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Sai Pearls of Wisdom - 18
February 20, 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 verandah at Prashanti Nilayam. These
talks will continue.
ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG:
BABA'S CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS
“Sai Pearls of Wisdom”
Part Eighteen
February 20th, 2003
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram
Pranams to the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we will go over the material published in the February 2001
Telugu Sanathana Sarathi.
Published in February 2001 Telugu Sanathana Sarathi
Interview to Thousands
We know Swami’s darshan has a wonderful impact on everybody. The
moment we see Swami, we feel energetic, enthusiastic and we turn
dynamic. So also with the absence of physical darshan for a
prolonged period of time, we feel the pangs of separation. We feel
very lonely, isolated and even physically weak.
When Swami talks to students and teachers every evening on the
veranda, we can think of it as a ‘mass interview’. He is giving an
interview to thousands at a time. All of you see Him, thousands
will hear Him, and all are benefited. Isn’t that right? It is more
or less, a mass interview indeed!
Know Him in Spirit
By listening to Swami’s private conversations of this kind, apart
from His public discourses, we have the benefit of knowing Him in
spirit. We will understand Him spiritually, which will ultimately
help us experience Him spiritually.
Therefore it is necessary for all of us to know our God, our dear
God to whom we pray. If we just pray to Him without knowing Him,
then it is only mechanical and routine. However, if we know Him,
understand Him and then pray, we will experience the fruits
thereof. That is what the sage Thyagaraja said long ago. One has
to know the God whom one worships.
Slave to Taste - Life is Waste
That evening Bhagavan chose to speak about health. He said that we
should be slim and trim. We should not feel heavy. We should be
able to get up immediately after eating our food and not feel like
we are dragging our body. Furthermore He said that some people
have a very hefty body, but thin legs. Their legs are thin, while
their body is very well built. Baba said such a body is like a
building with weak pillars: the building may collapse at any time.
Such poor legs cannot bear the heavy weight of the body and that
sometimes causes arthritis and bone problems. So, people should
take care not to be heavy-bodied, or give way to obesity.
Swami said, “If we become a slave to our taste, then life is a
waste.”
Then Bhagavan started speaking about the past. Twenty-five or
thirty years ago, Bhagavan used to visit the East Godavari
District in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Actually He visited every
village in that district.
Swami said, “You know in those days I traveled everywhere by car.
The car had to pass through so many towns and, in spite of the
long journey, believe it or not, I didn’t eat a thing along the
way. I didn’t eat and I didn’t drink.”
And further Bhagavan talked about Rahim, a driver He once had.
Swami said He used to give fruits to Rahim, and sing songs for
him. He would also tell him stories so Rahim wouldn’t fall asleep
while driving at night.
Swami said, “I used to joke with him: ‘Oh driver Rahim, you are in
the front seat while I am in the back seat. As the car speeds up,
all the jolts come to Me - not to you.’”
Vishwamithra Requests Protection From Rama and Lakshmana
And then Bhagavan started talking about the Ramayana. You know
Rama and Lakshmana are two brothers in the story. Sage
Vishwamithra wanted the two brothers to follow him into the forest
to protect the yagna he had decided to perform. The forest was
full of demons who always attacked the saints and sages who
performed the rites. Vishwamithra wanted Rama and Lakshmana to
help him, not because he could not defeat those demons himself,
but rather because a person who performs a yagna should not kill
anybody. That was the discipline. So, Vishwamithra went to
Dasaratha, the boys’ father, to request permission.
He asked the king, “Oh Dasaratha, send your two sons along with
me.”
Dasaratha started crying, “I cannot send them along with you.
These children were born only after a very, very long period of
waiting and penance and I cannot part with them.”
Vishwamithra replied, “Oh King, you made a promise that you would
do whatever I asked. Now you cannot break that promise.”
Dasaratha said, “Oh Vishwamithra, please leave my two children
alone. They are young children - tiny ducks. I cannot live without
them. I will follow you. I will protect your yagna.”
Then Vishwamithra said, “Look here Dasaratha, you belong to a
lineage where people lived and died for truth. Now you want to
break your promise?”
In this way, Vishwamithra insisted that Rama and Lakshmana be sent
along with him.
And further Vishwamithra added, “Oh King, I don’t know what kind
of attachment you have. You think that Rama and Lakshmana are your
sons; but you don’t know who they are. They are actually Divine.
Rama is God Himself. So, why do you worry? Why do you think that
they are just your children?”
