November 6th, 2005
“FOLLOW THE MASTER”
(Part 2)
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
As announced last week, I propose to speak on the subject “Follow the Master.” In saying, “Follow the Master", I mean a Master, one who is totally different from a teacher. On earlier occasions, we discussed this, dealing with the differences between a teacher and a Master. To briefly sum up, a teacher is one who gives you information, while a Master brings about your transformation.
A teacher gives you knowledge, while a Master confers wisdom. The teacher helps you to study the whole of the external world with the help of your mind, which is extra-world. The Divine Master will help you to go beyond the mind to a ‘no-mind’ state. ‘No-mind’ means you explore an intra-world, thus experiencing your total being. A teacher is available to you at a particular time on particular days, while the Divine Master is always available to you, being within you. Finally, a teacher relies on his communication skills. He communicates verbally, orally, by word, while the Divine Master establishes holy communion with you. The Master can speak in silence.
This may sound paradoxical. This may sound like a polarity, yet a Master can express Himself without words. A Master can commune His totality in deep silence, because the gesture of a Master, the movement of a Master, the gentle look of a Master, the very presence of a Master has a message to convey. So these are the things that we dealt at length earlier. Some of you might not have come to know them all; therefore, I wanted to repeat them briefly.
This morning I would like to draw your attention to a few more points. Follow the Master, that Master who makes you aware of the universal mind, universal consciousness, and universal awareness. The Master who gives that awareness is the Master in the true spirit and letter.
Here we are with our individual minds; I am an individual with my own individual mind. An individual mind is narrow, however broad-minded one may be. The individual mind is limited, the individual mind has boundaries, and the individual mind cannot go beyond certain limits. But the Master will help you to travel from the individual mind to attain and to reach the state of experiencing universal mind.
Here is a simple example given by Bhagavan Baba as to the difference between an individual mind and a universal mind.
I am seated here. Suppose an ant starts moving on my body or a mosquito falls on my hand. I will notice it. I feel it. There is an ant here; there is a mosquito here. The mosquito may land on some corner of my body, but I will be aware of it, wherever it lands. The ant’s presence on some corner of my body will come to my notice. Similarly, any affliction, any suffering, any pain, anywhere should touch your heart, should make your mind respond. When I respond to the suffering of people, when I respond to the yearnings, when I respond to the calamities anywhere to anybody, anytime, that is a state of universal mind.
I respond when I am hungry by going to the canteen; I respond to my own thirst by having a bottle of Coca-cola. This is the individual mind. The individual mind responds to individual calls, to individual requirements, to individual desires, to individual needs and wants. But universal mind responds to any need, any requirement. Anyone, any suffering, anywhere, calamity, catastrophe, whatever it may be, the universal mind responds.
Therefore, my friends, a Master will awaken, will enlighten, will teach you to experience universal mind. Follow that Master. Follow that Master who takes you away from the individual mind and awakens in you universal mind. This is the first and the foremost point I want to draw your attention to this morning.
We are exposed to various kinds of teachings over the years. We listen to a nice song, sometimes we go to a church. We lend our ears to a beautiful sermon given by the pastor on this or that prophet. We listen to so many discourses by scholars in temples or places of worship. But, towards the end, we feel exhausted; towards the end, we feel tired; towards the end, we feel like some relaxation, because we have too much serious stuff in our head. We want to relax; we want some fresh air.
We feel tired and exhausted after listening to lectures and discourses. This is how the usual teaching goes on all over the world. However good a teacher you are, if you engage classes continuously, one class after another class, democratically-speaking, you will not find any student attending your third lecture. Two hours is boring. Enough!
You get tired of listening to a teacher for long hours, but the Divine Master’s style is different. The way that time passes in His presence, how the days roll by, the way that we forget the date and day of the week in the presence of Bhagavan, is best known to us. We find people asking here, “What is the day, Monday or Tuesday?” Here we have forgotten the day. Some people will be wondering whether today is the 5th, 6th, or 7th? They have forgotten the date. This is the feature of a Divine Master.
