Develop Permanent Relationship With God

Offer Yourself To God Unconditionally

God does not exist in a foreign land, He is in you. Sin is not elsewhere. It is there where a wrong action is committed.

(Telugu Poem)

Embodiments of Love!

Enmity, friendship, divinity, and demonishness are present in the same human being. Friendship and enmity are the result of one’s own feelings. In fact, there is no enemy outside. What you see outside is the reflection of your inner being. All kinds of enemies are present in the heart of man. He forgets this truth and considers that friends and enemies are outside who give him happiness and sorrow. Divine and demonic qualities are both present in the same heart.

All Enemies Are Within Man, Not Outside

Human body with its various limbs is like Sangha (society). Desires, greed, anger, and other feelings within the body are Janga which constitute JIva Tattva (individual soul), whereas Linga (cosmic soul) represents Atmic principle in the same body. This Linga is the base for Sangha and Janga aspects. Just as there are opposing feelings and thoughts in society, there are opposing feelings within oneself. One feeling may approve a thought saying ‘yes’ while another feeling may disapprove, saying ‘no’. All these opposing feelings occur in our own heart. These are reflections emerging from the inner Sangha.

Mainly, there are six enemies that distract the Sangha – Kama (desire), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (delusion), Mada (pride), and Matsarya (jealousy). Who is the first enemy within man? It is Kama (desire). Who is the second enemy? It is Krodha (anger). When the desire is not fulfilled, it leads to anger. Failure leads to anger while success prompts Lobha or greediness. Another enemy of man is Asatya (untruth). It leads one to the wrong path. Where there is Asatya, there is Adharma (unrighteousness). Enmity that begins with desire culminates in unrighteousness. Therefore, enemies are not outside. They are all within man. External enemies may change. An enemy today may become a friend tomorrow and vice versa. But internal enemies never change. Who is their leader? The mind is their leader. He who becomes a slave of these internal enemies, how can he face any external enemy? A wise person will strive to overpower these inner enemies and develop friendship with the mind which is their leader. The mind is very fickle, it wavers all the time. It is very difficult to subdue the mind. It requires intensive Sadhana (spiritual practice).

Achieve The Goal Of Life With Good Qualities

In olden days, an elaborate spiritual practice known as Ashwamedha Yajna was in vogue. Ashwa means horse. Those who have observed a horse closely know that it never remains steady. The horse keeps on moving one limb or the other all the 24 hours. The horse runs very fast. So is the case with the mind. It keeps on wavering always. Nothing can beat the mind with regard to speed. At the physical level, Ashwamedha Yajna connotes extension of an emperor’s empire wherever the Yajna horse goes. Ultimately, the horse is ritualistically sacrificed. What does the mind stand for? It stands for horse. So, the inner meaning of Ashwamedha Yajna is the killing of the wavering mind. Also, you can see the Ashwattha or peepal tree. Its leaves keep on shaking even in the absence of wind. The human mind also wavers for no specific reason.

Ancient Indian Rishis performed the spiritual practice of Yajna or sacrifice in order to stress the importance of conquering the mind. They did not send a horse to conquer territory. But the battle was true. What kind of battle was that? On one side were the evil players such as Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, and Matsarya and on the other side were noble players like Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema, and Ahimsa (truth, righteousness, peace, love, and non-violence). Life is also a game like football. The mind is the ball which is kicked hither and thither in this game. There are rules to be followed as in any other game. When the ball goes out of limits, the offending team is penalized; and when the ball is kicked into the goal, the scoring team is awarded a point. The intellect is the directing force as also the decision-maker.

There is a saying in Telugu, Ihamuna Sukhimpa Hemataaraka Vidya, Paramuna Sukhimpa Brahmataraka Vidya (worldly education is for life here and spiritual education is for life hereafter). In order to win the match, the entire team has to follow the rules and must work in unison. In this match of life, the team of good qualities is on one side and the evil qualities on the other. The wicked players do not know how to score the goal. On the other side, good players station Satya and Dharma near the goal which easily score the goal when the other player passes on the ball to them. Satya will never change its position, whereas Dharma takes up various stances depending on situations. Dharma has Satya as its support or base. The Upanishad says, Satyannaasti Paro Dharma (There is no Dharma greater than adherence to truth). Good feelings are real friends. Bad feelings are the enemies. Nothing is gained by killing external enemies. The game of life reaches success when internal enemies are conquered.

