September 19th, 2004
“Senses, Mind, Intellect and Atma”
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram to all of you
Welcome to this morning's session. There are a few things, which I want to share with you on this pleasant morning. Everyone has the body. The body has senses. The senses are under the control of the mind. Mind is under the control of the intellect. And the master of the intellect is what we call Atma or ‘consciousness’ or ‘spirit’. In other words, mind is the master at one level; intellect is the master at another level, whilst Atma is the master at still a different level.
Those who go by the mind as the master are animalistic or bestial in their temperament. Those who consider intellect as the master are human in their temperament or being. Those who consider Atma as the master are indeed Divine.
So there are three qualities: animalistic - thamasic; human – rajasic; and Divine -- sathwic. My friends, we have different levels of understanding, different levels of comprehension, different levels of experience, and different levels of awareness.
The mind runs after the senses. The mind always wants to satisfy the senses. The mind wants to comply with the body’s demands and commands. This is animalistic. The mind is totally ambitious and passionate in its attempts to satisfy the needs of the body. It is highly emotional, exhibiting what we call the rajasic quality.
When we follow the intellect, the mind is no longer the master. The mind draws us downward, but our journey should be upward. When mind is the master, it always wants to satisfy the body. The mind is full of desires, ambitious and fully passionate. It naturally leads us to dual experiences.
No dual experience can ever give us eternal joy or eternal happiness because duality is just temporary. Duality is just momentary; as Bhagavan would put it, “just passing clouds”. Good or bad do not exist permanently. The joy that we have right now may vanish, giving place to misery. The dignity that I have now will pass; but while it exists, I have all the pleasures and comforts.
In other words, pain or pleasure do not last long. They are of a cyclic nature, coming one after another. That’s the reason why the detached attitude of spirituality is the correct attitude towards such dual experiences. The mind that is passionate, the mind that is ambitious, naturally gets carried away by the effects of the world and the reaction of the body. In times of pleasure, we are naturally egoistic and very proud, whereas in times of failure, we will be depressed and frustrated.
My friends, this mind, which is currently the master, is the cause for dual experiences. That’s the reason why Ramana Maharishi encouraged people to overcome the bondage of the mind. So long as the mind is the master, we are slaves. We become patients. We are sickly. We are prisoners. Therefore we need to say, ‘Please mind, don’t be master any longer. Enough is enough. Let the intellect take charge.’
The mind is the master of the senses, but the intellect is the master of the mind. The intellect tells you, ‘Come on! Decide what is good. Judge what is to be done. Discriminate between what is good and what is bad. Discriminate between what is right and what is wrong.’ It is something like a thermometer that gives us the reading of our temperature; something like a weighing machine that gives the reading of our weight.
Similarly, the intellect decides what is good, what is bad, what is right, what is wrong, what is to be done at that moment in time. Therefore, when we accept the intellect as the master, there is a chance that human values will be expressed outwardly. When the mind is dominant, animal qualities will try to dominate. When the intellect surfaces, the human qualities become predominant.
The human qualities, as you know, come to life in Bhagavan’s Divine discourses. The quintessence of His Divine message is the five basic human values: truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence. These five values will find expression when the intellect takes over, and not until then.
So long as the mind takes charge, so long as the mind is the master, we are not humans by any standard. Animals have minds. Therefore, the mind is not an indication, not a sign, not the benchmark or the hallmark of a human being. If I want to be called a human being, I should make the intellect, rather than the mind, the master of my life.
None of us are an exception to this. Perhaps I am the first and the foremost victim of this sort of a gimmick or game that has been going on, over several past lives. It is the mind that is the cause for birth and re-birth. It is the mind that is the cause for pain and pleasure. It is the mind that reacts with blame and praise or whatever it may be.
