Merge In Truth And Experience Oneness

All Powers Are Inherent In Man

There are two types of knowledge which man needs to acquire. The first is the secular or material knowledge which enables him to read and write, perform his daily chores, earn his livelihood, and lead his life in the world by using his senses and mental faculties. But this is merely ordinary knowledge.

Combine Spiritual Knowledge With Penance

The real knowledge is Atma-vidya or spiritual knowledge which enables man to go beyond the senses and the mind, inculcate noble qualities of penance and renunciation, develop wisdom, and attain true peace and happiness. The knowledge that caters to the needs of the body and senses cannot provide true peace and happiness to man. The human body has been gifted to man to perform selfless and good actions. In fact, one does not need to be highly educated to use his body for performing sacred actions. It is the spiritual knowledge that helps man to lead a noble and sublime life. However, spiritual knowledge needs to be combined with penance. The relationship between spiritual knowledge and penance is like the positive and negative charges.

Hence, man needs both secular and spiritual knowledge to lead a fulfilling and purposeful life. It is the inner subtle body which guards the outer physical body. What is the meaning of penance? Penance does not mean living in solitude in the forest, practicing Pranayama and resorting to fasting. It is not suitable for modern man. Ancient sages had a strong body and could live on fruits and tubers. But the body of modern man is weak. His habits are all wrong. Thus, he does not realize his divine power. Penance purifies the inner senses which are different from external organs, mind and Chitta (mind-stuff). It is the Chitta which recapitulates, memorizes, questions, and enquires. Man is, in fact, a bundle of thoughts and counter thoughts.

Buddhi is another aspect of the mind. It is the Buddhi or intellect of man that has the power of discrimination. Man’s ego also develops and grows from his intellect. Everyone says ‘I’ which connotes the ego. Man’s Antahkarana (inner subtle instrument) comprises the mind, the intellect, the mind-stuff, and the ego. It is penance that purifies the intellect.

Develop Equipoise Between The Body And The Mind

True penance is to shun evil thoughts, actions, and habits, cultivate harmony of thoughts, words and deeds, and have purity of mind. For this, one has to improve one’s food habits. The unnatural and artificial food that we eat today causes unsteadiness in meditation and affects our spiritual practice. So, purity of food is very necessary for a spiritual seeker. If you wish to prepare Idli and Sambar, you should have fresh vegetables, clean lentils, tamarind, and spices. The vessel for the preparation of food should also be clean. If the vessel for the preparation of food is not tinned, the food may become poisonous. The person who prepares the food should not only be an expert in the art of cooking but he should have positive thoughts.

Human Body Is The Reflection Of The Divine

Human body is like the temple of God which encases the divine Atma. The body can stay in one position for a long time but if one wants to run, one has to exert quite a lot. On the other hand, the mind moves very fast; one needs a lot of effort to make it steady and quiet. The spiritual seeker needs to develop equipoise between the body and the mind. Therefore, it is necessary to make the mind stable and strengthen the body by physical activity. Man is the repository of infinite power. Human body is like a powerful magnet full of divine attraction. The mind is like the radio or television which can be tuned to a multiplicity of channels. In fact, all divine powers in Nature are there in the human body which is a reflection of the Divine. But man today wastes a lot of his divine power by indulging in talking and listening to many impure things, which lead to mental agitation and emotional imbalance. Moreover, man wastes his valuable time by talking and listening about all that is unnecessary for him. Bad talk leads to evil thoughts and agitates the senses. This is not only harmful for the person who indulges in such evil practices but affects all those with whom he interacts. How can you save yourself from impure and unsacred things in the world? Do not indulge in bad talk, do not listen to bad talk and do not perform bad actions. Desist from indulging in these evil practices by talking less and by running away from bad company. Only then can you experience divine bliss.

Sage Vasishtha was the family priest of King Dasharatha. Once Dasharatha asked him why he had accepted the position of a family priest when he was a Brahmarshi and had attained great spiritual heights.

As Vasishtha was endowed with divine vision, he told Dasharatha, “Oh king, I have not come here for any worldly position or status. I have everything and need nothing. I have become your family priest because God will soon be born in your house and I will have the opportunity of having His Darshana, Sparshana, and Sambhashana (vision, touch and conversation)”. Since Vasishtha was the repository of divine knowledge and wisdom, everyone recognised him as Brahmarshi (one who had attained the state of Brahman). He was also endowed with the wealth of penance. Sage Vishwamitra also possessed the wealth of penance and wisdom, but he was called Rajrishi (royal sage) and not Brahmarshi like Vasishtha. The reason for this was that Vishwamitra lost his divine power due to the repeated fluctuations of his mind and emotions and had to charge and recharge his power very often. Vishwamitra also desired that he should become a Brahmarshi like Vasishtha.

