Equanimity Is True Freedom

The tongue can earn for one the grace of Lakshmi (goddess of wealth);
It can also win friends and relatives;
The same tongue puts one in bondage
And can even lead to sure death.

(Sanskrit Verse)

Embodiments of Love! 

Everyone struggles hard to attain higher position in life in this mundane world. However, to acquire all types of wealth and happiness, purity of speech is most essential. We make friends and have relatives only by the merit of speech. Speech is also root cause of all bondages of man. Therefore, man should see to it that his speech is truthful, sweet and does not cause irritation. The Bhagavad-gita also says: Anudvegakaram Vaakyam Satyam Priyahitam Cha Yat (one should speak only truthful, pleasing and well-intentioned words, which are beneficial to others).

Man today wants limitless freedom. 
What exactly is freedom?
The end of wisdom is freedom. 
The end of culture is perfection. 
The end of knowledge is love. 
The end of education is character.

Practice Is Better Than Study

Man’s humanness is on the decline because he is losing all these four qualities day by day. It is better to read books than to remain ignorant, but to understand what one studies is more important than mere reading. Much better than understanding is assimilation. But the highest is to put into practice what is assimilated. Countless events are taking place all over the world at any moment of time. Lakhs of books are stocked in libraries. Suppose you ask a question to the library, does it reply? There are so many books in the library, but what is the use? So is the case today with man’s head, which is turned into a huge library, wherein innumerable subjects are stockpiled. But what is the use of all this information?

What Is Freedom?

Freedom is of three types: Svechchha, Parechchha and Anechchha. What is Svechchha? It is individual will. But one should accept victory and defeat, success and failure with equal-mindedness. Aspiring success and detesting failure does not constitute Svechchha. Real freedom lies in considering happiness and sorrow equally. The same truth is propounded in the Bhagavad-gita: Sukha Duhkhe Samekritva Labhaalabhau Jayajayau (one should remain equal-minded in happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat). Suppose you have invited a friend to your house. Can you allow only his face, and ask his feet to get out? Humanness lies in equality of both. Welcome both good and bad, success and failure, fame and disrepute with equanimity. This is the right way of experiencing Svechchha.

The second is Parechchha. Parechchha lies in taking up an activity induced by others. When you succeed, you claim it as your achievement. But when it results in failure, you blame the person who induced you. This is what is called Parechchha. You should use your own discrimination rather than submit to others’ inducement. Once you commit yourself to any action after proper discrimination, you should not bother about failure or success.

The third is Anechchha. What you attain by Divine dispensation or grace is Anechchha. It is neither due to your own effort nor is it induced by others. You should always be prepared to accept whatever comes by Divine grace. It is not always possible to get results the way you wish. People get elated when their desires are fulfilled and dejected when not fulfilled. Man should condition his mind so as to maintain equanimity towards divergent results. There is only oneness, and no division in humanness. Here is an example. The Veda says, Chandrama Manaso Jataha, Chakshoh Suryo Ajayata (the moon was born out of the mind and the sun out of the eyes of the Supreme Being). Mind is associated with the moon, eyes are associated with the sun, and senses are related to Indra. Indra does not exist in a separate world. He who controls his Indriyas (senses) is Indra. You should become the master of the mind and senses. There is another aspect which is beyond the realm of mind and senses, that is Rudra.

What Is Meant By Rudra?

Rudra is the principle of bliss that conjoins Antahkarana (inner psyche) with senses and mind. Rudra is a combination of five senses of action, five senses of perception and the mind. This eleventh principle, that is mind, is known as Ekadasha Rudra. The Vedas, the Shastras (scriptures) and the Puranas (mythological texts) propound many ideals of life. However, their core principle is unity or oneness in the apparent diversity. Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names). This unified principle, that is the Atma, is present all over our body from top to toe. Here is a small example. Suppose you cover a lighted candle with a pot having ten holes. Because of these ten holes, the same single flame appears as ten different flames. Now cover the pot with a thick cloth and you will not see any flame. You may think that there is no flame, but this is a mistake. You are not recognising the light of the Atma that is ever present in your own body. The Param Jyoti (the Supreme Divine Flame) is forgotten as a result of which man is confronted by troubles and tribulations. It is invisible to you despite its blazing presence because you have covered it with the thick cloth of Tamo-guna (quality of sloth). When the cloth is removed, you will find ten flames. And when the pot of Rajo-guna (quality of passion) is broken, what remains is the same single flame, which is omnipresent.

