9th January, 2005
“Sankranti”
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
I have gathered a few ideas from Sai literature to share with you this morning. We are going to celebrate Sankranti on January 14th, and as you are aware, the Annual Sports Meet of the Sri Sathya Sai Educational Institutions is coming up on the 11th of January as usual. The meet will be followed by cultural programs on the 12th and 13th, and on the14th, the festival of Sankranti will be celebrated. As Sankranti is almost here, I thought that it would be most appropriate to share a few of Bhagavan’s ideas about this important event so that we can really fully enjoy and appreciate the spirit of Sankranti.
The first purpose of Sankranti is to promote peace and love within the family. This is an occasion when all children will be assembling with their families. Newly married people will be spending their time with their in-laws. Sons and daughters who have been living far away from their parents will reunite. Grandchildren will all plan to be with their grandparents. This is an occasion of harmony and love, particularly within the family.
Festivals have this benefit of bringing people together, establishing a sort of harmony and unity within the family. When the family is disturbed, when there is no peace within the family, there will be no peace in the society at large. When there is no peace and harmony in the society, there will be no peace in the nation. When there is no peace and harmony in the nation, there will be no peace and harmony in the world. The family, therefore, needs to be harmonious and peaceful, and for that reason, on holy occasions like Sankranti, members of the family choose to be together and celebrate.
The second point… You must have understood by now that because I am a teacher, I will be making point after point as if we are in a classroom, which is good if I get my message across to you. Anyway, the second point, the second reason for celebrating Sankranti is this: My friends, man has to pay heavily today for his utter neglect of Nature. Man has become the worst exploiter of Nature. He is an ungrateful wretch in this regard. He has not recognised how Nature benefits him.
Just as he has learned to exploit his fellow man, he has learned how to exploit Nature, recklessly and selfishly extracting ores and metals, fuels like kerosene and petrol, from the fathomless depths of the oceans and from Mother Earth. When man exploits Nature, taking what he wants, the balance of Nature is lost. When the balance of Nature is lost, we bring floods and havoc like that of the recent tsunami upon ourselves. Incidents like floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis happen because man has disturbed the balance of Nature. Nature has been thrown out of balance because of man’s continued exploitation of the earth.
God has given us such precious gifts, all in pristine purity. He has given us clean air to breathe, so that we may live. God has given us ‘pure air,’ but we have made it impure. This is what we call ‘air pollution’. God has given us water that is crystal clear, pure drinking water, sweet water, but we have made it impure, filling it with chemicals and sewage. We call what we have created ‘water pollution.’ The calm serene atmosphere is now totally polluted, what we call ‘sound pollution’. Then there is ‘land pollution’ or ‘soil pollution’. Man is the one who pollutes the world, and it is all due to man’s total misbehaviour toward Nature, due to the ungrateful nature of man. Man knows how to make use of Nature but he does not know how to pay his debt of gratitude.
Sankranti, this holy festival, gives man an occasion to remember and understand the unity between the Creator and the creation. The creation is not of your making. Creation is not of your choice. Creation is not your gimmick or magic. Creation is the gift of the Creator to mankind. In other words, creation is the manifestation of the Creator. Creation unmanifest is the Creator, and the Creator manifest is the creation. In other words, the Creator, who is formless and nameless, decided to manifest, and His manifestation is called creation. Once creation, which is the manifestation, is made unmanifest, you see the Creator. Creation is the reflection of the Creator, and therefore neglect of the creation, abuse of the creation, misuse of Nature, these all amount to a betrayal of God. This is a total denial of God. This we are not supposed to do. So my friends, Sankranti give us an occasion to reflect upon and understand the unity between the Creator and the creation.