So from now on, the master should be the intellect, in which we find the expression of the human values. However, there is a third master. The master of the senses is the mind; the master of the mind is the intellect; and the master of the intellect is Atma. This is the final master, the highest master. There is no master above Atma, also known as the spirit or the consciousness. It is independent. It has no qualities whatsoever -- no animal qualities or human qualities. It is attributeless, eternal and all pervasive. It is not limited to any body. The Atma or Self in me is the same as the Self in you. The Self is uniform; only the intellect differs. The intellect of an individual is different from the intellect of another individual. The intellect of a person may sometimes go on defending his own actions, even though they are mistakes.
Suppose I am late. My principal asks me, “Why are you late?” My intellect justifies my late coming. “Sir, I was in the dining hall, in charge of serving food to the students. This is why I am late.” I find a justification.
Another example: The teacher asks, “What work should you be doing? Why are you idle?” The student replies, “Sir, I just came out of the class and I am relaxing.”
The intellect will not accept criticism or confess a mistake. The intellect justifies or makes an excuse in defense of the behaviour.
When asked, “Why are you corrupt? Why have you accepted bribes?” Instead of saying, “I am sorry”, I might say, “Who is not accepting bribes? Who is not corrupting this world?”
This is what is called using discrimination to one’s own advantage. One goes on defending and justifying one’s own ego self. So, we cannot always follow the intellect only. The intellect is different from person to person.
People’s minds also differ greatly. Even my own mind differs from moment to moment. I think one way in the morning, another way in the afternoon, and another way in the night. My own mind is not stable. My own mind is not constant. My own mind is not uniform. It goes on oscillating, vacillating, fluctuating, and changing like a chameleon. So when the mind in me is not uniform, how can I say my mind and your mind are the same? I can’t say so unless I am a mental case! (Laughter) So, people’s minds can never be uniform because the individual mind is not consistent.
Within the Prashanti Nilayam campus, I am so loving. Outside the campus, I am just the reverse. In front of Swami, I am the very personification of sharing, caring, compassion, and loving - nothing but Vedanta and spirituality. The moment the stores are opened or it is canteen rush time, I do not bothered with you or anyone else. I don’t care about those people that serve. I want to be given full priorities in all respects.
“What happened to your just quoting the scriptures in the Mandir?”
My friends, bodies are different. One is tall, one is short; one is fair and one is not fair, even if that is unfair; (Laughter) one is hefty, one is lean. No two are alike. That is the law of Nature. No two are alike. Even in twins, there are bound to be differences. No two are alike. There is diversity, complexity, and multiplicity in Nature. The beautiful painting of God is so interesting. The bodies are all different to make it really most interesting. The minds are different so as to carry on His own drama as per His will. The intellect is also different because it is utterly self-centered, speaking in defense of its own stand.
Because bodies are different, thoughts are different. On the lowest level, the mind is the master The intellect is the master above the mind. The mind has necessarily to follow the dictates of the intellect, because the intellect is the boss.
Your intellect is different from my intellect. The intellect has a boss - the Atma, spirit, Self or consciousness. This Atma is very much uniform in you, in me, in a stone, in a bug, in a beast, in a worm, in a plant – from microcosm to macrocosm. There is only difference in the vesture. There is only a difference in the body that one has put on, but the basic Self, the consciousness, is the same. There is a master at the different levels, but there is no master above Atma because it is the One-without-a-second.
Suppose I am the only one in this hall. If I go on fighting, with whom can I fight? I am the only one in this hall. If I go on shouting, it means there must be somebody else who I am shouting at. If nobody is there and I am still shouting, it means that I am a fit case for the lunatic asylum. (Laughter)
So when there are two, there can be dialogue. When there are two, there can be conversation. When there are two, there can be friendship, enmity, war, challenge, question and answer.
Atma is the only one that pervades the entire cosmos - the entire universe. It has taken different forms. There is no master above Atma. The word, ‘Vinayaka’ is derived from this idea. The term ‘Vinayaka’ means ‘no master above Him.’
