Chapter 15  ·  Contents  ·  Chapter 17

16. ATTAIN IMMORTALITY THROUGH SACRIFICE AND DESIRELESNESS

Embodiments of Divine Love,

On a tree the flowers come first and the fruits later. Only through reaping the fruits of correct actions can one gain spiritual wisdom. O! sons of sacred Bharat (India), listen to these words.

There are three types of action: meritorious, mixed and sinful. A meritorious action is one that is performed using one's body and strength to work in and for society for the pleasure of God. The main purpose of the human body is to perform righteous actions. Human life has not been given for sensual pleasure, or for only securing shelter and food but also to search for and realize God. Know thyself first and then thou will be able to know the Divine since every human being is a reflection of the Divine. It is only when one carries the feeling of the Divine within that all one's actions could be called meritorious.

All of the senses, such as the mind and the intellect should be used for the benefit of others, and when they are used in this manner, the resultant action may be called a mixed action. One should realize that his happiness is dependent on all the benefits that he derives from that society in which he lives as an individual. All are born into a society, so all of one's capacities should be used not only for one's own benefits but also for those of society. These actions performed for both self and society are called mixed actions.

Thirdly, those actions which are continuously selfish are called sinful actions. Today countries are filled with human problems, the most serious of them are economical, followed by financial, due to the problems of unemployment and poverty. Why is a country poor today even though there may be ample resources of wealth such as minerals and forests. The poverty and problems are due to man's inability to develop a deep interest in sharing with others. Man does not understand the strength and capacities of society and he is also lazy. He does not recognize and perform his duty to society nor is he concerned about its future. When the temperament (mind) and desires of man are under control, then the economy would progress. Today broad feelings are missing and the spirit of inquiry into man's inner nature has been lost. Everyone must recognize that these fundamental problems are the underlying cause behind poverty and non unity in the world today.

In Bharat (India), there is plenty of wealth. How is it to be used wisely? None can clearly understand the reasons behind, poverty. Once when a certain great man investigated the problems of Bharat and other countries, he came to the conclusion that the number of people who work are less, and the ones who spend and consume are more. This is the reason why poverty is ruining this country. Today most educatedl people are working for selfish and narrow interests and are not performing their duty in a sacred way. Ideally all should have an equal opportunity to lead a happy life in society but this not apparent; the equality has declined. There is nothil basically wrong with the economy today, but we make narrow use of it. For example, when a pit has been dug in one spot, the mound beside the pit becomes high. The two could be equalized by filling the pit with more mud. In the present society there are three classes of people: the rich, the middle class and the poor. A man can become rich and great only through the co-operation and help of others, but he has forgotten this fact. Due to the ingratitude of many such as him, the country has declined. Everyone should express gratitude for all the help received from the society by sharing, serving, and ridding oneself of selfishness. Like stagnant water, wealth is amassed and hoarded by the wealthy. Just as blood must circulate in the body to avoid a blood clot, money too should circulate or else the economy would come to a standstill. Duty not properly discharged, and money not properly channelled lead to poverty.

Everyone should try to develop satisfaction with the lot one has and also love the work one has to do. But man is wasting his time today. One must understand four things. Don't waste time, don't do useless activities, undertake actions aimed at social welfare and like what you have to do. The cultivation of those four would enhance the individual; however, today this broad- mindedness is lacking. To further one's spiritual progress, one should have the equal mindedness to look upon all work as God's work, otherwise one's actions will be impure. If one feels that what one does is God's work, there will be no mistake; so we should develop the strong faith that everything is God's work. Secondly, there should be no scope for ego. If one thinks that he is great what is the reason for this ego? On a world map, one sees India as very small, Madras even smaller and Kodaikanal where one's small house is, still smaller. So, realizing this why should man have so much ego? If one is egoistic, he is foolish. If one thinks he is one with God, then there is no scope for ego. In every atom God is there as the basis; the macrocosm (the universe) is filled with God. In every tiny seed there is a tree. Therefore, the smallest and the biggest are one and the same. God created everything and every being. Whatever God has created or does is for the good of mankind.

Once there was a man who believed that God had no understanding of mathematics and engineering. During his walk in the hot sun he stopped to sit under the cool shade of a banyan tree for relief. He noticed some tiny fruits on the top of this tree. In the distance, he saw on the fence of a vegetable garden a vine from which large pumpkins were hanging. He thought to himself that God cannot clearly think how to place things. On a large tree there are small fruits, whereas on a thin weak vine there are large heavy pumpkins. God certainly does not have knowledge of mathematics and engineering. This man then fell asleep. When he awoke he found that many fruits from the tree above had fallen and landed near him. He then realized, "Oh, God is so great; if there had been big fruits on this tree they may have fallen on my head and broken it." He thanked God that he had not placed big fruits on this big tree. The welfare of the society has been planned by God and in God's creation nothing is bad. If we think something is bad the I mistake lies in our thoughts and feelings and not in the object. Where there is purity of heart there is spiritual wisdom. Today, unfortunately, due to the lack of sacred thoughts everything is polluted including the water, food, air and thoughts. If one's heart is sacred then there is no scope for pollution.