Man has to transcend the Gunas to realise his true self. When you come to a hilly place like Kodaikanal, you wear a coat, under which you have a shirt, under which there is a vest. When you wish to look at your chest, you have to remove the coat first, next the shirt and then the vest. The coat here stands for Tamo-guna, the shirt for Rajo-guna and the vest for Satva-guna (serene quality). You cannot realise your Self until these three qualities are rid off.

When someone asks you who you are, you say you are a doctor. But it is your profession, not your name. When asked again, you say that you are an Indian, a Japanese or a Russian. These too are indicative of your country, not you. You are not the country. Similarly, when you say, “this is my mind, this is my body and this is my handkerchief”, you are neither the body nor the mind nor the handkerchief. Then who are you? When you go on analysing Neti Neti (not this, not this), you will realise that body, mind, senses, etc., are nothing but products of delusion. You are separate from all these.

You say in Telugu ‘Na Dehamu’ (my body). ‘Na’ means not, Dehamu means body. This phrase itself indicates that you are not the body. This I, my, mine is nothing but Maya. So, the correct order of preference should be God first, world next and I last. This is the essence of the culture of Bharat. The Christians say Jehovah, the Muslims say Allahu Akbar which means God is great. The Christians talk about Joy. What does the word Joy mean? It means Jesus first, Others next and You last.

The Pandavas meticulously observed this principle in their life. They kept Krishna first in all their endeavours. They were the embodiments of Satya and Dharma (truth and righteousness). They considered God first, world next and themselves last. This was the reason they achieved success after success. The Kauravas gave importance to themselves first, world next and God last. That is why they reaped defeat after defeat. It is a constant struggle between Dharma and Adharma, between Satya and Asatya. What is the symbolism of war between Rama and Ravana? Rama stands for truth and Ravana symbolises untruth or falsehood. Rama stands for Dharma and Ravana stands for Adharma.

Maya Is Lost When You Hold On To God’s Feet

Wherever you go, your shadow follows you. What is the relation between you and the shadow? Is the shadow related to your head, hands or legs? No. The shadow lies underneath your feet. Maya is like the shadow. It lies at the feet. When you hold on to God’s feet firmly, the Maya ends. Therefore, take refuge at the feet of God.

One day, Krishna sneaked into the house of a Gopika, stole milk and butter, spilled it on His feet and floor and ran away. When the Gopikas came and found what Krishna had done, they decided to search and catch hold of Him. They noticed Krishna’s footprints on the wet floor. They were led to Krishna by these footprints. So, to find God, where should you begin? You should seek His feet first. Take refuge in God, keep Him first in all endeavours and make your life worthwhile.

The body is made up of five elements. It is negative in nature. It is temporary like a water bubble. You do not know when it is there and when it is not! Body is like a water bubble and mind is like a mad monkey. What is the use of following the body and the mind? Do not follow the body, do not follow the mind, follow the conscience. The path of conscience is the straight path to truth. But man today follows the body and the mind and wastes his life.

Here is a cloth. But it is a bundle of threads. Not only threads; it is cotton. Here you have three things – cotton, thread and cloth. But essentially they are one. Similarly, you are not one person, but three: the one you think you are, the physical body, the one what others think you are, the mind, and the one you really are; the Atma. The Atma is what you should seek. All other things are peripheral only.

Divine Love Is The Panacea For All Diseases

Jesus first said, “I am the messenger of God”. Later he said, “I am the son of God”, and finally he said, “I and my father are one”. Zoroastra also said in the same way – I am in the light, the light is in me and I am the light. Expressions are different, but their purport is the same. The Bharatiyas talk about Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita and Advaita (dualism, qualified non-dualism and non-dualism). One progresses from dualism to qualified non-dualism and ultimately to non-dualism. Advaita propounds the principle of oneness. It proclaims Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names). What is meant by Dvaita? Dvaita implies two entities, Jivatma and Paramatma (individual soul and Universal Self). It is the relationship of the object and its reflection, a relation like that of ant and sugar. Sugar cannot enjoy its own sweetness. It envisages that one should be like an ant to enjoy the taste of sugar.

