Stoop to Serve
In the following discourse delivered nearly four decades back, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba explains the inner efficacy of worshipping Ganesha, and the role of selfless service. This year Vinayaka Chaturthi [for worshipping Ganesha] falls on September 11.
Vinayaka Chaturthi is the name of the festival celebrated today all over the country, from the Himalayas to the Cape, and also wherever the people of this country live who owe allegiance to its culture. Vinayaka, Ganesha, Ganapati, or Vighneshwara—all refer to the elephant‑God who is popular among the young and the old. He is worshipped as the very first deity before starting any ceremony, yaga [fire sacrifice], fast, or pilgrimage. He is the Lord of the Ganas, or Divine forces, inside and outside the human body. He is the Lord who masters and overwhelms vighna (obstacle), however imminent or eminent. This is the natural effect of the fact that Ganapati is the God of intelligence, vidya or buddhi (learning or intellect).
Ganapati is a God revered in tantric (ritualistic) lore, and also by various Vedic mantras [formulas from the Hindu Scriptures]. The elephant is proverbially the most intelligent among the mammals and is vegetarian, indicating its satwic (balanced or pure) nature. Ganapati has the head of the elephant, for it indicates the intelligence through which obstacles in the path of secular and spiritual achievement can be overcome.
There is a popular verse used on most occasions when Ganapati is invoked. It mentions the various attributes of this God: Shuklambaradharam (wearing a white vesture) is the first attribute that is the symbol of purity; ambara also means the sky that is the akasa [space] of the heart. Ganapati is pure, having universal love and compassion. Vishnu is the second attribute ascribed to Him. Vishnu means One who is present everywhere, and at all times.
The third adjective used is Shashivarnam [shining like the moon] is about the complexion that is glowing with spiritual splendor, with the majesty of spiritual attainments, achievements, and potentialities. These are also called Vibhutis because in the [Bhagawad] Gita Krishna says that wherever you see power, glory, and majesty (vibhuti), know that it is Mine.
Ganesha is Om personified
Ganesha is bathed in His Divine glory; that is the significance of the attribute shashivarnam. Chathurbhuja [with four arms] is the next denotation. This means that apart from two visible hands, He has two invisible hands that are available for the two divine uses of blessing the devotee and guarding him from danger. The last descriptive attribute is: Prasannavadanam (of graceful countenance). The countenance depicts the inner calm, happiness and balance, inner grace and mercy, plus the consciousness of strength and sovereignty.
Without intelligent discrimination, no skill or strength can be profitably used. One must know how fire, for example, or the electric current, has to be used, and how far one can deal with it as an instrument for one’s needs. The senses of man are also like fire; they have to be kept under constant vigil and control.
No worship can succeed unless the heart is pure and the senses are mastered. Ganesha is the God who helps overcome obstacles; but He will create obstacles when good endeavor is obstructed by bad influences. He will clear the path for the sincere sadhaka (spiritual aspirant). He is prasannavadanam when you pray to Him for good ends, but He will not be that when you seek His help for nefarious stratagems. He is pranava‑swarupa, the Om personified; so He is auspiciousness itself.
When God is adored and man is injured, there can be no auspiciousness in such deeds. Man is God encased in human form; he is the Divine in that form and with that name. If the anu (a part) is neglected, how can the ghana (whole) be gained? If the paisa [Indian penny] is discarded, how can the rupee [Indian currency] be gained? It all begins with a single paisa; another added to it makes two, and 98 again make the lump a rupee. Man is the one; start revering him, then, you can gain the grace of the invisible God; neglect the visible paisa and you lose the invisible rupee!
Man’s uncontrolled desire
Man loses his status of humanness through acts that shame even the beasts. He does not strive toward revealing and manifesting his latent divinity. There is no bigger failing than sliding back into the animal from which he has arisen. If he hangs on to his human attributes and capacities, that itself is laudatory. A formidable list can be made of the inadequacies and defects of man, but the basic defect is greed, an uncontrolled desire that constantly clamors for more as a result of the ceaseless prompting of the senses.
Ravana [the demon king who abducted Lord Rama’s wife Sita] destroyed himself afflicted by his greed. The very Gods were his chamberlains; such was the dread his austerity invoked, and such was the reward for his sadhana. But he was not content. The flames of his lust rose as fast as they were fed. Dhritarashtra, the father of the Kauravas [from Mahabharata], was carried away by the greedy plans of his sons, which resulted in his losing all of his 100 sons in the ensuing battle with the Pandavas, without a single survivor.
Let your heart pant for God
While moving through the dense jungle of life on earth, wading through the thick darkness of ajnana (ignorance) of your origin and destination, as the six dacoits—lust, anger, greed, attachment, egoism, and hate—pounce upon you, you can save yourself only by means of the light shed by jnana (spiritual wisdom) and wielding the weapon of bhakti (devotion).
The light of wisdom can shine bright and far only when pure love—a love that does not demand any requital—is firm in the heart. He, who loves for the sake of some requital or for being loved in return is a coolie [laborer] with his eye glued to the wages.
You only love yourself for there is only you in everyone. Soham means He is I. Whoever you injure, it is you that suffers; whomever you cheat, it is you who is cheated. If you do not do your duty to the best of your ability and intelligence and to the full satisfaction of your own conscience, you are cheating only yourself. I know that lecturers in the colleges are required to teach only eight classes of an hour each per week. However, they do not put the remaining hours to any beneficial use.
Service, the utilization of time and skill for the upliftment of society, is the highest form of adoration that God rewards with His grace. You get the actual experience of sat‑chit‑ananda [truth-existence-bliss] through service; for through service, you conquer egoism and convince yourselves of the unity that underlies creation. Everyone, be he an office‑bearer or not, must gird up his loins and stoop to work. The body must be sanctified through karma (good action) and the mind through dhyana (meditation). In all parts of the country, these [Sathya Sai organizational] units must uphold the ideals and practice them so that they can inspire others.
Bhajan must be a felt experience. Do not sing with one eye on the song that checks the effect on the listeners, and te other on the effect it makes on God. Let your heart pant for God, then the raga (musical tune) and tala (musical beat) will automatically be pleasant and correct. Sincerity will blot out all errors in raga and tala. Do not allow even one vice like conceit to enter and ensconce itself in your heart. All the water in a well becomes undrinkable if the corpse of even a single dead frog floats on it. A 100 live frogs will not render it undrinkable, but a single dead one will.
Life has to be lived through the channel flanked by the embankments that slow the raging flood and direct it into useful fields. Na shreyo niyamam vina—There is no progress without rules and restrictions. Blessed are they who obey the commandments for they will be rewarded.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 11
