April 1st, 2007
“Theists and Atheists”
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Thanks Swami, for making it possible for us to meet once again this morning.
In this world, we come across two categories of people. In the first category, there are people who believe in God, who are called ‘theists’. In the second category are those who do not believe in God, called non-believers or ‘atheists’. In one sense, both of them are equally foolish; both of them are equally bad. Both of them equally damage the concept of God. Why and how?
atheists are irrational
For those who do not believe in God, the atheists, let us try to know their stand impartially, without any prejudice. They say that there is no God. They say that they do not believe in God. Yes, we have no objection. They have every right to say that. My question is this: How can you say that there is no God? How can you say it? What attempt have you made to know God in order to state that there is no God?
A simple example: To know the temperature, you need a thermometer. To know a weight, you need a scale. To know a particular thing, you need an apparatus that measures it. Similarly, to know the existence of God, you need to experience it. What have you done? Without doing anything, how do you say that there is no God? You have not done any meditation. You have not done any sadhana or spiritual practice. You have not experienced Him, yet you say that He is not there, that He is non-existent.
Another example: I don’t know so-and-so. When I don’t know him, can I say that he does not exist? No, I cannot say that. I can say that I don’t know whether he exists or not; but I cannot deny his existence. I cannot reject him without finding out the truth of it. So similarly, those who claim to not believe in God are foolish. Why? They have not made any sincere attempt in that direction. They have not done anything to know Him or to experience Him. They just say He does not exist. That is non-scientific; it is irrational.
Atheists, those who do not believe in God, say that they are scientific. But science wants you to experiment. Science wants you to draw some conclusion out of the observations you make. Science has three columns: experimentation, observation and inference. But the atheist hasn’t done any experiment; he hasn’t made any observations. Yet he comes to the conclusion that there is no God. Is it scientific? No. It’s unscientific and irrational.
So, one cannot simply conclude that there is no God without following the proper procedures of experience: proper experimentation, observation and inference. It is an open expression of ignorance, total stupidity. Thus they are denying themselves the truth. They are losing the value of life.
Baba made a point in this direction. He explained that there cannot be a word without an object. For example, the word book is there because of the existence of the book. The word mike is there because of the existence of the microphone. So every object that exists has a corresponding word or name. Hence, how can you say that there is no God? The word God implicitly indicates His presence. If you say there is no God, it only means that you do not know Him. You simply have not experienced Him. You are yet to meet Him; you are yet to know Him. So you can understand what foolishness it is to say that there is no God.
Theists are hypocritical
The second group, those who say there is a God, are equally foolish. Why? How do they know? Have they experienced Him? Are they acting according to His words? When you ask, “Who is God?” all religions give the same answer: “God is Truth” and “God is Love. Love is God.” Yet, are you loving?
I am not truthful, but I say God is Truth. I do not love, but I say God is Love. In that way, I am also equally a fool. I am a hypocrite because I say, “God is Love,” yet I do not love anybody except myself. I say, “God is Truth,” but whatever I speak is a blatant lie.
Thus believers also totally damage the concept of God. Theists also damage religion. So much damage is caused by theists or believers because their behaviour is such that people lose faith in God. A man of religion should be humble, simple, truthful, and honest. But when he is dishonest, a total liar, unrighteous, and still calls himself a believer in God, it is a total expression of hypocrisy.
TheistS promote Atheism
Thus such theists, such believers, also promote atheism. Baba Himself said it: Atheism is promoted by theists. The non-believers increase their numbers only because of the behaviour of the believers. The negativity toward God is increased because of such people. When we see a man of harmful temperament saying, “Love is God, God is Love,” we say, “Stop that. You are a harmful man, an arrogant man. You are an egoistic person, and still you say that you believe in God. Something is wrong with you, or something is wrong with me -- or worse, my idea of God!”
In the broad daylight, if I say it’s completely dark, would you appreciate it? Would you agree with me? No, you would come to the conclusion that I am blind! So, similarly, if a theist -- a follower of God -- is not godly, he is worse than an atheist. He damages the very concept of religion. That is not the best way of presenting oneself. How true it is when Baba says that atheism is promoted by theists! Non-believers are increasing in number only because of believers. They believe, but they don’t act correctly. A belief which is not acted upon is far more dangerous than non-belief.
Non-belief is very good. “You don’t believe? Thank you. At least you don’t believe and your actions also agree with your declaration.” Whereas I say I believe, but my actions are just the opposite.
Religiousness is more important THAN religion
Therefore, belief should be translated into action. Faith should be reflected in one’s life. Only then is it total. That is the quality of a man of religion. The bottom line is this: It’s not the religion that is important; it’s the religiousness. Religion is a brand, while religiousness is a quality of life. Religion is a name, while religiousness is the practice of religious principles. Religion narrows you and makes prohibitions; but religiousness starts bringing people together. Religions are many -- Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism . . . but religiousness is the quality of life.