In the present life scenario and education system, people study and practise all that relates to the material world. But how long do the material objects last? And how can one get permanent happiness from ephemeral things of the world? Anityam asukham lokam imam prapya bhajasva mam (as the world is temporary and full of misery, contemplate on Me constantly), says Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita. So, what can you expect from a world that is ephemeral and full of sorrow?

Here is a small example. One day a Brahmin felt hungry while travelling. He spotted a hotel and rushed into it to have a meal. Being an ardent Brahmin, he ordered a pure vegetarian meal of Sambar (a southern Indian dish consisting of lentils and vegetables), rice, etc. He got a shock when the waiter said that it was a non-vegetarian hotel and those vegetarian items were never served in this place. Similarly, this world is ephemeral and is filled with troubles. Having been born in this temporary world, how can anyone aspire to get permanent happiness? You enter a medical shop and ask for Puri (a small, round piece of bread made of unleavened wheat flour, deep-fried), Sambar. Can you get that? Hunger is the same for all but people have different needs and tastes.

Here is a small example. There is a medical shop and a coffee shop side by side. If the owner of the medical shop gets headache, he goes to the coffee shop to have a cup of coffee as a remedy for his headache. When the owner of the coffee shop gets headache, he goes to the medical shop to get a pill as remedy for his headache. See, one believes coffee as remedy for headache, and the other believes in a medicine for the headache. People are lacking faith in themselves. It is like a person going to the neighbour’s house to eat rotten food, leaving the fresh and tasty food available in his own house. In this manner, the youth of Bharat are ignoring the greatness and sacredness of their own culture and are going to foreign countries.

You should recognise your innate power. All powers are there within you. The whole world is present within you. This is the truth you must realise. The world disappears when eyes are closed. It appears as soon as the eyes are opened. You do not realise the truth as long as you perceive the world with your physical eyes. Everything appears yellow to a person who suffers from the disease of jaundice. Similarly, when your senses suffer from the disease of ignorance, your perception is naturally defective. Divine love is the panacea for all types of defects and diseases. It does not suffer from any disease. Worldly love may debilitate you but Atmic love is free from all diseases. Divine love always gives, whereas worldly love always takes. This is the difference between the worldly love and Divine love. True love does not expect anything. The path of love is the path of self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the basic principle of love, which is rarely found in present times. Everybody is involved in demanding or desiring for something or the other.

Cultivate Expansion Love

Students today think only of monetary gains from their studies. No one thinks in terms of helping society or improving the condition of the family. They do not develop such broad feelings. They have narrow thinking. This is contraction love, not expansion love. You are born in society. Your welfare depends on the welfare of society. Your education, wealth, fame and everything has come from society. What are you doing in return for society? You should show gratitude to society by dedicating to society your education, riches, fame and everything. Only then will your life as a human being be meaningful. Instead of seeking benefits, you should always think of ways and means of helping society. Help Ever Hurt Never. Peace and happiness will prevail in the world when this kind of ambience is fostered. When you render help, you will naturally receive cooperation and help from others. When you attempt to hurt anyone, several people are ready to retaliate at the slightest provocation. What is the greatness in venting hatred? You should control your senses with your mind, and raise your mind to the level of divine principle. When you transform your mind into divine principle, you will realise that all the cultures of the world are one. All are one, be alike to everyone. Just as you love your body, others too love their bodies. Do not harbour selfish feelings that only you should be happy, not others. This kind of selfishness and self-interest are responsible for all enmities of the nation and the world. Promote the principle of love. Enhance your inherent love to broader horizons. Foster the broad feeling, “I and you are one”. This is the mark of true humanness. What is the purpose of life? Is it mere eating, drinking, sleeping and dying? No, not at all!

