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Sai Pearls of Wisdom - 14
February 11, 2003
Professor Anil Kumar has presented
this talk as an extra satsang. He has selected important messages
Baba has imparted to the students gathered around Him during the
afternoon sessions on the veranda at Prashanti Nilayam. These
talks will continue.
ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG:
BABA'S CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS
“Sai Pearls of Wisdom”
Part 14
February 11th, 2003
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram!
JUNE 2001
Chronology of conversations of Bhagavan With students and teachers
The months and the period are given with reference to the coverage
published in the Telugu Sanathana Sarathi (the monthly spiritual
newspaper printed by the Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publication
Trust). I usually write all that is transacted in the Divine
dialogues with Swami, and send them for publication to the Telugu
Sanathana Sarathi. So the chronology for the months mentioned
here, refer to the month of publication in the Telugu Sanathana
Sarathi. I think that is clear.
So we started with the year 2001. Having done the whole of 2002
with the Divine Grace, we have come to 2001, and all that relates
to the month of June 2001.
With prayers to Swami, soliciting His blessings on everybody here,
I start this evening, the month of June, year 2001. We will go
episode by episode.
Values are on THE decline
This is a mythological story. I do not know how many of you know
the Ramayana (the story of the Hero, the Divine Son of Emperor
Dasaratha), or how many of you know the story of Mahabharata (epic
account of the great war – its origin, course and outcome -
between the five Pandavas brothers and the hundred Kauravas). But
since you have been here several times before, and heard
Bhagavan's discourses, it is my foolishness to think that you have
no idea. (Laughter) I am not all that bad. So you will certainly
have some idea of the great epic Ramayana.
One day, Bhagavan as usual sat on the chair in the evening after
completing His interviews. Then He began in a disappointed manner.
He said, “Ideas are perverted today. The behaviour is improper
today. Affections are missing. Times have changed. The mentality
and attitude of people is very disappointing. They are totally
different from the past.” That was the initial comment of
Bhagavan.
Then Bhagavan started substantiating His statement by making
references to the mythology of this land. Bhagavan said that in
the ancient days, values had played a predominant role in society.
People held values in very high esteem. And today, values are on
the decline.
He mentioned the three wives of King Dasaratha, from the epic
Ramayana. As Baba told it, the three wives of the king were so
intimate that their relationship was as if they were born to the
same mother. Sisterly feeling they had. They never had any sense
of competition. They lived in unity and love. And then Bhagavan
mentioned a point connected with the birth of Rama, Lakshmana,
Bharatha and Shatrughna, the four brothers in that great epic
Ramayana. Am I all right, do you follow me?
King Dasaratha had to marry three wives. Why? Because he had no
children from the first marriage. So the first wife prayed to him
again and again to get married because there should be an heir to
the throne. So, in response to her prayers he married again. Even
then he didn’t have children.
Both the queens then prayed to him to marry again. And he married
again. So that was why he had three wives. The name of the first
wife is Kausalya; the second wife, Sumithra; the youngest wife,
Kaikeyi.
Well, he was deeply frustrated, as he still had no children. So
his preceptor Vasistha, advised him to perform yaga (a sacred
ritual), to appease the gods so that he would be blessed with
children.
So Dasaratha, with these three queens, did yaga as per the
instructions of the family preceptor, Vasistha. That’s how the
story goes. And out of the fire, came the Fire God with a golden
vessel of pudding -- you know pudding, something like your
porridge.
And there the Fire God said, “Oh king, let your three queens
divide this pudding into three parts, and each partake of their
portion tonight. And they will beget children.”
That was the blessing of the Fire God, and the Fire God
disappeared.
Birth of Rama
Accordingly, King Dasaratha asked for three golden vessels and
divided the rice pudding into three parts. He called the wives and
gave one portion to each with instructions to eat the pudding
without fail, saying a word of prayer in order to have children.
Yes, the three queens then washed their hair, the first queen, the
second queen and also the third queen. But it so happened, the
second queen, Sumithra, after having washed her hair, climbed up
to the terrace of the palace. She placed that golden vessel of
rice pudding on the parapet wall and then started drying her hair.
A thought flashed into her mind, which went like this.
