Sparks From The Divine Anvil

Bhagawan Baba gave discourses at "Sai Sruti," Kodaikanal, from 5th April to 26th April 1993, before a large audience exceeding three thousand including a considerable proportion of overseas devotees hailing from UK, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, USA, Latin America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Produced below are excerpts from discourses delivered from 5-4-1993 to 12-4-1993.

Those who assemble here come for Satsang or good company so that they can advance in the spiritual path. They should shed some undesirable habits like smoking which retard their progress in the spiritual path. The fire in the cigarette is so mild that if you pile up two or three pieces of fire-wood on it that fire will be put out. But, when a huge jungle-fire is raging, it can burn even green banana plants that are thrown into it. The power of the physical body is like the fire in the cigarette tip while spiritual power is like the forest fire. Once you are advanced in spirituality even the association with evil persons may not affect you. But, when you have not developed your spiritual power you should avoid bad company just as you spit out unpalatable food even at the first taste.

From Concentration To Meditation

Devotees are generally confused about meditation. Just as you can’t receive the radio programme broadcast from any station clearly unless you tune to the appropriate wavelength perfectly, even in meditation you will not get the desired communion with God until you attune yourself to the Divine perfectly. Some aspirants mistake concentration for meditation. Concentration is needed for every activity in your daily life such as reading, writing, walking, talking, eating, etc. Concentration is below the senses, contemplation is in the middle and meditation is above the senses.

Meditation, in fact, is transcending the senses and the mind. During meditation, the mind is actively thinking of several things of the past, the present and the future. The thoughts are running fast. Scarcely does anyone concentrate on the Divine even though one sits in the Padmasana (lotus pose) and closes his eyes. There is no need for sitting for meditation and wasting time in this manner. One can transform every act in daily life as worship of the Divine. Daily chores like making chappatis can be transformed into acts of worship of the Divine. Since the body is an instrument, you can make God happy through this instrument and enjoy happiness yourself in the process. In this way you practise meditation in your daily duties.

Three Phases Of Enjoying Happiness

There are three phases in the act of securing a desired object and enjoying happiness out of it. They are Priyam, Modam and Pramodam. Priyam is the desire to experience happiness from a particular object. Modam is the initial satisfaction derived from getting the desired object. Pramodam is the experience of Ananda or happiness out of the object. It is not enough if you get the object which you desired to have, but you should experience the joy of using it. For example, you like to taste a mango fruit. The first phase is to buy it, the second is to hold it in hand (possessing it) and the third phase is to eat it. It is only while eating the mango that you derive the fulfilment of your desire. It is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as Jnatum (knowing), Drashtum (seeing) and Praveshtum (experiencing).

For instance, you hear about Sai Baba and come to know that He is at Puttaparthi, situated in Andhra Pradesh in India. You make preparations to undertake the journey to the place and have His Darshan. The first phase is getting the knowledge about the place where He is and how to get there; the second phase is making the journey and coming face to face with Him (Seeing) and the third phase is Praveshtum, that is getting practical knowledge of and experiencing the Divinity. All the scriptures of different religions (the Bible, the Quran, the Gita, etc.) explain how to reach the same goal but through different paths.

Here so many of you have assembled in one place though you are coming from different countries like UK, Italy, France, Germany, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Madras, Delhi etc. Though all of you followed different routes to come to this place, all of you have the common goal of meeting here. You should realise that there is only one God who is Omnipresent, only one language, that of the heart and only one caste, that of humanity. You are all bound by one thing and that is Love. Love is God, live in love. The relationship with God breeds love alone and nothing but love. All other relationships with your mother, father, spouse or children are temporary. So you should have confidence only in the one relationship that is everlasting and that is with God.

Excerpts from Discourse on 8-4-1993, given at "Sai Sruti," Kodaikanal.

Vision Should Be Good

The paradox of human behaviour is that, having the power of discrimination to identify good and bad, man is not able to get away from bad pursuits. This is due to the weakness of the human mind, which is in turn the result of desire and anger. Take the example of Ravana, who was a great scholar and master of many arts. Ravana looked at Sita with a bad vision. The eye is a sacred organ. Good vision generates good thoughts. In Ravana, the bad look created bad thoughts, which led to his downfall.

Desire is all right as long as it is within reasonable limits. For example, if you feel thirsty, it is a reasonable desire to seek water to quench the thirst. Not satisfied with water, if one seeks cool drinks it is tantamount to excessive desire.

To illustrate the disastrous consequences of excessive desire, I will narrate a story. Once a wayfarer, who was making a long journey by foot in the hot sun, was feeling tired and sought the shade of a tree to rest for a while. It so happened that the tree was a wish-fulfilling tree. Sitting under its shade, he wished for a cup of cold water for quenching his thirst. To his astonishment a cup of water was placed before him. After quenching his thirst, he felt that it would be good if he could get a bed to recline on and enjoy a siesta. Immediately a bed was provided from nowhere. Then he thought how nice it would be if his wife also was there. In a flash, he found his wife there. At this stage, he had a doubt in his mind as to how his wife, who was far away at home could come there and thought that it might be a demon in her form which might even devour him. As he thought in this manner, the woman turned into a demon and devoured him! This is the result of excessive desire, which is the enemy within you.

Excerpts from Discourse on 6-4-1993.

Will-power And Meditation

Developing good thoughts fosters the Ichcha Shakti (will-power). Ichcha Shakti fosters Prana Shakti (Life Principle), Medha Shakti (Intellectual power), Grahana Shakti (Power of understanding), Nirnaya Shakti (Power of determination) and Vak Shakti (Power of Speech).

One who uses one’s will power in the right manner shines as a virtuous person, but one who uses it in the wrong direction becomes wicked. The will power increases as and when one reduces desires. When excessive desires are entertained, the will power declines. By reducing just one of your several habits like smoking or coffee addiction, you can experience an increase in your will power and intellectual ability.

When the will power is weak, even when one sits in meditation he cannot steady his mind and it will only be a waste of time. One should reduce desires to progress in spiritual sadhana.

Excerpts from Discourse on 7-4-1993.

Ignorance Is The Cause Of Ego

Man is bound by seven types of ropes. They are (1) Deham (body); (2) Kamam (desire); (3) Krodham (anger); (4) Ahamkaram (ego); (5) Karma (fate); (6) Ajnana (ignorance) and (7) Aviveka or Avidya (lack of discrimination). Ignorance is the cause of ego, which breeds Raga and dwesha (attachment and hatred). For getting liberation one has to get rid of the ego, ignorance and attachment. The ego gives rise to Raga (desire) which plunges man in Karma which, in turn, causes Janma (birth).

Ego is like an inflated football. When one is inflated with the air of ego, both the good and bad qualities kick the body. The moment ego is gone, the kicking stops and one attends to his legitimate duties with the feeling that he does not do anything but is only an instrument.

In spirituality, experience is the method of gaining wisdom while in science it is experiment. When you put some sugar in a glass of water you can’t see it or touch it as it gets dissolved. But you can find out its presence by tasting the water. Similarly you can realise Divinity, which is present in every being and within you, only by experiencing Bliss by Sadhana.

When fire on a piece of charcoal is left unattended for some time, you find that ash is covering the fire. This ash came out of the fire only because of negligence. If you blow off the ash you can see the fire. You are not bringing it afresh from outside. Similarly, Jnanagni (the fire of wisdom) in you is covered by the ash of Maya (illusion) which obscures it from your vision. Just blow off the ash of Maya, covering the fire of wisdom, by vairagya (renunciation or sacrifice), you can realise the wisdom within you, which is constant integrated awareness. Everyone is busy in protecting, decorating and painting the chariot of the body but does not have any concern for the charioteer. How do you expect it to move without the direction of the charioteer? The senses are the horses of the chariot of the body, the mind is the rein to control them.

The way to realise the Divinity that is in everyone is to cultivate love, which is the only divine trait. There are three sides to love forming a triangle. They are: (1) Love gives and never receives; (2) Love is fearless; (3) Love is changeless. The love that develops between a mother and child or a husband and wife is subject to change as it pertains to the body. It is only Bhrama (illusion). You should become Brahman shedding Bhrama.

The divinity in you is changeless, blemishless, without beginning or end. Just as a dhobi removes the dirt in a cloth and restores its original whiteness by washing with soap beating it on stone, man should try to regain his vision of the pure effulgent Atma by washing his heart in the water of love with the soap of Shraddha (earnestness) on the stone of Tyaga (sacrifice). This is the way to realise one’s Inner Reality, which is Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantam and Brahma.

Excerpts from Discourse on 8-4-1993.

Shuka Teaches Vyasa

Air is all-pervasive. It is within you and outside as well. Similarly God is pervading everywhere in the Universe. If you look at everything with the divine feeling you will not fail to see Divinity, pure and unsullied. If you see the idol of Krishna in this hall with a divine feeling, you feel you are seeing the form of Krishna.

But if you are keen on finding out the material from which it is made, you see only the bronze or other metal of which it is made and not Krishna. You can realise that what you visualise depends on the nature of your vision - Drishti is Srishti. If you look at the world with coloured glass you see everything differently and not in its real colour. The mind is the cause for feelings. If you see with the feeling that this Vishwam (Universe) is Vishnu Swarupam (embodiment of God), it will be so!

Every object has a Swarupam (its own form) and Swabhavam (its own nature). Man is completely unaware of his real nature, which is love and compassion. He is so much immersed in selfishness that he only does every action to further his own self-interest and accumulate possessions for himself. Even the love that man exhibits today towards other persons or objects is only with a selfish motive to gain something out of them and not for their sake.

Once Shuka, son of Vyasa, wanted to leave his home and go to the forest to undertake tapas. Vyasa, overcome by parental attachment, entreated him not to go to the forest but to remain there and serve his parents as it was his duty to serve them.

But Shuka told Vyasa: “Oh! Vyasa! you are not my father I am not your son. We came from Bliss. Everyone wants to be blissful. I am going to seek the Bliss which is our common source. These names and forms and relationships are only ephemeral.” By this he was referring to his Inner Reality which is the same in all beings.

Excerpts from Discourse on 9-4-1993.

Divine Action

Everyone should remember that the purpose of human life is to do one’s duty without regard for results, which will automatically accrue. When there is rain, water will flow in the river and one need not pray for both. It is enough if you pray for rain. Man can’t live without activity even for a moment, as blood circulation and breathing are going on non-stop as long as one lives, whether one is sleeping, walking or sitting. It will be folly to attribute these natural activities to man’s efforts. It is Divine action. Krishna spells this out in the Gita: “Aham Vaishvanaro Bhutva Praninam Dehamasritah. Pranapana Samayuktah. Pachamyannam Chatur Vidham.” God is in every being as Vaishvanara, aiding digesting of all types of food. God is described as Esha, Girisha, Naresha, Paresha and Bilvesha. The term Esha means sakala aishwarya sampanna (master of all types of wealth). Aishwarya includes not only property, movable and immovable, but also strength, knowledge, skill, intelligence and prosperity. Eswara is the master of all wealth.

Girisha: Girisha means master of Giri or Hill. What does this signify? People often go to Tirupati Hills and offer their hair in fulfilment of vows. The inner significance of this sacrifice of hair must be understood. God is not expecting your hair, which is of no value at all. Does He relish this lowliest of offerings? Certainly not! The head is the peak of the human body. Ignorance or Tamasic quality is supposed to be dark or black. The black hair is enveloping the peak of the human body which is the head. By removing the hair on the head you expose the white surface of the peak. This is symbolic of surrendering the dullness or Tamasic quality. This is an age-old practice, which is followed without comprehending its inner significance. Since God is the master of the light of wisdom, as opposed to dullness on the head at the top of the human body, He is termed as “Girisha.”

Naresha: In the term Naresha (master of Narah) ‘Na’ means no, ‘Rah’ means ignorant of one’s sacredness. Narah means ‘man’ who is not ignorant. He is not a sinner. He is the embodiment of pure Atma. The Master of man is Naresha.

Paresha: ‘_Para_’ means “above all.” God transcends all. He is Akhanda (limitless) and Anirvachaneeya (beyond description by words). As God transcends the three stages of time - past, present and future and space, pervading everywhere, He is termed Paresha. 

Bilvesha: He is termed Bilvesha - the lover of the Bilva leaf which is having triple leaves in a single stalk, Trinetra - one with three eyes and Triguna - transcending the three gunas (qualities of Satva, Rajas and Tamas). His weapon is Trishul, the three-pointed Javelin. One should offer the three qualities to God, symbolised by the offer of the triple-leaf Bilva for worship. One should do worship with full understanding of the inner significance of the rituals.

Excerpts from Discourse on 10-4-1993.

God Realisation

You are all embodiments of Divinity, which is within you. God is in the form of Vaishvanara to digest your food. You listen to such teachings many times but don’t practise. Instead of having tons of knowledge an ounce of practice is enough. Sadhana is essential to realise divinity. Sa means Daivatwam (divinity). Dhana means wealth. The acquisition of the wealth of divinity is sadhana. Salokyam is entering the world of God; Samipyam is going nearer to God; Sarupyam is acquiring the feeling that you are part of God and Sayujyam is final merging with God.

You know there is butter in milk. But you have to subject it to the process of turning into curd and then churning it to get butter. Similarly, in the pot of the body there is the milk of Divinity. You have to churn it using Buddhi as churning rod and Bhakti as the rope. Out of the churning, comes butter which is Self-realisation. You got it from what is already there inside you.

