| |
Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
March 7, 2004
The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar
“Performance by Students”
March 7th, 2004
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Performance by Students
I am glad to be here once again for this Sunday morning session.
The last couple of days we have been watching students from
different classes perform in the Divine presence of Bhagavan.
Personally, I feel that all the performances were wonderful,
highly resourceful, innovative and creative.
Each class wrote the script and composed the music only the night
before. Then they had to practice the presentation. Some students
were awake until two or three A.M. doing this, because academic
study starts at 9:30 A.M. It is quite amazing; we do not find such
things happening anywhere else. I have been a teacher for forty
years, and in that time, I have not come across such a wonderful
set of students.
I also feel that the Divine message of Bhagavan was amply covered
in those performances. Those who witnessed the presentations could
understand the Sathya Sai philosophy, which is not always easy to
demonstrate to others.
Yesterday there was a talk on the colours, and earlier there was
one on the five elements. Before that, the talk was about the
parents and teachers of Bhagavan. All this will be put into a
brief summary, which will be available to you on the internet in
different languages.
“I am your mother”
A couple of minutes ago, a friend asked me to share what Swami
said to a little boy, towards the end of the program. Is this not
so? Of course, I would have told it without your asking, but you
get the credit, anyway! (Laughter) Anything associated with
Swami is of immense interest to all of us. If so-and-so talks to
somebody, are we interested? It is of interest because it is Swami
speaking.
I was sitting close by, and I don’t say, “I overheard.” No! I
could clearly hear. (Laughter) Sometimes I do overhear. (Laughter)
But this morning I didn’t have to do that.
Here are the simple questions that Swami asked the little boy.
“What class are you in?”
The boy said, “Swami, second class.” (He played the role of Sathya
Sai Baba. Afterwards Swami gave him a chain.)
Swami put the second question, “What’s your age?”
The boy said, “Seven years, Swami.”
“What is your name?” He said a name, which I could not clearly
hear.
Then Swami said, “What is your name in the drama?”
The boy said, “I am Sathya Sai Baba.” (Laughter)
He said, “Where do you come from?”
“Swami, I come from You.”
“Tell Me, what train did you take to get here?”
“The Rayapur train, Swami.”
“Oh, Rayapur, good.”
Then He said, “Where are your parents?”
“They are there in Rayapur, Swami.”
“You want to go there?”
“No! No! No!”
“Why?”
“You are my Father. You are my Mother, Swami.” (Applause)
This is a boy seven years old in the second class. Is that
possible? Impossible!
Then Swami said, “Your parents are calling to you, go!”
The boy said, “No, Swami, they don’t call me.”
“Why? Why?”
“Because I am here with You, I do not yearn to be with my parents.
I am safe here.”
That is how Bhagavan handles every child. It is unbelievable,
fantastic and amazing!
All belong to Me
I spoke to Swami about what I had observed during the
performances. This is a bonus; more than what you asked for.
Coming to the dais, Swami called to the man holding the camera.
“How is your mother?”
He said, “Swami, fine.”
Then Bhagavan turned to the other side and called to a very little
child, maybe six years of age. The child was crying. I thought
that the child might be naturally missing his parents People of
our age can also miss our family, but we are too inhibited to cry
about it in public. Swami called the little child over and pinched
his cheeks lovingly.
“Come on, do you know the Veda?” (Hindu scriptures)
“Yes, Swami.”
“Come on, do it.”
The child started chanting the Veda. Then Swami made him laugh.
“Go, go,” He said and the boy went.
When the distribution of sweets started, Swami suddenly said to
the university boys, “Don’t just give to these boys; there are
some other boys sitting near the old students. They are our own
students studying in our orphanage, Sathya Sai Deena Poshaka
Samastha.” He included those children also.
I was wondering about all of these things!
Swami said, “Why do you look like that?”
“Swami, You check on the morning program. You give darshan
to everybody. You note who is absent and who is present. You
ignore those whom You decide to ignore (Laughter). You
enquire about the cameraman’s mother. What happened to his mother?
