THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 1)

I AM KNOWLEDGE

(Chapter 1)

Knowledge is power. Never has there been a period in history where the world is exploding with knowledge. The mass media has shrunk the world to a village, removing borders and frontiers. Almost every subject has exploded with information and facts and this is forcefully crammed into the cranium of students. Examination papers bear the brunt of the vomit of knowledge which earn students the required certificates. This eventually becomes begging bowls for job seekers. Schools, colleges, universities, tuition centers and educational houses continue to generate students every year. If knowledge is light then the amount of light being released every year from institutions all around the world should have made mother earth brighter than the sun. However, nations all over continue to groan about their respective social ills and anti-social behavior among the youth who follow trends in lifestyles that continue to endanger them, their families and the nation as a whole.

Once a young man complained to the doctor, 'Wherever I go and whatever I read, the articles always point out that smoking is bad. Whatever magazines I come across, I read that smoking is bad. Articles that are given to me always speak about the dangers of smoking.' The concerned doctor asked, 'so have you stopped smoking.' Out come the reply, 'No, I have stopped reading!'

'Reading is not enough, you may master all the commentaries and you may be able to argue and discuss with great scholars about these texts; but without attempting to practice what they teach, it is a waste of time. I never approve of book learning; practice is what I evaluate.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 1 - pg 43)

The lack of practicing the knowledge acquired is the reason why the world is still dark. The Divine Utterance is 'I am knowledge'. This indeed must be one of the first times that we have heard of such a statement being made by anyone. The teacher is not just urging us to pursue whatever field of knowledge that we have embarked on but to really become an authority itself of the subject. This is true and applicable for both the material and the spiritual fields. One can argue that to achieve this state is only a utopian dream triggered by some hope promising sage or saint from the hills or caves. At one glance, it will seem totally impossible and highly ridiculous to even suggest to fellow aspirants to yearn for such a state.

Einstein in school never displayed any brilliance and showed only mediocre potential that would have gone unnoticed if not for a silent latent spark of curiosity that was lurking deep within. The ignited mind of Einstein prompted by the deep desire to know pursued to seek for truth. He buried himself in the dark corners of the icy cold laboratory; the only warmth perhaps was the dancing flame of curiosity burning from within. Every data and fact was accumulated, synthesized, analyzed and digested. His proficiency grew in stature demanding the respect of other well-known scientists. His E=MS2 equation revolutionized the world and shifted paradigms which brought new dimensions of awareness. His mastery of physics was indeed applauded and today, Einstein is synonymous with Physics. He had become the subject itself and hence he is the knowledge. In fact, even the time of his period in history, will be known to the world as 'Einstein's era. And yet, he said, 'I think I have used about 25% of my intellectual capacity during my life.' This remark itself is highly motivating as it implies that in each one of us, there is a great fountain of treasure in the form of knowledge that is waiting to be discovered.

The divine utterance is a direct call to all aspirants and devotees of God, that one who is seeking GOD or aspiring for the higher constantly strive to expand his/her frontiers of knowledge - both worldly and spiritual - till both become one.

Religion is not an escape route for people to hide away from understanding and knowing the world. Spiritual people must also be recognized as an authority in their chosen field or profession. One's contribution to his profession or field must become the bench mark for others to be motivated. Hence it is a direct call for devotees not to kill the curiosity of any one but use it to shake off from the states of complacency he has accidentally slipped into. Giant footprints on the sands of time have been left by people who have asked questions such as, 'How should I improve? How should I excel? What else can I contribute?'

The teacher's utterance of 'I am knowledge' sounds simple and sweet to the ears but a heart wanting to burst to higher heights understands the meaning behind the suggestiveness of this utterance. The line has the potential to completely revolutionize the present lifestyle that many lead. Headlines in national dailies are screaming statistics offered by not nations riddled with poverty and disasters. It is those fully developed countries that report of increasing rise in suicide tendencies among youth and teenagers.

Why is there such a phenomena occurring at this present age where everything imaginable is within reach. The problem lies only in the fact that we have allowed the aspect of curiosity to remain latent and dormant. In the past, curiosity was summoned as a survival mechanism to escape from dangers arising from choking circumstances. As time went on, the world continued to see curiosity in scientists generating inventions and discoveries and people in general advancing their life with modern amenities and comfort. Somehow, in the present day, the fire of curiosity has been reduced to a dim flame in many, enough only to search for ways and means to pass their immediate examination or search for security and comfort. Mind ceases to question and even if it does, the quality of such a questioning minds needs to be looked into.

Bhagavan has even classified the nature of the questioning mind.

'Questions are generally classified into four groups :

1) trivial 2) low 3) passable 4) praiseworthy.

Questions that are raised in order to drag another into a controversy and later to inflict a humiliating defeat on him are 'trivial'. Questions that are put in order to demonstrate one's own cleverness and skill are 'low'. Questions which announce the intellectual equipment reasoning faculty of the questioner are 'passable' and belong to the third class. Questions that are asked with the sincere desire to remove one's doubts are 'praiseworthy' and belong to the highest class.'

(Ramakatha Rasa Vahini - pg 312)

Hence merely questioning for the sake of questioning to demonstrate intellectual prowess is not desirable. Genuine curiosity is the fuel to attain knowledge but unfortunately the mind today has lost the dynamism to question or even possess the peace to fathom into the unknown. Accepting anything without a challenge, following trends and styles without questioning, the youth today slowly are sinking into mediocrity.

'The goal is liberation, immortality, merger with the Divine, getting immersed to the inner and outer glory. Knowing this is the real aim of man, he who is unaware of this is ignorant. However profound his scholarship may be, he does not know the answer to the only question that is worth asking. Who am I?'

(Sathya Sai Speaks VI, Chap 4 - pg 236)

This mind must question on the purpose of life and this will surely fuel the search for answers. The question 'Who am I?' when asked shifts the focus to the solution rather than a given problem. Any other perspective orientates the mind to be problem focused and immediately puts the spotlight on what is not working or what is wrong. Such a mind will look for someone to blame, causes defensiveness, stifles creativity, causes more problems which drains energy. 'Who am I?' is a question which orientates the mind to the solution. In any given problem, asking this question releases the pain of the problem and focuses on the real purpose. In such a self examination mood, the philosophies gathered from the teachings of all Masters in all religions provide a safety net to cushion the stormy period of uncertainty. Hence if the mind is solution orientated, the spotlight will focus on strengthening what is workable, develop openness and involvement, create energy and enthusiasm and open communication. In fact, as long as we keep on asking 'why?', our eyes will continue to focus on opportunities to extricate knowledge from the world but all such knowledge is worldly and can at best only help in making a living.

'Seek the gem of Divine Knowledge within you, just as precious stones have to be sought in the bowels of the earth. Now what you seek is trivial trash. Go deeper where the treasure is stored.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 223)

One day, the researcher went to the library in search of some reference books. It was at that point, an electricity failure brought the whole library to darkness. He took out his pencil torch light from his lab-coat and flashed on the books neatly arranged on the shelves. The thin beam of light fell on shelves labeled Biology, Chemistry and Physics. His search took him further to the corner of the library where the light from the torch light fell on the shelf labeled Physiology. It was then he bumped into his friends who were also searching for books using their respective torch lights. However, their beam was more powerful than his although the type and shape of the torch by his friends were the same. The moment he opened the torch, both batteries jumped out but in that darkness of the library, he could not determine what brand of the batteries were. Upon inserting back the batteries, the light that came out from the torch light fell on every book of all subjects in the library and yet such an illumination failed to determine the nature of the batteries.

"To see an effulgent light, you do not need another lamp. Likewise, to know the self-luminous Atmic Knowledge, there is no need for any other knowledge. Every human being has in him the knowledge of his true form. Owing to his failure to know this stupendous fact, man pursues all kinds of worldly knowledge.'

(Sanathana Sarathi, February 1995 - pg 37)

The quote must be understood properly. Until our light becomes effulgent and resplendent, we still need to depend on the guidance of other lights. The person took the battery out and it became dark.... this will be an experience common to most of us. But we can use the light from others to shine on our battery only to realize that the brand in all batteries is the same (Atma is ONE). The only reason why our torch suffers from a problem of "lesser light" was because our battery was covered by rust or dirt. This is a reason why a Master or Guru is needed, to help us realize our own source of light, as well as make us to know how to tap the knowledge. The vast majority of us need someone to (initially) at least guide us like a ladder to climb, but after some time, we will not need the guide or the ladder when we ourselves become a guide or ladder for others. But even as we gain the greater knowledge, we must not kick away the ladder or disregard the Guru who help us acquire the knowledge. Hence we should preserve every ladder that helped us to arrive where we are. Once we arrive at our own light of our own knowledge, we can then share the wisdom and offer the ladders that we have gathered to others.

The above story is an analogy that shows the present day situation. We have become experts in making a living and yet we are unaware of what Life is. Without the knowledge of life, we make a living and transact in the day to day affairs of existence. Hence it is imperative that we must possess spiritual hunger to know more of our own self.

Before a student becomes a doctor and is trained in the art of detecting diseases or malfunctions of the body, he must properly be introduced to the anatomy of the body. In fact, his medical syllabus will cover the mechanisms, the hormonal flows,the biochemical pathways, the physiological process, the dynamic workings at cellular and molecular levels and all other functions of the body. Unless this understanding is nailed to the cranium, the pathology and pathogenesis of disease manifestation in the body cannot be fully understood. Only with proper understanding can the right medication and therapy be implemented to restore the body to health. Merely holding tools to repair a car does not make one a car mechanic. An understanding of the right functioning of the car is vital for him to know what is wrong, and where the fault lies. Proper knowledge of management is critical to detect mismanagement. It appears to be a paradox that with all aspects of living, proper training and knowledge is given and yet when it comes to understanding life, we leave it to circumstances and nature to confer this knowledge through experience. The hard knocks as we twist and turn in the highway of life precipitate new awareness and insights by which time the mind stores the hurt and grief secured from such experiences. Almost all prayer halls are filled with devotees with a myriad of problems, each screaming, 'Why me?' If listened properly, we might hear the following echo reverberating from the lips of the Gods we worship, 'Why not?'

The mistake that is being made especially in modern times is that we have little patience to understand the subject of 'Self'. And because the subject has been very largely introduced by renounced saints and sages, the image of the subject has been misperceived. The credit card, fast car jet paced life stylers find it too deep to grasp, too irrelevant to adopt and too dull to lead.

One day, the son in a family decided that he would go to the video shop to select a video cassette and since the whole family was at home being a Sunday, everyone jumped up with enthusiasm. The father naturally instructed his son to bring a 1960's black and white movie about a revolutionary war story. The mother objected and said that she wanted a documentary on Ikebana (the art of flower making), the eldest brother yelled from his computer seat that he wanted to watch the latest action movie, the sister insisted that she wanted a movie of her screen idol in a recent comedy story. The youngest of them all said that it was unfair that he had to wait so long to watch the recent re-play of the football match and he insisted that the cassette had to be on the game. Time was spent in deciding and finally, after a lengthy argument, the boy decided to get all the cassettes to satisfy everyone. He rushed to the shop, parked the car, walked a great distance in the sun to reach the shop, stood in the queue, searched for all the requested cassettes, paid the amount, walked back to his car in the heat, walked again to another spot to pay the parking fee and finally reached home to the much eagerly awaiting crowd. Another bout of argument to decide which should be seen first took place and the youngest, having the loudest voice, won. They inserted the video cassette and to everyone's surprise, they realized that the video player (which had become faulty due to the previous day's lightning) could not project the desired movie.

The story has relevance to us. All our desires and tendencies can only be fulfilled if we have the knowledge of the functioning of the inner equipment. Most of the time, all our experiences are not totally fulfilling, as there is fault in our inner video player. Hence, the disturbed, agitated and a troubled mind cannot come to feel and totally enjoy any experience. In order to repair the inner video player, we must firstly know the spiritual anatomy and come to understand what we are composed of.

'There are five sheaths within which the 'I' shines. Of these, the Annamaya - the material sheath, is the gross body. The subtle body consists of the next three sheaths, the vital (Prana-maya), the mental (Mano-maya) and the intellectual (Vijnana-maya). The causal body is the bliss conscious, the Ananda-maya Kosha or sheath. Even this is a limitation, a phase, a characteristic. The 'I' has no such bounds or bondage. The Guru who can make you cognize this 'I' is your own mind. Turn it towards intelligence and Ananda, you are on the right path. Turn it towards the material, you slide down the path of perdition.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol Chap 21 - Pg 125)

Here Bhagavan repeating the knowledge in the ancient scriptures which He Himself had conveyed through the great Saints and Sages explains that there are 5 sheaths in each one of us. The outermost is the gross body and the innermost is the bliss sheath. In the middle lies the mind sheath. If the mind moves towards the body and seeks only physical gratification and questions only on how to survive and succeed in the rat race, it will be only time before stress lands him in the hospital. However, if the mind also possess the serenity to question about his inner nature and possess knowledge of higher states of consciousness, his curiosity will transport him to deeper realms of peace. If we turn within, we will touch the bliss sheath and therefore feel love all the time. A man of bliss always enjoys life fully and in doing so will also enjoy and be contented with the material rewards that are surely to follow such a divine 'lifestyler'.

'The knowledge that you are the Divine Spark, encased in the sheaths of bliss, intelligence, feelings, sensations and organic substances - this knowledge is the light. You must light your own lamp. You cannot walk in the light of another's lamp. You cannot exist on the money in the purse of another. Have your own money; then alone you are free. Earn the knowledge yourself. Even knowing it is not enough, you must experience it.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol VI, Chap 39 - pg 182)

Hence, the purpose of all knowledge seems to be to discover the latent divinity within. In a journey, especially to an unknown place, it is always safe to go with a friend. Thus, we often seek the assistance of an ally. In this spiritual journey, the mind can be a friend or foe. To make anyone your friend or an ally, you must first understand and know the mood and temperaments of such a person. Hence, knowledge gained in the first instance must empower one to know the mechanisms of the mind. This knowledge will help one to master the mind and hence, master his own destiny. To achieve this, we need initially to depend on those who are enlightened to help us but time and experience must empower our conscience to be our inner guide. How long are we to depend on other's light to illuminate our mind?

The reminder is timely as devotees cannot for the rest of their lives be passive beggars in the halls of prayers. Hands that are folded in reverence must develop strength to stretch for the purposes of services. Heads crammed with information gathered from the experiences of others must get translated into a sensible conviction. Hearts initially beating only for the Lord's attention to satisfy selfish requests must transform to give love and attention to the sick and needy. The realization must dawn that the sick and the needy are also His embodiments. This realization is what that will open our limited jail doors and set us free. Hence, the call is simple. Search for the knowledge, practice what you have learnt and ultimately, become that knowledge itself.

'Water flows downwards at all times and at all places. This is its nature. Only when you put this water in a vessel will it be stable. If you allow it to flow, it will always flow downwards. Similarly, our mind moves always outward and only when you can do something to contain it, will it remain stable. There are two types of flows associated with the mind. One is related to the time frame and the other to the material world. Spirituality is intended to help man to regulate the flow of the mind. It helps him to know what is true, what is permanent, and inspires him to perform actions which are beneficial to him in his quest for the divine.'

(Divine Discourse 1987 - pg 99)

Bhagavan here clearly points out the nature and tendency of the mind. If one knows which direction the wind blows, the sail then can be appropriately set up, so as to take the ship safely to the shores. Here we are warned of the tendency of the mind so that we can alert our intelligence to keep guard. This would entail subliming and curtailing the flow of the mind to greater potentials.

'The mind is the wind that brings to us the smells of the world. When the mind turns to foul things, it makes you feel disgusted. When it turns to fragrant things, you are happy.'

(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 129)

Hence, the mind creates a need and therefore man runs after the many elements of the objective world to satisfy the need. The drinking houses (pub) have 'happy hours', clearly implying that people are not, and offer an alternative as to how each one can achieve such a state. Spending time and money into the wee hours of the morning, the solution that is supposed to make them happy creates in them all sorts of problems. Why in the first place gulp the drink? The reply from any experienced drinker will be 'to be happy'. Why did you smoke? Out comes the reply, 'For an experience'. What experience were you looking for? Clearing the smoke and coughing away he would reply, 'I feel a sense of peace and well being'. Hence, it can be seen that the mind travels only to activities that enhance happiness or joy or peace. This temporary pleasure creates a bondage and thereby develops a need.

'The mind is the cause of both bondage and liberation. It is only by controlling the mind that man can achieve liberation.'

(Sanathana Sarathi, July 1994 - pg 169)

The understanding of the workings of the mind is critical to a person who wants to increase his capacity to love. Loving our kith and kin is natural but why is it that we cannot expand our love orbit to include others, including our enemies. The mind is the main culprit and unless we know the workings of the mind, we will be ignorant of the ways to extend the periphery of our boundaries and limitations.

Mind is a sharp sword. Man will be able to fulfill himself if he realizes the subtle and the mysterious workings of the mind. Mind travels fast, is strong, lighter than ether and subtler than electricity....

(Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 - pg 35)

'It is the five attributes of feeling, form, quantity, color and energy that the mind pulsates, activates and energizes the universe. Since the universe is suffused with the mind, these five attributes too suffuse the universe. The power and might of the mind is immense. We can understand the workings of the universe by understanding the power and potency of the mind. By tasting one drop of water from the ocean, we can experience the very taste of the entire water of the ocean. The drop is the ocean and the ocean is the drop.'

(Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 - pg 40)

The proficiency of handling a gun is a prerequisite in shooting an aimed target. Likewise, here Bhagavan is orientating us to the understanding of a faculty within us which is directly responsible for increasing our competence, i.e., our mind. The workings and nature of the mind, once understood becomes a ready made tool available to any individual to procure valuable information. A computer capable of a million tasks is useless to a computer illiterate. Once he is exposed to the nature and mechanisms of this wondrous machine, the computer is at the beck and call of its owner, prepared to obey the minute instruction.

The teacher here holds our hand and raises us to a higher platform to appreciate the nature of our own mind. 'Mind travels fast, is light and subtle'. We can understand the workings of the Universe if we understand our mind. This statement has the potential to completely create a mental revolutions in the minds of earnest seekers who wish to go beyond the media unity of the rat race of movely grabbing and searching for new unformal. The simple philosophy is really the antidote for all our present problem. In order to know the world, first know the mind.

It is of no wonder that great sages of only limited formal education who spend their time meditating express deep insightful knowledge of the world that can stun even scientists. Scientists such as Einstein who spent most of his life understanding complex physics and laws governing natural laws of science bordered into metaphysics and ended in deep philosophy. This is a classic evidence of science merging with spirituality. Here Bhagavan, by pointing out the nature of the mind, hopes to inspire us to take the challenge of mastering this equipment. That mind is fast and subtle implies the speed and the pervasiveness of knowledge that the mind is capable of accessing. This vast potential of mind is minimally tapped today and only utilized to meet daily obligations and commitments.

'When you think of the world, it exists for you'. When you do not think of it, for you, it does not exist... As long as the mind exists, it is not possible to comprehend the mind and its activity clearly. When thought ceases, there will be no mind. Mind is a bundle of thoughts... Do not follow the thoughts. Then the world will not develop for you.'

(My Baba and I - pg 226)

This is a paradox. As long as mind exists, it cannot comprehend the nature of the mind. Einstein once said that a problem cannot be solved at the same level it has been created. Hence, in order to understand the workings of the mind, let alone master it, one must move to higher subtler realms of consciousness. This again emphasizes the point which has been made why sages meditating high up in the mountains glow with wisdom even though they must have had only limited formal education. They must have dived deep within and from that level examined their own mind and thereby understands the beauty and glory of the universe.

'The mind is of four types : The Super Mind, the Higher Mind, the Illuminated Mind and the Over Mind. Man can know himself when he understands the nature of these four types of mind. One has to travel from the Super Mind to Over Mind to understand Divinity.'

(Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 - pg 2)

A teacher of any field must provide the scope of the syllabus to a student who is keen to pursue a certain subject. Likewise, here Bhagavan provides an entire scheme of development to reach a Divine state. The super mind must grow to a higher mind, then reach an illuminated mind before transcending to an over mind. Only then can his mind become a divine one. By introducing four terms, He has provoked a deep curiosity within each of us what the terms mean. This provoking curiosity flames a passion to search for the answers.

It is for this reason that study circles and reading of spiritual literature have been encouraged so that we slowly climb to higher platforms of awareness. Seeking knowledge is a prerequisite to seeking perfection, let alone attaining a divine status. We will know that the world is changing when we see a few individuals panting to ask someone the meaning of a spiritual statement made by Bhagavan or discussing with great earnestness a spiritual implication found in scriptures. What is implied in this Divine utterance is that one must go beyond the present level of understanding. Hence, the Teacher is pointing out the necessary qualifications to step into the Institution of Understanding Self. The spiritual discontent to know what the Self is would naturally prompt one to participate in all the other activities so as to earn the necessary prerequisites to experience the Ultimate.

The Grand Utterance of the Divine must make us uncomfortable and inadequate so as to feel a discontent. Many have been aspiring devotees and have been regular at many of these activities. The critical question one must ask is 'How have I improved' 'Have I become a better person?' and more importantly, 'Who am I really?'

'I have come to repair the ancient highways of all religions', Bhagavan has said many times. The call of course to all devotees is to enrich the knowledge and practice their traditional religion of their birth. We must know about the religion of our birth and being devotees also understand the teachings of all other religions. We must help others understand their religion and become poles that help unclog mud and debris that blocks each one from experiencing the spirit. Knowledge must be shared to help each understand the significance of the rites and rituals to as to help the aspirants bring out their latent divinity within (EDUCARE). Devotees of God must be knowledgeable in the religion of their birth and understand the truth in other religions.

Only true Love and passion for the spirit can accomplish this. Einstein, in the pursuit of his truth, would have read and understood the findings of all other contemporaries simply to understand perspectives and appreciate the science more. If this is so natural for a man of science, surely a man of God swimming in the ocean of spirituality will find it fascinating to learn and love what is found in the various rivers of religions.

This Divine Utterance is also a clarion call to become an authority in the chosen field of profession. Become agents of change and instruments for improvement in your respective working environment by constantly upgrading knowledge and the respective working skills. Devotees of any God or Master must aspire for excellence and be a positive role model in their career, home and society. All this requires knowledge. Hence, it must be remembered that to become ultimately divine, one of the requirements is increase our own proficiency and this comes from a constant questioning curiosity which sheds complacency and limitations.

There is something over the hill! There is something across the bend! What is it? Pursue and the truth shall set you free!

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 2)

I AM NOT AFFECTED BY PRAISE OR BLAME

(Chapter 2)

Whenever we go to a teacher to learn from him or her, be it any profession, and enthusiastic teacher will first demonstrate to an appreciative student glimpses and flashes of the breadth and scope of what is to be taught. The coach in the gym will himself demonstrate the push ups and the eager eyes of the student will appreciate the exercise being done without the accompaniment of tiredness or hurried panting. The student gains an appreciation as to the extent of how his stamina and muscles should develop to match that of his teacher. Likewise, in the cooking class, the demonstration of how to prepare certain dishes by the chief chef will impress the juniors in his kitchen the finer points that goes to making certain delicacies. The same is true for swimming or driving, which can be physically demonstrated and visually appreciated.