So, Vinayaka is not the form that we find in a temple. It is not merely the one with the head of an elephant, with a trunk, an attractive stomach, and the one who is so funny to look at. Though we hold Him in high reverence, if there is anyone amongst us in the form of Ganesha, I don't think that we would bow down. (Laughter) I don't think so. His name is Vinayaka because there is no master above Him.
Vinayaka is not simply the form that we see. We should learn to travel from the idol to the ideal it represents. The Vinayaka idol represents the ideal of the Self that is independent; the Self that is cosmic; the Self that is universal; the Self that is eternal, immortal and blemishless; the Self that has neither beginning nor end.
That’s what Baba was telling us yesterday, “Vinayaka was never born, yet today we celebrate His birthday. He was never born. The one who was never born will never die either. God has no beginning. God has no end. This Godhead is Self or consciousness. So, He was never born.” That’s what Bhagavan was saying yesterday.
Vinayaka, who has no authority above Him, was never born, has no beginning and no end. This is cosmic. This is universal. This is the first point that I would like to draw to your attention.
There is another interesting Sanskrit word - vigna. Vigna has two meanings. Sanskrit is a language that has so many shades and facets, just like a diamond. It is therefore so difficult to fully grasp the depth of each word. By the time I learn the meaning of a word, there will be another interpretation. That’s the reason why Vedanta offers such a wide scope of explanation, interpretation and comprehension.
So, this word vigna has two meanings. One meaning is time. The other meaning is obstacles, interferences, stumbling blocks, bottlenecks. So vigna has two meanings - time and obstacles.
Let us go with first meaning - time. We are all bound by time. Our life sojourn is within this framework of time. We have a birthday. We have a wedding anniversary. We have got a day which marks the successful completion of our job. Then there is the silver jubilee and the golden jubilee anniversaries. Unsuccessful or successful, whatever may be, we have a day for every incident in our life. And that day is very important in one’s own life history.
So my friends, time is the binding factor. Time is a limiting factor. Let us take our life here in Prashanti Nilayam. The day ends before it begins. We attend morning darshan. We do not understand how time simply passes by. We just begin to relax, and it is time for afternoon darshan. By the time you get there, the 6:00 PM bhajans are over. Where does the day go? If we analyse how time rushes past here in Prashanti Nilayam, we understand that Bhagavan is the Master of time.
When I go home for vacation, the time stands still. I get very tired. ‘Oh, God, why this mechanical life? How long can I run like this? Can I keep on my toes throughout my life like this? Will my body cooperate with me? Can I keep running like this? Can I withstand all this tension and pressure, including the pressure of time? Is it possible? Oh God, I need rest.’
When I go home for rest during vacation, that rest becomes arrest. (Laughter) Time stands still. First day of arrival at home, people give you a smile. Good. There are delicious items to eat that afternoon - fine. Evening bhajan time and darshan time – there is nobody! What are you going to do there? Then I start complaining that it is boring. (Laughter) The children will come and say, "After all, you only came this morning. So soon you complain of boredom. Why?”
Time does not create boredom here. Time is not boring here. At home, I experience only boredom. Why? He is the Master of time. How? If you think that He will be there by 4 PM, He chooses to be there at 3 PM, so you cannot take a chance. (Laughter) When you think that He will be there at 3, He will neatly come at 4! (Laughter) If all are there by 3, He will be there already by 2:45. It means, be there from 2:30 to 6:30, that’s all. (Laughter)
Why? He knows how to manage our time. God is the manager of time. We should learn the management of time from Bhagavan. Even if He comes before time, at 2:45 or 3:00, He will simply go to the interview room, and then come out at 4:30 and watch the program.
We start feeling, ‘Oh God, You should have finished this drama earlier so that we could have gone home by 4:30.’ (Laughter) You are not supposed to go. It is your spiritual duty to be on duty till 5.30!
