More Potent Than Portents
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, in His discourse on Yugadi day in 1990, said that to manifest his humanness man must practice purity in thought, word, and deed. He also urges us to make proper use of time. This year Telegu New Year will be celebrated on 16th March.
Embodiments of love! Time is the embodiment of God. Hence one of the names of God is Samvatsara. Because time is the essential spirit of God, He is also known as Kaalaatmaka (time-spirit). God is called the protector of the wise. The wise man directs his intelligence and talents toward God, not content with using them for mere living. God is also known as the Lord of eons because He creates and dissolves eons like Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga.
God is thus not only the creator of yugas (eons), but also their extinguisher. Hence God is described as Yugadikrit. Because He contains everything within Himself and protects everything, God is also called Kaalagarbha (the One who is the womb of time). We regard Yugadi as marking the beginning of a new year. In fact, it is one of the forms of God. The entire cosmos is bound by and permeated by time. It is a product of time and is destroyed by time. No one can fully comprehend the power of time.
The Bharatiyas (Indians), recognizing the sacredness of time, have for centuries followed certain observances to propitiate time. They viewed every object, not in terms of its external appearance, but from its inner spiritual essence and based their life on that principle. If something appeared externally beautiful, but was spiritually valueless, Indians would discard it.
God values inner spirituality
People in the world attach value to all kinds of objects, ideals, and personalities. God, however, is not attracted by external appearances but values only the inner spiritual urges. Here is a simple example. Parvati [Shiva’s wife] was the most beautiful woman in the world. Conscious of her charms, she wished to wed the Lord Himself. But the Lord does not succumb to external attraction. Disappointed by her failures, Parvati embarked on a very severe penance. Indifferent to sun and rain, wind and weather, Parvati concentrated her thoughts on the Lord, wearing out her body in her tapas (spiritual discipline). Because of the penance she lost all her beauty. All her physical powers were gone. At that moment, the Lord accepted her as one half of His body.
What is the inner meaning of this episode? Prakriti (nature) is Parvati. This prakriti is filled with various kinds of prides: the pride of wealth, strength, beauty, knowledge, virtues, power, and penance. Man’s ego is inflated by these different kinds of pride. Only when man gets rid of these eight categories of pride will he become acceptable to God. So long as ego prevails, the power of the Spirit will not be recognized. Without realizing the power of the Spirit, man cannot experience the bliss of the Divine. The Indians recognized this truth and declared that immortality can only be attained through renunciation.
Qualities to be renounced
What should we renounce? Is it hearth and home, wealth and possessions? If God could be realized by renouncing these things, self-realization should be quite easy. But it is not the external appurtenances that have to be sacrificed. The road to man’s liberation is barred by three gates—kama (lust), krodha (hatred), and lobha (greed). These are the primary things to be given up. When a man is filled with these three faults, he is steeped in folly. When a man is subject to kama, he loses all sense of right and wrong. Greed destroys man’s devotion, while krodha undermines jnana (wisdom). The man filled with anger and hatred becomes utterly thoughtless. He loses his sense of discrimination. Kama, krodha, and lobha destroy a man’s spiritual practices—karma, upasana, and dhyana (rituals, worship, and meditation). When there are no spiritual practices, man becomes a creature of whims.
Man has a vijnana prajna (higher wisdom) that is obtained only by spiritual sadhana (practice). The purpose of the sadhana is to realize the atma (self). What is the atma? It is the combination of manas, buddhi, and prana (mind, intellect, and life). This triple combination is called triputi. Man is the embodiment of this triputi. It is otherwise known as the mano-vaak-kaayam (mind-speech-body complex). Vaak (speech) represents life. Man should seek to sanctify these three.
Man’s karma reveals his nature
True humanness consists in the harmony of thought, word, and deed. When there is no accord between words and deeds, of what value are one’s words? It is for the purpose of harmonizing thought, word, and deed that karma, upasana, and dhyana have been prescribed for man. Karma is like a mirror in which a man’s good and bad deeds are reflected. A man’s karma reveals the nature of man—whether he is satwic (tranquil), rajasic (passionate), or tamasic (dull)—even as a thermometer reveals the temperature of the body. Therefore, all actions should be turned toward satwic purposes. The Bhagavad Gita [Song of the Lord] describes such actions as nishkama karma (desireless actions). The body accomplishes its purpose only when actions are performed in this spirit. When the body and actions are sublimated, the mind gets transformed. Right action results in purity of mind.
