Treasure Spiritual Knowledge In Your Heart

Do Not Allow Bad Thoughts To Enter Your Mind

Human life is highly valuable, sacred, and full of radiance of virtues. We waste such a noble human life for the sake of sensual pleasures and worldly possessions. The main responsibility of a human being is to develop good character and realise human values.

Face Problems To Develop Human Qualities

Man is born without any desires and qualities. At the time of birth, he has no attributes whatsoever. As he grows up, he acquires some qualities, due to the influence of the food habits he develops and the company he associates with. As he develops attachment and possessive instinct, he has to face so many losses, difficulties, troubles, and challenges. Man should uphold human values in the face of all challenges, defeats, and losses. Human life is full of problems and challenges. They all help indirectly to develop human qualities. If man is to lead a human life, he has to develop human qualities.

In the first instance, man develops desires. Desires are common to all, whether one is young or old, man or woman, a common man or a saint. However, it is very important to have good desires, e.g., desire to reach an exalted position, desire to lead a noble life, desire to be a good student, desire to tread the divine path. It is quite natural for man to have desires as he has to live in the world. But there should be a limit to his desires. As his desires have crossed all limits due to the effect of Kali Yuga, he has lost his peace and is experiencing restlessness. Desires may be there, but there should be some limit to man's desires. Man's unlimited desires are like chains which bind and imprison him. He loses his freedom as he is bound by desires.

Put Your Knowledge Into Practice

Animals have also desires, but they are not limitless like those of man. Animals have a reason and a season, but man has no reason and no season. That is why man today is facing so many troubles and problems.

Man has no dearth of food, raiment, and shelter. Then, what is the reason for his restlessness? It is only excessive desires that make him restless. Therefore, he must put a ceiling on his desires. Less luggage, more comfort makes travel a pleasure. Life is a long journey. In this long journey of life, you should not have excess luggage. This in Vedantic parlance is called renunciation (Vairagya).

You have been reading about renunciation for a long time. You have been listening to many discourses. But how much have you been able to practice? If you question yourself, you will find that you have not moved even a single step forward; you are where you were. In spite of listening to and reading Vedantic texts, in spite of Japa (chanting) and meditation, in spite of knowledge of sacred texts, your position is the same as it was. How can you make progress? You will reach noble heights only when you put your knowledge into practice. But students today are zero in practice and hero in bookish knowledge. You may hear and learn so many things. But your position is the same as it has been. Instead of learning a hundred things, it is very important to practice at least one. So, you should start practicing. You get experience only through practice.

Your hunger is not satiated merely by hearing the names of delicious items. You have to make an effort to eat. A beggar will never improve his condition simply by listening about the greatness of economy. Pitch darkness can never get dispelled by listening to the power of light. Similarly, you can never become a Vedantin by learning about Vedanta.

Bookish knowledge is merely superficial knowledge. What we need is supreme knowledge. Supreme knowledge is obtained through practical knowledge. So, man must make an effort to practice at least to some extent. In spite of all their learning, people do not make any effort to attain God's grace. They do not develop the spirit of sacrifice. What is it that we practice? What is it that we sacrifice? We neither practice nor do we sacrifice anything. Then why should we listen? We listen to sacred texts just as we listen to other stories. In daily life, we listen to the radio, we watch TV. What is the result of watching this? We derive happiness so long as we are watching. Later we forget. But spirituality is not like that. That which is heard, that which is watched must be treasured in the heart. Then only will we have satisfaction and strength.

Man considers himself good and decries others as bad. But good and bad depend on one's thinking. Here is a small example.

Once Krishna thought of testing the nature of Yudhishthira and Duryodhana. First, He called Yudhishthira and said, “I have a task to perform. For that, I need a very mean-minded person who is given to untruthful and evil ways. Can you bring such a person?” Afterwards, Krishna called Duryodhana and said to him, “Duryodhana! A great task is to be performed. For that, a noble person is required who is pure, kind-hearted and virtuous.” Both of them agreed to perform the tasks assigned to them by Krishna. Yudhishthira went in one direction and Duryodhana in another direction in search of the persons asked for by Krishna. After some time, Yudhishthira came back, and said most humbly to Krishna, “Oh Lord! There is no wicked person in our kingdom. I am the only one who has some wickedness or the other. Please make use of me.” Some time after this, Duryodhana also came back and said to Krishna, “Krishna! A thoroughly noble person is nowhere to be seen in this kingdom. I think, I am the only such person. If You tell me the task, I will surely perform it.”

