Manifest the Divine within You
In this remarkable discourse, Bhagawan Sri Sahya Sai Baba entreats devotees to constantlyoperate with the conviction that they are ever in the presence of God. Baba emphasizes the ever-present state of God in our lives through innumerable examples.
Truth is the mother;
Wisdom is the father;
Righteousness is the brother;
Compassion the friend;
Peace is the wife;
Forbearance the son;
These six are men’s true relations.
(Sanskrit Verse)
In this phenomenal world, the physical body has parents who are physical and impermanent. When viewed from the spiritual standpoint, the true relations of the real and permanent human spirit are as indicated in the opening verse.
Human values are the relatives
Sathyam mata (Truth is the mother). Truth is unchanging. It i remains the same across all three categories of time—the past, present, and the future. Such a truth is one’s real and lasting mother.
Jnanam pita (Wisdom is the father). What is this wisdom? Does it pertain to the physical world, the mundane existence, the scriptures or science? No, true wisdom is, Advaita darshanam Jnanam—Perception of oneness is wisdom. The wisdom that makes one aware of unity alone is true wisdom. Such wisdom is one’s true father.
Dharmo bhrata (Righteousness is the brother). We have brothers. Amongst them there are differences of opinion. But, righteousness that is unvarying, and consistent is one’s true, everlasting brother. Righteousness is divine. The sages hailed Rama [the avatar from an earlier age] as the very embodiment of righteousness.
Daya sakha (Compassion is the friend.) There is no greater quality than compassion. It is compassion which redeems human life. Whether one is a deity or a demon, compassion alone can ennoble the person. Hence one’s true friend is compassion.
Shanti-patni (Peace is the wife). One cannot have a greater wife that peace. Peace is the greatest blessing. Today because there is no peace (in the minds of people), the world is plunged in conflict. Peace is verily divine.
Kshama putraha (Forbearance is the son). People believe that a son will help them in this world. But a son does not redeems a person. God is the only redeemer. Forbearance is a divine quality. Whoever possesses it [forbearance] has a worthy son.
Manifestation of Brahman
God is adored as mother, father, kith and kin, friend, wealth, and everything else in the world. God is immanent in every atom of the universe. All that you see—the mountains, trees, insects, birds, and beasts, the food you eat, the air you breathe—are all manifestations of the Divine.
(Swami sang a Telugu song that proclaimed that all is Brahman—the stars, the sun, the moon, heaven, the Lord’s abode Vaikuntha, the mother and father, the words in a speech, the discussions in a debate, life itself, birth, growth and death, the wife, the time that passes, the body, the whole of nature, the love you bear to others—this assemblage—is Brahman, and this Sai who proclaims this truth is verily Brahman (cheers). What more can I tell you, Oh good people gathered here?)
God is omnipotent. Nature is a reflection of that omnipotence. All the powers present in nature are present in every human being. Hence, it should be recognized that God, nature and the individual are all equally divine.
God and the individual are not different from each other. The cosmos, and the Lord of the cosmos are not separate from each other. Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagat—The cosmos is permeated by the Divine. Vishnu [ the sustaining divine energy] is the cause. Nature is the effect. The Divine is the embodiment of cause and effect.
Hence there is no need to go in quest of God. Man is the repository of all divine potencies. They are all latent in him, remaining incognito like the Pandavas [ the five royal brothers who were contemporaries and devotees of Krishna avatar] during the last years of their 12-year term of exile. Not realizing this truth, man considers himself ignorant and weak.
Energy is Brahman
Scientists, after long investigations, have discovered that the whole universe is made up of atoms. The vedantins [Hindu spiritualists] , on their part, declared that everything is permeated by the Divine. The terms used are different, but the meaning is the same. Energy is Brahman and Brahman is energy (shakti). The cosmos is filled with energy. All that you see and all that you do is energy. You observe an object. You see an individual (jivi). Both the object and the individual are manifestations of energy.
What the scientists call matter is just energy . An object appears as matter. But it turns into energy later on. Likewise one may appear to you as a jivi. But even he becomes energy in due course. Hence, all the forms and names you see are all manifestations of energy.
What is this energy? It is something which you cannot see or hear or conceive in the mind. Energy is just energy. It is Divine. Every physical object has a base. There is electrical energy in man. Likewise, there is radiation energy in man. There must be a basis for all these energies. You see that in the world every object is based on some other object. God is the base for all the energies in the cosmos. The vedantins called this energy the transcendental Energy. Scientists have termed it Superpower. The names used may vary, but the substance is one and the same.
In every man there are numerous latent potencies of which he is not aware. The scientists have given different names to the different energies such as psychotronic energy and bioplasmic energy. Vedantins have described it by the compendious term, transcendental energy. How is the presence of this energy to be recognized? The vedantins described the process of recognition as involving will-power (manasika-shakti), concentration (dharana-shakti), meditation (Jnana-shakti) and samadhi (deep awareness) (cheers). By these four processes, one can experience the power of the spirit (atma-shakti). This means that in the final analysis every individual, every object, and every form of energy becomes one with the Divine.
