The Sadguru Speaks

The path to God lies within—in overcoming animalistic tendencies and in understanding the oneness of the universal and individual self and nature. In this discourse delivered on the holy day dedicated to the worship of spiritual teachers, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba emphasizes the need to find the guru who will transmit this knowledge.

The macrocosms and the microcosms—the brahmanda and the pindanda—the universal and the individual, all arise from the One truth. Though they are manifestations and emergents from that truth, it [the truth] is not affected by either. It is known as Brahmam. When this unmodifiable, transcendent, and immanent Brahmam decides on ‘becoming’  instead of being just ‘being’, it is best designated as “God,” “Easwara,” or “Almighty”. The divine basis of everything is the spiritual absolute called Paramatma or Overself. It is also the ground, the base, the core, and the reality of man.

Despite “becoming,” which is only an illusion imposing multiplicity on the One being, it remains One. So long as inquiry is postponed, only the multiplicity is cognized. The multiplicity is neither real nor unreal. It is relatively, temporarily, and pragmatically real; It is mithya [untruth] not sathya [truth] but an amalgam of sathya and asathya—apparently real but fundamentally unreal; it is real for most practical purposes, but unreal when the basic nature is unraveled. Mithya is the mixture of sat and asat, the `knowledge’ of the serpent that is negated when the knowledge of the rope is won.

The clouds appear to be stuck to the sky; so, too, maya (the tendency to conclude that the senses tell us the truth or to project our preferences and prejudices on to the world around us) gives us an untrue picture of Brahmam. It makes us believe that the world is real. Its impact warps our reasoning process, our sensory impressions, and our views about God, creation, and man. It creates a sense of diversity that tantalizes and deceives.

The basic truth, upon which maya projects its kaleidoscope, is described by seers as sat-chit-ananda [truth, awareness, and bliss]. This does not allow us to infer that Brahmam has three attributes and three only for It exists beyond time and space; It knows and can be known; It is the source and acme of bliss. They are not three distinct characteristics; instead, they indicate the one on which the three can be posited by experience and not by words that can only recoil before that Godhead.

We cannot assert that Brahmam belongs to a class of genes. It cannot be defined by qualities like the three, for It is without qualities. It cannot be described as performing a specific activity for It has no activity. Activity can come only through desire. Nor can It be explained in terms of relationship with other entities for It is the One without a second.

Maya is essentially the Divine Will that was the catalyst for the manifestation of the cosmos (ekoham, bahusyam—I am One; I will be many). Maya inheres in every being, and in every activity of that being. It is evident through the three modes and moods of that will—the satvic [the calm and contented mood], the rajasic [the potent passionate mood], and the tamasic [the inert, slothful, sluggish mood].

When maya prompts us into the satvic mood of that will, we become progressive seekers of jnana or the higher wisdom that reveals the unity. When we are overwhelmed by the rajasic quality of that will, we are deluded into the pursuit of worldly victories, ephemeral wealth, and renown. The tamasic seeks the quickest and easiest ways of happy living. These are the reflections in our minds of the basic modes of the will that Brahmam assumes when it is moved by the primal urge to express Itself. The [primary] facets of that will are called jnana shakti [that which is motivated by wisdom], ichcha shakti [motivated by desires], and kriya shakti [motivated by actions].

The three modes affect beings and things in various proportions and permutations; and so we have all the variety and diversity of the objective world. Atma [individual and universal self], is One and One only. The jivatma [individual self] and the Paramatma [universal self] are One and indivisible.

Worldwide, philosophers have sought to discover the truth about God, the objective world, man and their mutual relationship. Maya is the will that causes all three. It is a clear flawless mirror; when the satvic nature is reflected in that will or mirror, God (Easwara, the creator or providence) results. When the rajasic nature is reflected, the jiva or individualized self results. It [jiva] is ever anxious to grow, grab, survive, and be secure. When tamasic nature is reflected in that will, matter or the objective world is the result.

