Love Propels Man Towards God

The moon gives light during the night and the sun during the day. It is the light of dharma which illumines the three worlds. A noble son is the light of the entire clan.
(Telugu Poem)

Love for God is the Best Spiritual Practice

You know the difference between purnima and amavasya (full moon night and dark night). There is total darkness on the night of amavasya. Good people do not like darkness. Darkness causes fear.

Dharma Upholds and Sustains Mankind

Not only that, it is the cause of wicked thoughts and deeds which are responsible for suffering of people. Only the wicked and evil-minded people like darkness, not the good people. Bad people such as thieves like darkness because it helps them to perform evil deeds. Those who have good thoughts and noble demeanour like only light because it helps them to perform noble deeds. When we see moonlight, it makes our heart pure and peaceful and our thoughts become noble. Even small children like moonlight and feel happy to see it. Moonlight also creates sublime feelings in poets and inspires them to write beautiful poetry. On full moon day, man’s heart also is full of effulgence. We should also enquire into the intimate relationship between the moon and the human mind. Chandrama Manaso Jatah Chaksho Suryo Ajayatah (the moon was born out of the mind and the sun out of the eyes of the Supreme Being). Mind is the reflection of the moon. In the moonlight, man’s mind attains peace and develops noble feelings and thoughts. Purnima is that which drives away man’s darkness of ignorance, frees him from fear and develops in him peace, bliss, noble thoughts, and a sense of well-being.

During daytime, the sun brightens up the world with its light. The world cannot exist without the sun. In reality, the sun is the manifest God on earth. It is the sun that provides sustenance to the entire creation; without the sun, there can be no crops, no vegetation, no air, no food, and no living beings. It is the sun that makes the crops ripen and rivers flow. It is because of the sun that there is plenty, prosperity, and happiness on earth. Its light is the source of all life on earth. Man’s heart attains purity and sacredness due to the effect of the sun. Hence, the sun is verily God on earth. Hydrogen and helium are the constituents of the sun which are the source of its energy. It is due to the presence of helium in the sun that oxygen maintains its level in the atmosphere. There are many large holes on the surface of the sun. These holes are so big that even the entire earth can go into them. Such holes are not one or two, but in thousands. The presence of helium in these holes is responsible for the increase in the volume of hydrogen and oxygen on the surface of the sun. Scientists are aware of this. Hence, the sun is like the third eye for the earth.

Dharma illumines the three worlds. What is the meaning of dharma? Dhruyate iti dharma (that which upholds is dharma). It sustains everything. Without dharma, the world cannot exist. dharma is the life principle of man. Without the life principle of dharma, man cannot live. Everything in this world functions according to its dharma.

For example, the dharma of fire is to burn. Bereft of the power of burning, it no longer remains fire; it becomes charcoal. In the same way, cooling is the dharma of ice. If it does not cool, it cannot be called ice. Similarly, it is the dharma that upholds and sustains man. Dharayati iti dharma (that which sustains is dharma). What does it sustain in man? It sustains his heart, his speech, and his body. Unity, purity, and sacredness of thought, word, and deed is the dharma of man. That is why it is said: The proper study of mankind is man. Man should maintain the sacredness of his actions. Only then can his conscience be at peace. Moreover, there should be purity in his speech. That is why Jayadev said, “Oh sacred tongue! You are endowed with the power of recognizing the taste. You are so very great and totally selfless!” We make this pure and sacred tongue dirty and impure by speaking untruth. Therefore, we should always speak truth.

In what way should we speak truth? Anudvegakaram vakyam sathyam priya-hitham cha yat (one should speak only truthful, pleasing, and well-intentioned words, which are beneficial to others). The truth that we speak should not agitate anyone. Speak the truth that pleases and benefits others. Never speak truth in harsh words. Do not speak too much. Speak sweetly and softly. Then only can it be called truth in the true sense of the term. Trikalabadhyam sathyam (Truth remains unchanged in the three periods of time – past, present, and future).

