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Sri Sathya Sai Baba Teachings

 

BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

Discourses at Sai Sruti
Kodaikanal during April 1996

Chapter 3  ·  Contents  ·  Chapter 5

4. PURUSHA AND PRAKRITI

Embodiments of Divine Love,

We acquire all forms of wealth through our words alone. Through our words, we develop friendships and relationships and receive knowledge. Bad also happens because of our words. Our words should be sacred and in accordance with the Vedas. The nature of spirituality can be known through reading the words of all sacred texts. Man should make every effort to speak properly. Swami always says, "You can't always oblige, but you can always speak obligingly." As creation is the manifestation of the Creator, nature has all the attributes of God. Every person has been born to reflect the Divinity in nature. What is prakriti (nature)? It is not merely the forms of material comforts, but it is also the form of God's wealth.

Sthree stands for the feminine, though not only in the physical sense. The word "Sthree" can be divided into three sounds; "Sth," "r" and "ee." "Sth" stands for satwic, "r" stands for rajasic and "ee" stands for thamasic. Every person or being that is born into the world is feminine, and has these three qualities (satwic, rajasic and thamasic). Man should have the quality of satwa comprising Divine, sacred feelings and piousness, so that he may merge in the Divine. Thamasic does not stand for dullness, but for obedience, humility, morality and integrity. Rajasic does not stand for emotion, anger, arrogance, or pomp, but for forbearance, tolerance and charity.

Who is manava the human? Man is the one with sacred feelings at the centre. The human quality is one with perfect harmony of sacred thoughts, words and actions. That is why it is said that the proper study of mankind is man. The physical world of nature has purity and man can learn from the purity in nature. Spirituality does not consist only of penance, rituals, meditation, etc. These aspects are only practiced to make the heart pure and to enable one to be away from the transient world. True spirituality is not only thinking of God but also being away from all unsacred actions. Spirituality embodies the eternal Truth.

Nature is the best teacher. Through the study of nature one can learn what is transient and what is permanent. That which is sacred in nature is Divinity. Whatever is not in the Divine cannot be experienced in nature. You say that you are not seeing God or experiencing God. What foolishness! You are God. In nature everything is the Divine form. Just as in ornaments you find that gold is one and the same, similarly in nature everything is Divine.

Every human being has the three feminine attributes, satwic, rajasic and thamasic. From the worldly, physical point of view, everyone is both masculine and feminine. Birth and death, hunger and thirst are common to all. Pleasure and pain are common to both. The principle of unity in both men and women is one. Equality is Divinity. Man says that females are weak due to their feminine qualities. It is wrong to say that women are weak, dependant, and are only for working in the kitchen. Every human being is weak. The word for weak is "abala. " There is only one male who is without weakness and He is God. The feminine aspect of God is "prakriti" or Nature and it consist of form made up of matter. Divinity is energy. It is impossible to have prakriti without Divinity as both are interdependent. We should not, therefore, think that anything is evil because everything is Divine and full of sanctity. We cannot change the creation, we must change our outlook. Sadhana means making one's vision sacred. The Bhagavad Geetha states that a woman has higher powers than a man and a woman also has many titles. In ancient Bharat, women represented the higher, nobler qualities. In the home, the woman has been given the title Grilakshmi as the prestige of the family depended entirely upon the standards set by the woman. The ancient Bharatiyas had said to watch the wife because on her depends the reputation of the family. Women provide strength to the family and the society.

Recognizing that Divinity is the basis of all things, everyone should reflect on his indwelling Divinity and expand his mind. The heart should be full of sacred Love, so that all things would be full of Love. "Hrudaya " is the word for heart. The word when split into "hru" and "daya," means a heart with compassion. Today, however, compassion is absent and the heart is full of wicked thoughts, etc. Purify the heart by thinidng of God.

"Abala" with reference to women does not mean that they are weak. For example, in ancient times the students were very much afraid of the school master, but today the reverse is true. Today the teachers are very much afraid of the students. When this teacher (of ancient times) returned from his school, he was very much afraid of his wife. So how can men call women weak? Take the example of a military leader. He has lots of soldiers (100,000+) at his command, but he also is afraid of his wife. Thus all (both men and women) are weak. Weakness is not based on or determined by the physical body alone. Both men and women are children of immortality.

Who is the true man? God is the only male or Purusha, though not in the worldly sense. The body is the Pura and the Divinity residing inside the human body as Awareness is the Purusha. So man's reality is awareness. Based on that Awareness, all are Purushas. So everywhere the Truth remains as equality or unity only. All should express only the Divinity. One should do his duty while discriminating between Purusha and Prakriti and realize that the bodies are separate but Purusha is one. We wear slippers on our feet, not on our heads and we wear glasses only on our eyes. We do not do the reverse. Similarly, we should see that in nature, every object has a Divine base and a specific utility. The one who follows proper procedures based on correct knowledge is a man. It is yoga to perform one's duty. Yoga, which means unity and combination must be practiced to realize Divinity. Where there is purity, unity will follow, and where there is unity. Divinity will be realized. Unity is the very life breath of existence. Unity is the strength of Love. Take the example of cloth. The threads are well woven, but if you separated each thread (by removing it), there would be no strength.

