyone, people
are rushing to this place.” This is the second beautiful statement
that He made.
All Want To Be Here
Thirdly He asked, “Did you notice this morning the VIPs there on
the veranda?”
If I had said, “Yes, I noticed,” I was afraid that He might point
out, “Have you come to see Bhagavan or VIPs?” (Laughter)
If I had said, “No, I have not seen them,” He might say, “Did you
keep your eyes closed?”
What am I to do? Then I found one convenient answer, “The VIP must
have come after I left, Swami (Laughter), so I did not notice.”
Then Bhagavan said, “The President from Sri Lanka came this
morning and yesterday. Her brother was here. He is to become
President very soon.” Swami was saying this, “President from Sri
Lanka, she and her brother - they’re all here.”
Further He said, “Very soon you’ll find the Prince of Kashmir,
Sardar Karan Singh. He’ll be visiting here. Do you know Karan
Singh?”
I said, “I know, Swami.”
“How do you know?”
That is the problem! (Laughter) If you say you know, then He says,
“How do you know?” If you say you don’t know, then He says, “Don’t
you know that much?” (Laughter) Sharp on both sides, it’s like
talking on the razor’s edge. It’s not that simple!
“Ah Swami, I know!”
“How do you know?” “Ah-re, Karan Singh is known to everybody,
Swami. He was the Minister for External Affairs for some time and
Ambassador to the United States for some time.” Then, the most
important point I'm yet to mention. “Then he addressed the
International Cardiologist Conference here in Prashanti Nilayam.
The International Conference of Cardiothorastic Surgeons
Conference - heart specialists - was held here twice, and Karan
Singh was Chief Guest once.”
“Uh-mm.”
Then He said, “He also addressed our Summer Classes; you do not
know perhaps.”
“Yes, Swami, I know but I forgot. What can I do?”
Then this is important, the third important statement: “All want
to be here. All VIPs, heads of governments, many, many people want
to be here. But still I'm not giving them ample chances. I am not
permitting them to be here. They’re all waiting… waiting for
Swami’s permission.”
This statement I wanted to share with you, so that you will know
the value of the chance given to us - how valuable it is to be
with Him, how unique it is to listen to Him, to be spoken to - how
blessed we are! It is for that reason that I wanted to bring these
three important statements to your attention.
Our Boys Presented A Drama
Besides that, Bhagavan made another statement. Last Sunday our
boys presented a drama there at the Institute in the college
auditorium. Bhagavan wanted me to go and see that drama on the
previous night, Saturday night. They were to present the drama on
Sunday evening and I was to go there Saturday evening to have a
preview and see how it was!
I went there, but because I had another appointment, I was rather
late. I went there around 9:30 in the evening. I stayed there
until 12 o’clock.
Sunday, last week, Swami came out and called a few boys over, “Did
Anil Kumar come?”
“Yes, Swami, he came.”
“Did he watch the program?”
“Yes, Swami!”
“Did he make any comment?”
“No, no comment, Swami.”
“So, did he sleep? I asked him to go there and comment and give
suggestions, not to sleep.” (Laughter)
Then He called me, “Did you go?”
“Yes, Swami.” “Have you given them any guidance?”
“They don’t need any guidance, Swami. They have done very well.”
“Oh-ho, I see. But you went very late, at 9:30. You came there at
a time when the Vice-Chancellor also left. You saw their second
rehearsal, right?”
“Swami.”
Now the cat is out of the bag! (Laughter) What am I to do?
“Yes, Swami.”
Then He called a few other boys over. “Hey, boy! You were playing
the role of Hanuman.”
“Yes, Swami.”
“But where is your tail this morning? Your tail is missing!”
(Laughter)
He called another boy, a well-built personality. He was to play
the role of Hiranyakasipu, the demon-king.
“You exactly fit this role…fit into this role! (Laughter) Ah! Very
good, very good personality.”
He called another boy who was to play the role of Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa. He is from Bengal and doing his MBA. He did his
engineering - quite an interesting fellow. He’s a bit stout.
Swami said, “Paramahamsa of Dakshineswar Temple was very lean and
thin, but this Paramahamsa of Sathya Sai Hostel is very stout,
huh! (Laughter) The Hostel Paramahamsa is stout and fatty, whereas
Paramahamsa of Bengal is thin!” Ah-re-re! Peals and peals of
laughter!
There was one boy who was playing the role of Chaitanya Maha
Prabhu, a great person of Indian culture and history, a great
devotee. It was Chaitanya Maha Prabhu who first introduced
nagarsankirtan - singing along the streets.
Swami looked at him, “Do you know the role of Chaitanya?”
“Swami, I know.”
“Do you know that he went singing along the streets the Name of
God? "
“Yes, yes, Swami.”
“Oh. Are you going to sing there?”
“Yes, Swami.”
