Removal of Immorality Is The Only Way To Immortality

Consider Faith As Your Life-Breath

One may be the master of all forms of knowledge, 
One may vanquish one’s adversaries in debate, 
One may fight with valour and courage in the
battlefield, 
One may be an emperor reigning over vast kingdoms, 
One may offer cows and gold as an act of charity, 
One may count the countless stars in the sky, 
One may tell the names of different living creatures 
on the earth, 
One may be an expert in eight steps of Yoga, 
One may reach even the moon, 
But is there anyone who can control the body, 
mind and senses, 
turn the vision inward 
And achieve the supreme state of equanimity of the 
mind?

(Telugu Poem)

When man emerges from the womb of his mother, one does not find any garland around his neck. There are no jewels made of pearls nor are there glittering gold ornaments. There are no necklaces studded with precious stones like emeralds and diamonds. But there is one garland around his neck. Brahma strings together the consequences of his past deeds into a heavy garland and puts it around his neck at the time of his birth.

(Telugu Poem)

Embodiments of Love!

Body is given to man to perform actions. As the GIta says: Karmanyevadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana (your right is on actions only, not the fruits thereof). It is the duty of man to perform actions. Duty is very important. Your responsibility is only to perform your duty; you have no authority on rights. When you discharge your duty sincerely, you will get the rights automatically. But man today forgets his duty and craves for authority. So, take care of your responsibility. If you perform your responsibility earnestly, you will get the rights naturally.

Perform Actions Without Desire For Fruits

When there is downpour of rain, rivers flow naturally. Without rain, how do you expect the rivers to flow? Pray for the rain; you need not pray for the rivers to flow. Likewise, when you do your duty, you will certainly get the reward of your actions. So, perform actions without any desire for fruits. What for? Karmanubandhini Manushya Loke (man in the world is bound by action). Human society is bound by Karma (action). You have to perform actions right from the time of rising from the bed in the morning till going to sleep at night. This Karma does not mean discharging duty alone. In fact, man cannot live without action even for a moment. But Karma does not mean merely those actions which you perform with your hands and legs. Your blood circulation and breathing also denote Karma. What efforts do you make for inhalation and exhalation? You may be in waking state, in sleep state or in dream state; you may be in a state of anger, you may be walking, you may be doing anything, your inhalation and exhalation goes on naturally. Will any fool say that inhalation and exhalation are because of his effort? You make some effort for certain actions but what efforts do you make for respiration or beating of your heart? It is not in your hands. These are natural actions which happen by God’s Will. The food that you eat gets digested. Who gave you that power of digestion? This is also done by God. Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad-gita:

Aham Vaishvanaro Bhutva 
Praninam Dehamashrita 
Pranapana Samayuktah 
Pachamyannam Chaturvidham.

(I am present in all beings in the form of digestive fire. United with Prana and Apana – inhalation and exhalation – it is I who consume the four kinds of food.)

It is the digestive power gifted to man by God, which digests all the four types of food eaten by him. But man out of his ego claims that it is he who has accomplished a particular task and achieved success by his efforts. However, this does not mean that man should not make efforts to perform any task. For all worldly and mundane chores effort is necessary. But what effort do you make for Atmic, sacred, spiritual, inner and mystic activities? Who is the doer? It is Isha, Girisha, Naresha, Paresha, Bilvesha.

God Is The Only Doer

Who is Isha? The one endowed with all Aishwarya (wealth) is Isha. What do you mean by Aishwarya? Aishwarya signifies all the wealth whether it is materialistic, scientific, ethical or spiritual. He is the source and master of all the different forms of wealth. Who is Girisha? What is Giri? Many Bharatiyas know. They visit Tirupati and offer their hair. But what will happen out of that? Do you think God wants your useless hair? With all high desires, you offer your worthless hair and pray to God! You pray to God in that vile way! This is not the significance of offering hair in Tirupati. Our head is the Giri (mountain) of our body. In this head, Tamo-guna performs its bestial dance. What is Tamo-guna? What is its nature and form? Tamo-guna signifies black color, darkness and ignorance. This darkness enters human head. Offer this darkness to God to manifest white, pious, Sattvika (serene) quality. Offering worthless hair to God is meaningless. This is how our age-old good traditions have been distorted.