Surrender all your good and bad desires to God. He will change your bad desires into good. How? Suppose you have an old crumpled and soiled 100-rupee note with you. Nobody will accept it. But when you take it to the Reserve Bank, the bank will give you a brand new note. God is like the Reserve Bank. Surrender all your bad qualities to Him. He will make everything good. He will reward you in ways more than you can imagine.

Surrender To God With Full Faith

Your body, senses, mind, and intellect are the gifts of God. You should surrender them to Him. A true devotee should be able to say:

Oh Lord! I offer to You the heart You have given me.
What else is there with me to offer at Your Lotus Feet in worship?
Please accept this with my humble salutations.

(Telugu Poem)

When everything is surrendered to God, no evil is left in you. When an ornament of gold becomes dirty, will you throw it out? You will struggle hard to make it pure by using several methods, won’t you? When the dirt is removed, the gold becomes pure. Similarly, when you surrender your mind to God with a sincere prayer, He will remove its dirt and turn it into a priceless jewel.

But people are not prepared to surrender themselves to God totally. You go to a goldsmith and ask him to make an ornament for you; but you refuse to give him the gold. Someone may give the gold but tell the goldsmith, “Do not put it on fire, do not melt or hammer it”. Then how can the goldsmith make the ornament? These days you find many people who ask God, “I give my mind. Do not give me troubles and difficulties. Bestow all comforts as also Moksha.” Without reposing full faith in God, and without surrendering to Him, how is it possible?

When you go to a shop to buy a handkerchief, you must be prepared to part with ten rupees. How can you get the handkerchief without paying the money to the shopkeeper? When you give him ten rupees, he will give you the handkerchief. There ends the relationship. This is a temporary relationship bound by conditions. If you offer yourself to God unconditionally, you will develop a permanent relationship with Him. You should develop this permanent relationship. This relationship is not about giving and taking. It is about giving without conditions. Then God will give you much more than you expect. Therefore, do not ask; oh mind, do not ask! King Dasharatha had a fond hope of dying in the presence of his most beloved son Rama. But eventually, Rama was not present at the time of his death, whereas the bird Jatayu had the rarest fortune of dying in the fondling hands of Rama. Shabari was an aged woman of short stature, who was poor. But her thoughts were always focused on Rama. She was living in a forest near Chitrakuta. As and when she came across a shrub or a branch of a tree obstructing the way, she would think of the tall figure of Rama and His prospect of being struck by it, and she would clear the way for His sake, in anticipation of His arrival at any moment. She always engaged herself in tasting various fruits of the forest in order to find whether they were fit to be offered to Rama when He comes in hunger, as she would imagine. One day, Shabari found a rough rock on the way. She at once thought of Rama and felt that He might find it difficult to sit on it. That was how Shabari diverted all her thoughts and feelings towards Rama. Whatever she did, she did with love. That is Seva. That is how she earned liberation by the grace of Lord Rama.

In this present world, you will find everybody beset with various types of worries, especially with regard to money. People are afraid to carry money with them. But there is no worry when the money is deposited in a bank. God is the cashier who keeps your deposits safe and returns to you when you need, on the basis of how much you had deposited with Him. You may keep your documents, jewellery, and other valuables in a locker of the bank. You can take back only what you deposit, not more. They do not belong to God. You get only what you have deposited, either good or bad. So, develop goodness. Be good, do good, see good. This is the way to God. Our enemies are within us. First and foremost, kill Krodha (anger) and Lobha (greed). Aspire only for God. Then you will have true bliss.

– Bhagawan’s Discourse in Sai Sruthi, at Kodaikanal on 19th April 1993.