Earn God’s Grace Through Prayer

Observe Equanimity In Pleasure And Pain

What can the evil effects of Kali Age do to a man whose heart is full of compassion, whose speech is suffused with truth and whose body is dedicated to the service of others?

(Sanskrit Verse)

Embodiments of Love!

However much you may grind sandalwood, it will give only fragrance, nothing else. Similarly, you may crush sugarcane as hard as you can, it will give only sweet juice. When the gold is put on fire, it shines with added brilliance. Similarly, a true devotee may face all problems, difficulties, blames and troubles, yet he will never leave God. He will follow God with total surrender. God will test His devotees in several ways. All these tests are the steps which lead him to a higher level. A true devotee leads a sacred life, demonstrating the sanctity of his conduct and depth of his faith. He will march ahead unmindful of all the troubles, difficulties and problems, and achieve the objective of his life.

Spark Of Divinity Is Present In All Beings

The body has been gifted to man to sanctify time. Time is the very form of God. In the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna says, Ahameva Akshayah Kaalah (I am that infinite time). Time is infinite. Time has no measure. Man experiences this limitless time in his life by dividing it into hours, days, months and years. He carries out his daily activities in the world because of this division of time and derives happiness in a limited way. But God is the master of time. He manifests in man as a spark of Divinity. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagawad Gita: Mamaivamsho Jeevaloke Jeevabhuta Sanatanah (the eternal Atma in all beings is a part of My Being). Man has to perform Sadhana to experience this divinity within him. Even if a mirror is clean, it will not show your reflection if its back does not have the mercury coating. Similarly, your heart will not show the reflection of God in it if it does not have the coating of love on it.

There are infinite waves in the fathomless ocean. No two waves look alike in shape and form. But there is no difference in the water of the waves; it is the same water which is uniformly present in all of them. Similarly, there are an infinite number of beings, with different names and forms in the world. But the spark of Divinity present in the form of Satchidananda (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute) in all of them is the same. Thus, every being is the embodiment of Satchidananda. When we treasure such sacred feelings within us, low and petty thoughts will not enter our mind.

Materialisation, Vibration And Radiation

God manifests in man in three forms: Bhur, Bhuvah, Svah. Bhur means Padartha (material world) or human body. Bhuvah refers to Prana Shakti (vibrating power) or life principle. Svah means Prajna shakti (power of radiation) or divine principle. It is only this radiation which makes this material body move and work through vibration. God manifests in every being as radiation, vibration, and materialisation.

The body is composed of matter. It is a combination of water, lime, iron, lead, phosphorus, etc. The body is inert. It functions through vibration of Prana shakti. But it is the Prajna shakti that causes vibration. The leaves of a tree do not move by themselves. They are moved by the pressure of the wind. Similarly, it is the power of radiation of Prajna shakti which vibrates the life force in the body. This Prajna shakti is conscience which occupies a special place in the body. God in the form of conscience activates the body. When man understands this truth of spirituality, he will never indulge in bad deeds.

The nature of the mind is very peculiar. It has no qualities of its own. Here is a newspaper. The newspaper has no special qualities. It has no smell of its own. When you wrap jasmine flowers in it, it will get the fragrance of jasmine flowers. The newspaper, which is without any smell before, will acquire the smell of Pakodas (a fried snack), if you wrap Pakodas in it. Similarly, if you pack dry fish in it, the paper will also have the smell of dry fish. The paper has no separate smell of its own; it will acquire the smell of the item associated with it. Likewise, the human mind, which is pure and sacred by nature, becomes impure and unsacred due to body consciousness and material attachments. When you think of a material object, it will assume the form of that object. If you turn the mind towards the world, it binds you to the world. But if you turn the mind towards the life principle (vibration), it will make your life sacred. When the same mind is diverted towards Prajna (radiation), which is Brahman, you become Brahman. It is the mind of man which is responsible for his bondage as well as liberation.

For everything, the body is the basis. The body is the basis for the three Gunas (qualities) – Sattva, Rajas, Tamas. The body is the basis for all the three worlds. In other words, all the three worlds, Bhur, Bhuvah, Svah are present in the body. The Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara is present in the body. Everything being within man, he searches for God outside. This is ignorance. He himself is God; God is not separate from him. When he makes his nature pure and unsullied, then only will his divinity become manifest.

