Life 45 (Jan 23 - Aug 23)

[winston]

Why should we carefully weed out the poisonous fang of desire?

Kama (desire) is the three-headed demon! When you achieve your desire, you develop Greed, to retain the gain and see that it multiplies. When you are defeated in desire, you develop Anger!

Desire, Greed and Anger, are all forms of Passion and feverish activity that ignores the ‘means’ while concentrating on the ‘end’.

There is a story of some monkeys who planted a mango garden. They planted the saplings, watered them a few days, and plucked them from off the ground to see how deep the roots had gone! They wanted them to grow fast and yield fruits, but they were unaware of the process by which they could get the fruits they craved for!

Act righteously; then, claim the fruit! Cultivate with care and collect the harvest!

- Divine Discourse, Aug 15, 1964.

When desires go down, automatically the mind is turned towards the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How can we achieve the bliss we aspire for?

Man aspires for bliss but how can he attain it?

Where there is faith, there is love. Where there is love, there is peace. Where there is peace, there is truth. Where there is truth, there is the Divine. Where there is Him, there is bliss.

The path of spirituality, starts with faith and ends with bliss. Bliss cannot be obtained from materialistic pleasures or people of the world. It can be experienced only when the five senses are put to proper use.

Today, man reads sacred books to attain bliss but all these books have their own limitations.

One cannot get infinite bliss by studying the scriptures. One must study an ‘infinite book’, in order to experience infinite bliss. This world itself is an infinite book.

There are so many things to be learnt from this world. Who are your friends? Not your classmates or roommates. Only the Divine is your true and eternal friend.

It is only with the help of this friend that you will be able to study the infinite book, the world.

- Divine Discourse, May 30, 1999.

The Divine alone is totally selfless as friend and benefactor.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

We lead life listlessly and as a result, suffer burnout. What must we do to escape this vain way of living?

Even if man does not attempt to seek the Divine, he can at least seek peace, joy, happiness and independence. He does not now seek even these. Nor does he try to learn how to get them.

The top spins perpetually and has no rest; man too pines and labours forever and has no relief from the round.

The only peace and joy that he gets now, are of a momentary kind; here now, gone the next minute.

Pain puts a stop to joy; joy is but the absence of pain. Why must man live for years as a burden on the earth? So much rice or wheat consumed year after year, with no return in joy or peace to himself or others?

The petromax light will shine bright only when you pump air vigorously; your light too is dim and well near out; therefore, pump vigorously, that is to say, engage yourself in spiritual practice and illumine your mind better and spread light on all who come near you.

- Divine Discourse, Feb 19, 1966.

If you are only aware of the extent of the goodness of your previous births that has brought
you to the stage of your present life, you will never waste this present life.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the remedy for the diseases we are suffering from today?

You are afflicted with the disease the Scriptures can cure, the disease of moha (delusion), which warps your sense of values, fogs your vision and distorts your outlook.

To benefit from the drug, you must have sorrow, dedication, detachment and concentration.

Discover for yourself, your stage of spiritual development, to which class in the school you would fit in. Then, determine to proceed from that class to the next higher one.

Strive your best and you will win the Grace of the Divine. Do not bargain or despair.

One step at a time is enough, provided it is towards the goal, not away from it.

- Divine Discourse, Feb 19, 1966.

Develop wisdom and detachment and then your hearts will bloom into fragrant beauty.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Don’t Abandon the Raft Yet

Although it’s true that the raft of the noble eightfold path is abandoned on reaching the farther shore, you still have to hold on to it while you’re crossing the river.

Otherwise, you’ll be swept downstream.

- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “The Far Shore”

[winston]

Why does the Divine come in a human form?

The Divine come in response to the prayers of sages, saints and spiritual aspirants, for the restoration of dharma (righteousness).

When there is a sign of a little unrest, the police constable appears on the scene; if the mob gets unruly, the inspector rushes in; and if it becomes violent, the Superintendent of Police has to be personally present on the scene to quell it.

If, however, the situation waxes hot, the Inspector General has to make himself available, is it not? This is a situation in which the Inspector General is taking over all charge of the situation.