“You are not going to sing - only lip movement. (Laughter) There’s
the voice of somebody else behind you.”
“Ah, yes, Swami!”
“Then why do you bluff like that?” (Laughter)
Then He said, “How many wives have you?”
The boy said, “Two.”
“Chi! You have two wives?”
“No! Chaitanya had two wives!”
“You are not married. Why do you say ‘two wives’?” (Laughter)
Because the earlier question was, “Have you known Chaitanya
thoroughly?” he thought that he’s Chaitanya, and hence said that
he has two wives! Poor fellow! Ha! He made everybody laugh.
Then Swami called another person and said, “You acted very nicely,
but the dialogue delivery was not proper.”
He called another boy and said, “Oh, what was your role?”
He said, “Swami…”
“I know - you played the role of a teacher.”
“Yes, Swami.”
“What did you say?”
“Swami, this is my dialogue: ‘My boy, you serve your Motherland.
Don’t go to foreign countries only to earn money.’”
“Good. You are a good teacher because you can teach and you don’t
practice. Most teachers are like that.” (Laughter) That was His
comment.
The Theme Of The Drama
The theme of the drama happened to be about a boy coming out of a
village to a town in search of a job. The boy had to leave the
village and go to a town in search of a job because the whole
village was passing through a period of draught - no rains. Well,
there he met his good old friend. In the town, an older boy was to
go abroad the very same evening. So, village fellows move to
cities… city fellows go abroad. That was the theme.
Suddenly, a professor comes and tells them, “This is not what
you’re supposed to do. You should serve your people. You should
serve your country. You should uplift the place where you were
born.”
He goes on sermonising and ultimately the boy decides not to go
abroad, and he settles there. This is a teaching of Bhagavan’s.
They portrayed it very well.
There’s a background - a few episodes are also shown where Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa blesses Vivekananda and Vivekananda tells
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, “No sir, please stop your philosophy.
I don’t want your philosophy. I don’t want your devotion.”
Paramahamsa says, “Why?”
“Sir, how about my mother? How about my brother? How about my
sister? They’re starving. You should help me. Your God comes next,
help me.”
Then Paramahamsa smiled, full of compassion, “Look here, Naren!”
Naren was the former name of Vivekananda. “Naren! Why do you feel
so badly? There is Goddess Kali there in the temple. You go and
ask Her. She’ll give you all that you want.”
“Sir, will she give?”
“Yes, you go and ask.”
This poor Naren goes there, climbing up the steps of the temple,
and prays to Kali, “Mother, I want jnana, wisdom and vairagya,
renunciation!” He returns.
Paramahamsa asks him, “Hey! What did you ask for?”
“Vairagya and jnana, renunciation and wisdom.”
“But how about your mother, brother and sister?”
“I forgot! Swami, seeing Mother, I asked these things, not those
things.”
“No, no, don’t worry. Take a second chance and go.” (Laughter)
Again he goes to the temple, “Mother! I want jnana and vairagya,
wisdom and renunciation,” and he returns. “Swami, I could not ask
for food. I could not ask for comforts, I could not ask for
conveniences. I asked the Goddess to grant me jnana and vairagya.”
That’s what Vivekananda tells him. That is the secret of Divinity.
In front of God, we fail to ask for the mundane, material, worldly
objects. We go and ask for higher things.
That’s what had happened to that boy Dhruva. Dhruva was a young
boy, and his stepmother didn’t allow him to sit on the lap of his
father. Totally dejected, this boy went to the forest and did
penance. God appeared and asked him, “Oh boy, what do you want?”
He says, “Swami, I want liberation!”
“Ah-re, you fellow! You came here out of frustration. You wanted
to sit on the lap of your father. But now you ask for liberation.”
“Swami, I forgot those things. Seeing You, I wanted higher things
in life.”
The same thing happens with many, many of us. We take so many
letters to give to Swami. By the time He passes by, right in front
of us, we forget to give the letter. Why? That is it! That is the
situation. When we get a chance to talk to Him there in the
interview room, we forget to ask Him important questions, family
matters. Why? No answer. It is because in front of Divinity, we
are all elevated souls. We forget all the worldly things. We start
asking so many things that we never planned to – things that we
had not thought of earlier.
Then looking at these boys, Bhagavan finally said, “You thought
Swami does not know. You thought that Swami would be seeing your
drama this evening. No, boys. I saw your drama last night, from 10
to 11 o’clock. When you were rehearsing there, I saw the drama. I
know everything. That’s why I could tell you your dialogues.
That’s why I could correct your dialogues. I could also tell you
about -- point out certain mistakes that you committed.” This also
I wanted to share with you.
