PEACE THROUGH SENSE AND MIND CONTROL

PEACE THROUGH SENSE AND MIND CONTROL

You can experience Bliss only when you have learnt to control the Mind. To control the Mind, you have to engage in good deeds. As you go on performing good deeds, you will develop good thoughts and feelings; and when you have good thoughts, you will acquire true understanding of the Real.

Sanctify the time given to you with good thoughts and good actions. To achieve this, you have to cultivate the company of the good, and all of this, in due course, would lead to liberation. Filling your mind with thoughts of God and engaging in good actions is true Sadhana.

People claim to spend hours in meditation. But of what use is it if there is no concentration of the Mind? Far better it is to render social service or participate in Bhajans, and through such means subject the Mind to some discipline. This also is how work gets transformed into worship. When you dedicate all your thoughts and actions to God, your actions automatically get purified.

You can experience God through the performance of your duties and proper actions. The Bhagavad Gita says that the Kshetra (namely the body) and the Kshetrajna (namely the Atma) together constitute the human personality. Similarly, the scriptures refer to the human body as the temple and the Indwelling Spirit as the God residing in that temple. Even a mere intellectual understanding of this fact is enough to make you happy. But you would be happier still, when you put this understanding into practice in your daily life. You should try to seek continuous satisfaction and fulfilment by basing even your mundane activities on spiritual values. Whatever be the activity with which you are preoccupied in Society, you must be steadfast in holding on to the spiritual ideal. This alone will bestow lasting peace.

The sense organs should be sanctified by offering all the actions performed through them to God. You can surely achieve that sanctified state, provided you have strong determination. Unfortunately, man does not evince such a firm determination and tenacity of purpose in respect of spiritual matters, as he does for the sake of mundane things. Man is prepared to make any amount of effort to undertake a journey of millions of miles into outer space, but he hardly ever endeavours to go even an inch within, towards his Inner Self. What is the use of intelligence and worldly acquisitions when they cannot give Atma Shanthi (the untrammelled peace of the Atmaor the Spirit)? God alone can confer such enduring peace on man.

As far as possible, avoid causing harm or pain to others. As you sow, so you reap. Whenever you feel disturbed by a sense of anger, envy, pride, jealousy and the like, become alert and resort to the contemplation of the Lord.

EXCERPTS FROM A DISCOURSE OF SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

INNER PURITY ALONE CAN ELIMINATE EXTERNAL POLLUTION

INNER PURITY ALONE CAN ELIMINATE EXTERNAL POLLUTION

 Man has no doubt mastered many ways of accumulating wealth and amassing fortune; yet happiness eludes him. Why? Because his conduct is not proper. For good conduct, virtues are most essential. A virtuous person can accomplish anything. A son lacking in virtues and a life without a meaningful goal are of no value. Without virtues, life ceases to have any meaning. Good conduct should be the real basis for life. However, modern man is totally lacking in character and virtues. No wonder both peace and happiness elude him. Because of man's misconduct and immoral behaviour, there is pollution everywhere - in air, water, land and food. All the five elements have been severely contaminated, consequent to man's unbecoming behaviour. If man behaves properly, is pollution of the elements conceivable? It is all due to the extensive prevalence of immoral feelings and improper behaviour. It is the sharp decline of values like Love, Compassion, and Forbearance that is directly responsible for the widespread pollution that one sees today.

If you fill a coloured bottle with the water of Ganges, it would appear coloured. If the bottle is red, the water would seem red while if the bottle is blue the water too would appear blue. Where does the colour come from? From the water or the bottle? Ganges water is intrinsically pure; the colour is therefore due to the bottle holding the water. The human being is like a bottle. If evil thoughts dominate, the body indulges in bad actions; if good thoughts prevail, the body performs good actions. The body is not responsible for the actions; the thoughts that propel the body are. Bad feelings, bad thoughts and bad company provide the stimulus for bad actions.

If you constantly chant the name of God, the polluted atmosphere would automatically get purified. The Divine vibrations originating from the chant of the Divine Name mix with the atmosphere and spread everywhere, indeed throughout the world.

Give up bad company and join good company. Do good day in and day out. This is the way to sanctify human life. Although numerous opportunities exist for following the correct path, people miss them all and instead waste their time. People seem to revel in seeking bad company, even if they have to pay for it. Why do you have to go in search of bad thoughts and company? Instead, why don't you receive the good that is offered to you free and at no charge? It is a grave mistake to reject the good and accept only the bad.

Man is made up of the five elements, everyone of which is Divine in origin. They are all intrinsically sacred. If they are polluted today, man alone is responsible for that.

Enquire deeply into the meaning of five elements, and realize that you yourself are made up of them. Make every possible effort to venerate and revere the elements in a suitable manner. Your breath must always resonate to the chant of God's name. Always be singing His Glory.

Cleverness and Wisdom

Cleverness and Wisdom

  The human mind has two distinct capabilities. They are (1) the capacity to acquire worldly skills, and (2) the capacity for Spiritual Discrimination. These two faculties are called Medha Shakti and Buddhi respectively. People do not have a clear idea of the difference between (worldly) cleverness and (spiritual) Wisdom, and often mistake Buddhi to mean cleverness. This is not correct.