The Divine Master makes you forget the day and the date, but the teacher will make you conscious not only of the day and the date, but also of the wristwatch (Laughter) because you are tired. In the presence of the Divine Master, you feel energetic. You have that bubbling joy; you have that inner health, that inner awakening of spirit in the presence of the Divine Master. Follow that Master.
Follow that Master in whose presence you feel energetic, in whose presence you feel vital, and in whose presence you are active. Follow that Master. How do I know this? As an experience. You find people coming to Prashanti Nilayam with long faces, dragging their feet. (Laughter) The moment Swami starts giving His darshan, if they are fortunate enough to receive His gentle Divine looks, if they are fortunate enough to have a chance to hand over their letter, you find them exhibiting an altogether different personality. Their long face starts smiling now. We had doubted whether that man had teeth or not. After Divine darshan, we see he has all his 32 teeth. We see his smile! (Laughter) Even good enough for toothpaste advertisement! (Laughter) The man who sports a beard, as if his life is a burden, heavy, irksome, strenuous -- after darshan we find him happy and active, jumping all around. This is the quality of the Divine Master. The Divine Master makes you active; the Divine Master makes you feel ecstasy; the Divine Master makes you experience your inner health, vitality, and dynamism. Follow that Master.
As I said earlier, the Divine Master can inspire one to feel His presence anywhere, anytime, any day. There is an incident where Bhagavan clarified the doubts of a Christian, who was staying somewhere near the Himalayas. The man was attempting to write a commentary on Biblical sayings. There in Tibet is one area where the Bible is not available in the local dynastic script. This gentleman was writing a commentary on the Bible, but could not find the correct interpretation at a particular point of time. He could not sleep either. He came out of his residence and was just moving about restlessly.
At that time, he heard a gentle voice, “Boy, don’t worry, I am here.” Well, he did not understand what this was. He could not see any person talking at that moment, so he thought it was only his imagination or a hallucination. He thought maybe it was only a daydream. The moment he went inside, he found a few lines written in his notebook, explaining the details of that portion of the Bible which he was confused about at that point in time.
I can also give you another incidence of the principal of a music college. Her name is Meenakshi. She has on record 300 musical compositions, not only the text, but also the tuning. She tells me that Bhagavan Baba dictates them all to her verbatim. She lives miles away from here. When did Baba go over there? When did He dictate these forms (as if she is not capable of taking dictation)? Why has He gone there? When did He go? These are the questions that come to our feeble minds; but Bhagavan, the universal consciousness, the universal mind, can reach out to anybody, anytime, any day, anywhere.
You also know the incident of Charles Penn in America -- how Bhagavan guided him in yoga every day in the early hours of the morning for a couple of years. When did He go? Is there any incidence of Baba applying for a passport or visa? By which airline did He travel? Had I come to know, I too would have booked my ticket in the same aircraft. (Laughter) When did He go? The reason is He is the universal consciousness. He can go anywhere, anytime, unconstrained by our notions of time and space.
The universal consciousness is the very existence of everything. The existence does not have to move, as existence is everywhere. Light is existence. “Sat ”-- that’s what we say in Sanskrit. Sat means existence. There is no place in the universe without existence. Existence is that which exists, that’s all -- simple. So, since Swami is existence, existential, He can give you that feeling of existence. He can grant that existential experience because that is the universal mind. Follow that Master. Follow that Master who can make you feel His presence anywhere anytime, who is at your beck and call.
How to establish communication with the Master inside? My friends, this is most important -- more and more so now. In those yester-years, we were sure of the Divine darshan at 6:30 a.m., prompt’ we were sure of the Divine darshan at 9:00 clock for bhajan session; we were sure of afternoon darshan around 2:30 p.m. or 3:00 p.m.; we were sure of His darshan during bhajan sessions in the evening time. We were in a time totally different from now.
Now we are sure of only one thing. What is that? We are not sure of anything! (Laughter) We are certain of one thing -- that certainty is uncertainty. Uncertainty is certain. We can’t take anything for granted. Therefore, the time is right to establish contact with the Master within. The Divine Master is within you. If you go on searching for the Divine Master outside yourself, you have to go by the calendar and the timepiece. You may have to return depressed, frustrated, and disappointed because at 9:00 clock in the morning here, for example, we find some devotees returning from the darshan hall. What happened? "Swami didn’t come. It’s time for me to have my usual breakfast." (Laughter) Good! Have your breakfast. Because, breakfast is also Divine. Breakfast is equally Divine.