I Used To Coach Boys For their Job Interview
Then Swami started joking with everybody. “Ah-re, boys!” Because
they’re young boys, you know! They are to become managers very
soon - soon after they complete their studies. “Ah-re, boys,
sometimes there in the job interview, some members ask you silly
questions, very funny questions, that have nothing to do with your
subject. But you should have common sense and general knowledge.”
Many people have degrees, but they don’t have common sense. They
have degrees and experience, but they fail in the interview
because they have no common sense and general knowledge.
Then Bhagavan said, “You know, a long time ago, I used to coach
boys on how to appear before an interview - how to answer.”
“Oh Swami, did You?”
“Yes!”
“When did this happen, Swami?”
“When I was there in Bangalore. I used to tell boys how to
answer.”
Oh, I see. Then, it seems that there in one of the places, the
question was this: The interview was held there on the second
floor in the conference hall. One of the members asked this
question, “Hey! How many steps did you climb up to reach this
place? How many steps?” The fellow could not answer because who
will count the steps? And he returned with a blank face to Swami.
Swami said, “Ah-re, what happened?”
“Swami, this was the question they asked me.”
“Answer is very easy,” Swami said.
“Swami, easy? I did not count the number of steps. How can the
answer be so simple?”
“Yes! You could have told them, ‘I climbed up the same number of
steps that it will take to get down.’ (Laughter) That is the
correct answer. Oh! Everybody laughed.
It seems one fellow, one boy, could not get selected and he was
returning with a long face, totally disappointed. He found Swami
there.
“Swami!” he said and immediately fell at His Feet. Swami said,
“Hey! Why are you so serious? You look very disappointed? What
happened?”
“Swami, I was not selected.”
“Hmm. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a simple idea.”
“Ah, what is it?”
Swami said, “Did they pay you travel allowance?” People who are
called for interview will be paid ‘TA’, travelling allotments, and
‘D’ also – their diet. “Did you receive money?”
“Yes, Swami. They paid travelling allotments.”
“Oh, did you spend it all?”
“No Swami, four rupees are still remaining with me. I spent only
ten rupees. Four rupees are still with me.”
“Oh, I see. You just stand here. That director will pass through
this way. You go and tell him, ‘Sri, you have paid me fourteen
rupees. I spent ten. I'm waiting for you to return these four
rupees.’ You tell him this and you’ll get the selection.
(Laughter)
So this boy was waiting there. The director was just coming down
and was about to go to his car. He said, “Get out! No job! Why do
you wait and waste my time?”
“No sir, I don’t want any job.”
“Then why are you wasting my time?”
“I'm to return four rupees, sir. Out of the money that you have
sent, I spent ten rupees. Four are remaining. I want to return
it.”
“We want such people of nobility and character! (Laughter) We want
people of such integrity! You are selected! Join now!” he said.
(Laughter)
This is a good joke!
Swami said, “Some silly questions will be put to you. You should
be in a position to answer. Here is a small inkbottle. Somebody
may ask this question, ‘There is a snake here inside the
inkbottle. How can it come out?’ An inkbottle you know, so small,
with a narrow neck - there is a snake inside, how can it come
out?”
“Swami, we have no answer.”
Swami said, “It will come out the same way it went in. (Laughter)
It could go in. Then the same way it will come out! That is the
answer you can give, no?”
Swami was joking with everybody like that.
Then we had some railway engines here in those days. They operate
making use of charcoal, with so much smoke coming out of the
chimney of the railway engine. And one question was like this, ‘A
train is moving very fast. In which direction will the smoke
move?’ “Ah-re! No, no, chi, chi! In a fast moving train, ‘The
smoke will move backwards.’ A simple answer - can't you say that?”
That Swami was saying. Above your knowledge, more than your
degrees, common sense and general knowledge are very, very
essential. That’s what Bhagavan said.
Punjab Crowd
Then suddenly He started speaking of those things that had
happened forty years ago. He asked one boy, “Ah-re! Where do you
come from?”
“Swami, I'm from Punjab.” He’s a Sikh person.
“Oh, I see!”
Then I thought this is the right time to prolong the conversation.
Our main aim is to keep Him there for some more time. (Laughter)
That’s the main aim. It doesn’t matter even if we get one or two
hot, hot comments from Bhagavan. It doesn’t matter after all. To
keep Him there, that’s important. Then immediately I said, “Swami,
have you visited Punjab any time?”
“Yes! I went there. I stayed there for fifteen days, you know?”
“Oh Swami, ah! Did you visit the Golden Temple at Amritsar?”
“Yes, yes, I went inside also.”
“Oh Swami! Were there meetings every evening?”
“Yes, every day Swami’s discourse.”
“Were there so many devotees in those days?”
“Why not? Right from my fourteenth year, crowds started moving
here. Ever since I declared that I was Sai Baba, people have been
attracted to this place. Even when I went to Punjab, oh! - so many
crowds!”
