ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG:  BABA'S CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS

Professor Anil Kumar has presented this talk as an extra satsang. He has selected important messages Baba has imparted to the students gathered around Him during the afternoon sessions on the verandah at Prashanti Nilayam. These talks will continue.

Part Five

November 26th, 2002

OM…OM…OM…

Sai Ram!

With Pranams to Swami!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

A while ago, Bhagavan spoke to all of us for 1½ hours. These latest talks will be conveyed to you now. So we begin our talks with the conversations held on 26th November 2002.

 

NOVEMBER 26th, 2002

“Bhrama are many, but brahma is only one”

Bhagavan spoke on various aspects. I shall try to summarize to the extent possible.

Bhagavan was asked, “Why is there sadness and misery? “

The answer He gave was, “Your imagination, the illusions, are responsible for sadness. Without imagination, if you are not deluded, then there is no chance for misery at all.”

 “Bhrama is illusion. If you become free from Bhrama, you will experience Brahma, God. Brahma is Divine. If you experience Brahma, the Divine, you will not be carried away by Bhrama, delusions or illusions. So the reason for our misery is our own illusion, delusion or mistaken identity.”

“Bhagavan, please tell us about Bhrama.”

Bhagavan said, “Bhrama, illusions, are many, but Brahma, God, is only One. If you only know that one God, Brahma, then you are unruffled, undisturbed and unagitated. You are equal-minded.”

“I see.”

To clarify this, Bhagavan gave a few examples. For instance, in a theatre there is a wide screen on which films are projected. There are many types of films. There are films that make us cry, and films that make us dance. However, the screen never cries or dances. The screen never changes, though the films projected on it change often.

Similarly, Brahma, the Divine, is the screen -- changeless, continuous, unpolluted, eternal, unblemished, nectarine. However, the films projected on the screen are ever-changing, temporal and ephemeral. They are worldly and momentary. That’s one example.

Bhagavan gave another example: In English literature, there are so many books -- volumes and volumes -- books with 500 pages or 1000 pages or any number of pages, and thousands of sentences. But the number of letters is only 26. Out of these 26 letters, volumes and volumes are written. Similarly, basic Brahman is common. However, the thoughts, the behaviour, the imagination, the illusions are many. Once you know the fundamental Brahma, the Divine, you will be unaffected. You will be joyful and in a state of bliss.

 

The Three Levels Of Consciousness

Bhagavan gave a third point. There are three levels of Consciousness, which can be explained as follows: My current state right now is called jagrath or the waking state.  When I go to sleep and dream, that is the second state, called swapna or dream state. When I am in deep sleep, I am in the third state, called sushupthi.  In jagrath I am here. In swapna, I am there. In sushupthi, I continue to exist. I do not change, but the three levels of awareness or Consciousness, these three forms of experience, are different.

My experience in this waking state is totally different from my experience in the dreaming state. My experience in the dreaming state is totally different from the one in deep sleep, where there are no experiences at all. But, I continue to exist in all these three states. So this “I” is Brahman, the Divine.  The three states of Consciousness are different -- the three levels of experience are different -- but “I” continue to exist. This is Brahman. So Swami explained to us that afternoon.  

 

Variety Of Religions

Next question: “Bhagavan, when Truth is One, why there are so many religions? You have been telling us that the Truth is One and Brahman, the Divine, is One. The rest is only imagination. I understand it.  Then why are there are so many religions?”

Bhagavan gave a simple example, “The rain is the same, but the rivers, tributaries and lakes are many. Similarly Truth is One, while religions are many. Truth is the rain, and the rivers, tributaries and streams are all the different religions.”

Then I asked another question. “Swami, there are many religions. What is it that is responsible for so many varieties of religions? Do we differ in our ideology or in our practices? Between the practices and the ideology, which is responsible for the existence of so many religions?”

Bhagavan said, “No, no. Your practice is the basis for the ideology and the ideology is the foundation for a religion. Our practices are different, so that led to different ideologies, and that ultimately resulted in different religions. But the Truth is One. The rain is one, though the lakes and streams are many.” That is the wonderful example that Bhagavan has given us.

