The Purpose of Human Life

You say atma, atma! What is this atma? Earlier, the sages had seen atma as perfect love. But atma is higher than perfect love. There are four objectives of life for every man. They are dharma (duty), artha (wealth), kama (desires), and moksha (liberation). Man ends his life longing for these four objectives of life. However, there is also a fifth purpose for life. That is perfect love. With that perfect love, we can attain liberation and merge with God. Without love, you cannot achieve anything. Love is the primary cause for everything. Love is life. Love is God. Live in Love. Start the day with love, fill the day with love, spend the day with love and end the day with love. This is the way to God. We should spend our day with love.

Today, all our days, hours and minutes have become polluted. How can we attain God then? You have great desires, but your actions are mean. It is impossible to obtain God while indulging in bad actions. We have to develop pure love. We should remove all the dirt in our love. Where does the dirt come from? It is born from the tree of attachment. The fruit of love has the skin of worldly desire covering it. Without removing this skin, and taking out the seeds of worldly desires, we cannot enjoy the juice within. So, first remove the skin of desires by nurturing detachment.

Do not lose the golden opportunity–now
What is detachment? Give up that which is not useful to you. You have to take only the essence of everything that is good. But, today, students run after futile things all the time. They do not entertain useful thoughts at all. If we really find out for ourselves where we are, we are in a zero state. We are not able to carry out even a small job by ourselves.

It is only because of Swami’s grace that you all are here, very near to Me. It is not because of your deeds or your parents’ love for Swami. It is only because of Swami’s grace. You should realize what good fortune you all are having. You should inquire within yourself as to what could be the reason for attaining God so easily. It is only because of the merit earned for many years. Now that you have obtained Sai, you should ensure that you never lose Him.

If you are not aware of this, you are spoiling your own fortune. It will turn into misfortune, resulting out of your bad actions. Whatever you have attained, protect it well. How can you protect it? Only through love can you safeguard it. There is nothing higher than love. In ancient days, sages undertook penance in dense forests, where wild animals moved freely. They did not carry any weapons with them. They had only one weapon—love. Because of this weapon, they could develop kinship with the animals and lived happily. If you have this weapon of love, you can achieve anything.

People say bombs are more powerful. Hydrogen bomb or Oxygen bomb, no bomb is more powerful than love. In this world, no power is higher than love. With love, you can even reach God. So, develop love. Because of your petty desires, you are losing the very Divine power. You do not understand now. Gradually as you grow up, you will realize it. What is the use of worrying at that time? This is the right time. Think for yourself. This is the golden age. Only you can safeguard this holy age. Even if one second is lost, it will not come back. Past is past. Forget the past. Do not worry about the future. Time is only in the present. Not ordinary present, but ‘Omnipresent.’ Look after this ‘present’ carefully. If you save this present, you can achieve whatever you want.

Hanuman’s devotion
Human mind is a monkey mind. Not an ordinary monkey, but a mad monkey. How can mad monkeys attain God? However, we must remember that even monkeys served Rama. They kept on chanting the name of Rama. We know that Sita had to undergo many hardships. Hanuman is a great devotee who served Sita and Rama as his own parents. All the time, he was thinking of Rama.

During Rama’s coronation, when the distribution of gifts was going on, Sita said, “Hanuman is the jewel among the monkeys who helped Rama accomplish His mission. He is a great servant of Rama, who entered the mighty kingdom of Lanka repeatedly and attained success.” She praised Hanuman in this manner and asked Rama to give him some reward. Rama said, “Sita, I know the essence of love contained in the devotion of Hanuman. He does not want any reward except Me.” Saying this, Rama went to Hanuman and said to him, “Hanuman, the service you rendered to Me is priceless. I offer Myself to you.” He hugged Hanuman saying, “I have given Myself to you”. But in that big gathering, Sita thought that there should be some material reward given to Hanuman. She presented him with a valuable chain of pearls given by her father, Janaka. As soon he received the chain, the mischievous Hanuman started biting all the pearls apart and threw them away after searching inside.

Why did Hanuman behave like this? Was he unaware of the value of those precious pearls? When Sita asked the reason for his act, Hanuman replied, “Mother Sita! My whole body is filled with the name of Rama. Even though it is a priceless pearl, it did not have the name of Rama within. So, I threw it away.” Then Sita said, “You have not left your monkey acts. How can you see the name of Rama in pearls?” Hanuman picked one hair from his body and kept it near her ear. Mother Sita could hear Rama’s name echo in it. Hanuman had filled his body with the name of Rama. ‘Antar Bahischa Tat Sarvam Vyapya Narayana Sthitaha.’ (The Supreme Lord Narayana is both within and without. He pervades the entire space.)

Wherever you see, you can find love. This principle of love brought Hanuman near to Rama. Hanuman felt proud in that court. It was pride filled with love, of Divinity, and of purity. It was pride full of humility. From that day onward, wherever Rama was, Hanuman would be there beside Him. He was a great devotee. How could he fill himself with the name of Rama from top to toe? It is possible only with love. The only thing that achieves everything else is love. A heart without love is equal to a stone. What kind of love do we have today? We have worldly love that is physical, ordinary, individual, temporary, and untrue. How can you attain God with such love? You should obtain Him with eternal love.