Speaking thus, Vishwamithra ultimately succeeded in taking the two
boys along with him to the forest to safeguard and protect his
yagna.
After some hard travelling and with evening approaching,
Vishwamithra had the two brothers come close to him. He said,
“Look here, Rama and Lakshmana, night is fast approaching and
there will be demons around. They may try to kill you. You will
need to stay awake throughout the night in order to keep the
demons away from this place.”
“You are princes, children of a great king, so you are accustomed
to eating costly and delicious food, which is not available in
this forest. Therefore, my dear boys, I will teach you two forms
of knowledge: one is Bala and the other is Athibala. These two
forms of knowledge will allow you to get along without sleep and
you won’t have to eat either, because you will lose your appetite.
Don’t worry.”
Delusion of Vishwamithra
Then Bhagavan said, “See how Vishwamithra was deluded? Earlier he
said to Dasaratha, ‘Why do you think they are your sons? Rama is
God.’ Then later, the same Vishwamithra told the boys that there
were demons in the forest who might attack them, so he would teach
them these two forms of knowledge. On the one hand, he said they
were Divine, while on the other, he had forgotten this. He took
them as ordinary boys and wanted to instruct them.”
So, delusion is so powerful that even saints and sages are also
carried away by it. Similarly, at times we may feel that Baba is
God. Yes. But, after some time we think, “Does He know that I am
suffering? Does He really know my problems? Does He know that my
visa is going to expire soon? Does He know whether my return
tickets are confirmed or not?” We start to doubt Him. But later,
He is God again: “He appeared in my dream; He told me this and
that, and everything happened as He showed.” So these are the
effects of illusion or delusion.
Discipline Your Food Habits
Bhagavan continued, “Rama ate figs from the forest. There were a
few fruit trees available there, so He ate the fruits He wanted,
and gave the rest to the birds and other animals present. Like
this, boys, you have to discipline your food habits. You should
not eat too much.”
“Swami, is it possible to exercise any discipline with regard to
food at this age?”
What I meant was that I am not prepared to discipline my food
habits. I like spicy food, the Andhra pickles, hot, hot stuff,
chillies and all that, and I am not prepared to give them up. So I
asked this question in this way: “Is it possible to exercise
discipline in our food habits at this age?”
Swami said, “It has nothing to do with age. If you have a strong
determination, then you can certainly regulate and discipline your
food habits.”
Words Wait To Be Used By Him
Now I pass on to another episode. Bhagavan told us that there were
two poets in Andhra Pradesh who were known as ‘Tirupathi Venkata
Kavulu’ - very popular in Telugu literature. Most people know
their poems, as they are famous. Those two poets visited Baba
fifty years ago.
I asked out of curiosity, “Swami, what did they say? What did they
say?”
Bhagavan said that those two poets told Him, “Swami, we pick words
to compose poems, whereas words wait to be used by You for
composition. Words wait there; the literature waits there to be
composed into poems by Your Divine Hand. But we ordinary people
collect some words and write poems. That is the difference.“
Then Bhagavan mentioned the name of another great scholar,
Ramakrishna Rao. He was a governor and an expert in twelve Indian
languages. He was the first translator of Bhagavan’s discourses.
Once when in Bombay, he translated Bhagavan’s discourse into the
Marathi language. At the end of the discourse, the entire audience
started clapping and cheering Bhagavan’s talk.
The translator, Ramakrishna Rao, got up and said, “Gentlemen and
ladies, please understand that these are not my words; this is not
my speech. It is only my translation into Marathi. The original
talk was given by Baba.”
After hearing that announcement, people started clapping even
more, for a prolonged period. That is the nectarine beauty of
Bhagavan’s Divine discourses.
Never Distribute Rotten Fruits
Now we move onto another episode. You know the small-size fruits
that Swami distributes to all students and devotees? One day He
asked the boys to distribute these small fruits, which look
something like berries.
He called one boy to Him and said, “Boy, see that you only
distribute good fruits; never distribute rotten fruits. It is a
sin if you distribute spoiled fruits. You should never do it
because you will have to pay for it later. Therefore, select the
best fruits for giving away to people.”
Then all the boys started distributing fruits. But our Bhagavan,
as you know, was carefully watching to see how they were
distributing them.
Finally He said, “Arre boys! You are M.Sc. degree students. You
only know how to read and reproduce the information at the time of
examination; but you have no common sense and general knowledge.
You don’t know how to distribute fruits! Why have you forgotten
this group? You have not distributed fruits to the last of row of
devotees there. What kind of M.Sc. boys are you?”