If we fully grasp the Divine message, there is nothing which is not Divine. Lunch is Divine. Breakfast is Divine. Dinner is Divine. Walking, talking and waiting are Divine. It means that when you eat food, you enjoy the food, tasting the deliciousness of the food entirely, with your total being, during the process of eating. That is meditation.
Meditation is totality; meditation is holistic; meditation is your total being. When you are walking, if you walk totally, it is meditation. However, we don’t walk totally, because as we walk, we think of our return reservation tickets. As we walk, we think of tomorrow’s program. As we walk, we think of yesterday’s prejudices and complaints. So our walking is not at all walking in the true spirit.
Many people go for walks -- a morning walk or a morning jog. We do not find any smiles on their faces. (Laughter) They are tense -- full of tension, full of worry, full of botheration, full of wrinkles and signs of concern on their faces. Even going around Lord Ganesha, they are very serious. Ganesha wants them to smile, (Laughter) but they make Ganesha serious. (Laughter) He is really very tired of us. (Laughter) Poor God! (Laughter) So we do not want to be happy even going around Ganesha. We are not happy even while sitting in the Mandir. So we are not totally present. If I am totally present, I will enjoy anything at that moment.
Eating is meditation. Baba said it. Walking is meditation. Baba said it. I am not capable of having these ideas. I am incompetent; I cannot generate thoughts like this. I can only quote and explain from Bhagavan's teachings, as I do in my classroom with my students. That’s all.
Therefore my friends, eating, writing, reading, talking -- everything is meditation, provided one is totally present, totally engrossed, totally involved, totally encompassed, totally irked-- that’s what meditation is. Meditation is not a process that is limited or confined to the early hours of the morning. Meditation is not a physical posture, sitting straight with the doors bolted from inside, lights switched off…meanwhile, this is very busy. (Anil Kumar points to his head…laughter) Mind is very, very busy, going round the streets of Connaught Place (Delhi), Parry's Corner of Madras, and the avenues of New York City.
Therefore my friends, we do one thing – we try to meditate; but our minds are being engaged elsewhere. Some of the students look at the teacher in the classroom. The poor teacher has the notion that the students are following him, but when he puts a question to one of them, the student already has a blank face! Later he will say, “I have not followed you, sir!” Why? He is looking at you. That’s all. But his mind is already on vacation. His mind is already engaged.
Therefore, my friends, a true Master is one who will catch your attention totally. That’s all. Who will draw your attention totally? How do I say that? When Swami is in front of you, what happens? Can anyone present here get up and say, “Sir, when Swami was in front of me, I ignored Him and I was thinking of my family.” Can anybody say that? Impossible! Because, the moment Swami starts moving towards you, the mind is switched off. Finished. You start seeing Him, you start trying to draw His attention, you are always busy in trying to hand over the letter, you start stretching your neck that side…this side, because the glass windows on His car have already closed. (Laughter) Array! You have family problems; when you stretch your neck, you may have the additional problem of neck pain now. “Aah! Doesn’t matter! Let me see Swami!” (Laughter)
It means that the Divine Master is capable of drawing your attention totally -- total attention. It means that He can grant you the result of meditation. He can grant you the experience of meditation. Meditation is total attention. Meditation is beyond the mind state. Meditation is the totality of your being which Baba reveals to you. Conferring that revelation is what Baba does. That’s how Baba blesses us all. Follow that Master.
We feel so happy when we listen to some bhajans, when we hear His discourses, when we see Him. Why? Do you have the same pleasure while listening to anybody else? Would you like to see the same person again and again? You saw a person first time during the day; you saw him a second time during darshan line; by the third time, you feel like avoiding him (Laughter); fourth time you will change your timing (Laughter) so that you both will not coincide and collide. We do not want to see the same faces.
