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Onam
Celebrations at Parthi 4th to 6th September 1998
Om Jai Ram:
Kerala is a state in the Southern Part of India. A beautiful
landscaped land, one side with the Arabian Sea and on the other
side Western ghats, the land has been blessed by God with
beautiful backwater lagoons and rich green plantations especially
coconut groves. The people, who speak Malayalam as their mother
tongue are very God fearing and, though fully literate, still
follows the traditions and cultural way life.
As per Swami, Kerala had been blessed with 3 different Avatars
(within the Ten Avatars).
They are VAMANA, NARASIMHA, AND PARASURAMA. Vamana Avatar was
taken by Lord Mahavishnu to put an end to the demonic rule by Maha
Bali. That story is itself very illustrious and needs long
narration. Suffice to say, though Maha Bali was demonic in nature,
he was a good King and He loved his subjects and strived for their
welfare. People of Kerala are not forgetting their beloved King,
though thousands of years have gone by. They believe that the King
is blessed by Lord Vamana to come to Kerala once in a year and see
the subjects for himself. That day happens to be ONAM day.
Incidentally, this day falls immediately after the harvest season
when the food grains are aplenty and no scarcity whatsoever.
People dress in their best and eat well on this day and decorate
their houses especially the porticos with beautiful fresh flowers.
Now-a-days, various cultural programmes are also arranged. The
devotees of our Dear Swami from this rich Kerala had been allowed
to come and celebrate this magnificient festival in His immediate
presence. Swami had allotted 2 full days of year for this purpose.
This year however, the ONAM celebrations were allowed to be held
for 3 days. Musical programmes and cultural programmes from
different centres were conducted by Bal Vikas children.
Incidentally Onam this year was celebrated from 4th September. The
remarakable programme of this ear was a dance by a Bal Vikas
child: RUDRA THANDAVAM celestial dance of Lord Shiva. Immediately
at the end of the dance, Swami hurriedly climbed up the stage and
blessed the child with a Golden chain, materialized instantly by
Swami.
Bhagawan also blessed the vast gathering with His Divine Onam
Message, text of which is which is below:
Bombay Srinivasan
ONAM SANDESH : Divine Discourse
by Bhagavan Baba on 4-9-1998
(Text of Speech, circulated by Books and Publications Trust,
Prashanthi Nilayam)
THE IDEAL DEVOTEE
Sara Roopa Dharam Saantham, Sarva
Naama Dharam Sivam,Satchidanandam Advaitham, Sathya Sivam,
Sundaram
(Sanskrit Sloka)
Ellaarukkum Ennday
Aaseervaadangal (In Malayalam) meaning My blessings to all.
Embodiments of Love !
In this world, you will not find
Peace and Happiness anywhere. Being himself the embodiment of
Peace and Love, man is not able to experience them. Even though he
has these sacred qualities in him, man is not able to understand
this Truth, and is carried away by delusions. As a result, he is
subjected to endless troubles. In order to experience Divinity and
to find Peace and happiness, you do not need to search elsewhere.
In order to have a vision of your true self, you need to
understand your true identity.
What is which conceals the Truth
from man? It is only Mind. The clouds Which originate from the
rays of the Sun, cover the Sun Himself. When a strong wind blows,
the clouds get scattered and then you can see the Sun. Just as the
clouds cover the Sun, likewise the mind covers the Atma from which
it has originated.
Man today is drowned in ignorance
and is cut off from peace and happiness. Embodiments of Love! No
other creature has the Divine power present in man. But he is not
able to comprehend such Divine power which is latent in him. What
is the way to know this? Once you develop friendship with God, you
will realise all your powers. The Gita describes God as "Suhruth"
which means one who is totally selfless; one who does not expect
anything in return; one who does not harm anybody and one who is
the embodiment of Love. Man usually expects rewards for the help
he renders. But God is the only One who considers the welfare of
humanity as His happiness and does not have any expectations
whatsoever.
Bad qualities like hatred and
desire are responsible for restlessness. The worst enemy of
mankind is desire. In this world, an enemy today might become a
friend tomorrow and the friend today might become an enemy
tomorrow. But according to the Gita, desire always remains an
enemy to mankind. So, one should keep desire under control. The
desires are capable of ruining not only mankind, but also gods
like Indra and Chandra.
