Birthday Message
When the dharma of the Yuga is laid aside,
To establish it anew, through loving means;
When the world is polluted by conflict and confusion
To restore the path of virtue and peace;
When good men caught in cruel coils wail
To save them from pain and shame;
When sacred texts are not grasped aright
To proclaim the message they teach mankind—
To relieve the Earth of the burden of vice
To fulfill the promise made in Treta age
Achyuta has incarnated on this Earth,
Vaasudeva, Srihari, has come into the world.
—Baba
In every human heart there resides a gnawing desire to achieve unwavering and lasting Ananda [joy]. Day and night, throughout life, man is endeavoring without a moment’s rest to attain this stage. Nevertheless, he finds it beyond reach.
What is the reason? The root cause of the failure lies in his identification of himself with his body and the senses and his belief that the physical and sensual pleasure he can earn will give him the ananda that will appease his hunger. Man is not aware that he is the ananda he seeks. The Upanishads [scriptures] clear all doubts on this point. They assert, “flour is rendered sweet by jaggery.” Flour, be it of rice or wheat or gram, is not inherently sweet; when jaggery or sugar is mixed in it, the sweetness permeates all of it. The lesson the Upanishads convey is: The created Cosmos is the flour, and the Divine Principle is the sugar. As a consequence, nature charms us and is attractive. Wherever we hear melody or see harmony or experience the sublime, it is divinity and not nature that impinges on us.
God is described as `A‑prameya’. It means God cannot be measured like any limited phenomenon. Only the Vedas[scriptures] can give a satisfying glimpse of the glory. To indicate this, God is designated as `Vedavid’, `known through the Vedas’. There are three authentic means of acquiring knowledge mentioned in the sacred texts. They are (1) Pratyaksha or Direct Perception (2) Anumana or Inference and (3) Shabda or Authoritative Voice. When milk becomes curds after being treated with yeast, one can see it happening. The phenomenon is therefore accepted as true, as proved by Pratyaksha. When clouds of smoke arise from a mountain range, one infers that a forest is on fire. When someone who has been at Prasanthi Nilayam describes it to a person who has not, the latter, too, is able to picture to himself the Nilayam and its environs. This is an example of `the Authoritative Voice’ being a means of knowledge. Shabda becomes authoritative and acceptable when it emanates from experience, and from honest communication of that experience.
Among the many thousands sitting in this auditorium, there is one who has come from America, a member of Sathya Sai Council for America; Dick Bock is his name. No one, let us say, has seen him so far. Even if he is described as tall or short, old or young, or as having specific physical characteristics, people will find it difficult to identify him and spot him. But when I pronounce the sound, “Dick Bock,” he will stand up for all to see. God, too, does not easily respond with His presence when you describe Him and glorify Him. You had no name before you were named, but since then you have been responding whenever you are called by that name. Similarly, God is nameless but He responds when His name, any one of the many, is taken by the seeker.
To identify a house that a visitor is searching for, we tell him, “That one on which the crow is sitting” and he understands. This is a temporary feature of the house. God, the Eternal Absolute is pictured, praised, and adored as temporarily apparent and as adored in limited regions in Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Eashwara, etc. These are not basic, fundamental expressions, the Swaroopa. These are only forms assumed for certain vital purposes like conferring peace on the world, re‑establishing the norms of justice, and strengthening the ideals of faith in the Supreme. The fixed and fundamental features are sathyam jnanam, anantham [truth, knowledge, endless]: This is the Swaroopa of Brahman. These attributes do not change with time, space, and the nature of the observer. All the rest do. They penetrate time, space, and matter, and we become aware of them as having five qualities—asti, bhaati, and priyam, as well as nama and roopam. Of these, asti (existence), bhaati (consciousness), and priyam (bliss) are basic while nama (name) and roopam (form) are transitional and superficial. It is indisputable that all these features need a creator who is immanent and is the author and contributor.
The Sun and the stars, the moon and the ocean, the earth—all these point to the Maker whom we must accept. There are two causes that together produce anything—the shaper and the substance. This silver cup must have had a smith who shaped it and silver that he shaped. When you go deep into this process of creation, you will realize that both causes merge into One, the embodiment of is‑ness, consciousness, and bliss. Since that One is all this, recognizing it in all this confers full bliss.
Every man yearns only for two boons: escape from sorrow and attainment of joy. When both are achieved, man is truly liberated; he has gained mukti or freedom. Not knowing the genuine implications of the stage of mukti, persons who pride themselves as atheists or rationalists declare that they are not interested in it. Mukti is the fulfillment of these two universal cravings of man. Texts and arguments have led men astray and blinded them to reality. Can we reach mukti along the path of activity or of inquiry or of worship? The disputations only fog the issue. These paths can only cleanse the mind or clarify the intellect or purify the emotions. If the atmic core of all things and beings is recognized, ananda will be ever‑present and full. The Divine Principle is the reality, the base, the essence, the ocean on which the waves rise, roar, and fall. Discard the name and form that rise and fall and contemplate on the asti‑bhaati-priya content in each cell and particle. Then you can immerse yourselves in eternal bliss (nityananda). Ananda is omnipresent; one has only to know how to discover it and derive it from the Source that is everywhere.
Embodiments of prema [love]! Things that move must have a stationary base. Nature moves but the Divine does not. Buses and cars speed along the road because the road lies still without movement. Pictures flit and fly along the screen in a cinema because the screen does not flit or fly; it remains steady and stable. The body grows or declines, the senses run around, the mind moves fast from target to target and topic to topic, the intelligence hops and hies—all because the atma is immovable and unmoved.