This is the season, the best season in the whole of the year. Yes! It is not very cold. It’s not too warm, not hot. Yes, it is good! We can enjoy this weather. All of Nature dances with the beauty of flowers, and the fields are full of harvest. The crops are ready and the farmers collect bags and bags of grain to store. This is a period when the farmers and the people who labour in the field find time to take rest. They find time to take rest because the grain is plenty, and the weather is cooperative. The whole of Nature blossoms with flowers now. The weather is cool and lovely. What more could we want? Therefore, during this period, my friends, people decide to embark on the spiritual path, take up spiritual sadhana with all determination, for the simple reason that this is an auspicious time to do so. And this is a time when Nature is highly cooperative, so this is also the time that man can relax.
It is said that religion is nothing but total relaxation. I repeat: Religion is nothing but total relaxation. When I am tense, when I am worried, when I am anxious, I cannot call myself religious. Religion should make you relaxed. Religion should help you to be relaxed. If you are tense, you are more and more of the world. If you are under pressure, you are far away from God. Therefore, this period of Sankranti helps us to relax, to enjoy a state of relaxation, so that we can be more joyful, more creative, more spiritual and more religious. In observing the beauty of Nature, we express our gratitude to the Creator. Enjoying His creation, I show my respect and I express my adoration to the Creator. This is how we know the unity between the Creator and the creation during this season.
This season of Sankranti is linked with the movement of the sun. The sun shifts its place from one month to the next. Sun shifts its position, month to month. That’s how we have twelve months in a calendar year. That’s how we have an almanac and the zodiac. The zodiac system speaks of the position of the sun in a year as it shifts from one month to another month, from one place to another place.
During this month, during Sankranti, the sun enters into Capricorn or Makara. The sun enters Capricorn during this month. And this month is what we call Margasira in the Telugu calendar. Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad-Gita, says that, among all the twelve months, “I am Margasira. I am the best.” God has chosen this month to claim it as His own because it is a celestial dance. It is Nature in all its splendour and grandeur, resplendent with beauty. Therefore, “among all the months, I am Margasira,” says Lord Krishna. So, as the sun god enters into Capricorn during this Margasira month, this period is considered to be very, very auspicious.
What is another reason this time is considered to be auspicious? Now, the sun moves toward the north, in the northward direction. Towards the north we have Himachala, the Himalayan range of mountains on the northern side of India. Now the sun moves towards the Himachala in the north. What does this mean?
Hima and Achala is Himachala. Hima means that which is cool and comforting. Our hearts should be cool, calm, quiet, poised and equanimious. We should not be hot, agitated, or disturbed. Our hearts should be still and steady. Our words should be soft and sweet. Our lives should be calm and sweet. That’s what Hima means.
Achala means motionless. Achala means unmovable, unshakeable. That which is strong and steady is Achala. I can move the paper, but I cannot move the mountain. That unshakeable, unmovable essence is the quality of a mountain and like it, our faith also should be unshakeable and unmovable. Therefore my friends, the sun god, who moves towards the north where Himachala, the Himalayan mountain range, is located, signifies that man has to be calm and cool (Hima) and that his faith should be strong and steady (Achala) during this time. That’s what Himachala means.
Sun god is the hero of life. Sun god is our role model. Sun god should be our hero. Why? No one appreciates the sun because everyone takes it for granted. I mean ‘SUN,’ not ‘SON’. A son is unpredictable (Laughter), and better we give up any attachment. Anyway, the sun is responsible for all the energy that we have -- for the living race, the plant world, the animal world and the human race. The sun god sustains our life, and our energy is drawn from the sunlight; but we fail to understand this. We never bother to recognise it. If there is downpour or it rains for a week, then we say, “Where is the sun? Is the sun on a holiday? Is the sun on vacation?” Therefore, my friends, the sun does its duty on its own, giving benefits to everybody, unrecognised, unnoticed, and unthanked. The sun god should be our hero.
We humans want recognition for every simple, silly little thing, then and there itself! Some people, the moment they are not recognised, feel such sadness. “You know, I do so much, and no one recognises me”. I say, “What is your need for that? Why must people recognise you?”
On the other hand, if people do recognise you, you become more egoistic. Recognition feeds and satisfies our ego. At the same time, however, it spoils or interferes with our spiritual progress. Recognition hampers spiritual progress. Our spiritual progress is actually obstructed by this recognition. When we receive the fame that we want in this world, it becomes a barrier on our religious path.