‘Look here, if the elder one, Kausalya the first queen, should
have a son, he is going to be the king. Or, if by any chance the
youngest, Queen Kaika, should have a son, he will be the king, as
per the promise given by Dasaratha at the time of marriage.
Anyway, in either case, I am going to be the loser. If I have
children, they have to serve either the son of the first wife, or
the son of the third wife. My son can never have the position of
king.’
See, this was the thought that flashed into her mind. In the
meantime, an eagle flew by and picked up that golden tumbler with
the rice pudding and flew -- flew from that place. Then Sumithra
was in a panic, her legs trembling, her voice fumbling, totally
afraid of her husband, for she had not partaken of the rice
pudding as per his instructions.
Afraid of punishment, she went softly, prayerfully to the first
queen, Kausalya. She told all that had happened to her. Similarly,
she also told the youngest, Queen Kaika, all that had happened to
her.
“See, you have that golden cup with rice pudding, you also have a
golden cup with rice pudding. My golden cup is lost because that
eagle came along and flew off with it. I don’t know what will
happen to me. I don’t know what punishment King Dasaratha will
give to me. I am very afraid. Sisters, you should help me.”
Naturally, the two others took pity upon her. The first queen
said, “Don’t worry; I will give half of my share. Don’t worry.
Bring another golden cup. I will give half of my lot.”
Similarly, the other one, the youngest one, Kaika, said, “Don’t
worry sister. I will give half of my lot.”
In that way, the middle queen, Sumithra, received half of the
pudding belonging to the first queen, Kausalya, and half of the
pudding belonging to the last queen, Kaika. All of them prayed and
worshipped that night, partaking of the rice pudding as per
instructions.
And all of them, naturally, by the grace of the Fire God and as a
result of that sacred ritual, begot sons. The first queen,
Kausalya, gave birth to Ramachandra. The youngest, Kaika, gave
birth to Bharatha; whereas the second one, Sumithra, gave birth to
twins. One is Lakshmana and the other one is Shatrughna. The
reason for the birth of twins is that she had received half the
share of the pudding from Kausalya, and half the share of the
pudding from Kaika. So she gave birth to twins.
A Divine Plan
And Baba explained this, saying, “Look, this is the Divine plan:
Out of the two that Sumithra had, Lakshmana always stayed in the
company of Rama. The other one, Shatrughna, always stayed in the
company of Bharatha. The first half of the cup shared with
Kausalya resulted in the birth of Lakshmana, so Lakshmana was
always in the company of Rama. The half cup shared with Kaika was
responsible for birth of Shatrughna, who always spent his time in
the company of Bharatha.”
Sumithra was so lucky, that both of her sons served their
brothers. This, too, Bhagavan explained: “Will you find that kind
of love, that kind of intimacy, that sort of sympathy and
consideration among queens of this type? All the three are the
wives of the king. They never fought with each other. They lived
in perfect harmony and unity.”
And then Bhagavan mentioned a small anecdote from Ramayana:
Four swings or cradles were ordered and each child was laid to
sleep in the cradle. But Lakshmana went on crying, day in and day
out. The mother, Sumithra, could not do anything to stop the baby
from crying. Nobody in the kingdom could solve the problem. The
child went on crying.
But finally the preceptor, Vasistha, came and said, “Look here,
Lakshmana does not want to be separate from Rama. Take this child
and place him in Rama’s cradle where he is lying.” So they took
the baby Lakshmana to lay at the side of Rama. And the baby
stopped crying.
So it was like that right from the beginning. Lakshmana followed
Rama, as his shadow. Similarly, Shatrughna followed Bharatha, as
his shadow. They always lived together. That was the kind of
fraternity, the brotherhood that they had.
The two other brothers in Ramayana
Well, you must have understood by now that my nature is to always
put questions in order to get answers from Bhagavan (Laughter).
The answers from Bhagavan are authentic. We don’t have to question
them because He is same Rama, born now as Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba. He is able to explain much better and in a more authentic
way than anybody, or any other book for that matter.