Respect Your Teachers
And further He said, “Arre, some of you boys, as you were walking,
I saw your feet touch your teachers. You should respect your
teachers; that is not the way you should behave. You students
should have obedience and humility. Only then can you learn well.”
That is what Bhagavan said.
Suddenly Swami turned to one student and said, “Tell me one thing.
Who is the best teacher in your college?”
‘Who is the best teacher?’ It is very difficult question! The boy
did not answer. Swami insisted.
The boy finally said, “Swami, all are good teachers -- no Swami,
all are the best.”
Then Bhagavan said, “I know all are good people, all are good
teachers. However, some teachers may be harsh towards you. This is
for your own good - you should know that.”
Children Transforming Their Parents
Now I go to the next episode. It was a time when Bhagavan had
completed interviews. He started talking about a couple who were
privileged to have been granted an interview with Him. After they
came out of the interview room, Swami started talking about them.
But they didn’t know as they had already left.
He looked at us and said, “See -- do you see that boy?”
“Ah Swami, we see.”
“You know, I said to that boy, ‘You tell your father to give up
that bad habit. Tell him that it is not good for him.’”
Then the boy went home and started crying.
The father asked, “Arre, why are you crying?”
The boy said, “Dad, stop your bad habit or else I will cry. I
won’t take food. Promise me that you will give up that bad habit.”
The father said, “What is that bad habit?”
“Smoking, Dad - you smoke. Don’t smoke anymore.”
Then the father decided not to smoke again. What a transformation
Bhagavan is bringing about among the parents through their
children. The children are transformed in His Presence and through
them the parents are reformed. This is a wonderful thing that is
going on in the present Incarnation.
You Cannot Hide Anything From Him
At that time Bhagavan started telling everybody, “Boys, I will
tell you something that happened at Brindavan. Anil Kumar knows
about it.”
It was during a summer class time and the boys had enjoyed a very
good lunch and evening tea. Swami started moving towards the
auditorium for the evening Divine discourse.
Suddenly He stopped, looked at one boy and said, “Boy, don’t do
that! This is not the place for such things. Stop that.”
The boy said, “What, Swami?”
He said, “Don’t do that.“
“What is it, Swami?”
Immediately, by the wave of His Hand, Baba materialised a
photograph showing this fellow smoking, under a tree behind the
college building. This is something that Bhagavan Himself
mentioned. So it means that we cannot hide anything from Him. You
cannot keep anything a secret so far as Baba is concerned.
I Have Never Tasted Coffee, Chocolate or Cake
Somehow the discussion turned towards me and He said, “Anil Kumar,
are you eating properly?”
“Swami, I am eating normally.”
“Are you happy with your pickles and hot stuff?”
“I am very happy, Swami.”
“Why do you eat those pickles continuously like that?”
“Swami, in between I will have soup and dal; but pickles are
continuous.”
“Huh! You are always like that.”
And then, pointing to Himself He said, “Believe it or not, I have
never tasted coffee or tea. I don’t touch oily stuff. I have not
tasted biscuits, chocolates or cakes. You know, in My school days,
I used to carry with Me a small preparation made out of corn.”
I Belonged To a Poor Family - I Had To Eat In Secret
With that corn stuff, a hard circular preparation is made called
jonna rottelu. Jonna rottelu means ‘out of corn’. Swami used to
carry these circular eatables with Him to school.
Then I said, “Swami, those must have been so hard -- too hard to
eat. How could You eat them?”
“No, no, no. If you just sprinkle some water over them, they will
become soft. Then you can easily eat them.”
Then I thought to myself, ‘Swami, You alone could do that; I could
not.’
And then Bhagavan said, “While all My classmates were having their
usual food, I ate only that little preparation made out of corn.
Because others should not feel embarrassed that I belonged to a
poor family, I had to eat in secret. I could not afford the rice
and other stuff that My classmates were eating, and I did not want
to embarrass them.”
How shall we take it? What Himalayan simplicity it is! What
openness it is. Bhagavan’s life is an open book.
With that, I conclude that month’s report.
Published in March 2001 Telugu Sanathana Sarathi :
Episodes from June 2000
Now I pass on to the next month’s topics, published in the March
2001 Telugu Sanathana Sarathi. I am so glad that Bhagavan has
given me this opportunity to make all this material available to
those who understand English. I am so grateful to Swami because I
was feeling so badly that all the material in Telugu was not
available to the English readers. So, while we are grateful to
Bhagavan, I am also thankful to you for this chance.