In the egoistic outlook of Duryodhana, all appeared to be wicked. In the humble nature of Yudhishthira, all appeared to be good. Hence, whatever is the color of the glasses that you wear, everything will appear to you of that color. If your vision is evil, everything will appear evil to you. Duryodhana was extremely wicked and evil-minded. On the other hand, Yudhishthira was an epitome of virtues. He was the very embodiment of Satya and Dharma. Therefore, everyone appeared noble and good to him. An egoistic person will think that he knows everything; others are ignoramuses. But one who knows everything is always humble. One who claims that he knows everything actually does not know anything. One who says that he does not know anything may really know everything. So, we may try to know everything. But we should practice at least one or two things out of many that we know.

Many people know the story of the efficacy of chanting the Divine Name of God. As narrated by the speaker in his talk, by hearing the Name of the Lord, the bird had next birth as a calf and the calf as a prince. Many people chant ‘Sai Ram’, ‘Sai Ram’ constantly. But to what extent is there transformation in them? If they enquire themselves, there is not even a fraction of change in them. What is the use? A bird could change, an animal could also change, the prince too could have merged with the Lord. But what is the reason for lack of transformation in modern man? It is not enough if you repeat God’s Name. The tape recorder can also repeat the Name of the Lord. Gramophone record also repeats Lord’s Name. To what extent do they enjoy the result? So, we should not chant the Name of the Lord mechanically. We should do it with full awareness. Everything should come out of the heart, not merely out of the lips. We say everything with lips, but we do not experience at the level of the heart. In order that the human life be transformed into divine, we should imprint divine feelings in our heart. We should develop the spirit of sacrifice and sublimate human life.

Sacrifice Imparts Immortality

What do you mean by spirituality? Spirituality does not mean mere Japa, meditation, Bhajans. They are all good actions. But man has to sacrifice all animal qualities which are deep rooted in his heart over many past births. Then only his chanting of Divine Name will have due impact.

When you chant God’s Name, sacred feelings should also develop in you. When a tree grows up, its roots also should go in the soil. The weight of the tree is borne by the roots below. Then only will the tree have safety and strength. If the roots don’t go deep, the whole tree will fall. So, as the practice is growing, the feelings also should go deep. God is more concerned with your inner feelings than your external practice. When external practice and inner feelings go together, your Sadhana is transformed into divine radiance. You should change both externally and internally because God is present within, without, and all over. As the Vedas say, Antarbahischa Tatsarvam Vyapya Narayana Sthitah (That all-pervasive God is present within and without). When you advance on the spiritual path, you should also enquire how far you have controlled your worldly attachments. As your attachment increases, your distance from the Lord also increases proportionately. However, when you develop attachment towards God, your attachment to the world decreases. It is a see-saw. You are at the center. On one side is the world and on the other side is God. If you move towards God, the world will be away from you. If you move towards the world, you will become distant from God.

In which direction should you move then? You have worldly attachment and desire for God. But you cannot have both at the same time. Heart is a single-seated sofa, not a double-seated one. It is not a musical chair either. It should not change continuously. Na Karmanä Na Prajayä Dhanena Tyägenaike Amrtattva mänasuh (immortality is not attained through action, progeny, or wealth; it is attained only by sacrifice). Therefore, if you want to attain immortality, you must renounce worldliness. Here in this container, there is water. If you want to pour milk in it, you have to throw the water out of the vessel. Then only can you pour milk in it. If you pour milk when there is water, neither water nor milk will stay there. Similarly, in your heart so many worldly desires are there. First, make it empty by removing worldly desires; then fill it up with divine desires. If the heart is really empty, you can fill it with anything. If it is filled with other things, then how can you fill it with divine knowledge?

First, cleanse your heart. That is Chitta Shuddhi (purity of heart). Without purity, unity is not possible. Where there is no unity, divinity will never enter. On the other hand, enmity may enter there. First of all, develop purity. What do you mean by purity? God is in everyone. So, you should respect all. You should develop that nature. Sarva Jiva Namaskaram Keshavam Pratigachchhati (whomsoever you salute, it reaches God) and Sarva Jiva Tiraskaram Keshavam Pratigachchhati (whomsoever you criticise, it reaches God). So, whomsoever you meet, offer respect to him realizing that God indwells him. Never criticize anybody. Criticising others amounts to criticsing God.