“
“His mother underwent a heart operation. Today she is going to be
discharged.”
Then I asked, “Swami, why was that little child crying?”
“That little child’s mother came and left this morning, dropping
the child here, so the child was crying.”
“Swami, why did the child stop crying?”
“Seeing Swami, the child stops crying, just as all of you here
stop crying, while watching Me and seeing that I am your Mother.”
The child watching Swami finds his Mother and stops crying.
“This is amazing, Swami; all these three things happening.”
He said, “Yes, all belong to Me. All are Mine! Everywhere!”
Divine Love
My friends this is what is called Divine Love. What is this Divine
Love, and what is the love that we have? What is the love that we
experience? The love that we have is only mundane and totally
worldly. The love that we have towards all properties and assets
is nothing but attachment.
Our love is nothing but relationships. It is in relation to the
husband, to the wife, or to a friend. It is in relation to a son
or to a daughter. All our love is established in a relationship
with our near and dear. Yet, Bhagavan’s Love is not related in any
way, because it is beyond relationship. Bhagavan is not loving
another! Bhagavan is Love Himself! He is Love personified, walking
on two feet. Bhagavan is Love!
his is really amazing and interesting. It is an example worth
learning from the Avatar Himself. Love with no conditions
attached, with no attachments at all. Love without any
relationship, without expectation. Just love and love alone. If we
have a fraction of this love, we will be very happy. Yet, we are
not happy though we love, because our love is established in terms
of relationship. It is limited to blood relations and to
expectations. It is given in anticipation of something to come
from it. As long as love is conditional, selfish, or in the form
of a relationship, it loses its value.
As I was saying the other day, the cool breeze blows on its own;
the moonlight shines by itself; the flower blossoms by itself. The
nightingale and the cuckoo sing on their own. All this happens
without expectations of a result, thanks or gratitude. That is
true Love. No tree is selfish. No animal is selfish. No bird is
selfish. No animal or bird or tree would ever complain of boredom.
It is only man who feels tired and bored.
Why do you feel bored
Say you ask a young man, “How are you?”
“Ah, uncle, I am bored.” Why?
Ask retired people relaxing at home, “How are you, sir? How are
you enjoying retirement?”
“Ah, boring.” Why? This boredom happens because of our attachment
to the world. It is because of our pleasure in the senses, our
acquisitions and our craving for money.
Once we turn inward (Nivrithi), we find the ever fragrant,
vibrant, radiant effulgence, where there is no chance of boredom.
This is just as at 12 noon on a hot summer day, there is no chance
of a cool breeze or darkness. Similarly, once we turn inward,
there is no chance for the darkness of ignorance. There is no
chance for frustration, depression or boredom.
Because we are extroverts, our attention is outward and external,
(Pravrithi) and we become bored, however interesting
something is. It may be a ballet from Soviet Russia, or a ballroom
dance from the United States, or the casino. We become bored
because nothing external can make us happy for a lifetime.
Therefore, my friends, Bhagavan’s Love teaches us this lesson - be
above limitations. Our Love should be above the restrictions of
selfishness, narrow-mindedness, and all such evil tendencies, so
that we can equate our Love to God’s Love.
Love is the life of the soul
I would also like to draw your attention to another important
point. We should not give answers such as, “I love so-and-so,” “I
love my friend,” “I love my job,” to the question, “Whom do you
love?”
If you give those answers, it is not Love at all. Love should be
unaddressed and not individualised or focused. Love should not be
centered. Love should be universal.
When Love is universal and someone asks you, “Whom do you love?” I
cannot say, “I love everybody (naming each person individually).
Or, I love my pets; I love dogs; I love birds; I love monkeys; I
love mountains; I love rivers; I love stones and pebbles; I love
the sunrise; I love the sunset; I love the cool breeze.”
“Whom do you love?”
“I love all!” When love is unaddressed, it is Divine Love.
Above all, we have to remember one sentence, which I want to
repeat as many times as possible. Breath is the life of the body,
and Love is the life of the soul! Without Love, the soul cannot
exist.