Being exclusively related to the phenomenal world, Medha Shakti would help a person to be shrewd in worldly matters and achieve success in Society. However, this is no blessing. A clever man is restless, does not enjoy peace, and often goes through mental conflicts. He is a slave to his ego, which casts a veil over the Self and rendersBuddhi ineffective. Cleverness is not an attribute of the Wise but unfortunately in thisKali age a clever person alone is regarded as great and accorded much respect.

Modern education lays great stress on the sharpening of the brain and can certainly help people to become clever. But it has no positive effect on Buddhi or the spiritual intellect. Our ancients, on the other hand, were unanimously of the view that Buddhi is superior to Medha Shakti, and is any day to be preferred.

Buddhi is essentially the combination of Shradda (earnestness), Sathyam (Truth), Yoga(power of control), and Mahat Shakti (Divine Power). Shradda is the product of yearning and steadfastness. TheSathyam aspect implies a proper judgement and perspective, with Truth as the central focus. The third aspect Yoga connotes a mastery over the senses. One cannot speak of a person being with blessed with Buddhi, if he lacks sense and mind control. Shradda, Sathyam and Yoga together manifest as Mahat Shakti, the power of the Divine. In short, all the aspects of Buddhi are verily Divine.

Students should understand clearly the difference between Medha Shakti and Buddhi. Cleverness would help one in securing good grades in examinations, and in scoring victory in debates. It is associated exclusively with worldly skills. Buddhi, on the other hand, is spiritual in nature and close to the Atma. Thus, one must never confuse a Wise person (Buddhiman) with a clever person.

The hierarchical relationship of the various entities related to Medha Shakti and Buddhi is as follows: At the bottom of the totem pole is the physical plane. Above it are the senses; then comes the mind or Manas. Buddhicomes above the mind and last of all is the Atma or the Self. Buddhi is thus just a "stone's throw" away from theAtma and is verily a reflection of the latter. It is thus the height of ignorance to equate Wisdom (Buddhi) with cleverness (Medha Shakti). The latter is associated to the senses and is thus intimately related to the phenomenal world. It promotes ego, and as long as ego dominates you cannot understand anything about the Self. A clever person would never be able to achieve Self-realisation; only a Wise person can.

Thoughts and Destiny

Being Near and Dear to God

 Whatever a man sees in the world arouses fear in him. Detachment alone can free him from fear. Failing to grasp this profound truth, man is allowing his desires to multiply, without realizing that desires promote attachment instead of detachment.

As long as man is attached to the body, he cannot get over the desire to possess the objects that attract him. A man afflicted with the acquisitive impulse can never get rid of worries. To overcome this attachment and possessiveness, ancient sages tailored their educational system so that it promoted self-control. Self-control also developed humility and thus, humility became the true index of right education. Control of the senses is absolutely essential for achieving humility, and education must promote such control.

Today's educational system is concerned mostly with imparting bookish knowledge, and students seek education only as a means for earning a living. This link between education and employment has to be severed, and education must instead be transformed into the process of acquiring True Wisdom.

In life, there are two aspects that have to be considered, rights and duties. Most people are concerned only with their rights and engage in struggles to secure them. Seldom do they recognise their responsibilities. This is true of all fields of human activity - social, political, economic and even spiritual. Lack of self-control is responsible for all this.
Men should regard their senses as potential enemies and not allow senses to have their own way. They should be subject to one's control and direction. What is the easiest way to achieve this mastery? Only the spiritual path. If there is real faith and devotion in man, the senses would be powerless against him. It is the decline in faith and devotion that has led man to become a slave of the senses.

The prompting of intellectual reasoning should not be identified with the dictates of the Conscience. Rather, the directives should come from the Heart. When you dive deep into a problem and enquire whether what you do is in the interests of your friends and Society in general, your Conscience will give you the right answer
Man is made up of three constituents, the body, the Mind and the Atma. Man needs the body for performing actions. But, if the actions are done without using the discriminating power of the Mind, man would be behaving like an animal, which acts on impulse. Moreover, if the Mind, without relying on the eternal and ever pure Atma, follows the demands of the body and the senses, the actions would be demonic. Bereft of the influence of the Atma, the combination of the Mind and the body can lead to demonic qualities. However, when one is installed in the Atmic principle, transcending the body and the Mind, one attains the Divine.

Hence, sanctify all your words, thoughts and deeds. Make your Heart pure so that it becomes a worthy abode for the Divine.

Excerpts from a Discourse of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Being Near and Dear to God

Being Near and Dear to God

 Whatever a man sees in the world arouses fear in him. Detachment alone can free him from fear. Failing to grasp this profound truth, man is allowing his desires to multiply, without realizing that desires promote attachment instead of detachment.