There are two words – sathyam and nijam. Ordinarily, people do not observe any difference between these two. But, in fact, they are not the same in meaning. There is a subtle difference between the two. Nijam is that which is true only for the time being. For example, today you are wearing a shawl. But tomorrow you may not wear it. That you are wearing a shawl is true only for today. However, if you wear the shawl tomorrow, day after tomorrow and in all the three periods of time, then only can it be called truth. Therefore, truth is that which is changeless, abiding, unvarying, and immutable in all the three periods of time; it has no death or destruction. That which changes and varies may be called nijam; it cannot be called sathyam. Nijam is that which appears to be true only for the time being; but truth is that which remains the same at all times. In the language of vedanta, this truth is called ritam. It does not comprise mere knowledge of things; it includes power of discrimination also. Truth assumes the form of ritam when it has both knowledge and discrimination together. What is the dharma of man? The dharma of man is to speak truth. This is his real humanness. He should adhere to righteous conduct. This gives real value to his humanness. One cannot see the heart of a person. One can however recognize the type of heart he possesses by observing truth and righteousness in him. His actions and speech are the reflection of his inner being.

Love is the Life Principle of Man

What are man’s divine values? These are: daiva preeti, papa bheeti and sangha neeti (love for God, fear of sin and morality in society). When we develop daiva preeti, we will have peace and truth. Love for God is the result of papa bheeti. Without love, there can be no peace. We will attain the value of ahimsa when we practice sangha neeti. As we develop and nourish love for God in us, peace, righteousness, and non-violence will come to us on their own. One with love never indulges in unrighteousness and violence; he is always full of peace. Hence, love is verily the life principle of man. All the human values like sathya, dharma, shanti and ahimsa are immanent in prema. Love propels man to turn towards God. Love is like the mariner’s compass. Wherever you place the mariner’s compass, its needle will always point towards north. In the same way, love will always direct man towards God. Love in man is the special grace which God bestows on him. Therefore, the first and foremost human value is love. Love is present in everyone. The vedas declare that God is present in all. Easwara sarva bhutanam (God is the indweller of all beings). Who is God? Prem easwar hai, easwar prem hai (Love is God, God is love). That is to say, God is present in every being in the form of love. That is why it is said: Love is God; Live in Love.

Once Jesus performed penance on a mountain after securing the permission of his mother. As a result of this, he realized his Self. He then prayed to God, “Oh Father! Grant me three boons.” What were the three boons he prayed to God for? The first boon he asked God was, “You have given me this life. I should use this life to serve all without causing harm to anyone. I should always be ready to forgive. But I should never endorse untruth. Lead me to the path of truth.” This was the first boon he prayed for. The second boon he prayed for was, “People may criticize me, make fun of me, hurt me, ridicule me, or harm me out of their jealousy; grant me the heart which can hear all this with fortitude; grant me the boon that my heart should remain peaceful even if jealous people subject me to any number of sufferings.” People become jealous to see the progress, prosperity, and happiness of others. This is the sign of man’s narrow-mindedness. The heart which harbors jealousy cannot truly be called human heart. Even animals do not bear so much jealousy as does modern man. Since selfishness of man today has increased enormously, his jealousy has also become too much. The third boon he asked God was, “Oh Lord! Fill my heart with love, so that I can share my love with all and devote my life to serve You and love You wholeheartedly. You are the embodiment of love; I should also become full of love like You.”

Poornamada Poornamidam, 
Poornat Poornamudachyate, 
Poornasya Poornamadaya, Poornamevavashishyate.
(Sanskrit Verse)

(That is full, this is full. When the full is taken out of the full, what remains is again the full.)

Jesus prayed thus: “Oh Lord! You are full. Make me also full like You, so that this full may join with That full and become one with It. This will enable me to impart fullness to those who lack it.” Since God is the embodiment of fullness, it is imperative for us to offer our full love to Him. These were the three boons for which Jesus prayed to God.

Work, Worship and Wisdom are the Milestones of Man’s Journey

When Jesus was born, three Arabian kings came to offer their salutations to him. On seeing this divine child, one of them said, “He will love God.” The second king remarked, “God will love him.” The third king said, “He is God Himself.” That is why it is said, you are not one person but three – the one you think you are, the one others think you are, and the one you really are. In the same way, Jesus first said, “I am the messenger of God.” Then He said, “I am the son of God.” Ultimately, he declared, “I and my Father are one.” The one you think you are refers to the physical body. It is only with reference to the body that he said, “I am the messenger of God.” The one others think you are refers to the mind. What you really are refers to the Self and indicates the divine form of man. That is to say, man has three identities – physical, mental, and spiritual. His spiritual identity indicates man’s oneness with God.

