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The Lord accepts only a Pure
Heart
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
giving His Divine Discourse on the morning
of 6th September 2004 (Krishna Janmashtami) at
Prashanti Nilayam
Text of the Divine Discourse
delivered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on the morning session
of Krishna Janmashtami Celebrations, 6th September 2004
at Prashanti Nilayam, Sai Kulwanth Hall
Oh Krishna! You don't eat
what I give You,
You don't eat our home-food,
You go to the houses of the cowherds,
And eat butter stealthily,
You spoil Your good name, my dear!
(Telugu poem)
Thus, mother Yashoda expressed
her anguish one day, having been vexed by the complaints of the
neighbours. She chided Him saying, "Oh Krishna! I have to face a
lot of trouble on account of Your mischievous pranks. You don't
have taste for the food prepared in our house. You always like
the items prepared in the neighbouring houses. How shall I
manage with You?" True, people develop a taste for food in the
neighbouring houses. A sweetmeat shop owner sitting in his own
shop, all the while enjoying the sweet smell of the laddus,
develops a taste for puffed rice from another shop.
Kashyapa, a great devotee of the Lord had completely surrendered
himself at the Lotus Feet and was totally lost in divine bliss.
One day, his wife, Aditi, approached him and advised him, "My
dear! We do not have children. You have surrendered everything
of yours to the Lord. Why don't you pray to Him to bless us with
a child?"
Emperor Bali, in Krita Yuga, performed many Yajnas. After
completion of one hundred and seven Yajnas, he made arrangements
for performing the one hundred and eighth Yajna known as
Viswajit. As he was performing this Yajna, Lord Vishnu appeared
before him as Vamana in the guise of a dwarfish Brahmin. Vamana
asked for three paces of land in charity from Bali, which he was
about to give. In the meanwhile, Emperor Bali's preceptor
Sukracharya came there and tried to dissuade Bali from giving
this gift of charity. He advised Bali, "Please do not give
anything in charity to this short Brahmin, much less the three
paces of land. Do not underestimate Him. He is not an ordinary
Brahmin. He is an Avatar of Vishnu. He is born to Sage Kashyapa,
in fulfillment of the boon granted by Lord Vishnu to him." But
Emperor Bali did not pay heed to the advice of his preceptor. He
asked Lord Vamana, "Sir, What can I do for you?" Vamana replied,
"Oh King! I do not need anything. Just give Me three paces of
land." Sukracharya again pleaded with Bali, "Oh King! You
consider this person as an ordinary Brahmin. No. No. He is
capable of filling the entire universe. It is not wise on your
part to grant his request." But, Emperor Bali turned down his
advice saying that he could not go back on his promise, as it
was a great sin not to stand by one's word.
In those days, people considered death preferable to going back
on one's word. But today in Kali Yuga, people make promises and
break them at will. Emperor Bali was of pure heart. Once a
promise was made, he fulfilled it, come what may!
He said, "I gave a word to this Brahmin boy. I am prepared to
face any eventuality in fulfilling my promise. I will offer the
fruits of all the Yajnas I have performed, including the one I
am now performing to this Brahmin boy. So saying, he put the
garland of the fruits of 108 Yajnas performed by him round the
neck of Vamana and prostrated before Him. (As He said this,
Swami created a necklace of 108 gold coins.)
Vamana covered the entire land given in charity by Bali under
one foot. He grew in size and filled the entire universe with
His second foot. There was no further space to put His third
foot. Then Sukracharya said, "Oh emperor! You did not pay heed
to my advice. You underestimated this Brahmin boy and got
yourself tricked by His innocent looks."
Vamana received the offering of Emperor Bali and praised his
large-heartedness and blessed him. Vamana was short in stature,
but he could fill the entire universe. Being an Avatar, He was
Aprameya (beyond all limitations, indescribable and
immeasurable). Human being have limitations, but not an Avatar.
The sunrise and sunset happen according to a predetermined
Divine command. It happens regularly, uninterrupted. The sun,
the moon and the stars follow a definite pattern of schedule.
All the five elements in the universe discharge their duties
regularly as ordained by the Lord. Even God Himself observes the
rules that He lays down for all. Everything in God's creation
goes on according to a predetermined order and Divine command.
Nothing in the universe, including the five elements, has an
independent existence. But, unfortunately, man is unable to
recognise this divine force that regulates the functioning of
the universe. Scientists are making unstinted efforts to
discover this divine force. The stars shining brightly in the
sky at night are, however, not visible during daytime.
The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening with
utmost regularity everyday. The stars glitter beautifully in the
sky at night and hide themselves during the day. The wind blows
incessantly and sustains the living beings without taking rest
even for a moment. The rivers make gurgling sounds as they flow
perennially.
(Telugu poem)
What could be the reason for this phenomenon? Scientists probed
into this aspect and concluded that the stars were not visible
during daytime because the sun was shining brilliantly in the
sky during that period. Similarly, they tried to explain the
divine force in ever so many ways.