Then I said, “Swami, there are two other brothers in Ramayana. One
is Vali and the other is Sugriva. There was no brotherhood between
them. Though they were brothers, they always fought with each
other; whereas, today you are saying that Rama, Lakshmana,
Bharatha, Shatrughna lived in friendship, understanding and
fraternity. You also said Kausalya, Sumithra and Kaikeyi had the
relationship and the bondage of love only. But I don’t find any
kind of understanding or amity between Vali and Sugriva. Though
they are brothers, they fought with each other. How do you explain
this, Swami?”
With a smile He said, “There was no fighting between them.
(Laughter) There was no enmity between them. There was only
misunderstanding.” (Laughter)
“Oh I see. (Laughter) Why, then, Swami, was there this
misunderstanding?”
Misunderstanding between brothers
“The elder brother, Vali, had an enemy by name Dundubhi. This
Dundubhi was always fighting with Vali over an issue involving a
woman. Dundubhi came to Vali and said, ‘Come on, fight with me, if
you have guts!’ ”
“Vali, being a warrior, started chasing Dundubhi. Dundubhi was up
running in front, and Vali was chasing him. At that moment, Vali
called his younger brother, Sugriva. ‘Brother, I am leaving this
kingdom. I am going to fight with my enemy. You be in charge of
this kingdom until I return.’ ”
“But Sugriva felt his elder brother, Vali, might need his help.
So, instead of staying in the kingdom, he too started running with
Vali, chasing Dundubhi. So, Dundubhi was running in front, after
him came Vali, and behind him, Sugriva. Finally they reached a
cave, and Dundubhi ran into the cave to hide so that he would not
get killed by Vali.”
“Then Vali turned back and saw Sugriva, his younger brother,
following him. He told him, ‘Please don’t follow me. You be here
at the entrance; you stay here at the entrance. If you follow me,
if both of us are killed, who will rule the kingdom?’ “
“With such good intentions, he asked his younger brother to stay
at the entrance of the cave, and Vali chased Dundubhi. They ran,
ran and ran, ran for days and weeks. Ultimately Vali caught hold
of Dundubhi and killed him. Being a mighty person, a hefty person,
the blood started flowing out of the cave.”
“Sugriva, being at the entrance, saw the blood flowing out of the
cave. Then he thought that his brother must also have died in the
battle, fighting with Dundubhi. So he thought he should go back to
his kingdom to rule. In the absence of the elder brother, the
younger brother should serve as the king. So he got a very big
boulder - something like a door - and shut off the entrance. He
then returned and began looking after the kingdom.”
“In the meantime, Vali came back from within the cave to go
outside. He saw the big boulder blocking the entrance. He gave a
kick and it fell down. Then he ran - he ran to his kingdom. There
he saw his younger brother, Sugriva, on the throne with queens on
either side, enjoying himself.”
“Then Vali thought that Sugriva actually wanted him to die. He
totally misunderstood him.
Out of fury and anger, he gave him a kick on his chest.”
“Sugriva fell down and cried. He started pleading with him,
‘Brother, my intention was not to rule the kingdom, please
understand me. Since the blood started flowing out of the cave, I
thought that you died there. Therefore, I came here to take charge
of the kingdom. Please don’t misunderstand me.’ “
“But his brother said, ‘Shut up. I know your intention!’
“That’s how the enmity started; that’s where hatred began. In
fact, Vali and Sugriva, as brothers, had been very fond of each
other until this misunderstanding.”
I can only tell you, brothers and sisters, here, Bhagavan Sri
Sathya Sai Baba will never make any role, any single character
cheap. He will take every position, every role to exalted heights
by telling some message behind every character.
Dhruva’s penance
Then I started speaking, “What a nice story it is, Swami. I have
not heard it before. Thank You very much. But...” (Laughter)
“Ah, but what?”
“Swami, I heard of a boy, by name Dhruva, who didn’t get along
well with his brother. He had a fight with him. You say that epics
speak of total brotherhood, all idealism. How do you explain the
relationship between Dhruva and his brother?”
Then Baba started narrating the whole story:
“Dhruva happens to be the son of a king, by name Uttanapada. That
king, Uttanapada, had two wives. One is Suruchi; the other one is
Suneethi. Suruchi had a son by the name of Uttama. Suneethi had a
son by the name of Dhruva. But King Uttanapada was very fond of
Suruchi, and not of Suneethi.”