Adherence to Truth, following dharma, experiencing peace, establishing Love, and observing non-violence — these are the qualities that come with religiousness. All religions agree in this aspect. But in the name of religion, we fight. In religiousness, we agree. Therefore my friends, religiousness brings people together, whereas religions divide people.
Therefore, all of us who call ourselves devotees of Baba, as the true followers of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, should be religious, not simply people of religion. To be religious is much more important than being just a person of religion. This point I want to emphasise.
There is no shortage of religions in this world. There is no shortage of gurus in this world. Every street has a guru, for your information. If you have time, I will give you a list. We are tired of religions and gurus. Why? The emphasis of these people is on religions and rituals.
All gurus speak of religion and rituals. That’s why we are confused. That’s why are divided. That’s why we fight amongst ourselves. That’s why we do not enjoy the fruits of religion. That’s why we don’t receive the rewards of religion, because they speak of religious principles and rituals. That’s all.
Bhagavan speaks of religiousness
But Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba does not speak about religion. Please be clear about it. He does not speak on religion. He speaks of religiousness. He emphasises the need to be religious, not simply men of religion. As Baba has said repeatedly, religions are many, but they speak the same Truth. If you understand the uniformity, if you understand the underlying commonality, there will be no division; there will be no conflict or war in the name of religion.
Therefore, as Sathya Sai Baba devotees, we should put a question to ourselves: Are we religious or not? Being religious means observance of human values. It means the practice of the message of Baba, not the knowledge of His message.
Do not quote Baba for your convenience
There are many people who quote Baba for their convenience. When you talk to anyone here, you will eventually hear them say, “That’s what Baba said.” Without fail, they will say it! I never said He never said it. But I only say that you have not understood properly.
One gentleman recently said to me, “Baba said that these rituals and worship are not true religion. True spirituality is something higher. That’s what Baba said.” I gave him a sympathetic hearing, and finally I said, “My dear brother, you quote Baba here to find an excuse to sleep at home for some extra time. You find an excuse to stay at home without going to the temple. You find an excuse not to buy flowers or a coconut for God in the temple. You find an excuse to go to some clubs or cinemas, or to watch TV.”
This is called convenient philosophy. This is poison number one. Poison may take some time to take effect, but convenient philosophy acts instantaneously. So let us be very careful. This gentleman is quoting Baba in this context. But what does actually Baba mean?
“Worship is not spirituality.” What does He mean when He says that? “Yagna and yagas do not constitute spirituality.” What does Baba mean? He never said stop doing it. Our fellowmen think we are more intelligent than God Himself! (Laughter) We think we can manipulate Him and manage Him. Himalayan foolishness! Nobody can help us.
What Baba meant is that mere performance of yagna and yaga is useless without understanding the significance of it. Mere worship is useless without understanding the meaning of worship. Therefore, every ritual should be performed in full awareness, in full knowledge of the significance. But our fellow thinks that Baba said it’s useless, so he has found an excuse to sleep at home.
we must know the full context when we quote swami
One student got very poor marks. He said, “Sir, Swami said this education is useless. (Laughter) Swami said you should know the purpose of life, and that degrees are of no use.” I said, “Very good. But this is not a statement to be made by someone who successfully failed in the examination!”
If a knowledgeable and well-educated man, after knowing the futility, the inadequacy, the incompleteness, the vacuum, the lacuna or emptiness in education, says that this education is useless, he is correct. His statement has some value . . . but not a fellow who just failed in his examinations! So this kind of quoting Baba is very dangerous. We should know fully well what He said, when He said it, and to whom He has said it.
I met another man. It’s very funny. (I don’t name them because they meet me every day and I talk to them. They may feel I am trying to expose them, but I am not. That is not my intention. Let us know the issue, not the individuals.) That man said, “Sir, Swami said that God has got nothing to do with money. There should be no raising funds, no collecting funds, and no money dealings at all. That’s what Swami said.” Oh, very good. Who is the fellow who says that? He is miser #1. He doesn’t offer even a morsel of food to a beggar. Baba has not said these things to a miser.
To a person who thinks that with money he can buy God, who thinks that with money he can influence God, to such people He has said money has got nothing to do with God. He did not say it for you to keep your purse tight, without donating, without contributing anything, only to count your monthly interest. It’s not for such fools.
Then I told him, “The same Baba said, Na Karmana Na Prajaya, Danena Tyagai Nake Amrutatwa Manashahu: With sacrifice only, you can attain God.”
