The True Timetable

Caught in the coils of the 'created,' man is blind to the fact that he is a part of the Divine Creator; identifying himself with the physical sheath in which he is encased, he is blind to the unity of all beings in the One Universal Absolute. Man has written and studied countless texts on spiritual discipline and discovery, and confounded the confusion, indulging in dialectical rivalries and argumentation. But, he who has put at least a page or two of these tomes into practice is rendered silent, innocent of any desire for fame or victory. He is happy in the depths of his being. He ploughs the inner field, sows the seeds of love, and the plants yield the flowers of fortitude, which fructify as shanti (peace). This is the message of the rishis of this land.

Each human being has three errors to correct: mala (dirt, filth), vikshepa (distraction) and avarana (concealing; covering). Mala is the basic ajnana (ignorance), which makes the tenth man (one of Guru Paramananda’s disciples, who counts the other nine and does not know that he is the tenth) declare that there is no tenth man. This ajnana or mala is the miasma that causes the desecration, avarana. And, vikshepa is the effect of that ignorance which makes all the ten search in the river for the lost man. Mala is the consequence of karma, in this and in previous lives. This can be removed by nishkama-karma (an activity with no attachment to the consequent benefit or loss). The avarana effect can be overcome by the cultivation of sahana (tolerance) and anyonyata (feeling of belonging to one another). If only the ten were bound together by mutual solidarity no one would have been taken as missing! So too, vikshepa can be conquered by prema (love). Love would have revealed each to the other, and no one would have been ‘missed’. This is the way to equip yourself with ananda (bliss supreme) – the way of love, dedication, and service.

Never Use Expressions Which Sear And Hurt

There are some other things you can do to lead you to the consummation. For example, adhere strictly to the truth. Manah satyena shuddhyate – the mind is cleansed by the truth. Truth is the great purifier. It admits no dirt or sin, no defect or deceit. Falsehood pollutes the tongue of the speaker, the ear of the listener, and the air which carries it from tongue to tympanum. There are beneficent and maleficent sounds, and they produce corresponding echoes in the atmosphere. Words that emanate from faith in God and the humility it fosters will render the atmosphere pure, while those trumpeted by vanity and execrated by nihilism and atheism will contaminate it.

Use only such sounds as will cleanse the air. Do not be harsh; never use expressions which sear and hurt, which are the evil progeny of hate and pride. Praise the Lord, recite His glory – that is the duty you owe yourself and others. The raison d'etre for this yaga is just this; every sound of the Veda is in praise of God and when the Veda is recited with the proper cadence, exactly as prescribed in the traditional schools, the atmosphere will certainly undergo a remarkable transformation, and the men who breathe it will be a little less evil thereafter. Faith in God will instill faith in themselves and in others, and the world will be happier thereby. The Americans might walk on the moon, or the Russians picnic on the planet Mars, but, they have both to return to Earth, which is their common home.

You know from the Ramayana that the severed head of Rama was once presented before Sita, to make her give up all hope of meeting him again; the rakshasas (demons) displayed before Rama, in the same manner, the severed head of Sita, in the hope of making him give up all hope of recovering her alive. Both these heads were dummies prepared to deceive; they were not genuine. So too, one can claim genuine victory only when one has reached not the dead satellite, but the living star, not the Chandra (Moon) but the Ramachandra – the Lord who rules over the inner satellites, the inner planets, the inner motives, and agitations.

The Real Timetable Of Activities For Man

When one’s inner reactions and agitations are transmuted into divine, all that one experiences through the senses, the mind, and the intellect take on the divine lustre, reveal their divine core, and man is shaped in the mould of Love. One can be in the world but yet unaffected by it, provided this vision is gained. All activity will then be for the Almighty, by His grace and through His will. Do not get work done through cooks, servants, ayas, and others, in the home; women must not depend on these, for the care of their children or attendance on their husbands.

Earning leisure for Dhyanam (meditation), through these servants, is not a spiritual gain. Do all the household work as acts of worship for Him; that is more fruitful than hours of Dhyanam, hours gained by entrusting this precious work to paid helpers. Men too must feel that frittering away precious time, flitting from one vanity to another and seeking more and more purposeless means of spending days and nights is detrimental to the main aim of life. Spread joy, give strength, distribute courage, console the distressed, help the lame to walk and the blind to see – that is the real timetable of activities for man. India has been reduced into a beggar-nation, since her children gave up these ideals and enthroned the ego as the only God to be worshipped.

We are having here another All-India Conference of the Office Bearers of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations so that these workers can once again remind themselves of this Message. When the petromax lamps become dim, we pump air in, and they become brighter. These lamps tend to burn dim and so we call them to this place for satsang and pump inspiration and instruction into them; their batteries get recharged, for further service.

India has always stood by the side of virtuous character, maintained through vigilance, in perfect trim. Without that steady, strong character, achievements like scholarship or siddhis (skill in Yogic powers) are like plastic fruits, deceptive imitations incapable of yielding joy. When the mind is engaged in the recital of God’s glory and the names of God, there can be no temptation to stray into the rake’s highway of insane desire. Twice a day, morning and evening, if you spare some time to sing the names of God, with like-minded persons, all in unison, with full awareness of the deeper significance of each name as it sweetens the tongue, it will be of considerable help to establish the feeling of the constant presence of God, within you and without.

Prasanthi Nilayam, 19-10-1969.