In the same way, Hanuman said to Rama, “Oh Lord! At the physical level, I am Your servant; at the mental level, I am a part of You; and at the Atmic level, You and I are one.” Every human being should think in this manner. First, he should consider himself as a messenger of God and should take to the path of karma or work to serve God. While doing work for the Lord, he should wholeheartedly engage himself in actions which are good and noble. Thereafter, comes the path of worship. This is the path of spirituality. It includes serving, singing, chanting, and penance. The path of knowledge which leads to wisdom is the ultimate path. The three W’s denote Work, Worship, and Wisdom. But wisdom should be man’s ultimate goal.

The boy who spoke some time ago asked these questions: Where is God? What does God do? Even an ordinary person knows that God is present in all as antaryami (indweller). But intellectuals these days are full of all sorts of doubts. Therefore, illiterate people today are better than so-called intellectuals. God is present everywhere like butter in milk. When a doubting Thomas asks, “Where is the butter in milk?”, we can say, the butter is present in every particle, every drop of milk. But, how can it be seen? It can be seen when you follow the proper procedure. Make curd out of milk and churn it. Then the butter that is present in every part of the milk will come on its surface. Your heart is the vessel and love is the milk. Offering this love to God is the process of churning. When you do accordingly, God will become manifest before you. Butter was present in every particle of milk, but it could not be seen. When did it become visible? It became visible when we made effort and followed the proper procedure. Similarly, God is immanent in everything, but He will become manifest when we make proper efforts.

Divine Grace Depends Upon the Capacity of Your Heart

You may question: On whom does the look of God’s grace fall? You have certain doubts as to where to look for it. You see an electric bulb. There is light in it. In what direction does its light fall? It falls on all sides. God’s look is like the light of this bulb; it falls on everyone. He is seeing everyone in this hall. He is seeing those who are sleeping; He is seeing others who are not listening to Him because they are engaged in talking or absorbed in their own thoughts. People may be absorbed in many types of thoughts. But ultimately this light is their basic refuge. Once Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was delivering a nice talk on a pleasant evening. Rani Rasmani was also sitting in this assembly of people. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a priest in the temple built by her. He was giving an illuminating spiritual talk. Rani Rasmani was nodding her head as if she was listening very attentively. But Ramakrishna knew where her attention was. He got up from his seat, went near her, and slapped her hard on her cheek. All were surprised to see this and started thinking thus, “What is this foolishness? He is working on the job provided by her and serving as a priest in her temple, yet he has insulted her in this way amidst this assembly of so many people. Has he got a fit of madness?” Then Ramakrishna asked, “What have people sitting in this gathering come for? You should listen to what is being said with total dedication and put it into practice after listening to it. But having come here, you are thinking about your tomorrow’s court case while sitting in this assembly. If you want to think about your court case, you can sit in your house and do so. Then why have you come here?” There is a great lesson in this saying of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Many people come to listen to talks on spiritual subjects and take part in such assemblies, but they do not know who said what because they are lost in their own thoughts. Such people should not take part in these spiritual congregations. If they take part in such congregations, they should listen to what is said there and make efforts to put it into practice. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa taught this truth in a practical way during those days.

All Systems of Philosophy Lead to One God

Dharma is very sacred and illumines not only this loka (world), but all the three lokas known as bhu, bhuva, suvaha represented in man by his body, mind, and atma. dharma illumines the actions done by man at physical level, his thoughts which are the product of his mind, and bliss radiated by his atma. What is the nature of the bliss radiated by the atma? Nityanandam, parama sukham, kevalam jnanamurtim (The atma is the embodiment of eternal bliss, wisdom absolute). It is dharma that imparts bliss at the physical, mental and atmic levels to man. His body, mind, and atma shine by its effulgence. All these three are under God’s control.