That’s the reason why we say, “God is Love. Love is God!” Where
there is no Love, you cannot be a devotee. Where there is no Love,
you cannot be religious. When there is no Love, you cannot be
spiritual. If you have Love, you do not need to have anything else
because Love is sufficient unto itself.
Swami, why do you speak about love all the time?
Somebody asked Bhagavan, “Swami, why do you speak about Love all
the time? In every discourse, it is Love, Love, Love! Some people
even say that they are tired of repeatedly hearing about Love. Why
do You speak so often about Love?”
Swami said, “Yes, it is true that I have spoken about Love many
times. But you have not experienced Love even once. So I go on
speaking about these things until you practice and experience.”
The Bhagavad Gita, the Veda, the Bible, the Quran, the Dharmapada,
all the holy texts repeat important statements in different
chapters, time and time again. It is so that we will practice and
experience the teachings.
Love is a very important thing. It is not a quality or an
attribute. Please understand this. Red is a colour. Black is a
colour. Tall and short are heights. A degree measures temperature
and kilograms, weight. What is Love? What is its weight or height
or colour? How many kilos has Love? How many litres? Is Love tall
or short? Be quiet and stop this nonsense, because Love is
immeasurable. Love is Love; that is all!
If you have Love, all values will follow
Somebody asked Swami, “How many human values should we have?”
There is Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness),
Shanti (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa
(Non-violence). Each value has so many sub-values. The sub-values
have so many sub, sub, sub-values. The list seems to be a general
store’s list.
Baba said, “Throw them out! You don’t need to have any. One is
enough. That is Love!”
If you have Love, all values will follow. With Love, whatever you
speak, it is bound to be Truth. With Love, whatever you do, it is
sure to be righteous. With Love, you will certainly be peaceful.
With Love, you will have quiet understanding, which is
non-violence. Speaking with Love is nothing but Sathya, truth.
Acting based on Love is nothing but righteousness or dharma.
Living in Love is nothing but peace or Shanti. We may experience
this in our lives. Though they are listed as different values,
really they are all one and the same.
There is only one sun light, one beam of light. Yet, when the beam
of light passes through the prism of glass, you see seven colours.
There are seven colours, right? The seven colours are from just a
single ray of light. The single ray of light is Love, which splits
into different dimensions for your experience, convenience and
utilisation. But Love is one and the same.
Love is our breath of life
Therefore, my friends, do we have to learn how to be lovers?
Certainly not! I am not going to teach you how to be a lover,
since we are already lovers! It would be useless rubbish!
What is this idea, after all? The position of a lover is
political. If anyone says, “I am a lover,” he is being diplomatic.
He loves you today, so he is your lover. If he loves somebody
else, he is her lover. He loves somebody else again, and he is her
lover. The position of a lover is one of convenience. It is
nothing but utter selfishness. A total blatant lie! If anyone
says, “I love you,” don’t believe him! (Laughter) Beware of
such fellows because real Love is never spoken.
“My son, I love you.” Should you say that? Until you said that,
did you hate him? What does it mean? Love is an experience. Love
is felt. Love pulsates; it is a heartbeat. Love is the blood
circulation. Love is our breath of life.
I do not say, “I am breathing.” If I did, it would mean that I am
breathing heavily, which means a heart checkup is needed! I don’t
say that my heart is beating. If you are conscious of your heart
beating, you better have an ECG, an electro-cardiogram.
Therefore, my friends, Love is our heartbeat, the pulsation, the
echo in the silent night. Love is the resound in the inner recess
of our heart. We should be able to experience this Love, which is
most important in our life, and in the whole of existence.
The whole of existence is my Family
In the whole of existence, wherever you go, ‘being’ works as one.
My dear friends, if I ask you, “How many members are in your
family?”
“Four: father, mother and two children.”
“No!”
“A small family of six.”
“No!”
“An extended family of twenty.”
“Absolutely not.”