The moment the umbilical cord is cut and the child is separated
from the mother, it cries. Why? Nobody could explain and explore
this secret. The moment a drop of milk or honey is put on the
tongue of the newborn child, it sleeps happily. This means ever
since a human being comes out of his mother's womb, he struggles
to satiate his hunger.
Oh man! You struggle hard to acquire various types of
knowledge in order to fill your stomach. In spite of all your
hard work and acquisition of knowledge, you are unable to
experience everlasting happiness. Instead, why don't you
contemplate on the Lord and seek refuge in Him? He will
certainly show you a way to overcome your misery.
(Telugu poem)
Every human being thinks that he is born merely for filling his
belly. He constantly struggles to acquire food.
There is another interesting phenomenon in nature. The branches
of a tree rub against each other due to the wind and fire is
born out of that friction between two pieces of wood. How does
it happen? Though there is fire in the wood of a tree, it is not
burnt away. Why? No scientist could ever discover this secret so
far. There are several such inexplicable phenomena in nature.
With a view to recognise and understand such phenomena, man is
constantly engaged in the quest for Divinity. However, one need
not search for God, who is omnipresent.
Oh man! You struggle hard in life merely for the sake of
filling your belly. You acquire myriad types of knowledge from
various fields. Examine and enquire for yourself what great
happiness you have achieved by spending all the time from dawn
to dusk in acquiring worldly knowledge and earning wealth, while
forgetting God.
(Telugu poem)
Everything in this universe moves strictly according to the
Divine Will and force. Man, of his own accord cannot achieve
anything. The Divine force manifests itself in several ways in
this universe, in the form of various types of energy. People
think they are created by somebody. Strictly speaking, nobody
has created them. They are natural phenomena that manifest out
of Divine will. For example, when two pieces of stone are struck
against each other, fire is born. It means, there is fire latent
in the stone, but does not manifest outside. Thus, all the
powers are latent in nature.
A few minutes ago, one boy spoke about Nanda and Yashoda, the
foster parents of Lord Krishna. In those days, there was no
electricity. People in the village used to go to the house of
Nanda (since he was the chief of the village) and lighted their
oil lamps from the lamp lit up in Nanda's house. People were of
the belief that they would attain plenty and prosperity if they
lighted their oil lamps from the lamps lit in the houses of
well-to-do-people. A newly married daughter-in-law by name
Suguna arrived in that village. Her mother-in-law told her to go
to the house of Nanda and get her lamp lighted from theirs. When
Suguna went to the house of Nanda and lighted the lamp, she
could visualise Krishna in that flame. On having this Divine
vision, she lost her body consciousness. She fixed her gaze on
that beautiful form of Lord Krishna and was lost in bliss. She
could not even realise that her fingers were being burnt, having
come into contact with the flame. She was in total bliss. In the
meanwhile, other ladies from the neighbouring houses also came
there to light their own lamps. They were wonderstruck on
witnessing this scene. They could notice that Suguna was not
moving away from the flame even though her fingers were being
burnt. They then realised that she had the vision of Krishna in
that flame. They sang a song describing this incident. (Swami
sang a Telugu song, the meaning of the first few lines is as
follows...)
It seems Suguna had a vision
Of Gopala in the house of Nanda
She saw Krishna in the flame!
On hearing this song, Yashoda came there literally running. She
saw Suguna's fingers getting burnt in the flame. While all the
Gopis were dancing in ecstasy, Yashoda went near Suguna and
pulled her hand away from the flame. She chided her saying "Oh!
Suguna ! Did you not notice your fingers being burnt on coming
into contact with the flame? Do you wish to bring a bad name to
us that if anyone goes to Nanda's house, their fingers will be
burnt?" Suguna's mother-in-law was by nature a short-tempered
woman. On hearing about this incident, she came running to the
house of Yashoda and made a big issue of this incident. She
ordered her daughter-in-law not to go to the house of Nanda
again in future, for getting the lamp lighted.
Several miracles happened in the house of Yashoda. After Krishna
left for Mathura, the Gopis could not bear His separation and
were pining for His Darshan. In such a moment of yearning,
Krishna appeared in Gokul. However, neither Nanda nor Yashoda
could see Him. All the Gopis gathered at the house of Nanda and
prayed that they may be allowed to have Krishna's darshan. They
started complaining, "Nanda and Yashoda! you have kept Krishna
away from us. Please tell us where he is." But, Krishna did not
make his appearance in public. He appeared to some Gopis
individually in answer to their prayers.
A few minutes ago, a student of our University narrated an
incident wherein Swami had appeared before him in answer to his
prayers. No one else could see Swami. Then, the boy prayed
again, "Swami! What is the use of giving Darshan to me alone?
Please give Darshan to all the students; otherwise, they will
not believe my words and make fun of me." I replied, "Does not
matter. Let people think whatever they wish to. This is your
prapti (deservedness), only you deserve to see Me". So saying, I
disappeared.