As has been said earlier, a good son is the light of his clan. Who is a good son? Good son means God son. Good is spelt as GOOD. There are two zeros between G and D. Zero denotes jagat (world). If you take out one zero from the word ‘Good’, it becomes God. Brahma sathyam jagan-mithya (Brahman alone is real, the world is unreal). Hence, God son is good son. It means to say that a good son is one who is constantly engrossed in the contemplation and thoughts of God and whose actions and conduct are divine. The prefix ‘su’ means good; so ‘suputra’ means good son. A good son loves his parents, obeys their command always and makes them happy. He gives satisfaction to them by expressing gratitude to his parents who nourished him for so many years and brought him up. Not only that; he earns a good name in society. When does a son become great?

Just as a sandalwood tree spreads its fragrance all around in the forest, a virtuous son illumines the entire clan by his virtues.
(Telugu Poem)

A sandalwood tree spreads fragrance in all directions even if it is in a big forest. In the same way, the entire clan gets a good name when a good son is born in it. Today, we distribute sweets as soon as a son is born in our family. When you ask someone, “Why are you distributing sweets?” he replies, “I am blessed with a son.” But it is with the passage of time that you come to know what type of son has taken birth in your house. Mere birth of the son is not the occasion for celebration. When your son earns a good name in society, then is the occasion to celebrate.

The father does not feel the joy of having a son merely because the child is born. Only when people praise his son for his good deeds and achievements does the father feel joyful!
(Telugu Poem)

When people say, “Aha! How good is your son!”, then the father feels great happiness. In fact, this is divine bliss for the father. The son who earns the appreciation of one and all illumines the entire clan. There are, in fact, three types of illuminations. In the house, a bulb lights only the room in which it is fixed. At night, the moon spreads its light everywhere, though its light is dim. But during the day, the sun illumines the whole world with its bright light. The light of the bulb in the house signifies swartha (selfishness). The light of the moon denotes parartha (doing good to others). Only the sunlight connotes yathartha (reality). That is truth. Truth is God. Hence, the sun is the true God on earth. That is why the bharatiyas have been worshipping and venerating the sun, considering it the manifest God which sustains all life on earth.

The moon is the source of illumination in the night while it is the sun in the day. But for the three worlds, the source of illumination is dharma. However, it is the good son who illumines the entire clan in which he is born. It is not the high education or big titles that make a son good. What makes him good is his conduct. A good son should have good behaviour, good manners, good discipline, and good devotion. Good devotion is most important. All good things come to a person if he has good devotion.

There are three systems of philosophy, namely, dvaita, advaita and visishtadvaita (dualism, non-dualism and qualified non-dualism). In dvaita philosophy, there are two separate entities. But there is not much difference between advaita and visishtadvaita. Truth is one for all communities, religions, cultures, and nations. Ekameva adviteeyam brahma (God is one without a second). The stem of sugarcane is divided by many knots. But the same juice is present in all its parts. There is no difference in taste in its different parts. Juice is extracted from sugarcane. This juice represents what we call advaita. Sweetness is the same in every part of the sugarcane. There is no other taste. But, how long can we keep the sugarcane juice? We cannot keep it for a long time. Then what should we do? We should convert the sugarcane juice into sugar. After being converted into sugar, it can be used in all preparations anywhere and at any time. Hence, juice represents advaita while sugar stands for visishtadvaita. Sankaracharya propounded the system of advaita and ramanuja, the system of visishtadvaita. Madhwacharya, however, propounded the theory of dvaita (dualism). What did he say? He said, “Oh Lord! I neither want to become sugar nor sugarcane juice. Make me an ant so that I can enjoy the taste of sugar. Sugar does not know its own taste. Only those who eat sugar can know its taste. You are the embodiment of love. I do not want to become love. I want to be one who can experience Your love. You are daiva (God) and I am jiva (individual). Both should be different from each other so that jiva can experience daiva.” This is the system of dvaita wherein there are two separate entities, jiva and daiva. When jiva eats the sugar of daiva, thoroughly digests it, and understands and experiences the sweetness of Divinity, then only can he become sugar, i.e., God Himself. Brahmavid Brahmaiva bhavathi (the knower of Brahman becomes verily Brahman Himself). People waste their time in discussing the merits and demerits of advaita, dvaita and visishtadvaita. In the final analysis, all the three are one. Sugarcane juice is advaita, sugar is visishtadvaita and tasting sugar is dvaita. You can see yourself – sugar is the same in all sweets whether it is mysorepak, gulab jamoon, burfi or palakova. Only the names of the sweets are different, but the sweetness of sugar is the same in all. Similarly, there appear to be differences in the names and forms in this world. But the divinity is the same in everyone. Ekatma sarva bhutantaratma (one atma dwells in all beings). God is present in everyone.