The whole of existence is my family. My family includes the
animate and inanimate, the living and non-living, the mobile and
immobile. My family includes those who speak and those who cannot
speak. My family is the whole, the organic and the mineral. My
family is universal. I belong to this universal family of
existence because everything is only cosmic energy. You and I, and
the whole of the cosmos, are full of cosmic energy, which is
Divinity.
Realisation of the cosmic energy is itself sufficient for us to
know that we belong to this organic existence. We are one in the
whole. You are not the whole. If I think I am the whole,
w-h-o-l-e, there will be a hole, h-o-l-e in the heart. (Laughter)
You are not the whole; you are part of the whole world. The more
you love everybody, the happier you will be.
Swami inspired the students
My friends, Swami asked me this morning, “Anil Kumar, where did
these boys learn to put on such a program? They acted well. The
dialogues and stories were nice; the depiction and the script were
good. Where did they learn these things? “
What should I say, “There in the school”? I am not a muffin to say
that.
“From their teachers!” I am not a fool to say that.
“Swami, You inspired them. You motivated and trained them.”
Baba said, “How do you know?” (Laughter)
Am I a master of bluff? Am I a sycophant? No!
“Bhagavan, there are teachers and students in other schools. There
are thousands of institutions and thousands of students. Could
they organise this program so quickly? No! The students were able
to do it here because of You.”
“Correct answer,” He said. (Laughter)
Perhaps I should thank my stars for giving me the correct answer.
(Laughter) Had I been wrong, my feet would have vacated my
shoes, which is risky, you know. (Laughter)
Egolessness is the sign of total Love
My friends, having cultivated this love, what will happen? I will
tell you what can happen to you. What is the sign, the symbol of a
man with total Love? I am not speaking of partial love,
attachment, infatuation or possessiveness. I am not speaking of
nationalism or patriotism. I am talking about total Divine Love.
Once you have that, how you will be? (By you, I mean me, also.)
So, what is the sign of a person of total Love? There is only one
sign - egolessness. There will be no traits of ego at all. The way
he talks to all is alike – a child, a scholar, a car driver, a
Nobel Laureate, a doctor, an engineer, the president of the
country, the city or country servant, or the rural or urban folks.
The most valuable things in the world are free
The river flows and its waters quench the thirst of all. The river
water would not say, “My water is only for the upper class.” This
is mineral water. (He indicates a bottle of water.) Mineral water
is costly, but river water is ever fresh and always free.
The most valuable things in the world, my friends, are free. The
wind is free. Yes! Oxygen is free. But a heart patient has to buy
a cylinder of oxygen at a cost of 200 rupees. Now calculate the
cost of all the oxygen that we have breathed up to now. How much
money should we pay God in terms of 200 rupees per cylinder, from
the day of birth? Oxygen is offered free!
A bottle of Bisleri water costs 10 or 12 rupees. I do not know the
price because my body is affected if I drink mineral water. I am
used to ordinary tap water, because from childhood we drank tap
water. How many barrels? How many gallons? How many litres? How
much money should we pay God now?
Baba says, “The body is full of electric or magnetic power.”
Every one of us has magnetic power and that is why we attract
certain people. Nobody can say, “I don’t attract.” Everyone has
the power of attraction. It is a question of the number of people,
that’s all. Some attract millions. Some attract thousands. Some
attract hundreds. At least you will attract one. (Laughter)
The unfortunate wife or husband, as the case may be. (Laughter)
Right!
So there is attraction. We don’t feel like talking to everybody or
saying ‘hi’ to everybody. You say ‘hello’ only to some. You say,
“Hello, sir.” Why? This man is not giving out fabulous sums of
money. Then again, another man isn’t asking you for a donation.
Still, you don’t look at him. Why? It is attraction. You attract
some people. God attracts all people. That is the difference.
In this way, the power of attraction is there as electricity, as
magnetism. The generator in our body that generates energy is
responsible for us sitting. If there’s no energy, we can’t sit or
speak. Energy is there in every cell.
How much money should we pay for the big generator in the body,
present from birth to death, from womb to tomb? For a small
generator that fails occasionally, we pay a thousand rupees.
