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Summer Course Discourse X - 24th May |
REDUCE YOUR DESIRES
“
There is no disease greater than greed, |
Embodiments
of love!
Love, aham, atma, I - these are all synonyms of the same entity. Every person
commonly uses the word 'I'. It means he is revealing his true identity of being
the Atma. Sarvam khalvidam Brahma (This entire creation is Divinity). Whatever
you hear, see or experience is all Brahma alone. Brahma is yet another synonym
for 'I'. Einstein once said, "There is no matter in creation, it is all
energy and energy has no form". He discovered this truth in this age, after
a number of investigations. A few thousands of years prior to this, the
seven-year-old Prahlada came to the same conclusion with out any kind of
experimentations. He stated, "It is not possible to decide that God is
present here and not present there. He is everywhere and there can be no doubt
about it. You can find Him wherever you search for Him".
How did the young lad have such an experience? His own father Hiranyakasipu
tried to have him killed by the bite of poisonous snakes. All Prahlada did was
to chant the Lord's name, 'Om Namo Narayana!' and lo and behold, the serpents
turned into garlands! Hiranyakasipu then ordered that Prahlada be chopped into
pieces. Several swords were used, but Prahlada kept chanting, 'Namo Narayana',
and the swords couldn't make a scratch on the boy. They then decided to make him
drink poison. Prahlada kept repeating, 'Om Namo Narayana!' He didn't have any
other name or thought in his mind. As a consequence, the poison changed into
nectar. Seeing the futility of these procedures, they hurled the boy from the
hilltop into the ocean below. Prahlada kept chanting the Divine name, 'Om Namo
Narayanaya!' and smilingly fell into the ocean. The deity of the ocean rescued
the boy and brought him to the shore.
The inner
significance of these events is that faith is highly essential. It is the basis.
Without this faith, any number of times the Lord's name may be chanted, but it
will prove ineffective. It is the same as a tape recorder repeating God's name.
Prahalada was tuned into the primordial sound of Brahma Tatva, which originated
from his navel.
Man's body is a powerful dynamo. The entire limbs and the body constitute a
generator. There is a steady supply of current from the body. Everything in man
is Divine power. Prahalada experienced this current and therefore firmly
believed that God can be found wherever He is looked for.
Today's scientists have performed several experiments to ascertain Einstein's
statement regarding matter and energy. They came to the same conclusion. Energy
can neither be created nor destroyed.
Newton too echoed similar sentiments. He had dedicated his entire life to
investigate the attractive power of the Earth. He realized that the power of
gravity cannot be destroyed. It has no specific point of origin or destination.
“ He
is eternal without birth or death, He is ancient without beginning or an end, He doesn't die, he doesn't take birth, he is blameless, He remains the eternal witness.. ” |
Newton
investigated in great detail about such a Divine power. He was a great scientist
who understood the force of gravity associated with earth. How did he learn
this? It is because he discovered aspects of this attractive power wherever he
looked. He saw the magnetic power in every thing; he too concluded that this
energy could not be created or destroyed by anyone. However, it could be
transformed from one form of energy to the other. For example, the magnetic
energy can be transformed into electrical energy. Electrical energy can be
transformed to light energy. Though the basic magnetic energy can be converted
into any type of energy, it itself retains its original identity. It can vary
its intensity - ebbing and growing as necessary. It changes all the time but
never diminishes away. As long as the earth is there, the magnetic strength
remains. It attracts our steps; it attracts our vision and our hearing.
Man when born, was without any desires. At such a time he was in a pure and
pristine state. He was steady and peaceful. All the strengths of man were at
their highest intensity. In the eyes of every man, there are thirteen crores of
light receptors that enable him to see. On his tongue, there are thirty lakhs of
taste buds. There are a further fifty lakh cells in his ears that help him in
his hearing. The entire body of man is a Divine experience itself. It is said,
'Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma' (The creation is entirely Brahma alone.)
Ancient man was so pure that when he touched any object, the object would get
stuck to him! Such was the extent of Divine powers that pulsated through his
body from head to toe. As desires gradually multiplied, these Divine powers in
him started to recede. You need not think so deeply to understand this concept.
You can test this idea now itself. You have several desires. Let us say that you
have thirty such desires that are to be fulfilled. Out of the thirty, eradicate
three of them completely. You can easily feel the difference in the energy
flowing through the body! Your memory too increases. The sages of yore could
easily recount from memory incidents that happened long ago and recite things
learnt a long time ago. This was because they had minimal desires in them.
