Embodiments of Love!

Does one need a lamp to see the light from another lamp? And yet, man, who has the light of wisdom in his heart, goes in search of wisdom elsewhere. This search, born of ignorance, leads him to seek gurus. To acquire knowledge of the Self (Aathma-Jnana) man needs no guru (preceptor). No preceptor can give this knowledge because mother nature (prakriti) has herself conferred on her children the keys to this knowledge for their protection.

Every man is a son of mother Earth (Bhoodevi). As a mother, Bhoodevi teaches many lessons to her children. She calls on them to learn everything from herself instead of going after other preceptors. "Scholars and intellectuals cut me to pieces to acquire knowledge and conduct their experiments", laments mother Earth. "They subject me to great suffering by their diggings and blastings. But I am not worried about all this. Learn the spirit of forbearance from me. Whatever abuse or attack others may level at you, bear them with fortitude. Treat praise or blame, good or bad with equanimity. This is the highest knowledge."

Another vital element in nature is water, which is also one of the manifestations of the Divine. The lesson that water teaches is, "Son! by nature I am pure, sweet ,and cool. Purity, patience,and perseverance are three good qualities you have to cultivate.

Fire (agni) is another of nature's preceptors. It tells man, "My son! Make no difference between good and bad. I do not gain by burning one thing or lose by not burning another thing. I treat all alike, whatever comes into my orbit. Learn to see the Divine in all things. This is the way to gain knowledge of the Self".

Nature as teacher

I have often said that nature is the best textbook for one and all. Many valuable things can be learnt from the behavior of wind, which sustains life by its respiratory process and is all pervading.

To exercise the power of discrimination, man is endowed with the intellect (buddhi). The intellect has to be unwavering and steady. Man fails to use this discriminating power properly and fully because of his qualities of attachment and aversion (raaga and dvesha), his obliviousness to his inherent divinity, and his preoccupation with mundane desires. If these tendencies are removed, the intellect will come into its own as an instrument of discrimination.

The intellect (buddhi) is the highest among man's endowments. Start with the body. Above the body are the senses. Subtler than the senses is the mind. The intellect is subtler than the mind. Above the intellect and much more subtle is the Self (Aathma). Because of its proximity to the Aathma, the intellect is very subtle.

In the Taithiriya Upanishad, the intellect is compared to a bird. The seat of the intellect is said to be the head. The right wing is described as "harmony in thought, word, and deed (ritham)" and the left wing as "truth (sathya)". The tail is called "mahat-thathva". The body is described as "yoga". The intellect is said to be composed of these five constituents, each of which represents a power like discrimination, truth, etc. Most people tend to accord a higher place to intelligence (medhaa sakthi) than to intellect. Intelligence that lacks the interest and steadiness that characterize the intellect is inferior to the intellect. This was declared by King Vikramadithya at an assembly of scholars, who could not decide the issue. It is the combination of interest and firm faith that serves to divinise man.

"Ritham" signifies harmony in thought, word, and deed. Truth is the expression in speech of ritham. Homage is paid to ritham and sathya before one takes food as a prescribed ritual. [Swami related the story of how Ubhayabharathi, the wife of Mandana Misra, after taking to sanyaasa following her husband's defeat in a philosophical debate with Adi Sankaracharya, taught a lesson in detachment and giving up of anger to an ascetic who described himself as a "Brahma Jnani"]. No one can call himself a knower of the Absolute as long as he has attachment and aversion. This episode shows how in ancient days men and women equally pursued the quest for the knowledge of the Self (Aathma-Jnana).

To acquire this Self-knowledge, purity of the intellect is essential. The intellect should be unwavering and totally free from attachment.

Role of the intellect

The mind is subject to unsteadiness because of desires. Desires are roused by the impressions received by the senses from outside. The only way to avoid these external impressions is to turn the senses inward. To effect this change in the use of the senses, the power of discrimination --derived from the intellect-- should be employed. The intellect should be used to determine which impressions should be kept out and which should be let in. The intellect should determine what kind of company we should keep, what kind of food we should eat, which practices are desirable, and which are undesirable.It is by the right use of their intellectual judgement that the ancient sages achieved spiritual eminence.

The body and the heart

People should understand that the Self (Aathma) is one only. There are very many people in this hall. Each one of you may consider that everyone has a separate and distinct Aathma. This is totally wrong. Like the reflection of the Sun in a myriad different vessels filled with water, the same Cosmic Self dwells in everyone. The reflection is one and the same, though the vessels may be different. Names and forms may be different but the indwelling Aathma is one.

How is this oneness to be recognized? For this purpose, the difference between the body and the heart should be examined. The Vedanta taught as follows,

Son! Birth and death are common to all.
Hunger and thirst are equally common.
Joy and sorrow are common to all.