The welfare of the country depends on the family. Man has three responsibilities:— first, as an individual to himself; second, to his family; and third, to his society. When the individual is good, the family will be good, and when the family is good, the society will be good. When the society is good, the world will be good. So the welfare of the world depends on the individual.

What is the meaning of vyaktii We call the body or individual vyakti. Vyakti denotes the hidden sacredness, the Divinity within, which must always be expressed and only then can one be called a true individual. The behaviour of an individual should be proper, having good conduct as the main quality. From the Divine perspective (Atma), the whole of humanity is one and the same with no differences. There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. Father, mother, caste and creed have as the basis the one Atma though we have different cultures based on the regions or environments, visions or habits. We must conduct ourselves according to our environment. For example, one would use a woollen coat while visiting the cool hill-station region to keep warm whereas in a region like Andra Pradesh (in South India), one has to wear cotton clothing to remain cool.

Everyone should recognize that the entire creation is full of Divinity. There are many tube lights and light bulbs here in this room. Though their capacities may be different, the current in them is one and the same.

Religions are many, but the goal is one. Ornaments are many, but the gold from which they are made is one.

Cows are many, but milk is one.
Flowers are many, but worship is one.
The paths to God are many, but God is one.

We should always use discrimination and discipline in our lives to enable us to lead an ideal life as we may go astray without them. Take for example the body temperature which has discipline. The normal temperature is 98.4 F and if it rises a little higher there would be fever and illness. The normal blood pressure is 120/80 and an increase would lead to disease. One's whole life and body is a limited company and should always be kept within limits. Be yogis, aspirants, not rogis, disease-filled. Life should be one of sacrifice, otherwise one would become diseased. For example, the food that one eats has to be sacrificed or else a stomach ache would ensue. Also our breath which is inhaled, must be sacrificed or our lungs would become damaged. The blood, too, has to be circulated; it should not remain in one place, stagnant. This sacrifice that we experience in our daily lives in our bodies is called "yagna." When you sacrifice for another, you should take into account the deservedness of the recipient.

Three disciplines must be practiced to be a noble soul: one's thoughts, words and deeds must be controlled and in harmony. One must have constant control over one's tongue by using proper words, talking less, and working more. By remaining silent, one would have more energy and intelligence and memory would improve. All saints have observed silence, and often did so in solitude. Today in the midst of society, aspirants are seeing and hearing everything. What should we see and hear?

See no evil; see what is good.
Hear no evil;hear what is good.
Talk no evil; talk what is good.
Do no evil; do what is good.
This is the way to God.

If we entertain evil thoughts, we become evil. Always behave in society in a proper way. Coal should be near the fire to become hot, and in close proximity both would eventually become one. The coal would become totally transformed into fire. You also should be not only near but also dear to God and then only you would become identified with God. If you are only near you are like a frog on a lotus who is not aware of the honey, while bees come from far away to suck the honey.

In the culture of Bharat, we do namaskar. Placing the two palms of the hands and all the ten fingers together signifies that the five organs of cognition and the five organs of action are animated by and offered to the one Divinity. This signifies unity in diversity.

Nations are many but earth is one;
Beings are many but the body is one;
Stars are many but the sky is one.

In former days water had no price, but if mixed with milk it became valuable because milk had value. Likewise, never be in bad company because your goodness may become diluted and removed due to the bad company. There is a saying, "Tell me your company and I will tell you what you are." The way to discriminate between good and bad company is to watch a person's conduct. Spiritual aspirants should not have too much friendship and should have less associations in life. These are highly dangerous because he/she may be a friend today but an enemy tomorrow. Just say, "Hello, how are you? and goodbye." Never have too much relationship.

Many people have taken time and money to come here (Kodaikanal) from different countries, but spend time in gossiping. In this way not only is (Divine) energy lost but also there is loss of memory. All of this unnecessary talk takes one away from nearness and dearness to God. You may be good but you do not know whether the other person is good or bad. If you eat limited food you will be healthy but if you eat excess you will be diseased. Likewise, have limited talk; talk only to the extent necessary. Excessive talking is a bad quality.

Develop only satsang, the company of people who live with God. Share Love with at least ten people everyday. To say that "you and I are one" is wrong! It is correct to say that "you and I are we," and "we and we are one." When we discriminate clearly and follow the conscience we will become peaceful and sacred. It is a waste of time to do meditation and japa if one's mind is not steady and wanders around.

God is your Father and Mother. He is in you, above you and around you. When He is so close, why go to the forests to search for Him? Do you search for yourself? God is the indweller in your heart. You are God, you are not separate. You are given a name because of your body but you don't exist only for the body. You have not been born only because of nature. Nature is God and the embodiment of beauty. Service done to anyone is service to God. Whomsoever you respect, that respect goes to God; if you criticize anyone it goes to God. So help ever, hurt never. This attitude and action will give you Bliss. There is no greater happiness than that derived through following these teachings.

Swami ended His Discourse by singing, "Hari Bhajana Bina Sukha Shanti Nahi..."

April 9, 1996

Chapter 5

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