Here, friends, I should tell you: Suruchi and Suneethi are two
names with an inner meaning. Suruchi means - the one who is
agreeable, the one who is so endearing. Suneethi means - the one
who is moral. Names also convey a message. Every name provides an
explanation.
“Now, one day, when King Uttanapada was seated on the throne,
Uttama, the son of his second wife, Suruchi, came and sat on his
lap. This was noticed by Dhruva, the son of the first wife,
Suneethi.”
“Dhruva also wanted to sit on the lap of the father and ran
towards him. But the stepmother, Suruchi, didn’t like this. She
pushed that boy away from the father and shouted, ‘You have no
business to sit on the lap of your father. Get out!’ “
“Dhruva was very sad and told his mother, ‘Mother I was not
permitted to sit on the lap of father like the other brother. What
can I do?’ “
“The mother also cried and said, ‘There is no alternative. I
cannot help you, my son.’ That’s what she said.”
“Then Dhruva decided to do some penance to please God and obtain
the right to sit on his father’s lap. While going to the forest,
he met a sage called Narada.”
“Narada said, ‘Oh boy, where are you going?’ “
“He said, ‘Oh sage, my humble salutations to you. I am going to do
penance in the dense forest. I want God to be pleased with me and
grant me my wish to sit on the lap of my father.’ ”
“Narada took pity upon him and gave him a mantra (God's Name) to
repeat.”
“Accordingly, Dhruva went to the dense forest, repeating the
mantra again and again. God manifested in front of him and said,
‘Oh boy, what do you want?’ “
“This boy Dhruva said, ‘I want liberation.’ “ (Laughter)
“Then God said, ‘No, no, no. You started your penance with the
sole aim of getting the right to sit on the lap of the father.
That was your original wish. Now you are asking for liberation.
You are wrong; you should not do that. Moreover, there’s a long
period before liberation for you. You are still a young boy. Get
married, rule the kingdom, and after you leave this body, you will
be liberated. You will remain as a star in the sky permanently.’ “
“Even today, people refer to that Dhruva star, which shines more
than the other stars.”
That’s what Bhagavan explained that day.
You wear coloured glasses
Then I said, “Swami, I wonder at how beautifully You raise the
level of every character. Only You can do that, no one else. You
don’t consider any character mean or low. You take them to
heights. I am full of wonder.” This I said joyfully.
Baba replied like this: “Anil Kumar, all are good to me. All
appear good to me. From my point of view, there are none who are
bad. All are good. Because you wear coloured glasses, some look
bad to you. But to Me, all are good because I am full of Love.
With Love, you find everything good and perfect. However…” (This
is the conditional clause of Bhagavan.)
“However, I appear to be serious. I appear to be disturbed. I
appear to be angry. Not that you are bad, no. I want to correct
you, in case you may turn bad later. (Laughter) I want you to be
ideal. To correct you, I pretend to be angry, but anger is not in
Me.” That’s what Baba said.
Then I said, “Swami, You are so kind. You have spoken enough about
Ramayana as an epic of ideals, depicting unity, co-ordination,
love and understanding. But I have a doubt. Bharatha is not like
that. Mahabharata, another epic, is not like that. It does not
speak of brotherhood. It does not speak of ideals. But you say
that all ancient epics are full of ideals. I don’t understand,
Swami. Please explain.”
UNITE AGAINST A COMMON FOE
Then Swami started explaining like this: “You are mistaken. There
are 100 brothers - the Kauravas - 100. The Kauravas are 100
brothers. The Pandavas are only five brothers. The total = 105.
You are saying that there is no brotherhood among them, no love
among them. You are wrong.”
“Why?”
“The eldest of the five of the Pandavas, Dharmaja, went in search
of some drinking water somewhere far away. And there he saw a
tank, out of which he wanted to collect some drinking water for
his brothers. He was about to touch that water when an angel,
Gandharva, appeared and said, ‘Don’t touch this water. Don’t touch
this water. You have no authority.’ “
“He said, ‘My brothers are dying out of thirst. I want water
please.’ “
“Then the angel Gandharva said, ‘If you answer my questions, I
will permit you to fetch the water, and grant boons, also.’ “
“Dharmaja answered all the questions most satisfactorily. They
were very beautiful, wonderful questions called yaksha prashna.
