Manasa Sarovar

For three years the people of Yelamanchili have been persuading Me to come to their village and give darshan to the people of this area, and at last, their wish has been fulfilled. I see about fifty thousand have gathered here. This chance to grant you joy has come this day; for, everything has its proper time and cause (kalam and karanam).

The Pandit spoke of ‘matam_’ and how it has become quite frequent for people to change their religion from one to another, without knowing the principles of either or even without any attempt to follow the principles of the one they already know. Matam means opinion, conclusion, a point of view. “_Iti me matam,” (this is my religion) it is often said by disputants, in Sutra literature. So, when mati (intelligence) changes or grows or deteriorates, matam also suffers a change. That is only natural. Even among the followers of one matam or religion, since mati and its standards are different, all are not endowed with the same faith. So, there is no use following reason; very often reason follows the dictates of prejudice or predilections; one must follow the dictates of the Rishis who were above all pettiness and egoism. They say, Iti Vedanusasanam: “this is what Veda enjoins.” They do not even claim it to be their discovery. Chitshakti (Grace), revealed to them the fundamental truths for the progress of man.

The same God who revealed, out of His Grace, the Vedas, has to come again and again, whenever people seek to pitch their petty intelligences against the Eternal Intelligence. The petty intelligences are but the bondslaves of the senses; they lead man astray, fascinated by the ‘will-of-the-wisp’ of sensual pleasure. The Vedas, on the other hand, beckon them towards eternal, undiminishable joy; but man does not pay heed. He wanders in the dark, seeking in the outside world what he has lost in the inner world of the spirit!

Spiritual Food Given by The Vedas

The scriptures lay down various stages of spiritual development, and the rigour of the discipline for each stage is tuned to the level reached by the aspirant. As a child is fed on breast milk for some months and then, on cow’s milk, and later given bread and crunchy bitable bits when the teeth have grown—so too, man is provided by the Vedas with spiritual food suited to digestive development. In the early stages, the Jnana of the Unity (which is misread as diversity) cannot be grasped. So Bhakti or Upasana is recommended. Bhakti comes naturally for it is only the expansion of the love that is inherent in man. To get grounded in Bhakti, good activity, good company, good listening and good behaviour are essential.

Look at the self-control and humility of Lakshmana. When the ornaments (thrown over by Sita while being carried through the sky by Ravana) were placed before him by Rama, and he was asked to identify those whom he could recognise as Sita’s own, Lakshmana could recognise only the ‘toe-rings’ of his sister-in-law! He said he used to see them when he fell at her feet in reverence, as the first duty of the day. As regards the other personal ornaments and jewels of Sita, he could not say anything, for he had never lifted his head and looked at her. How many brothers can claim today that depth of reverence towards their sisters-in-law? Now, young men behave rudely, they peer at girls insultingly, they follow them along the roads and make life miserable for the girls. Or look at Dharmaraja, who preferred the life of a step-mother’s son to the life of either Bhima or Arjuna when the Yaksha offered to grant him the life of any one of the four who were dead—Bhima, Arjuna or the stepmother’s children, Nakula and Sahadeva; his magnanimity saved the lives of all four! Who will act so today when faced with such a choice?

The Essence of Vedic Teaching

There is now no love among even uterine brothers and sisters, what to speak of step-brothers? This high moral standard once ensured individual progress and social cohesion. Now, both are missing. The body—the tongue, the ear, the eye—are all being misused by man. Only wild beasts inflict terror; only cattle get frightened; man is neither, and so he should not do either. Man is truly incapable of fear. He is the embodiment of Love; he is a child of Immortality; he is the temple of God. That is the essence of Vedic teaching, as found in the Upanishads.

Love has first to gladden the home. There is no love now between the elders and the youngsters in the home; children do not revere parents. This moral decline will indeed undermine unity and strength. Moral decay is worse than military decline; it will lead to greater disaster. If you always repeat the idea of “_nadi, na_” (“mine, mine”), how can you be useful to others?

Sacrifice is the ‘salt’ of life; Yaga or Tyaga is the secret of peace and joy. ‘Go’ means “Indriya” or the senses; so, the word ‘_Gopala_’ means, he who controls the senses. And, why should they be controlled? So that they may not stand in the way of Tyaga or sacrifice. All the senses are self-centred, egoistic. They must be educated to be “inward-directed”, towards the Atma which is Universal. That is gained by trusting to Gopala by entrusting the senses to Him. Everyone must pass through satkarma or good deeds, into the realm of expanding Love and from Love he learns the lesson of sacrifice, of dedication, of surrender to the One Overlord. This takes him on to faith in the supremacy of Godhead, everything else being but His shadow, His being the Only Reality.

I Ask For Purification Of Hearts Only

Since such things have happened in this region, I must tell you one thing more. Many Swamis and Gurus go round from place to place, with the avowed object of collecting money from their devotees. This is a heinous act, especially for Sanyasins (renunciates) to engage in. Many persons have also started using My name to collect money for various purposes or material. If such men come to you, send them back with the admonition that they are doing wrong. I ask for Bhakti, Shraddha, Sadhana (devotion, faith and spiritual discipline)—purification of hearts—that is all. Only beggars ask for money; I will never associate Myself with the temporary, the tarnished, the tawdry, and the mean. Then, there are some who proclaim that I am “coming upon someone” and speaking through them! They pretend to be My mouthpieces and communicate to others My advice and My suggestions, as if I have ‘authorised’ them or as if I am Myself saying so through them. Now hear this. I never speak through another; I never possess another or use another as a vehicle of expression. I come direct; I come straight, I come as I am, to confer peace and joy.

I do not accept from you flowers that fade, fruits that rot, coins that have no value beyond the national boundary. Give Me the lotus that blooms in your _Manasa sarovaram_—the clear pellucid waters of the lake—of your inner consciousness. Give Me the fruits of holiness and steady discipline. I am above all this worldly etiquette, which enjoins you to see elders with some fruit or flower in your hand. My world is the world of the spirit; there, values are different. If you are happy, with faith in God and fear of sin, that is enough “service”, enough kainkaryam for Me. It pleases Me so. In the East Godavari District and hereabouts, persons who claim to be “possessed” by Me are appearing recently in large numbers, with their gangs of brokers and agents. Order them out, wherever you come across them. Do not yield to their tactics and lower your dignity as devotees of the Lord.

Yelamanchili, Vishakhapatnam Dt., 27-3-1965