 

Intellect Is Superior To The Mind

Now Bhagavan gave an illustration from Indian history. There lived a very great king, Vikramadithya by name. He convened a conference of scholars. Many scholars attended that conference. The king asked the scholars the following question:

“Oh scholars! Please tell me, between the Intelligence and the intellect, which one is greater?” 

To this, Bhagavan explained clearly: “Intelligence is the quality of the mind. Intellect is superior to the mind. So, your so-called intelligence, which is the mind, is lower than the intellect, which is what we call buddhi. “

“Swami, why do You say that? Why do You say that the intellect is superior to the mind?”

Bhagavan said, “The mind is dual and is full of doubts. However, the intellect decides, judges and is uni-directional. The intellect does not give scope for any doubt, whereas the mind is full of bumps and jumps, ups and downs. Therefore, the mind is lower than the intellect. The intellect is superior to the mind.”

That’s what Bhagavan said, because intellect is gifted with discrimination and judgment.

 

Sraddha Is Superior To Viveka

King Vikramadithya asked another question of his scholars. It was as follows: Sraddha means steadfastness or sincerity, and viveka means wisdom. Of the two, sincerity and wisdom, which is superior? Everyone said that viveka, wisdom, was superior.

But King Vikramadithya said, “You are wrong. It is sraddha -- sincerity or steadfastness -- that is superior. Why?  Because being sincere, you will never doubt; you will never be negligent or reckless. But wisdom tries to discriminate, distinguish, and differentiate. Sincerity, sraddha, does not differentiate or distinguish. Sraddha has purpose and is one-pointed. Therefore, sraddha is superior to viveka, wisdom.”

“Bhagavan, thank You very much. You have told us that the intellect is superior to the mind. We are very happy about that. And sraddha is superior to viveka -- very good. But why is it that I am not in that state of awareness continuously? Why?”

After all, this awareness is felt in different periods of time, in different states of consciousness. However, awareness is not continuous in most cases. I experience that state of total awareness when I see Baba, or while I sit for meditation, or while I am talking to you about Swami. However, other times I lack that awareness and am totally unaware. Therefore, the question is, “Why aren’t we in a constant a state of awareness?”

Bhagavan gave a simple answer, “The very fact that you asked, “Why?”, the very fact that you doubt your ability to be in a state of total awareness, is responsible for ending that awareness. (Laughter) You doubt whether it is possible or not. So that doubt is responsible for breaking the state of awareness. When there is no doubt, that awareness exists, that awareness continues. Then constant awareness is possible. So the doubt should be given up immediately.” That’s what Swami said.

 

“My life is my message”

Then I made a comment, “Bhagavan, we’ve been thinking about the Birthday Celebrations. They are over now. I feel they were over even before they began. It went so fast!” (Anil Kumar snaps his fingers to indicate an instant of time.)

Then Swami said, “Life is a celebration. Life is full of festivity and gaiety. This is true not only in My case, but also in your case. Your life can be full too. It can be full of fun, humour, frolic and celebration.”

“No, Swami, I’m sorry. But my life is not full of celebration, no! (Laughter) Monday may be a day of celebration, Tuesday may be a day of silence, and Wednesday maybe a day of sadness. Thus life is not a continuous celebration in our case. However in Your case, it is full of joy, full of bliss and full of celebration. But it is not so in our case.”

Then Swami said, “My Life is My Message, and I want you to follow the Master. Follow Me!”

“Swami, it’s alright, but why are we not able to follow You? You said that we should follow You. Agreed. You also said that Your life is Your message. Agreed. But why are we not able to do it? I want to know.”

And Swami said, “Selfishness. Your selfishness is responsible for making your life so heavy -- so serious, burdensome and tragic. Once you give up your selfishness, it will be full of festivity -- full of dance, music and ecstasy.” That’s what Bhagavan has said.

“Bhagavan, alright! Shall I learn how to celebrate my life? Shall I learn how to make my life a celebration from now on?”

