Four Responsibilities of Every Human Being

In His Divine Discourse to students on September 11, 1986, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba spoke of the four sacred paths that assure safety in worldly life and the blessed attainment of the Lotus Feet of the Lord.

Among all the living beings, man is sacred. In this world it is but natural that a person who is occupying an important or high position will have great responsibilities. Similarly, man occupies the highest position among living beings and is charged with important responsibilities. What are these responsibilities? The first responsibility is with respect to sin. The second one is shasanam, the ordinances and laws. The third one is shastram or scriptures. The fourth is the one that cannot even be imagined as it is in the form of a curse. Man is bound by the above mentioned four responsibilities.

The first one is Papam or sin

Among living beings, man alone is capable of committing sins. That is because man alone is endowed with the power of discrimination that can distinguish between good and bad. Only man, with the power of discrimination, will face situations in which he may commit sins. What is the meaning of sin? Sin refers to any act committed even after knowing that it is bad. If you know that an activity is bad and must not be done, and you still do it, it amounts to sin. Though man has been endowed with the power of discrimination, on account of his ego and jealousy, he commits sins. Even among men, children and mentally challenged people are not affected by sins. The reason is that these people will not have the discrimination power. These people are ignorant, and they do not know what they are doing. Innocence and ignorance free a person from being attached to sin. The realized soul, a jnani, would not have any attachment or selfishness in him. He will always have a sense of equality and equanimity. He will not commit any sin. Selfishness and other such vices do not exist in a realized soul.

Whatever he sees, whatever he utters, and whatever he does is entirely for the welfare of the world. Therefore, this realized soul would not be suffering from sins. A man who does not belong to these three categories, who is having attachment to body and is selfish, he alone will be committing sins. He who allows the mind to waver, giving unbridled freedom to it, will be subject to the dualities of happiness and misery, joy and sorrow, profit and loss, etc. Every man is prone to commit sins. He has to avoid this by using his power of discrimination, by finding out what is good and what is bad and doing good actions only.

The second one is shasanam or law

In the world there are two courts of justice. These courts of justice are places where punishment is given to people who have not obeyed the law, who have been cruel, and those who have committed sins. These courts of justice award punishment to people who have transgressed the court, the laws of the nation, and those who have done injustice. The laws are established for giving justice to man and not for the sake of animals and birds.

Here is one small example: Imagine that some animals have gone into the fields, destroyed them, and caused a great loss. No court of law will give a verdict that those animals that were responsible for destruction of the crops will have to pay any fine or undergo any punishment. If it becomes so essential to give some punishment for such acts, the punishment will be awarded to the master who owns the animals that caused the destruction. This makes it clear that law courts of justice are established to dispense justice and award punishment to people who are responsible for breaking the law.

You hear of many such incidents that take place in day-to-day life, like stray dogs entering into the house, eating and spoiling food, and breaking the pots in which food is kept. Is there any court of law that can ask these dogs to pay compensation for breaking the pots and eating the food in the houses? Instead of these animals, if man were to do the same thing, the courts of justice would award punishment to the man who is responsible for such destruction. The substance of this example is that human beings must recognize that these courts of law are established to award punishment to people who indulge in breach of law, and they must conduct themselves in such a way that they are not subjected to any type of punishment. Only then it can be assumed that things have been clearly understood.

The third one is shastras or the scriptures

These scriptures have laid down a code for people in the four stages of life: Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha,and Sanyasa. (Youth/student, householder, recluse, and renunciate) These scriptures have also laid down, as a part of the code, all the acts that have to be done and those acts that should not be done from the birth of a child until he reaches the last stage of his life, such as the naming ceremony, marriage celebrations, etc.

The procedures and mantras [religious formulas] for performing the Yagnas and Yagas (ritualistic sacrifices and ceremonies) that are performed for the welfare of the world and humanity, are laid down in these scriptures. While conducting a marriage, the promises that the bridegroom must make to the bride and vice-versa are all laid down in such a way that family life will be safe and happy. Today people undergo various problems and difficulties in their family lives. This is only because people do not conduct themselves according to the promises given to their spouses, with the fire as the witness. If we conduct ourselves according to our promises, we will be able to lead happy and peaceful lives. Man has been endowed with two eyes through which he can see. He has been given two ears to hear good as well as bad. But man has only one tongue. Man has to stand by the word that he has given. If he goes contrary to the promise he has given, then he is like a poisonous snake. If a man stands by his word and acts accordingly, then he would be able to see the unity in life as well as the Divinity.

