You have all tasted the sweetness of the name of the Lord for
twenty-four hours, as Akhanda bhajana. Akhanda means
uninterrupted, without any gap. I am glad you sang without any gap
and also that you selected the Naamaavalis of the manifold forms
of God, instead of singing one particular Naamam throughout, as if
God had only one facet of personality. The same man is father of
his children, uncle to his nephews, brother to some, cousin to
many others and son to this parents. So, God too has many aspects
and when you conduct Bhajana, you must try to satisfy all who take
part by reminding them of the manifold manifestations of the Lord,
not simply Raama or Krishna or Sairaam.
Again, Akhanda bhajana means that it should not be just a
twenty-four hour affair or even a seven-day affair; it must go on,
from birth to death, this contemplation of the source and goal of
things. The procession to the cremation ground starts immediately
on birth and the beating of the heart is the drumbeat for the
march towards that place. Some take a longer route, some reach
quickly, but all are on the way. Therefore, Bhajana has to start
in childhood and has to continue. It must be the constant
companion of man, his solace and strength. Do not postpone it to
old age, for it is the essential food for the mind.
There is no Consistency in Man's Behaviour
You have all been thrilled by this Bhajana here and you are
glad that you got the chance to join. But this is just a temporary
feeling. You who shared in this glorification of the Lord will
tomorrow as enthusiastically join in some other gathering where
falsehood and injustice are honoured! There is no consistency in
your behaviour. What you feel as correct and what you do are poles
apart. That is not the mark of a Bhaktha. If there is no Shraddha
(faith), how can you have Shaanthi and Santhosha (peace and
happiness)?
People seek frantically for peace and happiness in a thousand
ways along a thousand roads. Dr. Bhagavantham was telling Me just
prior to My coming here, at the Tata Institute of Science, that
there is something beyond all this objective world, some mystery
which becomes deeper and more mysterious with every advance of
science. When one door is opened, ten doors which are closed
reveal themselves to the surprised scientist. So real Shaanthi is
to be got only in the depths of the spirit, in the discipline of
the mind, in faith in the one base of all this seeming
multiplicity. When that is secured, it is like having gold, you
can have any variety of jewels made from it.
It is all a matter of one's own experience. And the joy of that
experience, the profound exhilaration which accompanies it cannot
be communicated in words. All Shravanam and Keerthanam (hearing
and singing God's names) is to take you nearer that experience.
Shravanam is the medicine that you take internally and Keerthanam
is the balm you apply externally. Both are needed. So also Dharma
(virtue) as well as Karma (sanctified activity) are necessary;
Karma is the very foundation of Bhakthi (devotion to God). It is
the basement on which devotion is built. Dharma is the attitude in
which action is done, the truth, Prema and equanimity with which
the mind is activated, when it seeks to do things.
Do Karma regardless of the Fruits thereof
Karma has to be done in and through Dharma. Those dominated by
Thamas (ignorance) do Karma solely for the sake of the fruits
thereof and they resort to all subterfuges in order to gain from
it; for them, the end justifies the means. Those dominated by
Rajas (passion) are proud and pompous and boast that they are
doers, the benefactors and the experiencers. Those dominated by
Sathwa guna (quality of calm serenity) will do Karma, regardless
of the fruits thereof, leaving the result to the Lord, not
worrying whether it leads to success or failure, conscious of
their duties and never of their rights.
As a matter of fact, there is more joy in the actual doing than
in the result that accrues. This must be your experience. All the
elaborate arrangements that the master of the house makes for a
wedding in the family; the reception, the feeding, the
illumination, the music, these are thrilling while they are being
planned and executed; but they do not give so much pleasure, once
the thing is done. In the end, when the bills come, they might
even cause disgust and grief! So it must be easy to discard the
fruits of action, provided you spend some thought upon the process
of Karma, and the worth of the fruit.
The Jeevi (individual soul) has come to this birth in order to
reveal the splendour of the spark of Godhead which It is. The body
is the wick of the lamp, yearning for God, is the ghee which feeds
the flame. But like the rat which, attracted by the strong
smelling cheap stuff inside the trap, neglects all other articles
of food in the granary and false prey to its foolishness, man too
neglects his real sustenance and wastes his life in pursuits of
mortal riches.