Indeed, all three are Paramatma; and, they derive their reality as Its reflections. When undergoing reflection, they attain different forms and combinations of characteristics. The One becomes many; every one of the many is real only because of the One within it. Maya, too, is the component of the One; by the emphasis on that component, the One transformed Itself into the many.

We now know that maya is like a mirror. The mirror reflects within itself all that is before it. The convexity or concavity of the mirror or the covering of dust it might have collected will certainly misshape the image, but they cannot misshape or affect the objects reflected. Easwara, prakriti, and jiva are all images of Paramatma in the mirror of maya, warped by the guna [qualities] that tarnishes the surface of the mirror. It is the mirror that pictures the One as many; the One is ever One.

The One is comprehensive of all this. So, it has no wants, desires, or activity to realize any thing. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, “Na me Partha asthi Karthavyam, trishu lokeshu Kinchana: Partha! There is nothing I have to do in any of the three worlds.” He has willed the world as His sport. He has laid down that every deed must have its consequence. He is the dispenser of the consequences, but He is not involved in the deeds.

Therefore, it is clear that neither the personalized God, nor the individualized selves, nor the objective world can ever succeed in discovering the beginning of the maya that brought them into existence and started the chain of “acts-consequence-acts.”

Nevertheless, one can succeed in knowing when maya will end. When will it end? When the objective world is ignored, set aside, denied, or discovered to be immanent with the Divine, the jiva is no more; when the jiva is no more, the Easwara is superfluous and disappears. And, when the Easwara is faded out, the Brahman alone is. Where there is no child, how can a person known as mother exist? It is a word with no significance. When a personalized God, a personality separate from the rest called jiva, and the mental creation of that jiva called prakriti or the objective world are non-existent in the developed consciousness of man, then maya, the progenitor of all three, cannot persist.

The one sky enclosed in a pot or a house will appear limited and small. But once released from the container or upadhi, it merges in the infinite sky outside the bounds. The sky is not reduced, lessened, or transformed in shape or quality by being held in the upadhi. So, too, the one atma that pervades the bodies and lives of billions of beings does not get affected by the upadhis to which it adheres for a limited period.

Many people seek to know the origin of the cosmos. How did it come into being? They advance various theories and lay down many opposing hypotheses. But there is no need for seekers to beat around the bush so much. For instance, people want to know what causes a dream, and how it comes into being. The right answer is: sleep is the cause. So, too, the cosmos is caused by maya.

Further, the cosmos is ephemeral and as vagarious as a dream. It is difficult to discover laws that explain or govern its infinite mysteries. It is in fact more fruitful to seek ways to benefit and learn from the cosmos than inquire into its mysteries. You are part of creation. So try to understand yourself and the goal you have to keep in view.

The individual has ‘the emotional, passionate, or active qualities’ in his composition. The quality that is inferior is the tamasic, and that which is superior is satvic. Easwara is the satvic reflection of Brahmam. Therefore, man must strive to rise higher into the satvic realm. He must be ever vigilant not to slide down into the lower realm—the tamasic realm of matter and material pursuits. The guru [spiritual teacher] has to hold this ideal before the pupil and guide him toward it. He must encourage him to become aware of the God within man.

The word adhyatmic or spiritual is used often by aspirants and preceptors. What exactly is implied by adhyatmic? Is bhajan or congregational prayer adhyatmic? Or, does it involve japa [chanting of holy name] or dhyana [meditation]? Or, does it denote religious rituals and ceremonies? Or does it extend to pilgrimages to holy places? No, no. These are only beneficial acts. Adhyatmic basically relates to two progressive achievements or at the very least sincere attempts toward those two achievements: elimination of the animal traits still clinging to man, and unification with the Divine.

Consider how little man has succeeded in overcoming base characteristics of lust, greed, and even hate  as he spends time, money, and energy for these so-called adhyatmic exercises. What progress does he make by listening to exponents of texts? Has man become any less bestial? This is the inquiry and assessment for man to be engaged in; but this is the very task he ignores by him at present.