Importance of Right Understanding

In Indian culture, there are two important statements: ‘Satyam vada, Dharmam chara’ (Speak the truth and follow the path of righteousness). Truth means that there is only one reality. Truth is only one and not two, as illustrated in the statement: ‘There is only one Brahman (God), there is no second entity.’ If one does not follow the code laid down by the scriptures, scriptures also punish you. There are four types of sins that a tongue can commit: speaking untruth, criticizing others, making fun of others, and indulging in too much talk.

By these four types of activities, the tongue commits sins. The students of today should make an effort to take the path of truth and observe truth. But what you find in the modern age youth is that they utter one thing and contradict it the very next second. The Bhagavad Gita has declared, “You have to dedicate your life for truth.” But you do not find people living their lives based on this statement. If a person undergoes these three states: yoga(spiritual practice), bhoga (pleasure), and roga (disease) in a day itself, how can we describe that person as equal-minded?

By the movement of the sun and the earth, morning, afternoon, evening, and night are all observed. But in reality, there is no such change in human nature and human beings. Students should know that when the sun is on the equator, there is day, and when it moves away it is night. Really speaking, there is nothing like sunrise and sunset. In God’s creation, everything has been created for the welfare of humanity, for the preservation and the good of humanity.

Creation is so sacred, but it has been misunderstood on account of artificial understanding and wrong interpretation given to it. Such an attitude is likely to harm the nation. Students of science know very well that the moon is comparatively closer to earth with respect to the other celestial objects. The moon is at a distance of 245,000 miles from earth. On full moon day and new moon day, the moon comes little closer to earth by a few degrees. But for such a small change itself, there is a tremendous response in the oceans, and the waves rise to great heights. What if the moon were to come two or three miles closer to the earth? There would be pralaya (destruction). Only when the moon is at the usual distance of 245,000 miles is the earth safe.

When the five elements are in the right proportion and in the place where they ought to be, and when the senses also perform their functions properly, then everything is okay. God would be able to take care of your welfare and offer you all the protection necessary when you observe laws as laid down in the scriptures. You must design your life according to the code laid down. When you hurt or harm the great sages, you come in the way of the welfare of the world. They may utter out of agony a word of anger, and it becomes a curse.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few people who think that what sages are doing is wrong on their part. Whatever curse is given, that curse is going to be a sort of protection. Only when a wrong act is punished, would one be able to correct himself. If you go on forgiving the mistakes that are committed, then more and more [mistakes] will be committed. As more acts go unpunished, man also loses the power of discrimination. In order to awaken the people to what is reality and what is discrimination, this curse or shapam is also prescribed as a part of the shastras.

Story of the 11th Shankaracharya

Once upon a time, certain laws were laid down for people who were occupying the places of peethadhipatis (watchmen, gatekeepers.) During the days of the 11th Shankaracharya, there was one gatekeeper who was standing near the entrance of the matha (monasteries). His name was Ubhaya Bhaskara. He was constantly uttering, ‘Tasmat jagrata jagrata’, (Be careful, be careful). Shankaracharya, while sitting for meditation, was thinking of the wealth that he possessed, number of disciples that he had, and all such worldly matters. When his mind was going in this wrong path, there was a declaration coming from the watchman, “Be careful, be careful.” That became an eye-opener for Shankaracharya, and he reminded himself that he is going on a wrong path. There was another disciple who was uttering from behind:

‘Mata nasti, Pita nasti, nasti bandhu sahodaraha
Artham nasti, griham nasti tasmat jagrata jagrata’

“There is no mother, no father, no relative, no brother, no wealth, and no property. Be careful, be careful.”

Another disciple from another side was declaring that:

‘Janma dukham, Jara dukham, Jaya dukham, punah punah,
Antah kale mahadukham, Tasmat jagrata, jagrata’

“Birth is sorrow, life is sorrow, and everything in the world is full of sorrow. When the last moment of life arrives, it is also a great sorrow. Always be careful.”

You have to recognize therefore, that all these laws and declarations that have been laid down are meant to correct the wrong thinking of man and put him on the right path of thinking so that he will be safe. These sacred paths alone can lead you on to the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Only when you follow these paths, will you be able to reach an elevated state. For whom are these four—peace, love, scriptures, and curse—required? Only a sick person who really wants to cure his sickness needs the medicine and diet control. For a person who does not want to cure himself from the disease, he will not require any medicine or diet control. All these four, in the same way, are required only for those who want to free themselves from bondage. A person who does not care to free himself from bondage, who indulges himself in worldly ways, does not need any of these four things. For him, his own words are curses.

Source: Sathya Sai with Students
[Divine Discourse at Sathya Sai Hostel on September 11, 1986]