Prashna is a question, put by yaksha (an angel).”
We will have a separate session on yaksha prashna, full of deep
philosophy, which will be of immense interest to all of you.
Incidentally, if I am not misled, I am full of praise for all of
you, because you don’t seem to be fed up with me. (Laughter) You
don’t seem to be bored with me. You don’t seem to think my speech
is monotonous. I sincerely say it reflects more on your devotion
to Bhagavan than on my capacity to speak! I know full well
regarding that point. I really appreciate your interest in the
subject. May God bless you!
"Now, this angel, Gandharva, was extremely pleased with the eldest
of the Pandavas, Dharmaja, and said, ‘What do you want? What do
you want?’ “
“Dharmaja said, ‘I want all my brothers to be brought back to
life.’ You see, every brother went there to the tank. Every
brother made an attempt to drink water, but none could answer the
angel’s questions, so they were cursed to death.”
“So, all the fellows died there - only Dharmaja survived. And when
the yaksha asked, ‘What is your desire?’ he replied, ‘Only one
desire - that all my brothers should be brought back to life.’ “
“And the result was that all the 104 brothers were brought back to
life.”
“Then somebody asked, ‘Dharmaja, look here. Those 100 Kauravas are
your enemies. You Pandavas are five. You should not have asked for
the revival of those 100 sons called Kauravas, who are your deadly
enemies.’ “
“Then Dharmaja, the eldest, started explaining in this way. ‘Among
us, those 100 belong to one party. We five belong to another
party. But when we face a third party, we are not 100; we are not
five. We are 105! When it’s a matter of a fight with a third
person, we stand united.’”
What a lesson it is. Even today, if all nations learn to stand
united, if all people learn to stand united, the world would be a
paradise. The world would be the very heaven, beyond doubt. That’s
how Bhagavan explained it.
Who is greater?
Then, “Swami, in Mahabharata there are two characters I have come
across. One is Vidura; the other is Sanjaya. Two characters. Of
these two, who is greater than the other?”
That is my question. Both are great people; both are noble people.
But I wanted to grade them - you know, first class, second class,
as in an examination. (Laughter)
But our compassionate God, in His infinite mercy gave the answer:
“Vidura is a scholar. He is fully familiar with ethics, morals and
the conduct of life, whereas the other man, Sanjaya, always stayed
in the company of Krishna and led a righteous life. He led a
spiritual life. Therefore, Sanjaya is greater than Vidura,” He
said.
"Oh, I see, Swami.”
“Who is Sanjaya, Swami? Is he the Sanjaya of whom You are
speaking? Because we all think that Vidura is greater than
Sanjaya.”
Swami said, “It was the Sanjaya who heard Bhagavad Gita (the
dialogue between Arjuna, one of the five Pandavas, and Krishna,
Arjuna’s charioteer and an Avatar of God), and started reporting
to Dhritharashtra (the father of the Kauravas). (Note: Arjuna was
confused and deeply unhappy. He was on a battlefield, where he was
about to kill kinsmen, friends, and revered teachers. He
surrendered his will to Krishna, asking for knowledge and
spiritual guidance. Then Krishna taught the Truth to the
distressed Arjuna. This dialogue became immortalised as the
‘Bhagavad Gita’ – ‘The Song of God’.) It was Sanjaya who could see
the entire battlefield there, as if on TV, and he communicated
what he saw and heard to Dhritharashtra. Therefore, Sanjaya is
certainly greater than Vidura.”
God is not responsible
“Swami, having heard these nice stories from you, I have one
question, Bhagavan.”
"You always have questions. (Laughter). Umm...come on, ask. What
is your question?”
“Swami, what is pralaya? “
“Pralaya means ‘extinction’. Extinction.”
“Then is extinction of humanity due to man's actions or God's
Will? How is it going to happen? How will extinction of humanity
occur? Is it through man’s mistake, or the Will of God?”
God won’t accept that it is His mistake. He will defend His own
stand as usual. (Laughter)
Now He looked at me and said, “Extinction is man’s fault. God is
not responsible.” (Laughter)
“Oh, I see Swami.” (Laughter)
“Then, what is the position of God?“
“God is a witness. (Laughter) That’s all. He is not responsible.”