One can never satisfy one's
desires. Vedaanthha has compared desire to the fie and to the
ocean. Fire will never be satisfied, whatever may be the quantity
of firewood you put into it. The Gita has given the epithet,
'Analam', to the fire, which means that it can never be satisfied
and keeps asking for more and more. Similar is the case with the
ocean. It keeps accepting any number of rivers that merge in it,
and yet remains the same. Ocean and fire have no trace of
satisfaction. Therefore, limitless desires are compared to these
two.
Today, there is no harmony in
thought, word, and deed. There is unity anywhere. There is hatred
in every individual. To get rid of this hatred, one has to develop
friendship with God who is 'Hridayanivaasi'. If some one asks you,
where are you staying? you say that you are staying in a house or
in a hostel or in a hotel. Neither the hostel, nor hotel is your
dwelling place. It is the 'Hridaya' that is your dwelling place.
The whole world is like a book;
read it well. NATURE IS THE BEST TEACHER. There are lots of things
in this world to be known. You cannot find God by going through
a book or by undertaking spiritual sadhana. By constantly reading
books, one becomes a book himself! All that is contained
in'pusthaka' (book) is stored in the 'Masthaka' (head). Reading
books will only increase your doubts. The more intelligent you
are, the more you get doubts. Developing compassion is the real
sadhana. Only when you lead lives full of compassion, you will be
able to see God, the embodiment of compassion.
Embodiments of Love! Since
ancient times, Bharat has been standing for the peace and security
of the entire world, spreading the message of spirituality. You
should work for the peace and prosperity of the country. Whatever
work you undertake, do it for the welfare of the society.
Universal peace depends on the peace of the society; which in turn
depends of the peace of the individual. So the individual, the
society and the universe are interrelated and interdependent. But,
today man is bothered about himself and not the society. Today
people talk of peace, but actually cause restlessness in the
society, are in the increase. Though they are endowed with
intelligence, they act in a perverted manner. In that way can we
help such people? The only way is to open their 'Eye of Love' Prem
Nethram) Only through the Eye of Love, we can visualise world
peace. Without working for the welfare of the society, how can you
attain world peace? It is impossible. All wealth and prosperity
cannot confer True Happiness. People say America is a land of
prosperity. What is the use of all affluence? They do not have
peace of mind. Bharathias are the embodiments of peace. They may
not have such comforts, but have love for God.
Of the time one spends on
children, friends and worldly pleasures, acquiring wealth, power,
name and fame, if only a fraction is spent contemplating on the
Lotus feet of the Lord, one can even escape the mighty doors to
hell, the abode of Yama (God of Death) --. Sanskrit Poem.
Today, man has got limitless
worries. Birth, death, family life, childhood, old age,
livelihood, failure, all actions, difficulties, happiness, misery
- These are the twelve worries which are mainly responsible for
man's sorrow. O people, think of God and be free from all these
worries -Telugu poem.
In ancient times, the kings ruled
over their kingdoms in a righteous manner. The very name of
Emperor Bali, instills fear in the minds of people. But, Bali was
the very embodiment of compassion. He was an ardent devotee of
Lord Vishnu, and he upheld the principles of righteousness. God
loved him, since he had these three sacred qualities. It is enough
if you have Vishnu Bhakthi (devotion to Lord Vishnu). Only
devotion can make you free from misery. Prahlada always chanted
the name of Hari.
Narayana Bhaja
Narayan,
Narayana Bhaja Narayan, Narayan,
Thanu Mana Ranjana, Bhava Bhaya
Bhanjana, Asura Nkhandana Narayan
In spite of being pushed down
from mountains, drowned in the oceans, trampled by the wild
elephants, bitten by poisonous snakes, he repeated Narayana's
name. Only the name of Narayana helped him to overcome all these
troubles. Only devotion will make you forget all your problems and
experience bliss. Even Sakhubhai, the great devotee of Lord
Panduranga continuously chanted the name of Ranga in order to
overcome the troubles caused by her husband and mother-in-law.
Gora Kumbhar forgot all his worries singing the name of the Lord.
Such is the power of the Divine name.
What man needs today is Bliss.