Realise Divinity Through Sadhana

Embodiment of Love!

When you enquire deeply, you will understand that the entire universe is pervaded by God. Vishwam Vishnu Svarupam (the entire universe is the embodiment of Lord Vishnu). The human body is limited. It is bound by time and space. Man is bound by action. Everyone has the responsibility to perform his duty. Therefore, man should put the body to proper use and perform righteous actions. But man indulges in mundane pleasures and wastes his life. Instead, he should realise the effulgent Divinity that is within him. This world is bound to decay; it is temporary and untrue. Therefore, man should develop devotion to God who is eternal and true. This only can lead him to the path of Self-realisation.

The first requisite for Self-realisation is self-confidence. For all the troubles of man in this world, the main reason is the absence of self-confidence. So, man should have self-confidence first. Self-confidence confers self-satisfaction, and self-satisfaction leads to self-sacrifice. It is only through self-sacrifice that man attains Self-realisation. For this mansion of life, self-confidence is the foundation and self-satisfaction are the walls. On the walls only can we lay the roof of self-sacrifice. When there is roof on the walls, we can live inside happily. That is Self-realisation. These are steps to liberation: self-confidence, self-satisfaction, self-sacrifice and Self-realisation.

Everything is based on the Atma and everybody is Atma Svarupa (embodiment of the Self). The body is not the Self. The Self is beyond the body. Selfless self is the real Self. So, we should get rid of body identification. The body is just an instrument. There is water in the tumbler before Me. Without the tumbler, water cannot be kept. The tumbler is the basis for the water which is needed to quench the thirst. So also the body is the vessel which contains the water of divinity. Sadhana (spiritual practice) is required to drink this water. Thus, the thirst for realising Divinity can be quenched through Sadhana.

Earn God’s Grace To Attain Eternal Bliss

There are nine paths of devotion to God: Shravanam (listening), Keertanam (singing), Vishnusmaranam (contemplating on Vishnu), Padasevanam (serving His Lotus Feet), Vandanam (salutation), Archanam (worship), Dasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship), Atmanivedanam (self-surrender).

Listening to the glories of God purifies the heart. So, the first step to devotion is listening. But it is not enough if you listen; you should sing what you listen. Even singing is not enough; you should think of it in the heart. Mere thinking is also not sufficient; you have to serve with both the hands. Therefore, have good words, thoughts and actions. That is Trikarana shuddhi (unity of thoughts, words and deeds). There should be harmony between the feelings in the heart, which are expressed in words, and the words which are put into practice by the hand. Human life is sanctified by the harmony of thoughts, words and deeds. This harmony also sanctifies time.

We call this day as New Year Day. In fact, there is nothing new in this day. It is as old as any other day. There have been many many years like this before. But we consider it a New Year every time when one year ends. However, some follow solar system, others follow lunar system based on the movements of the sun and the moon respectively. But in both of them, time is one. Today we are bidding farewell to the year by name Angirasa, and welcoming a new year named Sreemukha. Sri is very sacred. In all the eight forms of Aishvaryas (wealth) of God, Sri is most important. Sri is the symbol of all auspiciousness, everything that is good. Not only that, it signifies immortality. It is customary to prefix ‘Sri’ to the names of males and ‘Srimati’ to the names of females to denote that the Atma in them is immortal though their body is mortal. Even when God comes down on earth in the form of an Avatar, Sri is added to His name, such as Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, etc., to signify that they are immortal even though they assume the mortal human form.

This body is a den of dirt, and prone to diseases; it is subject to change from time to time; it cannot cross the ocean of Samsara (worldliness). It is nothing but a structure of bones. Oh mind! Do not be under the delusion that body is permanent. Instead take refuge at the Divine Lotus Feet.

(Telugu Poem)

Never consider the body as permanent. Surrender to the feet of the Lord. The body of all beings is temporary. God’s body is also temporary. So, Sri is added to names of God when He assumes mortal human body. But Ishvara does not have any form. He is the master of all forms of wealth. As He has got all forms of Aishvarya (wealth), He is called Ishvara. He has no body. So, no one says, Sri I_s_hvara. They only call, Ishvara.

