Approaching Divinity

The following article is based on two talks given by Mr. K.S.S. Raghavan, one in New Jersey, the other at the Manhattan Center in September, 1999. Mr. Raghavan lives in Prasanthi Nilayam and is the editor of the Tamil edition of Sanathana Sarathi.

I first met Swami in 1957 when I received an invitation from the Raja of Venkatagiri to visit Him. Swami asked me to come to Puttaparthi where, He said, He would speak to me further. The following week I went to Puttaparthi. When Swami called my wife and I for an interview, he recounted our entire family history – even parts we ourselves had forgotten. He reminded us that in 1951 He came to the town where I lived, but at that time I had no interest in meeting Him. He said this was not my fault since no one can come to see Him before He wills it, even though one may have the desire.

Beginning with the initial meeting, we visited Him annually, learning many lessons along the way. Once He told us that though He would be away for the day on Monday, I should remain at the ashram. Instead, I decided to return to my work, telling my wife to remain. But before He left, Swami called us for an interview and assured me that the duty that drew me back to work would be postponed. He went on, “I know what is going to happen for I arrange everything. Submit to my will.” He gave us vibhuthi and told me that nothing would happen on Monday. True to His word, the duty was canceled. Every word Swami speaks is the truth and, therefore, comes to pass.

People I meet are eager to hear about Swami. They think that because I now live permanently near Swami, I can provide valuable insights into His teachings. Although this may be true, Swami says that nearness to Him is not enough. One should also be dear to Him. I have no idea how many devotees who live in physical proximity to Him are actually dear to Him. In fact, He compares the people who come from afar to bees, who come to taste the honey of the lotus, whereas the frogs living in the same pond don’t realize what they have. When you come from afar, you have the shraddha (earnestness) not to miss even one moment of Bhagavan’s darshan. In one of His discourses, Swami commended the way people coming from long distances adjust to whatever little the ashram provides. Though they are accustomed to more convenience, they are happy just to see Swami.

We must have done many meritorious deeds to be near Swami. Do not waste a moment, for waste of time is waste of life. Swami says that His divine energy is transmitted during darshan and one needs to assimilate the divine vibrations by sitting in a quiet corner afterward. Only then will it be effective. Similarly, after bhajans you should sit quietly, for where devotees sing to God, He installs Himself. The language in which you sing is immaterial. There is only one language—the language of the heart.

Swami says we need not do tapas (penance) or meditation, but we need to serve mankind with love in our hearts. He says that hands that serve are holier than hands that pray. When we serve, we must consider the person we serve as our master and thank him for the opportunity. When we help others, they are happy; their happiness in turn makes us happy. When the server and the served are happy, Swami is happy too. Companionship with the Lord is the only real happiness. All other happiness is transient. We must not waste our time searching externally for this companionship. He resides in us.

Swami asks that we serve and do our duty without worrying about the results. That is what constitutes surrender. When we perform our duty in such a spirit, Swami helps us through all difficulties. He says we can carry either a one-hundred-dollar bill or 400 quarters. The two are equal in value, but the coins are much heavier than the bill. Surrendering the coins for the bill can be compared to surrendering to God. We give our weight to God.

Swami says you need not punish your body to attain Him. According to Swami, the purpose of fasting is to live with and in God. It is better to eat and think of God than to fast and think of food. He says chanting the Gayatri Mantra is enough; no other penance is required. Have the name of the Lord on your tongue every moment of the day and have thoughts of God in your mind. In this way, the mind can be tamed. In addition, the body is like a bubble that can burst anytime. Therefore, don’t follow the body or the mind. Follow the conscience, which is a reflection of God.

Swami wants us to have internal purity of heart – no anger, no greed, no jealousy. Jealousy is the worst disease a person can have. When we understand that the same God who is present in us is present in others as well, jealousy will disappear. We will have love for all. We create differences by creating names and form. Just as there are many stars but only one sky, the names and forms are many, but atma (soul) is one.

Swami tells us to have full faith in the Lord. If we doubt, we shall perish. We have faith in our barber or in our driver, yet we have no faith in the Lord who is driving the car of our life.

Arjuna provides an example of such faith. After receiving the message of the Bhagavad Gita from Krishna, he said that all his doubts were removed, and his memory returned. He remembered that he was the atma, not the body. Krishna promises to release you from all sins if you offer all your actions – and the fruits of your action – to Him. Bhagavan says if we make the effort, His duty is to give the result. He rewards many times more than our expectations, though perhaps not in the way we expect.

One year I asked Swami if I could do a ritual, the essence of which is to surrender and offer all consequences of actions to God. On the approved day, I gathered the necessary items for the ritual. As I waited my turn, I noticed many baskets of flowers, fruits, and sweets in the adjoining room. I learned that a landlord performing the same ritual had brought them. My family and I were upset that we might be insulting Swami because we had brought only a small plate of offerings. We began to cry. Swami asked what was wrong. “Is it because you saw all the baskets in the next room and you worry that you are offering only a small plate? My dears, Swami does not look at offerings. I look at the heart and the attitude with which an offering is made. The landlord has not earned a penny in his life. What he offers is bought with his inheritance and the money collected from his laborers. The fruit of his offering is not going to him. You have offered me your hearts and I accept that. I don’t look at your outside. I look at your feelings.” He then expounded on the deeper meaning of the verses from the Bhagavad Gita, which recommends offering patram (leaf), pushpam (flowers), phalam (fruits), and toyam (water). The leaf is the body, the flower is the heart, the fruits are actions, and the water is the tears of love that are shed.

Bhagavan says there are four types of devotees. The first is a person who prays to receive something. The second wants wealth and position. The third wants only knowledge. The fourth wants only God-realization. He illustrates this idea with a story of a man who had four wives. One day he went on a pilgrimage and asked his wives what he could bring back to them. The first wife asked him to bring her some medicine. The second asked for a beautiful sari. The third asked for spiritual literature. The last one said that she wanted him to come back safely. Swami said the four types are all devotees, but the one who wants only God is the dearest to God. He says that we should ask for the Lord and He will give us everything else that we require.

Swami says when you watch a movie, the floods, earthquakes, and volcanoes cannot hurt you because the events are only illusory projections on the screen. Similarly, in the world, you are carried away by outward happenings. The real basis of the entire world is God and His love. He says that if both a road and the vehicles on it were moving, confusion would reign. So the road is constant. Similarly, in the world the only constant is God; all else is temporary. Ruminating on this truth can offer a new perspective on all that happens in our lives.