Sage Saraswati was the first one to initiate the chanting of Vedas in the sense
that he contributed eight letters - Ka, Cha, Ta, Tha, Pa, Ya, Sa, Ha. In these
eight letters originated the entire Vedas because these letters were used as the
basis to form syllables and words. Man hence developed his vocabulary. He first
created eight names, glorifying God as the embodiment of eight essential
features. These eight names are Sabdhabrahmamayi, Characharamayi, Jyothirmayi,
Vangmayi, Nityanandamayi, Paratparamayi, Mayamayi and Srimayi. These eight names
describe God as the embodiment of sound, movement, light, speech, eternal bliss,
eternal strength, illusion and prosperity, respectively.
The entire Vedas came up using just the eight letters given initially. The sages
explained, " O Citizens! We have visualised the Divine form shining like a
brilliant sun beyond Tamas." The citizens were naturally curious to know
where they had seen Divinity; was it inside or was it outside? The answer came
"Antharbahishcha tat sarvam vyaapya Narayana stithaha", which means
that He is there inside, outside and everywhere. He can be seen wherever He is
looked for. Divinity is therefore all pervasive. A consequence of this all
pervasiveness was that the Rishis or sages would not travel around. They would
remain seated at one spot and spent their time contemplating on the Lord. It was
their constant worry that if they traveled about, they would stamp upon this all
pervasive God! They did not wish that Divinity come in contact with their feet.
Such was the sacred feeling with which tasks were carried out by the sages of
yore. Such sentiments were responsible for the highly idealistic characters
developed by the people of the yore.
What a far cry it is today! With deliberate audacity, one does not mind placing
his legs on the idol itself! These are all extreme perversions in action. Why
have they originated? The saying goes, "As one's doom approaches, good
sense takes leave." In those days there was a pious environment and
therefore pious feelings abounded.
What are the forms that God's strength assumes? The rishis of the yore gave
these strengths certain names. The first is 'Saikotikam Maha'. What does this
statement mean? It praises God as follows, "Wherever I see, it is your
Divine form and your sacred sound." Gradually as the power of
investigations improved, a second name was given to God. This name was
'Bhakshakthi'. This means Divine power. None can touch this power in its
absolute form. However, you can feel a fraction of it in yourself. Just hold
your own hand while you are walking and you can feel it. Such Divine power was
experienced, enjoyed and shared amongst one and all in those days.
Is it possible to have such an experience and share it with others today? Most
certainly, yes! Will you ever be able to grasp such a power in your hands?
Certainly! All it needs is to develop the required faith. Where is this faith?
Man does not have faith in himself, how can you expect him to develop such
strong faith in God?
“
Where there is love, there is peace, Where there is peace, there is truth, Where there is truth, there is bliss, Where there is bliss, there is God. ” |
Such a feeling
of love needs to be fostered. Without love, where will you even experience the
truth? If there is no truth, peace can never be obtained. And without peace,
bliss is a far cry. Bliss is like a wave pulsating throughout the creation. It
would soak the hermits in the deep forests who were lost in the contemplation of
God. When this bliss touched them, the sages would go into fits of ecstasy.
The sages and hermits walked and lived all alone in dense and fierce forests.
What gave them the courage to do so? What weapons did they possess? Guns and
bombs were obviously unheard of! Effectively, they had none of these with them,
but they had a great deal of faith in God. This faith was like a big bomb in
their hands. Their faith enabled them to accomplish many things.
India has remained rock steady down the ages because of the faith that our
people had in God. You will find nothing in India that is temporal and not
steady. You will only see things that are permanent, associated with truth and
peace. A notable feature of those times in India was the extremely young age at
which people would take to the forests. Children below the age of nine would be
active in performing penances. What was the age of Dhruva? He was just 6 years
of age. He was emboldened by the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of his
stepmother. He took his mother's blessings saying, "Mother! I shall obtain
the grace and blessings of the Lord and only then return." He selected a
spot that was totally deserted and isolated. It was a totally peaceful and
silent locality. There, the forest was so thick that one could not even take a
step on clear ground. Moving about was out of question. At such a place, little
Dhruva stood on one leg and carried out a determined penance by chanting,
"Narayana! Narayana!"
