Lead Your Life In The Company Of Truth

Never Forget God

Those seekers who aspire for spiritual bliss should observe four disciplines. Firstly, they should run away from bad company. Secondly, they should get rid of bad thoughts. Thirdly, they should perform good actions. Fourthly, they should come near God by withdrawing the mind from the world.

Get Rid Of Bad Company And Bad Thoughts

Man undergoes sufferings because he is physically in bad company and mentally harbours bad thoughts. So, shun bad company because it is the cause of danger to the spiritual aspirant. What is bad company? It is the company of those individuals who lack human qualities and harbour the evil qualities of selfishness, ego, and jealousy. Man not only loses human qualities due to bad company but even his good thoughts and feelings can turn into bad by the effect of bad company. One who keeps company of thieves will ultimately become a thief. A man of virtue having a sacred heart may lose his virtues and sacredness of heart if he has bad company. Therefore, maintain distance from bad company and never associate with atheists and those with negative thoughts.

Man should never forget that God is the fundamental basis of the entire universe. But he forgets this basic truth because he follows the fleeting world. It is the primary duty of man to know the purpose of life. He should understand the value of human birth and achieve the goal of his life. He should never waste time. Time is God. Life is running out like melting ice. Time is fleeting. Man should achieve the goal of his life while he has time and life. Body is the instrument to know the Indweller. So, protect the body in order to know God, the Indweller.

In the story of Mahabharata, Karna was the embodiment of virtues and charity. But he lost his goodness and virtues when he associated with wicked Kauravas. So, such a noble and mighty Karna also became bad because of bad company. Consequently, he lost all his power and might. In this world, it is difficult to know who is noble and who is wicked. But one can know a person by his actions, behaviour and words.

Do Not Delay Good Actions

True spirituality lies in removing bad and animal qualities and developing virtues. Then only can man attain Divinity. Mere practice of Japa (chanting) and Dhyana (meditation) are not enough for spiritual progress. Among all the beings in the world, man is the noblest because he is endowed with the power of discrimination to know what is good and bad, what is temporary and permanent and what is right and wrong. He is gifted with intellect and wisdom. It is these qualities which make man different from animals and other creatures. Food, sleep, fear and procreation are common to both men and animals. But man has a higher mind. That is why he is called Manishi (man). Man’s thoughts originate from his intellect and his behaviour is based on his thoughts. One who follows the wrong path will have wrong and negative thoughts. Such a person can never recognise Divinity. So, run away from the company of evil people who do not believe in God. Otherwise, you are bound to suffer. A serpent has poison only in its mouth, but an evil man has poison in all his limbs. So, keep away from wicked people who are against goodness and spirituality. Always have Satsang, the company of those who adhere to a noble path. Sat means Being which never changes and is not affected by what happens. It is always true. So, follow Sat in life; do not run after the changing world. For this, associate with pious and noble people. This will help you to develop spirituality within you and remove worldly thoughts.

Karna was known for his charity. He never refused anyone anything. Once when he was taking a head bath, holding in his left hand the oil for his head in a cup of gold, a Brahmin came to seek his help for his son’s marriage. Karna immediately gave to the Brahmin the gold cup he was holding in his left hand. But the Brahmin told him that it was proper to offer the gift with the right hand and not the left hand. Karna thought, "The mind is very fickle and ever-changing. By the time I transfer the gold cup from the left hand to the right, my mind may change. It is better that I give spontaneously with my heart instead of thinking about which hand to use." A person may wish to give a ten rupee note to a poor beggar. But by the time he goes and fetches the note from the box, his mind may change and eventually he may give only two rupees. The reason for this is man’s attachment. This is the difference between Danam (charity) and Dhanam (wealth). So, always do good immediately, do not bother whether it is day or night. Don’t delay in doing good acts. At whatever time a person comes to you, you should do good to him. This is the real meaning of Satsang (the company of Truth).

Attain Nearness And Dearness To God

We think helping others is Paropakar. The word Paropakar consists of three syllables – Para, Upa, Kara, wherein para means the Atma and Upa means near. So, the true meaning of Paropakar is going near the Atma or the Self. The Atma being the same in all, you realise that you are close to all. From the worldly point of view, Paropakara means charity and helping others. But from the spiritual point of view, it means nearness and dearness to God. The essence of ParopakarA is devotion. A true devotee thinks that he is the Atma. But man limits himself and thinks that he is a lawyer, a businessman, etc., when in truth he is the Atma. Man should always remain a yogi considering that he is close to everyone as all have the same Atma. But man observes differences. People act in one way when they are in the sanctum sanctorum and in another way when they are in the dining hall. Man’s life is momentary like passing clouds. It is always changing. Like a day, it has morning, afternoon and night which connote childhood, youth and old age. In childhood, he has four legs as he crawls, in youth he has two legs and in old age he has virtually three legs as he uses a walking stick. Man should realise the transitory nature of life and make efforts to become near and dear to God. Those who attain God’s nearness and dearness are fortunate indeed. Always do everything with godly feelings and attain the good fortune of being close to God.

