October 2nd, 2005
“The End of Wisdom is Freedom”
Part 3
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Jnana means the knowledge of the self
We have come to the third talk in the series on the subject: ‘The End of Wisdom is Freedom.’ We had two talks earlier; hopefully, this is going to be the last. And, as you know, there has already been a notification in the Sanathana Sarathi announcing that we have Dasara festival and yagna commencing on the 6th of this month, and it will go on till the 12th. Plus we also hear that there will be village service activities by the students of the Sri Sathya Sai educational institutions starting from the 4th of this month. I am informing you of this because I don’t think it is possible to meet next week, because we be in that yagna there. Therefore it is necessary to complete this subject this morning, hopefully.
Well my friends, in the first talk on this subject we have clearly understood what jnana, or wisdom is, and the different forms: jnana, vijnana, sujnana, and prajnana. These four we dealt in the first talk.
And in the second talk, we made a very intensive attempt to know what Baba has to say on this matter. With regard to wisdom, what has He got to say, what does He want us to know? That is the second thing that we have learnt. Along with that, we just made an attempt to know what the Bhagavad Gita has to say on this jnana. I also remember to have brought to your attention that jnana, in spiritual parlance, is wisdom, spiritual knowledge, that’s all. But in the strict sense of the term, in Sanskrit, it is all-encompassing knowledge, collected through the senses. We dealt at length with this in the first talk, so I don’t want to repeat that which you will certainly come to know through the website.
But I made one point, which is of some relevance; therefore I want to repeat that. Jnana means the knowledge of the Self; jnana means the spiritual awareness, as per philosophical parlance, as per Vedic parlance.
you will find a separate gita designed for you
Therefore, I made an attempt last week to bring your attention to what the Bhagavad Gita has to say on this subject. Here on the board, I made an attempt to give you the different slokas and their numbers, and the chapters, for those who are interested to do some homework, or to make some in-depth study of the scripture. One has to study for one’s own self, so that you may have more revelations. As Baba said, as you read Bhagavad Gita, you will find a separate Gita designed for you. The way I understand it, the way I interpret, what it means to me, is totally different from the way the Bhagavad Gita reveals itself to you, depending upon your situations. Therefore I would beg of you to hear, to go through these stanzas in the Bhagavad Gita relating to this knowledge, or jnana.
JNANA GIVES EVERLASTING PEACE
The fourth chapter, called Jnana Yoga, deals at length with all the aspects of wisdom, or jnana. The 39th sloka says that jnana gives you peace which is permanent peace, which is everlasting, peace, which is spiritual peace, and definitely not the worldly peace, which is ephemeral and ever-changing. The peace that we experience in this physical world is not everlasting; it is just momentary. But the peace given to you by the acquisition of wisdom is permanent. That is what 39th sloka tells you. 33rd sloka also says that of all the different forms of rituals, what we call yagna, spiritual exercises, jnana yagna, the acquisition of the knowledge of the Self, the spiritual knowledge, is the highest, noblest and greatest. All other rituals that we do are supplementary or secondary. But the most important is jnana yagna, the acquisition of knowledge, says the 33rd sloka.
THE FIRE OF JNANA WILL BURN ALL SINS
And then, in sloka 36 it is clearly said this knowledge will atone all your sins. The atonement of sin is possible by acquisition of knowledge of the Self. This also I remember to have stated last week. And 33rd sloka says that it is the fire of knowledge as jnana in which all our sins, all our emotions, all things are burned, so that you will live in awareness.
Fire is a symbol; the fire, the candle, the light, they are just symbols which really speak of the fire of knowledge. That is to be understood clearly. It is not the external fire out of firewood; it is the knowledge within.
And then it is also said in the 42nd sloka: “The sword of jnana.” Jnana is compared to a sword. This sword is not meant to cut off or chop off the head. This sword is not one of violence; this sword will cut one’s own weaknesses, in-born weaknesses which are brought forward to the present life from past lives. Several things must have been done earlier; those things are completely cut to pieces by the sword of awareness.
And then the 16th sloka compares this knowledge or wisdom with the sun. The sun which is radiant, the sun which is brilliant, the sun which is effulgent, will dispel the darkness of ignorance. Therefore the sunlight is enough to dispel the darkness, however dark it is. We may say it is pitch dark, yet that can be dispelled by sunlight. That’s what awareness, or knowledge is.
Then in the 10th chapter, the 11th sloka compares knowledge with deepa or the light.