Once, Yashoda reprimanded child Krishna saying, "Oh! My dear
Krishna! You don't eat the food I prepared for you. You go to
the houses of the milkmaids and stealthily eat the butter stored
in their houses. You are creating problems for me. Is it that
the butter suffused with mother's love does not taste good for
you?" So saying, she tied Krishna to a mortar with a rope. It is
everybody's experience in the world that we do not like the food
cooked in our own house. The items cooked in others' houses will
appear to be tasty. This is quite natural. However, Krishna did
not steal the butter from others' houses for its taste. There is
an underlying message in this leela. Here, butter symbolises a
pure heart. Wherever such a pure heart is available, Krishna
takes it. Such a pure heart will be soft and sweet. The hearts
of Gopis were ripened with devotion. They were pure, soft and
sweet. Hence, Krishna had gone to their houses to steal their
hearts.
Krishna is referred to as "chora" (thief). What does He steal?
He steals the butter-like hearts of the Gopis, hearts which are
pure, soft and sweet. If you address someone as chora (thief),
he will be annoyed. But if you call Krishna as "chiththa chora"
(stealer of the heart), He will enjoy this appellation. That is
why, devotees sing in praise of the Lord most endearingly
"Chiththa chora Yashoda Ke Bal! Navaneetha chora Gopal! Gopal,
Gopal, Gopal! Govardhanadhara Gopal!" ("Oh! Yashoda's little
Krishna! Oh! Gopala! Stealer of butter! Oh! Gopala! Lifter of
the Govardhana mountain!"). The song thus sung melodiously with
bhava, raga and thala will be liked by everyone. Great
Singer-saints like Thyagaraja made sweet offerings to God in the
form of Kirtanas suffused with Bhava (feeling), Raga (tune) and
Thala (beat) and won His grace. There is so much sweetness in
such devotional songs. God's grace can surely be obtained by
such devotional singing. You cannot win the grace of God by
empty rhetoric. It is only through devotional singing suffused
with Bhava, Raga and Thala, that Divinity can be attained. God
will be moved by such Sankirtan. Even the Vedas have extolled
the efficacy of devotional singing. Even by chanting the Vedas,
God cannot be attained. There are several hymns in praise of God
in the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda . But,
not even a single individual chanting those hymns could obtain
Divine Darshan. However, when these hymns are set to tune and
sung with devotion, they could experience Divine Love. That is
why God is extolled as ?ganalola' and ?ganapriya'. Therefore,
you pray to God with devotional singing. You can easily win the
grace of God. Some people may have a doubt, "We cannot sing
well; we have not learnt the art of singing. How can we please
God?" Do not worry. You may not have knowledge of music or a
mellifluous voice. It does not matter. Sing the glory of God
with intense love, in some tune which you know. That is enough
to move the heart of God. What is music? It is not necessary to
make a special effort to learn music. A simple song with intense
love and yearning will move God. For example, you recite a poem,
"Rama! Nannu Kaapadu" (Oh! Rama! Please protect me). There will
be no sweetness in the poem. It is simply a literary rendering
of your feelings. Similarly, if you make an appeal to God saying
"Rama! Nannu Kaapadu", it becomes an empty repetition of words.
The same feeling, if it is expressed in a song set to a
beautiful tune, "Rama ?! Nannu Kaapadu?", it will be so sweet
and endearing to Divinity. There is so much sweetness in music.
Therefore, if you want to attain God, you have to do it only
with devotional singing.
You need not be disappointed if you have not learnt music. Why
disappointment? If there is an appointment, there will be
disappointment. Therefore, do not make an appointment, in the
beginning itself. You sing the glory of God in your own way.
That is the easiest way to attain God. The Divine bliss enjoyed
by the gopis in Krishnavatar in Dwapara Yuga is unparalleled.
Therefore, remember that Divine bliss and try to please God with
your love and devotion.
In no Avatar devotees have merged in the Divine Love to such a
great extent as in Krishna Avatar. Thousands of devotees have
merged in Sri Krishna during His Avatar. Hence, if you want to
merge in divinity, devotional singing is the only means. God is
said to be ganapriya (pleased by devotional singing).
Krishnavatar is the best example for this statement. One simple
name ?Krishna' sung by a devotee is enough to move Him. The
leelas, mahimas and the miraculous deeds performed by Lord
Krishna during His Avatar are unparalleled.
Dear students! You are singing several bhajans. All of
you are participating in the bhajans. But, each one is singing
in his own way. This is not proper. If all of you sing in one
voice and one tune with divine feeling, God will surely install
Himself in your loving heart. Krishnavatar is the only Avatar
that had granted darshan to different people in different ways,
clarified their doubts about His divinity and merged them in His
own Self. Krishnavatar is the only Avatar that made everyone
happy and blissful by His sweet and loving words.
Embodiments of Love!
There is nothing superior to devotional singing. What a great
joy and happiness you derive by singing the song "Nanduni Yinta
Gopaludanta Deepaana Kanipinchenanta" (It seems Gopala has
appeared in the flame in the house of Nanda). Therefore, sing
such soulful songs with bhava, raga and thala to please God and
obtain His grace. You may sing any number of bhajans and songs,
but it is only when they are suffused with intense love,
devotion and sweet and soft feeling (bhava) you will derive
immense happiness and joy.
Source:
http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Krishna_Janmashtami_Discourse.htm
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