I often ponder: God, what a fool man is! You have made available
to us the most precious and valuable things. Without them, we
could not live for a single second. All this is available, totally
free.
We have to pay heavy electricity charges for air-conditioning. In
the evening, the cool breeze touches us when we are out walking.
How much should we pay for that? Please tell me! For a small wall
painting, you pay 200 rupees and keep it in your room. Just look
in Nature at the mountain ranges and the sunrise. How much should
you pay for that beauty?
The whole world is the reflection of God
God, You are priceless! You are invaluable! The whole of Nature is
nothing but Your manifestation. Unmanifested nature is God and God
manifest is Nature. Both are inseparable.
If you say, “After all, what is this world?” I pity you. The world
is nothing but a reflection of God. I look into the mirror and see
my own image. I cannot spit on my image. Would I do that? I cannot
call my reflection ugly. I may be ugly, but at least I do not say
that.
Therefore, the whole world is the reflection of God. How can we
deny that? How can we pollute it? How can we make it dirty?
Because of God, how beautiful are the leaves that talk to the wind
at evening time. How beautiful when the peacock dances gracefully
in the cool breeze during the evening. How wonderful it is!
The monkey has a message for us
When a monkey exposes its teeth and starts laughing at us, ah,
what a warning it is! “You call me ‘monkey’! No, you are the
monkey.” The monkey has a message for us.
I am reminded of an incident narrated by a student. This seva dal
volunteer was chasing all the monkeys away. Baba came and patted
him on the back and said, “What are you doing?”
“I am chasing the monkeys away.”
Baba said, “Where are they?”
He said, “All around.”
“No! No! No! Your monkey is in your head. (Laughter) It is
a monkey-mind (restless and grasping).
Divine Romance
My friends, we can really celebrate this beautiful world. My life
will never be boring if I feel myself one with the world. Life
will not be disgusting when I feel I am a member of this cosmic
family. Life will not be frustrating when I feel I belong to the
whole. Life is inspiring; it is worth living; it is joyful.
Life is rejoicing and blissful if I know, oh God, of the beautiful
Divine Romance between You and me. It is an eternal, Divine
Romance of hide-and-seek. Oh Baba, I know the kind of Divine
Romance that You are playing. You look at me when I am unaware.
When I look at You, You turn Your head away. That is Divine
Romance. You ask how I am when I am not there. When I am there,
You talk to my neighbour. (Laughter) You ask questions that
are applicable to me, but the questions are addressed to someone
else. You send somebody with instructions for me, or You ask
somebody to hold a directive that is for me. This is Divine
Romance.
If there is talk between person-to-person, it is conversation, a
dialogue. There is no romance in it. The servant might ask, “What
is that on your face”? Your beloved will not say anything hurtful.
If your beloved turns her head away, well, there is beauty even in
that. Ever Beloved, ever Thine is Divinity.
Really, if we want to be romantic, let us be romantic with God. It
is not worthwhile to be romantic with worldly people because
within twenty-four hours, they get disinterested. But God does not
tire; we know that. Just play with God. Enjoy His Play, His Love
and the Romance, because the ever-living, ever-loving, ever
moving, never-failing God is in our midst. His Advent is not
merely for discourses.
Living with God
Is God here merely for discourses? We have enough texts such as
the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita (Indian
scriptures), the Bible and the Quran. We can read them. So God is
not an academic, giving out texts or a syllabus. God is not a
computer. God is not information. God is fun, frolic, humor,
entertainment, joy, thrill, bliss and enlightenment.
When I read the Bhagavad Gita (“Song of God” - an Indian epic), I
am happy. When I sit by Baba’s side, I am happier. When He talks
to me, I am the happiest. When He just touches me, I am ecstatic.
(Laughter) Why? Nobody can say why. If we have any rapport,
any at-one-ment, it is most fitting that we should have it with
God.
Yes, sometimes He finds things out also. He will tell you your
innermost secrets. I think, ‘Oh God, how sweet that You tell me
all my secrets; it is so nice. Nobody else knows these secrets.
