Master’s messages- Volume 1- Chapter 11-Man And God: Nara And Narayana

Sathya Sai Speaks Volume 1- Chapter 11

Summary: Nara will become the divine vehicle of Narayana if Nara acquires two qualities of Sathya and Prema.

Practise what you preach

Individual reconstruction is much more important than the construction of temples. Multiply virtues, not buildings; practise what you preach, that is the real pilgrimage; cleanse your minds of envy and malice, that is the real bath in holy waters.

Man is suffering today consequent to his own actions

Of what avail is the name of the Lord on the tongue if the heart within is impure.People have to set themselves right and correct their food, their recreation, their method of spending their leisure as well as habits of thought.

Three types of intellect

For understanding this ,the intellect has to be kept sharp and clear. There are 3 types of intellect – Thamas (inertia/sloth), which confuses truth with untruth and takes untruth as truth; Rajas (passion/activity)-which like a pendulum swings confused between the truth and untruth and can’t distinguish between them; Sathwa (Purity /serenity)-which knows which is truth and which is untruth.

Sense of Discrimination with Equanimous intellect is necessary to reach One’s goal.

The wisdom in hot chocolate ( Develop equal mindedness)

http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_10/01MAY12/09_chocolate.htm

Leading to Mukthi

Eat well so that your physical faculties and intelligence grow. Bhakti (devotion) will lead to Shakti(power); this will grant Yukthi(skill) ,which will lead to Rakthi ( help fix your attachment on proper objects) ,and this will finally lead you to Mukthi (liberation).

Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you .

Wooden bowls

Others are not separate from you

Instead of criticising others and finding faults with them(because of ego) ,look for your own faults , as faults in others is a reflection of your own personality traits.  Pay no heed to little worries; attach your mind to the Lord. This will lead you to good company of people where your talents will be transmuted.

Be a bee, not a mosquito

Bee drinks and distributes nectar while a mosquito drinks blood and spreads disease.

Give up anger,envy,cynicism and falsehood.

Have Prema (love) in your heart. Believe that Love is God, Truth is God. Love is Truth ,Truth is Love.

Be grateful to parents . Parents ,as servants of God, must encourage children when they evince any interest in spiritual advance and study

An Exemplary Balvikas Guru- Tribute to my mother on her 18th anniversary

Focus on the Atma

Not on the transitory body. Give up the delusion you are this physical body .

Develop Sathya (truth) and Prema(love)

You will receive everything without asking. Man (nara) and God(Narayana)are two wires-positive and negative which combine to bring electricity.

Master’s Message: Discrimination and Detachment

Sathya Sai Speaks: Volume 1- Chapter 10

Summary: Discrimination and Detachment- the two wings leading to Bliss.

Nature of Man

Man is Divine. He is here on a holy mission – a divine purpose. Man’s true nature is Peace(Shanti). Restlessness is an unnatural state. The accumulation of riches, maintenance of health, mastery of knowledge, and cultivation of arts will not guarantee Peace.

For peace, one must speak Less, speak sweet

Avoid arguments and disputes and practice moderation in speech. It will help develop a love (prema) as most misunderstandings arise out of carelessly spoken words.

When the foot slips, the wound can be healed, but when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life.

The tongue is liable to four big errors: uttering falsehood, scandalising, finding fault with others, and excessive articulation. These have to be avoided if there has to be peace (shanti) for the individual as well as for society.

An anecdote about speaking lovingly:

A Good Tongue and a Bad Tongue

Silence is the language of the realised

This is why it was prescribed as a vow for spiritual aspirants by the spiritual texts. You are all spiritual aspirants at various stages of the road, so this discipline is valuable for you also.

Prema must transform all relationships

Social, economic, educational, professional, family, religious, legal, and others.

The father must love the child a little more intensely and intelligently; the mother must spread love to all who come within her influence; children must love the servants.

The sense of equality that everyone is the repository of the divine essence must transmute social and individual behaviour.

An anecdote about acceptance and unconditional love.

Unconditional Love

God is an embodiment of divine love (Premaswarupa)

The Grace of the Lord is always flowing like the electric current through the wire. Fix a bulb, and the current, to the extent of the wattage, will illumine your home. The bulb is the spiritual exercises you perform; the home is your heart.

Come to Me gladly; dive into the sea and discover its depth; there is no use dipping near the shore and swearing that the sea is shallow and has no pearls. Dive deep and you will secure your desire.

Yet again, Prema and the senses have to be rigorously controlled by discrimination and detachment, the twin talents given exclusively to humans.

Discrimination instructs you how to choose your avocations and your associates. It tells you the relative importance of objects and ideals.

An anecdote about discrimination.

Only Experience can Make one Wise

Detachment saves you from too much attachment and injects a sense of relief, at times of elation or despair.

An anecdote about wisdom and detachment.