In spirituality, the field of training is conferred on the subtler realms of the personality and therefore, transformational consequence of this many not be easily detectable. Since spirituality is a subtle science, the student must depend upon every word of the teacher. A good student will observe how his teacher acts and responds to the challenges thrown to him in the world. The student will then emulate the behavior of the teacher and hopefully gain the same experience as what the teacher is experiencing. Hence, a snap shot of how a divine mind operates can provide a matrix for the mind of the student to develop. Hence, it becomes exciting to ponder what or how a divine mind operates. Swami's statement that 'I am not affected by praise or blame' is a crucial snap shot for us to appreciate that a human mind must reach this stage in order to gain a divine status.

The nature of the mind to be in equanimity is of paramount importance to achieve success in life. Imagine a person with a sensitive mind - with the slightest criticism, the mind becomes agitated with unnecessary thoughts. People are known to lose sleep, ruminating over words or actions (intentional or unintentional) that have caused the hurt. This slowly develops a complex that creates a barrier in his day to day transactions. The paradox of it all is that, in most cases, the person who criticized would have forgotten what he had said. Such vulnerable and reactive people will not risk coming to the front of any organized work for fear of being criticized if projects fail. Hence, his potentials and talents remains untapped and unexplored.

'We should no be affected by praise and blame, censure and appreciation, gain and loss. Chaitanya was abused widely by people. But Chaitanya danced in ecstasy even then. When someone questioned him why he danced in joy in spite of the foul abuses, he said, 'The foul abuse of the people does not reach me at all. It melts into thin air. That is why I dance in joy.'

(Summer Showers in Brindavan 1993 - Page 17)

Chaitanya's example shown is a good one to point out that when one is immersed in his preoccupation, the world will never bother such individuals. Those who are passionately immersed in a piece of work will not register the criticism hurled nor the praises showered. The artist staring in wonder at the ripples in the lake will not hear of the criticism hurled by the passer-by that he is wasting his valuable time and yet the fine paint work of ripples caught in the art canvas placed in the art gallery years later draws praises from on lookers. The artist was sucked into the joy of work. Such people will forever be steady and focused in their chosen goal and will be completely detached from praise or blame.

The benefits of equanimity are listed in all scriptures but the modern youngsters will only laugh at such ideals as utopian and scorn at such suggestions as impractical. Almost as if hearing the incredulous cries of such sceptics, Bhagavan in another speech hints a point as to how the quality of detachment can be developed in order to gain equanimity.

'The sense of dislike that results from recognition of the temporariness and triviality of pleasure is best called practical detachment.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IX - pg 7)

Everything in life is temporary. A quick sweeping look into our own lives will enable us to believe this truth. The toys we cried for, the clothes we passionately liked, the company we kept, the food we enjoyed... will all come back like a dream now. Yet when we wanted something, the intensity of our yearning for the things we desired would have been great. Years later, we laugh at our own stupidity as we have come to realize the hollowness of that particular desire. Practical detachment can be cultivated with similar recollections and in doing so, we slowly learn to steady our mind.

Standing and watching from a distance, the ocean will not confer anyone the thrill of getting wet and soaked. Entering the ocean but complaining of the high and low waves the ocean generates is an expression of immaturity. Both praise and blame is a reaction from the world to our actions. Both can leave behind a residual effect of the world to our actions. Both can leave behind a residual effect of attachment with the idea that 'I' have done it. Action that is prompted by expecting praise will leave a residue of hope which will breed disappointment if the expectation is not met. To always act with the fear of being ridiculed or criticized will hamper the discharge of duty with total love.

The maya or illusion trap that we fall into is that we identify with the waves. Bhagavan gives a beautiful analogy :

'A volcano throws up lave on the screen of the picture house; a dam bursts and the flood waters it has impounded roar along towards the sea, submerging vast states; but the screen is not burnt nor does it get wet in the least. The screen is the truth; the film is an illusion, however realistic it was, however genuine the feelings it aroused. Know this and so direct your life that this knowledge is the background of all your actions. Thus you will have great peace and great joy.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 114)

True understanding of the nature of life bestows this Divine quality of equal mindedness. In order for us to appreciate the analogy better, our mind must learn how to contemplate on the subtle meanings. The Teacher has clearly said that there are two parts, the screen representing the reality and all that is happening on the screen as illusion.

Let us project that analogy on to our life. I was born, grew up, went to school, got a college degree, got a job, married, produced children and am now waiting to die. These are generally the milestones of our different phases or of life. While I experienced through the various incidences and phases of life, the sweat and tears of my endeavors, the joy and thrills of my procurements, the one factor that was constant throughout my life's experiences was 'I'. It was as if the screen called 'I' witnessed all the happenings that were thrown on it. The only difference being that the screen was never touched by the happenings or tainted by the incidences. How can I develop my mind to be like the screen? How can I be a mere passive witness to all that is happening to the world? Is this not a claim or a suggestion of a dull boring life? Will not such a philosophy push away the modern dynamic youth who are screaming to be in every passing incident?

Let us take the movie analogy that Bhagavan has given. We are now sitting in the theatre, watching intensely the story unfolding on the screen. It was then that the lady suddenly poses a question to her husband. 'Did you lock the front door of the house?' Much to the irritation of the husband, he replies, 'I thought you did.' The wife replies, 'Well, I thought I did, now I have a doubt.' The doubt whether the door has been locked lends fuel to her hyper imaginative mind, that everything in the house will be stolen by the time the movie finishes. The constant instigation irritates the husband until at long last his own peace is disturbed and therefore both now sitting in the theatre are unable to appreciate the beautiful award winning movie.

The real true joy of any experience can come to be only when the mind stops its agitation and totally get an opportunity to be absorbed in that given experience. A crying child who wants to go home from the botanical gardens where the family chose to spend a Saturday evening, will never provide an opportunity for his parents to appreciate the myriad flower petals, the dancing plants and the fragrant flowers in the garden. An anxious husband, outside the shop, hooting his horn in anxiety will never provide the peace of mind to his wife to make the proper choice of buying the right saree or dress inside the shop. Examples can be multiplied.

If all these mundane simple worldly experience requires the stillness of the mind to enjoy, then surely to climb to higher strata of consciousness and experience the total beauty and grandeur of Life itself, the mind must slowly lose the pangs of anxiety and regrets and gently glide to the mode of the 'screen' become an unaffected.

The analogy is a beautiful one to contemplate upon. The secret for a successful life is found in this analogy, the logic of which is sound and cannot be denied even by the hardened sceptic.

Bhagavan provides another analogy to help us understand the philosophy better.

'We have a candlelight here. We cover this candlelight with a pot which has ten holes in it. On this, we also put a thick Turkish towel. In that situation, the light that is inside the pot is not seen at all from outside. But if slowly, we take off the towel with which we have covered the pot, uncovering each hole one by one, then we can see one light, another light, as the holes come out one by one. But if we remove the towel completely and throw it away, we look at ten different holes, and ten different candlelights. In spite of the fact that we can see ten different lights, if at that time we break the pot and throw it away, then we realize that all these ten lights are only from one single candle. Earlier we did not see any light but once when the cover on the pot has been removed, we have seen ten lights. If the pot is broken, then we again see one light. This is the basis of your life. There is inside, as we all can see, the individual light or the supreme light. The individual light has been covered by the human body with ten holes in it. If the desires of the human body should be broken, then we will have the vision of the one light, i.e., the splendor of the Self. That has been called the light of Oneness. The light of the Oneness is the light of the Self. The Self is the embodiment of bliss. You can only experience the embodiment of bliss and it is not possible to exhibit it in any other manner'...

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 89)

Bhagavan, through this analogy, brings us a revelation on a method on how to identify with the screen and not the movie. The key word is to reduce desires. When desires are multiplied, the mind screen thickens. The white pure light gets distorted when diffracted through the mind prism. Perceptions breed biasness and distort the true picture. The reality seen in fragments and pieces blurs judgment and hence generates misunderstanding, disputes, quarrels and wars. The analogy is a good one to explain the concept of Educare. The one light in the pot but seen from different holes gives the impression that there are ten lights. Education confers us knowledge and records that there are ten lights. Educare helps us to recognize that is only one reflected as ten as seen through different holes. This intrinsic awareness that there is unity in the diversity cannot be attained or appreciated if the mind does not experience equanimity. Hence, the appreciation of greater truth and higher reality can dawn only in a mind which is steady and free from a reactive nature.

'In Vedantic parlance, this reduction of desire has been called detachment. Detachment does not mean that you leave your family and material things behind to retire into the forest. What it really means is to perform your tasks and duties and uphold the duty and dignity of the family. But at the same time, curb your desires. Certainly, you have a right to look for materials which are necessary for what you have to do. It is only when your desires become excessive that you have despair.'

(SSN Summer 1989 - pg 23)

Reduction of desires provides inner strength to acquire this Divine state of equanimity. We must ask ourselves when we are on a shopping spree, is this necessary or do we really need this? People today, especially the modern youth, over-enthusiastically run after material objects especially branded goods that are expensive and beyond their reach. 'IS THIS NECESSARY' if repeated like a mantra becomes the armor to curb excessive extrovert energy to attachment in the outer world. Only when such energy is conserved and peace experienced in the bosom, can the intellect be developed.

'Shanti is essential for sharpness of intellect. Shanti develops all the beneficial characteristics of man. Even far-sightedness grows through Shanti. Through that, obstacles and dangers can be anticipated and averted'...

(Prashanti Vahini - pg 12)

It is only in peace that man starts to think and contemplate on the higher state of reality. It is common knowledge that corporations send their bosses to the highlands or beach resort for brainstorming sessions to draw up the company's next five year plan. Places of tranquil offer the mind to free itself from the demanding obligations of the routine. In the absence of thought waves, the intellect slowly peeps out and like a lighthouse throw out the beam so that the mind can see into the future, thereby generating useful resolutions and recommendations to materialize the five year vision. Having peace is a sure way of sharpening the intellect. The intellect will come to govern the personality and slowly evolve the reactive mind to one that responds. Impulsive reactions are minimized and slowly the personality grows in stature.

'Even enthusiasm must be under control; devotion must be regulated. There is no meaning in simply running behind and before My car.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 11, Chap 35 - pg 210)

To steady the mind, spiritual practices are necessary. Discipline enforced and the mind is brought to vigilance scrutinized by the intellect. There are some who get carried away in their devotion. Exaggerated prayers or frequent trips to pilgrim centers do not make a person spiritual. In this statement, Bhagavan slaps this breed of over-enthusiastic people. Running behind His car is not indication of devotion. Hence it is a clear statement that the scientist in Swami, bringing forth a precautionary statement that external show of devotion is not wanted. Swami is interested in the state of the mind. Spiritual science is subjective and therefore no external manifestation of devotion can indicate the status of the mind. The lifestyle we lead, the intelligent response to the challenges we face, the decisions we make, in the manner we speak, the charitable nature we develop are all symbols that the mind is being slowly cultured and perfected through the spiritual practices. This is what that is really needed.

'You have to become toughened by the hammer strokes of joy and sorrow until you are unaffected by the vicissitudes of fortune.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV - pg 54)

Hence if mind is what makes or breaks man, then slowly those who come closer to the Teacher are subjected to tests. A standard one child can only go to standard two if the examination is passed. Likewise, any student wanting to gain greater proficiency in a subject must be exposed to the rigorous examinations and tests. Passing these tests only mean that he is ready to face the next. The material world has no other means in place to bring the best out from anyone. In the spiritual world, the same applies.

The sorrows and misery inflicted create mental worry and anxiety. All spiritual practices only confers the stamina for us to detach ourselves, watch our actions and reactions in those suffocating circumstances. The moment we move to the 'screen' mode, we watch our own mind tossing and turning, being whip lashed by the onslaught of life's circumstances. Spiritual practices gives us the information needed to move our mind from the 'movie' to the 'screen' mode. In the movie mode, we play the victim of our own tragedy but in the screen mode, we merely become the witness. We acquire the capacity to even learn from our own mistakes, tragedies and pitfalls. This is what Bhagavan precisely urges us to do. Hence, sometimes when we become more spiritual, hard knocks on our lives increase multiplying our agonies. The mind is being orientated to free itself from experiencing pain.

'Man should maintain equanimity in pleasure and pain, loss or gain. Without pain, you cannot enjoy pleasure. Sorrow is the royal road to joy. Sufferings are the stepping stones that lead man towards virtuous conduct. One should never be elated by pleasure or dejected by pain.'

(Sanathana Sarathi May 1994 - pg 113)

This is an ideal but very difficult to practice. If someone close passes away, should we not cry? Is this ideal not generating mono dimensional robots without any feelings or human emotions? Is this equanimity? Many have asked this question. The ideal appears too utopian and impractical, however, the Teacher must state the ideal.

A gym trainer will ask his students to jump and cross the 6 feet height pole vault. Students who have never jumped that high will look at the Teacher with suspicion and scorn at his ambitious plan. Hence, the teacher must lower the crossbar to 4 feet and this will facilitate many students to clear this height with ease. Gaining the confidence, he raises the level of expectation until he achieves the intended height. Likewise, Swami must state the highest expectation and it is up to us to develop ourselves to reach the intended stage.

In life, we are always expected to respond to the circumstances, sometimes unpleasant ones. Did not Lord Rama cry when Seeta was kidnapped? If circumstances make us fall, then do fall. Fall not like a heavy brick but fall like a bouncing ball. At every bounce, the ball drops only to rise higher in stature and grandeur to fulfill his dharma.

'The stage of equanimity so essential for spiritual progress can be gained only when the intellect is cleansed of the blot of deluding attachments and involvements. Devoid of that serenity, the intellect or Buddhi cannot proceed on the trail of Brahman.'

(Sutra Vahini - pg 16-17)

Even when we are at work or at school, the best from us can come only when the mind has gained an inner peace. The agitated and anxious student will never be able to recall what he has studied inside the examination hall. The fidgety job seeker blurts out the most ridiculous answer to the potential boss during the interview even though he knows the actual answer to the question asked. Anxiety to reach a destination has failed many drivers to act appropriately in crisis situation, thus causing accidents and mishaps. Tired and weary minds of doctors have contributed to medical negligence. It is common knowledge that a soldier cannot learn how to shoot in the middle of a war. When circumstances pose as challenges, the inner equipment must be ready to meet all of them perfectly.

It is for this reason that we must acquire this Divine quality of equanimity at an early age. This is a prerequisite for exploration of the higher realms of consciousness.

'There are various habits which can be learned in order to ensure equanimity. When someone insults you or defames you or ignores you, accept it with a smile; this is the way of the world, it is basically ungrateful, ill-mannered, they are doing me a good turn, my strength is on trial. I shall not yield to anger or resentment. Tell yourself such invigorating things, and be quiet, with a smile of triumph on your lips. There was a Sanyasin once who was roundly abused by a gang of mischievous young men. He said, "Carry on! Enjoy yourselves! I see that you are very happy at the chance. This is exactly what I desire for you." When you do not accept the insult someone casts on you, it goes back to the person who indulged in it first; a registered letter that is not accepted returns to the sender. Do not damage you mental peace by receiving the letter and reading the contents. Refuse to read it. You have a chance of correcting the wrong doers too; accept it and you join the gang of mischief-makers. So be warned!'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol VIII, Chap 44 - pg 229)

When working in groups, one is forced to interact. All interactions will involve at some stage communication. In the process, sometimes we are criticized, other times we are praised. But here again, the Teacher is hinting to us to be forewarned. Don't react to either. Become a witness and know that this is the way of the world. Maturity is needed to possess such an attitude. Unless one develops such an attitude, the mind will be dragged into the muddy confusions of the world. It will lose its spring to jump to higher stratospheres of contemplation, and hence, deny the mind from fathoming the real purpose of birth.

The Teacher too has not been spared from criticisms. To a letter from His brother dated 25th May 1947, who was concerned about the numerous critics of Bhagavan during His early days, He replied :

My dear one,

I received the communication that you wrote and sent. I found in it the surging floods of devotion and affection, with the undercurrents of doubts and anxiety. Let me tell you it is impossible to plumb the hearts and discover the Jnanis, Yogis, ascetics, saints, sages and the like. People are endowed with a variety of characteristics and mental attitudes; so, each one judges according to his own angle, talks and argues in the light of his own nature. But we have to stick to our path, our own wisdom, our own resolution without getting affected by popular appraisal. As the proverb says, it is the fruit laden tree that receives the shower of stone from passers-by. It is not the way of the great to swell when people offer worship, and shrink when people scoff. (...) I have my own definition of devotion. I expect that those who are devoted to Me have to treat joy and grief, gain and loss, with equal fortitude.'

(Shri Sathya Sai - The Yugavatara - S.D. Kulharni - pg 16)

The words in the letter are ample proof as to whom Bhagavan considers as His devotees. Equanimity is the badge of the devoted. If one has this, even the number of critics can be used as a yardstick to measure success and greatness.

'When I am defamed, I never get incensed, for it is only the tree full of edible fruits that is attacked with sticks and stone. Moreover, without scorn and display of contempt, greatness will not shine and spread.'

(Gems of Wisdom - pg 424)

If someone throws an insult at us, we must be happy that at least we are worthy of the person's time and effort. All great people did have their share of insults and criticism being hurled at them. Life stories of prophets and teachers are full of stories of how they were tortured and ill treated by people who misunderstood their teachings but not once did they yield to suffering and compromise as they were entrenched in their beliefs. Such strong rooted beliefs freed their minds from being tossed in the waves of sweeping insults and mud flings. Their minds were tied to the seabed of equanimity that provided hope and life for the thousands that followed them.

'By not getting excited over the angry words of a critic, one becomes superior to the critic. Otherwise one descends to the same level as the critic.'

(Sanathana Sarathi June 1996 - pg 156)

We must not show our face to the bull dog just because it naturally shows his to us. Hence to rise above the rest is learn how to be different in the way we respond. Working in the world and expecting to be praised all the time will also end in disappointments. Initially, any teacher, in order to motivate and kick start the student into the path of the pursued goal, will offer praise or words of encouragement. The teacher's close attention and scrutiny will fuel the student's inspiration. But eventually, the student must stand on his own and aspire for perfection purely for the thrill and joy of achieving the goal. Very often when praise is not showered or when promotion if not granted, the workers lose their zeal and merely produce half-baked work which is devoid of interest and inspiration. Continuous inspired work is born in the womb of equanimity and the world today critically needs man to acquire this Divine nature to face the mounting pressures of day-to-day living.

'You must not ask for reward when good work is done, since it is your duty (dharma) to do correct work. Its reward is its completion.'

(Sanathana Sarathi April 1996 - pg 102)

Completing a given piece of work with inspiration is in itself the reward. Working with eyes on the profit of name reduces the beauty and glory leave alone the thrill of work itself. Any one who sees good work will want to know who was behind it. Good work leaves the name of the person responsible for it unadvertised. Such people are often sought out by the rest. Hence it can be seen that the quality of being in equanimity is a quality not just needed to attain spiritual enlightenment but becomes a vital nature to pursue even material goal. There is a practical way in which we can develop this nature :

'The Buddhi (intellect) in us is the witness of all things in this objective world.'

(Dhyana Vahini - pg 19)

Here it is emphasized that intellect is the towering light house from where we can have a sweeping scan of the objective world, to analyze and interpret information in order to execute proper judgment. Hence it must begin to dawn on us the importance of maintaining silence.

The following advice that Bhagavan has given is the key to develop equanimity.

'Learn to let all conflicts spawned by the mind to play them out and cancel each other out as the Yadavas did on the battlefield. Be the witness to the holocaust. The ultimate solution to the conflict is not decision or even choice, but passive being. Dare to remain inconclusive. See the endless quandaries of the mind as Divine Leela, His sport, as the natural function of the bundle of desires called mind. Do not believe in mind; do not rally to its assertions and appetites. Watch the mind from a distance, do not get involved in its tumblings and turns. Then everything becomes insignificant. When everything recedes into meaninglessness, you are in the hub, in equanimity'...

(A Compendium of the Teachings of Sathya Sai Baba - pg 663)

This advice if remembered can push our reactive gear into a matured responsive one. Dare to remain inconclusive. Witness the turmoil your mind gets into when in blame. Witness the swelling elation when in praise. The intellect has an opportunity to judge and evaluate better the circumstances when we enter in this witness mode.

'When you are at the level of Super Mind, you think that you are different from others. This is dualism. It is said, 'A mind with a dual mind is half blind.' Gradually, go up to the Higher Mind where you understand your true nature. Then you reach Illumination Mind. Once you experience this unity in totality, you attain Over Mind. That is your goal. That is everything for you. All the spiritual practices are meant to attain this goal.'

(Sanathana Sarathi Jan 2001 - pg 21)

The stages of how the mind must slowly climb are indicated. The idea of reaching equanimity conserves the energy of the mind, so that like a twisting cyclone, it slowly grows in widening circles to the state of the Over Mind. Imagine the experience of this state. Is it not true that the higher the slide in the playground, the greater the thrill? Roller coasters which are built to a high attitude motivate many youth to travel hundreds of miles just to experience the thrill of the ride. The Teacher here by pointing to this high state of the mind that should be reached, implies that life lived from this stage of evolution will provide greater excitement and thrill.

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 3)

I AM ALWAYS ENGAGED IN ACTIVITY...

FROM DAWN TO DUSK AND FROM DUSK TO DAWN

(Chapter 3)

If we observe our own lives, we would have been reminded by our parents, how mischievous and active we were during childhood. Excessive energy prompts the curious child in us to dash and rush, pull and push things down, devise ways to escape the cane and yet retain the innocent smile that captures the heart of even the most agitated mothers. It is this curiosity that prompts the child to wonder and ponder about the strange objects he stumbles upon.

This energy gets tamed and disciplined as the child grows but not the child-like curiosity. As the child grows into youth, it is this curiosity that prompts him to enquire and act to search for the answers. His quest to know influences the effort to compete and achieve the best. As years pass, the successful youth who secures a good job and a steady income, is soon married. There is an initial struggle to make ends meet but then soon a routine sets in and the energy used or summoned never exceeds daily expectations. At some point in some people's lives, this curiosity dies and man slowly slips into a role, that of juggling between his commitments and obligations. The juggler continues his act, until the office in which he has slaved decides it is time for his retirement. Statistics show that people age faster after retirement. The wrinkles increase, bones bend, eyes blur, he slowly reminisces over the life he had led and soon comes to conclusion that the scriptures were right that everything is a passing cloud.

During his last days, as he watches through the glass panes of his home, a gentle smile is formed on his aged face when he sees the dash of passing young men and women. If only he could relive his life or even tell the world what the trick of the illusory world can do to limit man's potentials and power... If only he had the strength to yell that the world somehow conditions us to believe that the passing, fleeting moments of experiences are real which in real fact is not.

'During the youth and boyhood, man mixes with several people and spends his time playing with them. As he advances in age, he involves himself in satisfying desires, runs after women and seeks love and affection. When he grows older, he wants to earn money and amass wealth so that he can use it for his pleasure. When he becomes quite aged, he does not think of the Divine but spends his time in many different ways and finds unable to give up the attachments which he has developed in his life. In this manner, man simply wastes his life, turns into mud and becomes utterly useless in the end.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 123)

All that Bhagavan mentions in the quote also reflects activity. 'From dusk to dawn and dawn to dusk, I am always busy' is the Divine Utterance. There are many who are also busy from morning to night pursuing their goals and that too can be termed as activity. Activity in fact is the signature of life and the moment one is born, he must act. Even sleep is an activity for one must not forget the numerous healing processes that are going on within the body to replenish energy, so that the demands of the next day are met with vigor and enthusiasm. This Utterance cannot mean normal ordinary activity that makes man continue toiling in the fields with purpose that does not go beyond mere existence. This Divine Utterance reflects a state of attitude which means that we must have the child-like curiosity which prompts us to seek for Truth. Stopping to enquire and losing the yearning to know is considered 'death'. Once complacency sets in, we are termed 'dead'. This is true for any field.

