Always Contemplate On The Atmic Principle

There is no penance comparable to peace. 
There is no wealth greater than contentment. 
There is no disease other than desire. 
There is no greater Dharma than compassion.

(Telugu Poem)

Compassion Is The Basis Of All Religions

Embodiments of Divinity!

In this world, everyone struggles from dawn to dusk to attain peace. What are the spiritual practices required for this purpose? No spiritual practices are necessary for acquiring peace. Peace is very much inherent in you. When you know the Atma, you experience peace. Peace lies in your Atmic principle. Peace has no shape of its own. The basis of peace is the Atma. Neither penance nor rituals are required for peace to emerge from your heart. There is no need for any spiritual practices to attain peace. All these practices are related to the physical and worldly plane.

Endless Desires Are the Cause of Many Diseases

Man acquires many things for his bodily comforts and thinks that this is happiness. He assumes that sleeping on a costly mattress in an air-conditioned room will give him happiness. But there is no happiness without peace. What is happiness? Real happiness emerges from the divine vibrations emanating from the heart. Worldly happiness is impermanent as it lasts for a few hours or days only. In order to derive everlasting happiness, contemplate on the Atmic principle. There is no greater happiness than contentment. Happiness is heaven, sorrow is hell.

Man is bound by many desires. These very desires are the cause of many diseases. Some of these diseases are not related to the body. Perversions of the mind are responsible for a number of diseases. Many diseases will be eradicated when we curtail our desires. Man is duped by his endless desires, which make him the victim of many diseases. Happiness, peace, and health are dependent on our thoughts. There is no Dharma greater than compassion. Compassion is the basis of all religions. The kindness that emanates from our heart is verily compassion.

Everyone Is The Messenger Of God

Jesus proclaimed that he was the messenger of God. Not alone Jesus, but everyone is the messenger of God. Who is a messenger? The one who propagates the teachings of the Lord and inspires others also to do so is indeed the messenger. Everyone is born to spread the Lord’s gospel and not to indulge in selfish pursuits. Since man does not realize this truth because of his selfishness, he ruins his life. It is an important duty of man to spread God’s message in every nook and corner of the world. Forgetting this, man is spreading mutually contradictory concepts which cause unrest and discomfort and give rise to depression, confusion, and doubts.

Four Purusharthas

According to Indian culture, there are four Purusharthas (objectives) of man’s life, namely, Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha (righteousness, wealth, desire, and liberation). Not only in India, these goals of life are prevalent in other countries also. The four Purusharthas are related to the Purusha. Some say that these Purusharthas are meant only for men and not women. What is meant by Purusha? Purusha does not mean man. It refers to the Atma and consciousness. The consciousness does not distinguish between men and women. The real Purusha is the Atma which is the same in all.

It is generally thought that Dharma refers to charity. But this is not correct. Those deeds that help man to attain Divinity come under Dharma. The actions that induce bliss in the heart, manifest non-duality and advocate oneness constitute Dharma. The innermost feelings that reflect Divinity come under Dharma. Everyone must practice this Dharma. In fact, human life is destined for this very purpose. Man should realise the truth that he is born to manifest Divinity. Dharma does not refer to the stages of life, e.g., Grhastha (householder stage) or Sanyasa (renunciant stage). These stages of life are related to the world and not to the Atma. Man forgets his inherent humanness and gets caught up in worldly and mundane problems in his day-to-day life. As a result, his life remains disoriented to the Supreme Principle.

Artha as a goal of life is related to the Atmic principle. It is generally thought that Artha refers to wealth, worldly possessions, and property. God-awareness is the real Artha. This awareness means wealth of knowledge and not money or currency notes. Experiencing Divinity is in itself Artha. This is what we have to attain and propagate.

Contrary to the popular belief, Kama refers to the desire to attain liberation and not the worldly objects that are of a temporary nature. But we do not try to find out the actual meaning of these words. People do not understand the real meaning of Kama and associate it with worldly pleasures and mundane desires. They should understand the real meaning of these terms, recognize the true goal of life and spread this knowledge.

Moksha is a state which is devoid of entry and exit, birth and death. Adi Shankara said, “There is an endless cycle of birth and death and one has to stay in the mother’s womb again and again. This ocean of worldliness is difficult to cross. Oh compassionate Lord, protect me with Your boundless grace". He advised a scholar, “Oh foolish man! Worship Govinda, when the god of death beckons you, your knowledge of grammar will not help you in any way”. What is the way to liberation? Always remember God and meditate upon Him. Tread the sacred path and attain the highest divine state where there is no birth and death. We attribute worldly meaning to the words and take to the wrong path. God is perfect. Perform perfect actions befitting Him.

Man Should Strive To Be Perfect Like God

In Italy, there lived a very famous maker of violins named Antony. He used to make violins par excellence and took one year to make a single violin. His friends used to mock at him saying, “You are taking one year to make one violin. How are you going to look after your family? You are indeed a fool”. Antony replied, “Whatever I do, I do it perfectly. God is perfect. Even if one string is imperfect, it amounts to betraying the Lord. So, I do not do it that way. I make the violin perfect in all respects in order to win the grace of God”. Whether a task is small or big, it should be done perfectly. Jesus said, “The Lord in the heaven is perfect. I am also perfect like Him. Otherwise, I will not be a befitting son of the Lord”.

God is the embodiment of compassion, kindness, and love. We should manifest similar perfection in this world. In order to attain perfection in this world, we ought to be kind to one and all. The spiritual aspirants of those days believed that God is perfect and so they too should attain that kind of perfection.