The name of this New Year is Srimukha. This name implies that it gives brilliance of bliss to all faces. But it may not be full of happiness as its name indicates. It will have a few problems. Pleasure and pain follow each other. Troubles do come in life. You never get pleasure out of pleasure. Out of pain only comes the pleasure. When you suffer now, it means you are going to be happy next. Pleasure and pain are like light and shadow. For the shadow to exist, light should be there. Without light, there cannot be shadow. In shadow also there is light. So, we should observe equanimity in both pleasure and pain.

One who earns God’s grace will be happy in all circumstances. But man today struggles for worldly happiness, worldly comforts and worldly possessions. He works continuously, makes all kinds of efforts to possess all that he does not deserve. But when he cannot fulfil all his desires, he gets disillusioned and disappointed. In this ocean of life, God is the only lighthouse of hope for man. This lighthouse is eternal and will never fail. It will always be there with great brilliance to illumine your path. So, you should engage yourself in godly activities. God is omnipresent. Therefore, you need not search for God. Sarvatah Paanipaadam Tat Sarvatoakshi Shiromukham, Sarvatah Shrutimalloke Sarvamaavritya Tishthati (with hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth and ears pervading everything, He permeates the entire universe).

Why should you search for God? If He is present only at one place, you need to search. But He has His feet all over, He has got ears everywhere, He installs Himself everywhere. Why should you search? It is mere ignorance to search for God.

Real Bliss Lies In Sanctifying The Senses

All forms of God are in you. Bhur (materialisation - body), Bhuvah, (vibration, Prana - life principle), Svah, (Prajnanam, radiation - Atma) are in you. If you have such a feeling, you shall certainly attain divinity. Let us not wait for the New Year to realise this. We need not wait for new life, new education, new culture, or new religion. We need men and women of virtues who have pure and sacred hearts. It is possible to have a sacred heart only by chanting Lord’s Name. Give no room to unsacred feelings in your heart. Lead pure and sacred life. Do not hurt anybody in any way. Sage Vyasa has written eighteen Puranas (mythological texts). You cannot go through all of them. He gave the essence of these eighteen texts only in two sentences: Help Ever, Hurt Never. Make your life sacred by putting this golden rule into practice.

Make proper use of the tongue. Speak only good words; never use harsh words. Talk sweetly and softly. This is the main quality of man. Jayadeva said:

Oh tongue, the knower of taste! You are very sacred. Speak the truth in the most pleasing manner. Chant the Divine Names of Govinda, Madhava and Damodara incessantly. This is your foremost duty.

(Sanskrit Verse)

You have two eyes to see different things and two ears to hear, two hands to perform actions. But you have only one tongue to speak only the truth. You can manifest your divinity by speaking the truth. Truth is one, not two. Speak only truth, give no scope to untruth. If you utter falsehood, it means you have two tongues, not one. It is only a poisonous snake that has two tongues. You are not a snake. You are the embodiment of divinity. Speak truth and make your heart sacred and happy.

You cannot always oblige, but you can speak always obligingly. The real beauty and bliss lies in sanctifying the senses. The ornament for the hand is charity. Truth is the real jewel for the neck. Listening to the glories of God is the real ornament for the ears. Never listen to unrighteous words. You need not have a necklace for the neck. Speak truth; that is the real ornament. The jewels for the hand are not bangles; charity is the real jewel. Do not misuse your ears to hear worldly gossip. It is not the earrings which are real jewels for the ears, listening to good words is the real decoration. What other ornaments you need than these? That is the real jewellery. That is the only beauty. When you have that real beauty, you can attain bliss. Beauty and bliss are not separate. Andame anandamu (beauty is bliss). Bliss is the life’s nectar. Understand and experience the sweetness of bliss.

Embodiments of Divine Atma!

The New Year has commenced. From today onwards, listen only to good things, speak only good words and do only good actions. Through these things, we should have purity of heart. Make your life sacred by always thinking of God. If people adopt this sacred path, there will be peace and prosperity in the world. Swami blesses the entire gathering and concludes His Discourse. In the coming year, let all be happy, prosperous and peaceful. Pray to God with your sacred heart. Then only can you overcome all difficulties. No government, no army, no weapons can protect you from troubles and difficulties. There is only one protector. That is God. In order to seek protection from God, devotees should offer prayer. Through prayer only can you earn God’s grace. So, pray wholeheartedly: Samasta Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu (May all the beings of all the worlds be happy!).

– Bhagawan’s Discourse in Sai Sruthi, at Kodaikanal on
14th April 1993.