We must constantly engage in activities which prompt us to seek greater inner potentials and be responsible for making people realize theirs. Hence the nature of activity is what makes the difference between everyday activities and divine activity. In fact, normal everyday activity can become divine activity if we know the mechanism of conversion. Prayer halls and places of worship exist for the sake of bestowing devotees the art of spiritualizing all activities so that every act becomes an expression of divinity. The prayer halls are places where opportunities are given to man to stop, pause, reflect and absorb better vibrations to dive deeper into their personality to discover more of their potential.

Youth and devotees in general initially come to acquire this attitude, however, many during the process fall into a trap. Before getting a secure job, the prayers are intensive. Trips to the prayer halls are frequent. Service activities to the poor and the sick are regular. There is a spontaneous raise of hands in support of a program or project that would benefit the society or community. Devotees especially youth around the world in the initial struggle to experience bliss involve themselves in the fields of service, thus heeding the call of Bhagavan.

Hands that serve are holier than lips that pray.... 'God's Grace is as the shower of rain, as the sunlight. You have to do some spiritual discipline to acquire it; the spiritual discipline of keeping a pot upright is to receive the rain, the spiritual discipline of opening the door of your heart, so that the sun may illumine it.... Pray for Grace.... Grace will set everything right.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 295)

Hence, Grace descends and manifests itself as a prosperous job, a luxurious pay and good family life. These are boons that confer a happy life.

In the Puranic stories, when sages meditate, Asparas or divine beautiful dames dance to allure the mind of the sages away from the intended goals. It is common knowledge that as we pursue for the spiritual goals, the material fruits will also appear. The Teacher has used the example of a coconut tree to explain this concept. The real coconut tree represents spiritual tree and as we aspire for spiritual goals, we are bound to be blessed with material benefits as well.

As Bhagavan confers His grace, amenities and comfort will manifest in our lives but we must always bear in mind the initial intention of coming to the prayer halls and offering our prayers. We must not side track and trivialize our ideals and goals.

Activities that contribute towards realizing one's purposes and helping others realize theirs is what is expected by the Teacher.

'The aim of all human effort is to achieve the One that lies behind all this plurality. Without achieving it, man can have no peace, within or without. No amount of repetition of the peace mantra is capable of granting him that.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV, Chap 44 - pg 277)

To achieve this purpose and to help man realize the inherent divine potential in him (EDUCARE), one must participate in activities that promote these objectives.

Devotees or youth, when it comes to service activities or to undertake community based programs, cry out the usual melody, 'I have no time'.... and yet, these were the early enthusiasts prior to their newly secured jobs and position who gave their time for service or organizational work. Grace management is a critical lesson that we must learn.

Let us contemplate seriously on the following :-

How is it that we who only manage our office work and family life have no time; whereas Bhagavan who manages the whole world seems to find time to do even the most trivial.

'Observe Me : what benefits can I derive from all My activities; I who assign all benefits to all activities according to what they deserve. But yet you will find me busy from dawn to dusk, from dusk to dawn. I finish my lunch or dinner within minutes so that I can teach you the value of time. I attend to the smallest detail of all the various items of work, for I try to set an example for you, in meticulous attention to and careful anticipation of all contingencies.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol V - pg 138)

The capacity to increase output with advancing age is a Divine quality. Activity that enhances productivity at all times through all stages of life is a Divine nature of Bhagavan. The historical achievements of the Teacher are unprecedented by anyone in the world. The building and running of the most complex super-specialist hospitals, universities, colleges and the huge water project that has benefited millions, to name a few, has left behind monumental landmarks in the consciousness of the world. What is amazing is His capacity to accomplish so much in such a short duration of time. How is this possible? Why is it that we get tired so fast, take too long to accomplish too little and often complain of too little time? How can we transmute our energy to that of a Divine one? How can we tap into the cosmic energy for greater power?

'Where is the cosmic energy? The Cosmic Energy is all-pervasive. It is in you, above you, below you and around you. You yourself are the Cosmic Energy; but you are not able to realize it.'

(Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 - pg 11)

Hence the truth that the cosmic energy is within us implies that there is resource of infinite power that is waiting to be tapped.

There is a story of an aged man who, on his dying bed, called his son and gave him a map of hidden treasure. He advised him to read the map carefully and follow the instructions given. The treasure that will eventually be found will enable him to live his life more than comfortably. Before the father could explain the signs and symbols of the map, he breathed his last. Day by day he tried to understand the map but could not. Soon he was distracted by his other worldly duties and commitments, and thus forgot about the map that he had. His work began to be affected due to economic reasons. He was getting poorer and poorer. Soon the creditors were knocking on the son's door.

A huge treasure was waiting to be discovered but unfortunately his own ignorance confined him to a state of poverty. He did not exert active effort to find the meanings of the symbols (Karma Yoga). He did not contemplate enough on the inner meanings of the symbols (Dyana Yoga). He did not even discuss or find knowledge from others to help understand the symbols (Jnana Yoga). This is the story of our lives. A huge treasure chamber of inner strength, potentials and energy awaits to be opened and Bhagavan gives us the instructions on how to use the treasure map but we fail to hear what He wants us to hear.

'There is infinite power within man, power that is beyond comprehension and which is Divine. But he makes no effort to recognize it. If man did not have this power, how could he have gone to the moon?'

(Sanathana Sarathi September 1995 - pg 226)

God or this infinite power is all-pervasive. What is the evidence of this? Bhagavan has repeatedly echoed the teachings of all masters and teachers of the past, that Man has tremendous potential lying within. 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within', Christ declared. The declarations by these teachers echoed by Bhagavan when contemplated, is a powerful motivational force. The idea of traveling to the moon would have been scorned as a fantasy. When the reality dawned, more nations began to compete to put their men on the moon. The point that is being stressed is that for a phenomenal advancement in the outer world, surely the thought must have been born in the mind of one individual who upon exerting effort on the idea manifested this miraculous achievement in the outer field.

Hence Bhagavan, here in His compassion, is drawing examples which clearly shows that it is possible to bring out limitless potential in every man with faith and belief.

Students of physics will recall Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle which states that the exact position and momentum of any particle can never be determined at any one position or location. Quantum Theory states that energy units called quanta is the building unit of the word. Hence, in summary, we are all made of energy. Energy and matter are convertible, following Einstein's theory. Hence, if we focus on matter, the object will appear as matter and likewise, if the object is perceived as energy, than what is perceived will be pulsating movements of energy packets. As both are convertible, it will depend upon what is our focus.

'Dust as you think of dust you become, God if you think God you become.'

- Baba -

This needs deep contemplation and a hasty reader will miss the point. Hence if we focus on the divine energy that we possess, this shifts our mind from the mundane limited finite 'particle' consciousness which we can get trapped to infinite boundless unlimited energy. This shift releases us and provides the extra zeal to engage in activity which benefits all from dawn to dusk.

'The existence of God is visualized by science in the form of electric, magnetic, laser, radio, heat and light waves. This is the direct evidence for the existence of God.'

(Sanathana Sarathi December 1998 - pg 310)

Here, the Teacher gives a good example to prove the point that one must have the intelligence to move beyond the senses to appreciate the subtle. In two lines during a discourse, He has clarified not only the existence of a power but its properties as well. Electricity, magnetic, laser, radio, heat and light waves cannot be seen by the unaided eye, yet they exist!

Likewise, since space is perceived by the naked eye as nothing, the gross intellect in us will quickly jump to the conclusion that space is void and empty. The subtle intellect in the curious scientist with a yearning to know the nature of these subtler energies will seek the assistance of appropriate equipment and machinery to explore what is beyond. It is from these scientific investigations that they declare not only the existence of electro magnetic waves but the different nature and type of waves all of which can be tapped for the benefit of mankind.

If power in the macrocosm can be tapped then surely powers within man, i.e., microcosm can also be tapped. What prevents us from realizing this great energy or power within? This question is important as it will fuel the energy to achieve not just the mundane duties of existence but to possess both the curiosity and enthusiasm to tap and experience powers within. It will engage a pro-active wisdom to dash and rush to meet obligations swiftly and accomplish greater achievements in shorter frame of time. However, at present, this ideal appears too distant and utopian. Swami explains...

'Our physical, mental and spiritual energies should never be wasted. You might ask me, 'How are we wasting our energies?' If you see bad things, your energy is wasted. Hearing bad things, speaking evil, thinking evil thoughts and doing evil deeds wastes your energy. Conserve your energy in all these five areas and make your life more meaningful.'

(Sathya Sai Baba quoted from Voice of Sai - pg 233-236)

Senses are always engaged in our day to day living. World has increased kaleidoscopic images of negative images such as crime, rape, robbery, murder, etc, and are instantly transmitted to our mind through the multi-media such as television, radio, internet, etc.

The senses of the boy in the story mentioned above, become too distracted to know and understand the subtle symbols of the treasure map and therefore, literally, he sit on a treasure chest, holding his stomach in pain from hunger pangs.

Bhagavan warns us of this energy leak through the senses which is why most people always feel tired and lethargic. The senses become gateway for thoughts. The doctor in Swami diagnoses the ailment and points to the reasons why we cannot seem to be engaged in fruitful, spiritual activities all the time. Again, this is not urging the youth to wear ochre robes and perform parrot like chanting of holy names. Spiritual activities here imply the mood and temperament to spiritualize any activity.

The art of doing the best given any task and dedicating the fruits of such tasks to God will be to spiritualize the activity. To achieve this, the mind must be available, the mood must be right, the heart must beat with the ideals and more importantly all three : heart, head and hands must be integrated and infused with love for ideals. Hence a thought is the fundamental unit that makes up such a healthy personality.

'The whole cosmos is made up of thought waves. Hence the scripture declares : The mind is at the root of the cosmos. There is no place or form or action wherein the mind is absent. Hence, all thoughts of man should be turned in the right direction. When good thoughts, good feelings and good intentions are developed, the mind becomes pure. Only when the mind is pure can actions be pure.'

(Sanathana Sarathi August 1993 - pg 211)

Often we hear priests urging us, masters teaching us, parents howling and elders shouting, 'Have pure thoughts! Have pure thoughts!' The call has been made throughout ages to all civilizations by passing from generation to generation. Here is the simple meaning on how to achieve purity. Hence if we continue to give the excuse of 'no time', it merely means that we have abdicated the control of our mind to the wild external sense pull which distracts us from our purpose. Bhagavan places a lot of emphasis on thoughts as this is fundamental in making the mind and the personality. The direction of thought flow influences the purity of thought. 'When flowed in the right direction......'

We must pause and reflect on the word, direction. When thoughts excessively flow outward, sensuously untamed, selfishly confining to self interest and self gain, there can never be purity in one's thoughts, words or deeds. Even a priest bathing the idol in temple, doing so only to please the devotees so that his 'dakshina' or reward will be higher, will never be able to execute his task with dedication and devotion. A taxi driver, driving with utmost care and providing comfort to all his passengers with cheer and love, dedicates the day's effort to the LORD may be considered a greater karma yogi. His earnings is saved for wanting to fulfill the ideal of educating his son to be worthy doctor so that the son can serve and be useful in the future to the community. Such noble actions can only spring from a mind that has gained a greater purity in thought, word and deed. Hence the objective and motive of every action is what determines the direction of thought.

'Thoughts constitute the very basis of one's life. It is the mind that lends life, sustains it and ultimately brings it to an end.'

(Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 - pg 37)

Bhagavan is advising us that we must be careful and be vigilant over our thoughts. Herein lays the kernel of the discussion point. 'It is the mind that lends life'. Simple as it sounds; upon contemplation, we would be able to peel layers to reveal the practical essence of this statement. Life is to gain experiences and as we travel through the vicissitudes of life, every struggle with life's challenges leave us with either happy or sad experiences. Every experience leaves an impression that will contribute to knowledge. Accumulated knowledge confers us an inner wisdom that provides a gyroscope to steer our ship to ports of success. The acumen directly responsible for this great journey is the mind. The quality and type of activities is determined by the texture of the mind. The objective and motive of the thought becomes the matrix of the mind which determines happiness or sorrow of every experience. No school or institution teaches this fundamental truth. Hence, every student leaving the school or university ground knows how to apply the mind to the fields of work but very little effort is made to develop a sound mind composed of well interwoven thought matrix reflecting nobility and purity of objective and intention. Hence, if such strong matrix is not developed from childhood, how then can the direction of the flow of thoughts entering into the mind from the world gets discriminated?

'Thoughts outlast the human body. Thought waves radiate very much like heat waves, radio waves and light waves. The thought waves are the cause of man's joy or sorrow, health or disease, birth and death. The potency of these waves has to be understood by man and his conduct has to be based on his awareness.'

(Sanathana Sarathi August 1993 - pg 211)

Nature's constant demand of our attention by throwing at us ugly typhoons, sweeping floods, fiery droughts and other catastrophic natural calamities are testimonies that nature is retaliating against man. It is interesting to note that, in recent years, an increase in social crimes, negative behavior, drug problems and violence provides enough a testimony that the world of man is equally troubled. There is an interesting correlation that both nature and man have equally increased its turbulence and agitation. 'Thought outlast human body.' Poignant thought and a serious reflection on this statement can surface a truth.

The thought waves man release today filled with envy, jealousy and other negative qualities stain the cosmos. Multiply the thoughts by a hundred, a thousand, a million. Imagine a city filled with people materialistic in their outlook, interested in hoarding and wanting, greed and lust. Imagine if such waves were sent out all the time. Environmental pollution with waves of this nature is enough to cause a tilt in the balance of harmony and rhythm which cascades and causes confusion in nature. Hence, Swami is reminding us again to be watchful of our thoughts. It has potency not just to cause an influence in our life, but more than that, play an integral part in maintaining balance and harmony in nature. Many unprofitable thoughts rob us of our time and mostly our energy. Even as we drive from our home to our work, witness the rumbling of the mind. We are so accustomed to the agitation that a person who has a home near an airport cannot sleep peacefully, when away on a holiday at a hill resort, for want of the sound of the plane engines. Like a mosquito buzzing near the ear, the mind continues to chatter. This chattering drains energy.

'The habit of thinking is long standing. Even if the habit is broken, there is a slow cessation. For example, a fan continues to revolve for a time after the switch is turned off. But the train of thought can be changed. One train of thought can stop another. The best way is to divert the train of thought to a spiritual topic.'

(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 56)

It is not easy to stop the chattering. Whilst the eyes of the reader of this text can be on the words, the mind would have wandered off. An untamed horse is of no use to anybody unless harnessed. Likewise, the mechanical energy of the turbulent waterfall of water, unless controlled and curbed, will not be useful to generate the much needed electrical energy. Hence here, Bhagavan provides simple but practical method to harness unprofitable flow of thoughts. It is difficult to stop the train of thoughts from rushing forward, however, if there is another thought track on which the train can pass to, then the direction and flow of thoughts can be influenced.

The example of a child who refuses to part with a knife which he has picked up. The plea by the anxious mother only tightens the grip on the knife is a good one. The clever mother dangles a chocolate bar. The eye of the child which catches the attention of the swinging bar of chocolate loosens the grip on the knife and shifts his mind to the dancing chocolate. As the mother picks the dropped knife, she thrusts the chocolate into the waiting finger of the child and hence saves the child from a possible injury. The analogy is self-explanatory and needs no further elaboration. Bhagavan is suggesting that unless the mind is challenged with higher ideals and greater goal, no amount of strength or force can change old habits. Hence the mind needs to be slapped or jerked out from the present state to visualize greater and grander vision. This will jump the track and provide the thoughts ampler fields to roam and play. Only activities undertaken with nobler intentions will allow the mind to develop quality.

'Time is the body of God. He is known as 'the form of time'. It is a crime to misuse time or waste it with idleness. So, too, the physical and mental talents given to you by God as capital for the business of living should not be frittered away.'

(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 66)

On spiritual parlance, words used often by Masters does not just denote information but provides an opportunity to visualize. 'Time is the body of GOD.'

Time is described as an interval between two occurrences. What happens between two occurrences constitutes an experience. The usage of time to maximize the quality of experience denotes spiritual living. On further contemplation, the Master is suggesting that we are living to generate experiences and Life is nothing more than a stream of experiences. These experiences can endow knowledge and talents. With such sharpened inner equipments, the performance in the world would always lead to great and grand results. However, due to our own ignorance, we live identifying ourselves to be finite entities, withering away time in useless and profitless endeavor that brings neither benefit to self nor any glory to family or society.

Time is God and time is given to all of us in equal measure. The proper intelligent usage of this commodity makes or breaks a man. Hence it is critical to self audit the usage of our time, reevaluate our existing lifestyles and redirect our dissipating energies so that both quality and quantity of experience can be enhanced. Ultimately, we must bear in mind that it is the mind that becomes responsible to achieve this ideal. Hence all scriptures convey their teachings in contemplative language so that the mind is sufficiently trained to be disciplined. This might appear to be a tall order to the uninitiated. Hence the ever loving father in Bhagavan points to the seeker the dangers of uncontrolled mind.

'Excessive talking must also be avoided as it is a waste of energy. When one gets weak due to wastage of energy, he is prone to get angry and develop hatred. You must, therefore, use the God given energy for God purposes. Energy is a Divine gift. By curtailing unnecessary talk and keeping silent, you can conserve energy. Talk less and work more is the golden rule that must be adopted.'

(Sanathana Sarathi May 1994 - pg 118)

Here Swami is using a simple example to illustrate why the mind fails to gain a steady and constant balance in executing excellent work. Unnecessary talk waste energy. In today's world without talking, we cannot transact or communicate our experience. The Teacher is not hinting that we should stop talking once and for all. In order to communicate the thoughts that flood, the mind must be strong enough to prompt the tongue to wag the contents out to the listener. Therefore, mind constantly produces thoughts. The Master is merely stating that excessive talk, fruitless gossips and unnecessary chatter should be curbed to free the mind from wayward thoughts.

'Many people come from different places and gossip a lot. In this way, energy is lost. With loss of energy, there is loss of memory. All this talk takes you away from God. Develop only satsang. Share love with at least 10 people. I and you are one - wrong... I and you are we.'

(Kodaikanal Discourse April 9th, 1996)

The reason why Bhagavan is busy churning programs for the welfare of humanity and the reason we get tired and provide endless excuses not to live this ideal is due to dissipation of energy. The deep contemplative ones bordering to brilliance generally are quiet and will only talk unless it is necessary. Their thinking is usually deep and the points generated would be penetrating compared to those who unnecessarily chatter and whatever the subject matter discussed will generally be shallow and superficial. This might be a sweeping generalization but very often this truth will become more apparent if we scrutinize diligently.

Excessive talking does dissipate energies. The current technologies, e-mail, sms, handphones, internet chatting continue to provide opportunities to connect and communicate although not verbally with others. It is a paradox that at present times, on one hand technology blesses humanity to be connected and on the other, increasing crime and other anti-social behavior, isolate one another with fear and prejudice. This might be due to the fact that all these communication tools have clouded the mind with thoughts arising from the urge to communicate. This increases the thickness of the mind screen which prevents rays from the subtler domains of the intellect from shooting out thus sinking man into animalistic behavior.

The prescription for man to possess greater energy had been given. In short, good thoughts create higher energy. The more energy one has, the more one can perform. The next time when someone is asked to undertake any programs or participate in organizational matters, before we sing the same melody of 'No Time', let us pause and reflect. 'No time' just means that we have not bothered to tap the inner powers for that extra energy. We have not managed to control and purify our thoughts and hence, find it difficult to juggle commitments and obligations. We have not utilized the latent Divine Energy waiting to be summoned to go that extra mile.

'The most important, the most needed factor is time. One should not waste time. Time should be spent in a useful manner. Time should be sanctified because everything in this creation is dependent on time. Even our scriptures say that God is referred to as time and as non-time. God is not limited by time. He is beyond time; He is time; He restricts Time. Time is the embodiment of God. Everything depends on Time.'

(Sathya Sai Baba quoted from Voice of Sai II - pg 235)

Hence, 'time' to Bhagavan is sacred and one must know how to spend this. Youth who are constantly engaged in their own work continue to give excuse of no time to spare for service activities to society. Sacrificing time for society from one's own usual routine will confer stamina and strength to meet all the other commitments and obligations.

Dwell your thought on God! A common instruction is often given to all who pursue this path. It can also mean doing whatever the best way you can and dedicate the fruits to the Lord or carrying out the missionary work of spreading love and peace to one and all. This is the secret to redeem lost energy. Service reinstates time with interest. It confers greater enthusiasm to finish the daily expectations of life, thereby saving the effort and time.

'Because you are so much entangled with the aspects of the body, mind and intelligence, you feel that you are subordinate to time and that time will swallow you. However, if you can develop an aspect by which you can feel above the aspects of body, mind and intelligence, it will be possible for you to get control over death and regard it as part and parcel of the evolution of the immortal element in you.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 180)

THIS IS THE KEY TO HAVING MORE TIME TO DO MORE FOR SOCIETY AND GOD. FEEL ABOVE BODY, MIND AND INTELLIGENCE. CONNECT TO THE SPIRITUAL CORE AND DO MORE!

The Divine Utterance is a reminder that when Man achieves a Divine state, he will always work for the sake of the world and will be forever engaged in activities that are pure and noble. He will not rest; in fact Bhagavan has said that a change of activity is rest. Therefore, if one is tired of his usual routine work and changes his activity to service or engage in programs that promote the development of other skills, this itself is rest. Through this way, an individual develops ambidexterity and becomes a multi-faceted individual. He is able to better focus and thereby increase efficiency which would enable him to find time to engage in spiritual activities.

'Time should be used properly; the minute that has elapsed is beyond your grasp. I want you to be active, fully engaged. For, if you have no activities, time will hang heavily on your hands. Our objective should be to recognize the nature of time and utilize it in a sacred manner. Do not waste a single moment of the allowed span of life, for Time is the body of God. He is known as 'the Form of Time.' Time is Divine, therefore, we must utilize time for performing good action without aspiring for the fruit thereof.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 193)

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 4)

I AM DELIGHTED WHEN OTHERS ARE HAPPY

(Chapter 4)

Whenever Bhagavan materializes a gold chain or a ring for His devotees, the delight that He has on His face is indeed something to admire. His eyes twinkle and His concern will prompt Him to ask the recipient whether he's happy with the gift or if the gift is nice. One can often see pride swelling in His face when His students do well in studies or games. To obtain joy from seeing happiness in others is indeed a divine quality. To experience joy in others, we must experience joy within first.

'For spiritual discipline one must cultivate the quality of always being joyful, with a smile on the face. This contributes to contentment and gives one progress on the path with a minimum of inner discord.'

(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 9)

In today's world, we have forgotten the art of being happy. The slightest problem and we sink into depression. A maths student who has never bothered to revise his subject well will treat his examination paper as the greatest obstacle. Each question will be seen like an ugly monster waiting to humiliate and sink him further into oblivion. He will be fidgety, anxious and full of uncertainty with beads of sweat rolling from his forehead whilst facing the ghastly examination paper. If we take a stroll in the examination hall, it will be an experience to watch the dance of joy bubbling on the faces of the confident students. Every question only manages to tickle him and as he summons from memory, his revised lessons, the answers to the demanding questions stand waiting to flow through the nib of his pen. There is joy on such faces. No anxiety and unnecessary body movements except the occasional raise of the hand to demand from the supervisor extra papers to write the answers. What makes the difference?