The Upanishads teach that man should make efforts to be close to God. The word Upanishad consists of three syllables: Upa+ni+shad. Upa means near, ni means below and sat means sit. So, the very name Upanishad connotes sit down near God.

God Is The Basis Of Everything

We call a poet (Kavi) and think that Kavi is one who is a scholar and a composer of poetry. No. The real Kavi is God who has the knowledge of all the three periods of time – past, present and future. Truth, which cannot be divided, is true poetry. God created everything from Truth; from the pure unsullied Truth came poetry. Satyam (truth), Jnanam (knowledge), Anandam (bliss) is Truth. God created Shabda Brahma, the sound from which all sounds and entire vocabulary came. God is Sound, Light, Eternal Spirit. He created the word Aum. The Vedas originated from eight sounds in the beginning. From these eight, five were derived. The five sounds became three: Aum. In the word God also there are three letters: GOD. Aum is God. We chant Aum with three organs – throat, tongue, and lips. The sound which comes from these three parts of the body gets unified into one sound: Aum, similar to saying God. So, God is the basis of everything. He is the Kavi (poet) for the Puranas and other epics.

Divine Energy Makes The Body Function

It is the divine energy which makes the body function from top to toe. Human body is the Pura (city) and Purusha (Supreme Being) is the indweller. If someone asks where is God, our usual answer is that He dwells in the heart as Atma. But the Atma dwells between 9th and 12th vertebra of the spinal column. There is a subtle channel in the spinal column called Sushumna. The physical heart is only the switchboard but the divine current is in the spinal column. The Sushumna nerve moves in the spinal column like a powerful electric current just as we see lightning flashings in the sky on a rainy night. This is the divine electric current which makes the body function.

God is the source of the divine energy which pervades the universe and also the human body. He is ancient, eternal and all-powerful. So, remember God always. Never forget God. This is the lesson which we can learn from Karna’s folly. Karna was very knowledgeable and had many good qualities. But he was defeated by Arjuna because while Arjuna spent most of his time with Krishna, Karna associated with wicked Kauravas. One can attain success and happiness through nearness to God. All the gold of the world cannot give that happiness. Sat or Being is the nature of God. When one has devotion for God and godly feelings, all one’s worldly thoughts will go. That is true life. So, never lose the opportunity for nearness to God because this will lead you to liberation. Treasure this sacred feeling in your heart. This will give you peace and happiness. When you have mental peace, you can successfully face the challenges of life.

Life is a challenge, meet it. 
Life is a game, play it. 
Life is a dream, realise it. 
Life is love, share it.
Have Desire only for God

Love is God; live in love. With love, you can achieve anything, but without love, you are like a beggar. So, develop love. As love increases, body attachment decreases. It is like a seesaw. As one side goes up, the other side goes down. When you go towards God, you achieve balance. Never lose balance in life. You may be very intelligent but if you misuse your intelligence, you may lose balance. If you harbour evil and impure thoughts, your intellect instead of knowing skill may ‘kill’. At one time, you may say yes, at another time you may say no. There is constant wavering and no balance. One without balance and with constant wavering is like a mad man.

Everything in the world is temporary like passing clouds. Know this truth, do your duty and be in good company. When you disassociate from bad company, you will automatically be with good company and then you will experience truth. You cannot experience God if you have both good and bad qualities and thoughts. When you buy an orange, you understand that you cannot eat the rind even though you have paid five rupees. This is discrimination. The rind symbolises bad qualities. So, get rid of bad qualities as you throw away the rind. You can then enjoy the sweet juice of the Atma. Chant the Name of God and sing His glory. No one will save you in the end except God. But man today never thinks of God. That is why he goes through the cycle of birth and death and lies in mother’s womb again and again. Is this the purpose of man’s life? No. When once you are born as a human being, you should make efforts not to be born again. That is how you can redeem your human birth. It is sheer ignorance to go through the endless cycle of birth and death. You read the newspaper only today. You do not read the same newspaper tomorrow because it has already become waste paper. The Atma is like the test paper. Pass the test with first class. Then only will you become eternal. This is the real purpose of human birth.

You should aim high in life. Never have a low aim like a criminal. When you adhere to high thinking, you will have noble thoughts. When you think low like a criminal or a thief, you will have evil thoughts. Be always optimistic in life, never become pessimistic. An optimist will achieve noble heights but a pessimist will achieve nothing. One who aims high in life will never repeat his mistakes. But a man of low and pessimistic thoughts will repeat his mistakes again and again. An optimist will look at a tumbler and say it is half full, but the pessimist will say it is half empty. So, never have low and negative outlook.

Desire only Truth and God in life. Worldly desires will pull you down and bring about your downfall. Never listen to those who speak against God. Run away from them. Associate yourself with noble souls and attain spiritual progress. When you have the company of those who treasure sacred and godly feelings, you will also reach noble heights. Wherever you go, always keep remembering God in your heart and perform your duty with godly feelings.

(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the Bhajan “Govinda Hare Gopala Hare, He Gopi Gopa Bala…”.)

– Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse in Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal on 11th April 1996.