The sun god -- no one praises him! No one carries his name! No one sees the sun’s name in the newspaper or hears it on television! No one thanks the sun even once in a whole year, but the sun god does his work just the same. He is our hero. He sheds his light — the light that symbolises wisdom and knowledge. With the sunrise, all darkness is dispelled. Likewise, ignorance is darkness, and the light that the sun sheds is wisdom. Thus, let the sun god be our hero so that the darkness of ignorance is dispelled totally; so that the light of wisdom will dawn. This is the season to express our gratitude to the sun and to accept him as our role model, as our hero, as he continues to do good for humanity, irrespective of whether we acknowledge him or not.
The sun is responsible for the seasons, the rains and energy. Also, today solar energy is so very useful. Some say that it will one day replace our current conventional forms of energy. Solar energy can be used in place of electricity. That’s what people say; yet we are unable to make full use of solar energy. We have not been able to do this so far. Man still seeks a way to use this source of permanent, inexhaustible energy. To be of infinite strength, to be of infinite energy, that is the nature of the sun god. The sun is always active, more and more as time goes on. We have got to be so dynamic. We, too, have got to be more and more active.
Let no one wear a sad face. Let no one take life heavily. It is unfortunate that, in the name of religion, some people are overly serious. It is a shame that some people invite misery into their existence in the name of religion. It is unfortunate that some people do not enjoy life, forgetting that life is the gift of God. When life is the gift of God, we should know how to enjoy this gift -- how to lead this life joyfully, creatively, dynamically, enthusiastically, and happily. Doing so is the best form of worship.
When you give me a gift, if I throw it away, you feel humiliated. If you give me a gift and I keep it under my feet, you will feel insulted. God has given us all the gift of life, and He will also feel badly if you are not joyful about what He has given you, if you are not happy about this gift from God, if you are not grateful to Him for this lovely gift of life. Therefore, Sankranti is an opportunity to express our gratitude to God for this beautiful gift of life, and to the sun god for showering blessings on all of us, such that we can draw more and more inspiration from his light.
Sankranti is also a holy festival that helps us to know the inner Divinity. Why? As I said before, this period is considered to be a most auspicious period, and lasts for one full month. Special prayers are offered in every temple during this time. We start spiritual sadhana now to realise the Divinity within. It is the greatest opportunity given to man because time cooperates, Nature cooperates, and family members cooperate. This is the time to proceed with spiritual sadhana or spiritual practice. We cannot afford to postpone this, my friends. Let us not postpone this because if we postpone, we may not be able to start again later. Postponement is the worst of diseases for a spiritual aspirant or a religious man. It is a threat to his religious career and progress. Let us not postpone this sadhana because God says the light is here now. God is here now, so why should you postpone. You may be busy later. You maybe indisposed later. This is the right moment to start our spiritual practice, during this season of Sankranti.
Sankranti means ‘a change for the good’. Why should I change for the good? Some change in negative ways. Change during this season of Sankranti is positive. It’s a paradigm shift, a change that can take me further and further towards God.
Until now, I have been thinking of my personal life. Until now, I have been thinking of the prosperity and welfare of my family and children; but this should change. There should be a total change in my approach and in my goals. Why? Because the change should make me feel that I am not the body, that I am not the mind, but rather that I am the Self. This kind of change in our spiritual goals should come now. It is high time.
Many of us think of God only when we are in trouble -- when we fall sick, when we are bed-ridden, when children need our help, or when we are helpless. Then the only refuge is God. There is nothing wrong with thinking of God when we are experiencing problems; but from the worldly point of view, we can see that this is a business transaction.
Life has become a matter of business: I give you something and you give me something back. “Oh God, I come to You to do me this favour. I attend daily prayers, so do me this favour.” This is nothing but business.
We need to look beyond business, turning towards desirelessness, towards the realisation of the Self. That’s the reason, my friends, that Sankranti is an encouraging season, a season to realise and experience the Divinity within.