Self-confidence is the first step towards self-realization.

Bhagavan attributes everything to the possession of inner confidence. When one is confident, there will be swelling surges of contentment and joy. Hearts filled with satisfaction will pour out with love to others. Hence, self-satisfaction leads to self-sacrifice which ultimately confers self-realization. Hence, self-confidence is a very important quality to possess for not just spiritual progress but for any progress of any kind.

'If you know what is right, don't ask. Do it. That is confidence. God Power.'

(Conversations with Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 76)

Bhagavan attributes God power to confidence. Confidence is the platform upon which all plays of life can be enacted and executed successfully. Hence, confidence will breed joy in oneself. It is the lack of confidence in oneself that make one feel unhappy at other people's gain. When one visits his old friend, he is taken aback by the luxurious palace-like looking house and instead of being joyous that his friend has made it in life, he wonders how he has been able to procure so much money. Such clouds of envy blocks the radiance of inner joy from gushing forth.

'Envy is the greatest of sins. Vanity, envy and egoism - these three are in.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV - pg 143)

Our divine literature records the consequence of the effects of envy. Sri Rama was exiled into the forest for fourteen years only because of the envious mother of Bharata who wanted her son to sit on the throne rather than Sri Rama. The Pandavas became a source of envy for the Kauvaras and hence were manipulated to be exiled also into the forest for great many years. It is well known that the priests in the temples were jealous and envious of the growing of Christ and conspired to have him arrested and demanded of his crucifixion to a reluctant roman leader. Buddha was humiliated and abused by many envious and jealous of his growing popularity and the holy Prophet Mohamed had to flee the city of Mecca and go to Medina because of envy and jealousy of his growing popularity and the advent of Islam. When wealth, skills and talents develop in an individual, the confidence levels in others become threatened resulting in the release of fumes of envy which blind the two eyes of reason and justice.

'Envy is a deadly poison; it will contaminate character, ruin health and rob you of peace. Be unaffected by envy and you can subdue the Gods of Creation, Protection and Destruction. Like a pest that destroys growing crops, envy enters slowly and spreads quickly. So even in small matters, you must be vigilant, do not become envious.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol V - pg 193)

Envy visits us like a guest, transforms slowly to a host and finally, enslaves us completely. What has been outlined in the quote are the deadly effects of envy. Strangely, if we carefully analyze envy is generated only in people who know and are familiar with us. One will not be envious of a movie star but if your own friend became one, then his success can become a source of envy for you. Once we develop envy, then it will be extremely difficult to feel joy for others. The boy next door who always scores all A's for the subjects becomes the envy of his neighbors. The beautiful car parked at the opposite house makes the envious wife prompt the husband to buy another bigger one. Envy creates restlessness and from such turbulent mind will issue low and base actions.

'Who are the thieves that steal into man and steal away his peace and joy? It is the thieves of Desire, Pride, Greed, Infatuation, Anger and Jealousy, who rob man of his riches. But the worst of all thieves who inflicts the worst damage is Matsarya (envy). That is why it is said, 'You can befriend an angry man, you can sleep beside a serpent, but you should not befriend an envious one.'

(Summer Showers In Brindavan - pg 43)

Bhagavan's advice is critical to follow and one must heed this even for health reasons. The action of man is determined by the quality and texture of his thoughts. Once the mind has been contaminated with envy, ugly perverted thoughts generate a low, base and animalistic criminal mind. Such a mind divorced from his intellect will be impulsive and reactive. The closer you mix with such people, greater will their scheming mind plan uglier ways to degrade or demean you. Hence your life will be forever in a danger. Therefore, the Teacher is not just warning us to stay away from such people with envy, but at the same time, jolting our mind never to develop such a negative tendency.

'Your life span is prolonged when you are full of joy, when you are calm and filled with pure thoughts. When you are filled with envy, anger, hatred and conceit, your life span gets shortened. Sleeplessness ruins the health even more than lack of food. Envy torments a man all the time. These troubles lead to shortening one's life... Envy drives man crazy by depriving him of his sleep. In that condition, he cannot relish his food.'

(Sathya Sai August 1993 - pg 203)

Aspiring for excellence and leading a life noble and worthy will bring its share of material rewards. Envy and jealousy may arise from our peers, friends, relatives and almost everyone who watches our progress. When such feelings arise, their perception gets blurred and understanding colored, hence, their interactions to us may not be right. Hurt further distorts understanding and fuels arguments, generating stress. Science journals and books scream testimonies that stress lowers immunity and promotes aging. Hence, scientific evidences confirms the declarations by Bhagavan that envy and other negative emotions do cause damage to the body.

'From time to time, many noble souls endowed with immense spiritual power, have taken to propagate sacred teachings to the world. They struggled hard to make the world a good place to live in. Right from birth, Jesus had to face many trials and tribulations. When the name and fame of noble souls spread far and wide, many people become jealous. (...) The hatred for Jesus increased day by day. Even the priests turned against Jesus as they became jealous of his growing popularity.'

(Sanathana Sarathi January 2001 - pg 2)

Here, the Teacher gives us a clear picture of the reality. This is true of any field of endeavor. Once a goal is reached, everyone notices us. The true well wisher will shed a tear or two of happiness recalling our long journey of struggle and sweat in reaching this goal. The envious ones will be restless. They will defame or injure the person by bad mouthing or criticizing. Life stories of this nature are reminded by the Teacher only to indicate that the path to the Goal of life need not be smooth and easy. Even Bhagavan has not been spared.

'Today many people are jealous of Sai as His name and fame are spreading far and wide.'

(Sanathana Sarathi January 2001 - pg 2)

Hence, the envious world will be critical of those who procure wealth and fame, but the most important aspect of this should be that we should not react with negativity. There has been no parallel in history that one individual (Bhagavan) can do so much in such a short time. To inspire close to fifty million people around the world is phenomenal. The stupendous service activities done throughout the world by devotees of Bhagavan are breathtaking. The milestone achievements in all fields, be it education or social, is historical and yet the Teacher has not been spared. Bhagavan too has come under shower of criticism but the Divine Lifestyle lies in how one treats this criticism and his critics. Hence how do we divert these negative energies when they surface?

'Salute even those who criticize you because divinity is present in all. Do not spoil your mind by harboring the feelings of anger, etc.'

(Sanathana Sarathi January 2001 - pg 6)

A teacher whilst demonstrating an experiment to his science class must be quick to point out the precautions one must take during the experiment. The Bunsen burner must be kept away from the face, one must add acid to water, not water to acid, to prevent an explosion. These and many more will come forth from the lips of the concerned teacher. Here, the Teacher provides a practical experience on how to deal with critics. Bhagavan Himself continues to do His duty regardless of what has been hurled against Him. Thus, jealousy and envy has been shown to be the cause of man's downfall. We must treat all even our enemies with love and affection as they too are the Lord's creation. It is in the Geeta the following verse appears :

Adveshta Sarva Bhuthanam

Maitria Karuna evacha

Nirmamo niraham karah

Sama dukha sukhah kshami

He who has no ill to any being, who is friendly and compassionate, free from egoism and attachment, even minded in pain and in pleasure and forgiving.

The verse is so beautiful and complete in its instruction and to all seekers of God, this verse becomes the springboard one can jump to higher strata of consciousness. Treat all creations of God with love. Be like a friend to them. One will always be kind, compassionate and caring to his friend. One will even go to the extent of giving one's life for a friend. The advice is to be friendly to all. There are occasions when one gives everything and trusts his friend so much, but in return, the friend betrays or cheats. Likewise, a nagging boss, an irritating wife, an annoying neighbor - no doubt, all are God's creation but how can one be a friend to such people. Here the verse continues with an instruction that to such obnoxious people, one must pour out as a result of sympathy, compassion. Flood them with compassion and pity for their behavior are expressions of symptoms that they want love. Pure love can only flow from a heart unstained with notions of 'I' and 'My'. Hence, unbiased and detached heart send out waves of unpolluted love. Hence the verse concurs with what Bhagavan is saying. Be alike to everyone is a call to live in the world without the notion of 'I' and 'My'. Hence selfless acts purge these tendencies and one can therefore be free from feelings of envy.

'There is a remedy for almost every malady, but none at all for the diseases of jealousy.'

(Sanathana Sarathi January 1994 - pg 4)

Bhagavan's imperative instruction to progress spiritually is to be vigilant for the slightest trace of the fumes of such negative qualities that may enter into our mind. Watch the mind, next time when you embrace circumstances and situations. The dress someone else wears, the hairstyle of someone else that you always wanted, the car your neighbor has, the voice of the Bhajan singer you always dreamed of, the high marks your friend obtained, the promotion your colleague recently obtained, etc., may trigger a slight mist of envy which caused restlessness. However, before the mist becomes a thick fog, we must clear away with rays of feeling joy and happiness for what others have. The Arabs have a saying : 'Grasp sand in a tight fist and it runs from the side; hold sand in a cupped hand and it will stay.' By cutting the chords of possessive relationships and developing interdependent relationships, mutual love and respect confer sustainability to any relationship.

'Truly, once you are free of jealousy, you will be able to conquer anything. But it cannot be emphasized too strongly, that jealousy will destroy all your good qualities. You may think that it will destroy others, but in fact, it will destroy you, not others. It will make you sick. You will not be able to sleep well; you will not be able to eat well. Even if at first you were totally healthy, this jealousy will soon develop all kinds of physical ailments and diseases in you. Jealousy is like an inner consumption; just as tuberculosis creeps in and consumes, jealousy will weaken you without your realizing it, it can enter into you in any number of ways and ultimately, destroy you.'

(Discourses on Bhagavath Geeta by Baba - pg 173-175)

It is only common knowledge that Surpanaka was fuming with jealousy and envy when she came across the hut Sri Rama and Seeta lived in the forest. She wanted Sri Rama for herself but her attempts to win the attention of the righteous Sri Rama fell in vain. Her attempt to even attract the attention of Lashmana made her lose a piece of her nose. The bleeding nose angered her brother, Ravana, whom she ran to tell of the incident. The jealous and envious Ravana who wanted Seeta for himself kidnapped her which triggered the bloody battle between both Sri Rama and Ravana.

The legends and stories in all cultures will extol the repercussions of possessing qualities of envy and jealousy. We must detect these weeds and pull them out before the entire garden of virtues gets destroyed. Empires have fallen, kings dethroned and history gets rewritten when people with these negative qualities continue to exert their influence. A beautiful quote of Jennifer James goes like this - Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value. Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point - that others will be preferred and rewarded than you. There is only one alternative - self-value. If you cannot love yourself, you will not believe that you are loved. You will always think it's a mistake or luck. Take your eyes off others and turn the scanner within. Find the seeds of your jealousy, clear the old voices and experiences. Put all the energy into building your personal and emotional security. Then you will be the one others envy, and you can remember the pain and reach out to them.

Bhagavan in one of His speeches said,

'Drishiti (vision) creates Shrishti (creation).'

What we see is not as important as how we see them. Eyes are most important and the art of seeing the world if developed will enable the right creation of circumstances and situations. If we look with eyes of concern and love, the response from even the most condemned or the most uninterested will be positive. Our eyes must reflect positive state with intense joy. Helen Keller was blind and deaf. She was most difficult to handle when she was a child but due to the 'drishiti' of her teacher, Helen Keller realized her inner potential and talent (shristi). Hence it is imperative that we see everyone with love and understanding that in each, divinity resides. As it goes, Christ was crucified as he was seen with eyes of negativity! The world is only a projection of the mind, and if colored with envy and jealousy, we will create very negative images. These negative feelings will harm us more than the people on whom we cast a negative eye. Medical Science is quick to agree to what Bhagavan has said. Experiments have shown that negative emotions such as anger, hatred and jealousy stress us and this causes ill health to the body. Often, Bhagavan has said,

'I reside in all.'

And therefore, when envy or jealousy develops, we must quickly superimpose the image of Sai or any other God form in the heart of the one whom we are envious of jealous of.

Bhagavan explains that the only way to overcome jealousy is to love more and more. The prescribed service activities for the poor and the underpriviledged help to extend the periphery of our love orbit. Loving everyone more and more with greater and greater intensity dilutes the ego which breeds attachment. The mind will cease wavering and confidence will naturally be restored. Who can forget the famous lines of Shakespeare :

Trifles light as air

Are to the jealous

confirmations strong

As proofs of holy writ.

O! beware, my lord,

of jealousy;

It is the green-eyed monster

which doth mock

The meat it feeds on.

'The purpose of life is to grow in love, expand that love and merge with God who is love and this is best done through service. There is no discipline like service for the eradication of ego.'

(The Embodiment of Love - pg 227)

THE KEY TO REMOVE ENVY AND JEALOUSY IS SERVICE!

Only then can we experience joy and be happy at others' fortunes. If we make a resolution in our lives that we are here to give happiness and to see that all are happy, our lives immediately transform to a bubbly and cheerful disposition. The cheer becomes more and more intense with greater participation in service activities. Hence the next time we become envious or jealous, we must learn to transmute such low and base emotions to love by saying that in the person whom we are jealous or envious of resides our Bhagavan too. May Bhagavan in him or her be happy. The practice ground for this attitude to develop happens only in the field of selfless service.

'Joy derived through service reacts on the body and frees you of disease.'

(Discourses on Bhagavath Geeta - pg 259)

Medically, it has been proven that the state of joy releases endorphins, a hormone that confers greater health, immunity and slows aging. Great comedians like Bob Hope and George Burns have lived long, probably due to the ability to create laughter, joy and make people happy. Bhagavan, despite his 79 years of age, still looks very youthful. This in one of His speeches He declared was due to His purity and bliss. Hence the attitude of being happy for others is one of the nine capacities to develop if we want to live a divine lifestyle. Here, apart from all other grace and benefits, Bhagavan is quick to assure us that such a lifestyle confers us health and wealth.

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 5)

WHATEVER I DO, I DO FOR THE HAPPINESS OF OTHERS

(Chapter 5)

A father, once while walking in a park with his son hugged him and said, 'Son, do you know you are born to serve others?' The son quickly replied, "Oh yeah, then what are others born for.' The conversation sums up the state of the world today. Each man for himself.

'Man, however, is dominated today by selfishness. His thoughts, his looks, his words and actions are all tainted by selfishness. He is a slave of his senses. In short, humanness is in ruins...'

(Sanathana Sarathi August 1994 - pg 198)

Time has become scarce and competition has become stiff for anyone these days to enquire the welfare of others, leave alone make others happy if a need arises. In the pre-historic days when the sense of security was threatened, man needed to create a boundary and hence, fenced himself against the wild beasts and other tribes with the notion of 'I' and 'My'. Animals, too, in order to survive, prompted by the sense of security and safety cordoned themselves from other predators. Even in the animal kingdom, we see the mother monkey looking after its own child. The maternal instinct confers protection and nourishment to the offspring. Dogs will lick their litter. Cats will suckle their own kittens. Rarely do we see a dog extending its love to a litter born to another dog. A mother monkey will rarely reach to protect a progeny born from another monkey. Love in the animal kingdom is restricted and confined. Evolution has not blessed them to have increased capacity for love and yet we see and hear stories of animals performing feats such as rescuing a child from a disaster or other extra-ordinary stories that almost borders to miracles. This is ample testimony that love has the potential to expand from its limited orbit that it is used to. There are pictures of dogs licking their arch enemies, i.e., cats. If animals demonstrate such compassion and love, it is strange that the two legged animal called man, in the name of love of an ideal, kill, murder brutally innocent children, destroy homes, rape and rob the innocent, loot and hijack aeroplanes and performs deeds that are alien in the animal kingdom.

'The intense selfishness has resulted in the total decay of human values. The monster of selfishness has pervaded every field of human activity - the physical, the social, the economic, political and moral fields. Hence the primary endeavor of man today should be to shed selfishness, develop spirituality and realize the Divine.'

(Sanathana Sarathi May 1996 - pg 113)

This fabric of society is being unconsciously torn down by this bug of selfishness. Never in history have we heard of some countries passing the bill in parliament that parents can sue their respective children if they refuse to look after them when they are old. Centuries of tradition and culture crumble as man heads towards the millennium chanting the slogan, 'My Life... My life.' The notion of 'I' and 'My' has resulted in many youth returning home with a degree, after spending their parent's entire earnings but only to drive them in an expensive car to an old folks' home. The tendency in recent years is a growing lifestyle towards safe guarding self interest. Widening relations at every strata of society is because of the epidemic of the disease called selfishness. The gaps between generations widen as each thrust their views against each other with little understanding.

Disharmony is only seen in the kingdom of the crown of creation (humans) and not a faint sound and sight of unrest in the kingdom of animals.

'For the benefit of others alone, trees give fruits, rivers carry water and cows yield milk. Likewise, the human body is given for rendering help to others. But not recognizing this truth, man uses his body for selfish purposes. Man today behaves in a more degraded manner than trees, rivers and cows...'

(Sanathana Sarathi June 1996 - pg 157)

When nature is observed, it will become obvious that all components of nature work and interplay with each other with precise orchestration resulting in perfect harmony. Nature has been spared by this epidemic and hence for as long as the earth has been in existence, it has continuously only demonstrated the art of giving. Trees, rivers and all animals just give. In fact, giving is the signature of nature. Every component of nature helps and supports each other to a point that the rhythm of harmony never breaks off. Man too is part of nature but has departed from this natural tendency. To re-educate man to this art of helping, all religions teach man to love and serve one another but today, ironically, when viewed through fanatical spectacles, this perception is blurred and from perverted minds springs forth hatred and animosity.

'It is qualities like kindness, compassion, forbearance and sympathy which differentiate human beings from animals. But man tends to forget these inherent qualities out of absorption in selfish, mundane desires. Those wearing the glass of selfishness can only see selfishness all around them. A defective vision produces an apparent defect in creation. There is nothing wrong with creation. Every defect is related to defective vision....'

(Sanathana Sarathi December 1993 - pg 313)

In disease control, surveys and surveillance are vital to detect the source of the infection. If an organism is implicated, it becomes imperative to understand how it is transmitted to man. Proper studies and careful planning with proper drug treatment can interrupt transmission and thereby control the disease. In man, if selfishness prevails, it must proceed from a source. Eradicate the source and the waves of such self-centered activities cease. If the fire of the source is extinguished, the smoke naturally must clear.

'This is the time when science and technology has made tremendous progress. In spite of this progress, today man is suffering from a particular disease for which there is no medicine. This is happening not only in this country but also everywhere else. For some people, the disease may be in advanced stage. For a few others, it may be midway in its deterioration. For others, it may be in the preliminary stage. What is the disease? This disease is egotism.'

(Divine Discourse 1987 - pg 140)

Here Bhagavan points out that it is the ego which is the cause of the disease. When one organ malfunctions, it is common knowledge that all normal physiological processes and other pathways in the body gets disrupted. In the same way, once ego is formed and transactions take place through this entity then we can expect endless troubles.

'Ego plays all kinds of tricks, in order to get unholy pleasure...'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol VIII - pg 43)

The ego is the culprit that is responsible for providing a false identity. It will confer wrong and unhealthy relationships with the world which in turn will cause greater and greater sorrow. Ego is known to impose serious handicaps in development of insights and higher values. It creates joys on success; sorrows on failures and stress. Ego miscalculates inter-personal relationships, prevents understanding, hampers critical evaluation and prevents development of even mindedness.

'The self is known as Sath-Chith-Ananda (existence-consciousness-bliss). This triple nature of the Self is expressed in the individual as the triple desire : Desire to exist Desire to know Desire to have a joyous nature

These are three desires which every 'I' cannot escape from. I must live, is the first. The will to live is over-powering and paramount. This is the urge for immortality. The desire to know is the second. This, too, is unquenchable thirst and is an indication of the omniscience of which 'I' is the inheritor. The desire for joy is the third, prompting man behind the senses into the outer world for pleasures. This evidence shows that deep in the core of the 'I', there is a spring of Bliss which seeks its mate and its fulfillment.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 267)

Once a disease is identified, a curious patient will ask the doctor how he came to acquire the deadly sickness. The doctor will slowly educate the patient possible sources from where he could have acquired the disease to prevent transmission. Here, Swami explains that the basic nature of self is sat chit ananda. Existence - consciousness - and bliss is the life's blue print or the DNA, i.e., the basic nature of self. Hence, if one is connected to the SELF, he would experience a constant surge of bliss, immersed in wisdom of knowledge (consciousness) and rooted in an embodiment that lives and expresses the ideal of truth eternal. However, from a steady state of this nature, the mind tempted by the external sense objects slowly peeks out in search for three things. Mind exists because it wants to or because it needs to know or merely flows out sensuously to enjoy. The motive for the existence of mind is clearly spelled out. These desires slowly crystallize and lend an identity, the lens through which the self acts and interacts with the world. When the thought rays enters through the prism of the ego, there would be a further splitting of light and hence, the world begins to be seen in fragments and pieces.

'Here is a piece of burning charcoal. If you take proper care of it, it will keep burning. But if you neglect it, it will soon get covered up with ashes. In the heart of every human being, there is a fire of wisdom. That fire signifies a pure heart. Today, we are not able to see that fire because the heart is enveloped by the ash of worldly desires. When the ash is blown away, the fire will be visible.'

(Sanathana Sarathi August 1994 - pg 210)

Hence from the womb of ego arise thoughts. Thoughts are born from three sources... 1) I want to exist 2) I want to know more 3) I want to enjoy. These three prompt the energy to flow outwardly into the world. These three pull the mind to grab, wrestle and grapple every passing sense object. The lusty and greedy passions after satisfying one moves on to another sense object, leaving behind ashes of anxiety, frustration and pain. This blankets the inner light of discrimination. The thicker the ash screen, lesser the sharpness of the intellect and blurrier the judgment of all decisions resulting in profitless experiences. Wind of grace can blow away the ashes which were blocking the effulgence, reinstating the light of wisdom.

'The senses exist and function in relation to the objective world. They produce desires, impulses, feelings, emotions, etc., which go collectively, to form the mind. Based on the desires and impulses, the mind builds an image or a picture of oneself which forms the ego. Thus the mind and the ego depend upon the senses for their existence. They feed continuously on the sensations produced by the senses.'

(Sathya Sai Amirtha Varshini - pg 26)

The mind will desire an object, it will want to enquire and it would move towards enjoyment or pleasure. From Bhagavan's explanation, it can be seen that the ego confers identity. From then on, all activities will be generated to selfishly maintain that image or identity. The next time one gets insulted, he must utilize the experience to understand the mechanisms of how the ego gets crushed. The ego gets affected only if the insult has wounded what he is dearly attached to, e.g., position, status, name, family, etc. It is like a parasite, once allowed into a human system, it lives on the host and finally deplete existing nutrition, ultimately conferring ill health and disease. Hence, the desires push the mind outwards into the world developing attachments. These attachments in turn sustain an identity which lends a reference point of how one perceives the world.

The Teacher provides one easy way to decrease attachment...

'There should be no scope for ego. You think that you are great? What is the reason for this ego? For example, in a world map, India is small. Even smaller is Madras. Kodaikanal is smaller. In Kodaikanal is your house. What are you? So why is this entire ego? If you are egoistic, you are foolish.'

(Kodaikanal Discourse April 21 1996)

The ego lends identity and inflates false evaluation of one's self. When identified with your own family, there will be hundreds of problems, many too challenging to meet and many still providing ample reasons to worry. Here Bhagavan gives a simple way on how we can dilute the intensity of the problem. Increase the scope of the identification from a family consciousness to society and nation, our problems compared with many will appear too paltry to worry about. The house you live in is so small when compared to the size of the country. If living's motive is to fatten the bank balance, the anxiety to procure and maintain profits will induce stress. The slightest breeze of a problem will bring its share of groans and moans. The goal of any individual if focused on higher ideal like serving the nation or God, every boulder of a problem that stood like a monstrous obstacle is converted to a tiny pebble easy enough to be kicked away. Hence if ego is to be sublimed, we must begin to serve others apart from self and derive happiness from satisfying the hunger and pain of the poor and needy.

'Like the tadpole's tail, the ego will fall away when one grows in wisdom. It must fall away; if it is cut, the poor tadpole will die. So don't worry about the ego; develop wisdom, discriminate, know the ephemeral nature of all objective things - then the tail will no longer be evident.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV, Chap 39 - pg 245)

The clarion call here is to develop wisdom. In order for wisdom to develop, we need to reduce our selfishness. If we come out from our selfishness and comfort zones and serve others with joy, the heart slowly expands to higher consciousness or wisdom. Wisdom naturally repels false attachments and brings about an inner glow of beauty and perfection. When the body has consumed too much food, it will feel uncomfortable. The prescription is sometimes to detoxify the body. Certain purgative given will purge the excess food consumed, thereby relieving the stomach of the extra burden. Likewise, when the self is too filled with 'I' and "my', clouds of identity fail to perceive the true picture. Many misunderstandings arise out of misperceptions born from ego. Bhagavan has always reminded us that we are three in one :

the one you think you are, the one others think you are and the one you really are

In my mind, I might be doing my charity for fulfilling my own desires of wanting to serve humanity but to the perception of others I might be doing so with the motive of attracting publicity. Hence what I think I am and what others think of me are two different opinions. Yet they are just opinions, for there is a third reality which is what you really are. I am not my mind which is what that lends me my identity. I am beyond my mind. I am I! My real nature... Hence in order to be in touch with our real nature, the self in us need to be purged.

'First of we all have to eliminate the feeling of ego (ahamkara). Ahamkara is misinterpreted as arrogance, pride or carelessness. This is not the correct meaning. Aham means I, akaram means the form of the body - I am this body. Considering the body as the self is real ego. you have to destroy this feeling...'

(Sathya Sai Newsletter Summer 1995 - pg 28)

Elimination of ahamkara is what sadhana is all about. Bhagavan prescribes the medicine of service for man to purge selfishness. Self restricts and limits, whilst Love expands. Hence, if we love someone, it must mean that we are prepared even to serve the one whom we love.

A youth who was only concerned with his own work spent all his time at work. His mother's insistence that he should marry fell on deaf ears. His concern was only to increase his bank balance and therefore worked tirelessly for this mundane purpose. He only sought for more time so that his cold and calculative mind could conjure scheming ways to increase profits for his business, until at long last, he was introduced to his friend's sister. The moment his eyes fell on her, his heart started only to beat with her name. Wherever he saw, he only saw a vision of her. Whomever he came across, the face of his beloved was superimposed. He closed his shop early everyday and took the bus to a distant town to see her. He would take her to the movies and attend to all her shopping needs. The stingy, business minded individual who was only concerned about his own welfare suddenly by the touch of love began to be concerned about another individual. Mere repetition of his beloved name would not bring any relevance to the relationship.

Effort is now exerted and sacrifice needed to rush and meet her. This ordinary example is enough for us to see that service follows love. Hence, for the selfish individual to be purged from his attachments, he must associate himself with greater cause or higher motive. The child holding the knife will clasp it tighter if its mother screamed for the knife. However, it a chocolate bar is dangled above the child, the enthusiasm to reach for it will weaken the hold on the knife to a point where it can be taken away from the child.

To make anyone selfless, the mind must cling on to a higher ideal or goal. Sometimes it will be difficult to analyze what ideal should be sought for or what goal to strive for. It is for these reasons that people who already are constantly exerting time to serve should motivate their friends to join. The joy of service should be spread and the river of such experiences would have the power to sweep along those who stagnate with complacency. Even by merely joining others for service activities, one can motivate the mind to acquire a tendency to serve.

'Many good deeds are being done all over the world. People should participate in such good activities, render help to others and regard them as spiritual exercises.'

(Sanathana Sarathi April 1994 - pg 89)

People of the same attitude of service, if multiplied can produce a tidal wave of love. It is important to note that many participate in service activities. Many spend hours attending to the same service activity such as attending to the elders in an old folks home or serve the lepers in a leprosarium. Continuous participation in service activities should become such a joyous experience that we must share and transmit to others. If the movie one watches is thrilling and exciting, the joy felt will make one insist his friends to see the same so that they too can get the same experience of happiness. It is important that we begin to spread the joy of service and encourage our colleagues and friends to participate in such meaningful activities.

'A wave of service, if it sweeps over the land, catching everyone in its enthusiasm, will be able to wipe off the mounds of hatred, malice and greed that infests the world.'

(Sanathana Sarathi March 1995 - pg 82)

We need to create a wave of service activities and invite people from all walks of life to participate in such activities. The joy of service, the health benefits and other aspects of this activity need to be highlighted and publicized. There is a need to make these activities more public through mass media. We must break away from the chain of routine activities that feed selfish behavior. Service activity breaks the pattern and rearranges our thinking. When we break from the chain of selfishness and enter the field of service, a shift in consciousness takes place.

'Offer service and receive love in exchange. In this heart itself, God shines in all His glory and manifests Himself. But we are not able to offer selfless service today, and therefore we are unable to receive His Love either. The love that is given is not uninhibited, vast, expansive and selfless. We are allowing our love to grow only up to the limits of our family. It must go beyond the family, extend itself to the society, nation and the world. This was what the Buddha too had taught.'

(Divine Discourse 1987 - pg 6)

The regular service activities such as the visit to the hospital or the old folks become an orientation program to facilitate the expansion of love. But from these regular activities, every individual must possess the dynamism to spring to greater fields of service. Even such opportunities are not grabbed by some who give feeble excuses that they are doctors and lawyers and as such their work itself is service. No doubt any field of work becomes service, however, one must realize that in all their respective occupations, their monthly pay packet could become the incentive for their performance.

Duty without Love is deplorable

Duty with Love is desirable

Love without Duty is Divine

These maxims of Bhagavan, if practiced, can unlock our jail doors. There are many who perform duty for the sake of the roles that they have been forced to take up and hence, half hearted work which is devoid of any interest and passion definitely would be deplorable. Such bored people usually need pushing and forcing. Their motivation will most likely be the incentive which they will depend on. There is no higher motivation to provoke excellence. Living day to day, complaining and forever making decision when they come to the bridge, will be the lifestyles of such people who fall in the first category of deplorable people whom Swami has specified.

The second will be the most common sort of attitude people will have or aspire to possess, i.e., Duty with Love which Bhagavan calls Dharma. Each does his duty to the best of his ability. Dharmic excellence is what is asked and the world today lacks this category of people. It is a rare few in this category that graduate to a higher level of existence where they are gushers of love, regardless of their role or circumstance. Continuous shower of love, sacrificing their comforts and going beyond the expectations of norm, they continue this excellence. History endorses the existence of such heroes and the memory of people never fails to recall their inspiring tales. They become divine or at least reflect the grandeur of divinity.

Love without duty is a lifestyle that can change paradigms, cause waves and enhance goodness all around. Such a life does not demand or ask anything from the external world. They totally live for a cause. Hence, people who participate in such service activities mature faster and thereby are able to serve with inspiration in whatever position or role they play in their day to day living. Hence, the call to all men and women holding whatever position is to serve those who are less fortunate.

'All those who are in high positions will acquit themselves as true human beings only when they render selfless service to their fellow men. Plunge yourselves in society and take part in service activities.'

(Sanathana Sarathi January 1994 - pg 6)

They give their best because their motivation comes from within and not external incentives. Such workers add a dazzle of brilliance to their effort and always will leave a mark wherever they go. Such a lifestyle will gain its rewards. This scriptures assure. Bhagavan too has reminded us many times. There is also another reason why people of high position should serve. Such people who are very busy and totally engrossed in meeting their daily obligations will be a source of admiration for their peers and juniors if they render service. The entire civilization can be crow barred to higher levels as the lives of these high position leaders will be quoted to inspire the younger generation. 'If he can, why can't you?' is a question that will whiplash the feeble excuse givers to roll their sleeves and emulate the behavior of these people of high position.

'Engage yourselves in selfless service. The reward of it will come of its own accord. Do not have any doubts on this score.'

(Sanathana Sarathi April 1994 - pg 90)

Hence, the scientist in Bhagavan reminds us of the natural law 'what is given will return' for was it not James Matthew Barrie who said that those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. The nature of the sun is to be emulated as the sun knows only how to give. It is common knowledge that without a fraction of a second's influence of the sun on earth, all living things will perish. Would it not be natural to assume living things when sprung to life by the touch of light from the sun must also transmit the nature of the sun which is to give? The flora and fauna of life expresses the nature of giving. Paradox as it might sound that the only creature that divorces itself from this principle is man. Those who followed this simple natural law have their names recorded in the annals of history.

The love for his partially deaf wife motivated him to try and invent the hearing aid, but instead, the process of research led him to discover the telephone which shrank the world so much smaller by creating effective communication. The story of Graham Bell reminds one that if he starts caring beyond himself or herself, then the light which he emanates rebounds back with greater intensity to glorify him, his family and society at large. A mother's love planted self-esteem into a hopeless child who was turned away from school for his pitiful performance. Her radiant love planted confidence and he grew to give the world light by inventing the bulb. The story of Thomas Alwa Edison is another example of what radiating love and care can do. Hence, the Divine Utterance of 'Whatever I do, I do it for the happiness of others' is a clarion call to move away from living a life satisfying only the selfish needs of one but to expand the periphery of love to the field of service.

'Whatever you undertake to do, do it with all your heart and to your full satisfaction. That satisfaction will give you all the reward and recompense. It will confer all strength. This is the quality you have to cultivate. Acquire this true wealth. Without goodness, all other riches are of no avail.'

(Sanathana Sarathi April 1994 - pg 90)

THIS IS THE KEY TO DEVELOPING THE ATTITUDE OF SERVICE, FOR SELF SATISFACTION IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS SELF SACRIFICE.

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (CHAP 6)

I SHALL NEVER WAVER FROM THE TASK

THAT I HAVE SET OUT TO DO

(Chapter 6)

A pen, however beautiful and expensive, will be placed close to the heart as long as the ink has not dried. A chair, however decorative is the embroidery on the silk cushions, will be thrown into the store room once one of the legs slightly wobbles. The tapestry of expensive shirt or dress, once it gives away, will force the owner to tuck them into the farthest corner of the closet. A cup is thrown when the handle cracks. The pencil is discarded once it accidentally breaks. As long as objects fulfill their purpose, we treasure them, but once they fail to do so, they are merely discarded. What then is man's purpose?

'What is the purpose of life? What is the goal of life? After getting such a rare gift as a human life, if you cannot make use of it to attain the divine, indeed if you are not able to remember the purpose of life, what is the use of getting such a sacred gift?'

(Divine Discourse 1987 - pg 120)

Purpose confers direction and one must be clear as to what is wanted in the field of life. Thousands enter a stadium to watch a football game while millions around the world tune in their television sets to catch a glimpse of the finals. The teams that enter the field look prepared to take on the challenge. Supposing the goal post is removed from one side of the field, however great the players look, however prepared the team can be, however enthusiastic the world is to watch the game, no game can be played without the goal post. All the kicks on the football, the dashing display of fine footwork by both teams and the incredible team work that is displayed by both sides, devoid of the goal post, can at the most contribute to a good play. A game can only be where there is goal. Hence, we must examine carefully what our goals in life are. To the school boy, his goal is only to get more marks in the examination. To a businessman father, his main goal, is to ensure that his business does well. To the mother, that her whole family is happy and well. To the son, it might be the ultimate purchase of the noisiest motorcycle. Everyone's goal changes according to different lifestyles. It changes from one stage of life to another. The same small boy who screamed for the toy aeroplane cannot be doing so at his university graduation ceremony. The boy whose only goal is to retain his defending championship title for the football game, might when he grows up have his new goal of only wanting to compete with his boss at the golf field. Hence, targets and goals change. Years of sweat must be poured forth to achieve paramount success from any field of endeavor. This is natural and there is nothing wrong with that.

"I wish to die. I am so fed up... I want to die." Surprisingly, such words escape from the lips of youngsters these days who have not experienced the full bloom of life with all the exciting opportunities waiting to tap the inner human potential. Suicides are increasing and studies show that the rise is more evident in countries that are more developed. According to William James, human beings use only 10-12% of their potential. The saddest part of human life is that most die without living fully for they enter into a rusting phase. Resting from activity too long can cause 'rust' as one elderly man, to a question of what is life's heaviest burden replied, 'to have nothing to carry', sums up the need to stimulate sufficient participation in life itself. Some refuse to take on added responsibility for the fear of failing, fear of the unknown, fear of being unprepared, fear of rejection and fear of making the wrong choice. Such fears force one not to cross comfort zones and hence the dormant potentials remain unchallenged and the hidden talents remain unexploited.

About a hundred years ago, a man who had invented dynamites looked at the newspapers only to read his name in the obituary column. The newspaper had reported the death of the wrong person by mistake. The obituary read 'Dynamite King Dies' and 'He was the merchant of death'. He sat in silence and wondered 'Is this how I am going to be remembered?' The realization propelled him into other nobler pursuits such as peace. His name was Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great Nobel Prize. Potentials remain hidden unless effort is exerted to discover them. This is what enriching life is all about. This can be effectively done when man has a purpose. Potentials can be realized only when goals are visualized clearly.

'I want to be successful', said a student. 'How successful do you want to become?' asked the teacher. 'Very', came the abrupt reply. 'I think of it all the time', added the student. The teacher grabbed the student's head and immersed it into a pool of water. The student, after a minute, was struggling and gasping for breath. After a few more seconds, the teacher released his grip and the student instantly pushed his head up and screamed, 'Air! Air!' The teacher then asked, 'What were you thinking when your head was submerged under the water?' The student replied, "O nothing... just air!' The teacher then said, 'The intensity for a breath of air made you oblivious to all other factors and situations. You did not become aware of your limitations, you were not aware of the possibilities and the potentials. In fact, the world became dead and you were only alive to the idea of a fresh breath of air. As long as you develop your one pointed intention of wanting success and reaching your goal as you wanted air just not, you will become successful.'

The simple story sums up and provides the explanation as to how a paralytic Wilma Rudolph became the fastest woman on track at the 1960 Olympics, winning three gold medals and how Lincoln with all his failures, made to it to the White House. Powerful desire for a goal lends a purpose and effort to meet that purpose provides inner peace and gratification. If this attitude begins to be developed from young, one can see and feel beyond what the senses dictate. In such people, a clear goal can easily be visualized. Visualization of this purpose or goal is the first step to one's destiny.

A normal lawyer with a family, like million of others, would have continued his routine life cycle of eating, meeting, breeding and brooding till old age. The frail old man after death would be bundled into a coffin and tossed into the fire, for the final journey home. However, there was this man who refused to follow the dictates of the norm. He saw a vision of Mother India being free from the yoke of the British rule. Spending his entire life, in and out of jails, being trashed, beaten and bullied, yet, he never wavered from the goal he visualized. Such a mighty power of love and a strong sense of purpose marshaled the masses and brought the powers to be to their knees. The capacity to focus on the sense of purpose provided this lawyer the strength and fortitude to brave all odds, and today, pages of of history cannot be completed if the life of Mahatma Gandhi is not mentioned. This then is what the strength of focusing on purpose can do to an individual. So it becomes obvious that if a goal is chosen, the expectations to meet such a goal can summon inner potentials. The higher the goal, greater the potential tapped. If the goals are only merely transient and temporary, then potentials needed will also be of such quality. Hence we must aspire of high goals. We can go to the moon and travel to the depth of the ocean. In fate, we already have, and yet with all the possibilities and potentials with modern machinery blessed by science, man is still not happy.

'I derive much bliss watching 'wild animals' in their own habitat. Their movements, their relations with others of their own kind, their free uninhibited lives are very attractive to behold. They do not grieve, lamenting their misfortune, comparing their fate with that of other denizens of the forest. They do not clamor for fame. They do not plan and prepare to earn positions of power and authority over the animals. They are not eager to accumulate possessions that are superfluous. When we consider these traits, we are led to conclude that they are leading lives of a higher grade than men. Men have the extra qualifications of education; they have the moral sense, and the capacity to judge and discriminate. But yet, they are caught in the coils of greed.'

(The Embodiment of Love - pg 74)

Here is a beautiful example where Bhagavan brings home a point that we have slipped lower than even animals. Animals without the similar higher degree of intellect as man appears to act according to their nature. They do not possess greed and share nature's abundance with one and all. Throw a few grains outside your house and the birds will come, peck what they can eat and leave the rest for other birds. Leave a few sacks of rice outside your house, a disappearing act faster than David Copperfield's magic is sure to ensure, a feat performed only by the greed of man. Internal virtues is what we should develop without which happiness cannot be gained. History records the suicides of great movie stars and pop singers who had everything at their command. They had wealth, enough for the next few generations, power over anyone and anything, their slightest whisper is a command, the slightest change in their look creates a raving lifestyle. They were mobbed wherever they went, their glance was what millions kept dreaming of, a touch or a word would send their fans reeling in ecstasy. A life any one and everyone would exchange for and yet what made them kill themselves? Newspapers flash their suicide stories all around, till even today, people still ask 'Why?'

Bhagavan is quick to reply,

'Peace is what everyone seeks, but it can never be secured from the outside world. Accumulation of riches and power cannot endow peace. Peace can come only from the fountain of peace within.'

(Sanathana Sarathi Vol VII - pg 32)

Hence, man tries to gain his peace and happiness by having external goals. In order to achieve his goal, he uses all his reserve resources and strength. The moment he reaches the target, his desires will prompt him to set another goal, this time higher.

A father used to beg his son to come and pray. Each time, he will say, 'Later, as soon as I get my first 10,000 dollar monthly salary, I will come. He spent all his time and efforts to achieve this. Staying up late, he never took his meals properly nor had the time to spend with his family. Soon he was able to earn the money. He bought a huge bungalow, got married and lived comfortably. Soon his friend insisted that he join a business. Therefore, he resigned from his work and spent all his time trying to convert his small capital investment into a little industry. His ailing father had given up on his son as he never used to come home. His wife would insist that he should take the family to the temple. Came rapidly the same reply, 'Later'. Years passed. His father passed away, sad and lonely. His wife and child saw little of him for he was too busy running after contracts, meeting datelines and rushing to prevent debtors from knocking on his doors. His entire life, a continuous search for fulfillment, he never experienced total happiness and joy. For all purposes, he drove a huge car, had a huge bank balance and a beautiful home, but of what use? Bhagavan, in one of His discourses, likened this to a donkey carrying sacks of gold behind his back. There is wealth but of what use is that to a donkey? Many lead such lives with their train of lives riding on tracks to stations that drift them far away from their initial goal.

There must be a higher goal. The chase of the golden deer led Sri Rama away from Seeta. At each moment the deer was about to be caught, it ran further into the wilderness. The illusory deer took Sri Rama away, thus allowing Ravana to kidnap Seeta and the sea of blood that flowed due to the wars fought in the Ramayana is testimony to the fact that our focus on our goals must be intense and disciplined. Seeta who sacrificed the wonderful riches of the palace to follow her husband to the forest walked on stones and thorns. Yet her mind on Sri Rama provided her the balm which cushioned all her discomforts. Shifting attention a second from Sri Rama, her dear one, to the golden deer, planted a desire in Seeta. The price she paid and the lessons gained become the tapestry for the epic Ramayana. Inner vision is vital to safeguard tranquility and peace.

'From the time he wakes up till he goes to sleep, man looks at everything externally. He hardly spends a few moments to develop his inner vision. All the external objects can only confer momentary pleasure. Pursuing these pleasures, man wastes his precious and sacred life. He can never achieve peace in this way.'

(Sanathana Sarathi August 1993 - pg 206)

The king once called his horseman and told him to travel on his horse as far as possible. The land he covered would become his. However, the condition laid was that the horseman must return by sun fall. The horseman started his journey. As he marched on further and further, his swelling pride and greed that all this land that he had covered would become his, blinded his sense of time. The hot sun scorched his back as he turned his horse. Not only could he not return before sun fall, but he died due to sun burn, the only consolation being that he was buried by the king on a land that could have been his, if better sense had prevailed.

Hence, the goal must be something steady, unchangeable and when achieved, must provide greater enthusiasm, energy and power. It is here one must pause, reflect and see. Assess the various goals you have had and recall the experiences that you gained after achieving such a goal. Surely the excitement dimmed and the enthusiasm waned once the goal was reached. Bored, the mind looks out of the window, 'What next?' How long more would one want to experiment the promises the world offers? How long are we going to change our transient goals?

In simple words, Bhagavan pulled off the veil and explains,

'God is the goal of life.'

(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 91)

God is the goal of life. To this the modern, materialistic enthusiasts will declare that passive bending to an unseen entity called God, apart from robbing them of the time which would have been used in meeting datelines and rushing for meetings, is just a routine chore. To them, flower offering, camphor showing or burning a candlestick are expressions of the weak. Such people, in their view, are too feeble to stand on their own two legs, too fatalistic to develop their own enthusiastic energy and too conforming to let any creative potential surge forth. Hence, God is a substitute or a crutch to enable such people to lean on. The youngsters, seeing only the aged and the old visit the temples and prayer houses gain immediately an image that these places are stop-houses for the aged to refuel the waning inspiration and hope. There are many young adults who offer taxi services to their parents by dropping them off at prayer halls and rushing to meet their respective worldly obligations. The parents are picked up after the prayers. Much as this is an act of service, if only people can realize that praying and making God a part and parcel of life can increase productivity. God is the goal and the way itself. Benjamin Franklin once said, being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn to do things the right way.

Andrew, a woodcutter, never got a raise despite working for a company for four years. He was hardworking and duty conscious and always wondered why he never got a raise. Along came Albert, who within a year, managed to get a raise. When Andrew complained to the boss, the boss replied that he paid for productivity and Albert, within a year, had cut more trees than Andrew. Upon enquiry as to how this could have been achieved, Albert merely replied that after every time he cut a tree, he rested for two minutes to sharpen the axe. To keep updating knowledge or to stop and evaluate one's performance is a critical factor in increasing productivity. Sharpening our axes must mean to re-check the acquired skills with changing times or to attend courses and classes to update with the latest. Contentment breeds complacency. Complacency is death. Research shows that people seem to age faster after retirement. Once the sunset of routine enters a life, the thrill of courting challenges and wooing problems will become no more a sport. Evaluation is a must and, at every bend we take, it becomes vital to refocus the goal and be quick to learn and acquire new skills. The only question we must keep asking ourselves is, 'Is there anything more I should learn?' The answer shall set one free from the jails of limitations to limitless potential.

Hence, newer lifestyles to face the challenges of this new age may be the answer. Having God as your goal expands and enriches one's life.