In reality, the sadhanas [spiritual disciplines] adopted now promote only pride and pompous display, envy, and egoism. They do not uproot them in the least. People proceed to the house of God as pilgrims, but pray to Him for more money, fame, and power. In fact, their thoughts, words, and deeds only center on these transitory and trivial tokens of worldly success. The world and all its trappings bespeak the tamasic guna. They can never raise man to the higher level of the satvic.

The guru must exhort the individual self to realize the universal self. On this Gurupoornima [the day dedicated to the worship of the guru], we must revere gurus who have consummated liberation for many. They are the highest gurus.

There are other types of gurus in the world as well. There is the guru who gives you a mantra [holy name], tells you its potentialities, and directs you to repeat it sincerely and steadily. He is the deeksha guru; the initiation into the mantra is called deeksha in ritualistic parlance. He assumes that his duty ends with the gift of the mantra and the command to use it with conviction and care. He does not worry about directing the pupil to master his senses and guiding him to victory. For the pupil, the mantra is a formula to be repeated as a stereo or tape-recorder does. He might even know that it is a precious gift. But without the sadhana of self-improvement, the gift is not of much value.

The second type of guru recommends the worship of one or other of the forms of God. Another set of gurus teaches lessons destined to change your consciousness. These are the teacher gurus. But all these types ignore the One and divert attention, adoration, and devotion to the many, which are only relatively real. They do not lay down methods by which purity and clarity can be won. They are afraid to antagonize the animal urges in their pupils. Their teachings fill the head, but do not thrill the heart. They assert that God, nature, and man are distinct, whereas in reality they are all based on the play of maya on Brahmam. They deal with the subsidiary, not with the primary; the diversity and not the unity; the trivial and not the true.

Indeed, the primary is Brahmam, which when reflected in maya appears to be three distinct entities—God, nature, and man. These three are merely the unreal or false images of the One. And the maya, too, is an aspect of Brahmam. “Mama maya”: “My maya” says Krishna [an Avatar] in the [Bhagavad] Gita. So, when we merge in Brahmam or win the grace of the Lord, His maya cannot exist for us.

Alternately, one can be rid of maya if one can discard the three gunas from his make-up. The satva guna, too, has to be transcended. Why? The Gita directs that even the eagerness to be liberated is a bond. One is fundamentally free; bondage is an illusion. So, the desire to loosen the bond is the result of ignorance. Krishna says, “Arjuna! Become free from the three gunas.” In truth, the word `guna’ means `a rope’, and all three do bind the jivi with desire. Liberation means liberation from delusive attachment or moha. “Moha kshaya”means decline in the desire caused by attachment to sensory pleasure. The Yadavas [cowherds that Krishna grew up with] were attached to Krishna through a sense of belonging to Him. They felt that they were His kinsmen. This feeling, however, did not save them from total destruction.

On the other hand, the gopis [cowherd women devoted to Krishna] felt that they were His, not that He was theirs. So they were recipients of His grace. When the ideas of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ disappear, the remaining thought is “Thee” and “Thine.” Man then finds only “Thee” everywhere; he achieves the vision of unity.

Today, thousands of you have gathered here because it is Gurupoornima, the “full moon of the guru.” The fully worthwhile guru must facilitate that vision of unity without the discords and divisions that `mine’ and ‘thine’ engender in the mind of man. Sage Vyasa was such a guru.

This day is also called Vyasa-poornima so that mankind can offer him the gratitude he deserves. “Vyaso Narayano Harih: Vyasa is the Lord, Narayana, and Hari.” Narayana or the Lord Himself came as Vyasa to collate the Vedas [Hindu scriptures], and teach man the path toward God, away from the animal from which he has risen. He [Vyasa] has made the path plain and easy to climb.

However, the tragedy is that man has misinterpreted or missed the true path to God. He has stuck to his outmoded beliefs in the efficacy of worldly, material, and transitory rituals and rites, which weaken his mind through fear or pride. The true guru should keep away from such weakening tactics; he should impart the strengthening awareness of the atma. Only then should he be revered as a guru. When there is the clear call from the higher regions of the satvic, why should the guru remain deaf to that call and grovel in the regions of tamas and rajas? Why must he be content to keep his pupils in those lower levels?