Feeling Free is a Choice

Discrimination and detachment are the two wings that lift the bird into the air. They hold before you the impermanence of the world and the permanence of the Bliss of Reality.

They prompt you to direct your lives toward spiritual disciplines and the never failing contemplation of the glory of the Lord.

Master’s Message: Examine and Experience

Sathya Sai Speaks: Volume 1- Chapter 9

Summary: Time waste is life waste.

We must not waste time on meaningless activities. It is especially important for children to know how to manage time. Time once gone will not come back. Like the force of gravitation, drags everything down, the pull of sloth will drag us relentlessly down, so we must be ever on the watch, and active.

Time is verily body of God. He is known as the form of time. We should not waste a single moment of life span gifted to us. So too, the physical and mental talents have been given to us by the Lord as capital for the business of living. They must be used wisely and must not be frittered away.

An anecdote about the value of time:

Value of Time- Time Management

How should one perform Actions?

Every action is Karma, for example, breathing is Karma. One cannot escape from the fruit of actions but can sanctify them by offering them to  God. This is called ‘dedication.’

We must perform actions sincerely without any expectations or attachment toward the results. In fact,  karma  (activity)  becomes yoga  (union with God) when it is done without any attachment.

An anecdote about selfless service:

Selfless Service: Arjuna and the Brahmin

Duty without love is deplorable.

Duty with love is desirable.

Love without duty is Divine

When we prostrate before elders,  the mind too must be humble. Mere bending of the body is not a sign of humility.

Service done mechanically is like the flame of an oilless wick. When we take up any  task that does not interest us, it will feel like a burden. Hence, service must be done with love and passion.

Significance of Repeating the Lord’s Name

The essence of the scriptures lies in this one rule: repeat the name of the Lord, keeping His glory always before the mind. Just like we need to scrub a  brass vessel to make it shine, the mind of man should also be scrubbed by the repetition of His name and contemplation of his form.

We can call on the Lord by any name, and choose any form that appeals to us the most. The ego is most easily destroyed by dwelling on the magnificence of the Lord, and by rendering service to others as children of the Lord.

Just as we feed our body three times a day, in order to keep it in good running condition, we must spend some time regularly every day to keep our mind pure. By doing so one can experience great peace and new sources of strength welling up within. Gradually, the mind will dwell on the name of the Lord wherever we are and whatever work we are engaged in. Peace and joy will then become our inseparable companions.

An anecdote about namasmarana:

Power of Chanting Lord’s Name

Earn the right to approach God without any fear!

The Lord is the divine wish-fulfilling tree that gives whatever is asked. But we have to go near the tree and wish for the thing we want. The tree does not make any distinction; it grants boons to all.

Similarly, Lord does not punish or take revenge if we do not recognise Him or revere Him. He has no special type of worship that alone can please him.We must earn the right to approach the Lord without fear and the right to ask for our heritage.  

The I, when crossed out, becomes the symbol of the cross; what is crucified is the ego. As soon as ‘I ‘goes the divine nature manifests itself unhampered in us.

An anecdote about surrender:

Surrendering at the Feet of Our Master/Guru/God

Happiness is in union with God. One must always be happy and content in life. God is always alert and ever ready to listen and reply. Our heart is his residence and we can call upon him at any time and from any place. We all can examine and experience it.

Why do we ring bells in temples?

“Om” announces the Lord’s Presence in every sound. All five elements produce this sound, “Om”. The bell in the temple is intended to convey the ‘Om’as the symbol of the Omnipresent God.

When the bell sounds “Om”, the Godhead within awakens, and we become aware of His Presence. That is the meaning of the bell that is rung in front of the inner shrine of the temple.

An anecdote about omnipresence of the lord:

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/where-is-god/

Master’s Messages: There is only one religion- The Religion of Love

Sathya Sai Speaks: Volume 1- Chapter 8

Summary: “I have only come to spread Love to all. Typhoons of envy and hatred are scattering the clouds of Sathya, Dharma, and Nyaya. People feel that Sanathana Dharma will be extinct. The Lord who has laid down the Dharma will not allow Dharma to be destroyed.”

As long as in any religion or any place Sathya, Dharma, and Prema are emphasised, Sanatana dharma will exist. Prema directed towards God will guide us and it will allow to us be part of other fellow beings’ joys and sorrows. We will not care for temporary gains and losses of the world. Prema directed towards God is called Bhakti and is the easiest path to reach the goal.

