Life 49 (Nov 25 - Dec 27)

[winston]

Why should we not remain satisfied with the physical vision, however well it may serve us in this world?

The Scriptures has declared: “Whatever is perceived, is liable to perish.”

Man sees with his physical eyes, all objects in the world, moving and non-moving. All these will disappear in due course in the stream of Time.

Neither the eye that sees, nor the object that is seen, is permanent. All beings in creation are endowed with eyes.

What is the special significance of the eyes possessed by man? What is the unique significance of human existence?

Having been born as a human being, it will be unfortunate if man is content with the physical vision. Man must acquire Jnana-netram (the eye of Wisdom).

Without it, of what avail is one’s education? What is the use of one’s intelligence or one’s mental powers? What is a man worth if he is unable to recognise the divinity within him?

Man is the crown of creation. That is why the scriptures have praised the noble virtues that man is capable of manifesting. Hence, as a human being, one must strive to acquire the eye of wisdom.

The physical eyes are inept. You cannot see your own eyes. These imperfect eyes, how can they see the highly subtle mind?

The eyes which are unable to see the mind, how can they see the Atma (the Indwelling Spirit)?

- Divine Discourse, Apr 04, 1992

Engage yourself in Sadhana (Spiritual Practice) that will secure the Grace of the Divine; through that Grace, the Eye of Wisdom will be granted.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Different needs or desires may have brought us to the Divine. But is the fulfilment of these the goal of our quest?

Sometimes, by just seizing a chance, you can elevate yourself steadily.

Someone goes to Him to get his stomachache cured. Then he likes this place, its atmosphere, its omkara, its bhajan, and its prashanti (supreme peace);

He sees Him and observes. He takes home a picture or a Bhajan book, and before long, he forgets the ache, which brought him hither and cultivates a new ache - for prashanti, for darshan, sparshan, and sambhashan (divine vision, touch and conversation), for japam, dhyanam, and sakshatkaram (recitation, meditation and realisation).

Of course, He nevers deviate from the truth. It is only those who fail to follow the instructions and who deviate from the path, that fail to get what he holds out before them.

Follow His instructions and become soldiers in His army; He will lead you on to victory.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 21, 1962

Once He says that you are His, He will never forsake you. You may forget Him but He will never forget you.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the truth that is revealed to us every moment by our own inner voice?

In a dream, you see and experience many things but everything disappears when you are awake. All this is a night dream.

Similarly, during the day, you see everybody and everything and have so many experiences. But all this becomes invisible when you go to sleep. This is a day dream.

You are present both in the night dream as well as in the day dream. There is no existence of day dream in night dream and night dream in day dream. But you are present in both states.

Hence, you are omnipresent. Therefore, consider yourself as the fundamental divine entity.

You are Divine; He is not different from you.

Your inner voice also teaches you this truth through the sound of Soham, Soham, Soham (That, I am).

Your inner voice keeps reminding you of your divine reality but you are not paying attention to it!

You follow what others tell you but do not believe yourself. In whom else can you have faith when you don’t have faith in yourself?

Therefore, first develop self-confidence. Then you will have self-satisfaction, which will lead you to the path of self-sacrifice and ultimately to self-realisation.

First and foremost, have faith in yourself. He is present within you only.

- Divine Discourse, Jun 24, 1996

It is the mind that is responsible for man to live like a man, to rise to the divine level or to degenerate to the level of an animal.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is the world riddled with fear today?

Whether at home, or out in the street, or while travelling in a train, bus or plane, people are haunted by fear.

The root cause for this ubiquitous fear, is the absence of pure and sacred thoughts in the minds of people.

The whole world appears like a maze filled with fear at every turn.

You know how to enter the maze of worldly pleasures, but do not know how to get out of it.

You will know the way out only when you submit your thoughts to the scrutiny of buddhi - the intellect.

In the Scriptures, the body is compared to a chariot, the senses to horses, the mind to the reins and the intellect to the charioteer.

This means that the mind is in between the senses and the intellect.

If the mind follows the dictates of the intellect, it will be safe.

On the contrary, if it follows the whims and fancies of the senses, it will become a bond slave of the senses and a victim of endless sorrow and suffering.

- Summer Showers, May 24, 1990

The intellect must use its discriminative abilities and wean the mind away from bad thoughts. Otherwise, we are bound to grope in the darkness of ignorance.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is one quality that youth must learn from the example set by Rama?

In all aspects, Rama translated every moment of his life to be an example of ideal behaviour.

By showing equal affection to all, Rama attracted all the people.

In His childhood, Rama spoke very little. He was conducting Himself in that manner in order to show the world the ideal that is contained in limited speech.

Limited talking will always promote the divine strength in one and will also promote one’s memory. It creates respect for one in the community.

If one talks too much, it will, to an extent, destroy one’s memory. Not only this, if one talks too much, the strength in the nerves will diminish and the person will become somewhat feeble.

It is for this reason that all great saints were observing the path of silence whenever possible. By observing silence, one can get strength.

Because the youth of today talk too much, it so happens that their memory becomes weak, and when they go to the examination hall, they forget what they have read.

Amongst the many ideals which Rama has given to the young people, the first one is to talk less.