ALL ACTIONS SHOULD CULMINATE IN JNANA
My friends, Lord Krishna compares knowledge with a sword, with a ship, with a fire, with a light, a sun, and so forth, so that at least one simile will appeal to our intellect. It is poetic in composition. In fact our life should be poetic. Life is boring if our life is prosaic. Life is not prose, but life is poetry. Life is not logic, my friends; life is love. Life is interesting if we understand it is love. When we take it as logic, full of arguments and counter-arguments, life is really boring. Life is love and not logic. Life is poetry and not prose, and life is a song and never burdensome. Life is a song -- a lullaby that would be comforting us, that would be elevating us, that would be consoling us, that would be taking us to ecstasy. Life is melody. We should never make it boring; we should never make it burdensome.
It is most unfortunate if we torture ourselves. There are some that make life a torture. They make life a torture because they think that torturing one’s self or torturing others is spiritual sadhana. ‘I torture others, that is my sadhana.’ Or, ‘I torture myself, this is sadhana.’ Torture is never a sadhana. Torturing one’s own self is as much a sin as torturing others, because in a spiritual sense there is no ‘other’; there is only One that exists. The other is merely its own reflection. So before I switch to the next part, for your information we’ll have a quick round of what we have done till now.
Jnanam labdhwa paraam shaanthe
Athidevaadi gachhathi
Clearly, it is said in this sloka:
Shraddhavaan labhathe jnaanam,
Tathparaha samyathendriyaha.
Jnanam labdhwa paraam shaanthe
Athidevadhi gachathi
That is what is said: Please abide with what is given to you.
The next:
Threyan dhravya mayadhyagnath
Jnana yagna parantapa
Sarvam karmathilam partha
Jnaneparisamavyathe
Here Krishna says that jnana yagna is the noblest, and whatever you do should culminate in jnana.
“Sir, I am worshipping.”
“OK, but it should end in the acquisition of jnana.”
“I am serving.”
“It should culminate in jnana.”
That is why it is said, ‘Jnanath evasu kaivalyam.’ Kaivalyam, liberation, is given only with acquisition of knowledge, but not in any other way.
JNANA WILL HELP YOU TO REACH THE OTHER SHORE
Therefore my friends, all rituals, all forms of worship, all different kinds of fasts that we follow, the different kinds of faiths that we adhere to and express our affiliation to, should necessarily end up in this awareness or knowledge.
Apichethasi paapebhyaha
Sarvebhya paapakruthama ha
Sarvan jnana prave naiva
Purusinam santha rishiyasi
Here it is said clearly, that however Himalayan the size of sins you must have committed, or the sins of fathomless depth you must have committed -- whatever it may be, a ship can carry you to the other shore. However deep the river may be, however lengthy the river is, the boat will help you to cross. Likewise, this awareness, this jnana, will help you to reach the other shore, according to the Bhagavad Gita.
Then the Gita goes on to say:
Yathaidhaamsisa mitthopihihi
Thasmaathaathkurutherjuna
Jnaanath sarva karmaani
Thasmathaath kuru me thatha
Here also it is mentioned, there may be many big heaps of grass, there may be a big mansion, a big building, but one matchstick is enough to burn it to ashes. One matchstick, that’s all.
“Sir, it is a very costly building!”
“One matchstick.” (Laughter)
“It’s a big heap of dry grass!”
“One matchstick.” To finish off the building, one matchstick is enough. (Laughter)
JNANA IS enough of PENANCE
Therefore, understand that there may be blunders committed in the past. However big they are, forget about them; they will all be washed out by this fire of knowledge. That’s what is clearly said.
Vitalaa da bhaya krodhaha
Manmaya paapu maa upaasmithaah
Abavo jnana tapasa.
Bhootha mathaa sa thaapasa
Here Lord Krishna clearly says, “This knowledge, this jnana, is enough of penance, my dear.” That’s what Krishna tells. Because we think penance or tapas means going to the forest, leaving the family, turning the body upside down, keeping the backbone straight until the body is unfit for any other work later. Or to remain in that posture throughout the day, so that the body refuses to act according to our own choice and preference, is it not? That is all physical gymnastics and exercises; we don’t have to run away to the forest. The forest is not elsewhere; the forest is our daily life itself.
When I was going home, going for a walk last evening, somebody said, “Sir, be careful there are some snakes.” I said “No, no, no, don’t you know that I am living in the midst of snakes? (Laughter) Why separate snakes? Those snakes don’t harm me, but the snakes around me will attack me anytime.”
Therefore forest is just an archaic idea. Forest is a concept of the olden days. Forest represents confusion, forest represents suppression, forest represents depression, and forest represents hopelessness. Therefore, why do you worry to go to forest and do some penance? No, no, no. You can do penance right now in the forest of life. And this knowledge is enough of penance.