Human life is highly sacred. There is only one seat, one space, in our hearts, though many want to occupy it. Today five people desire to sit in the Prime Minister's chair. As we permit many others to occupy our hearts, rather than God alone, the mind becomes polluted. All our problems occur because we do not have Divine thoughts; we must do activities with Divine feelings.

All should work and not waste their time being lazy; God will not accept laziness. You must understand the necessity of the welfare of society that you are a part of. The welfare of society is the welfare of the world. Although you exist now, many have been born before you and society has existed before your birth. Everything must have a basis, a foundation and for the individual's welfare it is the society. Take for instance a tumbler made of silver. Without the silver there can not be a tumbler. Though pots come in many shapes the clay is one and in jewellery gold is one. Have the faith that God is only One, though His forms are many; the goal is to realize this. The primordial sound, Om, or Brahman is the one Truth; this is the fundamental principle in the culture of India. All of the zeroes in large numbers get their value only due to the number in front of the zeroes. The world is a zero while God is the only hero. Everything in worldly life is a passing cloud; God alone was there before and after every event. Truth is the same in the past, present, and future; Truth is God. Love only God; Love is infinite and indefinable; Love is God. Today that Divine Love in man has changed into hatred and envy.

The basis for everything is the primordial sound Aum (Sabda Brahman). In front of all of the zeros in a number if you place the number one, the number will have value. The number "one" is the hero. The world is a zero. When the zero is in front of the hero, it has no value. Similarly the things of the world are like passing clouds. There is nothing in this world that is permanent. God was there before these were created and God will be there after they disappear. He is present during all of the three times (past, present and future). He is the Truth and Truth is God.

Divine Love today is changing into hatred, and the pure Love is becoming tainted with jealousy. Each individual may prefer different names and forms, and colours, but the basic Love should not change. To illustrate this, I will tell you a small story.

Once four children were playing when their mother called them to drink some juice. Each child asked for juice of a different colour. One wanted red, another green, the third yellow, and the last wanted white. The mother decided to please all by giving a red, a green, a yellow and a white glass. Like the same sweet juice in each tumbler, the fundamental Love in each being cannot be changed. If this Love is poisoned, the result would be envy, anger, etc. Only Love can transform the mind and the actions of man. Due to the defects in the container (body) we see good and bad. Perform good acts in society, do not misuse your physical resources (mind, senses energy etc.). If we surrender our bodies to God we would do good actions. Nowadays the physical resources are spoilt due to the progress in science and technology and nature has been utterly exploited. The earth is a sphere and if you keep on digging in one place, the balance is lost. Due to man's intelligence, he is making these mistakes. In God's creation there was a perfect balance, but now because of gross misuse of intelligence, the entire globe has become imbalanced. Educational knowledge should lead to the acquisition of useful skills, but instead man kills. Now that the balance has been lost, man has developed external vision and has lost his inward vision (insight). Unfortunately, today, all want to be equal to Biria and Tata (wealthy people). If you have a grandson, you are called "Tata" (in Telugu). It is through sacrifice that. You can become immortal; the removal of immorality is the way to attain immortality. You cannot buy God with all your wealth and authority; you can only win Him with Love and Truth. Take the example of King Harischandra. For the sake of Truth he sacrificed the kingdom and sold his wife and himself. He was known as Sathya Harishchandra because he never left Truth. This is the reason his memory has remained permanently in history; in the modern age we do not leave our names in history. Now we are only interested in earning wealth. We have no place in history but we have hysteria. What is history? History is "His Story" — God's story. King Harishcandra's story is history. All should follow the example of King Harischandra by developing Prema (Divine Love), Sathya (Truth) and Thyaga (Sacrifice).

Today man's desires are limitless; everyone wants more and more. As a result the country is facing great economic problems. Everyone wants to be rich; be rich in sacrifice and Love. Who is the richest man? Swami says that the one who has much sacrifice and contentment is the richest while the one with many desires is the poorest. Put a ceiling on desires. Today the desires are piling up to the sky. One Indian went to the U.S.A. and wanted to cross a road there. From morning until evening he waited. There were continuously cars going by. For every family there are four cars. In the U.S.A. in many families, each person has a separate car. Why have four cars in one family? If you piled up all the cars on top of one another, they would reach the sky. To have good health one must walk for exercise, even though he has many cars. We have air conditioning in the bedroom; why do we need to have air conditioning in the bathroom as well? Man is mad with excess desires. Less luggage makes man more comfortable and happy. Isn't it a waste of money if a man buys vegetables for $ 2.00 and gets a person to carry them for $ 4.00? Do your own work. If a man only eats and sits, he will spoil his health. Man doesn't want to work with his hands but he wants to fill his stomach. When sacred actions are done to please God, one's conscience would not permit him to make mistakes. Today few have sacred thoughts. There are good people but they are not known to all.

