Pappu and Uppu [Lentil and Salt]

In this momentous discourse delivered nearly 50 years ago on the birthday of Lord Rama, Baba gives the formula for liberation: ardent devotion couched in detachment from the world. 

In the Garudapurana [a Hindu scripture], Sri Hari [God] instructs Garuda [vehicle of Vishnu, the divine sustainer] about the daily decline of human life and the attacks that death deals on him with His army of diseases, accidents, and natural calamities. You have earned this human body by the accumulated merit of many lives as inferior beings and, it is indeed very foolish to fritter away this precious opportunity in activities that are natural only to those inferior beings. Life is so fleeting that people often wonder how they grew so old so soon. While it seems that they were in college or playing in the streets just yesterday, they find grandchildren playing about them! While life is carrying people forward toward death so fast, pride makes them force others to fall before them; humility does not induce them to fall before the Almighty!

From the new moon onward, the whole country [India] is celebrating the festival of Rama-janam [Avatar Lord Rama’s birth] and today is the actual Ramanavami, the day on which Rama was born. Rama is dharma [righteousness], dharma is Rama. The four ideals of man as laid down in the Vedas [Hindu scriptures] are dharma, artha [wealth], kama [desire], and moksha [liberation]. Dharma is the very base. If that is given up or disregarded, sorrow will persist. Rama considered dharma as all‑important.

When his brother Bharata overpowered by grief at his father’s death, his mother’s greed, and his brother’s exile, sought Rama in the forest and, rolled at his feet in terrible anguish, Rama lifted him gently and asked him, “Are you maintaining dharma in the Kingdom of Ayodhya (the capital of their kingdom), respecting the subjects, poor, elders, scholars, saints, and sages?” Even when the direst calamity overtakes man, he should not stray away from the path of morality and justice. Rama was awakening Bharata from the sleep of ignorance. The poor fellow was overcome by his own grief, as if the father, mother, brothers, kingdom, power, and position mattered, as if they were real and eternal. Rama reminded him that they are all but instruments one must utilize for the exercise of dharma.

Faith is the very essence

Just as the wild elephant roaming in the forest at the head of the herd is trapped and trained to sit on a three‑legged stool in the circus ring, the mind of man, too, has to be trained by systematic processes of discipline sama, dama, uparathi, titiksha, shraddha, and samadhana (inner and outer sense control, endurance, steady faith, equipoise respectively)—so that it may serve the best interests of man. To go before a magistrate and plead, one has to pass the examination for the L.L.B (law) degree; to be able to prescribe medicine to a sick man, you must pass the M.B.B.S./M.D. diploma requirements. Then, you have to obtain a license or have your name entered in the register of medical practitioners. Everywhere, for every profession or post, you are asked about your qualification. How much more is needed [for you] to qualify in the spiritual field to win God’s grace? You aim high, but you make no effort to reach that height.

In spiritual matters, faith is the very essence. Doubt shakes the foundations of sadhana [spiritual discipline] and is therefore, to be avoided. Have faith in the wisdom of the ancients. Do not pitch your tiny little brain against the intuitions of the saints and their discoveries. For example, take the question of offering food in the fire, called pinda pradaan, on the anniversary days of the death of parents. Now-a-days, smiles of scorn are cast when such rites are mentioned. “How could the food that is placed here reach there? The dead man must have taken birth somewhere long ago, and his present address is not known. Can a meal given one day in the year satisfy the accumulated hunger of 365 days?” they ask. They deride the person saying, “Let your father sit on the terrace of your house; then place food for him on the ground floor. Can he reach the food or can the food rise up to him however many mantras [holy formulae] you repeat?” They further argue, “Why are dead men given food when living men suffer?”

There is a science of the spirit

You post a letter in the [mail] box, and it goes straight to the addressee regardless of where and how far he is. Does it mean that the postmaster is your friend, or that he is so sympathetic to your anxiety to correspond with the addressee? If the address is correct and clear, and if the necessary postage is paid in stamps that are valid at the time, the letter is carried by men, car, bus, train, plane, and steamer, right up to the doorstep of the person whose name is on it. The ritual fire is the authorized post box; the fire is the postal authority, and the mantras are the stamps. There is a science of the spirit just as there is a science of matter; it has its own categories, modus operandi, experts and authoritative theses.

Only by sadhana can the secrets of either matter or mind be known, grasped and used for one’s benefit. In the Vivekachudamani [a spiritual treatise], Shankara [a spiritual figure] says, “If the nikshepa or treasure that is embedded in the bowels of the earth must be brought up, mere calling it up by name will not help. You must know exactly where it is through the advice of experts; you have to excavate the spot; you have to move away rock, stone, and sand that come in the way; and you have to grasp and heave it up to the ground.” So, too, the reality of the ‘Self’ has to be first learnt by means of instruction from a knower of Brahman [the Universal Principle]; then the processes of manana, dhyana, and nididhyasana (reflection, meditation, and concentration respectively) have to be gone through. Finally when in a flash the truth is revealed, the Self must be firmly established in the ananda [bliss] of that moment.

