Baba's Storytime - Rama Blesses Govardhana Hill

Nothing ever happens without proper cause, however accidental or mysterious it might appear. The roots go deep and are out of sight. I was telling J. Hislop (author of 'My Baba and I') in Bombay at Dharmakshetra the same thing. 

The bridge towards Lanka was being built over the straits so that Râma and His army could march across to the realm of the demon King Râvana, where Sîtâ was interned. The valiant monkeys were plucking mountains and leaping vast distances in space with those peaks hoisted on their shoulders, so that they could be thrown into the sea to create a passage for Râma! The monkeys had formed a queue all the way from the Himalayas down to the southernmost point, where the bridge was fast coming up. When the causeway was completed, word went fast along the queue that no more hills are needed and each monkey placed on the ground, wherever it stood, the hill it had on its shoulder at the time.

One hill, however, did not sit quietly. It started bewailing its fate! "Why was I removed from where I was and why am I now refused? Alas! I was elated that I am destined to serve a divine purpose; I was overjoyed that the Armies of Râma and Râma Himself will walk over me. Now, I am neither there, nor where I was!" It shed profuse tears. 

News reached Râma, and His compassion was great. He sent word that in His next Avatâr, when He will come again upon His mission in human form, He will certainly bless the sorrowing hill.

(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

The Tongue

"If your foot slips, you earn a fracture; if your tongue slips, you fracture someone's faith or joy.  That fracture can never be set right; that would will fester forever.  Therefore, use the tongue with great care. The softer you talk, the less you talk, the sweeter you talk, the better for you and the world." 

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(March 29,1965)

"Where Have You Come From?"

 

What is the one question for which the answer has to be sincerely pursued by each one of us? 

"When asked where you have come from, you quickly reply, "From Delhi" or "From Calcutta" or "From Thiruvananthapuram”; but those are the places from where your bodies have come here. Within the body, as its source, sustenance and support, there is the Dehi (the embodied one) distinguishable from the deha (the body) where it has come from. That is beyond your ken. Investigate into that; discover the answer; that is the task of man. You will be released from this role only when you have overcome this colossal ignorance and realised the source, the sustenance and the support of, not only your seeming individuality, but of all the manifold million-faced sparks of that one Divine Force. Do not delay any further; the minutes are fleeing past; be inspired by the yearning to drink the nectar of the realisation of your true worth."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Divine Discourse, May 12, 1968)

Life, which is not aware of either the 'from' address or the 'to' address, is merely a waste of time.  BABA

Sai Madhuryam

 

The body is impermanent,

All one's wealth is transient,

Children and wife are shadows,

Only one's good deeds are lasting companions,

Who realises this truth is a true man.

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

 

Sathya Upanishad - Pt. 2

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OR SADHANA

Q2: Why should one take to spiritual practice or sadhana?

A: Take the case of clay.  Raw clay is used to make pots and utensils.  The latter get broken in course of time and get discarded.  Similarly Sadhana or spiritual pursuit leads man to Original Nature.  The water in the ocean is converted into vapour by the heat from the Sun and the vapour forms into clouds.  The clouds rain and the rain water flows back into the ocean in the form of rivers.  In other words, water coming out of the ocean returns to the ocean again.  It is but attaining one's own place or position.  This is the aim of Sadhana.

(To be continued)

(From the book "Divine Directions" by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)

Gems of Wisdom

“If there is love, there is hope to find a real family, a real brotherhood, a real serenity, a real peace. If love is lost in your mind and you consider other beings as enemies, then no matter your level of knowledge, education or material comfort, only suffering and confusion will follow.”

“Compassion is the basis of our survival, not just a religious matter. Our very life depends on the affection of others, so it's in our interest to take their concerns into account. We must think more about inner values and cultivate compassion in our own lives.”

“If you use force, you create fear. Fear destroys confidence Trust is the foundation of harmony. Supporters of the hardline believe that harmony and unity can be achieved by force. This is totally unscientific and totally wrong.”

“Medical science is starting to notice that for good health, peace of mind, self-confidence, optimism are very important things. And also a preventive measure.”

"Love and compassion are necessities not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."

"Anger, hatred and jealousy never solve problems, only affection, concern and respect can do that."

“We have to make an effort to extend our natural compassion, not just through prayer or reciting nice words, but by putting our intelligence to good use. That's how we'll become happy ourselves, and how our family and community will be happier. One thing that distinguishes us as human beings is our ability to extend our natural feelings of compassion, to other human beings and ultimately to the whole of humanity.”

Samastha Lokha Sukhino Bhavanthu

Sathya Upanishad - Pt. 1

HUMAN EFFORT AND THE GRACE OF GOD

Bhagawan visited Kodaikanal in April 1992 along with students of MBA and selected devotees of Prasanthi Nilayam and Whitefield campus.  In the beautiful premises "Sai Sruti", Swami used to give discourses two or three times a day.  These were mostly in the form of dialogue proceeding in form of questions and answers as in the Upanishadic  tradition.  Swami answered the questions below: 

Q1: What is the role of human effort and how is it related to the Grace of God?  Which of these two is more important?

A:  Those who had Western education are under the feeling that anything can be achieved through human effort coupled with a firm belief in it and that God's Grace is not necessary.  Take for example - a chapati and kurma in a plate.  They cannot be gulped as they are nor can they enter the stomach on their own.  There is work for the hand and the mouth.  The hand puts them into the mouth and then only does eating start.  Mere chanting the name of food will not do.  (By this Swami has conveyed that putting the food into the mouth by hand is human effort and digestion of the same is God's Grace).

Another example: Sowing a seed in the field is human effort.  Timely showers and good climate for the sprouting of the seed and the growth of the plant are God's Grace.  Yet another example is a bulb, switch and electric current.  The switch should be in the "on" position for the current to flow and the bulb to glow.  Here turning on the switch is human effort and the glowing of the bulb is God's Grace.

(To be continued)

From the book "Divine Directions" by Prof. K. Anil Kukar)

Love

 

"Love is not something that is acquired from outside.  It emerges from within.  When you develop and expand love, you will be able to realize the truth that all are one."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(March 21, 2004)

Sai Blossoms

 "God is love and love is God.  With hands, feet, eyes, ears, heads and mouth pervading everything, God permeates the entire universe.  You can connect yourself with God only through love.  Develop love and achieve the supreme state of equanimity.:

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

(March 21, 2004)

True Happiness

Question: Swami, what is the means to happiness?

Baba: True happiness lies in liking what you have to do, not doing what you like.  You have to like that which makes everyone happy, in doing what is expected of you.  True happiness lies in living with God.  True happiness likes in union with God.

Question: Then why are we unhappy?

Baba: The first reason is because of ego, you should tell your ego, "O ego!  You should go.  You have friends?  Yes, they will be your friends so long as your father is in position and so long as you have money.  The moment these two are gone, there will be no friends.  So true happiness is only with God.  The unhappiness is because of ego.  When that ego is damaged, we feel very unhappy deeply and hurt.  

The second reason is barriers.  For example, walls separate one room from another.  We imagine that we are young man or an old man.  All these are walls.  When you construct a house, you call one room a lounge, one a bedroom and another a kitchen, etc.  They are all one but you have divided the house into separate rooms.  If there were no walls, it would have been one large hall.  So it is this wall (which robs us) of our happiness.

(From the book "Divine Directions" by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)