Bhagavan said, “It cannot be learned. Anything that is learned will be forgotten. Anything that is learned will also vanish and will undergo changes repeatedly. But, you have to discover for yourself. However, the art of Self -discovery will help you to make your life a celebration. It cannot be learned; it cannot be studied. You have to discover your Self”. That’s what Bhagavan said.

Very good! Instead of learning or reading or doing, let us try to discover our true Self. This is the best way towards liberation or the celebration of life in general.

 

How To Make Politics Pure?

 “Bhagavan, we hear a word, rajakeeyamu, which means politics. Swami, we want to know Your views about rajakeeyamu.”

Swami said, “Politics, chi chi! Don’t say that. It is rajakayyamu. Kayyamu means fight. Politics is nothing but fighting. Therefore, it is not rajakeeyamu, but rajakayyamu. Don’t speak about it!”

Then I said, “Swami, how can  politics become pure? If politics is polluted and impure, how can democracy be ideal? How can politics be made pure and clean? How can that be accomplished? There is no point in just saying, ‘Politics is impure; politics is dirty; politics is…’ No, no, no! I want to make it pure. There should be a way to have clean,  pure politics. What is it, Swami?”

 In His answer, Bhagavan spoke of two qualities that are necessary. The first one is nijayathi, which means integrity, individuality; and the second quality is neethi, which means morality.  Individuality and morality – these two will give you clean, pure politics.

“Swami, I have a small doubt.”

“What is it?”

“I think neethi and nijayathi are the same. Would You please tell me the difference between them?”

Swami explained clearly, “Nijayathi, integrity, is purely individualistic. Neethi, morality, is a trait of the community. It is a social obligation and a social commitment. So, while morality is social, individuality or integrity is personal. Hence, politics can be purified through individual integrity and social, ethical morality. That is Rajaneethi -- the politics of purity -- politics that are unpolluted, and clean.”

Then I asked this question: “Swami, in the Mahabharatha, towards the end, the grand old man, Bheeshmacharya, taught King Dharmaraja the principles of politics. What sort of politics did he teach? Was it pure or impure? Was it rajakeeyamu or rajakayyamu? Which one did he teach?”

       Swami said, “It was not rajakeeyamu politics, but it was rajaneethi, rajadharma -- the code and the ideal norms of administration. Bheeshmacharya taught political administration and political science to Dharmaraja, not the politics of conflict or fighting.”

 

Brahma and parabrahma

In the meantime, another gentleman asked a question: “Swami, there are two words, Brahma and Parabrahma. What is the difference between the two?”

Bhagavan said, “Brahma is changeless -- the One that does not move and has existence, whereas Parabrahma is the One that moves and continues to show movement or mobility. So, Brahman is superior to Parabrahman. Brahman is a deeper, stable, unblemished, spotless, crystal clear existence; whereas Parabrahman is that which undergoes transformation and is in motion.” That’s how He explained the difference between Brahma and Parabrahma.

 

Parts Are Four, But The Bird is One

“Bhagavan, in Your recent discourse You made mention of Sathyam, Ritham, mahath. I didn’t catch the idea, though I translated it. I am yet to reach the depth of what You wanted to convey. Now that we are a little bit free, would You please explain more about that analogy or example?”

Swami, the Merciful God, the Compassionate God, started explaining once again this idea, elaborating on what He had said at the time of the Birthday Celebrations.

This relates to an Upanishad called Taittiriya Upanishad. Swami expanded upon the illustration in His Birthday message. The whole idea is a concept, a simile, with a bird as the example. A bird has a body, two wings, a neck and a tail. This is the example mentioned in the Taittiriya Upanishad.

Swami explained as follows: Mahath is the bird’s body. Its two wings are Sathyam and Ritham. The wing on the left side is Sathyam, and the one on the right side is Ritham. The neck is sraddha, which means sincerity or steadfastness. The tail is yoga or spiritual discipline. Thus, the whole spiritual concept is explained with reference to the body of a bird.