The third is Naresha, the master of mankind. What is meant by Nara? ‘Na’ means not, ‘Ra’ means ignorant. One who is not ignorant is Nara. Man is not ignorant; he is not sinner either. The next one is Paresha. What do you mean by Paresha? Para means limitless, above everything. So, Paresha is one who is vast, infinite and beyond all definitions. The next is Bilvesha, Lord Shiva who is worshipped with Bilva leaves. There are three Bilva leaves on a single stalk. While worshipping Lord Shiva we recite this Mantra: Tridalam Trigunakaram (one Bilva leaf with three petals). The three leaves represent the three Gunas (attributes). Heart is the basis of these three attributes. Offer your three qualities wholeheartedly to God. This is the inner significance of the worship of Lord Shiva.

Acquire Practical Education

Man does perform actions. What are the results of these actions? You can see yourself that all of them are temporary.

Oh man! You struggle hard in life merely for the sake of filling your belly. You acquire myriad types of knowledge from various fields. Examine and enquire for yourself what great happiness have you achieved by spending all the time from dawn to dusk in acquiring worldly knowledge and earning wealth while forgetting God.

(Telugu Poem)

You acquire education. But what do you learn? All your learning is worldly and materialistic. Why should you use your intelligence to learn about material things? You make so many calculations, you do so much work with computer. Having studied thus, you consider yourself highly intelligent. But as it is said in Telugu, “Even a Dhobi (washerman) is superior to an educated man”. How? Suppose you give your clothes to a Dhobi and write in a notebook – two pants, two shirts, two handkerchiefs and a towel. The washerman carries with him a large number of clothes of many people, but he does not write it down. After washing the clothes, he will return the clothes of all his customers correctly. So, what a lot of difference is there between your education and that of the washerman! What you acquire is bookish knowledge. Bookish knowledge is temporary.

Oh man! Do not feel proud of your education. If you do not offer your salutations to God and do not think of Him with devotion, all your education will become useless.

(Telugu Poem)

The learning that is permanent will be imprinted on your heart. But your education is only for a living. It is not for the bliss of the Self.

You Can Experience Bliss Only on Spiritual Path

Man makes efforts, struggles hard to attain bliss. He tries to acquire it from worldly objects. He yearns and pines for bliss. But he does not realise that he himself is the very form of bliss. Bliss is within him and he searches it outside. What a foolishness it is! For this he strains himself sacrificing even his food and sleep. At the end, what is it that he experiences? Man is deluded that there is happiness in education or wealth. There is no happiness in them.

There have been many mighty kings, who were the masters of great wealth, power and pelf. They ruled over mighty kingdoms. Where are they now and what did they experience? They tried to attain bliss in these mundane objects but all in vain. Bliss is present only on spiritual path, nowhere else. Man should perform all actions to please God. We read many texts, we go to meet many noble souls, we do so many spiritual practices, but there is no result at all. Why? Because we are heroes in speech and zeros in practice.

At one time, the deer in a forest had a conference. All the deer gathered there. There the head deer, the president of the conference, got up and said, “We should pass a resolution. The main point of this resolution is that we are in no way inferior to dogs. We can run faster than dogs. Dogs are non-vegetarian, but we are vegetarian. The strength that we have in our legs is not present in the legs of dogs. We lead a sacred life. After our death, saints make use of our skin to do penance. But will anyone make use of a dog’s skin? Does the dog possess that strength, that sanctity? Dogs cannot run as fast as we can. So, with all our strength and power, why should we be afraid of dogs?” This was the central point for discussion. After discussion, they resolved that they should not be afraid of dogs. All the deer joined and expressed their agreement. After thorough discussion, they passed the resolution that from that day onward they would not be afraid of dogs. Having resolved thus, they felt blissful and happy. At that time, a hunter was passing through the forest along with his dogs. Suddenly, one of his dogs barked. On listening to the barking of the dog, all the deer started running. In a moment, the entire dais became empty. Where have the deer gone? What happened to the resolution? Why do they have fear? This is the state of affairs in the world today. There are so many conferences, so many meetings, so many resolutions, but in practical field it is a big zero. The spiritual field should not be like that. The proper study of mankind is man. There should be perfect harmony between thought, word and action. This is the first step on the spiritual path.