Eight potencies of Divinity
In this context, one has to understand the implications of oneness with the Divine. One desires to merge in God and achieve liberation (moksha). How is this to be secured? God is formless. He is the source of all energy. He is effulgent. Eight kinds of potencies have been attributed to God. He is the source of all sound, motion, light, speech, bliss, excellence, illusion (maya), and prosperity. How is one to realize such an omnipotent Divinity? Water can integrate with water. Air can combine with air. Fire can merge with fire. As God is formless, to become one with God, we have to become formless. What does this imply? It means that we have to get rid of the attachment to the body. This is achieved through dhyana (meditation). While retaining attachment to the body, one cannot hope to achieve oneness with God merely by praying for it. You have to become formless to realize the formless Divine.
As God is the embodiment of effulgence, you have to make your life effulgent to experience God. You have to realize that the light of your life has come from that supreme source of all light (Param Jyoti). This individual flame should merge in the Supreme Divine effulgence from which all other lights have emanated. Meditating on the Supreme Effulgence (Param-Jyoti) , the individual has to merge his individual effulgence in the Supreme Effulgence.
From dualism to non-dualism
There is one other matter which you should consider in this context. You are performing bhajans, japa, meditation, yaga, yajna or other spiritual exercises. All these are external forms of worship which do not serve to promote the exploration of the internal spirit (nivritti-marga). They are good acts in themselves. But they are unrelated to spirituality (adhyatmic discipline). Spirituality implies relationship of spirit to spirit (atma to atma). All actions have appropriate consequences. Every act results in its own reward. Good acts yield good results; but, they do not contribute to spiritual progress. Hence the good acts should be the stepping stones for the spiritual journey.
You should not remain content with performing rituals and acts of worship (sat-karmas).When will you embark on the real spiritual adventure? You should go forward from dualism to non-dualism (from dvaita to dvaita). You become a jnani (a knower of the Absolute) only when you have the advaitic consciousness (the experience of oneness with the Divine).
Sai Magnetism
Man possess within himself the constituents needed for generating electrical energy, radiation, and telecommunication.The whole world is filled with electromagnetic energy. The world is governed by the principle of mutual attraction. Green grass attracts the cow. The child attracts the mother. The law of universal attraction is related to this magnetic power. Rama is the supreme symbol of this power of attraction. Ramayathe ithi Ramah—Because of his power to please everyone, he is called Rama. This Rama is not the son of Dasaratha [Rama’s father], but the spiritual Rama who is the indweller in every heart (atma-rama). The atma is a universal magnet which attracts everything.
Today if so many people from all over the world have been drawn to this place, it is due to this power of attraction (cheers). When you keep a flower here, bees are attracted from afar. They are drawn to the flower because of the sweet honey in it.
Not a single bee will be attracted by a plastic flower. The sweetness that attracts people is prema (love). This love may be manifested in many forms—maternal love, filial love, fraternal affection, marital love, friendly love and so on. Love is the basis of all these forms of attraction. It is a powerful magnet. It is present everywhere, including within every human being.
Every child bears the imprint of its parents. As all human beings have come from God, they should carry the marks of the creator. Man has taken birth to manifest the Divine in him.
Every being and every object in the world is divine energy. It cannot be destroyed. But it can be changed from one form of energy to another. For instance, magnetic energy can be converted to electricity. From electricity, you can get light or atomic energy. In this manner, energy can be converted into different forms, but it cannot be destroyed. This indestructible character is divine.
Hence there is no place or object in the cosmos which is not permeated by the Divine. There is divinity in every particle and every cell. The sages therefore declared: That which is subtler than the subtlest, and vaster than the vastest, and which is present everywhere as the eternal witness is the atma. The atma is atom and the atom is atma. All the three terms—Brahman, [the Source] atma and atom—represent one and the same thing.
Omnipresence of Divinity
It took the scientists one thousand years to discover that what was present in the whole universe was made up of atoms. But many aeons earlier, in the Krita Yuga [ the first age] itself, this truth was recognized by Prahlada [a well-known devotee of Vishnu]. He told his father that there was no place in the cosmos where the Divine could not be found if the search is made. [Swami recited a poem from the Telugu Bhagavatam (Hindu scripture)].
Long ago, Prahlada confidently proclaimed that the Divine principle was omnipresent. Because he was aware of this transcendental unity of the Divine in the universe, he could overcome every ordeal, discard the body-consciousness, and realize the Divine. Immrsed in God consciousness, he fearlessly faced every ordeal, and survived all the tortures to which he was subjected. With the name of Narayana [another name for Vishnu] on his lips, he came out unscathed when he was pushed over a cliff.
Likewise, he faced ordeals of being trampled by elephants and attacks by snakes. He was utterly free from body consciousness. Ever contemplating on God, he had no fear at all (Swami recited a Telugu poem describing how Prahlada faced cheerfully all the ordeals to which he was subjected to by his father’s demonic agentsr).
The one who is immersed in body consciousness is a prey to all kinds of troubles and worries. It should be realized that the body is only an instrument, and is bound to perish sometime or other. When death is bound to follow birth, why worry about it?
