Limits that Liberate

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba spoke on Indian culture at the Summer Course held in Brindavan in 1974. The advice He gave to the students is applicable to one and all.

This is a yajna, a holy ritual. The participants in this sacrifice can consider themselves rewarded if they acquire two benefits from it; to understand the true state of prakriti (nature) and to visualize the true path of spiritual effort. The students and teachers who have come from the far corners of this country and from beyond the seas are the officiating priests. They have to be vigilant and full of care, lest the yajna be tarnished by sloth or waywardness. It is customary to pour ghee [clarified butter] and a variety of precious articles into the sacrificial fire as oblations. But, here, in the fire of this yajna, I call upon you to offer your selfishness and false pride. This yajna needs two ceremonial rites: fix your mind on the higher truth and expand your sympathy and love to encompass all living beings and activate you toward real service.

Life is a journey from the position ‘I’ to the position ‘we,’ from the singular to the plural, from the imprisoned one to the liberated one, who is seen in the many. The vision of the one, immanent in the obvious many is the fulfillment of all the years of one’s life. This is the teaching contained in the ancient texts and scriptures. But, these have been forgotten, ever since the minds of the people of this land were won over by western civilization. When this happened, amassing of money and not the awareness of the self became the goal of life.

Divine’s spark is in man

Virtue has to be gained, and not money. The means of sustenance are sought after and collected by birds and beasts; there is nothing especially human in this pursuit. When intelligence is used for the acquisition of food and physical comforts, man is lost in animal pursuits. Human life is much more meaningful than that of birds and beasts. Man has a spark of the Divine in him; his body is the temple of God. So, he must live in a manner wherein the innate divinity expresses itself through love, service to others, and the recognition of the constant presence of God in him and all around him. When man dedicates his skills to the search for food, he estranges himself from the light that shines within him, the atma [the soul].

Man consumes many living beings, plants, eggs, fish, cattle, sheep, etc as food. These are born as human beings on account of this act of consumption. But since they have not had the education that can reveal the God within, they vegetate or stay brutish, without appropriate ticket or passport to rise higher than the human status in which they have been hurriedly placed. Like most men, they roll along from womb to tomb, bond slaves to the senses and the ills that the bondage brings inevitably in its train. Do not be content with slavery; yearn to reach the sun of splendor, the source of perfect wisdom.

Assimilate the ancient culture

Man does not discriminate and discover the special excellence of his own faith as compared with the faiths of others, or, the difference between his beliefs and religion and the beliefs and religion that others hold dear. He does not evaluate his viewpoint in the light of the viewpoints and attitudes of others. He does not weigh his acts and judge them as worthwhile or waste. The seers and sages of India have laid emphasis on this discipline and prescribed measures to achieve these ends. But, Indians now have no knowledge of this discipline or of its value.

As a consequence, the sons and daughters of India are pitifully silent, when cynics and purblind critics discredit their ancient culture and point the finger of scorn at what they interpret as absurdities and inconsistencies. Do not join such people in their campaign of vilification. On the other hand, attempt to assimilate the culture and yearn to experience the bliss it promises. It is indeed a great shame that people calling themselves Indians are not informed enough or experienced enough to silence the opponents of Indian culture.

The fault lies in the system of education that does not give them even a glimpse into the glory of the culture. The country is now sunk in fear and the cure lies in your understanding the remedies prescribed in the ancient texts, and in practicing and propagating them. You are now being led away by people who do not know the true characteristics of that culture. And, the ideas you have about the epics and the puranas (mythological stories), the shastras (spiritual sciences) and the vedas [sacred scriptures of the Hindus] are warped by the prejudices that these people have implanted in you.

For example, the story of Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus Christ is acclaimed as evidence of Divine will, but, you who accept this interpretation are not able to affirm that the birth of Karna to the virgin Kunti Devi [Pandavas’ mother] is equally an evidence of the same divine will. You are apologetic and ashamed when the fact of Karna’s birth as a result of divine will is twisted and turned by the so-called scholars of today.

Students & general knowledge

People who are completely ignorant have no doubts or misgivings; and, those who are fully wise have no doubts or misgivings either. It is the half-baked variety of scholars and students that fall into the traps laid by the prejudiced and perverted. We hope that your contact with the ripe minds, the intelligent learning, and the experienced hearts of those who come to speak to you during the course of this camp will strengthen your resolve, and encourage you to foster and support the principles underlying Indian culture.