Thank God, You don’t tell them in front of a person who could get
me into trouble later. That’s good.’
To talk to Swami and to be with Him is an opportunity of a life
time. It is a dream realised, an aspiration and an ambition. The
journey and the longing ends here, and the yearning takes its
shape here. Yes, that is living with God. Living with God is to be
benefited by His darshan and by His sweet conversation. How
beautiful it is!
The other day some boys said, “The fire prefers to be Your red
robe. The moon prefers to be Your lovely face. The mountain
prefers to be a mole on Your cheek. The clouds want to be the halo
of Your hair round Your head.” What imaginations, my friends! They
are just boys, but are they boys? No! They are Baba’s Voice.
Any student of literature will dance in joy, any student of
aesthetics will dance in bliss, because of the beautiful
depictions and ideas recently presented by the students.
Life should be an external Quest
This is another point I would like to draw to your attention:
My friends, life should be one of eternal quest. Unfortunately, we
want the quest…ion. A question and a quest are different. You can
question everybody. You cannot question God. A question has an
answer. A quest is an end unto itself. A question leads to another
question. A quest causes you to forget and lose yourself.
Our journey to Bhagavan is a quest, not a question. In talking to
Swami, in quest of Swami, I forget myself. My mind is lost. I am
transcendent and beyond. I am speechless. In the utter silence, I
hear Baba’s call. I hear Baba’s voice. It is a true quest.
A question and its answer are verbal, whereas a quest ends in
total silence. That’s why Swami likes silence. When Swami looks at
you, you hear many words, though Swami doesn’t talk to you. He
just looks at you. Yes, that is enough. Sai’s silence is eloquent,
like golden speech. His silence is an encyclopedia of vocabulary,
because it is speechless sound. Spirituality is a wordless word.
That’s how we should enjoy Divinity. Let us go along the path of
this eternal quest.
My friends, I can also sympathetically tell you that I am not
sharing these ideas because I am on a higher pedestal. We are all
fellow pilgrims, fellow seekers. We share our ideas with each
other.
Belief is the quality of the mind, faith is the quality of the
brain, trust is born in the heart
Do not let the mind function in the realm of spirituality, because
it is the mind that doubts and hesitates. The mind deludes. It is
selfish and egoistic. It is the mind that is dirty and ugly. Over
a period of time, we developed our mind; it is a mind shaped by
society.
Friends, don’t misunderstand me. I am not mad. At least, not right
now! (Laughter) The mind is decided and shaped by society.
People have cars, so my mind wants a car. People have palatial
buildings, so my mind wants to have such a building. People have
air-conditioned rooms, so my mind wants air-conditioned rooms.
People have money and my mind wants to have money. People crave
for a good position, so my mind also wants to enjoy that position.
My mind is shaped by the pattern of society. Actually speaking, my
brain is innocent. The brain and mind are different. The brain is
original in that we were born with it; it was not developed later.
The brain is intelligent, intuitive, creative and imaginative. The
brain is Divine.
But the mind is illusive, delusive, exaggerating, hypocritical and
selfish. It doesn’t mean what it says. It is never constant. If
anyone says, “My mind is steady,” please take it from me, he is
most unsteady, because the quality of the mind is itself
unsteadiness. Never mind that! (Laughter) The mind will
never be steady.
Therefore, this mind is developed by the pattern of our society.
When the ego is crushed, gone, nullified, annihilated, withdrawn,
powerless, pathless and thoughtless, you will be blissful. There
you will find God.
The mind believes, but the heart trusts. Someone says, “I believe
you are a good man.” In the evening, he says, “I do not believe
that you are a good man.” Belief is the game of the mind. Trust is
born in the heart, which is stable.
So my friends, brain, mind and heart are the three levels of
understanding, of consciousness, and of awareness. While the brain
is original, natural, and inquisitive, the mind is manipulative.
The heart is the centre of life. The heart is the centre of God;
it is the centre of trust.