“Oh, Swami! In what way is the Punjab crowd different from the
Andhra crowd? A crowd is a crowd, after all!” (Laughter)
“No, no, no! With the Punjab crowd, all of the gent’s wear caps -
Sikh people. (Laughter) And ladies there in Punjab, they cover
their head with a veil - something like that. The extra sari cloth
covers their faces. And on gent’s side, turbans are worn by all.”
“Oh, Swami, was it like that?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
I Went To Delhi And Kurukshetra
Then Swami asked another boy, who was the interpreter of the whole
drama enacted there, “Where do you come from?”
“Swami, I'm from Delhi.”
“Swami, did you go to Delhi?”
“Ah-re-re! A number of times I went!”
“Oh, I see.”
Then Swami told us, “You know, when I went to Delhi, I stayed at
one place. It so happened that all of the cars of the devotees who
came to see Bhagavan were all parked at one place and occupied
three miles, so people could not get to their offices. After two
or three days, all the offices in the area submitted a letter of
prayer to Bhagavan: ‘Swami, we request You to shift from here.
(Laughter) Because of three miles full of cars, how can we reach
our offices?’” So, Bhagavan shifted from that place to another
place in Delhi.
For more reminiscing of the past, I said, “Swami, is it the same
Dwaraka of today as the Dwaraka of Krishna days?” Krishna is
associated with a place by the name of Dwaraka. We have also a
place Dwaraka now. “Are they same?”
Bhagavan said, “No. Dwaraka of Krishna days is in the sea. It is
there, lying beneath the waters. It is not the same Dwaraka. It is
only named so.”
Then I asked, “Swami, we have Kurukshetra. Is it the same as the
past one?”
Swami said, “Kurukshetra is here also - you are fighting with each
other. This is Kurukshetra! Kurukshetra is everywhere and there is
Kurukshetra in every family also. Husband and wife are arguing
with each other - Kurukshetra!” Then He said, “I went to
Kurukshetra also, the actual place where it is today.” And
Bhagavan said, “Guzalal Lamba was the Prime Minister then. He was
the Prime Minister for a short period.” At that time Bhagavan
visited Kurukshetra.
He told us, “See, the path was so narrow, with huge crowds
everywhere. I could not go to the dais.”
“Swami, what happened?”
“All the Sikh people just lifted My car up to the dais, so I had
to open the door there on the dais, Anil Kumar! (Laughter) Such
huge crowds gathered there.”
Then He said, “I'm a magnet. All are drawn towards Me.” That’s
what Swami said.
Ten Points To Observe To Be Healthy And Happy
I really wanted to share with you these things before I pass on to
the topic of the day, which happens to be ‘Health and Happiness’.
Both are important. They go together. A healthy man is happy and a
happy man is healthy. You cannot say, “I'm very healthy and
unhappy.” Impossible. They go together. There are about ten points
to observe and to practice to be healthy and happy.
First Point: You are As Young AS You Think You Are
The first point: You are as young as you think you are. Many
people think that, “Well, I am old. I finished my job. The
children are settled and all of them are married. They are quite
fine. I'm aged, I'm advanced, I'm old.” That is a horrible
psychology! No! You are as young as you think you are.
Bhagavan gave a number of examples. Bheeshma served as the Major
General, Chief of the Army, at the age of 112! Now, you can
imagine! Bhagavan was telling recently, “At this age, look at Me,
how I am! I can see any distant object. I can hear anybody - the
smallest, slightest whisper will reach Me. See! And My teeth are
very powerful.”
Age is no bar. Age is no bar, so one should never feel that he is
aged, or advanced, old - nothing like that! It is all mental
makeup. You do not grow old until you think you are so. The worst
thing that could happen is to entertain a thought that you are
aging. The mind determines the age. There are many, many people
who are very sharp, though they are very old physically.
Here are some fellows at the age of 25 - they cannot get up, they
cannot sit properly. They cannot stand straight and their memory
is poor. Who is old and who is young now? Morarji Desai served as
the Prime Minister when he was a little over 90 or so! So age is
nothing but a state of the mind. It is not the physical frame that
matters. So, let us ‘think young’.
By ‘young’ I mean not merely physical youth, or anything like
plastic surgery that many of the film actors undergo to look
younger. I don’t mean that. Nor to apply cosmetics, no, it’s not
that. ‘Young’ means being receptive. We are prepared to learn, to
improve, and to accept. We keep abreast of times. Ready to learn,
ready to receive, and prepared to improve. This receptivity, this
sensitivity, will make everybody look young.
Such people not only look young, they also are young in spirit.
That dynamism, activity, alertness, readiness, preparedness -
these are all the qualities of a ‘young’ person, not their date of
birth. This is the first requirement to feel young - alertness -
to be healthy and happy.
Second Point: Take Care Of Your Mental Condition
The second point: Take care of your mental condition. What do I
mean by that? These are all points gathered from Bhagavan’s talks.
