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: 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 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: Volume 1, Chapter 4.4-Be Egoless

Summary: Divine can work only through the egoless.

Sorrow springs from egoism. When egoism goes sorrow disappears. We should work on reducing our ego and should pray to the Lord to use us as His flute. This will only happen when we are hollow and free from ego. He will then create a captivating music for all the creation to enjoy. Then we can merge our will in the will of God. Divine can work through us only when are egoless.

In this story, we learn that trusting in god’s plan for us is the best because God knows what is right for us. He has planned the best for us. Once we do our best, let us just leave rest to Him

Krishna’s Flute

Master’s Messages: Volume 1- Chapter 4-Faith

summary: Faith can move mountains.

Only when we wipe out the root causes of anxiety, fear and ignorance our true personality can shine. Anxiety is removed by faith. Faith tells us that whatever happens, happens for the best, and Lord’s will be done. We have to do our best and for what is not in our hands, quiet acceptance is the best armor.

A story about a brave little tortoise:

Brave little tortoise

Master’s Message: Volume 1, Chapter 4.2- Unity in Multiplicity

At a time when there is so much disunity, disharmony, violence in the world; it is more important to realize unity in multiplicity. For this, we have to develop tolerance, patience, and love for all. We all have that spark of divinity in us. We have to work on realising that inner strength of divinity in us.

We have to churn the milk if we wish to separate the butter immanent in it. Similarly, certain processes of thought and action have to get to the hardcore of faith and that belief. One can work on this by consciously practicing human values. Soon we realise that the world is a mixture of real and unreal. Then we start the process of self-inquiry. People on the spiritual path must be an example of this.

A story based on the message:

Unity is Strength- Learning from Pigeons

Master’s Message: Volume 1, Chapter 4.1- Sat Chit Ananda

Our life is saturated with Sat-Supreme Reality, Chit-Consciousness, Ananda-Bliss- Brahman itself. For the divine life to start one must be aware that we are sat-chit-ananda.  The divine inspires and activates every being; this spark of life or consciousness leads and fulfills the life of each being; right from the simplest to the most complex.

Lord or consciousness is in each one of us. When we start realizing this, we will be ever alert and careful in our every thought, word and deed. Then, we see the oneness of all which is the ultimate purpose of life.

A story based on the above message:

The Crocodile and the Priest

Master’s Message: Volume 1- Chapter 3-Doing One’s Duty

Summary: Doing one’s duty to the best of one’s abilities and without any attachment.

If one develops the quality of detachment, slowly they will not be hurt and suffer so much.

Attachment leads to expectations and unmet expectations lead to disappointment. Disappointment makes us unhappy. So let’s do our best in whatever work we undertake.

A story based on the above message:

Let Us Be Happy