As long as man is attached to the body, he cannot get over the desire to possess the objects that attract him. A man afflicted with the acquisitive impulse can never get rid of worries. To overcome this attachment and possessiveness, ancient sages tailored their educational system so that it promoted self-control. Self-control also developed humility and thus, humility became the true index of right education. Control of the senses is absolutely essential for achieving humility, and education must promote such control.

Today's educational system is concerned mostly with imparting bookish knowledge, and students seek education only as a means for earning a living. This link between education and employment has to be severed, and education must instead be transformed into the process of acquiring True Wisdom.

In life, there are two aspects that have to be considered, rights and duties. Most people are concerned only with their rights and engage in struggles to secure them. Seldom do they recognise their responsibilities. This is true of all fields of human activity - social, political, economic and even spiritual. Lack of self-control is responsible for all this.
Men should regard their senses as potential enemies and not allow senses to have their own way. They should be subject to one's control and direction. What is the easiest way to achieve this mastery? Only the spiritual path. If there is real faith and devotion in man, the senses would be powerless against him. It is the decline in faith and devotion that has led man to become a slave of the senses.

The prompting of intellectual reasoning should not be identified with the dictates of the Conscience. Rather, the directives should come from the Heart. When you dive deep into a problem and enquire whether what you do is in the interests of your friends and Society in general, your Conscience will give you the right answer
Man is made up of three constituents, the body, the Mind and the Atma. Man needs the body for performing actions. But, if the actions are done without using the discriminating power of the Mind, man would be behaving like an animal, which acts on impulse. Moreover, if the Mind, without relying on the eternal and ever pure Atma, follows the demands of the body and the senses, the actions would be demonic. Bereft of the influence of the Atma, the combination of the Mind and the body can lead to demonic qualities. However, when one is installed in the Atmic principle, transcending the body and the Mind, one attains the Divine.

Hence, sanctify all your words, thoughts and deeds. Make your Heart pure so that it becomes a worthy abode for the Divine.

Excerpts from a Discourse of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

THE ROYAL PATH TO GOD

THE ROYAL PATH TO GOD

 The more one loves one's fellow beings, the greater would be the Bliss that one enjoys. The more you love others, the happier you would be. Therefore, if you wish to be constantly happy, you must always love all. Love is the Royal Path to God. The best way to God is to love all and serve all.

Everyone wants to be happy. Such a desire is natural and it springs from the fact that man's true nature is Bliss. Bliss is the Form of God but man does not understand that. He does not understand that he has originated from God, that life's undercurrent is God, and that his final destination also is God. Bliss should be the goal, and one must seek it in all earnestness. The human body is temporary; hence, the pleasure that it can give is also fleeting. One must therefore seek that which is permanent, that is God, or, what is the same thing, Bliss.

It is meaningless to seek Bliss by way of instruments such as the sense organs that are impermanent. The body can give only bodily pleasure, and the Mind can at best give mental satisfaction. But these do not represent Bliss; Divine Love alone is Bliss. This Love Principle is present not only in man but also in all beings, birds and beasts included. Therefore, one has to place the same value on the lives of all beings. Share the love latent within you with not only fellow human beings but also with all the creatures in Nature. That is the True Universal Love Principle. Such Principle alone should be the basis of one's life.

The Path of True Love alone can take you unfailingly to God and confer Permanent Bliss. Bodies may be different but the God within all bodies is the same. There is a man who is addressed as father by his son. The daughter-in-law calls him father-in-law, while the grandchildren call him grandfather. The individual is the same but the manner in which different people address him varies. Similarly the same God is given different names by the followers of different religions; they hail Him as Allah, Jesus, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and so on. Though the names vary, God is one and the same. Therefore, there is really no room for dispute between people belonging to different religions. You may address God by the name of your choice but all calls go to the same destination. Goal is one and God also is one.

Scholarship will not protect or redeem you; only Pure Love can. Pure Love is like a well- paved, one-way road with no speed breakers. You can rush along it to God at whatever speed you want. Overcoming all obstacles, you must keep rushing towards God. That must be the characteristic of your spiritual journey.

Excerpts from a Divine Discourse of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Sai speaks through Man

Sai speaks through Man

Successful or Useful ?

When asked what he wished to become, as a young man, Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein was reported to have said, "I want to become a useful person, not a successful person."

Asked what he meant by it, the eminent physicist replied, "A successful person is one who takes from society more than what he gives it. A useful person is one who gives the society more than what he takes from it."

STAY CALM

When you feel like saying something
That you know you will regret,
Or keenly feel an insult
Not quite easy to forget,
That's th e time to curb resentment
And maintain a mental peace,
For when your mind is tranquil
All your ill thoughts simply cease.

It's easy to be angry
When defrauded or defied,
To be peeved and disappointed
If your wishes are denied;
But to win a worthwhile battle
Over selfishness and spite,
You must learn to keep strict silence
Though you know you're in the right.

So keep your mental balance
When confronted by a foe,
Be it enemy in ambush
Or some danger that you know.
If you are poised and tranquil
When all around is strife,
Be assured that you have mastered
The most vital thing in life.

Grenville Kleiser