'Few men in the world are able to recognize what is the primary goal of life. Many are not even worried about this inability. What is life? What is the highest goal? Man has to enquire into these basic questions. Man's highest aim, however, appears to be to obtain food, clothing, shelter and progeny. All these are, no doubt, necessary to some extent. But these are related to mere living and have no relation to the supreme goal of life. Along with leading one's ordinary life, one has to take note of the great aim of life. Man must recognize the immense preciousness of human life.'

(Sanathana Sarathi December 1993 - pg 329)

Hence, it cannot be emphasized more that the goal of life must be God. This goal like all other goals that we pursue has different steps to achieve it.

'There are four stages in the journey towards the goal of seeing and reaching Him; each one is called a loka, a region which you reach. The first is avidya loka; the region of ignorance and delusion from which you start, prompted by the chain of grief and pain it inflicts on you. The second is the vidya loka - where you penetrate into the vijnanamayakosha, the intellectual plane and are able to distinguish the true and false, the kernel and the husk. The third is the anandaloka, where you are immersed in bliss, at the glimpse of the eternal source of power and peace. And lastly, you have the go-loka, where Go-pala reigns and all the Go's (Jivas, sparks from the Divine, waves of the Premasagara, the Ocean of Love) are one in ecstasy and enlightenment.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol VIII - pg 52)

The child who is enthusiastic about the holiday the father has planned, cannot sleep and therefore, he will enquire about the trip and provoke the father to state the highlights of the trip. Likewise, the father in Swami whilst promising us a wondrous place that awaits us to enjoy, spells out the entire journey and highlights to us the key destinations that we will pass. We must begin with ignorance. The urge to make the travel can only begin in those who first must realize that they are lost. There are many who are so, but unless this realization dawns, they will spend unprofitable time in chasing their respective heavens. The search for light is only for those who realize that they are or were in darkness. This, in itself, is Grace. Hence, the travel is from ignorance to knowledge. From vidya (knowledge), knowledge accumulated from one's own experiences, books and teachers allows one to cross the wild passionate thought waves to reach the steady and safe domain of intellect (vijnanamayakosha). The pole vault of intellect pushes one over the crossbar of limitations and lands him in the beautiful seat of bliss. Rapture of bliss and total serenity finally opens the final door and allows him to roam in the atmic splendor.

Hence, moving towards the goal of life, which is God, confers ultimately joy and happiness. God attaining must mean this. Prayer halls must reflect purpose than an opportunity to offer flowers and chant prayers. The gymnasium cannot restore health to mere spectators. The blessings of health and vitality are for those who dare to walk on the treadmill or use other machines for exercises. Likewise, devotees must focus on the purpose why they are in such prayer halls. Commenting on devotees, finding faults with other people's way of expressing devotion, and losing faith on some misperceived notions, will alter the focus from the intended goal. To keep steady the goal in the mind, one must strive to excel in the world outside. The turtle travels in the ocean but her thoughts are always on the bank where her eggs have been laid. They are bound to return to the same spot, months later to hatch their eggs. If only man, who has his five senses working in the world, follows the great example of the turtle swimming with five limbs, knows how to return to the safe banks of God realization, he would be able to hatch greater achievement in the world.

'If God is on your side, you have the world in your hold. This is the lesson driven home by the Hindu scriptures. 'Give up all bonds of Right and Duty; surrender unreservedly to Me; I shall guard you from sin and liberate you from the sad cycle of 'entrance' and 'exit' upon the stage of life. You can remain ever in your own Reality of Eternal Calm'..... you must also see yourself and hear your inner voice, urging you to discover your own truth. I am prompting you to discover your Reality. That is My Mission.'

(Baba the Breath of Sai - pg 144)

A devotee of any faith will have his chosen Lord do the same for him or her. This is the grand assurance of Divinity, call it any name, but the nature is always the same. 'Surrender unreservedly' is the call. Surrender and to lose even the imperative to question when experiencing or observing unexplainable phenomenon with the teacher indicates the hallmark of a devotee. Implicitly to follow the Teacher's words at all cost is what has been hinted here. The physical instructions from the Teacher is only the initial crutch. The student while practicing the teachings, will tame his mind and slowly his own intuition or inner voice will become the teacher.

The capacity never to waver from a chosen task will confer strength and grace. If the purpose of Man is to realize his divinity, then every endeavor he undertakes must be done to invoke greater potential. The truth that Man is God should not be forgotten. The discovery of the Self is a great adventure within, with all the roller coaster thrills of bends and twists. The unexpected events, the miraculous coincidences, the unplanned journey, the surprise meeting with people who assist you in this journey, the sudden realization of potentials, the dramatic upheaval of skills within and the spontaneous burst of creative energy are all manifestations if one undertakes this journey. Along with this comes the numerous temptations and bribes as we escalate in our consciousness. The sages in meditation were often tempted by the dance of the divine apsaras but the ability to focus on the task undertaken prevented most from side-tracking. Many pursuing the spiritual path have become victims of temptations.

The key to holding on the goal is perseverance. Bhagavan, in one of His discourses, said,

'Of course, the majority of persons get glimpses of wisdom and detachment of renunciation off and on; but they soon forget the call and ignore it and cover it by excuses. One step forward and then one step back... the journey does not take them far. Even if some do take up the sadhana, steadiness is absent.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, Chap 7 - pg 38)

Swami diagnoses the problem so well. The lack of perseverance is the real cause. In some enthusiasm a project is taken, but gets waylaid as other obligations summon the attention. Spiritual practices are then postponed to a later date. Often are heard statements such as 'I will come after this; I will join this project after I attain that.' Inconsistency in effort breaks the momentum and often if the spiritual aspirant returns to the path, he might need greater momentum, and enthusiasm to restart again.

'The urge to satisfy the lower desires is the root of evil. The impulse takes hold of you slowly, silently, like a thief in the night... wickedness has a thousand tricks to capture your heart. You must be ever alert against the temptation.'

(Sathya Sai The Avathar of Love - pg 141)

A spiritual person must be like a hero. Any task undertaken must be done well and executed with confidence. Our senses must be disciplined and should follow the dictates of our conscience and not succumb to temptations that may arise. Our command in life and strength in our conviction proceed from conscience. The inner voice has power and listening to it can move mountains. Hence to achieve this, we must watch out for the thoughts which will silently creep into your mind and make you fall for lower temptations. This is the thief, and Bhagavan therefore again emphasizes the need to be vigilant.

'Man has become a slave to his senses. He is the slave of his senses from dawn to dusk. Subdued by the senses, which are outside him, how can he ever hope to conquer the internal organs... it is said 'he who succumbs to the inner foes can never hope to defeat the enemies outside. Man has become a victim of his own senses and is subjected to sorrow and suffering. But he does not enquire into the cause of his sorrow... The man who has not conquered his mind is man-in-form, but not a man-in-reality. Only when he controls the mind completely, he can be called a true man.'

(Summer Showers In Brindavan 1993 - pg 79)

Control of senses does not imply great austerity or tapas. It is simple abstinence from demands of the senses. One good example will be that of smoking. We do not need to give this up for God but more practically for our health, as research has already produced volumes of books on the ill effects of smoking. Consumption of alcohol today has become a habit. Peer pressure and desire to keep up with the Joneses', the bottle is picked. Glass after glass, bottle after bottle, the husband returns home hardly able to recognize his wife and children. Long unproductive hours in unprofitable conversations accompany this consumption. The effects on health are multiple especially if injury is caused to the liver. The habit so ingrained in the sub-conscious provokes a reflex action of a demand or a need when friends gather. The mind demands the drink and soon the senses yield. Many families suffer in silence due to this social evil. This habit has the potential to diminish the power of conviction and rationale. It is habits of this nature that must be given up in order to have a firmer grip on the chosen goal.

'The control of the senses is itself a form of sacrifice which leads to immortality. Sacrifice of wealth or possessions is no sacrifice at all. It is the sacrifice of the senses (the desires caused by them) which is the highest sacrifice. It is the senses that have to be sacrificed, not the body, which is made up of the five elements and kinds of refuse. It is attachment to the body that has to be given up. The hold of the senses has to be reduced. What is the value of all the pleasures you profess to enjoy? If you cannot sacrifice these trivial and transient pleasures, how can you experience the bliss of the eternal? If people cannot give up petty addictions to coffee or betel leaves, how can they acquire control over the senses? This can be done only through spiritual sadhana.'

(Sanathana Sarathi April 1994 - pg 89)

Hence, the key to maintaining perseverance is the control of senses and this in itself is a form of sacrifice. Many go to temples to shave their hair or offer milk to deity, etc., but the real sacrifice is to control the senses. This is simply done by turning the mind inwards. Vigilance of the superfluous sensuous thoughts that flow out to the world should be curbed. This can only be done if one has a higher goal, his control over senses is stronger and in such case, he will develop greater perseverance which acts as a trigger to continue his efforts to attain the intended goal.

Have a goal... a high goal and from the teachings of the Master, it becomes evident that God is the safest bet. Then, steadily, increase the capacity to focus on the goal. This is expressed as a constant integrated awareness that He is all around you.

'We become cognizant of the divine through the medium of form. Transition is made from worship of God in form to worship of the formless divine... by full adoration of God in form, then seeing that beloved form in everyone, then God in every place and loving others come naturally and easily.'

(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 64)

HEREIN LIES THE KEY TO STAY FOCUSED. TO BECOME AWARE THAT HE IS ALL AROUND AND IN EVERYONE. THE CAPACITY TO HAVE THIS AWARENESS ALL THE TIME IS THE KEY TO STAY FOCUSED ON THE GOAL. THE LOVE FOR EVERYONE AS ALL ARE HIS CREATIONS BECOME THE FUEL OF PERSEVERANCE TO REACH THE DIVINE STATUS...

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 7)

I WILL NEVER COMPLAIN AND HAVE NEVER COMPLAINED

(Chapter 7)

Nobody has ever been spared of suffering and pain during their existence. The lives of the richest or the most successful people have often been sprinkled with periods of uncertainty, pain and suffering. Let us analyze our pain. It can be caused from three sources, i.e., our own personalities, the result of our interaction with the world and the influence of the environment. Our thought pattern and formation forms the matrix of our attitude which in turn determines the nature and type of personality. All problems can arise due to our misapprehension of truth and the false values we possess. Hence, an agitated mind filled with over-anxious thoughts of the future or deep regrets of the past dampen and hamper any progressive potential.

The second source comes from an outer influence in the form of friends and relatives or anyone whom we have to interact. The misunderstanding between us and the people we interact can generate problems and place barriers on our path. Envy or jealousy distorts the reality and thereby stains perceptions and colors view. Interactions with people with false pretences often precipitate arguments and leave us with a bad taste. This, too, can tire us with unnecessary restlessness forcing us to lose our inherent peace.

The third source of distress can come from the environment; natural calamity like a typhoon or an earthquake can bring its share of flood of pain and suffering.

At the end of every prayer meeting or bhajans, we normally chant three times 'Om Shanti Shanti Shanti...' or 'Om Peace Peace Peace.' These three prayer invocations are supposedly to send waves of peace to these three possible sources from where our distress can be born and generated. One will be to pacify our restless mind with peace, the other will be to send waves of peace to all around us so that others experience peace during their interactions with us and the third, a silent prayer of peace to the uncontrollable forces of nature so that all five elements which constitute creation are appeased.

The threshold of enduring pain has certainly been lowered over time. Moans and groans of complaints are often generated in the present breed of people. A slight problem between the husband and wife pops out the divorce papers. Extra piece of work out of the normal routine will generate waves of frustration. Stressed people find their way to the couches of psychiatrists who have in recent years mushroomed all over at a rate unprecedented in any period in history. The suicides rate shamelessly reported by medical journals at a time when mother earth has been blessed with the latest technological advancements and scientific achievements are youth, at the prime of their lives taking this drastic step. Capacity to cope with life, leave alone endure life's discomforts has rapidly diminished.

Hence, the attitude to never complain signifies the maturity and dexterity of the mind as well as fortitude and perseverance of focusing on the intended goals of life. However, there are some who, to a question of 'How are you?', will open the flood gates and try to drown everyone with tales of their miseries.

'He who shouts and swears and advertises his worries to everyone he meets and craves for sympathy, such a one can never be a devotee. Such men are miscalled devotees. They make earnest men lose faith in Godly ways.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol II, Chap 3 - pg 16)

Bhagavan narrates his own personal experience which happened a long time ago. There was a time when a car was sent to transport Bhagavan from Prashanti Nilayam to a nearby home where a wedding was to take place. Bhagavan had promised that He will attend the wedding and bless the couple. The driver sent by the father of the bride accidentally slammed the car door too soon and hurt Swami's toe. The pain was unbearable but Swami did not show or complain to anybody at the wedding ceremony. As soon as the wedding ceremony was over, the bride's father who drove Swami home had noticed Bhagavan actually limping as he earlier got down from the car, enquired and Swami explained the incident. The father of the bride was stunned and when asked why Swami never told of this misfortune back at the wedding, Swami replied, 'If I had told you, you will make a fuss and spoil everybody's happiness and joy. The couple will get disappointed and soon the whole festive mood of the occasion would be altered.'

Swami said 'that the toe will heal soon' comforted the host and sent him back.

Making an issue out of very small pin-pricks of life are symptoms of someone in dire need of attention and sympathy. The limelight for such people must always be focused on themselves, and every action of such individuals is to increase the intensity of this limelight so that the focus gets sharpened.

A more recent example would be when Bhagavan fell in the chariot which was carrying Him during a sports day in the year 2001. The nature of the dramatic incident was revealed during His Ponggal discourse on 14th January 2001.

Swami remarked that He hurt as He fell inside the chariot. He finally made His way to the stage despite the terrible pain He was suffering. As He sat on the erected platform in the field along with other distinguished guests, He noticed that blood was oozing from the wounds inflicted during the fall. He slowly got up and casually enquired how everyone was and inched Himself to the bathroom where He used His white handkerchief to wipe away the blood. He washed the handkerchief Himself and returned to His seat without giving anybody the suspicion of what was happening. He did this a couple of times as blood continued to ooze. He bore all pain and despite the great discomfort continued doing His duty, even to the extent of walking down the dais to take photographs with His students, in the field. All actions were accompanied by His usual big radiant warm smile. What a beautiful demonstration of the maxim 'Bear all and do nothing'. Capacity to endure pain and possess sufficient empathy to appreciate the sentiments for others is indeed a divine quality.

Choking circumstances sometimes come not in a trickle but in a torrent. We run to temples and prayer houses for relief when this happens and often wonder why God continues with His merciless punishment. Swami's love is the same for all, even for those who engage in bad actions.

'These suffer not because of Swami's anger, but because only through suffering do their minds turn inwards in self-enquiry. And only through self-enquiry will they be free of the illusion that separates them from God.'

(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 100)

Our experiences in our life are dependent on the type and nature of the relationships we have. Our mind is always preoccupied with enhancing or preserving those possessions which guarantee comfort and happiness. The mind is so entangled with the various toys of living that it loses its potency to acquire any dynamism to enquire about Life. Toys are snatched by a concerned mother from her playful child so that his mind can concentrate on his studies. Likewise, nature sometimes snatches away our job or creates unpleasant pain so that mind suddenly brakes and jolts to redirect his enquiry into the nature of Life. If we reflect back very seriously, the philosophical questions on life have been raised during tiring circumstances. Such an enquiry raises our awareness and matures our outlook.

'People suffer because they have all kinds of unreasonable desires and they yearn to fulfill them, but fail. It is only when attachment increases that you suffer pain and grief. If you look upon nature and all created objects with the insight derived from inner vision, then attachment will slide away. Attachments to nature have limits, but the attachments to the Lord that you develop when the inner eye opens, has no limits. Enjoy that reality, not the false picture.'

(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 95)

The etiology of suffering is revealed here. In all such cases, attachment seem to be the root cause of the pain and suffering. In fact, a scan through all our suffering will show that the underlying thread for our unbearable pain is because of our attachment. To the modern educated man of science, this philosophy may appear terribly hollow and totally unscientific. In haste, he might reject the idea and justify a thousand examples to show that his anger towards this logic is righteous. A mother losing a child in car accident suffers unbearable pain. A hand amputated due to cancer brings its share of misery. Retrenched worker is at a loss how to feed his hungry children. The pain of the jilted, the cry of the homeless, the hunger pangs of those stricken with poverty, provide all ample evidence that the philosophy thundered out by the scriptures cannot be depended upon for solace and comfort.

It might be so to a hasty reader who has not been initiated to this subtle science but the philosophy is complete in its diagnosis of the problem of pain. The pain of the mother is because of her attachment to her deceased child. The loss of the job pains the worker as this implies the added burden of seeking newer pastures other than the usual comfort zone experienced thus far. The pain of the jilted heart is due to her attachment to her lover. These are not physical attachment as the daughter was not glued to the mother nor was the job pasted on the worker. Attachment only means a mental identity with the object. The memories of laughter and the smile of the dead child continues to play like a reel tape in the mind of the grieved mother. Many continue playing such tapes, rewinding and listening each time to the same tunes that people once played. The players have ceased their roles only leaving behind memories of their lives for us to faintly recollect. No amount of worry can bring back the past. To continue living in the present pain of the past is unprofitable and a waste of time.

Continuous worry will also dampen the evolution of the deceased as they too will imbibe the negative vibrations of worry and depression. It is the same with broken relationships or lost of jobs. Stand apart. Listen to the reel tapes playing in your mind. Are you not tired of the same music? How long would you want this melancholy to drown your real self? These are sharp questions to stop the reel tapes.

Bhagavan here is cajoling us to slowly drop these false attachments as individuals, at some point, have appeared and played a part in our lives. When their roles finish, they pack up and leave us to continue this unstoppable march to our tombs. Like a passing twig floating in the river that meets for a brief moment, another fallen twig, in life too we gain a few and lose a few, but amidst these experiences, the call is to constantly keep our gaze on the reality which is the Lord.

The attachment to that permanent screen, upon which all movies project, will provide a steady and unshakeable foundation to play all roles with confidence. The one in costume plays his part knowing well that the curtain call will strip him away of his gear. That inner vision of this reality will confer great joy and with such an eye of maturity, all roles one has to play will be performed with ease.

'Regarding people suffering : They are being tested. But it should not be called so. It is Grace. Those who suffer have My grace. Only through the suffering will they be persuaded to turn inward and make the enquiry.'

(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 110)

Hence, when we suffer, we gain the grace of God. In the first instance from the perspective of students in Standard 5, they must suffer sitting through the trials and tribulations of preparing for examination before they graduate to Standard 6. The readiness to meet the challenges of Standard 5 and go through this tiring period only means that the students are ripe to go to a higher grade. It is in higher grade that the learning will become more intense and challenging, thereby an opportunity to increase knowledge and awareness. This itself is Grace.

Grace must mean abundance in all aspects of living and life. Hence, here Bhagavan beautifully using language of the mystics, says that the result of all those who are suffering is grace. Hence to those of us who are suffering, instead of continuing the habit of complaining, let us be happy that the process is conferring us Grace.

This thought is enough to continue our battles in life disregarding failure or success. Who has not failed? A quote says that 'the greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one'. How apt!

'Take failure if it comes, as a challenge to further effort : Analyze the reason for your failure and profit by the experience. Learn as true students, how to succeed in the turmoil of life and how to live without causing pain to others and without suffering pain yourself.'

(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 68)

This has been the formula that determined the success of all great people; even movie stars prior to their success experienced failures. Jackie Chan, Hong Kong's biggest movie star is said to make almost 50 million US dollars a year. He endured very rigorous and brutal training program for more than 10 years from 5 am to midnight at the infamous Academy of Chinese Opera before he finally worked himself from a stunt man to a legendary star.

The technological genius and father of mass production, Henry Ford, was not spare either. Armed only with a limited schooling, he began his hard life by being an apprentice mechanic, and at night slogged it at the jewelers, cleaning clocks. A newspaper man named him once an ignoramus and yet, in later years, his innovations developed the automobile industry which changed the economic and social aspects of the world.

Another inventor who had only 3 months of formal education went through his share of tiring times and left behind the world with 1300 US and foreign patents. The story of Alva Edison is indeed an inspiration.

He failed 10 times from 1895 to 1911 but continued to endure all hardships until the 11th attempt when Sun Yat Sen finally became, at the age of 46, the President of the Nationalist Republic of China.

Each inspirational story provides a testimony as to the ideal expected by Bhagavan. If all these people continued to give excuses and complaints of the constraints they experienced, such miraculous historical achievements shaping destinies of millions would never have taken place. It must become increasingly convincing that if the goals sought by these great people in the material world requires the capacity to endure for success, what more of the subtle and intrinsic goals promised at the spiritual plane.

'When defeat or disappointment stares you in the face, you must not give way to weakness or despondency. You must have muscles of iron and nerves of steel. To reap life's rich harvest, you must have courage and confidence. Be like lions in the spiritual field : rule over the forest of the senses and roam fearlessly with full faith and be victorious!'

(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 112)

The advice is extremely useful as everyone must have faced defeat or disappointment during some period of their existence. We must not let the small pebble of a problem in the beginning change into a huge boulder of an obstacle that frightens and limits one's potential. Stare at the problem. 'Face the devil and finish the game.'

Swami said,

'Be like lions by ruling over the forest of the senses.'

It is interesting that herein lies the secret art of converting an obstacle into an opportunity. The force of any individual is dependent on how integrated his senses are. A curbed, disciplined and tamed mind prevents thoughts from unnecessarily desiring any object. Hence, if man's goals are high and noble, mind is constantly preoccupied in trying to reach that well meant goal. This, thereby, prevents dynamism and inspiration leakage through the senses. Such a man will be like lions; armed with muscles of iron and nerves of steel, he will be like a superman enduring pain to remove the pain and suffering of others.

'Why worry when God, in order to make a lovely jewel out of you, heats and melts, cuts and carves and resolves your dross in the crucible of suffering.'

(The Embodiment Of Love - pg 232)

The very purpose of life is to evolve the soul, to transform from a greedy lustful caterpillar to a lovely butterfly admired by the world for its beauty and appreciated for its role in pollination and fertilization. The transformation cannot take place unless a strict, rigid discipline is enforced to curtail the sensuous thoughts from its overzealous adventure in roaming and experiencing the outer world. Hence, any student wishing to gain higher experience must come under the scrutiny of a disciplined teacher. A medical student must rigorously be subjected to a regime of punishing training under the wise supervision of the senior doctors before he finally graduates. Severe reprimand and sometimes harsh scolding leashes the wandering mind of the student so that every detail of what is being taught is thoroughly understood. In fact, the greater the potential shown by the student, the more will be expected from the teacher. Blossoming of excellence in the students under the sharp rays of wisdom emanating from the experienced teacher, eventually turns out doctors fit to serve the world.

If such a severe training regime is bestowed to bring the best in normal material fields of endeavor, then the expectation of the spiritual excellence demanded must be one hundred fold more. Gold, in order to be made into a beautiful necklace, must be subjected to strong, intense heat, beaten and pounded to create the desired design. It is a beautiful analogy to visualize whenever we suffer or even begin to complain. The discomfort is the first sign that one is being put in the crucible and if we only focus on the end product which is the beautiful necklace, this will relieve us from the suffocating pain and the unexplainable suffering experienced. Almost hearing the cries of devotees of all religions who sometimes go through terrible hardships, Bhagavan says,

'I stir, I knead, I pound, I bake, I drown you in tears. I have come to reform you, to transmute you.'

