Two Paths: pravritti marga (the path of involvement) or the nivritti marga (the path of non-involvement)
An able monarch will have his ministers under control; he will direct them along proper lines and maintain the peace and security of the kingdom. On the other hand, a monarch who allows himself to be controlled by the ministers does not deserve the throne; he is spurned and disgraced. His kingdom has no peace and security. The mind is the monarch in man; the senses are the ministers. It is the slave of its servants, and so the realm has no peace. Every sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) who aspires to achieve the expression and expansion of the divine in him has therefore to earn mastery over the senses. That is the first step. The next one is the conquest of the mind, its elimination. The third is uprooting the vasanas (innate tendencies), and the fourth, attainment of jnana (spiritual wisdom). The branches are the senses; the trunk is the mind; the roots are the innate tendencies. All three must be overcome and destroyed, so that the awareness of the atmic (divine) reality can be gained.
The mind hops from object to object with incredible speed. It rises to the heights and drops to the depths with every wink of the eye. It hides, deludes, and distorts. One can subdue it through concentration only. The process can be practiced in either of two directions: the a-rupa or the sa-rupa. A-rupa means ‘unbound’ by form. One feels that he is not the doer or enjoyer; he is only an agent of God, a tool, an instrument. One is not affected, well or ill, when the act results in good or bad. One has no identity with the rupa (form or body). Sa-rupa meditation gets lost in dualities of pleasure and pain, profit and loss, for it considers the name and form, the body and its activities as valid.
Similarly, Man has the choice of two paths—the pravritti marga (the path of involvement) or the nivritti marga (the path of non-involvement). When involved, man is confronted with the six internal foes—lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, and hatred. When non-involved, man is helped by six internal friends—sense control, mind control, fortitude, contentment, faith, and equanimity. The human body is deified as a temple, yes, but the foes have to be evacuated and the friends admitted before the Divine can establish itself there.
Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 16 (1983)
Once, Uddhava went to Gokulam with a message from Krishna to the gopikas [milk-maidens]. Uddhava told them: “I have brought for you a remedy for the pain you are suffering as a result of separation from Krishna. You must take this medicine. Through this yoga you will be relieved of the roga (the ailment) from which you are suffering.” The gopikas replied: “Oh, Great One! We do not suffer from any malady. Hence, we don’t need any yoga. It is enough if we know the yoga by which we can return to Krishna.” Uddhava asked: “What is this yoga?” A gopika replied: “The ordeal we enjoy on account of tyaga (renunciation) is itself a kind of yoga.” Uddhava observed: “How can there be anything common between renunciation and enjoyment? The renunciant does not seek enjoyment. The one who enjoys is not concerned about renunciation. As the two are irreconcilable, how can you regard the enjoyment of separation as form of yoga?” The gopika said: “You simpleton! Is this all you have learnt from your nearness to Krishna? When a person gives up egoism in his doings and attachment to the enjoyment of their fruits, then tyaga (sacrifice), yoga (spiritual austerity), and bhoga (enjoyment) become one. First get rid of the conceit that I am the doer. Then free yourself from the desire to enjoy the fruits of your actions. When you have no attachment to the fruits of your actions and have no sense of ego in what you do, then there is no difference between yoga and bhoga.”
Love of the Divine is the first requirement in the march toward the realization of one’s humanness. You must have one-pointedness and strength of mind. The mind must be unwavering, and the heart must be pure and unpolluted. You must fill your life with unselfish deeds.
Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 22 (1989)