In the past, the second day of Dasara was observed as the
‘Hospital Day.’ All the doctors used to come in a procession in
those days. Bhagavan spoke on health, medicine, and other topics.
For your information, the points I am giving here are taken from
those discourses.
Take care of your mental condition. What do I mean by ‘mental
condition’? Your thoughts should be happiest and healthiest. What
do I mean by happy thoughts? Think of those days when you were
very happy. Think of those days when you are the recipient of
Bhagavan’s Grace in abundance. Think of happy moments. Think of
providence.
Let us not think of those moments when we were unhappy. Let us not
think of those moments when we were miserable. No! If you take
account…take stock of our life, we enjoy more than we suffer. The
days of ill health were few, and the healthy days were many. But
we think of the days when we were hospitalised. “In the year 1953
when I was in the hospital…”
“Ah-re! This is 2002! Why do you think of 1953?! Chi! Why do you
go back to the hospital and take me along with you? (Laughter)
Please keep quiet! “
So, let us not think of those days when we were hospitalised, when
we were running into debts or difficulties, no! God has blessed
every one of us with a long period of happiness. So, think of
those days. By God's blessings, we have a healthy body - we are
not handicapped.
The Price Of This Body
The price of this body is equal to its weight in gold. Just take
gold on one pan and you sit on the other. The price is as much as
you would pay in gold on the other side. The body is so costly, so
precious - your weight equal to its price in gold! We do not
understand the price of this. Just for a health check-up, 250
rupees. Just a check-up – the doctor will touch you, that’s all.
Just for his touch, 250 rupees. And for check up and tests, I do
not know. It depends upon the hospital. If there is something that
has to be treated, which requires hospitalisation - I do not know
whether a cure is guaranteed or not. But, the bill is guaranteed.
(Laughter)
So we do not know, but we are very healthy. No doctor wants to
practice on a Sai devotee because Sai devotees are always healthy.
They don’t get money from us, no! We have the most powerful
antibiotic, vibhutthi. (Laughter) So we are not so friendly with
doctors. We don’t have to pay bills.
Entertain Healthy And Happy Thoughts
So ‘healthy thoughts’ means -- remember the moments of joy, the
moments of happiness, how Bhagavan blessed our families, our
children and grandchildren. Have healthy thoughts that everybody
will be prosperous. “Let everybody advance in their life. Let
everybody be happy.” That is a healthy thought.
‘I should be happy, but the neighbour should be hospitalised!’
This is a very unhealthy thought. ‘I should get an interview, but
Swami should not look at the face of the other man.’ This is a
very dirty thought! So we should not have dirty thoughts. We
should not have negative thoughts.
We should entertain healthy and happy thoughts. By happy thoughts
I mean thinking about precious moments. God has given us enough
money to live. God has given us enough health to serve Him. God
has given us enough joy to live happily in this life. So,
entertain healthy and happy thoughts.
Unity Of Thought, Word And Deed
Next, as Bhagavan puts it: “The proper study of mankind is Man”.
The unity of thought, word and deed ensures health and happiness,
ensures mental balance, equanimity, tranquility, and
equal-mindedness -- the harmony of thought, word and deed.
We say to many people, “So happy to see you.” But within, we are
very unhappy to see them! (Laughter) We also say, “See you later.”
But, we don’t want to see him for the rest of our lifetime!
(Laughter) We say, “Congratulations on your promotion!” But we are
very jealous. ‘Why did he get the promotion? Why wasn’t I promoted
before he got his promotion?’ So all that we say is utter
nonsense. In the name of etiquette, in the name of manners, in the
name of courtesy, we say such things, but we don’t mean it. Why?
Sometimes we also act in front of Swami. I won’t give someone
else’s example. I will give my own example! When I was there in
Brindavan, I came to know that Swami was to visit the College. So,
what to do? People are busy in their own way. Well, I wanted to be
busy in my own way. I couldn’t find any other work to do because
people were already assigned all the jobs.
So having found nothing to do, I just simply lifted a pot from one
place to another place, which actually was not necessary.
(Laughter) I was just lifting a pot, while watching Swami’s car as
it came. He stopped the car there. While all the students and
staff were receiving Him there, He said loudly, “See how nicely
he’s acting there!” (Laughter) In fact it is action only. But I
failed because Swami knew the whole drama.
The point is that there’s no harmony in thought, word and deed.
What we do in spirit, what we really mean, what we say, well,
they’re at variance. They’re divergent. Our mental condition is
not in equanimity. It’s not healthy. That’s why we don’t find any
joy…any smile on our face.