These are all points that Bhagavan made with regard to Sankranti, and I am just putting them before you as you prepare for the celebration.
This time, Sankranti, is called Uttarayana. Uttara means ‘north’ and ayana means ‘travel’. Those who leave this planet, who leave their life naturally during this period, during this auspicious time, will find liberation, according to the scriptures. This is the most auspicious season for the conferring of all the blessings from God to those who are no longer with us.
Of course, this is not in our hands. No scripture says, “Now you leave your life.” No guru says, “Today, finish yourself! Off!” No, no, no! These things should happen in a natural way. Let us not hasten things or postpone them. Let’s not meddle with the Divine Will. No, no! Let’s not tamper with Divine records. Let Him do that. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” Let things happen as they should.
There is one character in the Hindu epics named Bhishma. Bhishma means ‘strong’. Bhishma, an emperor, was very strong physically and had a very strong will. He did great sacrifice, remaining celibate throughout his life. His father was very pleased with him and granted him a boon. “My son, you will never lose in the battlefield. You will be very strong in the battlefield. Remember that you can withdraw from your body as and when you decide. You will never be killed. No one can attack you. You will never die unless you decide to withdraw yourself.”
Bhishmacharya. Acharya means ‘the one who professes and practices’. Precept and practice equals acharya, meaning professor. So Bhishma practiced what he preached, what he advocated, what he stood for. So his father granted him this boon -- that he can withdraw at any time.
Bhishma, an all-knowing man, lay on a bed of arrows for 56 days, waiting for this auspicious moment of Uttarayana, so that he could take off into the realms unknown, to merge into the Lotus Feet of God. Therefore this Sankranti is associated with that legend, with that episode of Bhishma during Sankranti.
I should also mention that Sankranti is a festival full of gaiety and festivity in all the villages. The villagers gather dung, and with it they make three balls, oval in shape, and they keep a pumpkin flower above these balls. What does this signify? They collect masses of dung, make it into balls, and keep three balls of dung. What does it mean? People do this, but our Bhagavan made us aware of why we do this. Please be attentive. The three dung balls signify three names. One name is Govinda -- not the film star! (Laughter) The second is for the cowherd boys – gopaluru. And the third is govu – the cow. So the three balls represent these three names -- Govinda, gopaluru (the cowherd boys) and govu (the cow).
Why? What do they mean? Please follow carefully, my friends. The Self is consciousness, Atma, the spirit, the Self. It is because of this Self that the mind functions. When the Self is withdrawn, when the energy of the Self is withdrawn, the mind no longer functions. When the energy of the Self is withdrawn, the eyes cannot see, the ears cannot hear, the skin cannot feel touch. All the senses, outer and inner, function only because of the energy drawn from the Self, like outside streetlights and the lights in a mansion or building depend upon a supply of electricity. So, if power supply is consciousness, streetlights are the outer senses and the lights in the building are our inner senses. I think I am being clear here.
Therefore, Govinda signifies the Self, consciousness, that cosmic energy, that universal energy, which is present everywhere in the animate and inanimate. That Self makes the mind think, and thoughts emanate, thoughts flow like ripples, like the waves over the surface of the ocean. And these thoughts animate the senses to act.
I have a thought that it is time for lunch. The legs are in a hurry to take me to the foreigners’ canteen! The thought comes that I like ice cream. My hands are ready! (Laughter). The thought comes that it is the time to hear some jazz! It’s time for rock and roll! My ears are ready. Why not?
So thoughts are responsible for actions, and actions give us results, rewards, awards or punishments. Therefore, a good mind leads to good thoughts, which leads to good actions, which leads to good results. A bad mind: bad thoughts, bad actions, and bad results. It is sequential. That’s what Baba said – Baba, the mathematician, Baba, the scientist. Clearly He tells it like it is. Therefore, senses are responsible for action; mind is responsible for thoughts; the Self is responsible for the mind being active. Therefore, the super-consciousness Self is Govinda, while all the thoughts of the mind are the cowherd boys. Finally the thoughts that transforms into actions are the cows (govu).