What is the second step? Each one should enquire, “Who am I?” One should say, I am man. Should he be satisfied with that? No! When you say, “I am man” it is only half the truth. What is the other half? The other half is, “I am not an animal”. Always repeat I am man, not animal. I am man, not animal. When we join these two halves, we have full truth. Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names). It is only one that exists, not the second. Truth is one, not two.

Know Who You Are

When you get bad thoughts, you should immediately start enquiring, what are human values and what are animal qualities? You should enquire, am I the body? Am I the mind? Am I the senses? Am I the intellect? Am I the inner instrument? Put these questions to yourself. You say, this is my handkerchief. So, handkerchief is separate from you. You say, “This is my body”. When you say, “my body”, you are separate from the body. When you say, “my mind”, the mind is separate from you. Then you should question yourself, who am I?

In this way, when we question ourselves in ordinary matters in daily life, we will be able to understand the eternal truth, that is Divinity. When you understand, I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the senses, then who are you? You should say, I am I. Tattvamasi (That thou Art) is non-duality. But when you say, Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman), it is not non-duality because I and Brahman are two. Two is not truth. That is dualism. So, you should say, “I am I”. That is non-dualism, meaning you are you.

Body is like a water bubble, mind is like a mad monkey. Don’t follow the mind, don’t follow the body, follow the conscience. That is the spiritual practice you should do. Follow your Hridaya on the path of spirituality. Hridaya does not mean physical heart. It is spiritual heart. Where is it located? It is present everywhere.

God Is in Search of a True Devotee

What do you mean by body? Deho Devalaya Prokto Jivo Deva Sanatanah (the body is a temple and the Indweller is God). Body is the temple of God. What type of temple is it? It is a moving temple. Wherever your body moves, there is God. So, where is God? He is everywhere. You cannot say God is here and not there. The Bhagavad-gita also declares: Sarvatah Panipadam Tat Sarvatokshi Shiromukham, Sarvatah Shrutimalloke Sarvamaavrutya Tishthati (with hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth and ears pervading everything, He permeates the entire universe). Wherever your feet go, there is God. God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. As your vision is narrow, you are not able to understand this truth.

You say that you are put to suffering by the world. But it is not the world which is putting you to suffering; rather, you are making the world suffer. The Bible also propounds this truth. It is said that the devotees are in search of God. This is not correct. What is the necessity for a devotee to search for God when He is everywhere? Where do you search for God who is present at all places? This is not right. In fact, God is in search of a devotee. Where is a real and true devotee with steady faith? When we enquire like this, we find that it is, in fact, God who is in search of a true devotee. To say that the devotee is in search of God is untruth; it is false. So, we need not search for God. He is the indweller of your heart. He is all-pervasive. He is present within you, around you, below you, above you. Antarbahishcha Tatsarvam Vyapya Narayana Sthitah (That all-pervasive God is present within and without).

In fact, you are also God. It is not enough if you think that you are God. You should develop divine feelings and perform divine actions. If you say, “I am God” and indulge in demonic acts, then your saying is meaningless. Always remind yourself, I am man, not animal. Anger, jealousy, hatred, greed are animal qualities. Truth, compassion, love, sacrifice are human qualities. Develop human qualities. Then only can you call yourself Manava (man). The word Manava has three letters Ma, Na, Va. Ma means ignorance, Na means without and Va means one who conducts himself. So, Manava means the one who conducts himself without ignorance. That is the true meaning of the word Manava. If you lead your life in the light of this truth, God will be with you, in you, around you and will protect you in all situations. Having been born as a human being, you should never lead the life of an animal.