On the one hand, He says that God has nothing to do with money. On the other hand, He says that only through sacrifice you can attain the Divine. By giving money, don’t think you are buying God. By contributing, don’t think you are influencing God.
Consider that what you are sacrificing is what He has given. It’s not your money. The money which you are donating is not yours. It has been given by God, and now you are giving it back to Him. How can you take the credit? You have to take the discredit if you don’t give. If you give, you cannot take the credit, as it is not yours.
Suppose I give this mike to these gentlemen who work here at the ashram. I can say, “I am giving it to you.” But I am not, because it already belongs to the ashram! If I take it, I am a thief, because it belongs to the office. How can I take it? So, I am not giving it. I am returning what is already theirs, that’s all.
You are the not the owner, only the trustee
Similarly, you are a trustee of the money God has given you. You are a trustee of the property God has given you. You are not the owner. Let us understand this: No one is the owner. If you are the owner, first try to own yourself, let alone the money.
Do you own yourself? No. If you own yourself, how do you all of a sudden quit your body? People quit their bodies. They die all of a sudden. So how can you own it? You should give a three months’ notice, or a six months’ notice. At least six months of salary is to be paid if your resignation is accepted. So there are some service conditions.
What are the service conditions to leave the body? There are none at any time. The camera is always ready. You don’t have to pose; it will simply click, that’s all. The film will go to another planet for development! Therefore, you are not the owner of your body. A fellow may breathe one moment and then not breathe anymore in the next moment. So when you are not the owner of your body, when you are not the owner of your time, how can you be the owner of your property? You don’t exist as an owner, so what about your property?
It’s something like searching for a black cat in a dark night. (Laughter) Can you catch hold of a black cat in the dark? Impossible! Therefore my friends, you have to understand that you are not the owners of anything.
To be Godly is more important than believing in God
To be godly is more important than believing in God. God and godliness are not separate. We believe in God, who is in the temple. It’s very convenient, because you will be happy if you see Him on Saturday. He will bless you if you see Him Sunday, and say goodbye the same day. Same time next week? No.
God and godliness go together. To be godly is more important than worshipping God. If you worship God in a temple, you are worshipping a statue, an idol. It is not at all religion. Don’t quote me saying, “Don’t go to temples.” I have not said that!
When you worship an idol, know the ideal behind it. Worshipping an idol in full understanding of the ideal is much more important. Know the ideal and worship the idol. If you simply worship the idol without knowing the ideal, it is useless. I think I am very clear.
Worshippers of Rama should follow Truth AND Righteousness
We recently celebrated Sri Rama Navami, the birthday of Sri Rama, an Incarnation of God. We may worship Sri Rama in a temple. There are many Rama temples, from the ranges of the Himalayas to Cape Cormoran, the tip of South India. Every village has a Rama temple. If I go to the Rama temple and worship Him there only, it is idolatry, for I worship merely an idol. When I worship Rama, I should be as truthful as Rama Himself. That is the ideal of Rama, and that is true worship.
So, do you want an idol or an ideal? Idols are many, but ideals are more important. The worshippers of Rama should follow Truth, should speak Truth. That is the idea behind worshipping Rama. If I worship Rama, I should follow righteousness or dharma. Dharma is the ideal behind the worship of the idol Rama. Am I clear? Baba always lays emphasis on this. That’s why Sai Baba’s message is very popular all over the world today — because He brings us the knowledge of the whole significance, depth, and profundity of every ritual. How great it is!
With the remaining time this morning, I want to bring to your attention certain interesting points concerning Rama, as a continuation of what I had said last week.
Rama led an ordinary human life
Rama behaved as a human being. Somebody asked me, “Anil Kumar, I love Rama more than Krishna. Why?” He loves, yet he wants me to tell the reason! (Laughter) When you love, please continue. How can I explain your love? How can I know why you love?
Then I thought of this possible reason, and so I said that Rama led an ordinary human life, and that ordinary human life is very close to ours. Krishna led a Divine life right from his childhood, killing all demons, showing all miracles, displaying the whole universe in his mouth, and killing anybody who wanted to finish Him off. Krishna’s life was totally Divine. So I read about it with adoration, respect, and worshipfulness.
But as I read the story of Lord Rama, I feel the story is so near to me because He behaved as a human. Rama is totally human; therefore, we love Him. Do I mean to say I love a human, but not God? No. But how do you expect a fellow who cannot love his fellow human beings to love God, whom he has never met or ever seen?
God sets an example to copy and not to envy
Therefore, the idea is this: God comes down in a human form as a role model for all of us, to set an example for all of us to follow, to emulate, to copy -- but not to envy. Some people envy, and they write out some nuisance in the newspapers. But if you copy the Avatar, you will be benefited and enriched. You will profit; you will stand at an advantage. