Madam Indira Gandhi once
requested Brahmanand Panda to run for election, to become a Member of
Parliament. Do you know what Panda said? “Madam, to be a Sai devotee is
far...far greater than being a Member of Parliament.” This is
transformation!
In
another example, a former Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High
Court, Parthasarathy, was invited to give a talk. Do you know what he
said? “People introduce me as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh
High Court. I am sorry, but I have not come here in that capacity. On
the day when Swami told me that I would be the President of the Sathya
Sai Organisation, I was more joyful than when I was nominated as Chief
Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court.” That is transformation!
As long
as we crave for power, name, and fame and such, it is not
transformation. When my head is full of information, it is not
transformation. The spiritual journey confers an experience that leads
to a phenomenal inner change without our knowledge.
So, what
is true transformation? True transformation is egolessness, absence of
jealousy, absence of pride, not craving for power, and no arrogance.
There are some people, who say, “Anil Kumar, after coming to Swami, I stopped eating brinjal curry.” That is not transformation!
Somebody
said, “Anil Kumar, I have undergone transformation, because I stopped
eating bitter gourd.” I said, “You don't like it anyway, so that is not
transformation!”
Some
people also say, “Once a month, I don't take food on a Thursday.” I tell
them, “Not eating once a month is still not enough. It is not
transformation.”
Others
say, “Thursday is Baba's day, so I don't eat. Saturday is
Venkateshwara’s day (or Tuesday, Hanuman’s day), so I don't eat.”
I say,
“Please stop eating. That will be your day — the final day!” Such
statements are not transformations. Giving up an item at the breakfast
table or at the dining table is not transformation.
Baba said
in a poem: When you have had a fight with your wife, you don't want to
eat that night in order to express your anger. But, then you cannot say
the next morning, “I have been fasting.” Fighting with your wife is not
religious transformation!
By playing cards on Sivaratri, all night long, you cannot say that you have been vigilant. Whom are you cheating?