Dhaka Nivruthi, Ananda Praapthi (Alleviation of misery and
attainment of Bliss) should be the sole aim of man. For this, man
has to make friendship with God. In this world, you may have many
friends. But all of them can only say Hello, How are you?,
Good-bye. Nothing more! God is not like that. He is always with
you, in you, around you, above you, and below you. Since man is
distancing himself from God, who is true and eternal friend, he is
subject to sorrow. Today, man is after money and power, and does
not think of God. How long do money and power last? They come and
go. That is what Sankaracharya said,'Maa Kuru, Dhana, jana,
yavvana Garvam, Harathi, Nimeshaat, Kaalah Sarvam Which means
money, power, and position are momentary and will not last long.
Bhaja Govindam,
Bhaja Govindam,
Govindam Bhaja Moodha Mathey
Samapraapthe Sannihithe Kaale
Nahi, Nahi Rakshathi Dhhukrun Karane
"Neither your studies, nor your
youth and wealth will come to your rescue in the end, So chant the
name of Govinda" Said Adi Shankara. God is only refuge and only He
can come to your rescue in the end. So develop faith in God. He is
the only Saviour. All the world that you see with your naked eyes
is only apparent Truth. All that you see is Pravritti (external
but there is basis for this. That is called 'Nivritti' (Internal)
The unseen roots are the basis for the tree, which is the seen.
For buildings, foundation is the basis. Today, you are bothered
about only the building (body) and of the foundation. Body is the
Temple of God. But what is the nature of this body? It is full of
dirt and diseases. It cannot cross the ocean of Samsaara. So, O
mind, never think that this body is permanent. Surrender yourself
at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. (Telugu Poem)
How long will this body remain?
Body is like water bubble; mind is like a mad monkey; so do not
follow the body; do not follow the mind; follow conscience. This
is the principle of Atma. But man follows the body and the mind,
leaving the conscience. No doubt, for earthly sojourn, the body
and the mind are necessary, but you should not give undue
importance to them.
Emperor Bali did undertake all
the sacred activities, but he had in him two bad qualities; ego
and possessiveness. ((Ahamkaaram and Abhimaanam) Even Arjuna had
these feelings during the Mahabhaaratha War. He began his address
to Krishna, uttering the syllable, 'Sva' which means ' Svaartha',
Svajana (I and my people) This is called 'Moha' (attachment). As
long as man does not give up this Moha, he will not get 'Moksha'
(liberation) All your education and jobs will not follow you at
the end. All these are passing clouds. That is why Gita said,
'Anithyam, Asuskham Lokam, Idam Praapya, Bhajasvamaam' (as the
world is temporary, and full of misery, think of God continuously
) Keeping God, who is eternal, in your heart, you should lead your
lives in this temporary world.
Once Bali performed Yajna, by
name 'Sarvajit' Vamana also attended this Yajna. Emperor Bali
welcomed him and paid his respects. Till then, Vamana did not ask
for anything. In fact, he was planing how to subdue the ego of
Emperor Bali. In this world, for any work, people plan in advance.
But God's plan is not ordinary one. God always thinks of the
future and plans accordingly. Vamana went to Emperor Bali and
asked for three foot steps of land. But his preceptor,
Sukhracharya warned him against giving what Vamana asked for,
since he knew who Vamana was, and the purpose for which He had
come. Then Bali said, 'Guruji, the hand of the giver is always on
the top, and the receiver's is at the bottom. When God Himself
comes to me and asks for something, His hand will be below that of
mine. That is enough for me'. Even there, we find a trace of the
Ego.
What is the inner meaning of the
inhalation and exhalation process, i.e., So-Ham 'So' means 'That'
(God) 'Ham' means 'I'. The sum and substance of this is, we have
to take God into us (So'- inhalation) and leave out Ahamkaaram
i.e.,ego (Ham'-Exhalation) This is called 'Hamsa Gayathri' This
Inhalation and Exhalation process goes on continuously for 21,600
times in a day in us. This means, you welcome God into you, and
drive out ego from you, as many times. So long there is ego in
you, you will never be happy. No doubt, Emperor Bali was a great
devotee, but he was also egoistic. Ego is a bad quality for a
devotee. Only through love,peace, humility and courage can you
over come ego. A true Guru should have six qualities Truth,
Righteousness, Peace, Love, Non-Violence, and Bliss. But
Sukracharya, did not have these qualities.