Various Types of Bhakthi
You should see and wonder at the Nithyam (eternal) in all this
Anithyam (temporary). This drama has only two actors, Jada and
Chaithanya (the insentient and the supreme consciousness), who
play a million roles. Just as violinist Chowdiah here who played
ten Ragas (musical tunes) now and can play 400 Ragas on the four
strings, Jada and Chaithanya together play all these roles. Out of
a mere 26 letters of the alphabet all the words in the dictionary
are formed and millions of books get written, read and understood.
But you should see through this drama and discover the director
who is none else than God.
This can be done through Bhakthi, based on Nishkaama Karma
(desireless action). Bhakthi is of various types, according to the
Samskaara (purificatory acts) of the devotee and the state of his
mind and the stage of his development. There is the Shaantha
bhakthi (peaceful devotion) of Bheeshma, the Vaathsalya bhakthi
(parental devotion) of Yashodha, the Madhura bhakthi (sweet loving
devotion) of Gouranga and Meera and the Anuraaga bhakthi (deep
attachment) of the Gopees. Of these, the Dhaasya (devoted servant)
attitude is the easiest and the best for the majority of aspirants
at this time. It means Sharanaagathi or Prapatthi (total
surrender). It grows out to Shaantha bhakthi.
Bhakthi has to be developed by several means or indeed by all
means. The mind and the intellect have to be trained and
controlled, that is the aim. They can take you as far as the
Visishtaadhwaitha (qualified dualism); later, Adhwaithic
(non-dualistic) experience depends upon His grace; the Saayujyam
(merging in the absolute) is in His hands. The chief means are
Sravanam, Keerthanam, Smaranam, Paadha sevenam, Vandhanam,
Dhaasyam, Sneham and Aathma nivedhanam (hearing, singing and
remembering the Lord's name, prostration, salutation, servitude,
friendship and self-offering). Sneham (friendship) is placed just
before Aathma nivedhanam (offering of the self), because between
friends, there is no fear, no doubt or disbelief or hesitation.
Mission on which the Lord comes on this Earth
It is to clear the path of spiritual progress of man that the
Avathaar (divine incarnation) has come. The Ashaanthi
(restlessness) in which man is immersed has to curbed. That is
what is meant by, Parithraanaaya saadhoonam - "the saving of
Saadhus," the saving of all goods Jeevis (individual beings) from
the tentacles of Ashaanti (grief) caused by want of knowledge of
the relative unimportance of worldly things. All Jeevis must get
Shaanthi and Santhosha; that is the mission on which the Lord
comes again and again on this earth. He selects a place full of
Pavithrathwam (holiness) and Dhivyathwam (divinity) and takes on
the human form, so that you may meet Him and talk, understand and
appreciate, listen and follow, experience and benefit.
The tragedy is that when Godhead is invisible, formless, you
concretise it as you like and pray to it and get consolation and
strength out of it; but when it is before you, concretised in
human form, you doubt and discuss and deny! People fall before the
stone Naaga (snake) and pour milk on it and wash it lovingly with
sacred waters; when it materialises into an actual cobra, they
flee in fear! But a true Bhaktha has no fear or disbelief.
Feel no Shame in walking on the right Path
Prahlaadha was shivering at the Narasimha (man-lion) form when
it appeared from the pillar and when the Lord asked him why, he
replied that it was due not to fear at the form of God, for as he
said, all forms of His are lovely as they are divine; it was due
to fear that the form might soon disappear and he might lose the
splendid vision of the Lord. The father was so full of Rajoguna
(quality of passion) that he saw the terrible Narasimha form; but
Prahlaadha did not see It so. To him, the Lord appeared beautiful
and full of grace, for he was saturated with Bhakthi.
You must dive deep into the sea to get the pearls. What good is
it to dabble among the waves near the shore and swear that the sea
has no pearls in it and that all tales of its existence are false.