“Swami, yoga or spiritual discipline and sraddha or sincerity -- I think one is enough for liberation. Are they the four parts of the body?”

He said, “These are different parts of the same bird. There are four parts, but the bird is one. Similarly, whether it is yoga -- the tail, or the wings -- Sathyam or Ritham, or sraddha -- the neck, they all belong to the same body. They all lead to the same Brahman, the Divine. So, Brahman is One, and these are the different parts.”

Bhagavan explained in such simple words.

 

Lucky And Unlucky

Then the subject shifted to another area. “Swami, we say so-and-so is lucky, so-and-so is unlucky, so-and-so is lucky and unlucky. Both types are here -- some are fortunate, some are unfortunate. Would You please explain this?”

Bhagavan has taken the Sanskrit word here -- adrushtam. The English translation for adrushtam is ‘fortune or luck’. If I say that you have adrushtam, the English translation is that you are lucky or you are fortunate. But Bhagavan gave the inner significance. He went deeper into the meaning of this word, adrushtam. Bhagavan explained it in this way. Nobody will go into this detail -- only Swami can do that.

He explained it like this: “Drushtam is that which is seen. Adrushtam is that which cannot be seen.” Therefore, how is it that adrushtam means ‘luck or being fortunate’? Because the very word tells you that it is not seen! So, that which is not seen is adrushtam”.

 “Swami, we always identify adrushtam with fortune. Does misfortune also come with it?”

Then Bhagavan said, “Yes, why not, since it is also not seen. (Laughter)  Fortune and misfortune, good luck and bad luck, all these are not seen. So, adrushtam does not necessarily mean only the positive side, as we generally refer to it. In the general connotation, I may give a positive meaning; but the etymology or the root meaning of the word adrushtam means, ‘that which is not seen’. So, it may be good or bad.”

That was a very good explanation!

 

The Play Of The Mind

“Swami, nice to hear. However, I have a question. Whether good luck or bad luck, fortune or misfortune, seen or not, I react. In good fortune, I jump for joy; but when days are unlucky, I cry. I have a different reaction. How do You explain it? Whether seen or not, I have a different experience. I go on crying because of bad luck and I go on jumping for joy because of good luck. How do You explain this, Swami?”

Bhagavan said, “This is nothing but the gimmicks or play of the mind. Fortune or misfortune, tears or smiles -- they all belong to the play of the mind. Manas means ‘mind’. The one with manas is manishi -- man”.

“So Swami, what should I do? I am a man, manishi, with a mind, manas, and all its reactions. How shall I understand and correlate this with the state of adrushtam?

 If we, as true seekers and aspirants of Vedanta or philosophy, are patient,  Bhagavan will come out with an elaborate and deep explanation. But we should really be seekers with a deep and keen interest in the subject. Out of His kindness, He explained this.

“Supposing you lose the mind.”

“Swami, losing the mind?”

“Yes, lose your mind!”

“How can I lose my mind, Swami? (Laughter) I may become a lunatic or psychotic.” (Laughter)

“No, no, no, ‘lose your mind’ means ‘thoughtlessness’. When you withdraw your thoughts and your desires, then the mind does not exist. When the mind does not exist, there are no reactions. When there are no reactions, there are neither smiles nor tears.”

“There are neither smiles nor tears -- a wonderful explanation, Swami! I am so happy that You have explained that the reactions are because of the mind. When the mind is annihilated, totally withdrawn, there’ll be no more reactions -- neither tears nor smiles.”

This is the true meaning of adrushtam – ‘that which is not seen’. It is not the usual, conventional way of interpreting adrushtam, as ‘fortune or good luck’. This was, indeed, a great revelation to all gathered there that evening.

 

The State Of Awareness

Then I said, “Swami, we have learned many things this pleasant evening. We heard so many valuable things. I am very grateful to You.”

Bhagavan sarcastically said, “What is the fun of knowing things? What is the fun of knowing all these things?”