God came down in order to destroy
the ego of Bali and distribute Love to the entire world. Bali was
granted a boon that he should be allowed to come and visit his
people on this day, every year. That day is celebrated as Onam. Be
it an emperor or an innocent person, one can attain God only
through Love.
Many lights are glowing in this
hall. Some people are listening, some are dozing. The light is
unaffected by all these. It is a witness. Similarly, in the broad
day light, some do good, and some do bad. The Sun remains
unaffected by your deeds. Your bad actions can never harm God.
Your Good actions will never make Him happy either. Be it good or
bad, you will have to reap the fruits of your actions. God is
'Jyothirmayudu' (Embodiment of light) So, He has nothing to do
with your good or bad. He is just a witness. He is present in
everybody as conscience. That is why, I keep telling, 'Follow the
Master, Face the devil, Fight to the end, and Finish the Game. Who
is your master? Here, Conscience is your Master. So. Follow your
Conscience till the end of your life. Never give up in the middle.
Once you have Love in your Heart, you can
Accomplish anything. You should not
have hatred towards anybody. We should love even those who hate
us. As a result, there will the difficulties, the pleasures and
pains, the profits be transformation in their 'Hridaya'. 'Hri+
Daya = Hridaya, which means the heart should be full of
compassion. Humanity is also called 'Mankind' So man should have
compassion in his heart. But, today there is no compassion, only
fashions exists. So long fashion is there, compassion does not
find a place, because 'Hridaya' is a single chair; not a double
sofa, nor a musical chair.
'Life is game, play it' The
difficulties, the pleasures and pains, the profits and losses,
come and go like passing clouds. The very name of the world is
'Ja-gath'. Which means that which comes and goes. In this world
only God is permanent, everything else is transitory. But, we go
by this changing world, forgetting God. As a result of which, we
suffer.
Embodiments of Love! God is not
separate from you. He is in you. But you are distancing Him from
yourself. Out of the fire comes the ash, but it covers the fire
itself. Once you blow the ash away, you can see the fire.
Similarly, there is the fire of Divinity in you, but it is covered
by the ash of worldly desires. In order to see God, you do not
need to undertake any spiritual practices, all that you have to do
is to get rid of ignorance. God is more close to you than even
your own mother. You are distancing yourself from such Divinity.
That is ignorance. In order to get rid of this ignorance, you
should develop Love.
You are God! that is the
teachings of all the religions. Christ initially said, that 'I am
the Messenger of God'. There is always a distance between
Messenger and his Master. After sometime Christ said that 'I am
the Son of God'. Here the relationship with God has increased.
After a few more years, Christ said "I and My Father are One".
Then comes the Holy Ghost. This is what Bharathiyas described as
'Dvaita' (Dualism),Vishistaadvaita (Qualified Non-dualism) and
'Advaita' (Non-Dualism) and the state of 'Thureeya'. Even in
Zoroastrianism, it is said, 'I am in the light; the light is in
Me; and finally I am the light.' You should know the Truth that
you are God. You are a human being in for, but truly, you are God.
You are not the Body, the mind, the senses, the intellect; you are
You only. When I say, this is My hand kerchief, the kerchief is
separate from me. Similarly, when you say that this is my body,
the body is separate from you. Then who are you? The body, the
mind and senses are your instruments. You are the master. So
master the mind and be a Master of mind. Understand this truth and
conduct yourself accordingly. Then you will not suffer at all. In
times of difficulties, you should think of God more and more,like
Prahlada. You should love God more and more. Love has no limits.
No one can describe Love. So love is God, LIVE IN Love.
You are the embodiment of Love.
Yet you suffer because of your attachment to the body. What is the
body? This body is temporary and is bound to perish at any time.
Death can come at any point of time, be it in childhood, or in
youth, or in old age. Why do you attach so much importance to such
a body? So long you are alive, you have to maintain your body in
good shape. Body is like a chariot meant for travelling. Mind is
like a horse. Man today keeps the horse behind the chariot. As a
result of which, he is travelling in the reverse direction. Always
the horse should be in front of the chariot, which means we have
to give primary importance to the mind and next to the body. But,
today people all the time feed only their body and not the mind.