Bulbs are many, but the same current flows through all of them. This current is the divine power. This divine power is present in you, me, and everyone. Then, where does the difference lie? Bulbs may be of different colors – blue, red, white. Some of them may be dim and others may be bright. But it does not denote any defect in the current. It shows only the difference in the bulbs. The capacity of your heart is responsible for the light to be dim or bright. This difference is due to the wattage. If you are always engaged in the contemplation of God, you can have the maximum wattage. You can change the bulbs and the wattage, but there is no need to change the current. If you want to make your heart bright, then develop love! develop love! develop love! Once you fill your heart with love, it will shine with full effulgence. The more you develop love, the more your heart becomes light and bright.

Here is a small example. This is a piece of wood. If you put it in fire, the wood will change into charcoal. When you touch the wood, your hands do not become dirty. But when you touch the charcoal, your hands will become dirty. What is to be done to make the charcoal white again? Innocent and ignorant people may wash it with soap to make it white. But when you apply soap on charcoal, even the soap will become black, but the charcoal will not become white. You may even try to make it white by putting it into milk. The charcoal will not become white even then, only the milk will become black. What do we learn from this? How did it become charcoal? Why did it become so? It became charcoal when it came in contact with fire. Therefore, it should again be put into fire to make it white. When it completely gets burnt in fire, it will turn into white ash. When the piece of wood was half-burnt, it became charcoal. But when it was completely burnt, it became bright and white. In the same way, if you have part-time devotion, then you will become like charcoal. Only when you have full-time devotion can you become light and bright. Immerse yourself in love. Then the fire of your devotion will make you pure, light and bright.

Get Rid of Lust, Anger and Greed

A piece of wood when dropped will fall down. When the same wood is burnt and converted into ash, it will rise up. Hence, the lighter you become, the higher you rise. When you have more weight, you go down. Therefore, if you want to rise higher in life, you have to reduce the weight of your desires. Less luggage, more comfort, makes travel a pleasure. But it is not enough if you merely reduce your desires. You should also give up the evil qualities of attachment, hatred and jealousy.

There are three main enemies of man, namely, lust, anger and greed. Lust destroys devotion; anger destroys knowledge; and greed destroys the good actions of man. They also affect his work, worship and wisdom. When we are overpowered by anger, we lose our sense of discrimination. Anger creates many types of enmities. One who is in the grip of anger will lose his sense of discrimination as to what to speak, when to speak and where to speak. Hence, do not allow anger to come near you. Do not give room to greed at all. There may be cure even for cancer, but not for these three. Then how can you get rid of them? When you put them into the fire of divine love, they will turn into ash. Even hard iron can be melted by putting it into fire. When you can change hard iron into liquid, can’t you change your evil qualities? The spiritual practices like dhyana are of no use to destroy these evil qualities. Many people practice meditation. What type of meditation? Their meditation is just for a show. They sit as though they are posing for a photograph. They say, they are meditating. Sitting cross-legged with closed eyes cannot be called meditation. Mere practice of body postures does not give you the realization of truth. Fill your heart with love. Then everything will become true.

“Sreyohi jnanamabhyasat, 
Jnanaddhyanam vishishyate, 
Dhyanat karmaphala thyaga, 
Thyagat santhiranataram.”
(Sanskrit Verse)

(Better indeed is knowledge than practice. Better than knowledge is meditation on God. But better than meditation is renunciation of the desire for the fruits of actions. For, there follows peace immediately.)