Some people say, “Sir, I read Bhagavad Gita, or Guru Grantha, or Bible, is it enough?” There is nothing more to be done, because that awareness, that knowledge of the Self, is the ultimate. All the rest of the things are penultimate. But this ultimate, the zenith or the climax, is the acquisition of knowledge of the inner Self. That’s what Gitaacharya says.
And then, in the 16th chapter:
Jnaanenasusajnaanam,
Eshaam maa mithamathmanaha
Ethaam aadithya yajnanam
Prakaasayathi tathparam
As is given there, with the sunlight, the darkness is dispelled at dawn: Tamaso maa jyothir gamaya. This knowledge or wisdom will drive out all the darkness of ignorance.
Finally:
Teshaam mevaanu kam partha
Mahamajnana jam sathaha
Nashayam yathma bhavastho
Jnanadi thesa bhaswatha.
Just as the candle is enough when there is a power cut, when there is no supply of light, there is no point in a heated argument at home. The husband goes on asking the wife, “Where is the matchbox?” forgetting that the wife is also in darkness. (Laughter) When there are no lights, the whole room is dark, so what is the fun of standing up and saying, “Where is the matchbox?” She can find it as much as you can find it, because the whole thing is dark. The husband goes on asking, “Where is the torchlight?” “Alright, you also search for the torch. (Laughter) It is dark. Therefore, if both of us work hard, we may pick up some candle somewhere.” That’s what the effect of wisdom is.
EXPERIENCE OF ONENESS OF THE SELF IS JNANA
Now what is the proof of jnana, what are the results of jnana? One says that you see yourself in everybody; that you see yourself in God and you see God in yourself. That kind of oneness or equanimity, that kind of vision or experience of the Self everywhere, what more can it be? You don’t find a second. Somebody asked Buddha, “Are you a man?” Buddha said, “No.” I see. He said, “Are you a woman?” “No.” Then the man asked, “Then what?” He said, “I am neither. I am beyond.”
Transcendence is spirituality, let us remember that. It is not indulgence, it is not avoidance; transcendence is spirituality. Some people think that avoidance is spirituality. The more you avoid, the more you are haunted by that which you are avoiding.
There are some people who come here and say, “By coming here and settling, you know Anil Kumar, how much I have lost?”
“Why should you think about that which you have lost?”
“You know what a big building I had?”
“That is past; why do you bother about it?”
“You know what sacrifices I have made?” Meaning you have avoided them, but are still thinking of them.
“I used to draw a fat salary.”
“I see. You are not getting it, but you are thinking of the money.”
“You know, I had a three bed-roomed building there. Here Baba has given me a single room.”
“I see, though you are in a single room, you are still living in a three room bed-roomed mansion.”
Therefore my friends, it is not enough if we give up; we should also give up the very thought of it. “I have given up.” So what? You are thinking of it regularly. You are stopping the whole traffic and telling everybody the sacrifices you have made in order to settle here. The biggest sacrifice is to quit the place for the benefit of others at least, (Laughter) because they are tired of listening to you. (Laughter) They are tired of listening to you, because you are forcing your biography on everybody. The big positions that you occupied then, which are of no use to you now, how does it help me? The bank account that you had then, you do not have now, how am I going to be profited by that?
Therefore my friends, avoidance is repression, avoidance is suppression, avoidance is obsession. Obsession! Because of this kind of forceful obsession, we constantly get reminded of that. Because I never wanted to give up that property, but somehow the will and faith, destiny brought me here; but still I constantly think of that property. So any obsession will make you think of it more. ‘I don’t want to drink, I don’t want to drink.’ But he is as much a drunkard as a usual, casual, regular drunkard himself, because this fellow, by not drinking, thinks only of the drink. “Let’s have a drink tonight,” both of you can think of the drink only. You don’t drink but you think of the drink.
Therefore my friends, avoidance is not spirituality, indulgence is not spirituality. It is transcendence, and therefore, it is clearly said that if you see yourself in God, and you see God in yourself, you will see yourself in everybody.
Ishavaasyam idhagham sarvam yathkinchith jagathaam jagath.
In the entire universe, you will find that One is pervading, all over the animate and the inanimate world as well.
JNANA ROOTS OUT SORROW
And then the second promise that God gives us is this: With this awareness of the Self, with this knowledge of the Self, sorrow is rooted out. He never said sorrow is removed. If sorrow is removed, it may come back. He said ‘rooted out’, uprooted like grass. In summer, the whole land will be brown and dry; but as monsoon sets in, the grass begins to grow. Arre, no one has sown seeds there. The seeds of grass are there latent, immanent, in that soil. For want of water, because of dry weather, the whole ground is plain, but with the rain, it comes out like that.
