Life 46 (Aug 23 - May 24)

[winston]

Taking the Risk of Living

It’s easy to identify with all the places we’ve been hurt and abandoned but can we identify with the timeless wholeness, that weathers every condition?

If we can’t, we may spend this life protecting ourselves and never risk really living.

- Bonnie Myotai Treace, “The Sword Disappears in the Water”

[winston]

How should we serve and what is the attitude to avoid while we serve?

All beings are like flowers that bloom and fade before the day is over; but like the garland you offered, they are strung on one eternal indestructible thread, the thread called the Divine (Brahman).

Establish this non-dual attitude in your mind; it will render your service more enjoyable, more fruitful, more sweet and pleasant to the recipient.

Without that attitude, doing good to others becomes help doled out to lesser men and poorer folk, by superior persons.

All such help will be suspected and resented; it is contaminated at the source as well as at the destination.

Of course, one should not treat all equally, or have the same prescription for all.

Serve each according to the specific need and capacity so that they benefit by the help.

The Divine is the same in all, but you should not give a knife into the hands of a mad man, or a gold necklace to a child. The child will cast it away; the madman may gash someone's throat.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 04, 1965.

Morality and purity alone can confer real strength. To develop these qualities, one has to take up selfless service.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is it important to not renounce activity or Karma completely?

The goal of karma (action) is Wisdom and for Wisdom, karma is the base.

Combining the two in practice constitutes Seva (Selfless service).

Through right conduct, the mind is purified and a pure mind leads to Atmic bliss. Hence, the duties that are enjoined on one have to be discharged.

The foremost duty of man is to do good deeds with a pure heart. There should, however, be no egoistic feeling - "I have done these good deeds." It is not right to entertain the slightest desire to enjoy the fruits of these actions.

Egoism and desire, are the cause of bondage to Karma. Desire is the barrier between the pure mind and devotion to the Self.

To regard the performance of right action as one's duty and to eschew egoism in one's conduct, and desire in one's motives is real sacrifice.

Karma yoga teaches how actions should be performed. It enjoins duty for duty's sake.

Yoga is excellence in action. It enables man to recognise the image of the Divine in him.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 17, 1985.

One who engages in the yoga of action, renouncing all fruits of action and following the discipline of silence, can realise Brahman within a short time.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How can we become true spiritual aspirants?

Realising that tending of the body is not all-important, one must bear patiently, even hunger and thirst and be engaged uninterruptedly in the contemplation of the Divine.

Instead, quarrelling over every tiny little thing, losing one's temper, becoming sad at the slightest provocation, getting angry at the smallest insult, unable to resist thirst, hunger and sleep, these can never be the characteristics of a Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant)!

Rice in its natural state and rice that is boiled, can these two be the same, any day? The hardness of natural rice is absent in the boiled one. The boiled grain is soft, harmless and sweet. The unboiled grain is hard, conceited and full of delusion.

Both types are Jivis and men, no doubt! But, those who are immersed in external illusions are ‘men’; those who are immersed in internal illusions are ‘Sadhakas’!

- Prema Vahini, Ch 59.

Sadhana or steady, systematic, and sustained effort alone can confer peace of mind and inner tranquility.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the intensity and urgency with which we should be involved in spiritual practices?

When the Name is pronounced by the tongue and the Image is adored by the mind, these should not degenerate into a mechanical routine;

The meaning of the Name and the content of the Form must, at the same time, inspire and illumine the consciousness.

Escape the routine; involve yourselves in the attitude of worship deeply and sincerely. That is the way to earn peace and content for which all human activity ought to be dedicated and directed.

Planting the sapling of the cotton tree, how can you hope for the mango? Do it now!

That is the urgency of this problem of all problems, of winning peace and contentment.

If you feel hungry now, you cannot have your meals tomorrow; you do not eat your meals now, fearing that you will be hungry tomorrow.

Eat when you are hungry - not before or after. Aspire now, adore now, achieve now!

- Divine Discourse, Mar 05, 1968.

Remember that with every step, you are nearing the Divine; and He too, takes ten steps towards you when you take one step towards Him.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

As people plan for vacations, pilgrimages and visits to temples, what are the important aspects to keep in mind?

You go from place to place like postal parcels, collecting impressions on the outer wrapper, not on the core of your inner being.

A blind man going places is not worried whether it is night or day. So too, you do not differentiate between one temple and another.

You behave equally unconcerned, equally sense-centred in all places.