Therefore, Govinda, gopaluru and govu symbolise consciousness, thought and action. All three should be in perfect harmony. All the three should be in perfect unison, in perfect coordination, in perfect unity. This is the message of the three balls of dung kept under the pumpkin flower. This is one interpretation.
There is also a second interpretation. It is that our thoughts are of three types. Some of our thoughts are highly emotional; some are violent; some are antisocial; some we feel ashamed of, thoughts we cannot voice because they are so shameful. These are all forbidden thoughts, hopeless thoughts, and rotten thoughts – thamasic thoughts. Dullness, inertia, negativity, violence, these are all thamasic thoughts.
The second variety of thoughts is rajasic. Rajasic thoughts are emotional, passionate, ambitious, desirous, angry, and the like. An eligible bachelor, a youngster, has a rajasic quality. The third level is thoughts that are calm, quiet, peaceful, balanced, and truthful. These are sathwic thoughts.
So thoughts are of three basic types: thamasic, rajasic and sathwic. These thoughts lead to corresponding actions. A sathwic thought prompts a sathwic action. A rajasic thought promotes a rajasic action. A thamasic thought leads to a thamasic action. Finally, the results are also the same as the thoughts and actions that led to them. A thamasic action will lead a person to prison as he is a drunk and wants to kill everybody; so that is the right place for him. Thus, thamasic results are awful and dangerous, and may lead to capital punishment.
Rajasic results are appointment, disappointment, elation, jubilation, frustration, depression, suppression, repression, expression, and the like. In the morning, someone might say, “You are a good man”, so you take sweets and hot coffee. In the evening, they might say, “Equally you are a bad fellow”, and now you prefer to starve. It goes on playing this way and that way. Ego is in full command when one is in the rajasic mode. Results of rajasic thoughts are depression, frustration, suppression, repression, domination and ego.
The last type of action is sathwic action. The sathwic action naturally results in peace and bliss, self-satisfaction, self-sacrifice, and Self-realisation. These are the results of sathwic actions.
All of these three types of thoughts are present in everyone. If anyone says, “I am sathwic, Anil Kumar,” please get away from him (Laughter)! That which makes him declare this is his rajasic ego. Some people say, “Mr. Anil Kumar, I have no ego”. “I” means ego. “I have no ego” means “I am ego.” (Laughter) So it’s better if you take leave of them too! (Laughter)
So my friends, we should understand this: All the three types of thoughts are present within every one of us. We like to say that in Prashanti Nilayam, during darshan time, we are all very sathwic (Laughter). The moment evening bhajan is over, the rajasic temperament comes up immediately: ‘Run to the canteen! Rush! (Laughter) Push each other!’ (Laughter) That is rajasic domination. And after we eat our food, we get into a thamasic temperament -- time to sleep, snore and disturb our neighbours! (Laughter)
So all the three are present in every one of us; but that which is present just a little more determines our personality. If thamasic thought is more prevalent, a man is antisocial, a reactionary, a rebel. If his temperament is more rajasic, he dominates and is a man of ego. If he is of sathwic temperament, it is nicer to be near him because you will also find peace in his company. So, out of the three, that quality which dominates determines your personality. The three cow dung balls represent the three qualities of man…and of woman too, of course.
On these three balls, a pumpkin flower is kept. It means that all the three qualities, all the three together, are made into a flower and offered to God. When all the three, rajasic, thamasic and sathwic, are offered to God, made into one single flower, they get transformed for your own good. The thamasic is converted into rajasic and the rajasic is converted into sathwic, and you become totally pious.
Is that possible? Why not? A currency note is full of red ink stains. It is dirty, full of marks, full of dirt, and torn in many places. If you give that note to the Reserve Bank, they take that spoiled note, that rotten note, and they will give you a new one, right? There are special counters where these torn currency notes are accepted, and in return, they give you brand new currency, provided the currency number is there. Am I not right? The note may be torn in half, but the currency note number must be there! If the number is gone, abandon all hope!
