Dwelling in the Divine
It is indeed audacious to attempt to write on spiritual matters, especially on Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. What can be written is at best the echo of the immortal message that I have at intervals culled from His presence. We who are devoted to Him must ponder over the guidance that has been vouchsafed by Him, and try to put it into practice in our daily lives. This is an essential task for every one of us. So, here are certain drops from the nectar that He has conferred:
In this Iron Age, though there are many facilities to cultivate science and discrimination, people are without peace of mind and happiness. The reason is that they are not living according to the sacred teaching of Sanathana Dharma [eternal righteousness] they have lost faith in those teachings. Holiness is the basis of a way of life which will make this exalted human birth worthwhile.
There are even today, as in the past, great sages who could inspire people, pointing out the heights that man can attain and the vast potentiality that is embedded in the human body. Dwelling on the divine is the very foundation of a genuine human life. It is the fundamental right of a man. The statements: Soham (He-I), Tattwamasi (That-thou-art), and Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahmam) that are unexcelled expressions of truth, are also the mantras [formulae] in the Vedas. In the all too short period of his stay on earth, these mantras can win for man the divine bliss.
We must consider all acts done from dawn to dusk as worship offered to the Lord. Every single act must be saturated with devotion and love of God. Man should endeavor to cleanse the heart of all its impurity through the discharge of his duties. It is possible to realize God by means of the purified heart and related activities. Mere scholarship is of no use. The teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, and Shastras [holy scriptures] must be brought into the fields of action. Faith and steadfastness—without these, however intense or manifold the activity, knowledge of the ultimate truth cannot be won. The name of Hari [Lord] must be ever on the tongue; it should ever be in the ear. To earn God’s grace, devotees have to be constantly engaged in sadhana [spiritual effort] and be ever vigilant.
It is no exaggeration to say that Prasanthi Nilayam is unfolding as heaven on earth. We bhaktas [devotees] must, by our japa [repetition of the name], tapas [austerities], and dhyana [meditation] create here an atmosphere holier than that of the hermitages of the Krita, Treta, and Dwapara Yugas [earlier ages], extolled in our scriptures.
Through our good fortune, we have the supreme luck of being contemporaries of Bhagavan. He is for us the visible God. The sun is a manifestation of part of the glory of God, a giver whom we can see and comprehend.
We must frame a timetable that we can follow without much difficulty. As the sages have declared, the night can be divided into four parts. Regardless who they are, humans are engaged in their respective diverse activities at different times of a day. For us who are bhaktas [devotees], 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. is the holy period of the night. This period must be well utilized for one’s upliftment, according to one’s physical condition. One should rise at 4:30 a.m., and after attending to essential physical needs, one must repeat the name Sai Ram, until the splendor of the sun illumines the eastern sky. Then, it is good to recite the Suryamantram [prayer glorifying the sun].
The name ‘Sairam’ can be repeated a hundred times each minute. Oh, the sweetness and the joy that can be derived from that name is beyond description. You will not be content however long you might be engaged in repeating it. It is possible to add to this to the mahamantram [powerful mantra], Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. There are 16 names in this mantram. In three minutes, we can repeat this mantra a thousand names. In an hour 20,000 names can be uttered. It is said that Sri Namabari, a Bengali bhakta who lived at the same time as Sri Chaithanya Prabhu, used to recite the name of the Lord three lakhs [three hundred thousand] times a day! If one does it with single-minded attention, the holy name can be recited three hundred thousand times on a given day. This is not a task beyond our powers.
~K. Kondala Rao
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Feb 1965
(Readers will remember the late Sri K Kondala Rao I.A.S. as an ardent devotee of Baba and as one who dwelt in the sadhana of namasmarana, which won for him the grace of Baba. Editor, Sanathana Sarathi)
