The Victory of Victories
In His Divine discourse on Mahashivaratri 1977, Swami guides us in realizing that “Awareness of the One ensures unshaken tranquility.” Swami further explains the significance of observing this sacred night with spiritual practice: “In this way darkness can be turned into light . . . This ratri (night) can be sublimated into the heavenly splendor of Shiva.”
The spiritual path is the path of detachment, of sense control, of rigorous mind training. Parvathi sought to win Shiva first by the glamour of physical charm; she had the stratagems of the God of Love, Manmatha, to support Her allurements. However, Shiva reduced the God of Love to ashes and rejected Parvati’s advances. Thereafter She entered an arduous period of ascetic austerities and through them was able to win Shiva’s grace to such an extent that She became the left half of His sacred body. Man must first decide, after vigorous self-examination and continuous inquiry, the path that he wishes to traverse. Moksha (liberation) means the removal of the bonds of ignorance that cloud the truth and create a mirage of untruth. In fact, living is only another name for alternate misery and happiness, hunger and contentment, illness and health, desire and fulfillment. The moment one desire is realized, man reaches out with a new one. He is ever struggling and ever unhappy for he does not seek the eternal, the lasting, the source, and the substance. He is content with the transient, the trivial, and the temporary.
Derive joy from making others happy
Use the body as a chariot for reaching liberation through truth. It is your duty to see that on the four wheels of sathya, dharma, shanti, and prema (truth, righteousness, peace, and love) the chariot moves along the road to the goal. It will move on that road only if it has less luggage in the form of desires, worries, and fears. Desires, worries, and fears are multiplied when man thinks he is the body with all its appurtenances and not the owner of the body. Karma, bhakti, jnana, (action, devotion, wisdom) are the three paths to God. However, through kama (desire), karma is warped; through lobha (greed), bhakti is vitiated; through krodha (anger), jnana is obscured. By means of prema (love) one can easily conquer desire, greed, and anger.
Learn a lesson from the insignificant ant. When an ant spots a lump of sugar, it does not hide the fact and seek to consume it alone. Instead, it collects its friends and kinsmen for it loves to share with others the feast it has found. The crow, a bird that is despised and often outcast, caws repeatedly until its kith and kin gather at the place when it discovers a little heap of food. What is shared is tastier; what is held back is bitter stuff. Life is short and full of misery; do all you can to derive joy from making others happy. If others are miserable, how can you be truly happy? The greatness of man lies in the fact that he can remove the evil in him by conscious effort. In the case of some animals, however, as much as they may be subjected to training and education, their base instincts will only lie low ready to spring up at the slightest provocation. Shivaratri (night of Shiva) declares that spending one full night in fast and in vigil is symbolic of conquering the senses by sleeplessly watching their antics and preventing them from inflicting harm. In this way, darkness can be turned into light; shavam (corpse) can be sublimated into Shivam (God).
There is a purpose behind all activities of the Divine
Why should man, endowed with extra sensitivity to share sorrow and joy with others, be born in this changing world of time and space? Nothing that is born can escape death; nothing that is built can withstand disintegration. Why then has man been sent onto this stage of fleeting experiences? There is a purpose behind all the activities of the Divine. Man must manifest the Divine in him and lead all living beings in that adventure. He has to liberate himself by his efforts and liberate all life by his example. He must become free and secure in his Source. This is what is called moksha (liberation). He is liberated from littleness into vastness, from bondage to boundless bliss.
The ego alloy enters man only when he is misled by the apparent diversity to posit multiplicity in creation. The Reality that is misconstrued in the dull dusk of ajnana (ignorance), is God. To see through the illusion that projects many where there is only the One is the purpose of all spiritual sadhana [spiritual effort]. If even after years ofspiritual discipline, which every religion prescribes, the sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) continues to see differences, distinctions, and diversities, we can conclude that he has a long way to go before he can fulfill the aim of this human existence.
