Chapter 8  ·  Contents  ·  Chapter 10

9. THE NAME OF GOD IS "I"

Embodiments of Divine Love,

Trees yield fruit only as a service for mankind; no tree eats its own fruit. Rivers flow to help others; the river does not quench its own thirst. Cows do not drink their own milk; they give their milk away for the health of others.

Why has the human body been gifted to man? Man takes a human body only to serve the needy and poor. Today all over the world there exists misery, restlessness and deprivation. All these are against true human nature. No governments or weapons have been able to solve these problems. We must install God in the altar of our hearts. The entire mankind depends on God's grace for everything. The world can be saved by God alone; man must have confidence in God's grace. Everyone must fill his heart with Love and render service to his fellowmen.

Right from the ordinary man to the saint, everyone must search for Truth. How? We must search for Truth by inquiring into one's own thoughts and actions. As all are sparks of the one Divine Truth, everyone has the right to search for Truth that is changeless. We must adopt and practice that which will not hurt anyone.

One may search for Truth through understanding three things: Truth, untruth and fact. All that we find in the world is a fact, but Truth is fundamental, cosmic. For example right from the scientist to the ordinary man, if you ask anyone where the sun rises and sets, he will answer that it rises in the east and sets in the west. This is not the Truth, but only a fact. If you know the Truth, the sun neither rises nor sets but as the earth revolves, we get east and west. The sun does not move but to consider that it moves is untruth.

The eye is very small, yet it is able to see the entire universe. The same pair of eyes see everyone, but the feelings when it sees the mother, daughter or a friend are all different. Though the vision is the same, the feelings are different. The manner of looking and the feelings one should have towards the mother should always be respectful. One feels affection towards one's daughter and endearment towards one's wife. Thus relationship determines the type of looks or feelings one has towards another.

So what is Truth? Truth is Love though the vision may be distorted. Unfortunately visions and feelings are all impure due to seeing diversity as the Truth. We should understand what type of vision we should have; and when, where and how we should use this vision. This knowledge is essential in the search for Truth.

There is no mistake in creation; it is God's creation and no one can change it. One has to change one's vision to experience Truth. Whatever one utters with his tongue is heard with the ears. One's ears have been gifted to listen to good things; man hears music, good sounds, harsh words, etc. One should learn to discriminate in what one speaks and hears. We should speak softly and sweetly. Oh, tongue! how sacred you are. You are the embodiment of sacrifice; you do not keep food in the mouth, but immediately pass it on down the throat. How sacred and highly respected you are! Oh tongue! it is not your innate quality to criticize.

Everything is God's creation. When one wears blue tinted glasses everything appears to be blue. There is no mistake in creation, one needs only to remove one's glasses. One need not search for God as He is everywhere in everything. Man searches for Truth in all fields. There is only one God although He is called by different names such as Jesus, Allah and Rama. All of the thousands of names are His so there is no question of search. Search applies to the world but Truth is infinite and never narrow. We do sahasranama (chanting of God's 1008 names); this is a narrow approach as all names are His. There is no name or form in the universe that does not belong to Him. The creation has emerged from Truth which is pure and unsullied. Wherever there is Truth, there is God. Love and Truth emanate from the heart but to realize this one must love Divinity with a compassionate heart. Today one's heart is like a solid stone. The fashion today is to have no compassion. The heart is called "hrudaya," which means "filled with compassion." Since man lacks compassion today, wicked acts are on the increase. There is restlessness and lack of peace everywhere because of attachment and differences and the individual feelings of "I" and "mine." Everyone should have faith in the Divine to develop compassion and to eradicate worldly attachments, differences and feelings of "I" and "mine."

We call ourselves "I" but what is this "I"? This "I" is the title of God. Right from birth everyone is saying "I," so everyone has within himself this title of God. The Mahavakya (one of four great statements epitomizing the Vedas) "Aham Brahmasmi" states - "I am God." In Sanskrit "I" is Aham. God does not only mean the names Rama, Krishna and Hari. He is the Truth whether one is a doctor or a lawyer or a businessman; all of these are saying "I". If you ask a beggar, "Who are you?" and you ask a king, "Who are you?" they will reply, "I am a beggar," and "I am a king." So know the Self. In today's world, "I" is always associated with a form, but "I " does not refer to the body; "I" is God. Mankind today is living a totally ego-based life though it is incorrect to assume "I" as the ego. Man is full of divisions and perversions such as birth, growth and death but the true "I" never changes.

Life in the body changes, is subject to diseases, dies and therefore it is not permanent. From moment to moment it gives off foul smells and is dirty and full of matter like bones and nerves. Surrender this body at the Feet of the Lord who resides therein. One can attain Divinity only through properly using the instruments of body, mind and intellect. With the body, so long as we have life, we must say and realize "Soham"- "I am He," and also "Tat ThwamAsi" - That Thou art. These days since no one understands "soham" everyone is in misery. If we make an inquiry into the value of the body, we will know that it is very low. Every cell and atom in the body keeps on changing. If you keep a pickle in a jar it would last for one year, whereas if you eat the pickle it will spoil in two hours. In a flour mill you grind dhal, rice or wheat into flour. The human body may be compared to a grinding mill. If you place fruits and other foods into this mill of the body, everything becomes waste matter. Is a flour mill not better than a human body as a machine?