The lord appeared and asked him, "Child! What do you want?" The
intelligence of the child Dhruva cannot be matched even by the grown ups and
educated lot of today! Dhruva replied, "I am a small boy. I am here in a
totally isolated area and yet you found me. It is only you who could have known
about my presence here. You who know where I am will definitely know what I
want." The Lord replied, "Son! Manasekam, vachasekam, karmanyekan,
mahatmanam. You must become a noble person by synthesizing your thought, word
and deed. You have determined in your mind to do penance and obtain the Lord's
grace. Accordingly you commanded your body, came and did severe penance. Your
thought and your action are hence in cohesion. But your words are yet to be
ascertained and have not been expressed yet. This is the reason why I am asking
you what you need."
Dhruva replied,
"When I started out I desired a cheap trinket of a glass piece. But now I
have got a priceless diamond instead. Once I have got this diamond why should I
desire the glass piece? I had come to do penance with a great desire that I
become a prince and sit on my father's lap. Now I don't have any such desires. I
want only you." The Lord replied, "Son! I am ready to give you
anything. But I must first sanctify you. You have thought of something and acted
accordingly. But your words are not in harmony with your thought and action.
Your desire will be fulfilled only if all the three are in harmony. Therefore
you should now set about to achieve this harmony. I shall then satisfy what you
have now wished for." Obeying the Lord's command Dhruva returned home.
What a high degree of intelligence was there among the children in those days!
Such sacredness in their thought! What a noble path they chose to tread!
Prahlada was a great devotee of the Lord. He had a steady faith in Lord
Narayana. He didn't rely on his own father or his mother. He knew that mother
and father are related to him through desire. He used to say, "Lord
Narayana is related to me without any attachments. The Lord doesn't relate to me
with some desires in mind. His only aim is to cause my emancipation. I hence
desire for only He who has no desires in him. I should express my desires only
to He who Himself has none."
It was
therefore advised to everybody that desires must be gradually curtailed. As
desires multiply attachment increases. This leads to more and more bondage.
Bondage causes man to suffer in several ways. Where does the bondage come from?
Your own desires create your bondage. Your sorrows are your bondage. Reduce your
desires and you will be peaceful. You will not face any dangers. Therefore
reducing desires give peace to man. It is rightly said, " Less luggage,
more comfort."
Today desires are growing at an alarming pace. Even if he is about to die in a
couple of minutes man still expresses some desire or the other! What are these
desires? What are you gaining from these? Nothing! On the other hand, when you
don't have any desires you would be so very peaceful. You may believe it or not,
I have no desires within Me. That is why I have no worries. Follow Me! When you
too have no desires your heart will be blissful. Desires only imprison you and
they don't set you free as you think.
“
When your wishes are fulfilled, you praise Me sky high; If your wishes are unfulfilled, you censure Me severely; You commit sinful acts and pray for good fruits; Crying to me to pull you out of the mess And save you, you put the blame on Me For misfortunes of your own making! ” |
You commit several sins. But ask for fruits of meritorious deeds instead! This is not proper. You must not subject yourself to sin in the first place. Always enter into virtuous deeds. As far as possible we should be of some help to others. God Himself is always helping others. Can't you do at least a fraction of this good work to others?
“
Follow the Master Face the devil Fight till the end Finish the game ” |
Make it a point
to follow the Master. You will then receive His abundant grace. You have been
worshipping for several years with devotion. You take ritualistic bath and sing
bhajans unfailingly. Has at least an iota of dirt in your mind been wiped out?
On the contrary it is increasing day by day. Are you able to experience at least
a moment of bliss wholeheartedly? Definitely not! If yes, why then have you so
many desires? What do you gain by desiring for progeny? To some extent this
desire is essential. It is a duty to be discharged by you. Certainly do it. But
once done God will take care of the rest. You need not entertain worries on that
count. Today, you are indulging in looking after their welfare. What is the
result? Is it not much better to offer the responsibility to God and let Him
handle it? You will be happy and so will they.
Therefore, we should not ride on our desires. They should be gradually reduced.
Lesser the desires, more the happiness. First make attempts to understand the
nature of God. When earth was first formed there was only pitch darkness
everywhere. Nothing was visible. At such a time everyone prayed. As a result it
rained heavily for crores of years thereafter. It is an effect of this deluge
that the oceans formed. After the rains the clouds cleared. Gradually the stars
appeared. The sun too shone and showered its rays on the earth. The light
enabled man to go about his daily life, grow crops and eke out a livelihood.
