Mathura Nagara—This Puttaparthi!
During the Dasara celebrations in October 1961, our beloved Swami often spoke about Himself and how we should attempt to regulate our relationship with Him. Readers will find here nectarine snapshots from His many discourses during that time and realize how aptly they apply to our present.
Every day is a festival here at Prasanthi Nilayam [Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram in India], it is year-round Dasara [festival celebrated for 10 days]. Yet, to show that it is vital to value tradition and observe ancient, well-established rites, this festival is [formally] celebrated at this place. When the fruit ripens, it is filled with sweetness. Even the margosa [Neem] fruit loses its bitterness and turns sweet when it ripens. So, too, the ultimate destiny of man, however hard or bitter he may be now, is to ripen and turn sweet. Every one will shed bitterness and turn sweet; there is no doubt [about that]. The madhura [sweet] taste will then win for them the Lord of Mathura [Lord Krishna].
I am not very happy when I hoist this Prasanthi flag on this building; I will be happy only when each one of you hoists it and keeps it flying on the mansion of your heart. Only then can you enjoy peace, contentment, and purity. Grow the twin wings of love and faith, then you can soar freely in the sky of the Lord’s grace.
You can see the Lord only through His wonders. His laws are unique and mysterious; there is no use arguing about them, for experience is the only proof of their reality. You taste them, and, therefore they are real. Do not spend your intelligence in devising crooked queries. The mystery of the Avatar is beyond the reach of [human] intelligence. It can be grasped only by means of genuine faith; it cannot be reached by logic. The karmendriyas [organs of action] and the jnanendriyas [organs of wisdom] are useless instruments because the body, mind, intelligence… all fall under the category of “seen”, and, they are not of the category of the “See-er.” To see the See-er [Divine], the inner vision has to be cultivated. So long as you feel you are separate, you cannot see the whole. Vyakti [human being] can never see the Shakti [the Divine].
Even when the Lord appears in person, doubt assails. It is just the very nature of things… I utter no meaningless word; I do no purpose-less deed; I plan no significance-less action, and never engage in unholy activities. I have nothing that I need [I need nothing]. My joy consists in fulfilling your aims, and in guiding you to the goal. There is one thing I ask for and that is the love-filled heart. Believe and hold fast, without entangling yourselves in a mesh of empty explanations and imaginary arguments—that is the way to profit.
Do not develop attachment to this [Swami’s] Body. Why, attachment to any body is not desirable. These hands give you things, but My hand is that which creates all this. This is My body, and My course is unique, different from all that you know. I do not identify Myself with anything. Ice is water, and water is ice; saguna [the seen] is nirguna [unseen], nirguna is saguna. You may fall into the quagmire of doubt wondering: “Rama came, Krishna came, [Shirdi] Sai Baba came, and this Puttaparthi Sai Baba comes and challengingly declares that He is all These! How can this be?” You can never understand this Phenomenon [Swami]. That is the understanding you need. I am incomprehensible.
You will see the world coming here in about a year or two; remember that in no previous yuga [age] did the people get so many clear intimations of the nature of Avatar as now; you are indeed fortunate… The Lord’s form can be perceived only by means of the eye of prema [love], or the eye of jnana [wisdom], or the eye of yoga [the path of union with the Divine], and not the eye of sensual activity, the karma-netra.
The Kaliyuga [the Iron age] is, in reality, very holy; you, too, are very fortunate. You have the chance to see, touch, and converse with the Lord. The number of Avatars is not ten; they are very many. You may distinguish between those, viewing some as parts of Divinity, some as imbued with the Divine essence, some as messengers of Divine mission, some as instruments of Divine will and purpose, and some as full Avatars. Parasurama [a contemporary of Lord Rama] is not an Avatar in the real sense. The Avatars that have come and gone have all cut down trees because they are infested with white ants; but this Avatar [Sathya Sai Baba] is different and unique. Now the white ants are removed, and the tree is saved, protected, fostered, and encouraged to grow.
I am not inclined to punish; I am the goldsmith who repairs and re-shapes broken ornaments. Rama came as the embodiment of sathya [truth], dharma [righteousness], and shanti [peace]; Krishna came as the personification of prema [love]; and now, the Embodiment of all the four [values] is needed, for, at the present time knowledge has increased beyond the capacity of character.
You cannot comprehend how much the Lord feels for your sake. He is concerned by your wantonness and willful disregard of His words; that is because He is interested in helping you keep your hearts pure and unblemished. I am very anxious to make you all reach the goal. My task is to purify your hearts. If you engage yourself in constant meditation on the name of the Lord, when you say the name with devotion, humility, and faith, the Lord will stand at the door of your puja [prayer] room awaiting your wish. The only requirement is that you should not allow your mind to waver. Genuine yearning will make your heart pure.