Let His will prevail

The Brahmasutra [one of the foremost Hindu scriptures] begins with the statement, “Ataato Brahma jijnaasa—After this, the consideration of Brahman.” After what? What are the preliminary steps? When does a person become entitled to participate in the discussion and study of Brahman? We have two other texts that have to be studied earlier, one says, “Ataato karma jijnaasa—after this consideration of karma [activity],” and the next one begins with, “Ataato dharma jijnaasa—after this, the consideration of dharma (righteousness).” So, man becomes entitled to the knowledge of the Universal Principle that is the very substance of everything since eternity only after his mind is purified by karma and dharma.

It is only after you place a morsel on your tongue that you discover whether the salt in it is enough or whether it has not been salted at all. Pappu (daal or lentil) requires uppu (salt); that is to say, the boiled daal must have salt in it for taste. So, too, it is only when you have moved in the world and taken a share in its activities according to a moral code, do you discover that without the salt of jnana, it does not taste well. Take it with a sprinkling of the salt of jnana, the knowledge that you are not the body but the resident of the body, that you are but the witness of the ever‑changing panorama of nature, and it is only then that you will feel happy and peaceful. Slowly, step by step, confirm yourself in the thought of the unity of the world in Brahman. 

Then, even without praying and pleading everything worthwhile will be added unto you. That is why Thyagaraja (a doyen of South Indian classical music) sings, “Adigi sukham ulevvaranubhavinchiri—who experienced joy and happiness by means of praying to you?” Leave it to Him; let His will prevail; and, do not ask for this or that other thing. He knows best. Did Sabari [devotee of Lord Rama] pray for anything? Did Jatayu [eagle-devotee of Lord Rama] call out for His presence? Did Guha [devotee of Lord Rama] plead that Rama may come to him?

Revival of Dharma is close

Each of you must follow the moral code prescribed for the profession you are engaged in and the age and status that you have reached. Once the king of a large state asked a sanyasin (monk) whether it was possible for a man to live up to the highest standards. Some time later when the king died without an heir, an elephant was sent around to choose the successor by garlanding the person of its choice. The elephant put the garland it was carrying around the neck of the aforesaid sanyasin. But the sanyasin resisted the importunities of the people and ran into the forest. He reached the innermost recesses, and was happy that he was safe from the calamity that had encompassed him!

These moral codes are laid out in the Shastras [Hindu scriptures], and the Prasanthi Vidwan Maha Sabha (institution of scholars founded by Baba to propagate Vedic knowledge) has been formed to tell people in simple language of their duties. It is not a limited group of scholars with a limited scope; it is every one’s right to utilize these scholars for their own benefit. There is no other motive behind the formation of the Sabha. It is for the benefit of you all and for all places.

It was in connection with the activities of this Sabha that I recently visited several places in the East and West Godavari districts (of Andhra Pradesh)—a state in India) and other areas. It was a triumphal march, resounding with the devotion, faith, and ananda of the lakhs [hundreds of thousands] of people who attended. The enthusiasm of the people to listen to the message of Sanathana Dharma [the eternal principles] that I carried was most inspiring to those who came with Me. The scenes reminded one of the Krita, Treta, and Dwapara yugas, and not the Kali Yuga (the four cycles of ages as mentioned in the Hindu scriptures). The pages of the Bhagavata (a Hindu scripture) came alive before us. A 12 acre expanse of land was found too small for the gathering that assembled in one place. At another place, every tree, including the frail drumstick tree, had many adventurous men clinging to the trunk and branches. These are all signs that the revival of dharma is close at hand.

Welcome hardships

You just need staunch determination to use this chance to the full. You are ‘near’ and some are ‘far’ only with reference to space, and not with reference to My prema [love]. To realize the Lord, you must welcome hardships, trials, and sufferings. You must dwell on the (Divine) name and form steadily and with faith. You must discard all inferior sources of joy. When a son is born, worry, too, is born with him—worry that he should grow up healthy and pure, learned and good, famous but humble, bringing a fair name to his parents and elders. As a matter of fact, I would advise you to postpone the celebration of the birth of a son until the day when he brings sat‑kirti (good fame) to the lineage and the country.

So, also, celebrate the accumulation of wealth when it is spent justly and with love on beneficial and deserving purposes. [The existence of] a tree is justified by fragrant flowers bringing forth sweet fruits. If, on the other hand, its leaves get dry, its flowers fade, and the fruits refuse to grow, an agriculturist will examine the roots and discover that pests or white ants have eaten them. So, too, the roots of divinity must have been destroyed or harmed if a man’s virtues do not blossom and yield sweet fruits. Envy, greed, and malice—these pests destroy the roots quickly.

By moderating and modulating habits of eating and drinking, one can lay the foundation for spiritual life. One must prefer satwic [pure] to rajasic [that arouse passion] foods. By drinking intoxicating stuff, one loses control over one’s emotions, passions, impulses, instincts, speech, and movements, and indeed, one even descends to the level of beasts. By eating flesh one develops violent tendencies and animal diseases. The mind becomes more intractable when one indulges in rajasic food. The mind can never be remolded if tamasic food [that induces sloth] is consumed with relish. To dwell in Rama tatwa (the Rama principle) constantly, one has to be vigilant about food and drink consumed by both body and mind.

Rama tatwa is essentially ananda tatwa. Rama means: “He who pleases,” “He who fills with ananda,” “He who is the spring of ananda in every heart.” So, when you repeat Ramanama [Rama’s name], you are touching the very source of ananda, the atmarama (God as Self). Just as you have come by various routes from various villages and towns, all persons have to reach that source, for there alone can they get the ananda without which there is no peace.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 5