Bhakti has different stages; The first stage is Mukhya bhakti where Seva or service to the Lord alone matters and it is its own award; the devotee serves with utmost sincerity and devotion to the Lord. Then is Para bhakti where the name and form of the Lord are cognised; followed by Gouna bhakti which is colored by the three gunas; the attitude of artha, arthathi, jignyasu and jnani (the afflicted, the pursuer of worldly comfort, a person of self-inquiry and the wise- who knows that all is HE)

For proceeding in bhakti marga no riches, scholarship, or ascetic rituals are needed. Only love is needed like in the case of Vidura, Gajaraja, etcetera. The grace of the Lord is like the ocean. Through our sadhana, japa, dhyana, and cultivation of virtues, the grace is converted into clouds of truth and they rain in humanity as prema showers which collect and flow as the flood of ananda back again to the ocean of grace.

When Prema embraces humanity, it is called ‘daya’ or compassion. Quality of sympathy and mot pity should be developed. It makes one happy when others are happy and miserable when others are unhappy.

Even while doing our daily chores we must sing in joy to the tune of ‘Prema’ meaning do all work with love.

One must follow two main principles in life. “First to develop detachment to things that are temporary and instead attract it towards lasting joys springing inside us. The mind will then become Guru and lead us on, once it has tasted the sweets of Shravana, Manana, and Nidhidhyanasa (listening, recapitulating, and repeated steady meditation). Do not proclaim great truths aloud, show by your conduct that you attach value to them and that you are guided by them. One can secure God by these two principles.”

It is possible to see God dwell in every being. Many roads to Godhead; Prema, Sathya, Seva, Daya, namasmarana, Adwaita etcetera; all are the right paths. Some are difficult and some are easy. The easiest one is to see the Lord in all. He can be seen in every being created by His will.

We must know our real nature. When we do good or bad deeds, we are actually doing it to ourselves. Bhakti is just not a mere act directed by the attitude of reverence for divinity in all beings. We must watch for the lie that lurks on the tongue, violence that lurks behind the fist, and ego that lurks behind the deed. We must restrain that before they grow into habits and settle down as characters to warp our destiny.

Swami says, “I will give you only what you ask for. Ask for Bhakti and Jnana and I shall be happy. Elders should teach children and youth about spiritual sadhana and study which has given them joy and happiness. Youth imitate adults. Pious people should demonstrate and teach that piety is not weakness but strength, it opens a spring of power and that a person of faith can overcome obstacles more easily.”

No one is Nasthik (atheist), every being exists as a result of His will and in accordance with His plan, so no one is beyond His grace. Everyone has love and truth in him. No life can be lived out of complete defiance of truth. One has to heed and speak the truth to someone at least in order to make life worth living. Now this moment is God’s moment and at that moment when he utters truth or loves or serves or bends he is a theist.

It is not even bhakti (devotion) that is essential. It is love, truth, virtue, eagerness to progress, to serve, to expand one’s heart, to take in the whole of humanity in one’s love, and to see all forms of divine consciousness.

Stories based on the above messages

A Great Devotee- Nandanar

What Love is All About

Judging One as Theist and Atheist

The speech was given at YMIA, Mylapore, Madras-1958

Master’s Message: Body as a Meaningful Vehicle

Sathya Sai Speaks: Volume 1-Chapter 5

The body is the vehicle that is to be used to realize and attain God. Hence, proper care of this body is necessary though not undue pampering or caring. Peace can be attained only by realizing the inner reality. Senses will drag us into alternate peace and joy. Only contemplation of unity can remove fear, rivalry, envy, and greed.

One must be constantly engaged in good activities for the sadhana or practice to progress well. It is not enough to just do once in a while which is like just getting some 5/6 marks in an examination, where these marks are of no use. We must at least get 5/6 marks less than the passing mark to get some grace mark to pull us through. This also will happen provided we are good students.

We are fortunate to witness and be with the Master guiding us. Let us realize that and engage ourselves in doing good. Only when one has mastered the scriptures, does one even get a glimpse of what the characteristics of an avatar are. We must treasure and value this and follow the Master’s teachings.

This body should be used as an instrument that can be meaningfully used to benefit society as well as help us in recognizing our inner reality.

This story showcase the above teachings:

The Crocodile and the Priest

Master’s Message: Concentration

Sathya Sai Speaks: Volume 1 Chapter 5

Summary: One must not get discouraged if s/he is unable to concentrate. Like any other skill, concentration is possible through constant practice.

When one starts meditation, the mind starts wandering everywhere. One way to plug that outlet is by means of chanting the name. Further, we must alternate between visualising the form and chanting of the name whenever the mind slips away.

Japa and dhyana are the two bunds to control thoughts. Once we develop this habit, the Bhava chitram (imaginary picture) will become saakshaatkara chitram (the real form) when Lord assumes form to fulfill our desires.

Japa Sahita Dhyana is the best sadhana. For a start, ten to fifteen minutes of meditation should be enough. After this, some time should be spent in mananam or contemplation with the peace and contentment experienced by this meditation. Post this, we could slowly loosen the limbs, be aware of the surroundings slowly, and then resume our other activities.