With the result the horse is becoming weaker and the chariot
heavier. How can a weak horse pull a heavy chariot? Just as you
feed your body thrice a day, your mind also should be fed
likewise. Prayer, meditation, or chanting of the names of God is
the breakfast for your mind..
Gayathri Manthra says,"Om Bhur
Bhuvah Suvah" 'Bhur' means Materialization 'Bhuvah' means
Vibration (Life force) 'Suvah' means Radiation (Prajnanam) All
these three are present in us. The same teaching is given to small
children at the time of 'Upanayana' (Thread ceremony). Such sacred
teachings are being forgotten today. In ancient times all these
were put into practice; now practice is replaced by Fashion. Only
by practice, can one get happiness. What we need is practical
science and not platform speeches. All the platform speeches are
out of bookish knowledge, which is of no use to us. We need to
have practical knowledge. Devotion bereft of practice is useless.
Embodiments of Love! Practice at
least one or two. Only then you will be peaceful. In a family of
three persons, if there is no unity among themselves, there will
be unrest. Similarly, if there is no unity in our thought, word
and deed, we will be totally restless. So, we should harmonise
these three. Let it be any name, constantly chant that name.
Always have the feeling that I am God, I am God. Then you become
God. As you think, so you become. That is what is called
"Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi"
All have devotion, all are
sincere, but there is no sacrifice. 'Bali' means sacrifice.
Emperor Bali could attain Divinity through his Devotion and
Sacrifice. Bharath is the birth place of people of great
sacrifices like Emperor Bali and Emperor Sibi. A pigeon sought the
refuge of Emperor Sibi on being chased by an eagle. Sibi granted
refuge to the pigeon. The eagle argued that the pigeon was its
prey. Then Sibi said, "O eagle! I will give you the flesh of my
body equal to the weight of the pigeon", and he started chopping
his own flesh. He made such great sacrifice for the sake of a
small pigeon! Such emperors are many in number in Bharath. We
should follow the ideals of such noble souls. Since ancient times,
Bharath has been the centre for all spiritual wealth spreading the
gospel of peace, happiness and security to the rest of the world.
The mind is nothing but a bundle
of desires. If you separate threads, cloth disappears. Similarly,
if you remove desires one by one, the mind ceases to exist. In
ancient times, this was referred to as 'Thyaga'(sacrifice). Today,
many people talk of 'thyaga' but in fact are immersed in 'Bhoga'
(pleasures) which results in 'Roga' (disease). In order to get rid
of this 'Roga' one has to cultivate 'Thyaga' and love for God.
"Start the day
with Love
Fill the day with Love
Spend the day with Love
End the day with Love
This is the way to God"
Embodiments of Love! Emperor Bali
served the people of Kerala, and sacrificed everything, including
his body. That is why he has attained such exalted position, not
possible for others. The devotion of the people of Kerala is
unparalleled. At one time, Kerala was considered to be a State,
but people have been going to the Padmanabha Swami Temple then and
now in large numbers. They get up early in the morning, have their
bath, apply sandal paste on their foreheads and offer their
prayers. There is no change in their devotion. Parties may come
and go, but the 'Hridaya party' (Party of the Spiritual Heart) is
permanent.
A Muslim should become a True
Muslim; a Christian should become a True Christian and a Hindu
should become a True Hindu. You should have full faith in your
religion and lead an ideal life. That is true 'Bhakthi'
(devotion),True 'Mukthi' (Liberation). To attain Mukthi, practice
the following principles. Forget all the harm done to you by
others, and help you had done to others. Then you will have peace
in your heart. If someone has done harm to you, do not be
revengeful. If someone has hurt your feelings, in order to
alleviate your suffering, the best way is to forget and forgive.
Forgiveness is very important. It is Truth, It is Dharma, It is
Veda, it is non-violence, it is happiness, it is Heaven itself.
This forgiveness is everything in all the worlds. So cultivate
this sacred quality of forgiveness. This is possible only by
developing Love of God.
Bhagavan concluded His Discourse
with the Bhajans
Prema Mudita Manase Kaho...
and Subramanian Subramanian
Source:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaiBabaLeelas/message/303
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