“Swami, how are we responsible then?”
“Your selfishness, your greed, hatred, lust, anger - all your
weaknesses lead to extinction. God is not the cause because He is
the other name of Love.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
And He mentioned an earthquake, which was in Gujarat. You must
have heard about it. Swami said, “There is a loss of human lives
numbering to thousands. That is a sort of extinction.” That’s what
Bhagavan said. “And today, the modern mind of selfishness, where
behaviour is so distorted, diverted, perverted, that only is
responsible for pralaya or extinction.”
“Swami, I think we are not responsible. (Laughter) These are the
effects of Kali (Iron, meaning dark or wicked) Age. (Laughter).
Prabhava means effect. So I am bad because of the effect of the
Kali Age. So, humanity cannot be blamed, Swami. Such is the Kali
Age. What can I do?” (Laughter)
Bhagavan immediately said, "Hey, why do you talk like that? It is
not the effect. You should not change your swabhava, your nature,
according to the effect. Those influences should not affect you.
You should not change your nature, and be a victim of the effect.”
That’s what Bhagavan said.
This is the lesson, my friends, which I want to explain: Swabhava
is the nature, prabhava the effect. Just because I am affected by
the modern culture, just because I am affected by modern
civilization, I should not change my nature. All that is external
is prabhava - the effect. But all that is mine, innate, inborn, is
swabhava, my own nature.
Baba said, “Never change your nature according to the surrounding
influences.”
I see somebody smoking. That is the effect. So I think, ‘Let me
also smoke.’ It means that I am changing my innate nature, which
is wrong. So let there be any number of influences, but we should
not change. That is the lesson.
No profit, no loss
In the meantime, He called out one person from the devotees.
“Come here. Hmmm, what are you doing?”
He said, “Swami, well, I run the canteen in the Super Speciality
Hospital.”
“Hmmm. Good.”
Then Bhagavan, with all affection, said softly, “Look here, you
should maintain the same standard - equal to, the same as, in our
hostel and in our canteen. The items should not only be delicious,
they should also be quantitatively good. So, all the food that you
serve should be qualitatively and quantitatively rich enough. And
moreover, look here. Prices should not be very high. Bring down
the prices. Many of the devotees who come here can't spend money
like that. So you should be cheap. ‘No profit, no loss’ should be
the motive because we are not running a business here.” That’s
what Bhagavan has said. Then while talking to that man, He looked
at me. (Laughter)
I have to take care of them
Then He said, “Look here, all these things I have to take care of
Myself. I have to inquire, ‘What is happening there in the
canteen?’ ‘What is happening in the college?’ ‘What is happening
with the stores?’ ‘What is happening in the hospital?’ All these
things I notice, do you know that? I have to take care of them. I
have to personally take care of them.” That’s what Baba is. Swami
explained that.
On hearing that, to be honest, I took pity upon Him (Laughter)
because there is nobody to help Him. He has to struggle a lot.
(Laughter)
Steps to happiness?
Then suddenly He looked at a book I was holding. The title of the
book is Steps to Happiness. He asked for that book. “Yes, what is
this? Not any novel or any fiction?”
I, with all my courage, took it to Him. Swami looked at the book
and read the title:
“Steps to Happiness?” (Laughter)
“Yes, Swami.”
Then He said, “Are there any steps to happiness?” (Laughter)
What am I to say?
“Swami, I have yet to read it. (Laughter) I can only reply after I
finish.” (Laughter)
Then Baba said, “There are no steps to happiness. Happiness is
only one step. That’s all, there are no other steps.”
“Oh, Swami, only one? What is it?”
“Union with God is happiness. Union with God is happiness. There
are no steps to happiness.” So saying, Swami left that place that
evening.
JULY 2001
And now I pass on to the next episode, which was in the month of
July 2001.
Definition of Service
This is an interesting session. I do not mean that the earlier
ones are not interesting (Laughter). One is more interesting than
the other. The interest is deeper and deeper, more and more as we
complete one session after another session.
