Distinguish Between the Permanent and the Transient
The root cause of all difficulties experienced by man is forgetting his spiritual reality and identifying himself with his body. The body is only the vesture of the indwelling Spirit. By immersing himself in body-consciousness, man develops egoism and possessiveness, which result in promoting many bad qualities. He forgets his inherent divinity and fails to use the senses and organs he is endowed with for the purposes of the Divine. Two different characteristics are to be found among men. One characteristic, which is rather common, is for one to delude himself that he is a good man, with many virtues, intelligence, and talents. The other quality, which is rare, is recognition of the good quality in others, their merits, abilities, and good deeds, and appreciation of their ideals. Jesus belonged to the second category. He saw the good qualities in others, rejoiced over their virtues, and shared his joy with others.
… Jesus spent forty days in penance in a forest. During the penance, He prayed to God for three things: One, He should be blessed with the quality of loving everyone equally; Two, He should have the strength and forbearance to suffer patiently any indignity or persecution that He might be subjected to by anyone; Three, He should be enabled to use his God-given body wholly in the service of God. After forty days, Jesus emerged from His penance with the faith that His prayers had been granted.
Without faith in God, all scholarship, wealth, name, and fame are of no avail. He cannot experience bliss. Christ also taught that the body should be used for recognizing the indwelling Spirit and not to protect itself. It is the mark of ignorance to pamper the body and ignore the Spirit within.
If a tiny sugar crystal is mixed in a heap of sand, even the most intelligent person will not be able to separate the sugar from the sand and recover it. But without any extraordinary intelligence, an ant is able to make its way to the particle of sugar in the sand heap and relish its sweetness. The ant is aware of the sweetness of sugar and is able to get at the sugar even in a heap of sand.
Likewise, man should seek to distinguish between the permanent and the transient and realize what is everlasting. Man is endowed with the capacity to discriminate between the permanent and the evanescent but, unfortunately, instead of using this capacity he is caught up in the delusions of the phenomenal world and is wasting his life.
“You must adhere to truth and not succumb to falsehood or unrighteousness. You must face with courage the vicissitudes of life. You must love even your enemies. Universal love transcends all other virtues. Love is the supreme virtue,” declared Jesus.
Jesus taught that God is Love. Instead of recognizing this basic truth, men are allowing hatred, envy, and other evil qualities to pollute their love. Man is gifted with the quality of love not to express it for selfish purposes, but to direct it toward God. Jesus declared that there is nothing great about returning good for good. They should do good even to those who harm them…
Love is the means of developing devotion and achieving liberation apart from other things. Only the love of God is real love. It is the royal road for man to realize the divinity in him and in everyone.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 21