“Swami, no -- now I know that I do not know. (Laughter) After hearing all that You said, now I know that I do not know. Until now, I was thinking that I knew. But after listening to You, I came to know that I do not know. Had this not happened, I would have drowned myself in total ignorance or foolishness. At least now I know that I do not know. I am happy about that.”

But our Bhagavan will always see to it that His is the last word! (Laughter) He won’t allow you to take the lead. (Laughter) His should be the last word.

He turned and said, “Oh ho! You know that you do not know. How do you know that you do not know? (Laughter) Now how do you know that you do not know?

“Swami, finished… (Laughter) I am gone! Please explain further.”

Then He said, “If you say, ‘I know’ and also if you say, ‘I do not know’, then there is somebody who knows and somebody who does not know. Who is that? It is the state of the intellect, that state of awareness, of prajnana. It is that awareness that says, 'I know' and it is that same awareness that also says, ‘I do not know’. So this awareness is beyond ignorance and knowledge. It is the substratum; it is fundamental. It is that state of awareness that makes you say, ‘I know’ and, ‘I do not know’. That awareness is beyond the state of knowing and not knowing. Am I clear? ”

“To elaborate further, here’s a simple example: There is light. How do you know? Because you see it. Later it gets dark. How do you know? Because you see the darkness. Now, the sight, that vision, is it light or darkness? That very sight, that very vision, called druk, is it light or darkness? Please let Me know. Please tell Me! So, the actual vision, the sight, is neither light nor darkness. Am I clear?”

“Now, I listen to music -- pop music and Indian classical music. I hear. Now, that hearing or audition, is it classical or pop music? Neither! So similarly, if you say, Anil Kumar, that you do not know, it is also part of the process of knowing. I am happy that you know that you do not know,” He said. (Laughter)

 

Thoughts Should Lead You To Action

And then Bhagavan said, “So, what are you going to do now?”

“Swami, I will go on thinking of all that You said -- thalapu, thought.”

Swami said, “No. No. Open the doors of thalapu, thought.”

In Telugu, thalapu means thought and thalupu means door. So Swami said to me “Open the door – thalupu, of thalapu -- thought.”

“Abba!  Now I am even further confused! Swami, what is it?”

So He said, “The thalapu, thought, is in the mind. Open the door, thalupu, so that thoughts will come out of the door into action. Thoughts should be transformed into action. Thoughts should lead you to action. It is not thalapu, thought, that is preserved in the head as if in an almirah (a closed closet where one keeps one’s wardrobe). No, no! Open the thalupu, the door of thalapu, thought, and put it into action, so that you will really enjoy the beauty and the flavour of all that I have said.”

 

We Are Divided By Language

“Swami, we hear people fighting because of language differences. ‘You speak one language; I speak another. So we are divided on grounds of language.’ Yes! If there is an Italian group, then the Russians cannot join in because they do not understand Italian.  Similarly with the Russian group, the Italians cannot join in because they do not know the Russian language. Groups! We are divided into groups and gangs on a linguistic basis. Please tell us the solution.”

Bhagavan said, “If you think of the material or vasthuthathwa, if you know the material,  then the word of the language of expression is immaterial.”

“Simple example: In English, we have the word ‘water’. In Hindi, it is paani; in Sanskrit, vaari; and neeru in Telugu. Nevertheless, the water is the same, whether you call it paani or water or vaari or neeru. The water is the same -- only the languages are different. So, when you think of water, the language and the word for it are immaterial. We are divided on a linguistic basis because we have forgotten the object. We have forgotten the very object, so we are divided by language.”

That’s what Swami said.

 

“I spoke in their language”

You must have noticed that this afternoon, Bhagavan granted an interview to some teachers from Zambia.

Swami said, “You know, I spoke in their mother tongue, Swahili. I spoke in their language. They all liked it.”

“Swami, which language is not known to You? You know all the languages.”

“No, no, it’s all right. However, I am telling you that today I spoke to them in their native language. So they are very happy.” That’s what Bhagavan said.

 

“i Am The Fifth Veda!”