Well, what did Bhagavan say?
This episode starts with Bhagavan returning from Bangalore after
the summer course. Usually He comes in the month of June, but my
report was published in the month of March 2001. This was because
the episodes are from previous years.
As I told you earlier, I give the Sanathana Sarathi group a bunch
of episodes. However they can only publish a few of them at a
time, depending upon the availability and allotment of pages --
because the whole magazine is not meant for me alone. All should
have chances to submit articles, and Bhagavan’s discourses must be
printed. So, the month these episodes were printed in is not the
same month when they originally happened. Is that clear?
Bhagavan Returned to Puttaparthi to a Grand Welcome
So, Bhagavan was returning from Bangalore, and the whole village
of Puttaparthi was jumping for joy. All the streets were well
decorated. All the villages after the by-pass road were decorated.
In addition, about 60 to 70 people - local villagers and shop
people - came with motorcycles to receive Swami at the outskirts
of town, and they escorted Him to Prashanti Nilayam. I am reminded
of those days of the Bhagavatham. Lord Krishna must have been
received like that when He came to Mathura from Brindavan. So
Bhagavan Baba was received like that, with all festivity and
gaiety.
We learned that on the way Swami had stopped in a village called
Muddenahalli. Muddenahalli has a school that was founded by Baba.
This school has over one thousand students, in addition to a
number of committed, dedicated teachers, who are all bachelors and
highly qualified. Well, in spite of the journey, the stop over in
Muddenahalli and a discourse there, Bhagavan reached Prashanti
Nilayam looking very, very fresh. He didn’t look tired - no sweat
on the forehead - simply very fresh. That is the quality of
Divinity.
So Bhagavan was received here with a tumultuous welcome. Boys
chanting the Vedas greeted Him. There was a band playing, and
people were singing and dancing. And Swami, though He reached here
at 2.30 in the afternoon, was ready for darshan by 4 o’clock. See
that? It is only possible for Bhagavan to act like that! It is
impossible for anyone of us. We get tired just looking at His
schedule, leave alone following the schedule. But He looked very
fresh. It was really wonderful.
Patients Eat the Day After Their Operations
Swami came there at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and spoke to the
boys as usual. He talked about the Super Specialty Hospital in
Bangalore.
Baba said, “There in the Super Specialty Hospital, within ten days
of its inauguration, hundreds of people visited and a number of
operations were conducted. Most of the patients happened to be
very, very poor, and there were also children.”
He also said, “Do you know that the specialty in our hospital is
that the patient starts eating the very next day after his
operation.”
The very next day after the operation, the fellow will start
eating idlis! That is the specialty there.
And further He said, “I visited the hospital and suddenly I saw a
young girl eating idli and smiling at Me. She was doing namaskar.
The doctors told Me that the child had been operated on the just
the previous day, but she was doing namaskar and looking so fresh,
as if nothing had happened. That is how things take place in our
hospital.”
Inner Happiness Covered By the Idea of Separation
Then I said softly, “Swami, during this period of Your absence,
the charm of Puttaparthi was lost. It was a deserted village. This
place becomes a ‘godforsaken’ place. We felt very, very lonely.”
Baba replied, “Why do you talk like that? I may not have been
here, but all of you were here. Why do you say that the village
was deserted? You all were here. Why do you say that?”
Then I said, “Swami, I am sorry to comment. See the happiness
around now? See the smiling faces now? Earlier it was ‘caster oil
faces’ -- no one was happy; everyone was morose and serious.”
Then Baba said, “No, no. You are wrong. The happiness is within
you. It is only within you.”
Then I said, “Swami, excuse me. If happiness is within me, then
what happened to it when You were not here? How is it that
happiness came out only after You have came back here? It maybe
within me, but it only came out when You arrived. I didn’t know
its existence in Your absence. How is that? Please explain.”
Bhagavan said, “No. You are the embodiment of bliss. Happiness is
within you, but that feeling of absence - the very idea of the
absence of Swami - covered that inner happiness within you. The
inner happiness was covered by the idea of separation, by the
thought of the absence of Swami.”
How true it is. We have forgotten our true nature. We are the
embodiments of truth, peace and love, but our true identity was
forgotten a long time ago. Our wrong thoughts have covered our
true nature. So, the mistake lies with our thoughts, not with our
true nature.
Gujarat Earthquake
Then the conversation slowly shifted to the Gujarat earthquake.