Therefore, belief, which starts in the mind, should be supported
naturally by the faith of the brain, and end up with the trust of
the heart. Three words - belief, faith and trust. Belief is the
quality of the mind, faith is the quality of the brain, and trust
is born in the heart.
We start with believing, come into the area of faith and end in
trust, with no returning. When some people lose their faith, well,
we cannot complain about that. When people start disbelieving, we
cannot complain about that. But, once a man has trust, he will
never lose his trust. Trust is the bedrock of one’s own life.
The modern mind is so crazy. The modern mind is so complex. So, a
person is perplexed. Then he requires a psychiatrist. Some people
are psychotic. They are lunatics and crazy because they are
mind-oriented.
The mind takes them everywhere: “Let me sing like her. Let me
dance like him. Let me be rich like her. Let me have a position
like his.” What is all this? Can you be everything? Impossible!
I tell many of my boys,“Aree! Don’t try to sing; you are a
good speaker.” Then I tell a singer, “You sing please, but don’t
make a speech; we can’t follow you. We can’t understand if it’s
English or some other language.” (Laughter) When some
people speak, we need a quiz as to know what language it is! Some
make it regional. Every language has its own beauty, intonation,
diction and pronunciation. We cannot regionalise a language. We
are good in one of the fields. We cannot be good in them all.
We see Swami talking to a boy who can dance. That night, I start
practicing how to dance. What will happen? At this age, the body
will not permit me to dance because the muscles are stiff, so I
become stuck in a dancing posture. In this dancing posture, I have
to go to darshan. (Laughter) Then when Swami talks
to a group of singers, I start practice singing. If I sing, the
whole of Kulwait Hall will be empty, because they cannot bear my
voice!
All this is because of the mind, which we developed because of our
surroundings, because of society and because of the community.
Egolessness is the thoughtless state of the mind
Giving up the mind is egolessness. Egolessness is the withdrawal
of the mind, its annihilation. Egolessness is the thoughtless
state of the mind, where the heart begins to function. When the
mind keeps quiet, the heart begins to manifest.
I am not referring to the physical heart. The physical heart
functions. Sometimes it doesn’t because the cardiologists need to
earn some money. No! (Laughter). I am referring to the
spiritual heart. When the heart begins to express, to address or
be eloquent and dynamic, the mind keeps quiet. As the heart is
eloquent, it communicates the message of Love and sacrifice. It
teaches the lesson of trust.
In modern education, the mind is important. You get 80%, good;
90%, excellent; 100%, “Come along to us!” In all the schools,
colleges and universities, there is competition for distinctions
or ranks. They are mind-oriented. But the fellow who gets all the
grades and all the degrees ends up in the mental hospital, because
he is not taught how to reach the heart. It is the heart that
teaches us the lesson of life. The mind only teaches us how to
earn your living. So it is essential that we go deeply into our
life.
Let my mind question myself
My friends, I can also tell you about a time before I was kind and
patient enough. Suddenly, I could not stop asking questions. If
all the people were going there, I would ask, ”Why are you going
there? “
Why am I interested in others? That is the nature of my mind. It
goes on questioning. So what shall I do? It I let it be my master,
my mind will dominate. Oh God, what can I do?
I think of some devotees on the lawns in the evening. Some of them
complain, “Anil Kumar, my mind is restless. I am not able to
control my mind and it makes me cry. It is out of my hands.” That
is what they told me. What reply could I give them, because I
could not control my own mind!
I am not such a fool. We are all fellow seekers. That’s all. I am
not superior to you. My mind is not under my control either. We
are just traveling together, encouraging each other and discussing
together. That’s all.
We are not able to control the mind yet. It goes on questioning.
But my friends, we can do one thing. When the questioning mind
stops asking questions about others, let it start questioning
ourselves.
Let my mind question me, “Why aren’t you transformed yet, Anil
Kumar?”
Let my mind pull my collar, “You, fellow, why haven’t you
changed?”
Let my mind question me emphatically, “To what extent have you
changed after being here?”
