Chapter 19  ·  Contents  ·  Chapter 21

20. THE DIVINE STATE IS ATTAINED THROUGH DETACHMENT

Embodiments of Divine Love,

All forms represent Truth. When you realize Being, Awareness, (Sat Chit) you will be in Peace. Human beings come from Sat Chit Ananda. As all names and forms are auspicious and Divine, the entire universe including the human form represents "Sathyam, Sivam ,Sundaram" (Truth, Auspiciousness, Beauty). The body may change but the Atma or Truth is changeless. Plato, the first disciple of Socrates was determined to propagate Truth, Auspiciousness and Beauty. Aristotle was the first disciple of Plato and Emperor Alexander was the first disciple of Aristotle. They all propagated Truth, Auspiciousness and Beauty. Aristotle being the preceptor of Alexander, wanted to direct his mind on spiritual lines to take him out of the mundane life. When Alexander was ready to invade Bharat, Aristotle warned him: "It is a sacred land and it is your good fortune to go there. Do not enter there in order to fight with Bharathiyas. In Bharat every cell and atom is sacred. Go but don't have hatred towards them. O Disciple, bring back four things: First, bring with you the dust of the feet of devotees from Kasi and Benares. Secondly, bring some sacred water from the Ganges River which was born out of the feet of Lord Vishnu. With the matted locks on the head of Lord Shiva, with the third eye in the centre of His forehead, with red lips and red dot, having full compassion. Lord Shiva manifests there. The Ganges has fallen on the head of Lord Shiva so bring Ganges water. Thirdly, bring back the Bhagavad Geetha which contains the celestial songs sung by Lord Krishna during the great Mahabharatha war. Fourthly, if possible bring back a sanyasi (renunciant).

Foreigners in the past had such sacred thoughts about Bharat. Bharat was a land of Truth, Righteousness, and Sacrifice, but today it has become a land of pleasure. In those days there was harmony between the thought, word and deed, and the people understood the correct meaning of "manusha" (man). Thus it was said, "The proper study of mankind is man." A true human keeps his thought, word and deed in harmony; every noble soul strove for this triple unity. God provides tests and then accepts and confers Divine protection. We should not understand them as only simple tests; since there is no other suitable word we say test. God tests you to strengthen the latent Divinity in you. In Bharat, the rishis undertook penance in the forests by suffering great hardships and sacrificing food, thus they lost all body awareness and were enabled to recognize Divinity.

In Bharat, there was a certain kingdom named Satyajit. The prince of that kingdom was also called Satyajit. One day he was hunting in the forest when he came to a hermitage to take rest. A sanyasi of the ashram thought that he looked like a prince. He told Satyajit that he had only the ashram and nothing else to offer.

When one offers a leaf in worship to God, what does it mean? It is not just different plants that should be offered; the leaf symbolises the body with the three attributes. We offer a flower also in worship. It is not the one that we purchase in the market, but the flower of the heart that blossoms and blossoms, that should be offered to the Divine. We offer fruit, but it is not the fruit we eat but the fruit of the good qualities manifested through the tree of human life. Thus it is the fruit of the mind that God wants. We offer water but it is not the water from the tap, lake, rain or Ganges that one should offer but the tears of devotion to God. So the leaf, flower, fruit and water are all symbolic. In those days, the people offered their body as leaf, the heart as flower, the mind and fruit of actions as fruit and tears of Love and Bliss as water to God.

Then the sanyasi asked the prince who he was and where he had come from. Satyajit replied that he had come from the Kingdom of Satyajit. The sanyasi then told him that Satyajit means one who speaks Truth, who acts righteously, and who lives with Divine thoughts. The sanyasi wondered if Satyajit was following that which his name indicated.

In this world everyone has been given names. In the name Sundaraja, Sundar means beautiful but the one who carries this name may not be beautiful; so the name may be one thing and the reality another. Nowadays we name a person Dharmaraja but he may not be practicing Dharma. We name a person Harishchandra, but he will never speak the truth. So conduct today often does not reflect the meaning of the name.

The sanyasi asked who had named him Satyajit and whether he knew the meaning of his name. He explained that Satyajit means one who knows no misery, to whom the whole world is Divine, whatever happens. The sanyasi desired to test him, to see if he was living up to his name. He said, " Boy, stay in my ashram and I will give you these ochre clothes." The boy obeyed, just as Rama had obeyed Vishwamitra. The sanyasi then took Satyajit's discarded clothes to the kingdom of Satyajit. At the gate to the Kingdom he met the watchman and informed him of the prince. He said, "Look here, your prince has been killed by wild animals and I have brought his clothes." The watchman was not affected in the least by this news. He simply replied, " His time was up, so he died; why are you surprised." The sanyasi thought that this was an answer given through total neglect by a mere watchman.