Education should not aim at merely making students get acquainted with a pile of books. It should insist on their assimilating the essence of the teaching that they elaborate. Now, students direct all their efforts toward acquiring more and more knowledge of just one specialized branch of learning. So they are woefully deficient in general knowledge, and are unable to adjust their behavior or conduct to survive the vagaries of fortune.

Minister Ghorpade [a speaker] referred to the relationship between science and religion. Of course, science has to develop more and more, for, science makes life more comfortable. It has given man many items that make living faster, entertaining, and standardized. But unfortunately, while science and technology have advanced by leaps and bounds, man has not learnt the art of using them in the right manner. He has allowed science and technology full license to cater to his sensual desires and thereby demeaned his stature and status.

Humanness & Divinity co-exist

You must avoid this mistake. At this age, when your intelligence, alertness, and awareness are all in good condition, you must learn how to keep your impulses under control, and to master the senses that tend to drag you into wrong and vicious paths. When the desire for pleasure overcomes your reason and innate goodness, you are left only with the shape and form of a human being; you have no right to be called a human being.

Humanness and Divinity co-exist as inseparables; they are the negative and positive poles that have to be together to produce the warmth of love and the light of wisdom. Once you have established your self in the higher self, you will not get lost; you can then wander freely in the realms of the unreal. If you have not experienced the self as a spark of the supreme self, your wanderings will be as fruitless as the treks that animals do by instinct. So try to transform the humanness with which you are endowed, into the divinity that is its real core. The universe is the body of God; every particle in it is filled with God, His glory, His might, and His inscrutability. Believe that God is the inner truth in every thing and being. He is truth and He is wisdom. He is eternal. Be humble, before the evidences of His power and majesty.

God guides & guards you

We have the example of Hiranyakasipu, the father of Prahlada [a devotee of Lord Vishnu]. He was the repository of enormous knowledge. He had won enormous skills through his asceticism and efforts. He was so proud of his achievements that he denied God, and declared that he had no need for him. But, a day came, when even he had to call out and clamor for God. So, too, you may deny or dismiss God, out of ignorance or perversity; but a day will come when you have to pray for his compassion.

You are God in reality. It is the God in you that guides you and guards you. When you deny God, it is tantamount to your arguing, “I am born of a barren woman,” or asserting very vociferously, “I am incurably dumb!” It is as absurd as denying yourself. This great truth is well explained in the scriptures of this land, and every one of you has the right to know this heritage.

The seers of this land have marked out the limits and lines, to be respected by aspiring men. The vedas give these injunctions: Matru devo bhava, pitru devo bhava, aachaarya devo bhava; and satyam vada, dharmam chara—Revere your mother as God, revere your father as God, revere your teacher as God; and speak truth, and act righteously. These five are as important as the five vital airs that sustain the body of man. Believe them to be so; have unshakeable faith that they have been laid down for your material and spiritual progress. Practice these precepts sincerely and without slackening. That will ensure success in your pilgrimage from humanness to divinity.

If you revere your parents today, your children will revere you in the coming days; for, the present shapes the face of the future, just as it was shaped by the past. That is why I always insist, “Be good, see good, and do good; this is the way to God.”

Pleasure & pain alternate

When you return to your towns after the Summer Course, each one of you must be equipped with the knowledge of these five disciplines and the fervor to practice them in your daily lives. Concentrate your attention for the full period on this task; do not mind the inconveniences, the change in diet, or the regulation of play and entertainment. Bear with these handicaps and rules patiently and gladly.

These restrictions and limits make life sweeter. You will encounter many obstacles in life, but do not be disheartened by them. Pleasure and pain alternate in life, in fact, pleasure is but the interval between two pains! That makes it welcome and worthwhile. Keep the future in view, and put up with pain now so that you can meet it boldly when you encounter it later in life. Tyaga (selfless sacrifice) is the real yoga (divine communion); renounce bad qualities and habits, and become a master of yourself. Bhoga (enjoyment) brings about roga (disease); indulgence is the cause of disease.

Treat all, who are sharing this camp with you as brothers and sisters. Always remember the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. People address vast gatherings glibly “brothers and sisters!” But are they prepared to divide their property among the brothers and sisters? Of course, you need not go as far as that; but you must recognize the one divine principle that animates everyone. When you are inspired by that belief, your eyes and ears will refuse to note differences and distortions. Your hands will refuse to engage themselves in low activities; your tongue will not tarnish itself by low talk; your mind will not entertain low thoughts and ideas. Resolve that you will attain and maintain this purity in thought, word, and deed.

This is the central message of Indian culture, which will be explained to you in all its interesting facets by the lecturers who have responded to the invitation of the organizers.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 12