Rectify your mistakes; never point out others’ mistakes. As Jesus said, man does not see the log in his own eye but looks at the speck in others’ eye? It is not good. Man should get rid of his own defects. He should see good in others; never look at their faults. That is real spiritual practice. When man looks at his own defects and others’ merits, he will reach noble heights. When man tries to cover up his own mistakes and exaggerates others’ demerits, he completely subdues his humanity.

So, first, he should enquire within himself. It is self-enquiry. When he enquires, then he will have self-realization. Wherefrom does self-realization come? Self-realization comes out of the Self. Self-confidence leads to self-satisfaction, self-satisfaction leads to self-sacrifice, and self-sacrifice leads to self-realization. Everything is within the Self. Then what is the Self? That is the Atma.

Develop Broad-Mindedness

Man has to investigate and visualise his own true Self. He says Nenu, Nenu (‘I’, ‘I’). Who am ‘I’? Where is that ‘I’? Is it in the body or in the mind or in the intellect or in the Chitta or in the Antahkarana (inner instrument)? No. This ‘I’ is present all over. Constant Integrated Awareness is ‘I’. That is Prajnana (Supreme Consciousness). That is God. It is in the mind, it is the body, it is in the intellect, it is all over.

So, God is all-pervasive. Develop the feeling that God is everywhere. To have that broad feeling, get rid of your animal qualities. Only when you remove your animal qualities will divine feelings manifest in you. So, along with Namasmarana (repetition of God’s Name), you should also develop broad-mindedness.

Many people come here from far-off places, spending a lot of money. After spending so much money and traveling long distances, what is it that they should get? They should develop divinity within. This morning also Swami said this. In the cup, there is water. If you put a teaspoon of sugar in it, the sugar will settle down at the bottom. Above there is water. Taste lies at the bottom, not on the top. If you drink the top water, it is tasteless. What is that tasteless water? The tasteless water is worldly desires. But when Divinity is at the bottom. In order to mix sugar with water on the top, what should you do? You should stir it well with a spoon. In this way, sugar at the bottom will spread all over in the water. Then wherever you drink, it is bound to be sweet. Your heart is the cup. Divinity is sugar. Worldly desires are water. When you put in the spoon of intellect and stir the water, which is Sadhana, then Divinity will spread all over. So, what is it that you are supposed to do? Divinity within you is quite natural. You are not expanding it all over. You are limiting it; you are making it narrow with the feelings of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. This is only contraction of love. But there should be expansion of love. In order to expand love, you should have the feeling that everyone belongs to you because there is God in everyone.

So, the true spiritual practice is to travel from the position of ‘I’ to the position of ‘we’. You should travel from small zero to big zero. This is a zero. There is another bigger zero. It is also zero. Still bigger is another big zero. It is also zero. All are zeros. There is a difference only in quantity, but quality is the same. To think that we are moving from smaller truth to bigger truth is a mistake. Truth is truth. Truth remains the same at all times.

You should have a broad mind. When you have a broad mind, you will be able to recognize the Divinity in everyone. Without broad feelings, study of sacred texts is merely a waste of time and labor. You cannot attain Divinity merely by reading scriptures, if you have narrow feelings. To realize one’s Self, one word is enough. To tell others, you have to read many texts. That which is said by reading the texts has no taste. It is not the true sign of Divinity.

Chant The Divine Name From The Depth Of Your Heart

Shiva keeps the moon on the top of his head to give light to everyone. But he keeps the poison in his throat. He keeps all that is harmful in himself, but distributes the good to all. That is equanimity (Samatva) in the nature of Ishvara or Shiva. Ishvara Sarva Bhutanam (God is the indweller of all beings). That Ishvara is in everyone. You should also be like Ishvara. Distribute good to others but keep all the bad within you. Do not distribute your bad qualities. You have to subdue all your bad qualities, never pass on to anybody. But distribute good, do good to everybody. You may not have time to go through the 18 Puranas (mythological texts). But you should know their essence. What is that essence? The essence of 18 Puranas is: ‘Help Ever, Hurt Never.’ It is enough if you know this. Help everybody. Never hurt anyone. If you know these two principles, you can know anything.

God is in everyone. You have to recognise this truth and develop love for all. The spirit of love is spirituality. Split of love is duality. Boys! At this young age, you should develop broad feelings. Instead of telling many things to others, it is enough if you practice at least one yourself. Study of sacred texts can never transform anybody at any time. You may repeat many Shlokas (verses) but your Shoka (grief) will never be eradicated. Put into practice the essence of one of the verses you read. That is enough.

