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Re: SANDEHA NIVARINI SATHYA SAI BABA DISSOLVING DOUBTS

 
 
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  When a man casts off the desires of the mind Paartha, and
 in himself is satisfied in the knowledge and awareness
of self, then he is said to be a man of steady wisdom.
                         -Bhagavad Geetaa 2:55
 
 
 
Seva is the highest spiritual Sadhana. Japa or Dhyana, proficiency in
the Sastras or mastery of Vedic texts cannot help you to reach the goal
as quickly or as safely as Seva. We have been discussing for the last
five days how best to carry on the Sadhana of Seva to which you have
dedicated yourselves. I hope you have all spent the five days in trying
to understand the ideals you have to keep before you, and the
activities which can help you to realise them. Some months back, we had
an All India Conference of Seva Dal members, when several decisions
were taken to help the Dal to discharge its duties and fulfil its
responsibilities.  Most of you were present at the Conference too.
These gatherings have to be taken seriously and a sincere desire to
know more must enthuse you every moment. They are not to be used for
promoting personal contacts  and  social mixing, as most Conferences
are used in this country. If the decisions taken here and programmes
drawn up as a result of the discussions are not translated into action,
you have only wasted precious time and money.  Wasting time is as bad
as wasting life itself. Wasting money is an evil habit.
 
You have to go back to your districts and inspire the rank and file of
the Seva Dal to take up the activities recommended here, in a spirit of
Sadhana. If you are unable to inform the members and enthuse them by
your example, these deliberations and discussions are a waste. I hope
you have been so vigilant and active, trying to imbibe the lessons
which emerged from the experiences of participants, that you can gather
the workers of your area and implant in them deeper dedication,
devotion and determination in carrying out the projects and programmes.
 
Have one point clear in your minds. You must first have a close look at
your own attitude and behaviour towards the Seva Dal and its goal.
Examine whether you have the spiritual idealism and the desire to equip
yourselves with  the mental outlook and the physical skills necessary
for Seva. You have to be the leaders of the Seva Dal units and you can
be a successful leader only if you are a disciplined follower.
Humility is the hallmark of a Seva Dal leader. You cannot issue
commands to others, from the Ego-throne from which you refuse to step
down.  You have to be good servants in order to succeed as masters. You
have to weed out all undesirable elements from the Seva Dal and so, you
have yourselves to be above all pettiness and prejudice.
 
At the All India Conference, great emphasis was laid on individual
Sadhana, like Japa or Dhyana, as a means of strengthening oneself for
the rigours of Sadhana.  And perhaps you have already preached in many
places to groups of Seva Dal units on the importance of Japa and
Dhyana.  But, of the 200 delegates belonging to the Seva Dal who are
present here, how many spend at least a little time every day, for Japa
or Dhyana? Don't take it amiss when I say, none. Let the State
Presidents, the District Presidents and the District Seva Dal Conveners
declare my statement wrong.  When you do not practise yourselves, then
what authority or sanction do you have to preach to others?  Can you be
really sincere while asking others to engage themselves in individual
Sadhana?  In fact, individual Sadhana is the negative pole and service
or Seva is the positive pole; the connection of both poles alone brings
success. The wire that carries the electric current to bulbs in this
hall has a plastic cover; it is a copper wire.  The plastic cover is
the body; the copper wire, the mind, carries the divine principle and
conveys it to all who contact it. The mind must be illumined by that
principle in order to shed the light of love to all around,
irrespective of caste, creed and colour.
 
The Seva Dal is the most important of all the Units of the Organisation,
because every other Unit has to be served, intelligently and readily,
by the members of the Seva Dal. Its activity is all-embracing. The seva
dal has to help the Bhajan Mandali, the Mahila Vibhag, the Bala Vikas,
and the Samithi also when it anticipates the need.  Seva Dal must
welcome all plans to give it special training, so that it can fulfill
its duties in all these fields.
 
One of the problems which you discussed was how to attract youth into
the Seva Dal. Your enthusiasm, your humility, your awareness of the
distress of others, can alone draw kindred souls into the Organization.
Above all, the soft, tender and loving words of encouragement filled
with the light of love that emanate from your "Sadhana-cleansed hearts'
will have the greatest appeal to youth.
 
You must also recognise another important factor in this context.
Every member of the Sai Organisation must bear this in mind.  Only
those who have unswerving faith in Sathya Sai can fulfil the programmes
laid down. Sraddha is the very basis of spiritual progress. I know that
even leaders of Seva Dal do not possess this faith; they run hither and
thither behind those who proclaim themselves great masters and teachers
in the spiritual field. Remember the story that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
used to relate about waverers.  A farmer wanted a well in his field.
He dug 15 feet in one spot and then tried another.  Disappointed at
that place, he went on where he dug another 15 feet, then he ventured
to dig 15 feet again at a third place, where again he could not find
water.  Thus, the field became a patch work of pits and mounds. If only
he had persisted in the original spot, he could have succeeded and the
field would have been saved from ruin.  Similarly, Seva Dal leaders of
little faith are attracted to people who perform imitative acts or
pretend to be possessed by me; they waste their time, energy and money
in such silly, barren pursuits.  When Swami Himself is right before you
when you need him, why do you run after these `duplicates'?  The
members of the Sai Organisation in some places are lost in confusion as
a result of this vacillation among persons from  whom they seek
guidance.  Vacillation will only  render the path too  full of  jumps
and bumps.
 
