Transcendental Value of Sathya and Dharma

When people from every part of the world have gathered here to rejoice in a great celebration, they are being described as “foreigners” and the residents of Prasanthi Nilayam as “natives.” Who are the natives and who are the foreigners? When this question is examined, it will be seen that wherever sathya and dharma are respected and practised, the people there are to be deemed Bharatiyas. By merely taking birth in Bharat, people do not become Bharatiyas. Bharatiya culture proclaims the two virtues: “_Sathyam vada; Dharmam chara_” (speak the truth; follow righteousness). Whoever practises these two principles is a Bharatiya.

The whole world is one vast mansion. It contains many rooms. Each country constitutes one room in this mansion. Hence, the whole world should be considered as one home. When you regard all the limbs as parts of a body, you should consider the function of the heart in it. It is the heart that supplies blood to every part of the body. Likewise, sathya and dharma (truth and righteousness) constitute the blood sustaining all countries.

Cultivate The Idea Of Oneness Of Humanity

God is adored as the creator. God created the living creatures but these beings are “creating” God. Hence, these beings are also “creators”. God is not “created” by Himself. It is the devotees who are “creating” God.

The supreme devotee, Prahlada, by the intensity and sincerity of his devotion, was able to make God manifest in a pillar. The child Dhruva could make Narayana manifest Himself in a forest. It follows that every being is a “creator”. Every human being is Divine. But, because of identification with the body, man considers himself an ordinary being. The difference between creation and the Creator relates only to the external form - upadhi. When the physical form is ignored, what remains is the Spiritual Reality.

In different countries, of the world people observe their respective festivals. Today is considered the beginning of their new year by the Chinese. There is no difference between Bharat and China with regard to the calendar. The Chinese have dates which represent Uttarayana and Dakshinayana (the apparent northward and southward movement of the sun). In Bharat, we have lunar and solar months. In China also there is such a two-fold division. In Bharat in some parts the country, the beginning of Uttarayana marks the commencement of the New Year. They base their calendar on the lunar cycle - chandramasa. In other parts of the country, they go by the solar time - suryamasa. In China, they have a lunar and a solar year. In the Bharatiya view, there is an intimate connection between the moon and the mind and between the sun and the eye.

In this perspective, we can see that basically there are no differences between different countries regarding matters like the almanac and the celebration of festivals. For all things, the root cause is the human heart. When the idea of oneness gets entrenched in the human heart, the ideal of human unity will be realised.

Sarvarupadharam shantam
Sarvanamadharam shivam
Sat-Chit-Ananda rupam adwaitam
Sathyam Shivam Sundaram

(The one absolute, who is being, awareness and bliss, is the embodiment of peace in all His forms. All His names are auspicious and He manifests the triune attributes of Truth, Auspiciousness and Beauty).

Truth, Goodness And Beauty Constitute Humanness

Sathyam, Shivam Sundaram - Truth, Goodness and Beauty - these three constitute the essential nature of humanness. In ancient times, this was the description given by Plato, the Greek philosopher. The Greeks could see the oneness underlying these three attributes. Plato expatiated on “Truth, Goodness and Beauty.” Bharatiyas expressed the same thing in the words Sathyam, Shivam, Sundaram. Though there is a difference in the language of the words used, their essential meaning is the same. Such correspondence between metaphysical concepts in India and the doctrines of Christianity and other faiths exists in respect of ideas regarding the relationship between man, nature and God.

Based on their different regional and ethnic differences, people in different regions of the world developed different faiths and cultures. But the essence of all their beliefs is one and the same principle. That is the principle of love. There is no human being in the world without love. However, that love expresses itself in many ways.

In a mental asylum there are people with many kinds of delusions. In a sense, the entire world may be considered as a mental asylum. There are in the world people who are crazy about money. There are others who have obsessions regarding their health and sickness. There are others who are crazy about power and position. In this manner every individual is obsessed with some desire or other. There are, again, some who are obsessed with the idea of God. Of all these forms of madness, the madness for God is most commendable.

Pray To The Divine And Redeem Your Life

From birth to death, man is haunted by twelve kinds of worries. By worrying about God all other worries can be got rid of. You must seek to know that, by knowing which, all else can be known, by attaining which everything else can be attained. The Upanishads have declared: “If you knock, the door will open. If you ask, He will answer. If you seek, He will give you what you want.”

Everyone knocks at the door and asks. What does he ask? He does not knock at the right door. You must knock at mokshadwara (the door leading to liberation). Man, today, knocks at the door leading to hell. Man, who should seek the Bliss of the Spirit, craves for earthly pleasures. Instead of seeking the presence of the Lord who is the supreme bliss, man is distancing himself from the Divine.