What is important for you is your own experience. What is your basis for understanding the Divine? It is based on your own ananda [bliss], felt and tasted by you. You say that He [the Divine] saved one Draupadi [Pandavas’ wife] from ignominy, one Ahalya [who was cursed into a stone] from petrifaction, one Prahlada [son of a demonic king] from torture, and one Gajendra [the elephant that was rescued from the jaws of a crocodile] from death; but, do you know how many more such have been blessed similarly through [My] grace? The stream of grace is ever flowing fast and full, and that grace has no limit. It is just that you see it as limited.
I have come now with the limitations that you need. The Lord’s activities are three: creation, preservation, and dissolution. These are the characteristic attributes of the Lord. His aims are all satwic [sublime], for the protection and welfare of the world… My exultation is Mine, and My prompting is Mine. I will never abide by another’s likes or dislikes. I do not pay heed to such. I am that which is the witness of everyone and everything. All are under my control, then who can tell Me what to do?…
In a few years, years that can be counted on one’s fingers, you will realize, all of you without exception, that I am the embodiment of all shaktis [divine energies]. The wise, the inquiring, and the suffering will gather here from all parts of the world. Be flexible; say, “Whether I succeed in getting from You the external fruit or not, I shall never give up.” Do not get dejected and blame Him when suffering comes and estranges you from the Lord. The loss will be yours and the repentance will be agonizing.
You have no hunger; if you have genuine hunger, I will not keep you suffering from it… churn the mind, collect the butter, and melt it in the yearning of the heart. When the butter has not melted, it points to the insufficient warmth of the yearning.
I do not appreciate your extolling Me, describing My glory. State the facts that produce joy. It is sacrilege to state more or less. Demand from Me with right that I remove your sufferings. Give Me your heart and ask for My heart; if you give Me only your word, you will get only a word in return. I give you just what you ask for, remember!
When sufferings come, why do you estrange yourselves from the Lord? He gives you suffering for your own good, and for the advancement of your devotion. If suffering is granted, you seek shanti [peace]; you search for the knowledge of the mystery; you go to ten persons and they each tell you some aspect of the truth. Without suffering, sweetness cannot arise! When you suffer, if you feel, “The Lord is no longer mine,” and stray away, the Lord, too, will declare, “He is no longer mine!” Beware.
Wherever you are, when you wholeheartedly seek to do namaskar [obeisance] to Me, My Feet are there before you! Sarvathah panni paadah—hands and feet everywhere, it has been announced. If you feel poignantly, “Lord, do you not hear my prayer?” then My Ears will be there! “Don’t you see, O Lord?” if you cry out, My Eyes are there that instant… Whether it is Rama, Krishna, Shirdi Sai, or this Sathya Sai Baba… why worry about the different forms, and why all such misgivings and doubts? The body is the same, only the dress worn is different. Do not be led away into the morass, and by others.
The Lord will never deviate from the word; it may be that you take Me to mean something else. It is My will that happens always; it is My sankalpa [divine intention] that is being worked out at all times. Sankalpas are of three different types: Yochana sankalpa, which is the decision arrived at after long deliberation; Manana sankalpa, which is the decision taken after the desire to do arises; and Swasankalpa, wherein the wish and the fulfillment are like the sound of the shot and the hitting the target, both happening at the same instant.
Do not slander or abuse others or yourself as weak, sinful, wicked, or low; when you do so, you are slandering or abusing Me who resides in them and you. All are of the Divine nature of the atma [soul]; all are pure and holy. Some might have erred in using the intelligence and discrimination that the Lord has given, and so might have been guilty of “mistakes”; they are not therefore “sinful.” To condemn oneself as ‘Paapoham Paapasambhavah’ [I am a sinner born of sin] is itself the direst paapa [sin]! Use your intelligence and march on, putting one milestone after another behind you.
Practice namasmarana [chanting of the Divine name] steadily so that it becomes as automatic and as necessary as breathing. Of what benefit is it to be in the same stage of sadhana [spiritual discipline] forever? Take the [Divine] form you like, the name you love, and do japam [repetitive chanting of the divine name] and dhyanam [meditation] and no evil thought will arise; wicked thoughts will flee. When they have fled, what remains is the atmaswarupa [the Divine]!
The pachangam [almanac] makers are frightening people that between February 2nd and February 5th next year, some eight planets are in conjunction and so a series of calamities will overwhelm the world. They are persuading you to do japam, yagam [spiritual sacrifices], yajnam [spiritual and ritual offerings], and charities of various kinds in order to escape from them. Well, do japam etc. by all means, but do not be misled by such descriptions of the terror that awaits you. There will be no terror; then why plan to avoid it? You will be coming for Shivaratri here on March 4th. There will be no pralaya [dissolution] at least for 5600 years!
You must lead your lives according to My words, without the slightest modification. First have faith, and then the experience is granted. Even in the case of the previous Avatars, that was the order of events, was it not? You worship with faith and you experience grace. Faith results in grace, without your being aware of it. You must take in the medicine I give, and also follow the diet I prescribe, and avoid the things I prohibit.