(The Embodiment Of Love - pg 232)

It is a process. The tear from the past habits, the push from the comfort zones of our lives, the pull from complacency, the embrace of a new environment, can all, become the basis of pain. Here the doctor in Swami is assuring us that these difficulties are all a process to bring out the best from us. It is here that we must carefully analyze. Does this mean that every hardship that comes after severe penance an deep devotion to their Gods, many untold suffering has continued to heap on them. To think that there is a biased creator who dishes out punishments and rewards to His devotees on whim and fancy is totally unscientific and will be rejected by the modern youth.

Without the will of God, not a blade of grass can move. The touch of life is what confers us experiences. It is very important to realize without the soul in us, we will be reduced to a corpse waiting to be buried or cremated. Blaming God for every hardship is like blaming the petrol of our car in the accident and not the reckless driving. No doubt the petrol is responsible for the car to move but it cannot be blamed for the accident. The driver should accept the full responsibility. Hence, God is like the petrol, without whose grace life will come to a full stop but the intelligence in us must be responsible for extracting life's experiences.

Therefore, all hardships and suffering are the boomerangs returning from the throws made possibly in the previous life. It can be noticed that some suffer more when they take a spiritual path. This only means that the karma is hastened so that the soul with lesser luggage can travel faster to its final destination.

Hence, at one level to imagine that all hardships are the blessing of the lord provides an avenue to sustain a positive attitude to face all obstacles with ease. However, when finally we purge all our past tendencies and exhaust our past karmas, our lives become free from selfish motives. A hollow, selfless compassionate person whose only ambition is to serve the teacher will now directly be stirred, pounded and baked by the teacher to test and see if there are remnants of ego that will surface and stain the personality. Hence will really be on those who have exhausted all their selfish desires, purged out every negative tendency and is completely selfless. But then, how do we know whether the hardship is the result of the past karma or God's test? We don't need to worry for both demands the same response from us. As long as every hardship, however small or big, with a smile, stare at the hurdle and deal with each without complaining, the problem refuses to pose as one.

'Man should maintain equanimity in pleasure and pain, loss or gain. Without pain, you cannot enjoy pleasure. Sorrow is verily the royal road to joy. Sufferings are the stepping stones that lead man towards virtuous conduct. One should neither be elated by pleasure nor dejected by pain.'

(Sanathana Sarathi May 1994 - pg 113)

Bhagavan throws us a life belt while swimming in the ocean riddled with unseen sharks and other lurking danger. Maintain equanimity. All insults received, bricks thrown, scolding heaped and curses pronounced, the instruction implied is to gracefully ignore everyone of the them and remain calm. Physical or mental injury, receive both with equanimity. The teacher has demonstrated this personally to the world which denotes a divine lifestyle. When there was a bout of negative criticism hurled at Bhagavan, many lost faith and left whilst those who believed in the teacher was anguished and hurt. Bhagavan never batted an eyelid and performed his daily duties without addressing the issues for a long time until at long last to pacify the devotees in one of the discourses explained the course of events. He remarked that people out of jealousy and envy are spreading false rumors and warned devotees not to listen to such lies. The beauty of His actions where he continued to perform all His obligations with so much of love and grace is really inspiring. He did not sulk, moan and complain like what most would have done in these circumstances. Whilst His actions provided a practical lesson on how one should respond to critics who can disturb the mind, He beautifully demonstrated how to endure a pain at the physical level. More recently, Swami suffered a fall from an accident and had to be subjected to a major surgery. Whilst he was recuperating from the fall, He had another and broke this time His bone in the hand. These falls caused great discomfort as perceived at least by those who witnessed how during the period Swami walked. A short break and Swami was back again, collecting letters and enquiring the welfare of others. Someone asked, 'If He was divine, why did He fall in the first place?' Divinity is not measured by the circumstances that we embrace but the response we generate to every incident that happens in our life. In this case, despite the pain and the discomfort experienced, the slow but steady determination to ensure that the daily routine of His life is not interrupted by the physical limitation, is yet another clear demonstration to the level of endurance expected.

'One whose heart is filled with peace... whose speech is suffused with truth, and whose body is dedicated to service, will be unaffected by the torments of the Kali Age.'

(Sanathana Sarathi July 1994 - pg 169)

This teaching is the key shield when practiced, that can weather all storms and provide an insulating fence warding off unwanted circumstances. The next time you are tempted to complain it could well be that your heart and speech are not suffused with peace and truth respectively. It could also mean that the body is very anxious to join some form of service activities. If performed regularly, service shapes an attitude which will never reduce the personality to complain but develop the capacity to endure till we reach a Divine status.

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 8)

I AM LOVE

(Chapter 8)

Love is the most natural quality for man to possess. Love is our inner prompter that manifests action. We rush to work if not for love of the work itself, at least a reason to provide sustenance for our family whom we love. The rigorous exercises that we undertake everyday is to keep our body in optimum condition. The painful birth pangs, a mother is willing to endure are only for the sake of bringing out her progeny to the world. Hence in every action, we see the motive being to move towards greater love or retain objects or experiences that continuously have been providing love, security and comfort.

The world has conditioned us to love those who love and respect us. The child from school will run to the mother and explain that the shirt he wore has become dirty only because his friend pushed him to the ground. Out comes the reply, 'why do you make friends with such people?' The reply might be a right response, especially from an anxious mother who wants her child to return from school safely. But the seed of conditioning has been planted.

In every experience, we can see that a sense of conditioning sets in. Our actions favor those who give us love, security, comfort and happiness. We move away from anyone or anything that threatens these fundamental pre-requisites of life. The most natural state of divinity is to love and that too unconditionally, which means simply to love another being without expecting any returns. The barrier to that is definitely the mind, which at times, being judgmental, comes in the way and blocks the natural spontaneous flow of love.

All our lives we search for people who can 'click' with us. Our plans are made with people whom we can 'jive'. This is most natural and there is nothing wrong with it when viewed from one level of consciousness. As we escalate to higher levels, our heart strings must vibrate with greater frequency, sensitive enough to understand the loneliness and pain of others.

Regular service activities help in developing this consciousness. The activity slowly blossoms love from the narrow radius of the family orbit and to those whom we are obligated to beyond. There are many who are so conditioned that they have lost the capacity to love anyone except their own. They live in a cocoon with hopes that their loved ones will meet all their expectations. The slightest disappointment will plunge them into the depths of despair.

Throw a stone into a bucket of water and the waves that are created are large but the same stone thrown into a bathtub causes waves with lesser magnitude. Tiny ripples are seen when the same stone is thrown into a lake but one hardly notices any effect when the same stone is thrown into the ocean. The stone remains the same but the amount of water it is thrown into increases. The quantity of water and the stone represent the love orbit of one's life and the problem we have respectively. One is willing to sacrifice his body which may be burnt by the hot sun doing hard work in the field to earn wages for the sake of providing the best for the family. One is willing to sacrifice everything and be a martyr for the sake of an ideal. Hence, it can be clearly seen that the capacity to give is largely proportional to the ideals he is associated with. The higher the platform the mind stands on, the greater is his flow of love.

'If you develop Love, you do not need to develop anything else.'

(The Embodiment of Love - pg 237)

Once we develop love, there is nothing else we need. However, here Bhagavan is referring to selfless love. Let us analyze further. Love is the basis of action. This we have established in the beginning of this chapter. Our actions in the world are undertaken only for the purpose of gaining more love or preserving who and what we love. Even a thief steals to gain more wealth so that he can preserve his family or perhaps to be in negative peer group so that he does not fall out of their love for him. Love appears to be the foundation of character.

'Foster love in your hearts and redeem your lives. Whatever your scholarship or wealth, they are valueless without love. Without devotion, all other accomplishments are of no avail for realizing God.'

(Sanathana Sarathi January 1995 - pg 4)

It is many a time in our own experience that amidst living in a mansion and possessing a luxurious lifestyle, surrounded by relatives and friends or in an intense discussion with one of the most learned, we can still feel lonely and an annoying absence of something. What use is wealth and knowledge when heart is devoid of love and remains dried up like a vast empty desert.

Love is the most common word seen or heard these days. Movies show, songs scream, couples utter, lovers whisper, and yet, there has never been a period in history as the present where the world is so devoid of love. Old folk's homes are sprouting at almost every twist and turn of roads. There are homes for the abused, underpriviledged, the tormented and the bullied. Rehabilitation centers and reprimand homes housing people who once adopted alternative lifestyles in the hope of finding peace and love are also increasing. Crimes are constantly filling jails with people, many in their teens and youth. Suicides are shockingly on the increase and these too largely from the young. What is critically needed is the flooding of humanity with love.

'There are different forms of love, love for family and love for money; but love for God is devotion. The most important thing you have to develop is love. If you develop love, you don't have to develop anything else.'

(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 9)

Here Swami has clearly distinguished different types of love. Love graduates to a level of devotion if channeled to God. If one has the heart to expand and accommodate the ideals of God consciousness, surely then he would love all other aspects of life as he realizes that they are expressions of God's creation. A practical philosophy of this nature will sound alien to people who are so conditioned by society to love only those who care and love them. Elders sometimes prevent their children from associating with family members of friends who have had a misunderstanding or are misunderstood. This conditioning blocks the children from reacting to the world naturally. Statistics show that hard core criminals, who ruthlessly inflict harm to their victims, express such tendencies as a result of hurt, disappointment and suffering from lack of love received during their childhood days. Hence it is for this reason that upbringing with love is emphasized and this love eventually would expand and embrace all.

'The situation in the outside world is appalling. Even tenth standard students are taking to drink and drugs. The parents are not restraining them. Nor are they setting a good example. When the parents exchange words, the children exchange blows. The parents give a free rein to the children instead of controlling them. The parents are to blame for three fourth of their children's misbehavior.'

(Sanathana Sarathi May 1996 - pg 119)

Here the emphasis on the foundation of love has been clearly pointed out. It is at home. Parents who have brought for children to the world must be responsible to plant love and compassion. This can only be done by demonstration of love. The love of the husband for his wife, the wife's sacrifice to meet the demands of home, their loving words, their mutual respect and their mannerisms are enough visual and practical demonstration of love to draw admiration from their children.

Love breeds love, hate likewise breeds hate, but how can we love those who hate us? One day, someone with a great pain finally said to the sage who advised him, 'maybe your philosophy is right and perhaps time can heal...' The sage replied, 'Yes, time will heal... how much time you need... you are already 80 years.'

Bhagavan provides a solution to this :

'Love is the only alchemy, the only solution in the Kali Yuga. It is the only possible weapon with which to fight the evil tendencies. One should not meet hate with hate. One should meet hate with love. I tell you, love is the most wonderful thing and can work great miracles by changing the very nature and character of man. It works from within the person, from inside, and so the change is more thorough and absolute, though the curing process is slow. Therefore, develop love towards everyone. You must try and see only the goodness in them. No one can be completely bad. There will be one redeeming quality in him and that is enough to start with. Hold on to that and ignore the baser qualities. Don't look for the bad, look only for the good. See good, be good and do good. Give them love without any desire for return or reward. Then you surely will realize God.'

(Sathya Sai Amirtha Varishini - pg 30)

Look for the good in everyone. However, the treasure will be enmeshed in a person's nature amidst thorny jungles of negative values. As you dive into the other person, you will come across stones and pebbles of negativity. We must continue our search and dare to look for the good even in the most condemned. Hence if you hate someone, a divine lifestyle implores you to seek the good even in the most negative person. You must intensively love all those showing negative qualities. Bathe them with your love with the understanding that their obnoxious behavior is nothing more than a cry for your attention and help. Such people only deserve floods of compassion from our hearts. Ignore the baser qualities for all those negative qualities could be a result of wrong upbringing, negative peer pressure and circumstances.

'Jesus has said that there is nothing great in loving those who do good to us. Even a sinner does that. We should be able to love our enemies.'

(Sanathana Sarathi August 1993 - pg 218)

Ratnakara's life was of that kind, full of deceit and dishonour. He was a highway robber and took to task all those who passed his way. A sage with love looked beyond and saw the potential that he had. The sage asked him to go and ask his wife and child whether they will share in his sins. Laughing arrogantly, Ratnakara replied that the loot robbed from the people is meant as gifts for his wife and child and he did not doubt even for a moment that his wife and child will share in his sin. To his horror and disbelief, both his wife and child cried that they would not share in his sin. The sage initiated the mantra 'Rama' to him and from such chanting of the mantra, the highway robber became the great Valmiki potential lying dormant in the highway robber, Ratnakara.

The Buddha saw the good quality lying dormant in another highway robber Angulimala. Good qualities and talents lie in everyone. It is up to us to help another to tap and discover his potential. This is how to spread love to one and all. Hence, if we are living a normal and ordinary life to love those who only love us is pardonable. But those who are aspiring for a divine lifestyle, must possess the humanness to love even those who are against them. The ingratitude son, the cheating husband, the annoying neighbor, the murderous culprits, all of them deserve love. Love them with greater intense to such an extent that they are motivated to change. We might disapprove crime or sin perpetrated, but not the perpetrators, the individual, who with love can be led to the correct path.

Regarding people with unlovable natures : 'First you should understand that though the exterior may be harsh, rough and prickly, the interior is sweet. A jack fruit or a pineapple is prickly outside but sweet inside... The outer forms vary but the inner core of all mankind is the same, saturated with the sweetness of Love and Divinity. It is up to you to try and see beneath the external appearance and reach below the surface.'

(Sathya Sai Armirtha Varishini - pg 28)

Hence the call is to pull back and stop making impulsive judgments. Every person has the potential to be good and Godly. It is important to note that man cannot have all the qualities he seeks before he is loved.

People sometimes take great pains to condemn even the smallest personality flaws despite his or her other positive qualities or contributions. One may have so many beautiful facets of life and all might shine with lustre except one. It is sheer immaturity to discard such a diamond just because one facet's shine has not been as brilliant as others.

An example would be the life of an industrialist who owns factories and outlets all around the world. He has a wealth of friends and is a very lovable person. However, his married life is in shambles as evidenced by frequent fights and unavoidable quarrels. Every other facet of his life is shining except the marital one. This life probably has been given to him, to polish that facet and go through that karma. Hence the call is never to be judgmental and discard his glorious achievements and accolades due to one defective facet of his life. Many educated and cultured people form biased and prejudiced views on others listening to rumors and gossip. Any smear of negativity on one's character without evidence is a great sin. We must remember this!

'The central part of Swami's teachings in regards to living in the world is to see in other people that essential quality which is God, and to love that quality and not be bothered by all other actions, qualities, misbehavior, characteristics of the person. The love of God in the person with whom one is dealing is spiritual love and not physical love... Hislop...'

(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 45)

Here again is a practical philosophy on how to interact with people. In our day to day transactions, treat everyone as if you would treat God. Simple as it sounds but how can this be so.

A grumpy person having fallen in love with a girl of his dreams will run around with great enthusiasm, meet all his obligations with cheer, greet anyone and everyone including his enemies with a smiling grin of satisfaction. The personal differences he has had with others, the exchange of heated words with friends on previous occasions, etc., merely get burned into non-issues by the rays of love for his girl. If falling in love with a mere mortal can have such drastic transformational effect, imagine if the heart is filled with divine love.

The exhilaration and the exuberance that gushes from such a heart will totally propel the person to higher planes than normal and from such a helicopter vision, the faults and negativity of people will be so trivial.

'Embrace all with this equal love. Even people who come to Me with hatred in their hearts are dear to Me.'

(75th birthday message - 23 November 2000)

The Teacher is a practical example of this divine love. In the presence of such a majestic love, anyone, however negative in thought or filled with hatred, will be swept away by its torrential flow. If there is someone you cannot forgive, this only indicate that you have not experienced divine love in your heart. Once the electricity flows, any bulb will light up. If the bulb emits a weak glow, it can be due to the gathered dust of negativity and ego. Wipe away the bulb, the light glows in all effulgence.

How can we develop this kind of love? We therefore need a methodology to cultivate this Divine Love.

'How is Divine Love to be cultivated? a) consider the faults of others, no matter how large, to be insignificant; consider your own faults, no matter how insignificant, to be large and then repent and correct your faults.'

(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 48)

It is a known fact that people love to find faults committed by others. We sometimes condemn others even in public. These acts will appear to confer us strength and give us a false illusion that people think that we are intelligent and powerful. We are always quick to justify our actions as right if pointed out as faults by others.

Dynasties have collapsed, kings dethroned, empires wiped out, companies closed and management torn into fragments by this malady. Finding fault in others has become a past time, a topic of conversation during coffee break, house visits or even in a normal everyday conversation. Politicians bear the biggest brunt as they come easily under public scrutiny.

These days no one is spared even the god loving saints who have renounced the world, preaching and practicing Peace and Love have been in the past, assassinated, crucified, poisoned and tortured. The sweep of this social catastrophe must be curbed. Here Bhagavan gives us a simple antidote to this problem of ours. However great is a fault in others ignore, and consider however small is your fault as big.

The words are simple in words, but extremely powerful in revolutionizing the current social trend. This attitude if cultivated and practiced will land us at the entrance of the glorious Divine status. What is the use of human birth when we can only love our peers and close ones? Evolution must bless us with a vision of the divine in everyone.

'A man living without love is as good as dead. You are having love towards your father, mother, wife, children and others. There is nothing wrong in this. But you must see God in every one of them... we should see God in every being.'

(Sanathana Sarathi May 1994 - pg 119)

THIS IS THE KEY TO DEVELOP LOVE FOR ONE AND ALL!

This is the key to develop Divine Love. We have to take our love from selfish wants to the physical level to the graduation fields of service. It is here that love slowly expands to include all and then it slowly matured to that of Divine Love. How do we know whether we are experiencing divine love? Many run to God to fulfill a need. Many more with lots of problems can resolve these satisfactorily, if the love and bond for GOD develop in them. But if the cry of the frustrated and the desperate devotees receives no attention from the gods worshiped, they leave, in search for another faith or Master where surer and quicker answers are promised.

'Just as sugarcane has to go through crushing and other processes before you can get candy from it, the body has to go through certain ordeals to manifest its sweet nature.'

(Sanathana Sarathi August 1994 - pg 218)

Therefore, God is pointing out that pain conferred by nature is reminding us that we are not in touch with our bliss sheath. The purpose of prayer halls is to help devotees grow spiritually and to get in touch with the inner self. However, Gods in prayer halls are being reduced by some, to waiters in restaurants, dishing out their needs in the menu card instead of being sources of inspiration to achieve higher ideals. Maturity will confer us the appreciation that all that happen to us is for our betterment. Every pain will bring its rewards later but never expect anything. Just Love, Love, Love.

'In this worldly life, love is manifesting in several forms such as the love between mother and son, husband and wife, and between relatives. This love based on physical relationships arises out of selfish motives and self-interest. But the love of the Divine is devoid of any trace of self-interest. It is love for the sake of love alone. This is called devotion.'

(Sanathana Sarathi Feburary 1994 - pg 49)

Love for the sake of love alone. The painter, who draws on the canvas a glorious scenery of nature, is not bothered whether his painting will sell or how the critics will view his effort. His total involvement and his overflowing passion drown every other thought. He is lost in his splash of colors and the curving contours of the drawing. He loves the art for art's sake. When the subjective painter merges in the objective paint work, what results is a work of inspiration.

Such expressions of love result in inspiring moments in eternity where the lives of such painters are printed in the pages of history. Leonardo Da Vinci is a great example of this. Love for the same of love alone is indeed the art of living. How can we know that such a love has been developed? There are three traits that we will recognize when our love has such a quality.

'They are :

1. Love is to give and not to receive.

2. Love knows no fear.

3. Love not for selfish reason.

All these three angles of love jointly connote Prapatti or surrender. When one revels in this attitude of surrender (Prapatti), one experiences the bliss of the Divine. For this the prime requisite is Kshama (Forgiveness).'

(Sanathana Sarathi February 1994 - pg 49)

This is the declaration of what Love is; that which the sages talk about, wise man experiences and the scriptures thunder out. All prophets and masters must have experienced this divine state. This is the invitation extended by Bhagavan, to one and all to come and experience this state. The resultant nature for sure confers power and probably accounts for the strength conferred to such great ones, for overcoming their trials and tribulations.

'There is no power greater than love (Prema) in this world because it is selfless and pure... sages spent their time in the forests amidst wild animals. They lived amicably side by side with them. The animals did not harm these sages. What is this reason? The sages had no weapon at all. They had the sole weapon of love. With this weapon, they were able to tame the wild animals.'

(Sanathana Sarathi June 1995 - pg 163)

In a world with choking war cries and screaming pains of hardships, if each of us carry this weapon of love and spread it in great intensity, surely the world will get irrigated with Love. We need not fear, for love instills the confidence. The confident aura of love must have shielded the saints and sages meditating in the jungles. This is the confidence that we must develop. From an initial small pool of people to virtually an ocean of humanity, now surround Bhagavan.

People of all races, religion and from the farthest corner of the globe come to Puttaparthi, India, to catch a glimpse of Bhagavan. Never in human history, a phenomenon of this nature has been witnessed, one that is beyond any one's imagination. This again is the testimony of the power of LOVE... His LOVE.

Mountains are admired and loved. Nature is appreciated. Dancing flowers simply invite us with love to come close. The snow-capped mountains are often sights that offer people great joy, just gazing at them. What has the mountain done to us? How have the flowers contributed directly to our lives? Nothing! We love them for that divine nature which they express. And yet, plainly and unconditionally, we just love them. This is the Divine quality of love. People must just love us for the sake of love itself. We can move and order people using our authority and position. We can wield power and dominate many but one day, either age or circumstances, will force us to be stripped of all positions and then it remains to be seen if we can command the same respect. Throw away all the hats that we wear and simply ask how many still love us because it is just US... as Love commands and never demands... This is the measure of the DIVINE LOVE!

(From : THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE by DR SURESH GOVIND,

With the consent of Sathya Sai Central Council of Malaysia)

Posted by adeline108 at 4:00 PM

Labels: THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE (Chap 9)

I ATTEND TO THE MOST TRIVIAL

WITH DETAILED CARE

(Chapter 9)

The current crisis in every strata of society can be pointed to one single factor; a bankruptcy of morality and integrity in people having exemplary lifestyles that are not worthy to be emulated. Uninspired teachers, corrupt politicians, overpaid executives who are under-worked, bored clock-watching officers, 'bribe-able' law makers, swaying law keepers and flexible justice enforcers offer no more motivation for the young who have hardly any one to follow. Role models of good character and charisma are assets for providing a revitalization for nations to prosper and progress. What is urgently needed for the world to restore and manifest its pristine glory is to develop plans and schemes to generate good leadership. Like an answer to the cries of the world emerges Divinity Himself who walks His talk and show by example what Life is and should be...

'There is none to question me if I do not act; there is nothing I would lose if I do not engage in activity. Nor have I any great urge to be acting. But yet, you see Me ever active. The reason is I must be doing something all the time for your sake, as an example, as an inspiration, as a piece of training. Those who are leading must themselves follow; those who command must themselves carry out what they expect others to do. I am engaged in activity so that you may learn to transmute every minute into a golden chance to ennoble yourselves into Godhood.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol VI, Chap 58 - pg 310)

Every action of ours is driven with a motive. We rush to the office only for the purpose of earning remuneration to maintain our families. We study for want of a better future. There is always a reason behind our actions. Actions proceed from desires. Hence, with spiritual practices, we sublime our desires and therefore, as stated in the Geeta, we attain actionlessness. This is not meant by totally becoming inactive but doing actions prompted by selfless desires and dedicating the results to God. Here Bhagavan is indicating that He has no desire of His own. The actions He execute do not proceed from selfish desires nor has He any reason for discharging His actions. Acting for the purposes of achieving a higher goal greater than satisfying personal comforts is what connotes a divine action. Bhagavan here points out that He is busy from morning to night, only executing actions for the welfare of humanity. Hence Bhagavan clearly shows how one should live.