Then, as it was time (to go), He just stood up and looked to one side. He found four big officers of the University  -- the present Vice-Chancellor, the past Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar and the Controller all seated there. He looked at the four of them and said, “Oh, you four are here like the Chatur Veda -- like the four Vedas.”

Well, my temperament, as you might have understood by now, is not to keep quiet. I said, “Swami, I am the Panchama Veda, the fifth Veda.”(Laughter)

The epic Mahabharatha is also called Panchama Veda. As I said before, Swami usually has the last word. He turned and said, “Ah, Panchama Veda! Mahabharatha is full of wars and conflicts. The four Vedas stand for unity, while the Panchama Veda stands for war, conflict and fighting.” So, His was the last word. (Laughter)

That marked the conclusion of the evening’s conversations. This, I think, will bring us up-to-date.

 

NOVEMBER 25th, 2002

Discourse To Teachers

 You are lucky to have had the privilege of listening to the latest  – just today’s and yesterday’s conversations with Baba.

Yesterday, the 25th of November 2002, at one o'clock in the afternoon, I suddenly got a message, asking me to report there immediately. Well, I went. Everything was ready for Bhagavan’s Divine discourse.

Bhagavan gave a discourse to teachers from Zambia and Thailand. A few were from the Philippines, and some were from Fiji. Actually, there were representatives from 33 countries. However, the majority of them belonged to Thailand and Zambia. They are all teachers who came here to receive their diplomas. You must have seen that function on the 20th of November -- Bhagavan distributed diplomas to all the teacher-trainees. Those teachers stayed on, and yesterday He gave them a discourse. I shall let you know the highlights of the discourse.

 

Education is External,

while ‘Educare’ Is Spiritual

The discourse was on ‘educare’. Bhagavan began with the significance of education and ‘educare’, and how they differ from one another. Education has the following points: 1. Education is physical. It deals with objects and materials that can be perceived by the five senses. 2. Education is secular. It is worldly knowledge and textual information. 3. Education deals with all aspects of the world -- the five elements, the five senses of perception, the five senses of action and the geographical details.

Education is totally external and objective. Education relates to the head. All material and secular knowledge, all worldly information and all physical data are registered in the head. So, education and the head are interlinked. Education is only information that is retained in the head -- the computer. I think I am clear.

But ‘educare’ is different. ‘Educare’ is spiritual. ‘Educare’ is the process that deals with inner development and inner progress. ‘Educare’ is intuitive. ‘Educare’ is for transformation and not mere information. ‘Educare’ is fundamental and ‘educare’ is for realisation. ‘Educare’ deals with the formless aspects of the values of life.

Truth has no form. Love has no form. Sacrifice has no form. Peace has no form. Righteousness has no form. So, the values of life are formless and are present within. Therefore, ‘educare’ brings out all that is within and is formless – that which forms the fundamental basis of life. And this inner ‘educare’, which is highly spiritual, helps us with realisation. Therefore, to sum up, while education is for information, ‘educare’ is education for realisation and for transformation.

Bhagavan made such a beautiful distinction between education and ‘educare’. All this ‘educare’ is present within the heart, hrudaya. Therefore, education is for the head, while ‘educare’ is of the heart. That is how Bhagavan spoke of these two aspects, which was very important for those teachers to know.

 

An Atmosphere Of Values

Now, Bhagavan brought to their attention a story from the epics. There lived a king by name Dushyanta. He had a son by the name of Bharata. Bhagavan explained these two characters.

 Dushyanta, the father, the king, who hailed from the city, had lots of education, but had no character. No character! He had all this education, information and knowledge, but no character. On the other hand, his wife, Shakuntala, brought up their son, Bharata, in an ashram or hermitage, in the forest. She lived in the company of a sage by the name of Kanva Maharishi, who  brought her up as his daughter. Kanva had his own hermitage where Shakuntala and Bharata, her son, lived together.

But the king, Dushyanta, ruled the kingdom and stayed in the capital city. Therefore, the father had no character because he was full of education. But the son, having stayed in an ashram, was brought up in an atmosphere of values, so he was full of character. That’s what Bhagavan said.