The sages, savants, saints, yogis and divine personalities, have had their try, and they will all be cooperating in the task of re-establishing righteousness and clearing the path for the world attaining absolute peace (shanti).

- Divine Discourse, Feb 23, 1958.

You should realise that the Divine has come to remind you of your Reality that in fact,
every one of you is an embodiment of Sat-chit-ananda ( the nature of reality).

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is it so important to master the mind?

If man yields to the mind and its vagaries and the mind is enslaved by the senses and their fancies, man cannot escape calamity.

The mind prompts man to seek happiness and avoid misery; it creates the distinction and deludes the activity; it pushes forward and pulls back, tossing man back and forth, throughout his life.

The idea of happiness, which is often only another form of comfort, arises in the mind and gets concretised as objects shaped by the hands and brains of man like the aeroplane, the radio and even the bomb that devastates and delights the mind saturated with hate.

Ideas, desires, cravings, yearnings - these get actualised and so, the world is only the product of the mind.

In fact, the Universe is itself the manifestation of the Divine Mind, which willed, "I am one, let Me become many!".

The Universe arose in the mind of the Divine, it sprouted and spread there and since then, the mind has become potent and permeating.

Foreach of you, it is the mind that colours the world. If it is pure, the world is congenial; if it is unclean, the world is replete with jeopardy..

- Divine Discourse, Jul 23, 1971.

The mind, it has been said, is the cause of one's bondage or liberation. Bad thoughts
beget bondage. Good thoughts lead to liberation.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

When will the Self shine with all its brilliance in us?

A stomachful of food, an eyeful of sleep, a home full of children's laughter - these, according to most people, are the highest levels of happiness.

But this refers only to the interval between birth and death. What of the before and after?

The body is something separate from you. You own it for some years and you feed it, foster it and struggle with it, to tame it to do your will.

'You' or the 'I' in the body is the 'Atma' (Inner-Self) which is One without a second.

When identification with the body weakens, the effulgence of the Atma (divine Self) will be patent.

Attachment to the body implies the accumulation and acquisition of things that cater to its needs and greed.

Accumulation promotes exploitation; it cannot win grace. It has no limit; the thirst increases with each gulp. It always asks for more.

- Divine Discourse, Apr 21, 1983.

The first step on the spiritual path is to keep body consciousness under check.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What should those that aspire to be leaders, keep in mind?

Only a young person with good qualities can become a good leader. One must take part in social service as a preparation for leadership.

Everyone should realise that their happiness is bound to the happiness of society as a whole.
Parents and teachers should develop such attitudes in the students.

Despite all the achievements in the physical world, how far has man been able to develop his human qualities? This is the question facing the world today.

If people study the ancient history, they will realise the importance that the ancients attached to Truth.

There may be differences at the individual level but when national interests are involved, these differences should be forgotten and all should act in unity.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 22, 1993.

Together with your studies, cultivate humility and reverence and learn to conduct
yourselves in an exemplary manner.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What wins bliss and what cannot win bliss?

Accumulation of things, of scholarship or fame, can yield no good unless what is acquired, is put to practical use for oneself and others.

The wisdom to recognise that the body he believes is himself, is only an instrument wielded by him, has to dawn in man. That is the first step to higher spiritual consciousness.

There is in every person the ever-free, ever-unattached, ever-pure Atma (Inner-Self). That is the Brahman (Absolute Reality), the Cosmic Awareness, latent and patent in everyone.

Yoga (Divine Communion) awakens when the world is viewed with glorious unconcern. This is the source of supreme Ananda (Divine Bliss).

How can renunciation and non-attachment result in joy, it may be asked. Discard the sense of egotism while engaged in activity; discard, while experiencing any emotion or reaction, the feeling of being an enjoyer - then, one can be ever in joy. Then the Bhogi (enjoyer) is really a Yogi (spiritually advanced person).

- Divine Discourse, Apr 21, 1983.

If the ego is eliminated in the performance of actions and attachment is renounced in the use of material objects, there will be no difference between Tyaga (renunciation) and Bhoga (enjoyment).

Source: radiosai.org