My friends, duty is a disgusting word. Duty is a vexing word. Duty is a terrible, horrible word that implies some kind of expectation. It implies something will be returned by way of salary and recognition. But, our waiting is not a duty. Our stay there is not an obligation. It is penance. It is meditation. It is concentration, contemplation. It is spiritual and Divine. It is turning inward.
So, my friends, Swami wants us to spend maximum time turning within, by looking at Him and thinking about Him. That’s why we are detained there in the mandap. It’s not because we are such handsome personalities or film heroes of Hollywood or Bollywood. It’s not that He cannot get along without us. In fact, He may well be more comfortable without us, (Laughter) because we are there to bother Him with letters and pressures, not only personally even otherwise. ‘Give me padnamaskar.’ ‘Look at me but don’t look at my flaws.’ I even have a double request: ‘Take this letter from me, but not from the other fellow.’ (Laughter)
So my friends, He manages the time here in such a way that we don’t know how it passes. At home, during vacation, time stands still. God is the Master of time - Vigna. So I pray to God to see that my time is interesting.
My friends, never make your time mechanical. Never make your time programmed. Never make your time scheduled or routine. Life that becomes a routine, programmed, and mechanical, robot-like, is not worth living at all. Life should be very, very interesting. Life, in fact, is interesting. We make it boring. We are responsible for making it boring. For a person who cannot smile, who cannot laugh, time hangs heavily. Perhaps, he has started the countdown, waiting for the grave.
Life should be full of fun. Life should be full of laughter. Life should be full of smiles and enjoyment. God is bliss. Life is His gift. It cannot be boring. When you have gold in your hand, cut a bit or break a bit off. That bit will also be golden. When you cut or break a piece off a mass of gold, that bit will also be gold. It cannot be any other matter, can it? No.
So, when life is the gift of God, when time is God, when God is time, when God is the Master of time, the controller of time, how can life be uninteresting? How can life be boring? How can life be mechanical? Is any program presented here repetitive? No. Is any darshan predictable? No. Can any conversation be within the framework of our guessing? No. Can you dream what He is going to do? No, not as yet.
So my friends, His gestures and His actions are beyond our comprehension. Everything is done purposefully. There is a purpose behind every action - to make things interesting. We do not know there is a program until the program begins. We do not know when it ends, until the aarati gentleman (poojari) gets up. (Laughter) We do not know. Why? To make the time interesting.
So Vigna means time. Eswara means master. ‘Vigneswara’ means ‘master of time’. You and I are not masters of time. If we were the masters of time, we would know the other date also – the date of our departure from this planet. We do not know this. We are informed of the date of our birth, but we do not know the date of departure. Date of manufacturing is known, but not the date of expiry.
So, my friends, vigna is time; Vigneswara, the master of time.
Vigna also means ‘obstacles’. There are so many obstacles. There are two incidents in our epics that I will relate to you.
One incident involves a person named Daksha. He conducted a sacred yagna. Because the yagna was conducted by him, it was called dakshayagna.
Daksha means ‘the ability, the capacity’. Most of us think we have daksha. ‘I know I can meditate.’ All that filth of ego or ‘I’-ness: ‘I know. I can, I can.’ That is daksha.
Yagna is an action. Yagna or action prompted by and supported by daksha, which relies on capability, ability, potentiality, talent, skill, that is, Dakshayagna, is always a failure. What does this mean? Your skill, your talent, your potential, your ability cannot be relied upon totally unless Eswara, God Himself, presides over any action.
‘Oh Lord, I am surrendered to You. Oh Lord, bless my action. Oh Lord, bless this day. Oh Lord, may my actions be pleasing unto Thee.’ That’s a prayerful action. A prayerful action, coupled with daksha, is what is called rajasuya.
Rajasuya is another yagna. Rajasuya is a yagna which was performed by the Pandavas. The Pandavas all have daksha - ability, but they did this yagna in the presence of Krishna, the presiding deity. Therefore, rajasuya yagna was successful.
Daksha coupled with surrender leads to success. Mere ability leads to failure. Therefore, one encounters obstacles. What are the obstacles? Total reliance on one’s own ‘I’.