Something like most of us. Within Prashanti Nilayam, we are highly disciplined, totally spiritual, and by the time we leave the portals, the four walls of Prashanti Nilayam, there in the bus stand, or railway station or the airport, people can see our viswaroopa, the true form. (Laughter)
“You were so blissful there, why are you like this here, in conditions of temperature and pressure? (Laughter) Why are you like this here?”
“This is my true nature.” (Laughter)
Therefore my friends, it is not so. Sorrow is rooted out totally, once and for all uprooted, so that it may never grow again.
Therefore, wisdom is such a thing which will never ever allow anything to recur, anything to happen again. That’s what is said there.
three qualifications
Now what is the path to acquire wisdom, how to acquire that wisdom now? OK, I will come to know wisdom, so how to acquire it? In the 4th chapter, 34th sloka, there are only three requirements, that’s all. This sloka must have been familiar to all Sai devotees, particularly those who regularly go through Shirdi Sai Sathcharithra. There are many people that religiously, repeatedly go through the Sathcharithra, where this sloka is mentioned. Therefore it gains much more importance than the rest of slokas. What is it?
Tathviddhi pari paathena Pariprasnena sevaya
Tathviddhi pari paathena Pariprasnena sevaya
Upadekshyanthi the jnaanam Jnaaninad tathwadarshinah
Upadekshyanthi the jnaanam Jnaaninad tathwadarshinah
This is a wonderful sloka. We should remember it all through.
Tathviddhi pari paatena
An emperor, a seeker, the one who wants to acquire knowledge and the one who is at the feet of the master should have these three qualifications. What are they?
first SURRENDER - then question
First: in all humility, with due respect, he should prostrate in front of his guru. Prostrate. The prostration is an expression of total humility; prostration is an expression of total obedience; prostration is an expression of total faith in the master. It is not a simple physical expression; it has got obedience, humility, and respect for the master. That’s one thing, pranipaathena.
Second: Pariprasnena, means you can put questions. You should put questions at a later stage. First, prostrate, surrender, and show your respect, adoration, obedience, and humility, by prostrating in front of the master. Then after listening, pariprasnena, you can put a question. But if you put a question before surrender, then your position at the feet of the master is out of the question. And then you become a questionable character. (Laughter)
Therefore my friends, first surrender, then question. When once we surrender, all the questions we put so frequently will be born out of inquisitiveness, will be born out of curiosity, will be born of yearning, and will be born out of deep interest; not just a question for question’s sake.
Many people question, but they don’t have the patience to hear, because they will be thinking of the next question to put. (Laughter) Or they will be thinking of a thing that will negate your answer, to say ‘no, you are wrong’. Before he hears even, he will say you are wrong. This is not the attitude. A spiritual seeker should put questions only after surrendering to the master with full faith in him. And then comes Pariprasnena, questioning.
how do you SERVE your MASTER?
The third one is serving, pariprasnena sevaya: you should serve your master. How do you serve your master? We are the contemporaries of the Divine Master Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba today, and He openly said on the dais, “I don’t want your service.” So shall I remove this sIoka from Bhagavad Gita, or cut out this sloka, pariprasnena? Help us, Swami, sevaya. You say You don’t want it, so let me strike it off. No, no, no, it is clear Baba said, sevaya, “I don’t need your service; but whomsoever you serve, it amounts to service to Me.”
Tava eva namaskaram Kesavam prathigachhathi
Whomsoever you respect, whomsoever you salute, it amounts to pranams to Me. It amounts to paying respect to Me. Therefore whomsoever you serve, that is service to Bhagavan Himself. You don’t have to serve Him physically, because He says, “I don’t want your service.”
Somebody says, “Swami how shall we serve You?”
He says, “Not necessary, my dear son. But remember, I don’t want your services; but be aware of the fact that I am serving you. When I am serving you, what is one of expecting service from you? So, you serve your fellow men; you serve the community.”
THE GREATNESS OF THE TREE IS JUDGED BY THE FRUIT IT BEARS
Pariprasnena sevaya.
Upadekshyanthi the jnanam,
Jnaninath tathwadarshinah
And here it is clearly said, when the master is pleased with your humility, when the Divine master is happy with your discipline and obedience, with your service, then He will pass on the message to you.
Many people say, “Sir, I have heard many discourses and have been visiting Prashanti Nilayam on every occasion. I have been listening to Swami’s discourses, but I remain the same.” What does it mean?
We have not done enough groundwork. We have not done enough homework. It’s something like seeds thrown on the soil. When the soil is not tilled, the soil has not been made ready for the seeds to sprout. The land must be ploughed, weeds must be removed, it should be watered, and then only the seeds can grow. Therefore I may claim my seniority here, I may boast of having heard Swami’s discourses in great number, but it is a matter of shame that they all had no impact on my life.