However, the trend among the guides and seekers in the spiritual field is to avoid the heights and wander in the valleys. Consider for a moment how long the worldly triumphs will last. They are but the play of scintillating name and form superimposed on the Divine that is the core of every being and thing.

Instead, earn the vision that sees the Divine that inheres in all. We are not troubled when something is good, but we are disturbed when it is bad. This is because goodness is natural, and evil is the aberration. We are worried and alarmed when someone slides into wrong ways or is in pain or sunk in sorrow. This is because nature plans us to be right, happy, and ever joyful. It is a pity man has failed to understand this truth.

Embodiments of the Divine atma! Really speaking, man is encased atma. He is the repository of the infinite, ever-full, one indivisible atma. Man, at best, remains as man, satisfied with the rajoguna dominant in him. Many are content with their dealings with the objective, tamasic world. Their ideal is only to amass materials and respect material needs. Examine yourselves and discover at which level you are by analyzing your desires and activities, and after arriving at the conclusion, you can yourselves sublimate your thoughts and urges.

These revised urges must have a beneficial impact on your activities, for it is through activities that gunas are given up or gained. Activities cause birth and death; they fill up the years of life. They underlie good and evil, joy and grief.

However, man is unaware of the activities that will lighten the burden of lives and wipe off the cycle of repeated lives, and also illumine the atma. It is the atma that illumines all, but man is in the dark about its existence. Just as everything sweet tastes sweet on account of the sugar it contains, all things and objects are cognized because the atma is the basis of cognition. It [atma] is the universal witness; it is not affected in the least. It is the Sun that activates all, but never gets activated itself. You, too, must establish yourself in the position of the witness.

The [ancient] sages have laid down methods by which man can attain the status of witness. Dhyana [meditation] is the most important of these. It is the penultimate of eight steps, the last one being samadhi, which grants the wisdom to be completely unaffected. The sixth stage is dharana. Dharana [concentration] is the stage when japa, puja [formal worship] and other practices are engaged in to prepare the mind for dhyana.

Dhyana is not merely about sitting erect and silent; nor is it the absence of any movement. It is the merging of all your thoughts and feelings in God. Without the mind becoming dissolved in God, dhyana cannot succeed. The Gita describes genuine dhyana as: “Those persons who adore Me, without any other thought and feeling.” And Krishna has assured such persons that He would Himself carry their burden and be by their side, guiding and guarding. Persons adept in this dhyana are very rare; most people go through the external exercises only. So they are unable to win grace.

Dhyana is interrupted in most cases by worry and anxiety regarding one’s kith and kin, and one’s earnings of riches. But since all are manifestations of the maya that is natural to Brahmam or Paramatma, the Paramatma or Lord in which you take refuge will certainly free you from fear. Why? Each one of you is the atma and nothing else. This is the reason why I began this discourse by addressing you as “Divyatma-swarupas [Embodiments of divinity]!” Your bodies, too, are expressions of the atma. Your personality, individuality, mind, and intellect—all are manifestations of the atma thatis the prime mover of your life.

This teaching is being propagated since ages by the sages of this land [India]. The seers who saw the validity of this vision encouraged inquiry and experimentation into the process of dhyana and sadhana.

Vyasa sympathized with mankind caught in the coils of do’s and don’ts, of success and failure, and desire and despair. He demarcated many a path to help lead man to fulfillment. The fulfillment consists in uprooting the animality that lurks in man and reaching out to the divinity that is his essence.

We find individuals and groups trudging to Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Haridwar [religious places in India] in search of peace and prosperity. They go to Tirupati and Kashi. Have they jettisoned at least a few of their animal propensities? That is the test; that is the justification for the money they have spent, the troubles they have undergone, and the time they have spent.

When the animalistic tendencies are conquered, and Godhead is felt within reach, man can assert that all these pilgrim spots are within him. He has no need to travel from temple to temple. Without achieving this victory, you have no right to claim that you are a devotee of Rama, or of Krishna, or of any other incarnation of the Lord.

This is real adhyatmic or spiritual progress. I bless you that you may all earn it.

Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Sept. 1979