Life‑long Bhajan
In this divine discourse delivered on the sacred Mahashivaratri day, Bhagavan Baba reminds devotees to transform the exercise of all-night bhajan (devotional singing) into a life-long bhajan of adoration and pilgrimage to the Lord within.
Throughout last night, you have sung bhajans (holy music) and kept vigil as part of the Shivaratri celebrations. This arati (waving lights before an image) marks the end of that bhajan session; but this ending is only of the outer, congregational, vocal part, and does not indicate the inner solitary silent bhajan that must be the very breath of your existence. The Vedanta (Hindu philosophy)persuades you to investigate the function of the senses, and use the mind to reflect the atman [soul] within. All the inner instruments of knowledge and the inner witness in man are promoters of the highest wisdom, though they are misused, in ignorance, to confound and ruin man’s progress. Those who are aware that they are the indestructible atman, encased in temporary sheaths, in a ramshackle dwelling bearing a name and form, are unaffected by anything that happens to the sheath or house. Prahlada (a foremost devotee) was one such. Regardless of the inhuman tortures inflicted upon him, he remained calm and unruffled as he was established in Narayana (God), his genuine truth.
It took Arjuna (a princely devotee and compatriot of Lord Krishna) a long time to realize this. In fact, it was only after the ascension of Lord Krishna that it was brought home to him in a dramatic way. As Krishna prepared to end his incarnation, He asked Arjuna to take the women, children, and some old men of the Yadava clan to the safety of Hastinapura, away from Dwaraka, which had been swallowed by the sea.
The mind hides the Prompter and the Power within
Arjuna led the disconsolate community through lands infested by wild tribes, confident that the bow that had won him the Kurukshetra battle against the array of gigantic heroes will ensure safety and success. But when some barbarian hordes fell upon the Yadavas, Arjuna sought to string his bow and fix the arrow upon them in vain! He could not recall the formula that could send the arrow on its mortal mission! He had to witness the debacle, the kidnapping of the women whom he had vowed to guard! When Krishna had finished His Mission, Arjuna’s mission had ended too; there was no more breath in him. Krishna was his life, might, archery, mastery, heroism, and his all. That truth became evident to Arjuna when he faced the shame of defeat.
The mind plays many tricks with you, the chief of which is to foster the ego and hide the prompter and the power within. You must have heard of an accountant in the court of the King of death, Chitragupta. He maintains a register of the good and the bad done by each living being, and on death he brings the books to the court and strikes the balance between debit and credit. Yama, the King, then metes out the punishment that can expiate and educate. This Chitragupta has his office in the mind of man, awake and alert all the time. The word Chitragupta means ‘the secret picture;’ what he does is to ‘picture’ all the secret promptings that blossom into activity. He notes the warning signals as well as the occasions when those signals were ignored or wantonly disregarded. You must see that the warning of the Divine against the human, or even the bestial inclinations, is heeded.
Bhajan encourages man to dive into himself
Bhajan is one of the processes by which you can train the mind to expand into eternal values. Teach the mind to revel in the glory and majesty of God; wean it away from petty horizons of pleasure. That is all that bhajan or puja (worship) or vrata (fasting) can do. Bhajan induces in you a desire for experiencing the truth, to glimpse the beauty that is God, and to taste the bliss that is the Self. It encourages man to dive into himself and be genuinely his real Self. Once that search is desired, the path is easy. One has only to be reminded that he is divine.
Chaithanya(a Hindu saint)once had very high fever. He refused to take any drugs other than what the Shastras (Hindu scriptures)had prescribed; he asked for the dust of the feet of a brahmana (a priest), and water consecrated by washing his feet! People around him could only get hold of a brahmana who did not strictly follow the disciplines laid down for that high caste. But Chaitanya told them not to be very strict in scrutinizing his credentials, for a brahmana is holy however fallen he may be. He belonged to a lineage that had soaked itself through many generations in Vedic lore and sadhana (spiritual practices).
However rickety a cow has become, milk can be got only from her; she has to be fed, fostered, fondled, and revered. Thus, Chaithanya reminded the brahmana of his great role in society and encouraged him to live up to the high expectations. Man, too, has come for a great destiny, on a sacred mission, endowed with special skills and tendencies to help him on; but he fritters these precious gifts and crawls on earth from birth to death worse than any animal. Exercises like bhajan elevate the mind and exhort the individual to seek and find the source of eternal joy that lies within him.
Grace is not something that is given or taken
When I directed that groups of people belonging to our samiti (organization)should go around the streets in the early hours of the morning singing the glory of God, some asked me, “Is this also bhakti? Should we sing aloud in company while walking along the streets?” The question arises from false conceit. Bhajan, which is part of Nagarsankirtan (singing along the streets),gladdens the singer and showers joy on those who listen; it cleanses and purifies the atmosphere by its vital vibrations. It inspires and instructs; it calls and comforts.
Hold fast to the God you believe in, despite trials and tests, and the ups and downs of life. This day is the New Moon Day, when the moon starts growing into fullness, but as soon as it has come a full circle, it starts waning until it almost disappears and the earth is plunged into darkness; Yet, all is not lost; the thin curve grows steadily into the full moon again. Fortune, too, is like the moon. Nothing can be fixed or fragile forever in this fickle world, born out of the fancy of the Lord. The Lord is eternal, absolute, and unchanging. My name is truth, I am the truth, and since I am in every one of you, you too are everlasting truth. Do not doubt this and descend into distress. Strive to be endowed with the unwavering eye, the unhesitating mind.
Call out the Lord who is within your heart
Now, you will all be given prasadam (eatables offered to God), and so sit silently in rows. Of course, I mean by prasadam the cooked offerings that are given this day at the conclusion of the bhajan. Prasadam also means grace, which flows from God when He is propitiated. My grace is ever with you, it is not something that is given or taken; it is given always and accepted by the consciousness that is aware of its significance. Win the grace of your own subconscious so that it may accept the grace of God that is ever available.
God does not deny anyone; it is only you who deny God. When the gift is proffered, you have to do only one little act so that you may earn it—you have to extend your hand to receive it. That is the grace or the subconscious; win it by teaching it the value of the grace of God. My grace is showered wherever you are through My infinite love, without even calculating or measuring the readiness of your subconscious to receive it and benefit by it. The grace itself will confer on you the faith and strength, wisdom and joy. I am in your heart all the time, whether you know it or not. Droupadi (the Pandava queen) called out for the Lord of Dwaraka, Sri Krishna, when the wicked cousins of her husbands cruelly insulted her, and the Lord responded after a little delay. He had to go to Dwaraka and come from there to Hastinapura where she was! He told her that she could have gotten Him in a fraction of a second had she called out, ‘O the dweller in my heart,’ for He dwells there, too, as everywhere else!
The Mahashivaratri festival is over; but the message of the day is yet to fructify in your behavior, conduct, thinking, and activity. Do not rest content with a night‑long bhajan. Make it a life‑long bhajan of adoration, and pilgrimage to the Lord within.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 11
The poor are rich in devotion to God; Kunti (mother of the Pandavas) prayed that her difficulties may continue for they keep the Lord ever in her mind. Riches are a great handicap in the path of spiritual progress. So, though you may be rich, do not cultivate attachment to the bank account or to the mansions, cars, and comforts you command. Have them as if they are given to you on trust by the Lord.
~Sri Sathya Sai Baba