The state of no-mind
The Gopikas [foremost devotees of Krishna] realized that Krishna was beyond the reach of the mind because of His cosmic subtlety and immensity, but they experienced his divinity in their hearts because of their devotion (Swami recited a poem from the Bhagavatam).
There is in every human being this divine energy, which grows when it is properly used. The water in a well rises as more and more of it is drawn. Likewise, the more you share your wealth and your joy, they will multiply. Hence, share your endowments with others. Strive to manifest the latent potencies in you.
To realize God, practices like repetition of the name of the Lord are of little avail.What is essential is stilling the mind (amanaska). (Swami sang a poem here which referred to the illusory nature of the phenomenal world).
The waking state and the dreaming state are two kinds of dream states. The only reality is the consciousness that is present in both the states. This unifying awareness is the reality. To experience God, you have to proceed from meditation to concentration and then to the amanaska, a state where the mind is virtually non-existent and one is free from attachment to the body. In that state one experiences samadhi.
Samadhi has two meanings—One is equal-mindedness in all situations, whether of pain or pleasure, loss or gain. You should not feel distressed by a calamity or elated by a happy event. This state of mind is conducive to the development of extraordinary powers.
The true guru
Certain activities have to be carried on in the day-to-day world. But the teachings of some gurus [spiritual teachers] in regard to these activities lead to dehumanization. The term guru means one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. Gu means one who is beyond attributes (gunas), Ru implies one who is beyond forms (rupas). This refers only to God. That is why the Guru is hailed as Brahma [the creative energy], Vishnu [the sustaining energy], and Shiva [the dissolution energy]. Only God is the true guru. All others are merely teachers, like the teachers of different subjects in a college. Guru is the one who reveals the guri (target) to the disciple. Guri here refers to the atmic principle.
The true guru is one who has understood his own Self. (In this connection Swami related the story of Emperor Bali who promised to give Vamana—Vishnu who had come in the form of a short Brahmin lad—whatever he wanted. Bali’s guru, Shukracharya, warned Bali against honoring his promise on the ground that it would prove disastrous for him. But Bali stood by his promise despite his preceptor’s warning and intervention. Bali esteemed God as greater than his preceptor. He declared that there can be no greater sin than breaking one’s promise. A guru who advises his disciple to go back on his plighted word is no guru at all.
(Swami related the episode from the Mahabharata [Hindu epic] in which Dronacharya, Arjuna’s [Pandava and devotee of Krishna] archery teacher, turned down Ekalavya [person who aspired to be Dronacharya’s student] because he had agreed to teach no one else all the arts he had taught to Arjuna. Ekalavya, however, learnt more than what Arjuna had been taught by merely worshipping an image of Dronacharya. When Dronacharya came to know about this from Arjuna, he demanded from Ekalavya his right thumb as gurudakshina [offering to the teacher] so as to incapacitate Ekalavya from making use of his proficiency in archery. Ekalavya readily offered his thumb out of his devotion to Dronacharya, whom he regarded as his preceptor. This conduct on the part of Dronacharya in response to a demand from Arjuna who was envious of Ekalavya’s superiority in archery, was unworthy of a true guru.)
Gurus who are governed by selfish considerations or narrow loyalties cause great harn to the cause of spiritual enlightenment. They are worldly teachers, and not spiritual preceptors.
Trust in God, the true guru
You may learn from anyone, but dedicate all your knowledge to God. That is true spirituality. That is real devotion.
Today is celebrated as Vyasa-Poornima—the full moon day dedicated to the Sage Vyasa, who codified the Vedas [foremost Hindu scriptures], and presented them to the world on a full moon day. This is the day when people should seek to make their minds as pure and bright as the full moon. The day should be celebrated by purifying the mind and understanding the mystery of the universe. (Swami recited a song composed by Ramadas [a devotee of Rama] in which he describes human life as consisting of seven forts—vices—in the heart in which dwells the Lord, who is very difficult to reach). Place your entire trust in God and not in self-seeking gurus. Before performing any act utter a prayer offering it to God. Try to understand the sacred teachings in all the Vedic and other scriptures.
Embodiments of love! Realize that God is not separate from you. Strive to strengthen this sense of oneness with the Divine. This was the way Meera [Krishna’s devotee] experienced the presence of Krishna in her heart when her husband, the Maharana, expelled her from the Krishna temple he built (Swami recited a song in which Meera prays to her mind to seek the Lord).
Seek the Divine within
The light of the Divine is within you. Why go seeking for it elsewhere? This is the light of love and of bliss. Never forget God, whatever may happen to you (Telugu poem). There is no greater form of meditation than constant remembrance of God at all places and on all occasions. God is the indweller in the heart. When you experience this you will lack nothing and will be ever blissful. You will commit no wrong, and will fear none. Your conscience will be your guide. Love all.
You can see God only through the eye of wisdom (jnana-chakshu). Realizing that God dwells within you, you must treat God as the universal guru, as the preceptor for mankind, irrespective of differences in names.
Bhagavan concluded His discourse with the bhajan, Hari bhajan bina sukha santhi nahi [without God, there is no well-being and peace]
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, August 1997