Similarly, the three qualities carry the number for the flower, the devotion, so that they all get converted into totally Divine qualities, absolute good, so that there is nothing thamasic, rajasic or sathwic remaining. In this, you go beyond the attributes, my friends.
Religiousness is not to be sathwic alone. Somebody once asked, “Swami, is not sathwic a spiritual quality?”
“No,” Bhagavan said.
Why? Suppose, as luck would have it, I am kept in a prison and bound by an iron chain. I am really miserable now! The thamasic quality is like an iron chain. Now the sub-inspector happens to be my close friend, and I tell him that the iron chain is below my status, you know.
“Please, why don’t you change?” he says.
“OK, sir,” I exclaim in agreement with him. So now he binds me with a silver chain. (Laughter) The silver chain has a rajasic quality.
Now I call him and say, “What is this?”
“No, sir, we appreciate you, and we know you expect more from your money,” he says.
So next I am bound by a gold chain. But the gold chain is still a chain. You cannot get out of it. You are not free.
Baba says that the iron chain is the thamasic quality, the silver chain is the rajasic quality and the gold chain is the sathwic quality. But they all remain chains or bondage. So you should get out of these chains, out of these three attributes, be it thamasic, rajasic or sathwic, so that you can be attributeless – guna athitha. Guna is ‘attribute’ and athitha is ‘to transcend, to go beyond’. So when can you go beyond, when can you transcend? When you submit all three of these attributes at the Lotus Feet of God. That is another meaning of the three cow dung balls kept during this season.
During this season, in front of the house, there is a decoration, a nice rangoli design. In villages there are competitions. Girls get up in the early hours of the morning -- at three o’ clock. They go to work on their design until six o’clock, competing because, “My rangoli should be better than my neighbours! It should be as big as possible and with many, many colours.” Why?
The meaning is that you should decorate Mother Earth on which you tread. In this, you express your thanks to Mother Earth, not simply by walking over her, but by decorating her, by offering her your humble salutations and gratitude. It is an offering to Nature.
Further, the rangoli design is made out of rice flour, and ants eat this rice flour. So you are doing service to living creatures too. That’s what you call bhootha yagna. Bhootha means ‘beings’, while yagna is ‘service’. So it is service to beings.
People also hang the leaves of the mango tree in front of their doors. Mango leaves are hung in front of the doorstep during every festival. Why? The mango leaves are antibacterial in nature. They drive out bacteria. But this fool, who does not understand, he asks, “Why should I gather mango leaves every time? It would be better to have plastic leaves, and then they can stay once and for all.” (Laughter). If we do this, our lives also become plastic (Laughter). Life becomes lifeless. Life becomes artificial. Therefore my friends, within every religious ritual, there is spiritual significance, and that is also true during this time.
During this festival, bulls are nicely decorated too. Why bulls? You will see a man walking by the side of the bull, nicely dressed, singing and playing music. What song does he sing? He sings to the glory of Rama and Sita, to the glory of the Creator and creation. But why does he have a bull with him? If you go to any Siva temple, before every Siva lingam, there is a bull there, in every temple. What does it do? It always looks at Siva with concentrated attention. It doesn’t look anywhere else. It does not show any interest in those who come to the temple, or in the kind of dress that they wear. Its attention is totally focussed only on Siva. So the bull signifies 100% focussed attention on God. And yes, it is also decorated. This is the bull that usually works in the fields; but this is a time to decorate it and to express our thanks to it.
During this season, special prasadam is also made, what we call pongal. There are two important ingredients in pongal -- rice and jaggery. The rice and jaggery create a sweet preparation that symbolises friendship, amity, empathy, sympathy, togetherness and harmony. So friendship, rice and jaggery, mix nicely, and it makes a beautiful offering to God. That is the prasadam distributed during this season.