Practice is required in all walks of life. You should do it in such a way that it becomes a part of your life. You have to do walking practice, reading practice, writing practice and practice in all chores of life. This practice has to be done daily and regularly. Do not undertake evil practices. In fact, no effort is required for evil practices. If you push a stone with your foot from the top of a hill, it will come down. But it requires a lot of effort to carry a stone from the foot of a mountain to its top. Bad qualities can be acquired without any effort, but it requires a lot of effort and practice to cultivate good qualities. You all know when a loaded lorry or bus goes uphill, it cries ‘gee, gee, gee’. Poor thing! Climbing up is very difficult. But it comes down a hill quite easily. We should not take to a path merely because it is easy. Always look up and follow the higher path even if it is difficult. Low aim is a crime. We should not commit such a crime. Look up. Always aim high. This is true sadhana. Do not give scope to doubts like, “Is He God or not? How can we say He is God? Where does God live?” Those who entertain such doubts are, in fact, foolish. They are no doubt fools and fools only. God is present everywhere and in all. But you cannot see Him because of the evil qualities that are present in you. It is due to these evil qualities that everything appears evil to you. Everything will appear to you of the same color as that of the glasses you have put on. God is immanent in all. In fact, you yourself are God. But you cannot see the God that is present in you. What is the reason? You have become the victim of selfishness which has fully blinded you.

Consider the Divine Name as Your Greatest Wealth

It is very necessary for man to have proper food and proper habits. What type of habits should he have? Show reverence to your elders and treat them with humility and courtesy. Revere your teachers. Worship your parents and obey their command. How did Rama become so great and attain such an exalted position? He attained greatness because He obeyed the command of His father. Not only that, He was the friend and well-wisher of all. Moreover, He had great love for His brothers and interacted with His subjects in a peaceful manner. He wished the welfare of all His subjects and worked for it. Today we recite the prayer: Samasta lokah sukhino bhavantu (May all the beings of all the worlds be happy!). But our real intent is that we alone should be happy; what happens to others is not our concern. This is no prayer at all. We should wholeheartedly pray for the welfare of all. Why should we do that? We should do that because we are also included in all. Our welfare lies in the welfare of society. When all others attain peace and progress, we will also acquire the same. It is sheer selfishness to think that we alone should be happy; and what happens to others is not our concern. Selfishness is a great sin. Of course, you have to see to your self-interest to some extent. But never give room to limitless selfishness.

Develop love for God. There is no better spiritual practice than this. You may not do any other sadhana; it is enough if you love God wholeheartedly. Mira also said: “Payoji maine nam ratan dhana payo” (I have found the jewel of Divine Name). She considered the jewel of Divine Name as her greatest wealth. She sang, “Vastu amoulik dee mere sadguru” (My sadguru has given me this precious thing). Who is a sadguru? What is sat? Sat is that which is permanent. That is God. Sat means being. When her husband told her to leave the temple, she became very worried. She thought, “How will I go leaving my Krishna here?” Immediately, she took a decision: “These are all temples constructed by man. They are not permanent. The temple constructed by God is my heart.” Then she sang, Chalore Mana Ganga yamuna teer (Oh mind! Go to the bank of Ganga and Yamuna). “Oh mind! Go only there. Wherever else you go, there is no peace.” The center of forehead is the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna which represent the subtle channels, Ida and Pingala in man. Both Ganga and Yamuna meet there where lies the sushumna nadi (central subtle channel). How is the water of Ganga and Yamuna? Ganga, yamuna nirmal pani, sheetal hota sareer. Chalore mana Ganga yamuna teer (The water of Ganga and Yamuna is very cool and pure which will make one serene and peaceful. Therefore, oh mind! Go to the bank of Ganga and Yamuna).

We don’t require any ticket to go to the bank of Ganga and Yamuna. Ganga is the right subtle channel and Yamuna, the left subtle channel. The process of inhalation and exhalation is associated with these. The meeting point of these two is the center of the forehead (bhrumadhya) where lies the sushumna nadi. When we breathe in and breathe out, we hear the sound, sohum (That I am). The science of pranayama involves three processes – puraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (holding) and rechaka (exhalation). To fill the breath in is puraka; to release the breath is rechaka; holding the breath both in and out is kumbhaka. But this is a practice at the physical level only. When you fill your heart completely with love for God, that love itself is enough to earn the grace and love of God. Therefore, develop the principle of love and attain God through love.

(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the Bhajan “Govinda Gopala Prabhu Giridhari …”)

-From Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse in Sai Kulwant Hall, Prasanthi Nilayam on 18th June 1996.