Awareness of the One ensures unshaken tranquility. When the One is realized there can be no fear, for how can the One fear itself? There can also be no desire, for when there is no second, how can the desire to possess arise? Neither can there be envy, hatred, greed, pride, or any of the evil passions that torment man and allow him no peace. The awareness of the One ensures unshaken tranquility, Prasanthi. The One (call it God, Paramatma, Brahman, or the Universal Absolute), is all love, knowledge, wisdom, sweetness. Raso vai sah (He is sweetness) say the Upanishads. How can there be any bitterness in Him or in man’s real nature when man is manifested by Him, from Him, and for Him.
A goat cannot be born of a tigress. What emanates from God must be Divine. Hence the appellation, amritasya putraha (child of immortality) is given to man in the Upanishads. Hence the atma (soul) in him, which has come from the Paramatma (Supreme Self), is also immortal. Sparks emanating from the flames of fire have the same incendiary quality as the fire. The body is a temple of God and has been organized for the sake of the God who installed Himself therein. Until man realizes the God within and comes to understand that He is the mystery that evaded him while he wandered in the wilderness of the world, he must attend assiduously to the upkeep of the body.
Strive, yearn, and struggle to merge with the Source
He can earn that awareness only by leashing the wayward mind and directing it inward. Shivaratri is a reminder to all mankind of the goal of mind control. The moon is the presiding deity of the mind according to the sages; even modern science has discovered a subtle relationship between the mind and the phases of the moon. In the dark half of the month the moon is seen less and less as the days move forward; symbolically it may be inferred that the mind, too, is undergoing a process of decline. This is the 14th night and there is little left of the moon to influence the earth or the mind of man. A spurt of spiritual effort by way of vigil, bhajan (congregational chanting) and fasting done on this ratri (night), or period of ignorance, will result in the extinction of the mind and the conquest of all the tendencies and attitudes in which it has entangled man. This ratri can be sublimated into the heavenly splendor of Shiva.
Strive—that is your duty. Yearn—that is your task. Struggle—that is your assignment. If only you do these sincerely and steadily, God cannot long keep back the reward of realization. The river strives, yearns, and struggles to merge with the sea from which it came. It has that consummation ever awake in its consciousness. It attempts to make itself pure and pellucid so that it may be welcomed by its source. It overcomes every obstacle of terrain in order to journey successfully toward its goal. Man, too, must utilize all the physical, mental, moral, intellectual, and material endowments that God has granted him so that he may journey to the goal of realization.
Love can never entertain the idea of revenge
Do not be misled by the belief of the existence of two entities: this world and the next, here and hereafter. Realize the hereafter here; this world is interwoven with the next. There is no truth in the disparity between the secular and the spiritual, the godly and the materialistic, the heavenly and the earthly. In all the worlds, it is His command that reigns. Not even a blade of grass can quiver without His will guiding the wind and agitating its position. The bulb of life is illumined by the current coming from the eternal, universal powerhouse, kaivalya [solitude], working according to His laws and drawn through the cable of love.
When that prema (love) is tainted by selfishness, it cannot illumine at all. Self is lovelessness; love is selflessness. Self gets and forgets; love gives and forgives. Love can never entertain the idea of revenge for it sees the oneness of all. When the tongue is hurt by the teeth, do you seek vengeance against the teeth? No, for they both belong to you and are integral parts of your body.
So, too, when some other person insults you or inflicts pain, allow wisdom to have mastery over you. Discover the truth and do not rush to conclusions; always keep love as your guide.
Of course, it is a difficult task but not beyond the capacity of man. A task that can be finished without struggle and sustained effort is not something to be proud of. It is the difficult task that provides the challenge and brings forth the best and highest in man. When we embark upon this task with ardor and faith, it will be sweeter. Once victory is achieved, the rest will be added unto you.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 13
The Gopis [mailkmaids] knew the secret of spiritual surrender. Their worship was not tainted by any bargaining spirit. For those who bargain and crave for profit, reverence is equated with returns; they sell homage at so much per unit of satisfactory response. They are like paid servants, clamoring for wages, overtime allowance, bonus, etc. They calculate how much they are able to extract for the service rendered.
On the other hand, be a member of the family, a kinsman, a friend. Feel that you are the Lord’s own. Then the work will not tire you; it will be done better and yield more satisfaction. And the wages? The master will maintain you in bliss. What more can anyone aspire for?
~Sri Sathya Sai