This applies to Baba also. He wants the front rows to be given to newcomers. He wants those people coming from long distances to be seated in the front, so that they will have their wish fulfilled, so that they will have a deeper sense of satisfaction. But we, the old timers, have a contract with the floor from now to eternity (Laughter), while the floor is waiting for a holiday (Laughter) from our torture. The stone or the slab on which we sit is very tired of us, because the floor is polished by our continuous sitting, (Laughter) but not our heart. We are not polished, but the stone is polished day-by-day because of our continuous sitting.
So my friends, as you look at Swami, you are closer to your Self. As you listen to His bhajans, you are closer to your Self. As you read His literature, you are closer to your Self. That which gives you greatest joy is closeness to your Self. The closer you are to your Self, the closer you are to the bliss. The closer you are to the Self, the closer you are to the universe. The closer you are to the Self, the more selfless will you be. The closer you are to the Self, the more pure you become -- more and more pure. Purity, Unity, Divinity: They all happen when you are closer to your Self. Otherwise, they are just slogans. They are slogans, political slogans: “Unity, Purity, Divinity.”
Baba’s language is not merely alliteration. Baba’s language is not simply what you call a game of words. Every word of Bhagavan has great depth. Every word contains a deeper insight. Therefore, simply don’t say, “Unity, Purity, and Divinity.” These three are possible if you are closer to your Self, not otherwise. The Self in me is just the same as your Self.
The Self in me is very much the same as the Self in everybody. The universe in turn has got consciousness. Why? It has got micro-particles, micro-charged particles, electrons, protons, and neutrons. That is consciousness. Matter is full of conscious or fully-charged particles or energy. That is in you and in me as well. So, that Divine energy one should feel is nothing but the spirit of the Divine Master.
The spirit of the Divine Master is the Divine energy within you. So, when I am closer to my Self, I feel the Divine Master within me. When I am farther and farther away from the Self, I have to depend upon His physical form. I depend upon the physical form of the Divine Master when I cannot establish my communication with Him within. When I cannot establish communication within, I have to depend on the external physical form, which may or may not be available.
To establish the contact from within is to be closer to the Self. How to be closer to the Self? Follow the path of enquiry. The path of enquiry is the only one to follow to be closer to the Self. Bhajans will take you to height of Love; service will make you experience Love; reading will take you to higher states of awareness. But the experience of the true Self is possible only through the process of enquiry. Therefore my friends, let us be in constant touch with the Divine Master within us, who is the true Self. As you get closer and closer to the Self, you will experience the Divine Master.
I can also bring to your attention another point. Bhagavan takes everything as an excuse or as an example to convey a universal truth, to convey Vedanta, spiritual dictum -- anything, anything. A table may be chosen as an example or as an illustration to convey spiritual truth. A bulb or a fan may be taken as an example to convey a sublime truth -- anything. Why? Please follow this point.
All our learning, all our knowledge, all our teaching, all our observation, all our memory are based on objective experience. I repeat once again. Our memory, our learning, our knowledge, they are all object-oriented, object-based. Everything is based on objects. Sciences, humanity, fine arts, engineering, medicine-- all our studies are based on objects. It is objective study, it is objective enquiry, it is objective investigation, it is objective experimentation, and it is objective learning. Therefore, we are in multiplicity, therefore we are in duality. Therefore, we are divided.
We are divided, because we are objective in our thinking, we are objective in the pattern of our life, we are objective throughout our life but the Divine Master is always teaching, the Divine Master is subjective. The Divine Master is subjective, while all our life is objective. This subjective nature is awareness. Meaning, the mike I hold here is not responsible for amplification of the sound. No! The bulb is not responsible for the light it sheds. No! Fan is no way responsible for the breeze or the air you get. No! Let me explain. It is the electric current supply that makes this mike work. Mike is the object - electricity is the subject. Light bulb there is the object - power supply is the subject. Fan is the object - current is the subject. Therefore, the Divine Master wants you to be subjective and not objective. I have the rostrum here, I have the table here, I have the chair—all furniture, only objective, but if you think of the wood it is subjective. I have earrings, bangles, everything objective, but if I think of gold it is subjective. Therefore my friends, the Divine Master’s teaching is completely subjective, so that we will be taken away from objective perspective. Our perspective till now is objective, but it has to be subjective, as is expected of us by the Divine Master.