Understand The Importance Of All Professions

The main ideal of Bharatiya culture is: Satyam Vada, Dharmam Chara (speak truth, practise righteousness). We talk about Satya and Dharma, but do not put into practice. The correct way is, from book to head and from head to action, so as to attain unity of thoughts, words and deeds. This denotes that the proper study of mankind is man. One whose thoughts, words and deeds are in unison is a true human being. On the other hand, one who says something, thinks something else and does what is different from thoughts and words is, in fact, a demon. The scriptures say, Manasyekam vachasyekam karmanyekam mahatmanam Manasyanyat vachasyanyat karmanyanyat duratmanam (those whose thoughts, words and deeds are in perfect harmony are noble ones; those who lack harmony of these are wicked). So, maintain the unity of these three. However, you have to face difficulties when you practise this. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. Pleasure cannot be realised in the absence of pain. Possibility of accidents is greater on a smooth and straight road because it induces recklessness in a driver. Ups and downs and curves will keep the driver alert. Similarly, vibrancy of humanness is lost when life is devoid of sorrows, struggles and losses. The dichotomies such as happiness and sorrow, profit and loss, fame and defame are necessary components for a lively life. Otherwise, life becomes boring.

Here is a small story. Once a king went to a forest and performed intense penance. As he prayed to God earnestly, God appeared before him. The king then prayed to Him, “Many people suffer from troubles and sorrows in the world. There are bigger people and beggars, rich people and poor people. Why did You create all these differences? Remove all these differences, make all people equal in all respects”. God then replied, “Dear! This world is Jagat, which means coming and going. This is a natural dispensation which is sustaining the creation and the world in a vibrant condition. One is born as a child, becomes a boy at 10, an adult at 30 and a grandfather at the age of 75. The same individual is the child, the boy, the man and the grandfather. There is no life without change. Change should be there. If there is no change, people will not be happy. There is no happiness in equality. The foolish king persisted with his logic. Then God said, “Alright, I hereby make all people equal in status in your kingdom”. When the king went back to his kingdom, he found that all the roads were dirty. As the sweepers became rich, there was no one to clean the roads. When he reached his palace, there was no one to welcome him and there were no servants in the palace as all servants were living in palatial buildings. Similarly, there were no gatekeepers and watchmen. When he asked the queen where all the servants were, she said, “Since all of them have become rich and equal to the king, they are not bothered about serving him any longer”! Then the foolish king realised: “Alas! I did not understand when God was explaining to me”. He then understood the importance of each profession. Each one is respectable, and each one should perform his respective duties sincerely. None should be slighted or praised basing on power or position. So, people should discharge their respective duties.

Many years ago, I went to Madras (now Chennai), during which time Rajagopalachari (popularly known as Rajaji) was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The Assembly was in session. At the end of the session, Rajagopalachari performed Arati to Lord Rama which gave him great joy. A member of a political party raised serious objection to this, saying, “This is Assembly Hall. If you are fond of Arati, why don’t you resign and take up the job of a Pujari (priest) in a temple”? Another member raised the issue of equality, saying, “Sir, where is equality? The secretary who sits in the air-conditioned room and appends a few signatures on papers is getting a fat salary of 5,000 rupees, whereas a peon who works hard from morning till evening is paid a meagre salary of 500 rupees. Is this not injustice? The peon should get a salary equal to that of the secretary”. Rajaji decided to teach them a practical lesson. He looked out through the window and spotted a Sannyasin (renunciant) on the road. He then called a watchman and asked him to check up where the Sannyasin was going. The watchman went, came back and told Rajaji the place where the Sannyasin was heading. Rajaji then asked him to go and find where the Sannyasin resided. The watchman went, returned and came with the answer from the Sannyasin. Rajaji again asked him to go and find whether the Sannyasin would mind if he paid a visit to his place. The watchman went, returned and told Rajaji that the Sannyasin agreed to his visit. Rajaji then called an IAS officer and asked him to find who the Sannyasin was. The officer went, came back and told every detail about the Sannyasin. There was no need for Rajaji to send him again and again. Rajaji was thus able to convince the Member of the Assembly, who was watching this drama all along. Rajaji said that salaries were fixed on the basis of talents and abilities. People with fundamental discrimination were far superior to those having individual discrimination. Suppose you have all groceries and vegetables in the kitchen, as also an expert chef to cook food. But if the food is cooked in a untinned vessel, the food gets poisoned. Similarly, all spiritual practices such as Bhajans become useless when love is lacking. Love is the prerequisite for all types of spiritual practices. Where there is love, there is no chance for hatred. Friendship flourishes in the ambience of love. Therefore, develop love more and more. This is the sign of divinity. Love is God. Live in Love.

(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the Bhajan, “Prema Mudita Manase Kaho Rama Rama Ram...”)

– Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse in Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal on 8th May 1997.