When there was total darkness man had no desires. As light gradually appeared so
did man desires, because he could now see the creation. Today, his day begins
with desires! However, during the night he is not assailed by desires. Hence,
darkness appears to give no scope for desires. On this count at least one should
welcome darkness!
At the time of Rama's birth, for fifteen days there was no sunshine. It was
darkness all around. Consequently, the moon was agitated. It lamented,
"Alas! I am unable to have a glimpse of Lord Rama!" After the passing
of fifteen days the sun itself was curious to see Rama. He gradually started
rising. Consequently, the moon too started its lunar phases. The sun and the
moon started executing their assigned tasks. This caused day and night to appear
on earth. If you investigate the mystery of nature you will find that man plays
no role anywhere in it.
How will you visualize and merge into Chittakasa? I shall explain it in detail
later. In this world, several scholars and experts explain Divinity quite
extensively. However, Divinity that can be explained is not the true Divinity!
These are only descriptions and pointers to Divinity. They can easily make you
happy or even delude you. But you must go beyond these and aim to see the
reality that is 'Tat'. 'Tat Tvam Asi' - Thou Art That. 'Thou' means 'this'.
'That' is 'Tat'. Both should therefore become one.
Today, man is inventing medicines to control the population. Such a thing is not
possible through medicines. When desires go down, automatically the mind is
turned towards God. What is first required is sense control. Tomorrow we shall
see in more detail the story of Prahlada.
This day people from several countries have gathered to spread the message of
Lord Buddha to the world. You must all listen to the nature of Buddha and use it
to control your mind. Today, controls are being exercised on everything except
the mind and desires. It is the desires that must first be controlled. This will
give you a great deal of peace. You will be surprised to see so much peace in
yourself. Peace is natural to man and will arise on its own once the desires are
controlled. Peace is everywhere. Truth and love are everywhere. You are the very
embodiment of the love. You are the embodiment of peace and truth. You are the
embodiment of God. Realise this truth first. Truth is not at some far of place.
Truth is here itself! Where there is truth there is God. We chant shanti 3
times. Outside what you will find is only pieces. Peace is God's property and is
available only with Him.
Develop the feeling that God is in your heart. Believe in the truth that God is
always residing in your heart. When you have faith in this truth, peace will
definitely dawn.
“
God created everything from truth. Everything will merge one day in this truth. There is no place that is not pervaded by truth. This is the highest and purest truth, realise that! ” |
We need not set
out to search for God. Wherever there is truth, God appears. Where Narayana
appears his consort Lakshmi, the goddess of plenty and prosperity, too appears.
Hence, if you want wealth, you have to take the first step! When you succeed in
installing Lord Narayana in your heart, goddess Lakshmi too follows her Master
into your heart.
With noble thoughts, good deeds and constant contemplation of God, undertake
good actions. Help others. Never entertain jealousy. Jealousy leads to total
ruin. It makes man totally useless. Unfortunately today, jealousy thrives. Some
people even cry when they see someone else better off! They cannot tolerate the
other person being happy. This is a very bad trait. You must feel happy at
other's happiness. You too will then enjoy success and gain bliss. This is the
secret of Divinity.
There is plenty of grace that God can give you. But it is at a depth! Some
effort is required to obtain it. If you need to fetch water from a well, you
need to tie a rope to a bucket, lower it into the well and draw the water out.
You are neither tying the rope to the bucket nor are you lowering the bucket
into the well. The water is therefore not reaching you. The rope to use is that
of devotion. This rope must be tied to the vessel of your heart and lowered into
the well of God's grace. What you receive from the well, when the water is drawn
out, is the water of pure bliss. The well is that of God's grace (Anugraha) and
not that of anger (Agraha) or jealousy (Asooya)!
Get rid of the bad qualities in you. In this sacred environment, why do you give
scope for bad habits? By developing bad habits you are leading yourself to a bad
fate. Embodiments of love! Live in love with everybody. Once you earn this love,
everything else will be added unto you.
(Text of the Divine Discourse delivered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Babaon 24th May 2002 as part of the Summer Course on Indian Culture and Spirituality held at Brindavan Campus, Bangalore)
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