There is only one ‘I’
Be broad in loving. Only then, can you merge in God. As you blow air into a balloon, it becomes bigger and bigger and bursts after some time. Then the limited air in the balloon mixes with the outside air, which is everywhere. Body is like a balloon. The Divinity exists in it, but in a small quantity. You must expand your love. You should have expansion of love, not contraction of love. When you nurture this love it widens, and the body attachment bursts off like the balloon. When you attain detachment, you merge with the Self. Remove your body consciousness. Less luggage, more comfort. Then only will you have pure feelings. How can you have Divine feelings if you drown yourself in worldly desires and forget your own reality? You should ask yourself, “Who am I?” If you know the answer to this question, you can definitely recognize the principle of ‘I’ in this world. It is not just a single ‘I’ principle. You think you are ‘I’. The next person also thinks he is ‘I’. However, there is only one ‘I’. If you recognize this ‘I’ principle, you can definitely recognize the unity in diversity.

Therefore, we should develop pure thoughts in our hearts. When you are purified, you can merge with the principle of Divine. Before you drink water, you clean the tumbler. First, clean the vessel of your heart. Install God in your heart. Then, you can really feel the Divinity in yourself. Where is God? He is everywhere. He is also present in your pure heart. All the time, let your heart contemplate on the Divine. Love all. ‘Adveshta Sarvabhootanam’ (Do not hate anyone). So, love all. Through love, you can attain God. You can see God, whom you could have never seen before. The form of the Divine is love. This is the real principle of God. Students! How much ever you study, how many ever degrees you may acquire, it is of no use. This secular education is of little value. For the sake of the stomach, it may find you a job. However, is filling the stomach that significant? Even animals are filling their stomachs. What education do they have?

The real education is that of love. That is the pure education. That is the highest education. That is immortal education. That is the real education. It is in the form of nectar. Krishna declared in the Gita, “Son! Listen to the truth. You are ‘Amrutasya Putra’ (son of immortality).” We must live up to that title. What is the use of saying that you belong to so and so? You should be able to tell, “I am the son of immortality.” But how can you become one? What is the way to immortality? Removal of immorality is the only way to immortality. That is the true principle. Give up all the bad qualities. Cultivate love. If you forget this love, you have only the burial ground left with you. If you have love, you will become immortal.

Swami is not angry with you!
Sometimes, I enquire about the feelings in the hearts of students. I do not have hatred or anger against anyone. However, some students are not able to understand this. They still think Swami is angry with them. Primary school children are better than these students. If you really know Swami’s love, can you have these doubts? Do you think Swami has anger? However, sometimes to transform your mind, He will use some harsh words. It is only because you are making your hearts like hard stones.

In order to set this right, proper punishment should be given. You can cut butter with a finger. But iron can be broken only with a hammer. As is the feeling, so is the outcome. So depending on your feelings you will get the treatment. Swami is not angry with you. He loves all. Every man should be full of love. He should become the embodiment of love. We sing, “Prema Mudita Manase Kaho, Rama Rama Ram.” What does it mean? Fill your mind with love and chant Rama’s name. We should speak with love, live in love. If you have real love, Swami Himself will come to you. But you do not have such love. You only have the useless love. Even a Neem [also called Margosa] fruit when it becomes ripe tastes sweet. But that is not the real sweet. You should have that kind of love which comes from the heart. You should never speak wrong things. You should have the feeling that you are the child of immortality. Only then you become a real human being.

Be ready to sacrifice anything for God
In Upanishads [scriptures], it is said that nothing is higher than God’s love. Once upon a time, a sage was angry with God as he thought that God never responded to his prayers. He went on criticizing God. God kept quiet as He knew his state of mind. He did not say anything. In later stages, the sage was born as a pig. He was moving freely in the fields. He got another pig as his wife. A pig will get only another pig as a wife! Both the pigs got married and lived together. They gave birth to 10 to 12 piglets. They started enjoying their lives in a dirty pond.

God was compassionate toward them. He felt sad that such a person, who was always with Him, was in such a condition. He wanted to make the sage realize the truth. So, the Almighty God took the form of a sage and went to that sage who was living in the form of a pig. He said, “O son! At least now realize yourself and come with Me. I will transform you. Let us go to Vaikuntha. Let us go to Kailasha. Let us go to Heaven.” The sage now in the form of a pig said, “I don’t want Your Kailasha or Vaikuntha. My wife and children are Kailasha for me.” It was his fate that he lost the grace that was showered upon him. We should not be like this. We should be ready to give up anything for God.

‘Na Karmana Na Prajaya Dhanena Tyagenaike Amrutatva Manashuh’
[Neither by action, nor by progeny, nor by wealth, but only by sacrifice can one attain immortality.]

If you sacrifice, you can attain God. This is the easiest path to God. Still, you find it difficult to follow it. You do bhajans, singing them with Raga (tune) and Taala (tempo). But what is the use of bhajans if you do not think of God while singing? You should have divine feelings while you are singing bhajans. When you have divine feelings, everything looks divine. Raga and Taala also will follow it. If your mind is centered on God while singing, Taala will follow automatically. Everyone should try in his or her own way to reach God like this.

Source: Discourse 5, My Dear Students, Volume 1