Share Your Talents
Sathya Sai Baba Teaches Me
In the November 1965 issue of Sanathana Sarathi [monthly magazine], Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba blessed me by letting me express to you lessons that I received from Him during dhyana [meditation]. To share more of these blessings with you is a privilege I deeply respect. The purpose of mortals is to spiritually up-lift or lift-up fellow creatures at every turn along the path. Sathya Sai Baba, as I will now express in my own words, has given me His wisdom through His universal upadesh [spiritual instruction]. This prajna [supreme wisdom] I shall now relate to you, fellow pilgrims.
I was desperately trying to understand the meaning of a situation that had saddened me. I felt that I had been set adrift. Very soon I realized that I was being given a test, an examination, to see whether I had really learnt my spiritual lessons.
Attention, consideration, warmth, attitude, feelings, and similar attributes are gifts bestowed upon us by the Almighty, by Shiva. These are our `talents’ to be gracefully given by us to all people. Do not fall into the habit, through ignorance, of bestowing these God-given talents upon a limited few. Do not feel that you are expected to confine your innerself. Does He restrict His prema [divine love] to but a few? Remember that sharing yourself is paramartha-dharma [duty beyond material gain].
I asked Sai Baba to give me a sweeter example, one that would be better understood by all of us. He said, “Charles, see there—a field of daisies. The elements, the wind, and running rainwater carried their birth-seeds to the places where they became attached to the earth. The plants did not choose the exact spot of their stay, but the great horticulturist of the universe did. Now He `gave’ His attention, consideration, and warmth to the seeds. He gave each the universal vibration, the heat of the sun by day and the cool of the night. These seeds were in the blissful state of dhyana. Those which placed themselves in My hands received the divine touch. They began to stir and all the glorious wonders held within came to life.”
“Now Charles, the plants grew in that field and matured, but each flower that blossomed forth found itself firmly facing in one direction or another. The beauty of each blossom was enjoyed by the blossom that faced it. Because of the beauty that each saw in the other’s petals, they complimented each other. They explored in each other the mysterious exotic perfumes they were gifted with. They gave attention to the touching leaves. They were showering each other with their joyousness and each felt uplifted.”
“But now take a look at that field of flowers, Charles. See, the winds have come. The winds have their special work to do. Look! The blossoms are now being literally turned around. They are finding themselves face to face with other blossoms, never seen by them before. But should those flowers of Mine look upon the newly discovered ones with anything other than love, peace, happiness, friendship, regard, and understanding? That is life, is it not?”
“You are the blossoms of My garden; do not become too attached to the place where you alighted the last time. Do not become a ‘hot-house’ plant that has to have but one temperature to thrive in. Discard the petals of confinement. Let your blossom share its nectar, its delicate perfume, all along that path to Me. Release yourself from your own selfish-mind-made walls of confinement. I have given you intelligence, understanding, and discrimination to transplant and transform; but a word of warning! Do not become transient! Just as the daisies of the field have their roots attached to earth, so must yours be attached to unchanging and indestructible roots of sathya [truth]. Turn the leaves but hold to the bough!”
“Viveka, as you know, means both wisdom and discrimination. Many words have double meanings, and many actions have two-fold purposes. So let me give you a clearer understanding of discrimination. You should understand this word, for it too has more than one meaning. I am not going into the meaning of this word but more to explain its purpose. To discriminate does not at all mean that you think less of another by preferring not to associate. Not at all! Some daisy plants enjoy being with a thorn-covered cactus while others find their equanimity with other daisies…find your path of petals to Me!”
“All are Mine; all are yours, so we do not discriminate one from another, all are loved equally.” “But, Charles, could you mix tar with water to let it work?”
~Charles Penn, U.S.A.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, March 1966