Now, by what trait can we recognize the atma? By ananda, which is its very Swaroopa. This is the reason why It is described as nityanandam, paramasukhadam (bestower of highest bliss) kevalam jnanamoorthim (pure wisdom) dwandwathitham (beyond all dualities) gaganasadrsam (vast as space) tatwamasyadilakshyam (denoted by Vedicaxioms) Ekam (the One) nityam (the eternal) vimalam (blemish‑less) achalam (unaffected) sarvadhee (all-conscious) saakshi‑bhootham (the witness) bhaavaatheetham (unreachable even by the imagination) trigunarahitam (attributeless), etc.
Generally speaking, the materials in the world will be sought by some, neglected by others, and even hated by many. The reason lies in the mind, not in the matter. One’s own likes and dislikes are molded by one’s own activities, thoughts, and feelings. Whether I am intrinsically good or bad can be known only to me. For, if your reaction is good, you will pronounce me `good’. If your feelings are bad, I may appear bad. The transformation from one attitude to the other happens in you, not in me. I am ever the same. Since a form has been assumed, wavering reactions are inevitable. They are human; they do not affect the Divine. Changes in the nature of the reactions and the lines of approach are brought about by the whims of the moment, the turns and twists of desire, and the pressure exercised by the environment, the region, and the times.
Last night, you witnessed the play on Jesus that was enacted by the students and you appreciated the production in all its varied aspects. You were elated and uplifted by the performance. The disciple who was loved as the dearest of the group, Judas by name, decided to work against the Master, yielding to the low temptation of a few pieces of silver. Greed for money is a demon that gets hold of the weak. When one is overcome by it, one loses all traces of discrimination and accepts with ease wrongful ways of satisfying it. About 2000 years ago, there was only one Judas. Today many are preparing themselves for that role.
Since the uniquely powerful impact of Sathya Sai has become worldwide, many persons afflicted with envy and monetary greed are attempting to manufacture various stories in order to belittle and defame the culture of Bharat. The envious mind will be ever engaged in wrong. This has been so in every age when the Divine has come among mankind. But such tactics can only result in momentary excitement among a few. The Task will not falter; the Triumph cannot be delayed.
You have to pay special attention to this truth more than all else: The person who can point out any kind of blemish in Sathya Sai has not been born on earth in the past or at present nor will be born in the future. Individuals who can probe into the significance of the principle of love (prema) of which Sathya Sai is the embodiment are, of course, very few. This principle is fully selfless, fully pure, and fully holy. This principle, with Sathya Sai as its embodiment and exponent, is spreading from continent to continent. Evil‑minded persons watch with envious eyes the march of this transforming love and try to obstruct it with falsehood. They are joined by others of the same mental make‑up. For how can the wicked relish virtue? Or the virtuous understand the ways of the vicious? As the proverbs proclaim, “pigs roll in sludge; do they wade in rose water?”
Since the attention of seekers and aspirants is now being increasingly devoted to the heritage and culture of Bharat [India], attempts are made by many narrow and crooked minds to cast aspersions on them. The success of the ‘task’ for which I have come will very soon reverberate throughout the world. The truth that all faiths are facets of the One and all roads lead to the same goal is provoking some persons. You witnessed in the play on Jesus how his emphasis on the basic truths of good and godly life was misinterpreted by even leaders of religion who sought to hide their own failings by slander and falsehood. They even plotted to inflict torture on Jesus. All the acts of Jesus were pure, holy, and filled with selfless love. One can have adoration for one’s religion, but it should not be defiled by hatred toward the religions that others adore. This hatred prompts people even to pay propagandists proficient in slander and scandal.
Do not pay attention to these or allow yourselves to be agitated. Be engaged, on the other hand, in tasting the sanctifying, sustaining stream of Divine Love. That will confer lasting ananda. To tell you the truth, this Kali [Iron] Era is the most beneficent of the four. For, you have now amidst you the Eternal Embodiment of ananda in a form that you can approach, adore, and learn from. You are singing with Me, conversing with Me, and filling your eyes, ears, and hearts with My utterances and activities. This is not a mere physical body composed of the five elements. You call this My birthday. This body might have had a birthday, but I have no birth. You say I am 54 years old, but I have no age that can be counted. The Eternal, with neither entrance nor exit, The One who neither was, nor is, nor will be. The unkillable person free from birth and death. The ever‑effulgent atma is Sai forever.
Adoration is rising on one side of Me like the Himalayas; denigration is accumulating on the other side as another Himalayan range. I am, however unaffected by both. As Gokak said a few minutes ago, upon both these peaks I place my hands showering equally my blessings on the opposite responses. For, darkness heightens the brightness of light. The one and only Sun is the cause of both day and night. Be equanimous yourselves. Endeavour to benefit most from the good fortune accessible to you.
Engage yourselves in spiritual sadhana [effort] of which seva [service] is the most productive of good. Of all the methods of seva, service to the long‑neglected rural population is best. Dedicate your skills, your energies, to the betterment of the brothers and sisters dwelling in the villages. Service is God. Why has God endowed man with a body, a mind, and an intellect? Feel with the mind, plan with the intelligence, and use the body to serve those who are in need of service. Offer that act of service to God; worship Him with that flower. Put into daily practice the ideals that Sathya Sai has been propagating; make them known all over the world by standing forth as living examples of their greatness.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Dec. 1979