I always act calmly. I never hurry. I do not say, “Let it be so” to every request of yours. You have come into this world to reach the Lord. Ignorant of that purpose, you have hoisted on your head the weight of illusion, and you are struggling to unload it, suffering under its weight. What is the use of running after external pleasures and temporary joy? So long as you are caught in this avidya , you can never taste the bliss of realization; you cannot even recognize it, much less attain it. But if you are patient and calm, I shall grant you joy without fail. Do not yield to despair. Even the infant lotus buds will bloom in their own good time. By the cumulative effect of the good done in many previous births, you have secured this fortune; you do not know how much you have gone through, but I know. And whether you know or not, I shall certainly give you what you need.
You get the ‘body’ through the karma [actions] of the past; you get the ‘type of character’ according to the tendencies cultivated in the past. The body is the result of prarabdha [fructifying actions of past life]; the guna [human characteristic] is the product of sanchita [sum total karmas of past lives]. Do not delude yourself that you are the body, or be fascinated into an attachment for it. But it is your task to guard it from harm and keep it in good trim. For, is it not through the body that you are imbibing the exhilaration of the bliss of the Lord, the majesty of the Lord? Therefore, do not deride the body or treat it with contempt. That equipment is intended for your journey toward the Lord; it is the chariot of the Lord; do not neglect or keep it in disrepair.
“Oh, this is my fate; my own past punishing me; I must go through it and suffer it; I cannot escape it,” thus, people get disheartened. If it is so inescapable, what is the use of prayer, japam, meditation, or of the ritual of worship? Win the grace of the Lord… and the accumulated burden will be burnt into ashes in a moment! Why blame the Lord for the “writing on your forehead?” It is you who write it and it is you who must wipe out the script. The evil you do writes, and the good you do wipes. Let your mind dwell on the Lord, and the mist of the past births will melt before the rays of that sunrise; if you do not project those rays of that sunrise, the mist will thicken into darkness.
While in the previous body, I had said, “I will come again after eight years.” Dikshit [a devotee of Shirdi Sai] had written it down as if I said that I will appear as an eight year old! That is a mistake. Having cast off that body on the Vijayadashami Day [10th day of Dasara festival] 1918, I granted actual concrete darshan [sighting of the Divine] off and on to various bhaktas [devotees] during the following six years. Once I appeared before Abdul Baba and told him, “The body has been disposed off, but who can dispose Me off?” I had [thus] revealed to Abdul Baba the news of My coming advent. But do not waste your time in arguments about the identity, whether this is He or He could be this! Believe only as much as you have known. Never deny the joy you have derived or deprive yourselves of the joy in store.
Worship, offerings, incense, waving of lights… these are all preliminary steps, the first few rungs in the ladder. If you are [for] ever on the alphabet, when are you [going] to learn to spell and read words and sentences? Does the Lord need the things you offer? Does He require articles of comfort or luxury? No, it is you who need them! Does He live upon the food you place before Him?
Remember, it is the person who goes beyond the externals that wins the victory. The Lord is not pleased with externals; He searches for the feelings and the internal urges. I do not want the flowers, fruits, and the miscellaneous packets that you bring in your hands when you come to Me. Come with your hands empty, saying, “What can I give You that has not come from You Yourself? When You gave me this heart, it was clean and pure; now, after preparing in that vessel the food for life so far lived, I am offering it to You as clean and as pure as when You gave it to me, after removing all traces of vasanas or smells of the things cooked in it.” Say that and offer that heart.
How long will you stagnate in the same primary class of patram [leaf], pushpam [flower], phalam [fruit], and toyam [water]? Keep in the patram of the body the fruit, viz., the heart, and the flower viz., the mind, and the water welling from the eyes, then grace will descend on you without fail. Let the hands be empty but the heart full. Cultivate kinship of the heart through devotion and faith. Reduce these external attachments and demonstrations. What I seek is your joy, your happiness, your mental peace, and your unfailing courage and resolution.
You are indeed more fortunate than the rishis [sages], the vanaras [monkeys of Ramayana], and the gopis [female devotees of Lord Krishna]. Your chances are greater; you get darshan, sparshan [touching the Divine], and sambhashana [talking with the Divine], all three. Therefore, do not ask for the fulfillment of paltry desires. Ask, “Make me eternal, absolute, nityam [eternal], and satyam [truth].”
I have started the work for which I have come. Till now, I was engaged in collecting materials—iron, cement, brick, lime, and the rest. Now the foundation has been firmly concreted, and the building has to rise. That structure of Mine will cover the entire universe. No longer can this prayer hall or the auditorium now being erected hold the people who will gather. The sky alone can be the big enough shed.… Hereafter, there are no stops! Within a short period, you will witness many miraculous events. Even while you are wondering, this Puttaparthi will be transformed in to Mathura [the holy city established by Lord Krishna].
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Nov. & Dec. 1961