If you go deep into these three statements, you will realize that both millionaire and pauper are born from their mothers' wombs. Though the rich and the poor may eat different kinds of food, the object of eating is to appease hunger, which is common to both. The same applies to thirst. If, in this manner, people examine what is common to all mankind, they will realize the unity that underlies the diversity in mankind. This will reveal the divinity that makes humanity one spiritually. There is no need to pursue difficult spiritual exercises to experience the Divine. Many of the physical postures recommended by some "gurus" for spiritual exercise are anything but comfortable. The real need is to have a heart filled with compassion and to meditate on God. Physical postures are not so important. It is in making one aware of the difference between the physical body and a compassionate, love-filled heart that the intellect (buddhi) plays its vital role.

The source of bliss

The source of bliss is within man, not in the external world. God is omnipresent and is not separate from you. This is the main teaching of Sai. The description of the cosmic form of God (as Visva-Viraat Swaroopa) means that He is present in every minute particle in the universe.

Students! The world today is moving in a direction opposed to spirituality. This is utterly wrong. To forget God is to forget your own divine essence. Ramana Maharishi always told the devotees who came to him, "Know who you are." "Know thyself" does not mean knowing facts about your body, mind, or senses. It is to know the one who claims ownership of the body, the mind etc. You have to find the answer to the question: "Who am I"? The body, senses, mind ,and intellect are all your instruments. You are their master. Master the mind and be a master. For a human being, the Aathma (Self) is the master. It is the power of the Aathma (Self) that enables the senses to perform their different functions like seeing and hearing. Therefore, you have to realize that you are the Aathma and not the body.

The passing of Karunyananda

You may all know what happened today. Karunyananda had been with Swami for forty years. He was a centenarian. Today his body merged in the five elements. For the passing of any person, the time, place and circumstances have to come together. Here in this hall, the recitation of the Vedas is going on. The Jnana Yajna is being performed. He was listening to all these sacred things. He went to sleep at night and passed away in his sleep.

He came to me a week ago. Swami asked him. "Karunyananda! What do you want?" He replied, "I need nothing. I only want to merge in your Lotus Feet. There is no purpose in my continuing."

I asked him why he was speaking in this manner. "What more is there for me to enjoy in life? I have experienced everything. I have stayed and moved with Swami for forty years."

He came with me to Kashmir and Shimla, Gaya and Prayag. Wherever I went ,he came with me, to all places,. Staying with me, he passed away with a sense of fulfillment.

This kind of contentment should come to everyone in life. One should not end up with a feeling of frustration.

Ask yourself the question, Who is the richest man in the world? It is not men like Tata or Birla who are, in truth, the richest men. He who has greatest satisfaction in life is the richest man. He who has many desires is the poorest man. To be free from all desires is the mark of greatness.

All the time, all kinds of things happen in the world. Births and deaths are like jokes for me, though you may not know it. When someone comes to me and wails, "My husband has passed away", I remark , "Very happy (Santhosham)". She may remark, "How can you be happy iwhenmy husband passed away?" All events are the same to me, I am always happy. One lady comes to me and said that she was suffering from an unbearable stomach ache. I observed, "Very happy (chaala santhosham)."

Padmanabha Sastri (the temple priest) came to me forty years ago. He is known to all of you when he performs the worship (pooja) in the temple every morning. He performs the ritual bathing (abhishekam) of the idols. He is engaged in this pooja morning and evening. He also passed away today.

Both Karunyananda and Padmanabha Sastri had been with me for forty years. They passed away when their end came.

Be ready for the end

Bodies come and go in this manner. They are as transient as passing clouds. No physical body is permanent. In human existence, you must be prepared for the end at any time. It is like remaining "steady" when a photographer wants to take a picture of a person or group. If you are not steady, the picture will be blurred. The photographer may give you a warning signal, but as far as death is concerned, you cannot know when, according to divine will, the end may come. Be ready always. You cannot know when the call will come.

Unfortunately, in the world today, few care to listen to the voice of God. They are guided by the prompting of their ego. This is the mark of the Kali age. All are victims of egotsm. So much so that they have doubts about every word of the Divine. They don't listen even to good counsel and therefore suffer evil consequences.

During the past three months, I had been advising Padmanabha Sastri to realize that he is a diabetic patient. "The wound in your leg is getting worse. Ultimately amputation may be unavoidable. You are neglecting your leg. Heed my words". I repeatedly warned him. But ignoring Swami's warning, he consumed sweet things like paayasam and laddus. Today his blood pleasure rose to 400, and he had a severe heart attack. You can see what happens when Swami's warning is ignored. If people acted upon my advice, it would be good for them and their families and I would be happy. From time to time I have sung a song about the consequences of behaving foolishly, not listening to my words. The result is they come to grief.

This is not proper. You have to heed the words of advice and follow them. My advice is not for my sake but for your good. I shall soon be reaching my 72nd year. In all these years, I have never entertained a single selfish thought. Whatever I tell you is only for your good and not for my benefit. Whatever I do is always for your good. Not recognizing this, many delude themselves. What use is it to feel regret at the end? You must be on your guard from the beginning.

Chant the Lord's name at all times. Understand the role of the intellect. Tomorrow, I shall speak about the Aathmic principle. I expect that some at least will derive ben