In a village once there was a very compassionate lady who distributed blankets to the needy people in the cold winter season. One day a student who noticed her was surprised that she was so humble always walking with her head bent down. He asked her why she walked in that manner. She replied, "God has provided everything to us including two hands. What a shame that I am giving only a single blanket. No one should feel proud and egoistic." The boy then realised how egoistic he was due to pride in his studies. Thereafter, he decided to perform dedicated service to society. Today elders are not ", acting as good examples for the younger generations. When their children have M.BA degree, the parents send them to U.S.A. for higher studies, so that their future in-laws will gift them more money as dowry in marriage. It is true that money and study are necessary; go ahead but also earn virtues. The suicide rate abroad is very high due to lack of mental peace. Peace of mind is only to be found in the sacred country Bharat (India); peace is found only in God. Develop virtues and then all types of prosperity will follow. We may have money today, tomorrow it may vanish. Can you carry any property or wealth with you when you leave this world? You should earn God's Grace now so that when you leave the world which is zero, you will have God as your own. While experiencing the world keep the awareness of the Divine within you. The Goddess of wealth is not blind; she examines who is making proper use of money and she will also be sad if anyone misuses wealth.

Once when a man prayed, both the Goddess of wealth and the Goddess of poverty came before him. They asked him, "O rich man, which of us is more beautiful?" The man was in a dilemma. He thought that if he told the Goddess of wealth that she is more beautiful, the Goddess of poverty may make him poor. If he replied that the Goddess of poverty is more beautiful, the Goddess of wealth would leave him and he would become poor. So he answered, "To decide which of you is more beautiful, you must each walk back and forth in front of me so I may look at you both." As the Goddess of wealth Lakshmi walked towards him first, the Goddess of poverty appeared to walk away. He commented "O, you are both so beautiful as you walk. As wealth comes it is beautiful and as poverty goes, it too is beautiful." The wealthy one is the one with good character; money comes and goes. Where are all the kings who once lived, where is their wealth? No one came into this world with wealth and no one can take it with him when he leaves this world. You can only carry your good and bad deeds from life to life, so earn good deeds only. "Good" is God. The word good has two zeros; one is the worldly zero. Leave that zero behind and only God will remain; that is, you will become God. Everything in the world except Divinity comes and goes; the true wealth is to enjoy proximity to God. The country will prosper when all enjoy Divine wealth. Why enjoy donkey's milk when one spoon of cow's milk is more valuable. Divine wealth is attained from the ocean of milk (Satchitananda).

Radha sang, "Krishna, sing and fill our hearts with joy. Talk to our hearts and confer all joy. Take the essence of the Vedas, and convert it into the sound of Brahman, to fill the flute with music." What is the meaning of the flute here? The flute is one's body containing the nine holes. One's entire body should be filled with melodious music which is the milk of the Vedas. What is meant by milk? The milk refers to the four; Vedas! Just as we draw milk from the four udders of a cow, the four Vedas supply spiritual nourishment to our minds and; bodies. The essence of the Vedas is soham; the inhalation and I exhalation of the breath, make the sound "soham" which means, "I am God." When you enjoy more nearness with God you will gain all prosperity.

Radha prayed, "Krishna, I live for Your sake; I cannot live; without You. I long to see Your smile and hear Your music. O Krishna, why can't you appear in my dreams? Why have my I eyes been given? To see You only. Why have my ears been given? To listen to You only. Why has my mouth been given? Only to chant Your names and glories. Everything is only You." Radha's main ideal was Krishna only.

Don't give up your duty as all work is God's work. If work is done with Divine feelings it will be pleasing to God. Limit your desire for money; money is necessary for living but the excess should be circulated if you have enough to eat and drink. Why do you still want the whole Ganges when a container of water is sufficient? It is more important to drink the wine of God, the Divine Bliss. If we reduce our desires, the economic problems in the country would decline and we would have more money. Divinity, wealth and longevity; we would be able to enjoy life for one hundred years. It is the negative qualities like jealousy, hatred, anger etc. that reduce one's life span. So one who gives up the bad qualities, lives long and becomes immortal. Less luggage, more comfort, makes travel a pleasure.

Swami ended His Discourse by singing "Bhava Bhaya Harana Vandita Charana."

April 21, 1996

Chapter 17