Men today are not aware of the sacredness of action. They are caught up in the pursuit of their desires. They are impelled entirely by selfishness and self-centeredness. Man is moved by desires and not by ideals. We should aim at a life inspired by ideals. The ideal life is one in which there is complete harmony and purity in thought, word, and deed. Man is judged by the nature of his actions. To make the proper use of time, man has to engage himself in right actions.
Make proper use of time
Embodiments of love! Remember that time is fleeting. Time and tide wait for no one. Time will not submit itself to you. You have to surrender to it. Time is its own master. Hence, you must strive to make proper use of time.
I have often told you how God represents time in its various aspects. God is described as Samvatsara. Vatsara means one who is engaged in sport. Govatsara, referring to Krishna, means one who sports with cows. Samvatsara means, “playing with all.” This time is available equally to all—whether he is a millionaire or a pauper. Even an emperor is subject to the passage of time. Time is a witness to what everyone is doing. On a stage, there are a number of lights. One light is turned toward an actor in the role of a king. Another light is turned toward a beggar. Yet another light is focused on a man reading the Ramayana. Another light may be focused on a fighting scene. Although the lights illumine a variety of scenes, they remain unaffected by the behavior of the actors. The lights simply bear witness to the actions but no blame attaches to them for what the actors do. The actors alone are affected by what they do. In the same manner, the Divine, as the Lord of time, is only a witness to the passing show. Your actions may be unholy, but time remains untainted.
Your primary duty is to make the right use of time. There is no need for you to wait for the beginning of a new year to do this. Every moment is a manifestation of time. From seconds to minutes, from minutes to hours, from hours to days and months, and from months to a year—this is the endless procession of time. The second is the basis for the year. Hence every second should be filled with purposeful action. What is the meaning of a life in which from waking in the morning to sleeping at night one is concerned only about his belly and has no thought of God? What is the result of all this hectic activity? Has it given a single moment of real joy? Purposeful living can come only by contemplation of God. People talk about service. Whom are you serving? When you render service, you are really serving yourself. You have to perform all actions in a spirit of dedication—to please the Divine.
Men today are misusing all their knowledge, wealth, energies, and talents for purely material ends and wasting their lives. Leading a worldly life is unavoidable. But in doing so, the spiritual goal should be borne in mind. Actions may be worldly, but the goal is spiritual. When actions are dedicated to spiritual ends, that they become sanctified. Unfortunately, today even spiritual practices are tainted with mundane motives.
Spiritual heritage of India
The spiritual heritage of India has survived the vicissitudes of centuries because of the intensely spiritual life led by kings, sages, scholars, and pious men and women in ancient days. Men should realize their inherent divinity and live up to their true nature. If their real nature is forgotten and their behavior is far from human, they cease to be human beings. For instance, sweetness is the basic quality of jaggery [raw sugar]. If it loses its sweetness it ceases to be jaggery and is just a clod. Likewise, for man to be regarded as man, he has to manifest his humanness by practicing purity in thought, word, and deed. Without this purity, man is merely a lump of clay.
Man engages himself in various exercises, pursues all kinds of studies and makes various enquiries. What is the use of all this? He fills his mind with a vast mass of information, but there is no change in his behavior. There is no end to economic changes, political and social reforms. But no mental transformation is taking place. People have been listening to Bhagavan’s discourses and reading Swami’s books for years. How far have you changed as a consequence? Of what use are studies if they are not put into practice even to a small extent?
Portents and warnings
Today [the year 1990] it is the beginning of the New Year ‘Pramoda.’ Pramoda means that which is filled with excessive joy. It includes such expressions as nityananda, sat-chit-ananda, advaitananda, and Brahmananda—the supreme forms of bliss. The name of the year should fill us with infinite joy, but the conjunction of planets at the beginning of the year foretells a period of conflict. There are likely to be many conflicts with no apparent reason. Even good men are likely to fall out. There will likely also be fires. But along with these evil portents, there are likely to be joyous events also. This year is a mixture of good and bad events. Life is like that.
Embodiments of the Divine Atma! This is a year in which everyone will have to be on his guard. One should keep a watch on every word he uses. Even a small slip of the tongue may have serious consequences. Every action should be done after due deliberation. Differences are likely to arise among kith and kin and members of the family circle. In such a dire situation, contemplation on God is like a shower of grace. None of your actions will have untoward results if you carry out your duties with firm faith in God. Remember the name of God at all times. In the Kali [Iron] age, God’s name is the only refuge. Without firm faith in the Lord’s name, all other studies and worship are of no avail. Yearn for the love of God. From the beginning of this year, despite its dire portents, engage yourself in good thoughts and good deeds and overcome the forces of evil by full faith in God.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 23