When I think I am hundred percent successful, Swami suddenly comes and asks, “Are all arrangements ready?”
“Yes Swami.”
“Is everything perfect?”
“Yes.”
“Is everything clean?”
“Yes.”
“Look at that. Clean the table. That is missing. There is a big hole. What happened to you? Would you like to have your eyes checked up in our hospital? I will tell the doctor.” (Laughter)
So, when you think that you are perfect, He will certainly show you your imperfections. Any simple thing will make us feel perfect. But we are not.
If a fellow continuously smiles, He will come and tell him, "Do you think you are smiling well? There is lot of bitterness in you. I see that bitterness in you. Yet you smile!”
One fellow with broad eyes was staring at Him. He called me, “See how he is looking at Me?”
Even though he is a lecturer, I will not name him. I just said, “Swami his eyes are so beautiful. He has very big eyes.” When He is speaking of nice eyes, I should naturally compliment them. That’s my duty.
Immediately Baba said, "No, no they are contact lenses." (Laughter) Contact lenses!
So this mere reliance on ability and capacity will certainly make us falter and commit mistakes. Ability plus surrender is rajasuya yagna. Yagna, meaning action, and rajasuya, meaning that royal quality of surrender, naturally make that yagna, the spiritual ritual, successful. That’s what Vigneswara represents.
So, Vinayaka, name number one; Vigneswara, number two; Ganapathi, number three. Ganapathi: Pathi means master; ganas means the senses. There are five senses of comprehension or cognition, five senses of action. These are all called ganas: senses, mind, and intellect. Who is the master of these ganas? Ganapathi, God Himself.
We have leisurely deliberated over these things this morning because tomorrow is Vinayaka Chavithi. Now that we are acquainted with each of these attributes, think of each of these holy Names of God and try to understand them in depth, because the celebration is not limited to a day, my friends.
Celebration is not limited to a day. Every day is a celebration. Why? Life is a celebration. Life is blissful. ‘Today is a festival. Today is doomsday.’ No! Every day is vibrant; every day is fragrant; every day is joyful; and every day has got to be lived meaningfully, truthfully, purposefully. That’s what life is. That is a spiritual life.
A political life is always ambitious. ‘When will I become a minister? When will I become the chief minister? When will I become the governor?’ Until you die, you go on aspiring.
A life of money also has no limits. ‘I have got a thousand dollars, two thousand dollars, a hundred thousand dollars. Oh!’ This goes on until he is buried in a coffin of dollars! (Laughter)
So, a life of dollars has no end. A life of politics has no limits. But God is the master of my life, because my life has got His components, His constituents, and His parts. Just like a car has a steering wheel, a tire, a light, a horn, an accelerator, and an air balloon, my life is made up of His parts: senses of cognition, senses of action, mind and intellect.
That is my car and this car will be driven by the correct driver so that it will not be involved in any accidents, so that the car will not be smashed. Therefore, Ganapathi is the driver of human life, consisting of ten senses, mind and intellect. That’s what Ganapathi means.
Ganapathi contains two letters – ga and na. Ga stands for buddhi, the intellect. Ga means buddhi - intellect. Na is jnana or wisdom. So ga-na is buddhi and jnana - intellect and wisdom. Ganapathi represents these two -- wisdom and intellect. It means the one with intellect is wise; the one without intellect is a fool. The one without intellect and wisdom is ‘other-wise’. Wise, other-wise, fool – there are three categories. Wise with intellect; fools without intellect; without these two, other-wise. Three categories.
So, my friends, ga-na means the buddhi, intellect, and jnana, wisdom. When the intellect flowers, when the intellect blossoms, when the intellect expresses, when the intellect manifests, when the intellect exercises, when the intellect dominates, predominates, controls, masters, there arises the spring of wisdom, the fountain of wisdom.