Therefore, whenever we speak of differences in front of Bhagavan, whenever we make comparison among individuals in front of Bhagavan, whenever we exhibit our unhealthy competition in front of Bhagavan, He will simply ask you to remain silent. He will never encourage you to speak like that. We go by objective perspective, objective observations, objective expressions and objective comments. Therefore, we judge people. Judgement happens because of objective perspective.
I say he is good, I say he is bad, because it is objective perception. But, subjectively speaking whether you are good or bad, the light is same. The light is same, energy is same, vitality is same, Divinity is same, the force is same, and the birth is same. But, you start judging people-- he is a saint, he is a sinner, he is good, and he is bad. Who are you to say that? Who are you to evaluate people? Who are you to judge people? Who are you to make comments like that? This is the nature of a divided mind. This is the nature of a narrow mind. This is the nature of a simple mind. But the Divine Master by giving you that subjective experience, which is beyond objective perception, that very awareness of subjectivity will make you not to judge anybody.
The Holy Bible says, “Judge not, that thou may not be judged. Never judge. If at all I am to judge, let me judge myself - my strengths and my weaknesses as well. Therefore, my friends, follow the Master within, who is subjective and not merely objective. Follow the Master who will make you experience your conscience, and who will take you to the state of consciousness. Conscience and consciousness are two levels of awareness.
According to Swami, there are three levels of awareness. The first level of awareness is conscious, conscious. Suppose I start looking at you. You start thinking, ‘Is something is wrong with my coat? Is something wrong with my hairstyle? Why is this man staring at me? Am I okay?’
You become conscious. Right now you are okay, but when I start staring at you, you are quite conscious of your body, positively or negatively. Suddenly, when I look you up and down, you will be conscious of your clothes, any tears or rips anywhere, any folds missing? (Laughter)
Conscious is limited to the physical frame, the physical body. Yes. Unfortunately, we have learnt to stay there in the conscious state only. Conscious: ‘First row or last row?’ ‘I wonder whether Swami looked at me or not?’ ‘How many times do I go round the temple?’ ‘How much work do I do?’ ‘How long shall I work?’ ‘How many times have I visited this place?’ ‘How much do I know?’
This is all the first state of awareness -- conscious, which is fundamental, preliminary, primary, and elementary. But the Divine Master will make you experience the second level of awareness, what you call ‘conscience’. From ‘conscious’ to ‘conscience’ – that is the second level of awareness.
What is ‘conscience’? Conscience has got these important points. Point One: The feeling that I exist, the feeling, the conviction that I am eternal, that I am permanent, that I am immortal. Nobody thinks that he is going to die tomorrow. Nobody is prepared to accept that he is going to die.
‘So-and-so must have died because his habits were not good. My habits are perfect. I am not going to die. That fellow must have died because he didn’t have medical care at the right time; whereas my residence is surrounded by medical practitioners. (Laughter) If I cough or sneeze, three physicians will be at my doorstep. Therefore, my life is insured for eternity.’
It may sound foolish; it may look quite naive or insane. But there is truth behind it. What is it? The feeling of eternity is truth. I may die from the physical point of view -- my body is gone; but I am eternal. My body is born; therefore it has to die. It is my body that is born; it is my body that is going to die. But I am deathless. I have neither a beginning nor an end; I am eternal. I am continuous, like the flow of a river.
The flow of a river is continuous. Life is continuous. Appearance of the body is birth; disappearance of the body is death. But life is continuous. This feeling of continuity, the feeling of immortality, this feeling of life force, which is eternal, is what we call ‘existence’. This is the first feature of conscience.
Second point: The second feature of conscience is inquisitiveness, alertness, and awakenedness. Everyone is awake, everyone is alert, everyone is knowledgeable, and everyone has got this point of knowing. “I want to know, I know.”
Knowing is different from knowledge. Let us be very clear about it. A man of knowledge is egoistic, because he thinks, ‘I have read so many books.’ Nonsense! Stop reading. Because spirituality is not reading, it’s not reading. Jesus Christ was not a well-read man. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is not a well-read man. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was not a well-read man. If reading makes you a Master, the world is already full of millions and millions of Masters, because every fellow has got a degree, genuine or fake. (Laughter)
So reading will never make you aware and alert. Please take it from me. Knowing is different from knowledge. Knowing and the process of knowing is humility. Knowledge is ego; knowing is simplicity. Knowledge is what you say. So-and-so is headstrong -- a knowledgeable man is always headstrong. Knowing is acceptance: I want to accept whatever you say. Knowing is a state of positivity; knowledge is argumentation. Knowledge is questioning. Knowledge is full of doubts; a man of knowledge is full of doubts.
You can take it from me. A man of knowing is ready to accept the argumentative mind. A logical mind and questioning mind is the nature of the man of knowledge. Acceptance, gratitude, thankfulness, positivity, doubtlessness, inquisitiveness -- these are the qualities of a man of knowing and not of knowledge. So that is the spirit of knowing: “I want to know.”
Say for example, a child will ask the father, “What is that? What is that? What is that?” though the father has no answers. The father is a man of knowledge, while the child is in the process of knowing.
The child asks, “Daddy, how is that an only a tree has flowers, but not a buffalo?” Daddy has no answer.
He will say, “Shhh! You should not talk in riddles.” (Laughter) When you do not know an answer, you will ask me to shut up -- the technique of all teachers!
The child will ask, “Daddy, why do you get milk out of the udder of a cow? Why not the tail?” (Laughter) “Why are the stars in the sky? Why not on the ground? (Laughter)
Daddy says, “Don't ask such questions! If you keep on asking like this, you will never pass your examinations.” (Laughter)
A man of knowledge is arrogant, a man of knowledge is empty, a man of knowledge has a big void in his head; whereas a man of knowing, a man of inquisitiveness, a man of learning is positive, fresh, full of the innocence of a child. When there is that total innocence of a child, you can say that is the feature of knowing.
You say, “Swami is coming now.”
“Oh! I know.” He is a man of knowledge. Avoid him. (Laughter) Avoid him.
The one who says, “I know” is a man of knowledge. Avoid him. Let us learn together, let us grow together, let us experience together, and let us know together, in all simplicity, in all reverence, with all respect, with prayerfulness. That is knowing. The Divine Master wants us to remain in the stage of knowing. ‘Chit’ is the second qualification.
Existence is the first quality. This knowing or ‘chit’ is the second quality and the third is our innate, inborn, natural smile on our face. You will never find a child with a serious face, unless the child is sick. You never find a grown-up man with a smile, because he is mentally sick. (Laughter) The grown-ups are mentally sick, because they have lost that original smile on their face.
That’s why we say, ”How are you?” A fellow says, “Oh, getting on, going on.” Array! Array! Array! As if he is waiting for death! (Laughter) The one who says, “I am getting on, things are going along”, he is waiting for death, the ultimate reality. No, we don’t get on with life like that; we do not drag life along like that. We are not robots, we are not computers, and our life is not a programmed one. Please take it from me. Life is fresh, life is vibrant, life is fragrant, life is pragmatic and life is beautiful.
When one feels that life is just going on, he can be sure that death is nearing. (Laughter) When life is just going on, death is nearing. When life is mechanical, life is disinteresting. When life is routine, usual, ordinary, life is disgusting, vexing. The life that is fresh and beautiful is worth living. That is what the Divine Master does. The Divine Master will make your life interesting, worth living, filled with dancing, singing, and knowingness to eternity.
Simple example: You watch people working at different places in the Mandir. Most of the people, most of them, at least 70% of them, are above 70 years old. Above 70 years. The remaining 30% are the former students or the old students of the university, who are to be trained, are under training, and are supposed to be trained. All the rest are above 70 years old. I wonder how these old men are able to work. And every person above 70 years, I am telling you honestly, subject to verification -- you can verify anything here -- works twice, thrice as much as any youngster in any private organisation.