Greatness of the tree is judged by the fruit it bears. Similarly, the effect of the message, the influence of the message, is determined by the impact it brings in your individual life, but not the other way. Jnaninath tathwadarshinah: Here it is clearly said that if you have that love for tatwa, the essence, the philosophy, the spirituality, darshinaha, you’ll have visualisation. You will visualise all the tathwa, the essence from the guru, the Divine master. That is what it is said here clearly.
Now my friends, the interesting point is this. Here most of us fail, because spirituality is again so confusing. In the world we are sufficiently confused. In spirituality we are confused without knowing that we are confused. That is a greater confusion, confusion compounded, because we think that we have reached the destination. It gives us some false impression that we have realised; it gives us a false alarm. Somebody will say that Swami has started, but it is a false alarm. He has not started. It’s something like that; a false alarm, a false signal, a false notion, a false satisfaction of having known, though nothing is known.
How do I say that? It is clearly stated my friends, this is certainly where both of us learn. Let us not think that I know more than you. I am not that much of a fool as yet. No, all of you know more than I know. Being a teacher I prepare some material from Swami’s discourses and share with you, that’s all. I am more ignorant than most of you here. So I am quite conscious of that. I am not speaking from a very high pedestal. No, I am at the ground level only. What Bhagavan said is this. The teacher tells you; the Divine master instructs you; you receive jnana; that is not the be-all and end-all. No! Because there are many people who say whatever you said. Swami said it already, but you do not know already. (Laughter)
work for your own liberation
If you tell anybody, “Oh Swami has given me long back.” Because we think that we attained, we think that we achieved. No. Because spirituality is not attainment, spirituality is not achievement. It is only realisation. So, Bhagavan says clearly, “My dear boy, it is not enough if you hear Me, it is not enough if you know Me, it is most important that you experience Me within.” That’s the point. Within, inside, internally, have I experienced Bhagavan? Have I realised all that He said? That’s more important.
Therefore as Bhagavad Gita clearly tells you, it is not the number of trips that we make, it is not the number of talks that we hear. All that must be distilled, precipitated into the total experience within. That’s what He said.
Navijnanena sadhrusham Pavithramiha divyathe
That thwayam yoga sam siddhaha Kaalenaathmani vindathi
Tat thwayam yoga sam siddhaha, one has to realise, for one’s own self. Baba said that somebody will tell you, “Sir, Swami said it is OK.” But have you experienced it? Baba has come down on earth not only to tell and to teach. But it is for me to learn, it is for me to experience. Therefore Adi Shankara clearly tells us, my friends, that no place, no position, and no person can make you aware of yourself. You have to work it out on your own, with the real atman; you have to work for your own liberation, for your own emancipation. It is not a transfer account or an email account, it’s not like that. It’s not online transfer, no, no, no! One has to realise, one has to acquire. Tat swayam, that’s what Baba says.
Mother may like the child, but when the child is sick, the mother cannot take medicine on behalf of the child. When the son sustains a fracture, the father will love the son, yet he cannot have the bandage on behalf of the son. Mother may love the child, watching the child finding it very difficult to chew and masticate; but the mother cannot eat on behalf of the child. You have to work it out, that’s all. I cannot ask my class to take medicine on my behalf. “Because the medicine is so bitter, so you fellows you better take it, and then I will be alright tomorrow.” (Laughter) Impossible. So whatever Baba says, whatever we listen to, we have to find out within ourselves. We have to experience within ourselves.
Tat swayam yoga samsiddaha: all that you have to work out for yourself. Kaalenaathmani vindathi: that comes to you slowly, that comes to you gradually, by sadhana. Don’t worry, don’t be in haste. “Haste makes waste, waste brings worry, so do not be in a hurry.” That’s what Baba says. So, let us not be in a hurry, let us not worry, let us not be in haste; kaalenaathmani vindathi, slowly, slowly, gradually things will be revealed unto us.
REALISATION COMES THROUGH SADHANA
Therefore now we come to the next aspect, the qualities of a jnani. Many people pose or impose themselves, or claim or appear to be, or pretend to be a jnani, a man of wisdom. But clearly Baba gave a number of examples.
It seems one fellow came to a town and told everybody, “Look here, I did penance in the Himalayas. Yes, I know how to raise the level of the kundalini, the inner cosmic energy. I can tell you how to awaken the kundalini right here it self.”
“Please teach us.”
“I will teach you at the rate of Rs 50 each.” (Laughter)
This is what Baba said, as an example. Is kundalini that easy as to have it by paying Rs 50, so cheap? After all, it’s one dollar. Why do those yogis spend so many hundreds of years there in the forest? Are they fools? Don’t they find Rs 50 after all? It is pretension. He is a hypocrite; he is a public cheat. He cannot call himself a man of awareness.
Baba gave another example. It seems a person was very much upset with his family. “Matha nasthi pitha nasthi, nasthi bandhusya sahodhara.” I don’t have brothers I don’t have sisters, no father, no mother, no no no, “Govindham bhaja moodamathe.” Let me think of God only. With that he went to Benares, Kashi. Then he was just thinking of God. Everyday he used to sit on a particular stone, a particular boulder near the Ganges.
One day, when he was about to sit and meditate, he saw some other fellow sitting on that rock it seems. He looked at the fellow and said, “Get up!”
He said, “Why?”
“This is my stone.”
“Oh, your stone? Do stones belong to people?” (Laughter)
“No, I am sitting here on this stone, get up!”
Baba says that he left his family, he gave up all his property, he left all his friends, but he got himself attached to a stone, like some of us get attached to front row kadapa slabs there. (Laughter) Somebody may come and tell you, “You know this is my seat.” OK, I saw hundreds before sitting on the same seat. I saw them leaving also. This is maya. This is illusion, to think that this is my seat. Abba! How can you be this seat, when you are not the body, when you are not the mind, how can you be the stone on which you sit? Poor fellow, he needs a hundred lives to know what he is, at least.
A man of desire cannot be a JNANI
Therefore, who is a jnani? Who is a man of wisdom? Is clearly said, one after another, in the 4th chapter, 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd, a list of characters, a list of features, of a jnani, a man of wisdom. What are they? One after one, I shall tell you my friends what the Gita tells us.
Kaan Kaan sankalpa varjitha,
That’s the first quality of a man of wisdom. He has no desire at all. A man of desire cannot be a jnani. He should have no trace of desire, nothing. Swami has no desire. That’s why God is always cheerful. He has no desire. I can tell you number of experiences, but right now I will give you this example.
Many, many cameras were given to Swami, made in Japan, forty cameras. He started distributing them to everybody, not even one was left behind.
And I said, “Swami, they are costly cameras.”
Baba said, “What if they are?” And He made one statement, “I feel restless until all these things are distributed. I don’t want to have anything.”
He started distributing costly cameras to peons and watchmen also. He doesn’t want anything.
Somebody presented gold pens to Swami, and He started distributing all those gold pens immediately. “Swami, I think you may need one.” “No, no I don’t need any pen. Perhaps you want this, take it. I don’t want it.” I don’t want it.
Kaama sankalpa varjitha; that is the first quality of a jnani. If a jnani, a man of wisdom has any desire, keep yourself at a respectable distance from him. Be careful, because people are nowadays running after so many gurus, running to so many places, so these points will tell us how to be careful at least; how to identify what is what, what is genuine, what is fake, what is real gold, and what is uma gold, artificial gold. These points will tell us, will guide us so that we can be careful; so we will never give in to any exploitation later.
GURU does not expect anything in return
Second feature of the guru is:
Karma phala sangam thyakthwa. karma phala sangam thyakthwa
Guru does not expect anything from you in return. Yes, Bhagavan has done so much for so many people. He constructed so many hospitals, He raised so many educational institutions, so many people are benefited by Him; and many people do not know Him. Many people have not met Him; the beneficiaries of this water project, the beneficiaries of these hospitals never met Him, never came here and said any thanks. Nothing. Baba does not expect anything in return. Further, Baba said, “I am happy to do these things for you. You are My children, I don’t expect any thanks from you. Do you find any son coming to his mother and saying, ‘Mummy I thank you for the nice food. Mummy, I thank you for the nice lolly.’? No, no, no, the parent is happy in providing these things to his children. Likewise I am happy doing these things; I don’t expect anything from you.” That is the quality of a jnani.
GURU IS EVER CONTENTED
Nithya thrupthaha, nithya thrupthaha: He is ever content, always contented. Once it so happened, Baba announced that a college was going to be constructed here at Ananthpur, long back. Swami made the announcement already. But, in His company at that time was present a senior devotee by name Col. Joga Rao. Joga Rao was very much upset with this announcement. When the announcement was made by Baba, blood pressure started for Mr Joga Rao. (Laughter) He was totally upset.
Swami said, “Emi Joga Rao, BP peruguthaa unde?” Blood pressure is shooting up, what’s wrong? (Laughter)
“Swami, I don’t know why You made that announcement.”
“Why, do I need your permission?” (Laughter)
“Swami, why did You make that announcement?”
And Swami said, “Why are you upset with My announcement?”
And Joga Rao replied, “Swami, as a member of the Central Trust, I know that there is no money in the bank. College construction requires crores of rupees. But there is no money in the bank.”