A story based on the above message:

The Master and the Tiger

Master’s Message: Japa and Dhyana

Sathya Sai Speaks: Volume 1- Chapter 5

Summary: Dhyana-Meditation and Japa- Chanting are the only ways to purify our minds.

One need not read or listen to many scriptures if we can listen to the God residing in our hearts. If we call sincerely He will respond. We should just have the form of our favourite deity in our mind and constantly repeat His name.

A Story-based on the above message:

A Dear Devotee

Master’s Message: Essence of the Scriptures

Sathya Sai Speaks: Volume 1- Chapter 5.2

Summary: Gita and other Upanishads are only guides and maps. One must be able to put this into practice.

The absence of Atma Vichara (Self-inquiry) is the root cause of Ashanti (restlessness). On inquiry, one will realise that Brahman or Atman is our basic substance.

This knowledge can be found in the Upanishads. They help one to regulate and restrict the senses, mind, and intellect and help one merge with the absolute. One must be able to put this into practice; Gita and other Upanishads are only guides and maps.

Story-based on the above message:

Real Devotion

Master’s Message: Volume 1, Chapter 7-Be Courageous- Develop Virtues

Summary: Human values are the pillars for the development of good human character.

Swami stressed the importance of education to students and advised them to study regularly and intelligently as and when they find it rather than keeping everything for the last minute. And, the education must be based on Dharma.

Students should not dread examinations and must take some time to read the complete question paper and answer what they are confident with first before attempting difficult ones and losing confidence.

Be courageous. Courage is the fertiliser that will make the plan of scholarship grow. One must become bold and courageous and fight against the animal tendencies of fox, ass, dog, and wolf inside. One must cultivate good human qualities of love and friendship. We must have the right kind of friends who can be with us for a long time. One must develop good virtues which will give the ultimate ‘Ananda’ or bliss and that is the culmination of all learning and the essence of all knowledge.

We must always help everyone. If we can’t help; we must at least not harm anyone. Let us remove the evil tendencies of jealousy and greed by lighting the love in our hearts. One must be able to bow down to the glorious and the great. Love will teach us that humility. Egoism will not allow us to bend. Let us be human and not animals and work on developing love.

An anecdote about helping always:

Be Good and Do Good

Just as positive and negative wires produce electricity; Paramathma (Supreme self) and Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) together in yoga bring illumination. Students must be in the company of such holy people and learn from them which will give them courage and joy.

Always speak the truth. Falsehood prompts one to speak lie after lie which later becomes unmanageable. It is always best and easy to speak the truth.

An anecdote about honesty:

Mahatma Gandhi and Putlibai

Do not be carried away by talks of equality of men/ women etcetera. Each has their own talent and strength which will flourish depending on how they use it. Develop your skills, health, and character. Never cause harm to either you or others by your foolish or ignorant actions. Honor women and respect the girl students. Never look down upon them. Respect for women is a sign of real culture.

Read good books, revere your teachers, respect your elders, develop the spirit of love and service, and help anyone in need.

An anecdote about right conduct:

Two wolves

In your daily affairs do not create factions or revel in hatred. See the good in others and the faults in yourselves. Revere others as having God installed in them; revere yourself also as God resides in you. Make your heart pure so that He resides in You.

Master’s Message: Volume 1, Chapter 6-Be Virtuous

Summary: The end of education is character.

Students should not forget the values taught to them. These young heroes should take up the difficult task of building up the nation. Everything should be done to attain peace or Shanti in the country.

The present system of education focuses on generating breadwinners but does not teach the secret of a happy life. For that one must learn to discriminate between the right and the wrong; real and unreal.

The cultivation of viveka (discrimination) is the main aim of education; the promotion of virtuous habits, and strengthening of dharma should be attended to. They must realise their inner strength which will give them unshakeable courage.

The relationship between the teacher and pupil should be of love and respect rather than fear.

Students should spend time learning and understanding how to succeed in life and how to live life without causing pain to others or suffering pain themselves. Devotion and activity should go hand in hand.  Lord can be seen everywhere if we have love in us. He is the immanent power in everything.

Mere learning is not enough. Practicing is more important. Sadhana or spiritual practice is a must for all. Just as the body is looked after by regular food and exercise; atma should be looked after by Japa and Dhyana, cultivation of virtues, Satsang, sath pravarthana, and sat chinthana. (Meditation, chanting, a company of good, good attitude, sacred thoughts)

An anecdote about the truth:

Only Experience can Make one Wise

Students should honour physical labour. They must be ready to help and serve the elders and those in need. They must not just wander about meaninglessly and mix with undesirable people and cultivate bad habits. They must be grateful for the education they get and make the best use of it.

Students should be responsible citizens of the future and have to raise the country to greater heights through love and harmony and preserve the culture and heritage of their country. Only through good virtues the country can prosper not otherwise.

An anecdote about love for the motherland:

Love for Motherland