You must pray to the Divine and redeem your life. You must enter the door leading to spiritual liberation. Today, people do not seek the grace of the Divine but appeal to the devil for favours. How can Divinity be experienced by such people? You need not go anywhere in this quest. All that you have to find out is what belongs to you. Your words or your writings do not belong to you. Only your actions are yours. Today, there is no harmony between deeds and words. Your writings have no relation to your real experience. Hence, you are unable to experience real bliss.

It is better to act than to speak. Speech is easy. Practice is difficult. There is real sadhana only when you practise what you profess. There must be complete harmony between thought, word and deed. The ancients proclaimed the supreme quality of this trikarana suddhi (triple harmony and purity). Where there is divergence between thought, word and deed, Vedanta declares that it is evil. The triple harmony is the mark of high souled beings. The wicked revel in disharmony.

See Unity In Diversity

People should develop spiritual oneness and triple purity. Then Divinity will manifest itself. The Divine is within you. Sin and merit are related to your actions. Hence, men should engage themselves entirely in pure and sacred acts. Vyasa defined merit and sin in terms of the good or harm you do to others - paropakaram and parapidanam. Para should be understood as referring to the Divine. Whatever action is conducive to Self-realisation is meritorious. Whatever action is unspiritual - antagonistic to the Self - is sinful. The one Self is present in all beings. To differentiate between different beings is sinful. To consider what is one as separate and divided is a sin. Paropakaraya punyaya (To help others is meritorious). The real meaning of this statement is “nearness” (upa) to the Divine (para) is meritorious. Merit consists in getting closer to the Atma (the Self). This is the inner meaning of Vyasa’s statement.

Hence, you should not regard countries as different and languages as barriers. The underlying unity has to be understood. Different people use different words to describe the same thing, for example; water. Whatever be the words used, the substance is the same.

It is essential to see the unity that underlies the apparent diversity. When more and more people recognise this unity most of the world’s problems will get solved. All social conflicts will end when people learn to see the one Divine in all beings. It is the hatred born of divisive feelings which is the cause of deadly discord in society. The Atmic Principle is the means of liberation. Self-control is the means to secure Divine grace.

Develop Self-Reliance With Faith In God

Embodiments of Love! There is no need to celebrate the New Year. Every second is the beginning of a new year. People celebrate year after year New Year days, but, there is no change in their lives. The body grows from year to year, but, the life span is ebbing away at the same time. People should be concerned about this. Time is most precious. God is the overlord of Time. Time wasted is life wasted. Never waste time because lost time is beyond recall. Do not waste time in idle gossip. Today, you are celebrating the New Year instead of thinking about God, who presides over the passage of years.

God is the basis for all that exists. Rely on God rather than on things which are dependent on God. Develop self-reliance on the basis of faith in God. This was the lesson which Jesus taught to a man who was starving. On the first day, he gave the man some fish to eat. The next day, Jesus met the man and asked him: “You ate the fish I gave you yesterday. How are you going to get the meal today? How long am I to relieve your hunger by giving fish day after day? You must know how to secure fish for appeasing your hunger. Then, you will have no need to depend on others.” What everyone has to learn, today, is how to be self-reliant and not depend on others. How is one to be self-reliant? By developing Atmavishwasa (Self-confidence). From the moment Bharatiyas lost their Self-confidence, all institutions in the country started declining. People have to develop Self-confidence. They must adhere to truth and righteousness. Whoever has confidence in the Self and follows Truth and Righteousness is a Bharatiya, no matter who he is. It is not the incidence of birth that makes one a Bharatiya. The three basic verities should be practised. Terms like “natives” and “foreigners” should not be used on territorial considerations. The terms should be applied on the basis of their beliefs and practices.

Realise That The Divine Is Within You

People should realise as Shankara said, that only truth and righteousness are lasting and all other things, including this body, wealth and kinsfolk are impermanent. Manifest the truth within you and put into practice that truth. What you need for spiritual progress are three things: a heart free from attachment and hatred, a tongue that is not tainted by untruth, and a body not polluted by violence - the one who has these three is of sacred birth. Without these three, all penances and religious practices are of no use. You have to pray incessantly for Divine grace to confer these qualities. Realise that the Divine is within you.

Life is given to you to realise lasting bliss by the right use of the body, the mind, the intellect and the inner motivator - antahkarana. You have to acquire the wisdom to lead such a life based on the love of God.

Discourse in Purnachandra Auditorium in the afternoon of 13-02-1997