We have people 80 years old here, still working there in the shops, still working in the book store, still working with accounts. The very same man, during summer, complains of arthritis, spondylitis, pneumonia (Laughter) and conjunctivitis (Laughter). The very same man, during summer, says that his blood pressure has shot up, blood sugar also up more. But when Swami is here, how about his blood sugar? When Swami is here, how about his blood pressure? When Swami is here, how about his weakness, how about his so-called spondylitis, arthritis? Nothing doing! He doesn't think about it when Swami is here. When Swami is here, you are beyond your body, you are beyond your mind, and you are happy.
Once you are mentally happy, physical illness does not matter. When you are mentally unhappy, even if you are physically strong, you are fit to be in a garbage can, or waste paper basket. One should be mentally happy. It doesn’t matter what may happen to the body. Because, a person who is mentally strong, who is mentally, psychologically healthy will have his physical ailment corrected. After 95 years, the moment when we are here near Swami, dancing around, we feel very healthy. The moment Swami goes to Brindavan, we need a surgeon or a doctor, (Laughter) as if all the three years’ accounts are brought forward to the next page, as most of the accountants do.
Baba will not allow you to think of your body first, because, when you want to relax somebody will say, “It is darshan time. Swami's car is coming!” (Laughter) When you want to sleep for half-an-hour more, somebody says, “Swami is already there in the Mandir.” (Laughter) You do not have time even to cry on genuine grounds. Even if you have some reason to cry, you have no time. In public, you can’t cry. (Laughter) Yes! He sees to it that you are happy. That’s all. He will never allow you to be unhappy. That is why in the presence of Baba, people are blissful. That is the feature of conscience.
So the first feature of conscience is Existence. The second feature is conscience knowing or ‘Chit’. The third feature of conscience is bliss or ‘Ananda’ or happiness. That conscience is within me. And then there are two more with me, name and form.
Form is ‘Rupa’, name is ‘Nama’. So I have five features now: ‘Sat’ or existence, ‘Chit’ or knowing, ‘Ananda’ or bliss, ‘Rupa’ or form and ‘Nama’ or name. That is conscience.
Conscience has three qualities. It is something like jewellery in a cupboard, in an almirah; something like your clothes in a suitcase. The suitcase is the name; the suitcase size is the form in which your clothes or ‘Sat-chit-ananda’ are present. So the almirah has a name and a form in which the jewellery of ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’ is kept.
Now take away ‘Rupa’ and ‘Nama’. Remove these two – name and form; out of five, three remain: ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’, Existence, Knowing and Bliss, which are universal, which we call ‘consciousness’. So the Divine Master takes you from conscious to conscience and from conscience to consciousness.
May God help us to travel in that direction, in this spiritual voyage, in this spiritual pilgrimage, in this eternal journey, in this spiritual endeavour. Let us travel endlessly, basking in this journey. For your information, there is no end to the spiritual journey. There are some people who say they have crossed that stage. Oh! Oh! I do not know what you have crossed. (Laughter) Some people say that stage is over (Laughter), I am in the next stage, and this chapter is closed.
There is nothing like reaching the goal. Spirituality is an endless path. Spirituality is an eternal journey; spirituality is a pilgrimage. Spirituality is not a goal, spirituality is not an ambition, spirituality is not an achievement, and spirituality is not an attainment. Spirituality is your nature; spirituality is your birthright. In the awareness of it, we find the meaning of our life.
Some people ask, “What is the meaning of life? What is the purpose of life?” Forget the purpose because purpose is goal-oriented, purpose is business-oriented. Forget the purpose. Let us think of meaning of life. The meaning of life is the awareness or the conscience, which is very much the same as consciousness. While conscience is limited, consciousness is universal. The consciousness is all-pervading, eternal. Consciousness is awakenedness.
More details next week.
God bless you! (Applause)
You are quite welcome to send questions. We have some sessions for question and answers also. Questions and answers. All the questions needing answers, plus your suggestions for improvements or any modifications, can be sent to our website www.saiwisdom.com. That is it. You are quite welcome to browse that site on your computer. Thank you very much.
Anil Kumar ended his talk by singing the bhajan, “Nanda Mukunda Sainatha.”
OM…OM…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!
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ji Ki Jai!
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ji Ki Jai!