Once there was a competition between Brahmarshi Vasishtha and Rajrishi Vishwamitra. Adisesha was chosen as the judge in this competition since he was endowed with wisdom, penance, and supreme knowledge. Adisesha could bear the weight of the entire earth because he was one with the Divine and possessed magnificent powers and qualities. He agreed to be the judge on the condition that someone should take his place to support the earth. Vishwamitra tried to uphold the earth but failed. Vasishtha, on the other hand, could keep the earth in balance due to his wisdom and penance. Only a devotee and his devotion can bear the burden of the earth, nothing else.

Attain The Supreme State Of Devotion

Devotion is the supreme state that man can attain. It removes all troubles, solves all mental problems and confers liberation. One who contemplates on God becomes God. One must have unity of thoughts, words and deeds to attain this state. Vasishtha led his life in this way. But Vishwamitra could not attain this state because of his anger. Here is a bulb and also a wire. The current flows through the wire and lights the bulb. In the same way, Divine power is present in all. Man should realize that Divinity is present in all. But due to lack of human values of Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa (truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence) modern man is not able to know the omnipresence of the Divine.

If you want to have a garland, there should be someone to make it. You may have all the material like flowers, needle and thread. But there should be someone to make it. You may have gold with you but there should be a goldsmith to make ornaments. You may have a lamp, oil and wick, but there should be someone to light the lamp. Similarly, you have the body with all the organs, but it is the Divine energy which makes the body function. Just as low wattage of a bulb gives only dim light, deficiency of spiritual power makes a man weak. Therefore, man should express love more and more to make the inner divine light in the body shine more brilliantly. Consider all work as God’s work and develop love. When love grows, faith will also grow more. Doubt decreases faith. Man today does not have steady and firm faith because he is beset with doubts. There is abundant supply of water in the tank, but you should open the tap to get water. Similarly, God is the tank full of unending love and bliss. But man can get these only when he opens the tap of devotion. Radha and Gopikas had deep and total devotion for Krishna. They talked only about Krishna and heard the melodious music of Krishna’s flute without wasting their energy on worldly pursuits. One may think that it is impossible to achieve total devotion like Radha. But it can be easily attained by taking everything as God’s work.

Develop Close Friendship With God

Many of you have come from different places such as Madras (Chennai) and Prasanthi Nilayam. You have traveled by different means of transport like plane, train, car or bus. So, each of you has taken a different amount of time depending upon the mode of transport. While traveling by a passenger train, you may take more time, but if you travel by express train, you can reach your destination in shorter time. Similarly, there are different modes of reaching God, such as Bhakti Marga (path of devotion), Jnana Marga (path of knowledge) or Karma Marga (path of action). But all paths lead to the same goal. The path of devotion has nine forms, i.e., Shravanam (listening), Kirtanam (singing), Vishnu-smaranam (contemplating on Vishnu), Pada-sevanam (serving His Lotus Feet), Vandanam (salutation), Archanam (worship), Dasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship), Atma-nivedanam (self-surrender). We invite our old friends to our house and extend hospitality to them. But your oldest and closest friend is God. Tyagaraja considered God as his oldest and best friend. Old is gold. Develop close friendship with God. Worldly friends are temporary like passing clouds. Worldly friendship depends upon status and power. But God is always with you. God is in you, with you and all around you. God does not come and go. He is eternal.

God is total love. In this world, you and the world are temporary. But Truth and Love are permanent. Truth is God. So, follow Truth. Like the two wings of a bird which enable it to reach great heights, Love and Truth enable you to reach noble heights. So, follow the path of Truth and Love. This is the best path which enables you to reach greatest sublime heights.

Everything is God only. So, spend your time in close proximity of God. Take the example of magnet and iron. When the iron comes in close contact with the magnet, it becomes one with the magnet. Likewise, the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. You are the children of immortality. You are eternal and your relationship with God is eternal. The body changes through many births, but the Atma, mind and your deeds continue from birth to birth. Just as an accountant totals the amount for the day and carries the balance to the next page, the mind goes to the next life. Therefore, we should control the mind by first controlling the senses. Merge in Truth and experience oneness.

– Bhagawan’s Discourse in Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal on 16th April 1996.