The sanyasi then met the king, placed the clothes in front of him and informed him of the death of the prince. The king merely replied, "Why are you crying? The body is like a water bubble. All relationships, like passing clouds, did not come before our birth nor will they accompany us after our life. So why worry?" The sanyasi thought that the father hated the son or else he may have many other wives and many more sons so the prince's death was no loss. Just as Dasaratha paid heed to Kaikeyi and drove Rama out, he too may not be bothered about the loss of one son. The sanyasi then went to the queen, thinking that she is bound to feel sad. She said, "Don't feel sad. It is only a body. In the evening all the birds come on the tree to take rest, but in the morning, the tree is empty. We are all birds; what is the relationship between the tree and the birds? Birds come to the tree but there is no relationship between the tree and the birds. In the morning, all the birds go. Why should you feel sad? The tree is one, and has no relationship with anyone.

When he then informed his wife, the princess, of Satyajits' death she started laughing. He could not understand why she was laughing at the death of her husband. She said, "In this continuous flow of the water of life, we are all like branches carried away by the water coming together and separating. I am only one branch and he is another. These two branches have been carried by the flow of water. In this continuous flow of water, we were united and now we are not. Why feel sad?."

Then the sanyasi's eyes opened. The watchman had replied with courage. The king and queen were not sad at the loss of their son. The wife who is half the body of the prince never bothered. Therefore, the name of the kingdom "Satyajit" is perfect.

The sanyasi, after returning to his ashram, decided to test the prince by weeping in front of him. The prince said, "Crying is not natural. When you see anyone crying, you will ask him why he is crying, but if anyone is happy and smiling you won't ask him why he is happy. This means that sadness is unnatural, whereas happiness is natural. Bliss is natural. Why are you crying"? The sanyasi replied, "Your country has been invaded. Your mother and king are all killed and you have lost your kingdom." Satyajit replied, "Have we brought the kingdom with us at birth, or can we take it after death? Therefore why should you cry? At the time of birth there is no necklace of pearls, gold chains or precious stones around your neck but only the consequences of your good and bad deeds from previous lives. Lord Brahma sends us with a heavy garland, our good and bad actions. Swami, why are you sad? We brought with us our consequences so we have to experience them. We should not feel sad as life is full of Bliss, and sadness is only of our making." Thus Satyajit taught the sanyasi a great lesson. The sanyasi prostrated before the prince. He believed him to be a very noble soul and that all persons living in the kingdom are noble too, since their thoughts, words and deeds are in harmony. Throughout his life, man searches for happiness in family, job and study, pining for Bliss, even though he has originated from Bliss. Happiness is not to be found in the world or in physical objects but emanates from the heart. Everything comes from God, so we have to give everything back to God.

In Telugu there is a proverb; "The jackfruit with a rough,tough and thorny covering has multiple fruits inside, containing sweet juice." The many seeds inside can be compared to the numerous children and grandchildren. In Bharat there is oneness but you find separate cultures. Though the components of the jackfruit are separate, the juice is only one. Thus, mankind is of many different types of people but the Bliss is one. Unfortunately, we keep in view only the physical form, action and behaviour (outer covering). The nature of the Atma (sweet juice) is immortal, one-pointed, subtle, pure and unsullied.

Sakuntala spoke to her son Bharatha, "O prince, you have forgotten the promise you made. You must always keep your promise under any circumstances." Bharatha means adherence to Truth and Righteousness; this is how our country derived the name Bharat, so always act in harmony with your thoughts. Bharat is the land of Truth.

The foul smelling body covered by skin houses the temple of God within, thus the body is a moving temple. When once this feeling persists, you will not tread on the wrong path. This body with mind is a gift from God. Practice this one-pointedness towards Truth or God. Satyajit's kingdom epitomized Truth and Righteousness. From ancient times, Bharat has provided peace and inner strength for the world. Bharat is the land where God has taken human birth in the form of Avatars.

Once when Prahlada declared that God was everywhere, the king asked him whether God exists in the pillar too. When Prahlada replied yes, the king then broke the pillar and the Lord came out of it in the form of Narasimha (an avatar whose form is half man and half lion). Here, our body represents the pillar and when the body feeling is transcended or broken one will experience Divinity. Do your duty without too much attachment as it is harmful. You must wear the correct size of shoes or you cannot walk comfortably.

Fill your heart with thoughts of the Divine. Realize that good and bad are only in your vision; from God's perspective (Truth Beauty and Goodness) every action and everything is good. Develop the goodness within you, having the faith that God resides in your heart.

Swami ended His Discourse with, "Govinda Hare, Gopala Hare, Hey Gopi Gopa Bala."

April 25, 1996

Chapter 21