Experiential knowledge is wisdom. Experiential, experimental, existential knowledge is wisdom. Without experience, without existence, knowledge is just a collection of facts and figures. It is borrowed information or second-hand information. Knowledge, when it comes through personal experience, becomes wisdom. That knowledge, when I experience its existence, when it becomes existential, is wisdom. Acquired knowledge that I experiment with individually becomes wisdom. Existential knowledge is wisdom. Experiential knowledge is wisdom. This wisdom is possible when the intellect is sharp. So, gana means the intellect and the wisdom.
And then there is also another meaning that God has given. I am sorry. I may be behaving like a typical teacher writing on the board. What to do? Forty years of service. Though it’s not required, I go on doing it. What to do? Four decades of service as a teacher. It serves some purpose I am sure.
So what does ga mean? Ga stands for gamya. Gamya is the Sanskrit word meaning ‘go’ or ‘destination.’ Gajanana is another name of Vigneswara or Ganapathi. Gajanana is ga-ja, while Ganapathi is ga-na. Here, Gajanana = ga and ja. Ga means gamya or ‘destination’, ja means janma, the Sanskrit word meaning ‘birth’.
The usual meaning of gaja is elephant, but Baba's explanation of the meaning of this word gaja is different from the way we usually understand it. Baba’s explanation is that gaja means, this birth is given so that one reaches the destination. This birth is to reach the goal, which is not to be born again. What is the goal? Not to be born again. Not to have to die once again. It only means cutting off the life cycle - the cycle of births and deaths. Cut off that cycle. Cut off that bondage. That is the ‘destination’.
Destination is not a repetition. Destination is not a cassette that rewinds. Destination is not the ‘undo’ symbol on a computer desktop. It is not the recycle bin of the computer. It is the ‘totally delete’ button. Shift and delete -- totally out.
Therefore my friends, gamya means totally out of the cycle. No more birth and death, cut off from the chain; cut off from the link. Cut off from the cycle of ignorance. So, ga - gamya, ja - janma is the goal. So, the birth, janma, is aimed at the goal, which is being free from birth and death.
Anana means face. Gajanana is 'gaja' plus 'anana.’ Ga – ja, gamya and janma. Anana - the face that confers both, the Divine face. Where is the Divine face? The universe is His face. The cosmos is His face. The galaxy, the lunar, the solar, the plant world, and the animal world, all speak of His beautiful Divine face. As you look at the sunset in the evening time, that is the beautiful smiling face of God. As a cool breeze touches you, that is His beautiful gentle touch. As you see the flowers tossing that way and this way, that is the smile of God. The innocent smile of an innocent child in the cradle or the lap of the mother is God laughing.
So, what is God’s face? God’s face is none other than Nature. Sarvam Vishnu Mayam Jagat: Nature is the reflection of God. Prakrithi, Nature, just reflects the Divine. Misuse of Nature, abuse of Nature, polluting Nature, amounts to a sin. There is no greater sin than to abuse Nature. There is no greater sin than to pollute Nature. Nature is so important because it is Divine. Therefore my friends, anana, God’s face - Nature - gives you these two – gamya, the goal and janma, the birth.
So, I have completed speaking a few words about the meaning of Gajanana, Vigneswara, and Vinayaka.
Then comes another name -- Vakratunda. Vakratunda means that Vinayaka has got a bent trunk. Why can’t it be straight? I am ready to make it straight. ‘Oh God, can’t You have a straight, forward way of putting your trunk?’
This Vakratunda symbolises pranava or omkara. Pranava or omkara is Vakratunda. The trunk, which is bent, symbolises the Primordial sound, the original sound that is pranava. The whole universe is full of pranava, out of which language has developed, out of which the spoken word has come. So, Vakratunda means ‘bent one’.