The Divine dialogues are sweet. The Divine conversations are so
precious. They are so valuable. And our friends here, who are
endeavouring to make the Divine conversations available to all the
devotees around the world, please believe me from the bottom of my
heart, I am telling you, yours is the highest and the greatest
service. There is no doubt about it. Single-handedly, I cannot do
it.
Baba gave one definition to this word ‘service’. I want all of you
to understand because you may not be aware of the service you are
doing. Therefore, I have to tell you - and this is not to flatter
you or because I expect anything from anybody. You must know by
now: I do not expect anything from anybody at any time. It is
enough if I receive His boundless Grace and Mercy. That’s enough.
It is enough if He talks to me every day like this. It is enough
if I convey the message like this to everybody. This is the thing
I like most. Nothing else. Nothing else.
What did Baba say about this word ‘service’?
Definition of ‘service’: Anything that you do to take a person
near God is the highest act of service. Serving in the canteen and
the stores are acts of service, no doubt. But the highest service
is this: to share the message of Sai with everybody in order to
take devotees closer and closer to God. What more do we want in
life? We thank Swami for this opportunity given to us.
Types of Karma
In the time left, I can talk to you on karma. K-a-r-m-a = Action.
Bhagavan spoke to us in the evening on this topic, karma. Karma is
action. Most of you know that. He referred to various types of
karmas, various types of actions, and He permitted me to liberally
and generously put questions in between, keeping the topic focused
in a particular direction.
When Swami is speaking on karma, I should not put a question on
bhakthi or devotion. That is wrong. I should not say, “Swami,
speak of Your childhood days.” They don’t fit into the context. So
we should carry on the discussion along the same wavelength that
Bhagavan initiates. So, He decided to speak on karma that evening.
Oh, what a nice talk it was! This point - the first point with
which I will start - may be quite new to the foreigners. Why?
Because this concept is not present in any other religion.
Karma is of three types. Karma has other meanings also:
- The fruits of action
- The consequences of action
- The rewards of action
These are also the meanings of the
word karma. Swami mentioned three names:
-
The first, Prarabdha: Prarabdha karma means the consequences of
the results of the past life, of the actions of the previous life.
Am I clear, please?
-
The second - the results of the actions in the present life is
called Samchitha.
-
The third - the results of the actions for the future are called
Aagami.
So the consequences of the results are what we get from all the
three periods of time - the past, present and future. Those of the
past are called Prarabdha, those of the present are Samchitha and
those of the future are Aagami. That’s what Bhagavan has said.
You cannot escape from the consequences of your actions
“Swami, what is the difference between these three? The
consequences of our actions - past, or present, or the future -
what does it matter? Would you please tell us the difference
between them?”
Then Baba said, “Whether they are of the past, of the present or
of the future, you can be definite and you can be certain that you
cannot escape from the consequences of your actions. Good actions
will bear good results. Bad actions will yield bad results. You
cannot escape from the consequences of your actions.”
Brothers and sisters,
As we act, let us be aware of this. We may act happily, and then
face the consequences with tears - by which time it will be too
late. So let us act well; then the results also will be equally
good. It is a caution, if not a warning.
Bhagavan gave one example. Here is a train. It has three
compartments – first-class, second-class and third-class. The
train travels onwards and reaches the platform. All the three
compartments arrive at the platform - not just the first-class
compartment, not just the second-class compartment, and it is
never just the third-class compartment. All the three compartments
reach the platform. Similarly, the consequences of the three
periods of time face you. Accept the results; face the challenges.
Good for good; bad for bad. Whatever may be, that’s what Bhagavan
has said.
With the last point, I close this session.
“Swami, we see many bad people prospering (Laughter). Don’t they
face consequences? For instance, a fellow like me faces so many
difficulties, while another fellow has no problem at all. He is a
number one rogue (Laughter), but he seems to prosper. Well, I
don’t experience that at all. Why? Should it happen?”
Baba said, “It may appear like that – anipinchu - it may seem like
that. But results of actions – thinipinchu - will make you face
them, unconditionally. It may appear as if there was an escape;
but, be without doubt, the results of actions will make you face
them.”
That’s what Bhagavan has said and we will proceed with the rest of
the matter, I think tomorrow, right? Tomorrow.
OM… 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
Source:
http://www.internety.com/saipearls/11.02.2003%20(E)%20central.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/
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