Then, there’s one doctor, Slinder. He said, “Thoughts of pure joy
for ten minutes every day keep you healthy.” What made the doctor
say that? It only means that we don’t have healthy thoughts for
even ten minutes in a day. Not even for ten minutes. Why? The mind
is competitive. The mind is comparative. The mind is dual. The
mind wants to achieve. The mind wants to accomplish. The mind
wants to be special. The mind wants you to be unique. The mind
wants to struggle. The mind is always restless.
Therefore, there is every reason to be happy, but I'm not happy
now. Why? I think that you are happier than me. So, I am unhappy
because of this mind. The mind does not live in the present. The
mind thinks of the past or of the future. The mind never lives in
the present. It is the mind that is the biggest barrier.
Even the proper understanding of the mind studied for years would
not help us to overcome the obstacle of the mind, the barrier of
the human mind, the ‘iron curtain’ of the human mind - behind
which is present the very bliss, God Himself. So, for ten minutes
at least each day, have healthy and happy thoughts. Happiest
thoughts and healthiest thoughts will keep us very healthy,
according to this doctor.
Third Point: Make The Right Choice
The third point in being healthy and happy is this: Make the right
choice at every step and round of life. Right choice? What is
this? Sometimes we have to decide: Well, shall I go to bhajan or
to a movie? Shall I go to Sunday club or do a service activity?
Shall I go to Puttaparthi or weekends in Miami Beach, or go to
Hollywood? Where shall I go? Choice. Every time we come across
this choice: to be or not to be. Yes. Where shall I go? Shall I go
to Disneyland this weekend or shall I go to the Sai Centre? Yes,
you’re always at a crossroads. The success depends upon the right
choice at every step.
Sometimes some decide to settle here in Puttaparthi. But after six
months, “Was it a wise decision?” Question mark. Some people
decide to go back. There they think, “Was it a wise decision to
return? I should have stayed there.” Those that have settled here
think, “I should have returned.” Those that have returned think,
“I should have settled there.” Where are they? In-between -
neither here nor there. So, make the right choice at every moment.
Sometimes the choice may be questionable. Sometimes we may not be
convinced of our own choice. Sometimes our friends and relatives
may say, “Yours is a wrong choice.” There may be bitter opposition
whenever you make a right choice. There will be bitter opposition
whenever you take a right decision. If you say, “Let us all go to
a movie.” Abaa! It’ll be unanimous; there will be unity.
But, “Let us go to do service activity.”
“Next week we can go. Why this week?”
So, there will be no unanimity when good choices, good
preferences, right decisions are taken. Therefore, we should not
be mindful of the comments of others. The family members may say
that yours is not a right choice. The children may say, “It is a
wrong decision.” Don’t be bothered about it. This is the right
choice. Because most of the people, the devotees then and now,
have gone on record saying that they had to leave everybody in
preference to their stay with God. They had to leave everybody.
Others may think it is a wrong choice, a wrong decision. But for
him, it is a perfect decision. So health and happiness depend upon
making the right choice.
The Bhagavad Githa speaks of two paths: one is shreyas, the other
is preyas. Now which of the two, one has to make a choice. The
preyas is the path of pleasures, worldly pleasures. The path is
slippery. We may slip at any moment and our destiny is doomed -
destiny is hell. Whereas, on the other hand, shreyas is the other
path, which is steep, thorny, stony, rough and tough. But at the
same time, this path will take you to the highest goal in life -
proximity to God, the highest state of bliss. When there is a
choice between shreyas and preyas, one should have all the courage
to choose the shreyas, which is spiritual, and not the preyas,
which is physical and worldly.
Fourth Point: Grow In The Spirit Of Forgiveness
The fourth point: Grow in the spirit of forgiveness. “Forgive our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” is the
Lord’s Prayer. We want Bhagavan to forgive us, but we don’t
forgive anybody. So in order to deserve this forgiveness, you
should be in a position to forgive those who are against you.
Forgive, yes!
My friends, I think all of you agree with me - Had this Himalayan
character-trait of Bhagavan for forgiveness not been there, none
of us would have been here! God forgives. He gives and forgives.
Why?
Many times when we are sad, “Bhagavan, excuse me. Swami, pardon me
for all my lapses, for all my weaknesses. I must have been a
victim to several of the lapses. I don’t deserve Your Grace.
Pardon me.” Whenever we say that, Swami will immediately say,
“Don’t worry, my child. Past is past. Be good from now on.” A
million times it happens because forgiveness is Divinity. The
Divine is always forgiving. So we should cultivate that habit of
forgiving people. When? Forgive before they ask for forgiveness
because it speaks of your readiness to forgive.
This act of forgiving should be total and complete. “I forgive you
today. Tomorrow I shall think of you.” But, “I forgive you
provided…” No! No ‘provided’, no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’! The forgiveness
should be total and complete. Particularly when there is anything
wrong, it should be totally forgotten.
“Last month you have pushed me out of darshan line, so this month
I'm ready to push you out of Prashanti Nilayam.” (Laughter) Ah-ha!