 

‘Educare’ Is The Foundation,

Education Is The Building

And further He made a very striking point.

"Swami, are education and ‘educare’ contradictory? Are they opposite poles?"

Swami said, "No! They are not opposite poles. ‘Educare’ is the foundation on which education, the building, rests. Education is the mansion of life that will become permanent if ‘educare’, the foundation, is strong. Without ‘educare’ as the foundation, the mansion of education will collapse. So, both are complementary. Both support each other. They are not opposite poles."

He developed the subject like this. Even this evening I said, "Swami, I liked that explanation very much."

 He gave a beautiful example: “You learn the letters ‘A, B, C, D…’ in the beginning, right? After learning the letters, you start learning to build words. ‘C-a-t = cat, B-a-t = bat, R-a-t = rat’. Letters first, and then the words. And after learning the letters and the words, you start constructing sentences such as, ‘There is a cat. There is a bat. There is a rat'.”

“So, a sentence is a combination of words. A word is a combination of letters. Without letters, there are no words. Without words, there are no sentences. Therefore, words are the fundamentals for sentences, and the letters ‘A, B, C, D…’ are the foundation for words. Similarly, ‘educare’ is the foundation, like the letters ‘A, B, C, D…’ with which you construct the sentences. Education is the sentence, which has the letters or ‘educare’ as the fundamental basis.” That's what He said.  Such a beautiful explanation!

And finally he concluded: “You are not one, but three: the one you think you are, the one others think you are and the one you really are. ‘The one you really are’ is like the letters ‘A, B, C, D…’ ‘The one others think you are’ is like the words. ‘The one you think you are’ is like the sentence.” So, the three levels -- the words, the letters and the sentence -- used for such a beautiful example!

And then He said to the teachers: "Teachers, love your students! Have Self-confidence, Self-respect. It is very important. Develop faith in God. Instil in your students a strong faith in God. This is vitally necessary because:

 

Where there is faith, there is Love.

Where there is Love, there is Peace.

Where there Peace, there is Truth.

Where there is Truth, there is God.

 

So, it all begins with faith. See that you don't lose your faith. Be ready to lose your life, but not your faith, under any circumstances."

And then He said, "Self-confidence is the foundation on which the walls of Self-satisfaction are erected. Over that, the roof of Self-sacrifice (sacrifice for the Self) is laid and Self-realisation is life. This is very important.” That’s what He said.

 

“Their Mother Tongue Is Thai”

And then suddenly He asked, "Are you not following Me? Don't you follow Me?" Immediately they looked at each other. I could understand why they were not following.

I said, "Swami.”

“What?”

“They are from Thailand. Their mother tongue is Thai. They do not know English. So they are only having Darshan of Baba, if not discourse of Baba." (Laughter)

Then Swami said, "Jumsai, you translate." (Laughter)

So Jumsai had to translate all these points to those boys.

"What are you studying?" Jumsai translated.

"Which class do you teach?" Jumsai had to translate into the Thai language.

It was all full of fun.

 

“What Do You Want?”

Suddenly He looked at one teacher and He asked, "What do you want?"

The teacher said, "Chain." (Laughter)

"Oh, a chain? Oh! Come on!" He materialised a chain for him and gave it to him.

And he looked at another teacher, "What do you want?"

"Swami, a ring! I want a ring!" (Laughter)

"Oh, a ring? Come!" And He gave him a ring.

And then He asked a boy from Zambia, "What is Immortality?"

That Zambian boy said, "Removal of immorality is Immortality."

Swami said, "Correct answer!"

He materialised a ring for that boy.

Then He looked at a lady: "What do you do?"

"Swami, I am a Sai Education in Human Values Convener ."

"Oh! Are you married?"

"Oh, long ago, Swami."

"Oh, I see. How many children?"

"Only three, Swami."

"Oh, three children? Very good! You are doing good work. All right, come on!"

He materialised a chain for her. And then a Zambian girl started peeping like that. (Laughter)

"Come on, come on, come on!"

He materialised vibhutthi for her. He was just moving amidst them.