Many years of searching for Truth in prayer halls, attending regular Bhajans or devotional singing and service programs must bring some benefit or bestows awareness to become more and more selfless, thus providing a magnetic glow in our personality. Energy conserved should be channeled to greater and nobler pursuits. This charm of our lives may leave a definite fragrance and will be noticed by members of our family and society. Their yearning to emulate would slowly increase their curiosity to enquire about our lifestyle and then finally inspire them to follow our path. Hence transformation at personal level will attract questions and turn heads of even the skeptics to the direction that we are heading. Some who acquire this new lifestyle slip and display a 'holier than thou' attitude springing from the notion that he or she is the chosen one.

Such chauvinism scares new aspirants. We must be able to enter the same fields of activities and act the same way as others do, the only difference being that brilliance should accompany our actions. If we stay in our ivory towers, we will not be able to interact with people. Bhagavan once said, 'Your life will be My message.' Hence, it is only imperative that we live a normal ordinary life like others but possess extraordinary aspirations. These aspirations for higher ideals or goals, fuel life with inspiration. Leading an inspired life will always attract the notice of others who in the process establish identification with us. People would be able to identify and relate with us, if they are able to emulate our lifestyles. Bhagavan too has moved about, talked and lived amongst us. These are done only for the purpose of providing an opportunity to experience His Love and make it easier to accept what He says...

'Come... experiment Me, experience Me, and then, accept Me.'

This must be the Mahavakaya (great saying) for Leadership. Any leader who wants to motivate his followers must follow Bhagavan's example over the years.

People, before accepting our lifestyle as the ideal way to live, will surely come to question the logic of such a spiritual outlook. Their doubtful questions and their enquiry should be answered cheerfully in a detached way without bias or prejudice. Overzealous attitude to convert such people should never be adopted. Spiritual science, like all science, must be dealt with logic and reason. We should not force anyone or breathe down their throat with our own justifiable experiences. Our experience must ooze out waves of calmness and peace, a certain bubbling confidence that suggests a firm determination in the path chosen and most of all, an irresistible love in which others can melt their confusion, uncertainty and restlessness. If others share this experience, then surely, they will begin to follow and accept the direction one is showing. The divine experience within is the ultimate prompter for effective leadership.

Boring personalities with only the rosary bead in the hands cannot invite the youth or anyone to higher dimension of existence. We must possess wit, express gaiety and dynamism in our day to day living and be able to extend a pleasing personality to one and all with whom we meet. The critical element to leadership is that others should want to follow or emulate us. No doubt some might be exemplary but if they cannot be inspiring enough to motivate others to follow, then that again may pose a problem. Gandhi retained a quiet and disarming personality but the inner divine swirling twister-like consciousness which he developed over the years, absorbed one and all who came into contact with him into ecstasy. Gandhi's life too was exemplary and proved to people that he walked his talk.

Our misty recollections of our childhood would show how many times our mothers to prevent us from doing mischief, by saying that God was watching us, thereby subconsciously instilling obedience and discipline. This has helped to plant in us a notion that there is an unseen entity high up somewhere watching us going about doing our daily chores. It also prompts us to attend to the most trivial with great care as if God is watching us.

At one level, it will be nice to continue thinking so and attain perfection in all that we do, so as to please the ever watchful God, but Bhagavan has many times revealed the great and grand truth.

God is within you!

The fact that God resides within you is enough a knowledge to empower you that YOU ARE A LEADER! This one truth is enough to remove this passive dependence on others and external circumstances for inner joy and happiness. The call is to lead yourself, for the Geeta thunders out the truth that one has to pull his mind by his own mind. This inner confidence to dare to be Divine should make one burst his chain and escape his dark jail.

The only echo that must reverberate is the words of Bhagavan which says:

'I want you to be like Lions that roar out... I want you to be King among Men.'

This instruction is clear. Transform! Transform! Transform! From being a merely passive, creepy crawly caterpillar consciousness, a wonderful dancing butterfly which is attracted to the sweet nectar of flowers contributing to life in terms of pollination and fertilization. This is transformation. Here the instruction is not only to become a sweet likeable creature but transmute oneself to a roaring lion. As lion is regarded as the king of the jungles. Its majestic walk, its loud roar with beautiful crown of hair expresses a commanding presence. Bhagavan's call is clear. Don't demand respect. Command it.

Command respect by walking the talk, not being hypocritical, but practicing the maxim 'Be, Do, See and Tell.' Lead others but first lead yourself from the state of your limited comfort zones and walk out to the bright sunshine of Love, Life and Laughter. The key to do this is to become vigilant at every aspect of our living. Our physical encasing of our spirit must be looked after, i.e., body. We must first guard our health for body is the temple of God. A sick body cannot serve anyone, or himself.

'I do not suffer from any kind of physical illness because there is no trace of greed in Me. Hence, bodily sickness is unknown to Me.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks 11 August 2001 pn Janmasthami)

Bhagavan has said that many diseases in our body is due to our wrong lifestyles. Bhagavan when He was 68 years old revealed a secret.

'How can we lead a healthy life? Let Me tell you about My own health. I am 68 years old and believe it or not, my weight for the last 54 years has been the same - 108 pounds only. It never went up to 109 pounds or touched down to 107. You can lead a healthy life once you achieve this kind of balance and moderation. I never eat even a little excess. I observe the principle of moderation whether I am invited for food by a millionaire or by a pauper. Even though I am 68 years old, my body is in perfect trim. I do not suffer from aches and my heart is as sound as a rock. There are none who can work or exert themselves as I do. The secrets of my sound health are My well regulated eating habits. This is how one can achieve unity and harmony of food, thought and God.'

(Sathya Sai Newsletter Summer 1994 - pg 5)

Bhagavan Himself provides the secret to a healthy lifestyle. A regimented and disciplined life brings its share of rewards in the form of good health. Never in history has there been such an epidemic of illness all around the globe. In recent times, diseases that were uncommon in the past have become rampant due to changing lifestyles. One such is Heart disease. The statistics generated by the western countries is alarming enough according to Time Magazine May 2004, 80% of global coronary vascular disease-related deaths now occur in low and middle income nations - which covers most countries in Asia. In India, in the past five decades, rates of coronary disease among urban populations have risen from 4% to 11%. In urban China, the death rate from coronary disease rose by 53.4% from 1988 to 1996. The Earth Institute at Columbia University warned that without sustained effort on individual and national levels, the heart disease epidemic will exact a devastating price on the region's physical and economic health. This is just an example to reflect the seriousness of the problem. Hence it is clear the statistics generated by medical journals is frightening enough to halt, pause and reflect on the current lifestyles practiced by us.

The science teacher in any laboratory, first demonstrates the experiment to his or her class before allowing students to perform the experiment. Masters and prophets have come in the past and have demonstrated exemplary life to prove that spiritual life can be lived here and now in order to provide sufficient inspiration for their followers to lead similar lives. When people feel that spiritual ideals are difficult to practice amidst the busy chaos and confusion of the modern world. Swami provides a perfect example that this is untrue. His life story is sprinkled with hints and suggestions as to how our life should be and a scan over some of His inspiring stories reveal nectarine, enriching and rewarding experiences.

During His younger days, His feeding of the poor beyond bounds became intolerable even for His mother. She exclaimed angrily, "Look Sathya! We are not rolling in riches here. If you want to feed the poor any more, it has to be only from your share of the food." "Be it so!" retorted our Prince. He filled the beggar's can to overflowing.

It was lunchtime. The mother called the beloved son. How could she stick on to her harsh threat? But then He did not budge from His resolve. "You little brat, what an obstinacy! Get up and toe the line," said the mother. He remained unmoved. The house folk joined in and cajoled Him, threatened Him, yet to no avail, in the words of a devotee, "Soft as a flower, but stronger than a thunderbolt when determined!"

In the thirties, i.e., the school days of Sathya, discipline was draconian in the schools, even in modernized cities. It was no wonder then that callous cruelty towards the pupils was an accepted canon in the lower elementary school of Puttaparti - a backward village.

Latecomer had to undergo harsh chastisement. According to the code of the authorities, late-coming was not confined to later than a prescribed school-hour, announced by the ringing of the bell. Except the first two entering the classroom, all the others were categorized "late", no matter when they reached the school. As punishment, the first latecomer was caned once, the second twice, and the successors in successively increasing numbers.

To avoid punishment, the children would reach the school very early in the morning, long before any teacher or attendant could be present to note down the first and second arrivals - with neither breakfast nor even a drink. Sathya had never gone to school so much in advance. He would proper clean up the kitchen after cooking the day's meals, packing up part of it for Him to take during lunch-recess at the school and storing up the rest properly for the grandfather, and then only start for the school. Though the teachers were hesitant to mete out the traditional treatment to Sathya, the prodigy and the born prince, He however, suffered mentally the pain of His schoolmates as His own.

When He was 8, He had to walk two and a half miles daily to and from Bukkapatnam to continue His Higher Elementary School as Parti had no provision for such 'advanced' studies! Added to this was the cooking, plus bhajans, plus teaching. Swami was taken to nearby Bukkapatnam for some function. An early morning coffee was all that Baba had had. It was past 11 am when the function drew to a close. But the organizers did not at all feel that Swami, who after all was in a human body, should have been given a drink at least. An important person of Prashanti Nilayam felt sore about this. He was very sorry that Swami could not have His breakfast at 8.30. But luckily he had taken with him a flask of coffee for use in case of necessity. So he whispered in Swami's ear if He would drink coffee. Swami negated the idea with a sign.

Swami participated in the procession too, after the conclusion of the meeting. It was past midday when He returned to Prashanti Nilayam in the hot sun, after visiting some other places also.

He told His anxious aide, 'Abbayi, do I go out to places to be hosted and feasted? Don't I go only to do My duty of giving darshan and discourse to people? Even if the organizers happen to forget to see to My convenience, will it be etiquette to drink what had been taken from here before them, as if to pinpoint their omissions?'

He is very specific in His dealings with high officials or "big shots". When they come on their own, as devotees, He will treat these of power or position as He does others. Even Governor Dharma Vira and Chief Admiral Nanda had to sit and wait along with other people, for Baba's darshan. But on occasions when Swami Himself invites them, they are considered not as votaries, but as 'guests'. How much Swami Himself will be doing from behind is not known outside.

For instance, when a Maharajah - very conscious of his prestige and well-known for his over-nice hospitality came to Prashanti, Swami Himself prepared the sherbet in the inner apartments, placed the glasses in order on a tray, not forgetting to insert a napkin.

Finishing this job as an expert, He came out and in regal majesty, conversed with the party - when a servitor brought the tray and served the drinks.

Once, Swami disregarded a very close sevak of His to the point of his breaking down. Anguished at heart, and tearful, the servitor pleaded to Swami, "Beat me to death if you like; don't ignore me, please. Kindly tell me plainly what wrong I committed."

"Do you now at least realize, Sir, how painful is indifference?" asked Swami, and continued, "You know, the Health Inspector came here during Navaratri. Did he come here for darshan? Wasn't he here in his official capacity to give preventive injection against infections in this crowd? On your own, you should have arranged for his board and lodging. But you failed in that. Never mind. Later, didn't he approach you, requesting some arrangement for food? Did you wake up to your responsibility at least then? As is your wont, not even looking him in the face but looking elsewhere you pursed your lips in stark indifference! How can such a one have the right to complain that I have ignored him?"

During festival times, He enters the canteen, and gives suggestions in culinary matters. He tastes a little of the food varieties prepared for distribution to the poor. He takes part in cutting into singles the double dhoties bought for distribution to the poor. He applies the scissors to one end and in a second or two dexterously tears the dhoti into two.

A close devotee got Swami's permission to celebrate the marriage of a relative in Puttaparti. The bride's party did not have any devotion to Swami, or perhaps they thought, Swami Himself would make all the necessary arrangements for the marriage. So they did not take any part in the arrangements nor did they send the money needed. The self-respecting devotee waited and waited, and at last, a day or two before the wedding day, with no funds to buy accessories, he was driven to think in terms of canceling the alliance.

Swami called him in. He did not utter a single word slightingly of anybody, but just said to the devotee, "Well, write down the list", and began dictating the list of things necessary for the marriage. He gave a wad of currency notes, and treating it light, directed the devotee, "Go to Hindupur and get everything, Nayana."

The devotee committed a mistake. He did not realize that Swami who, had listed the items specifying also the required quantity of each, would have given only the amount just sufficient to buy these. So, when a colleague who went with him to Hindupur chose not to buy something he wanted, for want of funds, this man offered to pay for the purchase thereof. As a consequence, when they returned to Prashanti, with the lorry-load of luggage at dead of night, to be precise, at 1.30am, he had no money to pay the lorry fare! If only he had not given his colleague money, he could have paid for the lorry. Swami had played such a meticulous accountant-general when giving him funds for the purchase! Whom could he awake and ask for money in Prashanti at that unearthly hour? The lorry had to return immediately. Shaken in shame and sorrow, he got down from the lorry with a heavy heart, when...

Is it true? Is it the voice of Swami from the verandah upstairs? Yes, it is He! He calls by name a close devotee. From the neighboring tenement, that devotee rushes upstairs, wondering. Returning, he comes straight to our gentleman and places some rupee notes in his hand, saying Swami asked him to give the money.

The devotee's heart leapt to his eyes and showers of tears streamed out. Swami had given exactly the sum he was short of. Bhagavan takes very moderate quantities of ordinary food. Though the devotees specify some dishes as His favorites, He never insists on or rejects any particular variety. He avoids milk and ghee. At the same time, He objects to people abstaining from food and even soft drinks puritanically, to dine detriment to their health and zest.

When a devotee put Him the question, "May I drink tea?" He replied, what will serve as a principle of living itself. "Heaven is not denied to those who drink tea. But do not adore tea is the only reality. There are two methods by which you can discard habits.

One, deprivation, denial. this can yield only temporary success. When pressure relaxes, the habit exerts itself and it becomes difficult to resist. Two, become so absorbed in something far more pleasing that the habit falls off by itself."

He has not installed an air-conditioner in His room in Prashanti Nilayam, though it is terribly hot there in summer. He has no electric shaver. He does not use a spoon for taking food.

He gives careful attention to even minor matters. For example, He will not forget to put off the fan while coming out of the interview room to select people. After they assemble there, He will Himself close the door and switch on the fan. At the end of the interview, He will Himself carry the plastic bag and distribute the vibhuti prasad rather than asking some to do it. He does His own packing, arranging neatly His clothings and other things in boxes and bags when He starts on a tour.

Bhagavan's days in school are reproduced here. This was extracted from a leaflet produced by the Japanese devotees in conjunction with the World Youth Conference. It highlights in detail the account of Bhagavan when He was young. His life is indeed a message.

Let us read a full description of His virtues from Kasturi himself from his Loving God.

When He wills a journey by road, He loads the car with hampers heavy with breakfast, lunch or dinner, besides snacks and fruits in plenty. He scans the countryside to spot a sheltered nook encircled by blossoms and He finds one soon. The carpet is spread, jugs of water are brought, hampers are opened, baskets are emptied, plates and cups are handed out. Mother Sai squats in the center. With exclamations of appreciation, He places each item of food on the plates held before Him by us - the children. Devotees dare not say 'Enough' or 'No' on the basis of their digestive efficiency, allergic alarm, dietary prejudices, etc. They relish whatever comes from the Divine Hand and consume the quantity He grants. So, Baba decides the measure and the menu for each. He prohibits, persuades and recommends. "You have a touch of diabetes", "You are over eighty", "This pickle is popular in your state", He comments as He fills the plates... Bhagavan too shares the breakfast or lunch with us; He loves to watch us enjoying the food He gives. Even while inside the car, He takes out one by one luscious apples from the bag He keeps near Him, slicing them with care; He tempts us to eat in plenty. Once... the skin could not chewed and swallowed by me since I had a set of artificial teeth unused to tough tasks. I dared not to spit the stuff through the window for fear the denture would follow the skin. Swami recognized the embarrassment, the next slice He handed over to me had the skin removed!

On another occasion, Baba and a few others were traveling by car from Trichinopoly to Bangalore via Palamaner. On reaching the Forest Rest House at Palamaner at 10 in the night, the party had to be satisfied with food from a hotel, which had not yet closed luckily. But there was nothing to protect them from the biting cold. Kasturiji says, "We were able to persuade Him to use a shawl. Sleep stole into our eyes in the silence. When I woke at dawn from my bare reed-mat, I found the shawl keeping me warm from head to foot. Baba, the mother, had tiptoed during my sleep and gently spread it over me. Baba found me in tears. How else could I express my good fortune and my gratitude at the lesson He taught us?"

When Swami visited Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) in 1982, a plane was chartered for His return journey to Bangalore via Jamnagar. A retired Wind Commander of Indian Air Force was requested by the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization of Madhya Pradesh to pilot the aircraft. There were seven others in the plane other than Bhagavan and the pilot. During the flight, Bhagavan took seat in the cockpit and, peeling an orange Himself, started giving petal after petal to the pilot with great love. But the pilot, after one or two, politely declined more in the usual way of courtesy, for he did not realize the stature of the Giver at that time - an action he repented for with moistened eyes thereafter. Bhagavan also graciously created a gold ring with nine precious gem studded on it as a memento for him - a priceless possession for anyone.

When sick or injured, His loving care has a feather touch. During the African tour of 1969, the car in which Kasturiji and Raja Reddy were traveling met with a small accident and Kasturiji was injured with minor wounds. In his inimitable style he says : "The East Africa tour enabled me to secure two priceless gifts of Grace. The first was a car accident in which I received a few injuries, which drew on me for full seven days the shower of tender affection from Sai, the Mother. I had long cherished a desire to be nursed through an illness by Swami. The African continent conferred that boon on me."

It is not that He showers His motherly affection only on the devotees around Him. Time, space and distance cannot come in the way of His compassion or motherly concern. The author of the book 'Anyatha Saranam Nasti' narrates an incident : "One night He was lying on His bed and was talking to us when He suddenly fell down. His body looked like a small bundle that was twisted and tangled. After some time, He was in great pain. He was still in some world. He opened His eyes and asked a devotee to massage His body. Baba then said, "A lady was in labor. I just made a trip to America. the baby in the womb was in breach position and could not come out. I entered the womb, turned the baby into the correct position, blessed the child and the mother after delivery and now I have come back."

Sai, as Father, is a strict disciplinarian. He brooks no mercy for those who cross the limit He has prescribed whether it is in the Sai Organization or among general devotees.

"Following My instructions without demur is the best plan while engaged in service or Seva; it is wrong to yield to lower craving or to follow one's own impetuosity. I dislike flippant talk, frivolous prattle, casual conversation and even face to face grouping of men and women, at all times and more specially, during spiritual gatherings and occasions. You must be models of straight and courteous behavior." Baba directs.

Many so-called 'close devotees' had to leave the Mandir at short notices whenever they crossed the Lakshman Rekha marked by Him. But He will never have any ill will towards them. All that He wants is to make them look inward and correct themselves for their own good. Kasturiji admits of a bad habit he had had of using frequently the expletive 'idiot' for expressing displeasure even without much of a provocation. Baba once admonished him rather harshly "Don't cause injury to anyone's self-respect, intentionally or unintentionally" and this practice was virtually erased.

As Father Sai, He grooms His devotees far and near. During a halt at the residence of one of the devotees, a young man in the group asked the host for a glass of buttermilk. Baba unexpectedly entered the room and detected the empty glass on the sill of the window. With patriarchal authority, He pointed out the mistake as it must have caused inconvenience to the host and advised all to be satisfied with whatever was given or served and to keep our urges under check. He also gave tips on table manners and insisted on the need to desist from asking for second helpings.

In order to discourage and dissuade His devotees from carrying on with certain bad additions that have assumed chronic proportions over a period of years, Baba sometimes expresses His displeasure about it in general terms within their hearing as the first dose of treatment. If they do not give up such bad habits with such oblique references, then He will directly deal with them.

Kasturiji was a snuff addict for three decades when he traveled with Baba to Rishikesh and other places of great spiritual importance. So he had stored enough of that stuff that would suffice for considerable period. One night, while camping at the Ashram of Swami Sivananda, Baba came out of His cottage in the Ashram complex and straightaway walked into the dormitory where Kasturiji and five others were preparing for sleep. Swami Sadananda and Satchidananda accompanied Him. Baba came near Kasturiji's cot and turned the pillow over to expose the snuffbox. Baba looked at him sternly and said only one word "Dirty". Kasturiji, in great remorse and embarrassment took it and threw it away, and touching Baba's feet assured Him "No more, Swami, I am giving it up from this moment." The immediate reward was a soft pat. The harshness or roughness of Baba intended to correct anyone at all times has an undercurrent of perpetual love which makes an everlasting impact on the corrected.

The stories of His life inspire us with zeal and passion to become exemplary. This will help release others, when they emulate us, from their own jails of limitation and motivate many more to discover their destiny. It becomes an inspiring testimony of 'Simple Living and High Thinking' which Bhagavan has asked all devotees and aspirants of divinity to heed and practice. Ideals are what man should have and they will ever be the guiding compass for his ship of life. A ship must sail, only then can it reach the destination. No doubt it would be safer in the docks but that is not what ships are made for.

'I am happy only when the poor are served. I have dedicated My entire life for the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks 1.1.2001)

Statements of this nature reveal how divinity must think and act. Swami here stresses an ideal which He has been practicing all His life, a clear instruction that this is the kind of ideal we should also possess. A prick in our conscience must release thoughts such as 'What am I doing to make others happy? How much time am I spending bringing comfort to the poor and down-trodden? How am I using my god-given talents to serve humanity?

'My life is My message. Some people may hate Me and criticize Me, but I will not hate or criticize anyone. When you practice this principle, you can also attain the Divine state. If Sai has attained such fame and reputation, what is responsible for it? It is His Divine Principle alone. This Love is My real property.'

(Sathya Sai Speaks 11.3.2001)

Here Bhagavan is reassuring that to one who practices such love, fame and reputation will follow. He is also warning us to be ever watchful for the criticisms and eyes of envy that will follow us. To every critic, Bhagavan here teaches us how to respond. Don't hate or respond to anyone who criticizes you. He remarked once in a speech 'Dogs will bark at a passing elephant but the elephant continues its march.' The recommended attitude and the lifestyle, if adopted, will get its share of rewards and pain. But be a witness to both and develop a steady equanimity. If people are critical of you, be happy that you are worthy of their time and effort to criticize. It must be remembered that at all times we are watched. Having a Master to guide us also brings its share of responsibility that we should reflect His teachings in our day to day practices. Our actions and behavior should not bring dishonor to ourselves, our families, societies and the Lord Himself.

Hence, life led by God reveals to us the 9 Divine Utterances which are simple statements but have great implications to our lives. This practice of these attitudes are critical. The growth of activities in the future will demand our time and energy. We must slowly adapt these thinking processes and experience the state of Divinity within. There is much to be done. There is a bubbling excitement of how this great Drama will end but the more exciting point is what ROLE are we playing in this Divine Drama?

The curtains will pull and the show will end and as we hear the audience clap, can we truly say to ourselves that we have not just lived but experienced...

THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE?

(From : THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE by DR SURESH GOVIND,

With the consent of Sathya Sai Central Council of Malaysia)