The Goal Of Human Life Is To Know God

Man performs spiritual practices to remove animal qualities from his mind. What do you mean by spirituality? To root out animal qualities within you is true spirituality. All spiritual practices like Japa, Dhyana, Yajna (chanting, meditation, sacrifice) are useless when there are animal qualities within you. So, you should imbibe sacred human values. A vessel with a number of holes will remain empty in spite of heavy rain.

What is this body? It is a perishable leather bag with nine holes but not like a resplendent diamond. No fragrance but only foul smell emanates from it every moment. It is made up of flesh, blood, bones and faecal matter. Should we develop attachment with this body?

(Telugu Poem)

This body is bound to perish. The life span of man is said to be hundred years, but nobody can be sure when the end will approach, in boyhood, youth or old age, in town, forest or water. Death is certain. Man should know God so long as he has the body. This sacred human life is gifted to man only to realise divinity. Man can make his life worthwhile by developing divine qualities.

What are the divine qualities? Nirgunam, Niranjanam, Sanatanam, Niketanam, Nitya, Shuddha, Buddha, Mukta, Nirmala Swarupinam (God is attributeless, unsullied, final abode, eternal, pure, enlightened, free and embodiment of sacredness). Not only this, other attributes of Divinity are: Shabda Brahmamayi, Characharamayi, Jyotirmayi, Vangmayi, Nityanandamayi, Paratparamayi, Mayamayi and Shreemayi (embodiment of sound, mobility and immobility, light, speech, eternal bliss, perfection, delusion and wealth). Out of so many divine qualities of God, do we have even one? You don’t need to put into practice all that is said. Practise at least one teaching of Swami. But you listen and go.

Once a sculptor brought three idols in King Bhojaraja’s court. Bhojaraja said to his minister, “Minister, judge which is the best of the three”. The minister pierced an iron rod into the ear of one idol. The iron rod came out through the other ear. This idol was kept aside by the minister. He examined the second idol. When the rod was put into one ear, it came out through the mouth. The same reply ensued. Now the minister put the third idol to test. The iron rod went into the ear but did not come out. The minister said, “Oh king, this idol is most valuable”. “What is the reason?” asked the king. The minister said, “The first idol represents a person who hears with one ear but lets out information through the other. This is not good. The second idol symbolises a person who listens with one ear but leaves out the information through the mouth. No value. On the contrary, the third idol stands for a person who receives the information through the ear and treasures it in his heart”.

So, whatever good thing you hear, treasure it in your heart. If you put it in your heart, it may develop at one time or the other. It is like the negative of a photograph. When you have negative with you, you can make any number of copies at any time. What you take into your head, it is like a Polaroid picture. You cannot make any copies out of it. Keep good things safe in your heart like a negative so that you can put it into practice. Many teachers teach spirituality to devotees in many different ways leading to confusion to everybody. They teach for their selfish ends and to earn name and fame, not for the welfare of society. Aspirants who put in great efforts to learn spirituality should not be misled.

Self-Confidence Is The Basis Of Self-Realisation

God is one and He is present in everyone. What is the way to God? First and foremost, try to know what is the best way. The best way is removal of immorality. In fact, removal of immorality is the only way to immortality. Not only this. The best way to love God is to love all and serve all because God is present in everyone.

There are many such subtle truths, but these easy paths are not being taught today. That is why devotees are confused. They have lost their confidence altogether. Confusion also gives rise to doubts. Because of doubts faith declines. There is no scope for doubts in spirituality. So, never allow the doubts to shake your faith. Consider Vishvas (faith) as your Shvas (life-breath). As man becomes a dead body without breath, he is spiritually dead without faith.

First and foremost, man should develop self-confidence. Self-confidence leads to self-satisfaction. When you have self-satisfaction, you will do self-sacrifice. Where there is self-sacrifice, there will be Self-realisation. Self-confidence is the foundation, self-satisfaction is the wall, self-sacrifice is the roof, Self-realisation is life. Hence, develop self-confidence in the first instance. Self-confidence is the basis of love. You cannot achieve anything without love.

(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the Bhajan “Prema Mudita Manase Kaho…”)

– Bhagawan’s Discourse in Sai Sruthi, at Kodaikanal on
10th April 1993.