Baba said, “I know, I know. It is coming.” Next morning it came. (Laughter) How? Someone already deposited the amount in the bank.
I also remember in the year 1972, at the Dasara celebration. In those days Kasturi used to make announcements. To find out from Baba the speaker of the day, the bio-data and details to be announced, that was the job of Kasturi in those days.
So he asked Swami, “Swami, today who is the speaker?”
Swami said, “Why are you bothered?” (Laughter)
“Swami, I should announce.”
“Don’t worry, you can announce then.”
“Swami, who is the speaker? I should have some bio-data.”
“Don’t worry, he is coming. He is coming.”
He has not announced his name, and that afternoon the speaker of the day came, Major General Mahadevan, who said on the dais, “I came just now.”
And Kasturi said, “Baba said he is coming and he came; you will hear him.” (Laughter) That’s what He said, that’s what it is. He is ever content, because He knows; He knows what will happen in future.
THE JNANI NEVER DEPENDS ON ANYONE
He knows the past and the present. The next quality of a jnani is niraashraya. Niraashraya means that he does not depend on anybody.
‘He doesn’t depend? Then why so many officers working here? Why so many people being in charge of the carpet, in charge of the chairs, in charge discharging everybody? (Laughter) What is it that they are doing?’
Baba said clearly, “I don’t depend on anybody. I give a chance to these people to serve, that’s all. A chance for their liberation, a chance for their salvation. Not to boast, but I can manage Myself.”
But it is sadhana. So all those that work here should consider this not as a post of office or post of authority, certainly not. And we should also know a second thing, that things are not happening because of me. Things will happen much better in my absence. I’ll be contributing by my absence sometimes; things would be better. Therefore my friends, no one is indispensable. No. Swami can manage. Nirathi, He doesn’t depend on anybody.
HE DOES NOT COMPARE HIMSELF WITH ANYBODY
The next quality of a jnani is Jaghruth labha santhushtaha. He is what he is. He doesn’t compare himself with anybody. If anybody comes and says, “Swami, it is happening there,” Bhagavan will tell immediately not to compare.
“Swami, in that ashram, it is happening.”
“Do not compare.”
What does it mean? He does not allow you to compare, and He doesn’t compare Himself. Why? For two reasons. He is what He is, that’s all. You are what you are. This we should learn from Him. I am what I am. Why should I compare myself with anybody? It gives you joy, it makes you feel ecstatic when you are what you are. When you compare with others, then comes the problem; and spiritually it is also correct. There is only One-without-a-second. God is One-without-a-second. With whom do you compare then? That’s what it is: jaagruth labha samasruthatha.
happiness and unhappiness do not touch him
Then comes dvandhwaathithaa, which is non-dual.
Somebody said, “Swami, many happy returns of the day. Happy Birthday!”
Baba said, “You need to say happy birthday to the one who is unhappy till that date. I am always happy. I do not know what unhappiness is.”
Dvandhwaathithaa: happiness and unhappiness do not touch Him because He is the very bliss Himself. Bliss is non-dual, that’s what it is. Vimathsaraha: no hatred whatsoever, no enmity whatsoever.
A simple example: Some say, “Bhagavan I was totally against you in those days.” Baba will say, “Forget all that.” It was R. K. Karanjia, the editor of Blitz magazine from Bombay, who wrote for a number of years in his magazine against Baba in his own poetic style. Karanjia is known for his beautiful English. In those days we used to learn it by heart. Yes, beautiful English. And the man criticised Swami for many years. Later he said, “God is Indian.” (Laughter)
“What happened to you? Till yesterday you wrote all that.” And then he narrated all his experiences. He fell at the feet of Swami and he wrote, “As I repent, tears are rolling, and as I attempt to scribble a few lines, I am not able to see the letters because my eyes are full of tears. I cannot write, I cannot read because my eyes are full of tears.” And Swami excused him. Lord is a forgiving Lord. Forgiveness is a quality we must surrender. No hatred whatsoever.
Siddhow asiddhowcha samaha.
Siddhow asiddhowcha samaha.
There was at one time an Indo-Pakistan war, which took place long back, and we were to have an All-India Sathya Sai conference.
Somebody said, “Swami, the Indo-Pakistan war is currently going on. People may not be able to reach this place. Trains and flights may not be at our disposal. Let us cancel.”
Swami said, “Don’t cancel, let us see.”
Just one day before the conference a cease-fire was announced. The conference went on as per the schedule. Siddhow, asiddhowcha: it may be a success or failure from our point of view, but to Him, samaha, it is equal, that’s all.