Vinayaka has another name -- Parvathi thanaya. Thanaya means the son. The mother’s name is Parvathi. Vinayaka is her son. Parvathi thanaya means the son of Parvathi. Parvathi represents Nature. We are all the children of Nature. We don’t belong to heaven. We don’t belong to hell. We don’t belong to the celestial, ethereal, spatial firmament. No. We are people of the earth. We are the products of Nature. We are formed by the five elements of Nature. We are sons - thanaya, the children of Nature, and the children of Mother Earth - Parvathi.
Parvathi also has another meaning - Prithvi, the earth. Parvathi means Prithvi - earth. Parvathi Tanaya means ‘sons of the great soil, sons of earth, sons of Nature’. That’s what is meant by Parvathi Tanaya. Parvathi also represents the cosmic energy. Without this cosmic energy, the body is non-functional. So that is the meaning of Parvathi Tanaya.
We also call Vinayaka ‘Vigneswara’. I just explained ten minutes ago what that name means. Vigna, I explained, is time and obstacles. Eswara is master. Now there is another idea: Eswara is the name of His Father. So Vigneswara, what does it mean?
Child is the father of man. In other words, a father shows himself in his son. Atma vai putra namashi is the Vedic term. Atma vai putra namashi: a father shows himself and manifests himself in the form of his son. That’s what is meant by Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.
In Christianity, it is said: Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Father – Eswara, the Son – Ganapathi, Holy Ghost – the Nature. The Christian Trinity is encapsulated in Vinayaka. So, Jesus, being the Son of God, means what? Jesus is Vinayaka Himself. He is godly. He is the Divine. So, Eswara shows Himself in his son, whom we call Vigneswara. That is another important meaning.
There is a story associated with this. There was one demon called Gajasura. This demon kept on doing penance. According to our epics most of the demons did penance. Ravanasura, Kumbhakarna, Hiranyakha, Hiranyakasipu, Narakasura, Rajasura, Radhasura - all these asuras or demons did penance. They did penance for the fulfillment of desires.
To pray to God for a desire is a demonic act. Prayer should be our natural behaviour, irrespective of desire or need. ‘Oh God, You give a medical seat to my son. I will see you again when my second son appears for the examination. Thank you for today.’ Can I say that?
Prayer should be a part of my life. I should pray with each breath. There should be as much prayer in my life as there is love and sleep. Prayer should be as fundamental to my life as is my structural composition.
The point is that Gajasura, this demon, did penance. God, in the form of Sankara, is called Bhola Sankara. Bhola means ‘easily accessible’. God is easily accessible. Because He is accessible so easily, we don’t want Him. As it is very difficult to get an audience with the Prime Minister, we want to get it.
God is ready to give us an audience any time, but we don’t want it because the mind, being attached to struggle, wants to get something which is difficult to attain. Mind wants to achieve something by undergoing pain. It doesn’t want anything that is easily available and accessible. So, this Gajasura did penance and Bhola Sankara, easily accessible God, manifested.
“Oh my dear boy, what do you want?”
This Gajasura said, “Oh God! I have only one desire.”
“What is it?”
“Whenever I meet someone, wherever I go, fire should emanate; fire should originate. Fire should spring forth out of my body.”
Oh! What a lovely desire! (Laughter) Meaning? What is the fire here? Some fellows go on shouting at everybody unnecessarily. That is the fire.
‘Sir, where is the way to the canteen?’
“Stop there!” --- Oh! Gajasura!
‘Sir, where is the toilet?’ (Man yelling) ---Gajasura’s first cousin!
‘Can I sit?’ (Man yelling) – Gajasura – fire!
The point is that this fellow wanted fire. It was granted and he went on intimidating whoever he met, wherever he went.
Then he had another fanciful idea. He did penance once again and Bhola Sankara, the easily accessible God, appeared in front of him. “Oh my dear boy, what do you want?”
“Let You be in my stomach”. (Laughter) God, to be in his stomach! Poor man! God said, “OK, I will be in your stomach.”
The deeper meaning of this is the following: The fellow who says, “I know Baba; I am very close to Baba; I know His timetable” is Gajasura. If you think that you are the only one close to Swami, you are Gajasura. Possessiveness is Gajasura’s temperament. This kind of declaration -- that he has captured God -- is Gajasura’s claim.