This was around the time of the Gujarat earthquake. Before Swami
came back to Puttaparthi, He had given instructions. He sent
lorries and lorries of blankets, foodstuffs and utensils to the
victims of the earthquake.
Then I said, “Swami, we have come to know that You sent so many
things to those earthquake victims when You were there in
Bangalore.”
Baba immediately said, “I don’t publicise what I do. I do not
advertise what I do. You tell everybody. Why? Because you think
that you are helping somebody. No one is ‘somebody else’ to Me;
all are My people. All belong to Me. So, why should I publicise? I
am helping My own people, so there is no need for advertisement.”
What a wonderful idea it was. Bhagavan sent about 75,000 sarees,
clothes for adults and children, utensils, bags of rice, wheat,
oil tins, shamianas (cloth shelters), and around 2000 tents to
Gujarat. Along with these materials, 50 volunteers went from
Prashanti Nilayam, accompanied by elders who were asked to go
supervise the distribution to the victims, and to supervise the
relief operations there. Truly, it was really unbelievable.
Then I said, “Swami, I cannot express the extent of the help You
are offering those victims.”
Baba, turning back towards me, said, “I don’t consider it ‘help’
at all. Do you think that you are helping your wife and your
children? No. It is your responsibility to take care of them. All
are My children. Therefore, it is My responsibility to care of
them. So no one needs to know, thank or recognize this.”
All right, this was the right time to ask a question.
“Swami, You are God. Why did You allow that earthquake to happen
there in Gujarat? You could have prevented it all by Yourself. Why
did You allow it to happen and then organise a relief camp like
this? Why? Why should You make the child cry and then caress the
child later? Why make the child cry and later sing a lullaby to
him to make him go to sleep? Why should there be any earthquake at
all?”
I Will Not Interfere with Nature
Please note this point:
Baba said, “Everything that happens in the world happens according
to the laws of Nature. Nature is the creation of God. It operates
by its own discipline and it will never cross its limitations.
And, I will not interfere because it is My creation. Therefore I
don’t allow any transgression of the laws of Nature. So
earthquakes, fires, floods, etc. all happen as per the laws of
Nature. But, to go to the help of the poor and needy is Love for
man. So, what happens in the world is the law of Nature. What a
man should do is to have this idea of ‘Love of man’ towards those
that suffer -- the poor and the needy.”
Why do earthquakes, fires and floods happen?
“Why should these earthquakes, fires and floods happen? Why?”
I want our friends to carefully note these points, so that we all
come to know the main cause behind these natural calamities.
Swami started explaining, “Today, man has limitless desires. He
has become very greedy and he is exploiting Nature. He keeps
extracting metals from the fathomless depths of the earth. He digs
deeper and deeper, thousands and thousands of feet, to extract
ores and metals out of Mother Earth. Then, he also goes deep into
the ocean to extract kerosene and petrol. As a result, the balance
of earth is gone. When earth’s balance is gone, then there are
floods. When there is shallowness and hollowness in different
parts of earth, it leads to earthquakes. So, the earthquakes and
floods are of man’s making. God has not done anything. All of
these things are a sort of reaction to man’s atrocities -- his
exploitation of Nature, his greediness and miserliness, which are
due to limitless desires.”
That is what Bhagavan has said. Thus He explained the reason for
these natural calamities.
Is It Bad To Have Desires?
“So, Swami, is it bad to have desires?“
Swami smiled compassionately and said, “You can have desires, but
only a limited number of desires -- not too many. When you need
some water to drink, a tumbler of water should be enough; you
don’t have to bring the whole river here. So also, if a man has
limited desires, then he will not exploit Nature, which causes the
natural calamities. After all, if you work with both of your
hands, if you work hard, can’t you feed a single stomach? Can’t
you feed your single belly? But man does not work, and he has
become highly selfish and full of limitless desires. And today, as
science improves day-by-day, control over the senses is lost
day-by-day. That is a cause for all these tragedies.”
Episodes From January 2000
We also came to know that while in Bangalore, on January 31st,
Bhagavan visited a place called Alike in the State of Karnataka.
Swami told us, “You know, I spoke completely in Kannada only, not
in Telugu. All the people in the audience were very happy because
I spoke in their Mother tongue.”
Arjuna Had Twelve Titles
Now I pass on to the next episode. Bhagavan spoke about the
Mahabharata that evening. He talked about so many stories, like
Prameelarjuneeyam, Gograhanam, Abhimanyu and the story of
Parikshith. The way He related every episode made us feel as
though the events were happening right then. All the stories were
narrated in such a way that we felt a graphic, photographic,
panoramic, dramatic picturisation of the whole event, which is
possible only for Bhagavan to do, and no one else.
