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SANDEHA NIVARINI SATHYA SAI BABA DISSOLVING DOUBTS
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"You will behold My Maya, and having developed insight into it, you will
renounce it in order to attain Self-realization."
-Lord Vishnu in Yoga Vasista, Upashama Prakarana,44, Gadhi
THE HUMAN PREDICAMENT AND THE DIVINE
Sai sings: "Social norms have vanished;
Contentment among men has disappeared;
Character and moral values have been shattered;
Humanness has been degraded in Mankind.
Dear Students,
Food is essential for everyone in the world. Among the necessities of life
food comes first. But Man cannot be satisfied with food alone. A full
stomach does not fully satisfy the mind. He cannot merely rest on a
satisfied appetite. He has to move about and engage himself in work. While
doing work, he has to ask: "What am I doing? Why am I doing, and how am I
doing?" When he enquires into these questions, he can derive meaning and
joy
from his work. In this way, he recognizes the purpose and value of what
he is doing.
Realizing what is good in his actions, he makes it a part of his life. He
experience the joy derived from his actions and shares that joy with
others.
This is the primary message of the Taithiriya Upanishad. Starting with
food,
attaining bliss is the final goal of life. The Taithiriya Upanishad is a
section of the Krishna Yajur Veda. This is an ancient Upanishad. Everything
in it is in the form of a mantra, a sacred statement. Mantra does not
merely
mean pronouncing statements like, "Om Namassivaaya" or "Om Namo
Narayanaaya." Mananaa thraana samhitam iti mantrah- mantra is that which
redeems by contemplation. Mantra is that which gets established in the mind
by the process of contemplation on it. In this Upanishad, every utterance
has the import of mantra. Every word in it is filled with the power of
mantra.
APHORISMS FOR ALL
"Sathyam vada, Dharmam chara." Speak the truth; practice righteousness. "Om
iti Brahma." Om is Brahman. "Sathyam, Jnaanam, Anantham Brahma" "Ekam Sath;
Vipraah bahudhaa vadanthi." The Real is One; the wise call it by many
names.
"Ekoham bahusyaam." I am One; let me become many. "Eko vasi
sarvabhutaantharharaatma." The One is the Indweller in all beings. These
aphoristic pronouncements acquired the form and power of mantras, spread
throughout the world and generated bliss among men by raising their
consciousness.
There is another remarkable feature of this Upanishad. The other Upanishads
are relevant to specific categories of people. But the Taithiriya Upanishad
is valid for celibates, householders, renunciants and ascetics equally in
its message and its practical application. It has thus an appeal and
relevance for every human being. Its teachings are essential for persons in
the four asramas or stages of life.
THE FIVE FIRES
There is another important section in it dealing with the Panchaagnis, the
Five Fires. There are five kinds of Fire-principle, Agni. Udara-Agni,
Manda-Agni, Kaama-Agni, Soka-Agni and Badavaa-Agni. Udara-Agni refers to
the burning sensation caused by hunger, fire in the stomach. Manda-Agni
refers to the burning feeling caused by excessive eating resulting in
indigestion. Kaama-Agni is the burning agony in the mind caused by
numerous
desires and passions. Soka-Agni does not refer only to consuming grief
caused by worldly disappointments and losses. It pertains also to the
burning sorrow felt by one who is yearning for God, thirsting for
experiencing oneness with the Divine.
The Bhagavad Gita is a scriptural text acceptable to people of all faiths.
The very first canto in it is titled, "Vishaada-yoga", the Yoga of
Despondency. What is this Vishaada? Does it relate to any worldly
concerns?
Is it a despondency about the fate of kinsmen and friends? Can such a
grief
be described as a form of yoga? Clearly this grief is not associated with
worldly desires or human relationships. Arjuna's grief arose from out of a
concern for Dharma, Duty, and for GOD. He realized that in the war about
to
be waged, many would die. As a consequence of their death, righteousness,
Dharma, will suffer a mortal blow. There will be confusion of castes. It
was because of his concern for Dharma and his faith in GOD that Arjuna was
grief-stricken and his grief turned into a form of yoga, a quest for
communion with the Divine. Likewise, this Soka-Agni in not a consuming
sorrow over the lack of worldly possessions. It is a grief felt for the
sake of Dharma and GOD.
Badavaa-Agni is the burning feeling caused in a person by dire diseases
and
death.
All these five types of `fire' are related to physical conditions. They
have no relation to the Atma, Spirit, which is different from the body.
The
Spirit is a witness to all the experiences resulting from these five forms
of fires. Utilizing these five fires as experiences witnessed by the
Spirit, the Upanishad revealed the truth underlying physical phenomena.
FOUR HUMAN TYPES
There is another inner secret that has to be recognized in this context.
Human beings are classified under four categories: Daiva, Divine; Maanava,
Human; Daanava, Demonic- and Pasutva, Animal. Of these four categories,
the
first is Maanava-Daivamu, the Divinely human. Daivam maanusha roopena- the
Divine in human form. This means that the Supreme is present as Vishnu in
the heart of the human being. The `Divinely human' being is one who is
conscious of the Divinity residing within him, who dedicates all his
actions to the Divine, who recognizes the Divinity present equally in all
beings and has love and compassion for all living beings and devotes his
life to the service of God. `Human-humanness,' maanava-maanavatva, calls
for a life dedicated to Sathya and Dharma. Sathya Dharma Bhaavo marthyaha.