Then, "Swami?"

"What?"

I should tell you here a top secret (Laughter): I  whispered into Jumsai’s, ear, "Request Swami for group photos.” (Laughter)

Jumsai got the idea.. "Swami, Swami!"

"What?" asked Swami.

 "Group photos?"

"Come on, come on!"

He had a number of photos taken with them. They were very, very happy.

Then Swami, out of His compassion said, "I will give you prasadam."

He distributed sweets to all of them. He distributed photographs to all of them. That is what had happened on November 25th.

 

November 20th, 2002

Bring Silk Saris To The Poor Ladies

On 20th of November in the afternoon, Bhagavan, who was sitting on His chair, suddenly said: “Hmm! Everybody has received clothes. However, you have forgotten one group of people. They have not received clothes. Anil Kumar, do you know that?"

“Swami, I do not know. I know that I received clothes and I am fine.”

Swami had distributed clothes to everybody. How was I to know that one group did not get them? How was I to know?

“Swami, since I received them, I do not know about any of the others."

Swami said, "Chi! You are selfish." (Laughter)

Immediately He said, "You know, we have the orphanage children. I have given them seven pairs of clothes within the last four months. I gave them clothes, but I should give saris to their mothers, the poor ladies, who are also staying there. Come on! Come on! Get one sari from that bunch." 

There were lots and lots of saris. He wanted me to get one. Out of foolishness, I brought a cotton sari.

He said, "Chi! Bring silk saris, not ordinary saris! They should wear silk saris.”

"OK, Swami!"

Bhagavan said, "Swami will never forget anybody. You may forget, but I won't forget."

"Swami, silk saris?"

"Why not? Why not! These people have never had silk saris. They hail from very poor families. Since their children are here, let them celebrate with complete happiness. Tell everybody that Swami gave them these silk saris so that everybody will be happy."

 

November 10th, 2002

“We Are Baba’s Boys!”

Then I should also tell you what had happened on November 10th. Swami was passing by and He looked at a boy sitting in the first row.

"Boy, where do you come from?"

He said, "Swami, we are all Bangalore boys!"

He meant that they were students belonging to the Bangalore campus.

“Bangalore boys? Then go to Bangalore!” (Laughter)

Then immediately one smart boy said, “Sorry, Swami! We are Baba's boys.”

“Ah! Then stay here!” (Laughter)

So, we should not say 'Bangalore boys' and 'Bombay boys'. We are ‘Baba's boys’!

 

November 7th, 2002

“Never Take Things For Granted”

This has happened on November 7th. Swami sat there on His chair and called a boy who was sitting at some distance.

"Hey, boy! Come here!"

He was an MBA student from Hyderabad.

He said, "Boy, what do you want to do after completing your studies?”

“Swami, I want to be at Your Feet.”

“Even now you are sitting at a far-off place. After completing your studies, you want to be with Me?  Even now, you are far off from Me. You are not sitting close to Me. How do I believe that you want to be here? No, no, no, no! I know so many boys who say this."

This is what Swami said.

What I want to share with you concerning this episode is this: So long as we are near Swami, we should be fully benefited -- we should have all the benefits of being near.   Don’t think, “I had morning darshan, so let me skip evening darshan.”

We should not have that spirit of negligence. We should not be relaxed. We should never take things for granted, being near to Swami. Who knows if we may be denied these chances in the future?

That's what He meant when He said, 'Even while staying with Swami, you are so distant today. How are you going to be near, after completing your studies?" That's how I understood Him.

Then He put another question: “What was the topic of the speaker this morning there in the college?”

That boy said, “Swami, we had a person from an insurance company. He spoke on insurance.”

“Oh ho! Life is not sure -- so why do you think of insurance? Life is not a surety. When life is not sure, what is the question of insurance?"

Everybody laughed and laughed.

Those, in brief, are the conversations with Baba for the month of November. The rest will come in the next session.

Sai Ram!

 

Om Asato Maa Sad Gamaya

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya

 

Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

 

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

 

Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ji Ki Jai!