You do not allow the holiness of the sacred place to act on your mind. As a result of pilgrimage, your habits must change for the better; your outlook must widen; your inward look must become deeper, and you should become steadier.

You must realise the omnipresence of the Divine and oneness of humanity.

You must learn tolerance and patience, charity and service.

After the pilgrimage is over, you must determine to seek, sitting in your own home and ruminating over your experiences, the higher, richer and the more real experience of Divine-realisation.

- Divine Discourse, Feb 28, 1964.

Only non-attachment can grant supreme peace. The company of the pious and visits to holy places and holy people promote that attitude and habit.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What would be the attitude of a true devotee on worldly matters?

“Udaseenah'' means ‘indifference towards sorrow and joy, loss or gain, honour or dishonour’.

You must be concerned only to see whether your actions are pure and selfless according to your conscience.

Nothing else matters, neither praise nor blame of other people.

When your conscience tells you what you are doing is good, you may go ahead regardless of the opinion of others, whether they are your kinsmen, friends or others.

This is the true meaning of Udaseenah (indifference).

You should not be swayed by fears or threats.

In this context, it is advisable for sevaks to keep away from politics. Sometimes, out of a desire for recognition or publicity, one may be tempted to cultivate relationships with men in power. This temptation corrupts your mind.

By developing the Udaseenata (spirit of indifference) in its true sense, you must seek to serve all with a feeling of love.

Indifference should not assume the form of arrogance or ostentatious condescension.

Adhere to what is right and turn away from what is bad. That is the highest Udaseenata.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 20, 1990.

Equanimity can arise only from the spring of devotion in the heart.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the two-step process to attain peace in this life?

In the modern world, every person tries hard to attain peace, performing various kinds of Sadhana (Spiritual Practice).

Peace cannot be attained through spiritual pursuits. It cannot be acquired even by knowledge of the texts, authority or high positions in life. Peace can be attained only by the Divine’s grace.

Though man is eager to attain peace, he confronts many obstacles in the path. Those who travel by train may be well acquainted with the slogan, “Less luggage, more comfort, make travel a pleasure.”

Now, man is burdening himself with limitless desires. Because of this extra heavy luggage of desires, he finds it extremely difficult to carry on the journey of life.

By such a proliferation of desires, he loses his balance, moves far away from his goal and even tends to go mad.

It is for this reason, that I have been stressing the need for a ceiling on desires. By limiting your desires, you can attain peace to a certain extent.

You have to exercise a check on your desires and make efforts to get the grace of the Divine.

- Divine Discourse, Apr 25, 1998.

Man can experience joy and happiness only when he has contentment. As desires grow, discontent grows and worries multiply.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is purity for a spiritual seeker?

There should be both inner and outer purity.

Bodily purity relates to the physical. It covers such cleansing acts as bathing, wearing clean clothes, eating pure food and the like.

But mere external cleanliness without internal purity is of no value. Everyone, from the scholar to the common man, is concerned only about external cleanliness and not about the purity of the heart within.

However pure the ingredients may be, if the vessel in which they are cooked is not clean, the food will be spoiled.

For a man, his heart is the vessel, and he must see that it is kept pure and untainted.

For the purification of the heart, everyone must undertake selfless service. Attachments and aversions which pollute the mind should be eschewed by concentrating on selfless service.

It is only when the heart is pure that selfless service can be performed. Hence both bodily and mental purity are essential for a good devotee.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 20, 1990.

More than listening to a hundred lectures or delivering them to others, offering one act of genuine seva attracts the grace of the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How can we maintain equanimity when being criticised by others?

To maintain equanimity in pleasure and pain or praise and blame is a difficult proposition.

It cannot be achieved by scholarship. One may wonder how this is possible for mankind to maintain such equanimity.

You should ask who is the one that criticises and who is the one that is criticised. If you consider that it is the body that is criticised, then it is good. Because we ourselves condemn the body as a container of foul material like urine, faecal matter, etc. and made up of merely the five elements.

While so, why should you be affected by the criticism of another? If it is Atma (Inner-Self) that is criticised, the same Atma is present in both - the person who is criticising and the one that is criticised.

So this means he is criticising himself! Both praise and blame pertain only to the body - one must recognise this truth and conduct oneself accordingly.

If you consider that the other person is criticising you, that means you are accepting the contents thereof. If you say you are not the one being criticised, you do not receive it, it goes back to the sender.

- Divine Discourse, Apr 25, 1998.

By not getting excited over the angry words of a critic, one becomes superior to the critic. Otherwise, one descends to the same level as the critic.

Source: radiosai.org