My friends, everything associated with Sankranti has a beautiful meaning. I did not know all these things until I came to Bhagavan. I did not know anything until I read Sai’s literature. I was just practicing what others were doing, sometimes even condemning such things. “These are outdated things! Why do people do that?” But after coming to Bhagavan, having gone through His literature, I understand the meaning of every ritual today. As I celebrate every occasion, now there is awareness. There is total understanding. That is the purpose of an Avatar. The Avatar brings about awareness among people regarding all that they do in life.
Life without awareness is mechanical, and makes our life a computer, dull, insipid and tasteless. It is then not life at all, but rather a prolonged period of time spent waiting for death. (Laughter)
“How are you?”
“Getting on.” This means that this man is waiting for death (Laughter).
“How are you?”
“So-so.”
This means that this man is waiting for death. Life is not waiting for death. No. Whether you wait or not, it is sure to happen. By waiting, you are just advancing towards that day. Let us not be in a hurry to do things. Life is not waiting for death. Life is thanksgiving. Life is gratitude. Life is bliss. Life is music. Life is a melody and life is a dance. If we do not know how to live well, it will be an opportunity lost. If we do not lead our life well, it is a blessing missed altogether.
What would you say if you see a millionaire begging near the bus station? “Poor fellow, so rich…why should he beg?”
Similarly, when God has given us this sacred life, if we miss it, we are like a rich man leading a beggar’s life. It should not be so. We should be happy. In fact there is no reason to be unhappy in life, my friends. Why?
Why are we unhappy? We are unhappy because we think that that the other man is happier than us (Laughter). Certainly not! If we look at those people who are suffering, we will understand that we are much better than most of the people in this world. We should not test Divine Providence at any cost. We should thank Him for every day. We should thank Him for every moment. We should thank Him for this beautiful gift of life, without which we would have nothing. Sankranti is an occasion for that.
Sankranti is associated with an epic called Bhagavatham. Bhagavatham is the story of Krishna and His devotees, of Divinity. It tells of Krishna’s life, and of his devotees and their dance. How blessed they are! Many aspects of Divinity are present in Bhagavatham.
During this season, people dance in ecstasy. What does this mean? I told you that Nature dances whether you notice it or not. We have no time to watch it because we are too busy with our own problems, too busy with our own balance sheet of life, too busy watching our own assets, too busy with bickering and quarrels, shortcomings and pitfalls. I am so busy with these things that I don’t notice Nature dancing in front of me. The cool breeze in the evening makes the flower bloom, tossing it to and fro. Is that not the dance of Nature? Lions roar, rabbits leap, and peacocks strut. Are these not the celestial beauty of Nature in joyful play? All of Nature rejoices, but man does not want to be a participant in this cosmic dance. He does not want to dance with Nature. No, no, no, my friends, all the sadness is of our own making.
We can be very happy if we get close to Nature. If you are close to Nature, you are close to God. If you are close to the body, you are away from God. If you are close to your mind, you are away from God. If you are close to Nature, you are close to your Self. The Self is an expression of Nature. Therefore, it is said in Bhagavatham, Krishna danced with all cowherd girls. Every girl had Krishna by her side, and each one does not know that the other is with Him too. She thinks, “Krishna is only with me, not with the rest.” (Laughter)
This is just like when some devotees say, “I am very close to Bhagavan.” All are close to Bhagavan. This fool does not know, poor fellow! (Laughter) Just as every cowherd girl felt that Krishna was by her side (which is utter total ignorance or maybe just pure innocence), it is similarly ridiculous to think that one is closer. This is just an illusion, a fallacy that is ridiculous as well as being untrue.
So, as every cowherd girl danced with Krishna, dancing what we call the rasa leela, a cosmic dance, similarly let us all participate in this cosmic dance. Let us dance with Krishna. Let us dance with Nataraj. Let us dance in ecstasy. Let us dance in Nature. Let us enjoy Nature. Let us be participants in the Divine melody and music.
May Bhagavan bless you on this holy occasion of Sankranti. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Anil Kumar concluded his talk by chanting the bhajan, “Purandhara Ranga Hare Vittala…”
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