So also if you must realise the full fruit of this Avathaar, dive
deep and get immersed in Sai Baaba. Half-heartedness, hesitation,
doubt, cynicism, listening to tales, all are of no avail.
Concentrated complete faith - that alone can bring victory. This
is true to any worldly activity, is it not? How much more true
must it be, therefore in the spiritual field? But if you have
already attached yourselves to some one name and form, do not
change it, do not choose another in place of the Prema swaruupam
(embodiment of love).
A hundred people might come to your house and even treat you
with affection, but you do not address them as Pappa or daddy.
Have your mind fixed on one; do not now and then allow clouds of
doubt, like "Is He great?" "Is He God?" to dim your faith. Be
bold. Acknowledge the glory that you have witnessed; proclaim the
joy that you have experienced; confess to the grace that you have
earned. When people ask you whether you too are going to
Puttaparthi, for example, and whether you too are doing Bhajana,
say "Yes" proudly, for there is no shame in walking on the right
path!
Shaanthi cannot be won by Study of Books
There are some Gurus who insist on implicit obedience, who
advise their disciples even to beat any one who cavil at their
master! I have contempt for all such and I have come to give them
proper advise. The Guru can never usurp the position of Shiva; it
is better that you have Shiva Himself as your Guru, rather than
have these power-mad and egoistic teachers, who revel in hatred
and aggrandisement. Leave all those who cavil, severely alone,
with their Karma and their Thamasic aanandha, not merely those who
are ignorant of Me, but even those who deride all forms of God and
the very idea of God.
Develop faith in yourselves, so that you can stand like a rock
braving the rushing waters of the flood of negation. That faith
will make you forget the changing circumstances of the outer
world. Raamadhaas, when he was put in jail, thanked Raama for the
great blessing for he felt that he could now carry on his
Naamasmarana undisturbed by the world, which was mercifully shut
off by the high prison walls!
The first Steps are the most hard in the Pilgrimage
It all depends on the point of view whether you are happy or
unhappy, that colours all attitudes and options. Raamadhaas sang
the exploits of Aanjaneya in Lanka and, while doing so, he
mentioned the white lilies of the island. Aanjaneya heard him sing
it and immediately took exception to the description. He said that
he had never seen a single white flower there; the lilies of Lanka
were red, he declared. Raamadhaas, however, insisted that they
were white. Aanjaneya got annoyed at the impudence of poets who
tried to pit their imagination against a firsthand expert witness
and appealed to Raama for intercession. Raama agreed with
Raamadhaas! He said that Aanjaneya saw them red because his eyes
were affected by Raajasik anger at the entire Raakshasa (demonic
brood)!
So, if you have Shaanthi, the world will appear a quite
peaceful place; if you have Ashaanthi (restlessness), the world
will be full of Ashaanthi. Shaanthi is to be won by Saadhana, not
by study of books. One judge reads huge big volumes and writes one
judgement for a suit; another judge reads the same big books and
writes quite an opposite judgement for the same suit! Books are
just guides for some bit of the road. Afterwards, you have to find
the way yourselves and it gets easier as you go. One Naya paisa
and another make two, four more make an Anna and a hundred make a
Rupee. The first steps are most hard; the pilgrimage to Kaashi is
to begin with the first step.
Keep the flame of Vairaagya (detachment) with tiny sticks until
it grows into a big bonfire; welcome all chances to develop
Viveka. If you are good for the world, then the Lord of worlds
will shower love on you. Become a blossom, exude the fragrance of
Seva (selfless service) and Prema (love); then I shall gladly wear
the garland composed of all of you.
Take the name of the Lord and repeat it always. I was listening
to the Bhajana you did here yesterday and today. You voices were
low; they could scarce be heard outside this hall. I know that in
a certain institution where they decided to do Akhanda bhajana,
they had to hire a few persons at so much per hour so that their
plan could succeed. Do Bhajana with faith and enthusiasm. Let the
whole city shake with devotion you put into every name that you
sing. The name promotes comradeship and establishes concord; it
stills all storms and grants peace.