There are potatoes and chapati served in the plate. Even if you repeat ‘potato chapati, potato chapati’ a hundred times, your hunger will not be satiated. When you eat potato chapati, then only will your hunger be appeased. First experience, then practice. It is no use merely chanting Lord’s Name. You go on repeating Ram, Sai Ram, Sai Ram – Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram – Krishna, Krishna, Krishna… like a tape recorder; it is of no use. It is not enough if it comes out of the lips; it should come out of the heart. When it comes out of the heart, then there will be transformation. Through transformation, you will get bliss (Ananda). That bliss only will lead you to self-realisation. So, self-realisation is important. We should question ourselves, who am I, who am I, am I the body? No! When you say, “This is my body”, then body is separate from you. You say, “This is my mind”. Then mind is separate from you. You are different from the mind. “Then who am I?” you should ask. You say, “This is my body, this is my mind, this is my Buddhi (intellect). Then ask yourself, “Who am I?” You should say, “I am I. I am not the body, I am not the mind. Mind and body are only instruments. I am the owner, I am the master. Therefore, I am Atma”.

Make use of all the instruments. Develop the feelings that you are the Atma. Then you can experience the Self. Body is a water bubble. Mind is a mad monkey. Don’t follow the body. Don’t follow the mind. Follow the conscience. That is Atma. That is the true self.

Realise Unity In Diversity

Body is needed. Body is an instrument. Because of the body, you could practice thus far. There is the mind. Don’t allow bad thoughts to enter your mind. Divert all actions of the body and all thinking of the mind towards God. Then work will be transformed into worship. Whatever actions you perform, consider them as acts of worship. Never divide, this is my work and that is God’s work. Every work, any work is God’s work. When we go with that feeling, we can easily understand spirituality.

Never give scope to the feelings of mine and thine. That is ego. You should not have ego. So long as you have ego, you cannot accomplish anything. You should be very humble. You should have humility and obedience. When you have humility, then you will have all potentialities and capabilities. So long as there is ego, you can achieve nothing. So, get away from ego. Develop obedience and humility.

To think of the Lord, who is all-pervasive, is most essential. From tomorrow, if devotees have any doubts, they should get them clarified. Westerners come here with very high expectations. We should give them this opportunity. They have no idea of Indian culture. What do you mean by culture? What is the difference between Indian culture and Western culture? In Swami’s view, there is no difference whatsoever. There is only difference in words, nomenclature. But the material is one and the same.

An Englishman may say, it is ‘water’. A Hindi person calls it ‘Pani’. A Telugu person calls it ‘Niru’, a Tamilian calls it ‘Tanni’. A Sanskrit knowing person calls it ‘Vari’. Only there is change in words but water is water. God is one. But names and forms differ. That is unity in diversity.

Jewels are many, but gold is one.
Beings are many, but breath is one.
Stars are many, but sky is one.
Nations are many, but earth is one.

(Telugu Poem)

We should firmly establish that unity in diversity. There is no difference at all. There are no differences whatsoever among the congregation here. Here there is only one big house. The entire universe is one big mansion. America is one room, Italy is another room, U.K. is another room. Different countries are like different rooms. In a big mansion, there are all sorts of rooms. A small example.

Here is a big house. There is dining hall, drawing room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. There are differences here. But when do you get differences? Only when there are walls. When you remove the walls, there will be only one single hall. No rooms – there are no differences. Then where do you get differences? Because of the Upadhis (adjuncts). The walls are an obstacle. When you remove the walls, everything will be one. We have to remove the walls of ego. When you remove the walls, the dining hall, the bathroom, the kitchen, everything becomes one. So, we have to get rid of ego. We should develop love and love only. Love is God, Live in Love. Only through love, can you resolve all differences.

We have devotees coming from U.K., Russia, China, U.S.A. The relationship here is only of love. Love is one. When there is no love, you don’t need to come here spending a lot of money and bearing all inconveniences. Out of love, you are not bothered about your inconveniences. At their residences, where they have separate drawing room, separate bedroom, separate dressing room, they don’t have satisfaction. But here where no comforts are available, all adjust. They understand. Their adjustment and understanding amount to a very great spiritual practice. Sacrificing all conveniences, they try to enjoy the bliss. It is only that bliss that unifies. As they adjust in a single room, they should develop broad feelings. Get rid of narrow thinking. Develop the spirit of love. That spirit of love is spirituality.

– Bhagawan’s Discourse in Sai Sruthi, at Kodaikanal on 4th April 1993.