Uddhava came among the Gopikas once, as an emissary from Krishna.  He
declared that he had come to teach them the  philosophy that underlies
spiritual disciplines; he said he would initiate them into the science
of yoga; he told then he could explain how and why Krishna was
omnipresent. But they refused to listen to him. They said, "We have
only one single mind and that mind we have surrendered to Krishna. We
know only single-minded devotion. If we had more minds, you could have
filled one with your philosophy, a second with your Yoga and a third
with your explanations.  So, please, return to the place from which you
have come".
 
Once I was asked by the organizers of a sports meet at Anantapur to
distribute prizes to the winners. Prizes are called `Bahumathi' in
Telugu. That word has another meaning `many minds'.  So, I told the
gathering, "Each one of you has a mind, which is causing so many
troubles.  Do not ask me to give you `many minds', when even the mind
that you now possess is causing so much anxiety and worry.  Learn to
adore God with single-minded  devotion.   Then, your mind will be a
help and not a hindrance."
 
Remember that Seva Sadhana, like all  spiritual Sadhanas, has as its
goal, the awareness of the one that is deluding you as the many. The
Seva Sadhana has to be undertaken as a way of life, so that it can
yield results.  To believe the `many' is `real', no Sadhana is needed.
The land need not be tilled or fenced in, no manuring nor irrigation is
needed if you are bent on watching grass grow.  It is only when you are
eager to reap the harvest of edible grain that the Sadhana of ploughing,
planting, watering, manuring, weeding and fencing are important.
 
See God installed in every one; every living body is a temple where the
Omnipresent God is to be adored and worshipped by your Seva.
 
Eknath was on pilgrimage from Varanasi to Rameswaram. He was carrying a
Vessel filled with the water of the Holy Ganga, so that he could, as
was laid down in the scriptures, pour it ceremoniously on the Siva
Linga installed by Sri Rama Himself at Rameswaram. While only a few
days remained for him and his party to reach that sacred goal, he saw
on the roadside a donkey dying of thirst.  Unable to bear the sight of
its agony,  Eknath knelt to pour the holy Ganga water into the mouth of
the donkey. That revived the animal; it could stand up and move.  The
disciples of Eknath were astounded at his behaviour. They asked why he
had misused the Ganga after carrying it on his shoulder for days and
days, over thousands of miles.  Eknath replied, `The holy water has
been used to the best advantage: It was drunk not by the donkey, but by
Ramesware Himself, installed within the donkey body. God Himself told
me, "I am thirsty; why carry the water any longer? Pour it to relieve
My thirst."
 
You proclaim that God is resident in  all creatures: "Isavasyam idam
Sarvam".  But when you have to put that statement into action, your
faith disappears and you discover excuses.  The saint musician
Thyagaraja sang, "Oh Rama, You are present in the ant; You are present
in the Cosmos, the Brahma." You sing that song with gusto, but do you
believe it as Thyagaraja did? If Brahma manifests Himself before you
with four faces, you may get absorbed in contemplating that glory hut
if an ant crawls up your back, you are disturbed.  You do not brush it
aside; you crush it and kill it.
 
We have in our culture folkways that teach us to serve even the ant.
Women clean the ground in front of the homes and draw decorative
patterns with rice flour. They beautify the courtyards and they pr~vide
food for the ants.  Sparrows too feed on the flour. But the Seva aspect
is ignored; the patterns are drawn in with lime chalk, which ants do
not eat.
 
Seva Sadhana requires the individual to do Dhyana every day.  The mind
must be trained to evaluate the world and its attractions correctly. A
rich man felt pity at a hungry dog and he gave it a plateful of cooked
rice. The dog came to his house the next day at the same hour. This
continued for more than three years,  until the rich man got so
disgusted with the dog that he decided to drive it away from his
doorstep.  But he  wondered what  means  he  should  adopt to  succeed
in keeping off the dog.  The only means was to  stop feeding it.  The
mind too is now being fed with sensual desires and so, it appears
during Dhyana also demanding attention. The mind is rendered fickle
because it is fed on worldly tendencies; it can be tamed and taught to
value higher goals, if you follow a different routine.
 
Keep the mind ever busy with higher goals; then, it will act as a
useful instrument and not as an obstacle in your path. You must have
seen people catching monkeys and using then as showpieces while
begging. Since monkeys love climbing trees and sliding down, they take
the monkeys from door to door and, planting a stick on the ground, they
make them play, `Go up the stick.  Come down the stick.'  The mind too
must be given some work that will absorb all its energy. I suggest that
you give it the duty of a watchmen, while you are engaged in Dhyana.
Let it sit an the tip of the nose and watch the breath that goes in with
"So" and the breath that goes out with each "ham".
 