I should pay you back with compounded interest. “Last year you
used certain highly objectionable words. Throughout this year, I
have been writing what words I should use when I meet you next.”
Chi, chi! That should not be the situation. Anything wrong should
be forgotten immediately. Why? For your own health. Why should I
pollute my mind? Why should I make my mind negative? Why should I
make my mind dirty? All right, if you are bad, it’s all right. If
anyone is bad to you, to win over him, you should be much worse
than that man. He’s already bad. If you want to win over him, you
should be much worse than him. So, never think of bad, never think
of anything that is wrong. It should be totally forgotten. That’s
what is meant by ‘grow in the spirit of forgiveness’.
Don’t Hold Grudges And Do Not Judge
Then grudges - We hold some grudges against some people. Suddenly
we feel like putting on a long face. No, no! “I don’t want to
smile, no! I know, I know what you did back then.” This grudge
is…you can call it a disease, 'grudge-itis', something like
'nephritis' or 'bronchitis' or 'arthritis' – ‘grudgitis’.
(Laughter) For arthritis there is some medicine; for nephritis
there is some medicine; for spondylitis there is a cure. But
'grudgitis' is incurable; death is the only cure. So, let us not
hold any grudge because a grudge is an additional load on our
head, additional luggage on our head - very painful to carry.
After all, why should I hold a grudge with you? No!
Don’t hold grudges and do not judge. Let’s not judge people. “He’s
a great devotee,” you say. How do you know? Have you got any
weighing machine or thermometer or blood pressure device? How do
you know? “He’s a non-devotee.” How do you know he’s a
non-devotee? How can you say you’re a devotee? Let’s not say he’s
a bad person. How do you know? You may be equally bad.
By calling him bad, it does not mean that you’re good, no. It’s a
weak psychology. What is this psychological weakness? By branding
everybody as ‘bad’, he thinks that he is good. Impossible! So
let’s not judge people by saying, “Because that very bad person…”
How can you say that he’s bad unless there is something bad in
you? You cannot say that he’s bad. Bhagavan puts it as ‘reflection
of the inner being.’
“He’s a crooked man.” How do you know he’s crooked? You’re equally
crooked inside. You don’t have the chance to come out of your
beautiful character and manifest or exhibit the crookedness that
is lying latent within. Therefore he’s crooked. By next year,
2003, you may be equally crooked. So those bad qualities that we
find in others, they are within us. Therefore, we should not judge
anybody. Don’t hold grudges and never judge. So this is the fourth
feature to be healthy and happy.
Fifth Point: Practise Daily Silence
Fifth point: Practice daily silence. Practice silence every day.
One doctor, Dr. Debour Bright said, “Be particular about PQT.” IQ
means ‘intelligence quotient’. PQT is like that. What is PQT?
Personal Quiet Time, which means the time when you prefer to
observe silence, when you want to be silent - personal quiet time,
PQT. Dr. Bright said that you should practice PQT twice a day for
twenty minutes. If you practice PQT, personal quiet time, he said
you can master all your stress and tension.
Today many people fall sick because of stress and tension -
tension for reasons unknown, tension on silly grounds, stress for
nothing. Stress and tension are of our own making. There’s no
reason in fact, to be stressful. There’s no reason to be tense. We
don’t have to be. Release all the tension. Release all the stress.
How is it possible?
Say, “‘Sai Ram”. There will be no stress. There will be no
tension. Sing Sai bhajans loudly. There will be no stress. There
will be no tension. Sometimes it may not be possible to meditate
when you have so much tension there in your office - so many
papers to keep tending and the boss will be visiting. One cannot
sit in meditation peacefully. Come on, then sing bhajans! It will
relieve - like gas released out of a cylinder - all the stress and
strain. All tensions can be released by singing Sai bhajans.
“Sir, I have no time to sing.” Don’t bother. As you drive to your
office in your car, put on the cassette, yes! You can listen to
bhajans on the cassette when you drive to your office. That is
releasing stress and tension. So this is another point.
Sixth Point: Vitamin W - Water And Walking
Point six: Vitamin W is prescribed in order to be healthy and
happy. What is this Vitamin W? We’ve heard of vitamin K, vitamin
B, and vitamin C, D, E. This is vitamin W. What is it? Water and
walking! These two are very essential parts of being healthy and
happy.
Daily, drink eight to ten glasses of water. Eight to ten glasses
of water will flush out toxins in our body. There are so many
toxins in our body. The more water we take, the more we flush out
all these toxins. So water is a must.
Then, walking – daily take brisk walks: Swami said there in
Kodaikanal, “But for the crowds I feel like walking round this
lake of six kilometres at least ten times. I can walk! But the
crowds will run after Me. There’s no space for Me to go! I want to
run. I want to go on long walks. I used to go on walks for long
distances.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
Walking will certainly make everybody quite active. A daily walk
is necessary because it reduces the heart rate, reduces blood
pressure and it also reduces sugar content. Walking is very
necessary.