The human body can be compared to a machine in which the three aspects, yantra, mantra and tantra can be found . In this machine, the name of God is the mantra, the procedures and techniques of the heart are the tantra and the body is the yantra. Human life consists of a combination of these three. The heart is the tantra acting like a switchboard. The mantra "soham" which means "I am God" is the sound that comes from the sushumna nadi. Each person says soham 21,600 times a day from the heart. Whenever we chant mantras like "Om Namah Shivaya" we are repeating them not from the heart but parrot-like and artificially. Although the japamala is in our hands our minds are out in the marketplace. We murmur Shanti, Shanthi as words at the physical and mental levels, while it is the heart that needs Peace. When we feel peaceful, we chant Om,Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi, slowly but when we are agitated we shout Om, Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi at great speed. We are not enjoying Peace at the physical, mental and spiritual levels because our lives and penance today are all artificial.

Today all of the Malayalis (refers to persons who speak an Indian dialect and reside in South India) are celebrating the New Year with full festivity. Most festivals last only for one day but you should always develop sacred thoughts, not only on festival days. You should have the faith that you are the embodiment of Supreme Eternal Bliss and have the fortitude to tolerate all troubles and anxieties that come in the way. You seek comforts like air conditioning, comfortable sofas, good food, etc, but these are not the true comforts. True comfort is with God who confers Supreme Happiness. What is Brahmananda? It is a state of Supreme Happiness, Nondual, Eternal Spirit, Immovable, Eternal witness, beyond Comprehension and Attributeless. All these attempt to explain the nature of Brahman.

When man has all the worldly comforts, the resultant stage is only the happiness of man. The Bliss of God in Gandharvananda (a celestial state of being) is a hundred times more. Beyond Gandharvananda is Brahaspatierananda, which confers a hundred times more Bliss. A hundred times more than this is Prajapateirananda', a hundred times more is Hiranyagarbhananda. In the word Hiranyagarbhananda, "Hiranya" means "gold." Just as pure gold would not tarnish, Hiranyagarbhananda, a part of Brahmananda, is the highest Bliss. That which changes from moment to moment is untruth. The changeless Truth is in your heart and all of these states of Bliss are in your heart. Happiness is worldly while Bliss is Divine. Happiness keeps changing; one may eat food and experience happiness, but after two hours one is hungry again. "Santosha" means having happiness only for sometime.

The physical heart is on the left side while the spiritual heart is on the right side. The left is left. After sometime leave the left, that is, the physical and material life and follow only the right, not the left. Fill your heart with good thoughts and feelings. All worldly education is just to earn a living. What university did the birds and beasts attend? The purpose of true education is to attain Bliss. When the year is full of Love with sacred thoughts and acts, that is the New Year, not the day of celebrations with sweet desserts and new clothes.

One should not have hatred toward any religion. All are one so be alike to everyone; you should respect all. Whoever you respect, it amounts to respecting God. If you criticize anyone, you are criticizing the God who is their reality. All religions, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity teach only what is good. Every Hindu should be a good Hindu; in fact, a better Hindu. If a Muslim hates a Hindu, he is no Muslim. On this occasion of the New Year, remember that God is One. The three things to keep in mind are: Don't forget God, don't rely on the world, and don't be afraid of death. These three are important. Death is something you must face some day, so don't worry, face it bravely. Be ready to die, but never leave (forget) God. Do not believe in the world because it is continuously changing. You cannot travel in a boat made of stones because it would sink. In this changing world, God is the only Truth. Rather than criticizing anyone, develop your love more and more. Do not pray for the individual "I" only. Here is a cloth woven with threads. Even if the form changes, the original cotton does not change. Likewise, in this changing world, there is something that does not change. The world is one large house and India is a room. All of the countries can be seen as different rooms. There are no differences in the rooms; only they are separated by the walls. One may be used to having a livingroom, a diningroom and a bathroom, but if the walls are removed, there would be one big room. Cut off the walls of attachments to "me" and " mine" and have faith in one Divinity. Truth is one, but it is referred to in different ways.

When some people declare that they have no God, you tell them that they may not have a God, but you have a God. You must have steady, strong faith. If anyone says there is no God and you agree and say yes, you are weak. Faith is God. Never lose faith. Those that deny God are unwittingly staling that God does exist. When one declares that there is no God the very fact that he is saying "There is" means that he is acknowledging that existence. Bharathiya (Indian) culture is full of Bliss. The Vedas belong not only to India but to the entire world.

Om saha navavatu
Saha nau bhunaktu,
Saha veeryam karavaavahai,
Tejas vinaavadheet amastu,
Maa vidvishaa ahai.
Om, shanti, shanti, shanti!

(Om, May the Lord protect us, May He cause us to enjoy, May we exert together, May our studies be thorough and faithful. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace!)

Swami ended His Discourse by singing "Sathyam, Jnanam,Anantham Brahma", "Govinda Krishna Jai," "Gopala Krishna Jai" and "Subramanyam Subramanyam."

April 14, 1996

Chapter 10