He mentioned one important character in the Mahabharata named
Arjuna. Bhagavan said, “Arjuna had twelve titles - the highest
titles.”
Then I said, “Swami, twelve titles? How did he get these titles?
Did he obtain them because of his expertise in archery? Were they
given in recognition of his courage, or in recognition of his
victory, or perhaps in appreciation of his triumph over the evil
forces?”
Swami said, “No, no, no. He earned twelve titles because of his
sense control and because of his spiritual discipline and penance.
He won the Grace of God and therefore he was rewarded with so many
boons.”
Swami praised Arjuna in this way.
Was Arjuna Greater Than Bheeshma?
Well, I am not a silent man. I knew of another character in the
Mahabharata: Bheeshma. Bheeshma was a senior man, an elderly man,
a man of peace, a man of tranquility, a man of expertise and a man
of sacrifice -- the like of whom you won’t find anywhere.
“Swami, do You think Arjuna was greater than Bheeshma?”
Bhagavan understood my thoughts and replied immediately, “Bhishma,
no doubt, was a great man. He was undoubtedly a senior person - a
wise man, a man of penance, a man of discipline, a man of
sincerity and an excellent devotee. But he was in the company of
bad people. He supported the wicked Kauravas. On the other hand,
Arjuna was never in bad company. Though comparatively younger than
Bheeshma, Arjuna was quite good because he kept the company of
good people. Therefore, Arjuna was greater than Bheeshma.”
Abhimanyu’s Decision To Fight
And then Swami narrated the story of Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu was the
son of Arjuna. It so happened that Abhimanyu was challenged by the
enemies to fight. So he had to go to the war and fight them. He
died there, when still a very young man.
“Swami, Abhimanyu was a young man. He was married and his wife was
pregnant; his father, Arjuna, and his uncle, Krishna, were both
away. Poor Abhimanyu! He was such a young man to die on the
battlefield. What a pity! Swami, I heard that Abhimanyu disobeyed
his mother, Subhadra.”
His mother told him, “My dear son, don’t go. Your father is not
here; your uncle is not here; and your wife is pregnant. Don’t
go.”
“Swami, was it proper for Abhimanyu to disobey his mother and go
like that?”
I thought that I could point out some mistake in Abhimanyu, but
our good God does not allow for any such misunderstandings.
He said, “Look here, Anil Kumar! When enemies come and challenge,
it is the duty of every warrior, Kshatriya, or community of
warriors to go to the war field immediately. They should not
escape. They should not find an excuse.”
“So, Abhimanyu disobeyed his mother because his enemies challenged
him, and he was a true warrior. Had he not gone, when his father
returned home, what would his father’s feelings have been? His
father would have felt ashamed of him. He would have thought, ‘Is
this my son who stayed back at home? I am a great warrior and my
son should also be like me. What a shame it is that he stayed back
at home when he was challenged by our enemies.’ That would have
been his father’s feelings.”
“Abhimanyu would never have wanted that to happen. Therefore he
faced the challenge. He faced his enemies single-handedly and
ultimately had to die, as per the Divine ‘Master Plan’. Abhimanyu
knew that Dronacharya devised the entire war strategy. He also
knew pretty well that he was alone against hundreds of people,
senior people, but he didn’t mind dying to uphold the name,
prestige and the dignity of his family and his father.”
That is what Bhagavan said.
What Is Kshatra?
Then I asked, “Swami, I have one question. What is a kshatra?”
This is a Sanskrit word, but we understand it in English as
meaning ‘courage’. I asked Swami this question because He is known
for giving us new definitions and new interpretations.
“Yes,” Swami turned back and with a smile and said, “The valour
and courage that always stand by morality, character and integrity
is called kshatra.”
We should understand, my friends, that to kill another man may be
an act of courage; but is not kshatra. Do you understand? To beat
a person may be an act of courage, but it is not kshatra. To
maintain your character, to be ready to die and to fight to keep
your character, that is kshatra. That was the definition given by
Bhagavan.
Society today has to recognize that such kshatra, righteous anger,
is required when we fight agitations and disturbances. Arson and
violence are everywhere, but in no sense can we call them courage.
Those actions are all rowdyism, restlessness and lawlessness. What
we need today is bravery -- bravery, valour and righteous anger.
May Bhagavan bless you.
Thank you, 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
Source:
http://www.internety.com/saipearls/20.02.2003%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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