Combined with God's Name as we walk, it will be doubly beneficial.
We can say ‘Sai Ram.’ We can say ‘Hare Ram’ or any of God's Names
as we walk. You’ll get more interest! By walking, you get 50%
interest. Combine it with God's Name -100% interest. Why? Because
you don’t have to sit separately, no! You can sing His Name, you
can walk and chant His Name.
But unfortunately, we don’t go for walks alone. We’ll be in crowds
again. We’ll have a number of people behind us. We can't help it,
what to do? Even there we are not alone. Even there we don’t have
time to repeat His Name. So walking and chanting go together -
well, it is doubly beneficial.
Seventh Point: Take Care Of Your Diet
Point seven: Take care of your diet. As you land in any foreign
country, there will be an immigration officer who will check your
papers and permit you to enter that country. Am I not right? The
Immigration officer should permit you to enter into that country
only after checking your documents.
Similarly, there should be immigration officer there in front of
our mouth, saying which type of food should be permitted inside
and which type of food should not be permitted! The immigration
officer checks the documents of our daily food - the different
items, what is to be taken, what is not to be taken. That’s very
important. We have to take sathwic food. We had a lengthy
discussion at one earlier Sunday session on sathwic food, to which
you can refer.
Overeating and wrong eating cause diseases. Swami says to boys in
a jovial way, “Loading and unloading; loading and unloading! Life
is nothing but loading and unloading.” We go on behaving in this
way. That’s why this is the situation today. So we should have a
kind of control on this eating.
Eighth Point: Learn To Laugh
Then comes the eighth point: Learn to laugh. Learn to laugh, more
so at oneself. We cannot laugh at others. Laughing at others is
cheap. Laughing at others is horrible. Laughing at others is
terrible. Laughing at others is unwanted. When you laugh at
others, it may also put us in danger. Because Draupadi laughed at
Duryodhana, it led to the Kurukshetra War. So, let us not laugh at
others.
Let everyone laugh at one’s own self, one’s own weaknesses, one’s
own lapses, one’s own idiosyncrasies, and one’s own vagaries. So
laugh...learn to laugh. People don’t even know how to laugh. They
laugh 50%. Total silence plus seriousness, they think this is a
sign of spirituality.
I'm very fond of repeating this statement, my friends! Laughter is
a sign of a spiritual man. Seriousness is a sign of a sick person.
A sick person is serious, while a religious, spiritual man is
always after fun, frolic, humour and heartfelt laughter. We should
laugh. Do you find Swami with a serious face? When Swami starts
walking with a serious face, I'm sure all of Kulwant Hall will be
empty. We can’t bear His seriousness. What a nice smile Swami has!
We should be able to smile when we meet our friends. We should
have hearty laughter when we meet each other. This is sign of
being healthy and happy. And, we should laugh at our own self. We
should like humour - entertaining positive emotions.
When I have positive emotions and try to laugh, my chemistry will
change. The body chemistry will change because of humour and
laughter. You can consult any psychiatrist. You can consult any
psychologist. They all agree on this fundamental point. We have
all the comforts; we have a nice bank account; we have a position.
Yet we are unhappy and unhealthy. Why? We don’t know how to laugh.
We don’t have time for humour. We don’t have time for fun. That’s
why, even with all the wealth, we are still sick. To be healthy
and happy, learn to laugh. Healthy laughter is a physical, mental
and spiritual tonic.
Ninth Point: Practise Brahmacharya
Now comes point nine: Practise brahmacharya. Brahmacharya does not
mean the life of a celibate or the life of an unmarried person.
Brahmacharya means walking with God. Charya – movement, and.
Brahma - God. Moving with God, thinking of God, walking with God
is brahmacharya. When we walk with God on the path of purity and
prayer, it ensures happiness and health.
Tenth Point: Help Others
Tenth point: Help others to be healthy and happy. We should not
merely receive help from others. Giving help to others is more
important. You must have heard about the life of Rockefeller, the
richest man from the United States. Unfortunately he fell sick at
the age of 53. Then he started distributing his wealth to all
kinds of charitable trusts. He started distributing his wealth for
educational institutions, for hospitals. He went on disturbing his
wealth for so many purposes. You know, he lived up to the age of
98! What is the secret behind his long life? Doing charity and
helping others. If there is only vanity without charity, you’ll
have a short lifespan. Vanity leads to a short life, while charity
gives a long life.
So my friends, this is the ten-point formula to be healthy and
happy. May Bhagavan help all of us to have these ten required
qualities.
Thank you, Sai Ram!
Om Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Thank you very much!
Sai Ram!
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