Vision to be good
Date: Apr 06, 1993
Venue: Sai Shruti
Location: Kodaikanal, TN
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 discourse delivered on 6-4-1993.
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, given at Sai Sruti, Kodaikanal.