When the mind is well set in this watching process, that is to say, in
about five minutes, start the Dhyana in the silence of your room and
your heart. Have a picture of the Lord or have a small unflickering
flame of a lamp or candle in front of you. I shall describe in some
detail the Dhyana which you can adopt with benefit. Watch the flame for
a few minutes with open eyes.  Then imagine that the flame is within
you. Feel that the light of the flame is in your heart, right in the
center of the Lotus. Decide to make that light move all over the
stomach, the four limbs, the eyes, the ears, the tongue, and so on.
Feel that the entire body is illumined thereby. Rejoice that the light
is the light of Love; it removes hatred; it dispels darkness and doubt;
it reveals that all are Divine.
 
Then visualize the light as surrounding your physical body and
spreading far out to the neighbors, your kith and kin, and even those
whom you do not like. Every object is enveloped in that Divine
Effulgence.  Isavaasyam Idam Sarvam. All this is illumined by God. This
is the stage of Bliss.
 
Now, when light fills the eyes, you must feel that they have been
purified. They shall no longer seek to look upon  evil sights. When the
Light has lit the tongue with love, decide that there is no more scope
for uttering harsh words. The arms can no longer delight in harmful
deeds; the feet can no longer move into polluting areas and places.
 
In this manner, the One Flame on which you concentrate can cleanse your
mind and your body and enlarge its light to include your entire
environment. On Diwali day, a hundred lamps are lit with one lamp. The
original lamp burns as bright as at the beginning, even though a
hundred lamps have benefitted by it. There is no diminution or
destruction of the initial Jyothi. The Jyothi or Flame that kindles the
rest is the Parabrahma Jyothi, those which are kindled by it are the
Jeevana Jyothis, the individual souls. These two flames or Jyothis are
identical in fact, though one is derived from the other.  This
recognition is the fulfillment of Dhyana.  Therefore, meditating on the
Flame in this manner is to be highly recommended to Sadhaks.  You can,
if you like, keep the Form of the Lord which gives you supreme delight
in the Flame when you install it in the Lotus of your heart, and adore
Him as the Source of Light. And, that Form can be a part of the
illumination which cleanses you and the world around you.
 
Do not be led away by protagonists of various types of meditation, who
have multiplied recently. These are mostly artificial and superficial
exercises. If  `sitting in meditation and transcending the body and
mind' were as easy and smooth as these protagonists proclaim, just
consider why the sages and seers of this land spent years in
self-improvement and self-control to succeed in Dhyana and reach
Samadhi. It is claimed now that the body consciousness can be laid
aside in a few minutes and a state of trance can be induced, without
difficulty.  Because of the frustration and depression that has
overtaken people in the west, such claims receive undue response, but
mere absence of body-consciousness cannot be reckoned as success in
meditation.  One must experience the Atmic Bliss at the super-conscious
level. Mere concentration deals only with some sensory experiences.
When consciousness rises above the senses, it becomes contemplation.
When the border of the higher level of consciousness is reached,
meditation starts. Work involves concentration.  Worship needs
contemplation, and Wisdom presupposes meditation. You, as Seva Dal
workers, must cultivate all three.  Work leads to worship and worship
results in wisdom.
 
Work is the flower. In due course of time, the petals fall off and the
fruit is revealed as a tender tiny object. This is `worship'.  The
fruit grows and is filled with sweetness. This is `Wisdom'. So, take up
Seva work in right earnest. This is the Karma Marga which you must
follow in order to alleviate the distress of others and earn peace of
mind for y~ourselves. The Jnyana Marga is the `through train' which
stops only at the final destination; the Bhakti Marga is the `through
coach'  which also  reaches the  destination  being  linked with  other
trains which move in that direction. The Karma Marga is the
`ordinary-train' that necessitates changes and stop-overs, but it is
useful in its way in an educative manner.  Karma Marga is involvement
Karma, it has to be resorted to in order to arrest unjust and unethical
tendencies that pester you. Karma-consequence can be wiped off only
through Karma. So, Karma Marga is the sacred path for members of the
Seva Dal.  The Sathya Sai Seva Organisation can be expanded only
through three avenues of work: individual Sadhana, social service and
the cultivation of universal love. You are all in reality embodiments
of that love.  This conference of Seva Dal Conveners is, in fact, more
sacred and more significant than many we have had so far. I direct you
to implement in practice, steadily and sincerely, every one of the
decisions arrived at, and thereby render the Organisation useful for
all Mankind.
 
 
 
 
               -Sri Sathya Sai Baba,  excerpted from the Manual of
               Sri Sathya Sai Seva Dal and Guidelines for Activities,
               May, 1979, pages 1-8.
 
 
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