One fellow prayed, ‘Oh God, come to my residence and shower vibhuthi and nectar on my photos. Only come here. Don’t go to any other place. (Laughter) Please understand. Oh God, please understand this condition.’ Very funny fellow! That sort of guy is spiritually laughable.
Sankara’s wife, Parvathi, doesn’t find Him because He is already in the stomach of the demon. She went on searching for Him, but she could not find Him. Finally, she went to her brother, Vishnu, another god.
She prayed to Him, “Oh brother, my husband is missing. Please find Him.”
So Vishnu came in the form of, a charmer with the bull, Nandi, by His side. Nandi is Shankara’s bull. As this bull, Nandi, started dancing in front of Gajasura, the demon was very, very happy
“How nicely you are dancing!” And Gajasura said, “I am very happy. What do you want?”
Vishnu, who was standing by the side of Nandi, took advantage of the situation. “Please release Sankara who is already in your stomach.”
Sankara could only be easily released from his stomach, if this demon (Gajasura) was dead. Gajasura understood that this was all God’s game.
“Oh God, OK. I grant You Your desire. Let Sankara come out of my stomach. I am willing to die but I have one desire.” Still even at death’s door! See how we are all Gajasuras! He is ready to die, but still has one more desire: “Let every fellow start his worship program thinking of me.”
So, Gaja stands for Gajasura; gaja means elephant. Vinayaka is the elephant-headed God, Gajasura’s request and desire in the last moment of his life was to be cherished by every devotee in the future. That is a story related to Vinayaka.
There is one more story, with which I will conclude this morning. Sankara and Parvathi, husband and wife, started playing dice. They wanted an umpire. Nandi, the bull was to be umpire. We expect that some umpires are partial. Sometimes their verdicts are not justified and they get into trouble, as we see regularly on TV.
So the umpire, the bull, naturally started acting like a model umpire. What did he do? Parvathi actually won the match; but the umpire, Nandi, said, “No, Sankara is the winner.” This is what we call match-fixing today. (Laughter) Nandi must be the founder of the match-fixing department, having done such a thing so long back. (Laughter)
Parvathi was very angry. “Why? I won the match. Why did you say Sankara is the winner?”
Nandi said, “Please excuse me. I am His subordinate. I work under Him, so I have to support Him.” (Laughter) We have to support who ever is the ruling party. (Laughter)
“Oh, I see. You are here to support your boss. You don’t understand justice. Now I curse you so that you suffer from an incurable disease.”
“Arre Arre. Oh, Amma. You’re a mother. You cannot curse me like that. My action cannot be that bad. Please excuse me.”
Parvathi, being mother, being so compassionate, replied, “Alright, but you must offer my son, Ganesha, whatever is most dear to you.”
What does a bull like most? Green grass. And this is what is offered to Lord Ganesha. That is the meaning behind offering grass to Ganesha -- not that he is so keen for grass. The bull loves it and so he offered it. A bull does not like gold. A bull loves grass.
This story tells us that we should offer that which we most like to God. Some people give one-fourth of a spoon of sugar as an offering to God. ‘Thank you.’ (Laughter) Some people give dishes. Some people give one-fourth of a jar of honey, ‘Oh God! Hari Om Tat Sat.’ (Laughter) We should offer that which we like most. That is the purpose behind this story.
Grass in Sanskrit is called grassa. But generally, grassa means our food. This grassa, food, is offered to God, ‘Oh God, You are the giver of food. I offer that food back to You.’
That’s the meaning of Vinayak Chauthi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Vigneshwara, Ganeshwara, Parvathi Tanaya, Gajanana. These are the terms with which we praise God to begin our prayers during worship.
May Vinayaka, Ganesha, the Supreme God, be with you forevermore. Thank you for your patient listening.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji ki JAI!!!