- Summer Showers, May 19, 1977

In the depth of silence, the divine voice can be heard!

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What truly makes a house, a home?

In the Kali Age, man has acquired great fame, riches and comforts but he lacks peace and a sense of security.

The reason for this sorrow, is the lack of patience and sympathy (sahana and sahanubhuti) amongst the members of the family living in a house.

Why does man lack these two qualities? The rise in selfishness and the use of intelligence for one’s own self-interests has brought about this decline.

Man has become selfish and he no longer thinks of contributing to others’ happiness.

Patience and sympathy are like the life force for a man, akin to inhalation and exhalation.

A man without these can be considered lifeless.

Having acquired a number of degrees and having amassed wealth, what has man really achieved?

What every man in a family, should aspire to achieve are the two virtues of patience and sympathy.

Today, they build a house with four walls and call it a home. However, it was not so in the olden days.

Five to six families lived together in a small hut peacefully and it became a home.

There is a lot of difference between a house and a home.

When there is sahana and sahanubhuti among members of the family, it is home. Because of the absence of these, the bhavanam (house) has become vanam (forest).

- Divine Discourse, Oct 02, 2000

The home is the temple where the family, each member of which is a moving temple, is nurtured and nourished.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How can we experience nearness and dearness to the Divine?

To be good, to do good and to see good, is the primary duty of every human being!

The wealth we may earn, the prosperity we may acquire and the mansions we may build, are all transient and temporary.

Our conduct is the most important thing in our life. Our conduct is the one which lays the foundation for our future life.

It is only when we can shape our present conduct along a proper path, that our future can hopefully be peaceful and happy.

If our worldly desires and worldly attachments become stronger, we move further away from the Divine.

If we cut out the worldly desires, we get closer and closer to Him.

- Divine Discourse, May 19, 1977

If you wish to become eligible for His Love, then your actions must be consistent with Love.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is it that drains the grace of the Divine from the vessel of our heart?

With determination, man can touch the sky and conquer the world.

But today, man is losing this strength. What is the reason for this?

He is losing his mastery over the senses. The more sensual he is, the lesser the lifespan.

Today’s man is losing his physical strength and consequently destroying his inner strength completely.

To remain immortal and retain youth, the power of the senses should be developed by controlling them.

There should be no body-attachment. If on one hand, man loses control over the senses and on the other, he develops body-attachment, what then will be his plight?

These two can be compared to two holes in a pot filled with water.

Water filled in such a pot gets drained. Similarly, the pot of our heart is filled with the nectarous grace of the Divine.

Man has to foster his heart. But without forbearance and sympathy, he has drilled holes into it.

Consequently, his lifespan has decreased. In this limited life span, what good deeds can he do? How can he work for the welfare of society?

The Divine-given strength should be utilised properly by Satsangam (Good Company), Satpravartana (Good conduct) and by Seva (Service). Only then can your strength improve.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 02, 2000

Man’s life, though sacred, virtuous, beautiful and praiseworthy, is short. In this limited life span, man has to engage himself in good actions.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why should we consciously cultivate our thoughts to be pure and noble and remove other thoughts?

Don’t criticise or condemn others. If you deceive your friends, they, in turn, will cheat you.

If you disobey your parents, your children will pay you back in the same coin.

If you hurt others, they will hurt you in retaliation.

Reaction, resound and reflection, are inherent in man’s mind. Hence, you should discerningly follow the maxim: “Hurt never; help ever”.

There are some sinful persons, who cavil not only at other men but even against the Divine. This seems to be their very nature, although He never harms anyone at any time.

In this context, the lowest category of people, is those who take sadistic pleasure in hurting other people without any provocation whatsoever.

They may be compared to the moths, whose nature is to damage all clothes indiscriminately, whether it is a valuable saree costing one thousand rupees or whether it is a worthless, soiled rag in the kitchen.

This highly despicable tendency on the part of some persons to harm others, is traceable to their bad thoughts.

We try to dispel foul odours from our living rooms and toilets by using substances like air-fresheners, incense sticks and other deodorants.

Similarly, we should try to counteract our bad thoughts with good ones.

- Divine Discourse, May 24, 1990

Good thoughts will eventually lead us to the fulfilment of our lives, while bad thoughts will degrade us to the level of beasts.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the true purport of Satsang? Is it just having the company of the noble or is it something subtler?

Satsang is much more beneficial than doing penance, going on pilgrimages or doing meditation.

What is the real meaning of Satsang? People think that Satsang denotes the company of good people and listening to their teachings. But this is not the true meaning of Satsang.

Sat means Truth that has no change in the past, present or future. Truth is that which remains unchanged in the three periods of time – past, present and future. It cannot be obliterated or hidden by history.

That Truth is Divinity. Living in the awareness of Divinity is Satsang.

Sat is also denoted by Tat, which connotes Divinity. So, Satsang means living in Divinity that is changeless, attributeless, formless, immortal, infinite, ever united and unique as one only.

To live always in divine consciousness is the real purport of Satsang.

- Divine Discourse, Apr 17, 1993

Converse with Him, who is in you; derive courage and consolation from Him. He is the Guru most interested in your progress.

Source: radiosai.org