Sathya Sai Gita – part 2

Posted June 1, 2001

The following is the second part of a four-part article derived from Swami’s divine discourse delivered at Prasanthi Nilayam on September 29, 1969, and reprinted from Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume I.

( Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 )

If you take Krishna to be a gopala (cowherd), a man of the world like others, then for you he will be just a cowherd! You, too, climb only up to that stage. You have to take it in the yogic sense that “go” in gopala means jivi (living being) and therefore, gopala means “He who protects, guides, feeds, and fosters the jivis; that is to say, “He who is the protector and preserver of beings.” You will have noticed that Uddhava, who looked upon Krishna as his guru, benefited more than Arjuna who looked upon Him as a sakha (a friend). If you have faith that He is God, He will be God to you; if you dismiss Him as mere man, He takes on that role and becomes useless for you. Search for Him with the heart, not with the eye for externals. The superpower has to be sought in the super-state itself, not in the lower-states. Then, if you have the eyes that are fit to see and the wisdom to understand, you will find Him.

Various people have various methods of worship as well as objects of worship. Vishnu, Shambhu, Sarada, Allah are all different degrees of human understanding of the One unsolved mystery, the fathomless Infinite and Absolute. You should not seek variety and unity. Do not enter into quarrels about higher and lower. When the same person is honored by different titles, why should you quarrel over the superiority or inferiority of the title. They all fall short of His total glory.

Karma is needed to realize the truth

Your attempt should be to attain and become the nithyam (eternal) and sathyam (truth). Sathyam is that which is the same in the past, present, and future; the same in the waking, dreaming, and deep sleep stages, and which is unaffected by thamoguna, rajoguna and sathwaguna (qualities of sloth, passion and serenity). Again, the name is greater than even the named, for the named may disappear, but the name will continue and will evoke the form of the named.

There is no need to exhaust yourselves in the search for the Lord; He is there like butter in milk, like the chicken in the egg, immanent in every atom of creation. He does not come from somewhere, or go somewhere else. He is there, here, everywhere. From the anu (atom) to the ghana (great), from the microcosm to the macrocosm, He is everything.

To realize this grand Truth, sadhana (spiritual effort) or karma (action) is needed. That is karmayoga (path of dedicated activity), karma performed with this end: ‘karmasu kousalam’, “the karma done in an intelligent manner.” A millionaire may have various vehicles: cars, coaches, etc., in plenty; but for his health’s sake the doctor advises him to walk a few miles every morning. Otherwise, he will fall ill, the doctor says. So also, for removal of ajnana (the disease of ignorance), one has to do karma, dharma‑directed karma (virtuous action). The oil in the lamp is the fat derived from the actions of previous ‘lives.’ The stronger the flame, the brighter the light and sooner the oil is used up. Do vigorous karma and exhaust the effects of the past and be free from the weight hanging round your neck.

There is more joy in the doing of karma than in the fruit it may give; the pilgrimage is often more pleasurable than the actual experience of the temple to which the pilgrim went. It was mentioned in the Gita that you should not care for the fruit of your action; but I say now that you may value the result of your actions to a limited extent. That advice was given according to the conditions prevalent then and the delusion Arjuna suffered. Since it will increase your ananda (Bliss) and give greater strength to your sadhana, I say now that so far as sadhana is concerned, you can do it with a keen eye on the ananda that you will ultimately derive.

Make spiritual effort automatic

It was mentioned now by the Principal of the Markandeya Sanskrit College that I was born like Janaka, as the result of some karmasesha (balance of action)! I have no sesha (balance) of karma to work out! I am unaffected by karma, as already mentioned in the Gita. The mahasakthi (supreme power) puts on the cloak of mayasakthi (deluding power) in order to fulfill the purpose of contacting and protecting mankind. I have no desire and, so, no binding karma. It is only you who have the desire, aim, and wish that drag you along various paths. For Me, your ananda is My food, your elation is the swing on which I sit, your activity is My playground.

There are three kinds of karma: the sahaja-karma (natural action) like breathing which has to be done; the vikarma (action done with intent) like the combination of wick and oil in the burning lamp; and the akarma (action done without intention to gain the fruit of consequences), where there is neither oil nor wick and, so, no burning at all. Pranayama (breath control) and yoga (divine communion) must become as natural as breathing and so automatic; that is the summum bonum of spiritual discipline, the state of sahaja‑sadhana (natural spiritual effort).

“I make people mad about God”

Learn from childhood the recitation of the name, prayer, and the practice of silence. Let children contemplate the beauties and the magnificence of God’s handiwork and be filled with mystery and awe. Do not count and calculate what the Puttaparthi Sai Baba gives. I do not give in order to attract you to Me; I give only to fill you with bliss. Showering bliss, that is My task. I do not want you to extol Me; I shall be satisfied if you rely on Me. The mysterious indescribable super‑power has come within reach. It will never engage Itself in any task without fruit.