Let my mind ask me, “You are accountable for all your religious
sadhanas (spiritual practices). How far have you advanced? To what
extent have you been transformed?“
This is called inquiry or Vicharana when all the questions are
turned towards oneself. Am I clear? So when the question is
outwards, it is academic. When it is inward, it is inquiry. Then
you are a true inquirer, you are a true seeker and you will find
bliss. That’s what I wanted to share with you this morning.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
I have four simple questions to answer, which came by e-mail.
Questions and answers are also an important component of our
satsang (spiritual get-together) because it is not just a one-way
talk. It is a two-way channel.
1) “I work in the Indian Navy. During an interview, Bhagavan
told me not to think negatively. He also gave as an example about
the construction of the building where we see the walls being
built and the roof being laid. Please explain this analogy.”
I think this analogy is self-explanatory. Baba gave this analogy:
“Positive thought is nothing but Self-confidence. This
Self-confidence, the positive thought, is the foundation on which
walls are erected, Self-satisfaction. Upon that, the roof is laid,
self (ego) -sacrifice. Then the light is switched on,
Self-realisation. So, Self-confidence is the positive thought
where one needs to start.”
2) “Did Baba say anything about the heavenly Ganga and the
four Vedas?”
Swami has said a lot, but one piece of information is enough.
Ganga is a symbol and does not mean the river in Benares. You can
easily catch the Ganga Cauvery express train for Benares. Ganga is
symbolic. It stands for water. Water is life. One can live without
food for some time; no one can live without water. That is why the
Vedas say, “Rasovai Saha. Raso levayam labdyavandhim bavathi “
Water itself is life. What did Baba say about Ganga? “Ganga is
water - the sustainer of life.”
What did He say about the four Vedas? Swami said, “One refers to
the spiritual aspect; one refers to the ritual aspect; one refers
to the medical and mineral aspects; the other refers to the
musical aspect. The four Vedas refer to four different aspects of
human existence. They are for the sustenance of human society.
Humans did not compose the Vedas; they were not human utterances.
They all came from the celestial Voice, from the ethereal Divine
Voice, from nowhere, from emptiness. Rishis, saints and seers
heard them within. The Rishis, by regular recapitulation, passed
the Vedas on to humanity as sacred texts for guidance and Divine
direction.“
3) “When Swami asked me, ‘what do you want?’ I expressed the
wish to dance the Cosmic Dance with Him, thinking of Divine music
and the joy of Divine rhythm. Above all, the Divine Dance is
bliss, unison with Lord Shiva.”
A good wish indeed! Just one more step is required. You are almost
near the goal. You have come out of the periphery. No, I won’t say
come out. You are no longer at the circumference. You are closer
to your centre. Just one step is required.
Don’t say, “I want to dance with Shiva.” You are already dancing
because you are Shiva Himself. The whole world is a stage; all
your walking on Earth is a dance; all your words are beautiful
music; all of your dance stretches are that of a Divine Cosmic
dance. So, it is not a wish to be fulfilled; it is already going
on. The whole world is a continuing cosmic celestial dance. My
friend, I can tell you that.
4) “Why is there an increase in population?”
The body is perishable, but not the Atma (spirit). This so-called
birth is just the appearance of the body. The increase in
population is because of human indulgence. When there is no more
indulgence, when we reach the stage of transcendence, the
population problem will be resolved. Man has come down to the
level of the senses. If he could transcend the level of the
senses, he could go to the level of his being, which is the core
of his life. Then there would be no population problem. It is also
an expression of the lack of control of man over his body. It also
speaks of the lack of the contemplative capacity of human society.
If human society could rise to the level of the contemplative,
meditative state, awareness and consciousness, this problem would
be solved.”
Well, that brings us to the close of this morning session. I thank
those who have sent us questions. I can also tell you that all the
programs that the students presented will be available on the
internet for the benefit of everybody. Thank you so much for being
here this morning.
(Applause)
Sai Ram!
OM…OM…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
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai
Source:
http://www.internety.com/anilk2004/07.03.04(E)central.htm
© 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/
|