Darwin attained perfection in a similar way. He was a renowned scientist, highly intelligent and wise. What practices did he undertake to become so? Whose help did he seek? While he was a student, he had a teacher named Henslow whose command he always followed implicitly. Ever immersed in the thoughts of his teacher, he followed in his footsteps. Once his teacher invited him to a meeting. Both Darwin and Henslow were standing next to each other and they looked alike. How was this possible? It was due to the fact that he followed his teacher perfectly. When coal comes in contact with fire, it turns into fire. The teacher is the fire and the disciple is the coal. But in Kali-Yuga, people do not try to realise this truth. When we remember God, we should follow His command also. You may hear any number of discourses, but it is sheer waste of time if what you hear does not penetrate your heart.

Once a sculptor brought three dolls to the court of King Bhoja. All three looked alike and beautiful. The emperor summoned the Prime Minister and asked him to decide which among the three dolls was the best. The Prime Minister brought an iron wire and put it in the ear of one of the dolls. The wire came out from the other ear. He then remarked, “This is the worst doll”. When he put the wire in the ear of the second doll, it came out from its mouth. He said, “This doll can be given second prize”. When he put the wire in the ear of the third doll, it went inside and did not come out. The Prime Minister then declared, “This deserves the first prize”. What does it mean? It means, the person who assimilates what he hears is the best.

What does it imply? If what one hears with one ear comes out from the other ear, it is sheer waste (like the first doll). Whatever we hear is shared outside through the mouth, it is of the medium level. But when whatever is heard is contemplated upon and digested, it is the best. The three dolls denote the three categories of people. Some convey to others what they hear. Some ponder over what is heard. But listening, contemplating and practicing together will fill you with satisfaction and capability. This is to be followed if you want to lead the best life. This is the essence of Swami’s discourses.

Nature Is The Manifestation Of Divinity

God is also a sculptor and everything in this universe is His creation. But no two things in His creation are identical. In this world, there are more than five hundred crore people. But no two people resemble each other. Even in the case of twins, some differences do exist. It is true that man produces identical products. But it is not so in the case of Nature. There are thousands of leaves on a tree appearing alike. But they are not completely alike.

The stories of the Lord are amazing, 
They purify the lives of people in all the three 
worlds, 
They are like the sickles that cut the creepers of 
worldly bondage, 
They are like a good friend who helps you in times of 
need,
They are like a shelter for the sages and seers doing
penance in the forest.

(Telugu Poem)

We can know God’s power by looking at His creation. But we see the creation and not the Creator. Man is astonished at the sight of the creation, but he does not try to seek joy from the Creator. Where is creation without the Creator? We should try to see the Creator.

Attain Proximity With God

You need not go anywhere to see God. You need not go to the forest or do meditation or fasting. You can see God if you turn your mind inward. If your thoughts are projected outward, you will see only external, worldly objects. So, focus them on the inner being. Today man’s vision is completely outward. But God is within. You yourself are God. All the beings are God’s infinite forms. All your organs, viz., head, eyes, legs, etc., function by Divine power. Without His Will, you will not be able to speak. Sound too is dependent on Him. The inner voice emanating from the heart gets transformed into speech by His Will. Divine power of such magnitude is within and around us. But we are unaware of it.

Here is a small example. Can we see the air that is present all around us? Can we touch it with our hands? No. Does it mean that air does not exist? We cannot survive without air. Though we cannot see it or touch it, it is our life source. We are alive only due to air. We can indeed feel it. We must inquire and acquire intelligence combined with wisdom to experience Divinity. What is wisdom? Seeing non-duality everywhere is wisdom. There is only One who has acquired many forms. This One is hero and the world is zero. If we put zeros next to one, it becomes 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000 and so on. The sun, the moon, the earth are all spherical in shape. In other words, Nature is mere zero, God is the only hero. If you look at Nature and forget God, you become zero.

Embodiments of Divine Love!

Everything is within you. There is nothing outside. Outside is only reaction, reflection, and resound of your inner being. Everyone should realize this truth and spread it as the message of God. Then everyone will become the true messenger of God.

First Jesus said, “I am the messenger of God”. Then he said, “I am the son of God”. As the messenger of God, he propagated Divinity to others. But he felt that he did not have close proximity with God; he was distant from Him. When you spread God’s message, you attain proximity with God. You are then called the son of God. In this capacity, God is the subject and son is His reflection (image). You then know that you are the ancient one and the same Atma is present everywhere and in everyone. Saint Purandaradasa sang: “Oh Lord! I suffered because I had forgotten You. You are everything for me and everything has been bestowed upon me by You. You are my Father and the valuable jewel in the box of this body. Oh Lord! I am not an orphan or beggar as long as You are there as my Supreme Master. You are providing me education and advice. You are my Master and Saviour. As long as I am dependent on You, I am neither poor nor destitute. Oh Lord! You are the very form of sweetness. You are providing me everything. I am a puppet in Your hands”. When Jesus said, “I am the son of God”, he was aware of all this.

Who gave the wonderful colors to the feathers of the peacock? Who gave the red beak to the green parrot? Who planted the tree on the mountain top and watered it?

Who provides food to sustain the tadpole in the crevices of a rock? God is the fundamental basis of all creation.

(Kannada Song)

Worldly people are blind to all these wonders. The ignorance caused by ego brings about their ruin. Each and everything is God. God is omnipresent. When you develop such kind of awareness, you will be in complete bliss and ever peaceful.

Nowadays, there is dearth of love and compassion in the world. Man is devoid of love, peace, and sacrifice. Transformation of the mind alone can bring about change in the individual and the world. Mind alone is the steering wheel. By controlling it effectively, we can reach our goal. In order to please God, who is the embodiment of perfection, we should also become perfect.

(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the Bhajan, “Madhura Madhura Murali Ghanashyama…”)

– Bhagawan’s Discourse in Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal on 1st May 1997.