I bring tears and I wipe tears, someone has sung. Yes, I bring tears of joy into your eyes and I wipe the tears of grief. I am said to make people mad and also to cure madness. Yes, I make them mad about God and about the sadhana needed for that. I cure their madness, which makes people run frantically after fleeting pleasures and fall into fits of joy and grief.

Some persons have said in their ignorance that I am divine sometimes and that I become human after that! They say I alternate between daivathwam (Divinity) and manava-thwam (humanity). Do not believe this. I am always of one thwam (reality) only. The Lord will never undergo a fundamental change; only the external form may change, the essence will be the same. There will not be any decline in value, like becoming human for some time, etc. The Lord will be characterized by unbounded prema (love) and unsullied sweetness.

There are two duties to be done by man; the one along the dharma-marga (path of righteousness) for this world and the one along the brahma-marga (path of supreme reality) for eternal liberation. The path of righteousness is the left hand, and so it can be left. Why, it will leave of itself after the fruit becomes ripe. That is why it is called ‘left’! Leave it, and do not grieve over it. But hold on to the right, the path of supreme reality; for it is ‘right’ that you should do so.

Never hate others or wish evil to them

Finally, you must know how to use the chance that you have got in this life to come in contact with the Lord. The lamp sheds illumination but it can be used for various purposes, good and bad; River Ganga is holy but its waters are used for good as well as bad purposes. How you use this chance depends upon your destiny, luck, and the amount of grace you are able to win. Develop faith, strengthen devotion, and everything will follow. Rama was the representative of sathyam, Krishna of prema, Buddha of dharma. Now it is, of all the four, sathya, dharma, santhi (peace), and prema. Sathya is the dharma, prema gives santhi. I command you: never hate others, or wish evil to them, or talk ill of them. Then only can you attain the santha-swarupam (form of peace).

The Lord alone is aware of the plan, for His is the plan! You see only a part of the play on the stage, so it is all very confused. When the entire story is unfolded, then you will appreciate His plan, and not until then; for that, you have to get behind the screen of maya and contact the director Himself. While you are an actor on the stage reciting your role, you cannot grasp the inner meaning of the entire play which has the ‘world’ as the stage and ‘ages’ as the duration.

If by acting your role well you develop love towards fellow‑actors, that is more important than getting devotion for God. If you acquire santhi, that is a more valuable success than acquiring jnana (spiritual wisdom). For bhakthi (devotion) is the seed of prema and jnana is the seed of santhi. At least, bhakthas (devotees) should behave as if they are all of one family. Take hold of the chance so luckily available for mutual co‑operation in worship and sadhana.

“All the powers I have are for you”

You are My treasure, even if you deny Me. I am your treasure, even if you say no. I shall be affectionate to you and attach Myself to you; I shall take all the trouble to keep My property safe in My custody! That is to say, in the custody of the Lord, by whichever name you may be calling upon Him. All the powers I have are for you; I am just the store, keeping them ready to be given to you whenever you ask for them. I shall give love even if you do not ask, for it is your right to share in it. Some complain that I did not give them this or that, but that is because their vision is limited to the immediate future or the present; whereas I know what is in store and so I have to safeguard them from greater grief. They even blame Me and heap abuses, but I will not give them up. I am not influenced by anybody, remember. There is no one who can change My course or affect My conduct to the slightest extent. I am the Master over all.

But let Me tell you this. I speak harsh words and ‘punish’ some persons because I have prema towards them and I am eager to correct them and make them better instruments. If they were not Mine, I would have given them up and not cared to take any notice of their lapses. I have a right to chastise those who I feel are Mine. I also know that they still value My word and that they will feel sad at My being displeased with them. It is due to your wayward mind that you are easily wafted away from Me by some silly persons’ irresponsible words. I sometimes act as if I keep you at a distance; that is done to reform you quicker. When a stretch of road is being repaired, I go by another detour and I do not use that bit of road for some time. The purpose is to let the repair works proceed more quickly so that I may use that road again.

Peace can be won only the hard way

I have come to set the world right and so I have to collect all those who are ill and treat them in My “hospital” and restore them to sanity, strength, and wisdom and send them back to their stations in life. I must intensify your devotion, reinforce your faith, and rebuild the foundations of your moral nature, so that you can counter temptations with greater confidence. I have come across people who recite a prayer and believe that they are bringing the world nearer to peace with every occasion on which they pray. But, peace can be won only the hard way, by eliminating violence and greed from the hearts of individuals.

There are cases when a villager in Puttaparthi, on getting fever, tries all kinds of quackery till it becomes too serious; and then he runs madly for doctors and drugs to Bukkapatnam and Anantapur and Chikkaballpur and Vellore—until he is forced to sell his land to pay off the loan! If only he had taken resort first to a qualified doctor, all this could have been avoided. So too, do not run after gurus who are themselves suffering from faulty vision and householder’s troubles; do not beg from people who are themselves beggars. Avoid all pride and competition between one another in the spiritual life. Let each one march at his own pace; only the direction and the road have to be God‑wards.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. I
Prasanthi Nilayam, 1960-09-29