He is a man who is who devoted to Truth and Righteousness. In this world
of
delusion, the one who has his sights on Truth and Righteousness, preaches
and practices the two virtues and shows love and compassion to his fellow-
beings in the conviction that to be truly human is the mark of a human
being, is a humane human being. Such a person practices Dharma, engages
himself in charitable activities, harmonizes his thoughts, words and deeds
and leads a godly life, even though living as a householder, grihastha.
Performing his duties, he stands out as an example to his fellow-men.
Next comes Maanava-Daanavattva, the demonic human being. Suraapaano
daanavah. The demonic being is addicted to intoxicants. The demonic man is
one who is addicted to drink, who harasses people, inflicts pain on others
for selfish reasons, who is without love or compassion, and who is totally
immersed in selfish concerns. This is how the Upanishads characterize the
demonic human being.
The fourth category is the bestial human being. Maanava-pasutvam. Jnaanena
sunyah pasubhissamaanah. The man without wisdom is equal to an animal.
What
is the animal nature? Governed wholly by the senses, considering sensual
enjoyment as the sole purpose of his life, leading a sensuous life from
birth to death, spending his time in eating and sleeping and forgetting in
such a life his basic human nature- such a person has been described as an
animal in human form. The chief quality that distinguishes a man from an
animal is wisdom- the power of discrimination as to what is permanent and
what is transient. A man who lacks this capacity is no better than an
animal. When does a man lose this capacity? When he is self-centered.
GOD-REALIZATION THE GOAL
The right course for man is to pursue the path of God-realization. If he
is
unable to do this, he should strive at least to behave as a human being.
For man to behave like a demon or an animal is totally opposed to his
basic
nature. It is because these degrading tendencies have become rampant in
the
world today that true humanness has declined.
It is because demonic and animal tendencies have grown in the world today
that genuine human traits have declined. Morality and integrity have
reached their nadir. Social obligations have lost their hold. Men are
wasting their lives without any awareness of what is society. Society is
regarded as an assemblage of heads. This is not so- society means the
unified expression of the collective group. It implies recognition of the
duty by everyone in the community to live in harmony with others. It must
be realized that individual happiness is dependent on society.
THE TWO PATHS
The Taithiriya Upanishad contains a significant message given to the
disciples by the preceptor at the end of their education in the
preceptor's
hermitage. In this message, two paths are indicated: the Preyo-maarga and
the Sreyo-maarga. The Preyo-maarga relates to practices which will give
pleasure to the senses from time to time. These are momentary,
impermanent,
and unreal. Most people prefer this path of Preyas. Very few seek to
follow
the Sreyo-maarga, the sublime path, which confers permanent and unchanging
good. The reason is it takes time to yield the benefits. Man is eager to
get quick results and does not want to wait. He is in a hurry all the
time.
Even his desires are confined to immediate results. He desires a good
name,
a good environment and an enjoyable life. He does not seek good knowledge,
good conduct or good sense- which are the requisites for following the
Sreyo-maarga. The mundane path, the Preyo-maarga, is concerned with
achieving temporary name, power and position.
Summoning all the pupils, the preceptor would address them thus: `Dear
Students! What is the primary aim of education? It is the cultivation of
humility. Character is the life-breath of education.' The Sikshaavalli
chapter of the Upanishad contains all the lessons which the preceptor
wanted the students to bear in mind when they went out into the world.
Among them were injunctions such as, `Maatru devo bhava! Pitru devo
bhava.'
Worship the mother as GOD. Worship the father as GOD. Reverence for the
parents comes first. They were enjoined not to give up truth in any
circumstance and not to forsake righteousness at any time.
LEAD GODLY LIVES
Through these teachings, the students of those days were filled with high
ideals and were inspired to lead exemplary, Godly lives.
Unfortunately, education today tends to dehumanize the students. While
developing their intellectual abilities, nothing is done to develop good
qualities in them.
All that our much-vaunted `progress' in education has achieved is a
decline
in morality and a contempt for teachers.
Students have to outgrow their narrow egoistic ideas and develop a
universal outlook. They should strive to enlarge the individual
consciousness to comprehend the Universal, by recognizing that the Spirit
that dwells in all beings is One and the same Cosmic Spirit. Ekaatma
Sarvabhutaantaratma. When this consciousness of oneness is realized by
all,
the world will experience peace and prosperity.
To start with, cultivate love for your fellow-beings. If a man cannot love
his father, wife, or children, or his fellowmen, how is he going to love
God? Love is not something that waxes and wanes. It is unchanging. It must
spread wider and wider till it becomes all-embracing. Such love is Divine.
Love is God. Live in love.
(Swami concluded his discourse with the bhajan, `Prema mudhitha manasa
kaho: Rama, Rama, Ram!')
-from the discourse in the Institute Auditorium at the
Brindavan College of Arts and Sciences, May 30, 1991
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