You should never divorce spirituality from worldly life. The cloth in my hand (a kerchief) is spirituality. It is made up of threads which represent worldly life. The cloth is there only because of the threads. If you segregate the threads there will be no cloth.

“Twameva Mata, Pita Twameva.” We say, God is father, mother, friend, relative, knowledge, wealth and all. God is the energy which drives us to action. We should not waste our energy on useless things.

Excerpts from Discourse on 11-4-1993.

The Senses And Values

The five values of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanti (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non-violence) are related to different inner instruments of the body.

The value of Truth is expressed through speech or words. The value of Dharma is expressed through the body. This is related to the Annamaya kosha (physical sheath). Shanti can be experienced only in the mental plane - Manomaya kosha (Mental sheath). For Sathya, Dharma and Shanti one has to purify the instruments of speech, body and mind. This is called purity of “Mano, Vak, Kayam.” Prema (Love) comes out of Anandamaya kosha (mental and bliss sheath). Ahimsa (Non-violence) comes from Bliss sheath. Prema flows as an undercurrent in all the inner instruments and purifies them. So all the five values are having relationship with the five sheaths.

Now these values are mostly absent in human beings. Thinking in one way, talking in another way, and indulging in action not related to the talk or thought is the mark of a wicked person. He may be in human form but he is to be deemed to be a demon only. Because such people are in abundance, the world is in turmoil. Sathya is full of sanctity if one deeply enquiries into this value. Sat means Prana (life force). Ya means Aharam (food). “M” stands for Sun. It is a combination of life, food and sun. For life, food is essential and food comes from the sun. The greenery in the world subsists because of Sun’s rays. It is the duty of man to make use of the food created by the Sun to sustain life. If you analyze this word Sathya in the reverse order ya stands for Yama, tha stands for tapas and sa stands for ‘_Sarveswara_’. It conveys the truth that by practising Yama and tapas one can realise the Almighty. Yama is not the God of death but is the five-fold discipline one should maintain. They are Ahimsa, Sathya, Brahmacharya, Astheya and Aparigraha (Non-Violence, Truth, Celibacy, Non-stealing, and Non-covetousness).

God is said to be of blue colour. It does not mean that His skin is bluish! He is Jnana Bhaskara (the embodiment of wisdom or shining with the light, of wisdom). He is also Ananta - endless like the sky or fathomless like the Ocean. Since both are of blue colour God is also described as bluish. He is not born with blue-coloured skin. He is infinite and fathomless. The heart of the human being is like the sky in which the ‘Self’ is the sun shining constantly. Just as passing clouds obstruct the vision of the sun temporarily, attachment to world and worries and troubles will obstruct the vision of the Inner Self but once the clouds clear, you can have vision of the Inner Self which is resplendent within. By means of Dhyana Shakti and Prana Shakti, you can experience Divinity in the Bliss sheath, which fosters the five human values.

Shanti Comes from Manomaya kosha.
Sathya comes from Vijnanamaya kosha.
Dharma comes from Annamaya kosha.
Prema comes from Pranamaya and Manomaya kosha.
Ahimsa comes from Anandamaya kosha.

In these five sheaths are encased three types of bodies: Sthula (Physical), Sukshma (Subtle) and Karana (Causal) Shariras (bodies). Annamaya Kosha represents physical body. It is like the tyre of a lorry. If you increase intake of food it grows and the weight of the body increases. Divinity is there in all the sheaths of the body. It is Constant Integrated Awareness in different forms in speech, action and feelings.

It is well known that humanness thrives on good company and good thoughts. What good thoughts can achieve is illustrated by the life of a poor boy in Tamil Nadu, Muthuswamy Iyer. His father died at a very young age. The forlorn widow summoned the young man and told him that there were many poor people in the world who were suffering many hardships because they were not able to get justice. “Somehow you must pursue your studies so that you may one day provide help to these unfortunate people,” she said. The mother's words strengthened the determination of the young lad. He pursued his studies diligently though he lacked many necessities. In the evenings he used to study under street lamps, as there was no light at home. He was solely inspired by his mother’s good advice. As a result of this hard work, he graduated and secured a law degree. He dedicated himself to the service of the weak and helpless. His zeal and devotion resulted in due course in his becoming the first Indian Judge of the Madras High Court. Consider the lowliness of his birth and what eminence he achieved! It was entirely due to the noble thoughts he cherished and his strength of will.

Excerpts from Discourse on 12-4-1993.