THE JNANI IS TOTALLY DETACHED
Gatha sangasya is another quality of a jnani. Total detachment. It must be the experience of many people, when Swami favours you with an interview that morning, you are given a feeling that Swami cannot get along without you. (Laughter) The Lord has taken this human form only for your sake. ‘What will happen to this dear Lord without me?’ That is the feeling that you get in the interview room.
On the same day, same evening when He walks in front of you, you will come to know what you are. You are a non-entity. He will be looking like that; though you are sitting there, you are nobody. ‘Arre, arre, only this morning I thought that I am close to Him. By evening I will understand that my file is closed. (Laughter) File is closed.’
Total detachment. Nothing, no attachment whatsoever. Mugdasya, Mugdasya. He doesn’t have any special attraction or repulsion. He is what He is. When you are pure, you are attracted by Him; when you are not, then you feel as if that magnetic effect is found lacking at that moment. It is only our readiness that determines, it’s nothing to do with Swami.
Jnanavastitha chetasaha: it means He remains in that ever effulgent consciousness. Please watch, as He sits there on the chair, with thousands in front. We find as if He is lost somewhere, moving His hand in the empty air, looking somewhere else. Any sane man with average intelligence will come to the conclusion that Swami is physically here but mentally somewhere else. Yes, He is simply sitting in front of you, but He is lost. He is thinking something else; He is somewhere else. Because He is established in Himself, jnanavastitha chetasaha. He is established in that consciousness, that’s all. He is established in the place of witness.
Upasrantana mantaacha Tathaama kaamakeshwaraha
He is in the place of that eternal witness. He is the Seer and not the seen. He is the Witness but not the participant. That’s what it is, Jnanavastitha chetasaha.
And then comes Yagna acharataha. What does it mean? Whatever Swami does, it is yagna, with a spirit of sacrifice. Nothing is for Him. Clearly it is said in the 3rd chapter of Bhagavad Gita, “God does not want anything because nothing is different from Him.” He is everything; therefore what is it that He wants? What is it that He expects? Therefore He doesn’t need to do anything. But He does it to demonstrate. He does it to set an example for all of us to emulate. These are the features of a jnani.
WE ARE EXTREMELY LUCKY
My friends, somehow some part is still left. We shall cover it later at an appropriate time. As Dasara begins, let me convey my own greetings on this occasion of the commencement of Dasara to each and every one of you. Dasara is such a grand festival, and we are going to witness yagna there, commencing from the 6th of this month, in the Poornachandra auditorium.
Yagna is a spiritual ritual. Yagna is a ritual performed by sages in the past. Yagna is a costly affair now. We cannot perform yagna in our apartment. Impossible. Yagna requires a spacious, serene, calm surrounding. It is out of context today. And yagna is performed to please God, to appease and please all the deities, the whole of nature, the five elements.
But, we are very lucky to watch yagna, presided over by God Himself. We see God for whom this yagna is performed. So we have the ritual and the spiritual, the activity and the motivator, the path and the goal both hand-in-hand together, right in front of us. We are extremely lucky. The epic records that it was Krishna in whose presence Rajasuya yaga was performed. In the times of Rama, Ashwamedha yaga was performed. It is now, as contemporaries of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we see yagna presided over by Sathya Sai Baba, the Avatar of our times. We are extremely lucky.
DASARA SYMPBOLISES ICCHA SHAKTI, KRIYA SHAKTI AND JNANA SHAKTI
As this Dasara speeds on, I will be concluding in one or two minutes. This Dasara symbolises three important aspects: one aspect relating to the thought process, the second to action, and the third to awareness. Three aspects: one the thought that prompts, one the thought that directs, and one the thought that motivates.
Iccha shakti is the thought that is motivator. That is expressed by this name Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the motivator. The second is the thought translated into action. If the thought remains as it is, it is abstract. The thought is translated into action. For action we need energy, and that is kriya shakti. Kriya shakti is the power of action as expressed in the name of Durga. Durga symbolises the power of action. Lakshmi symbolises the power of thought, sankalpa, the motivation. So, the thought, Lakshmi, is translated into action, Durga, with all the power; that is kriya shakti. Iccha shakti is Lakshmi; kriya shakti is Durga, giving you that awareness, that satisfaction, that Divine experience that you call jnana shakti. That is Saraswathi. Jnana shakti is total awareness: Saraswathi. Therefore this Dasara speaks of these three: Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. Iccha Shakti, Kriya Shakthi, Jnana Shakti, are the trinity in unity, to continuity, to eternity.
May Baba bless you, thank you very much. (Applause)
OM…OM…OM…
Asatho 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 Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai
Jai Bolo Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai
Jai Bolo Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai!
God Bless You.
Happy Dasara to everyone!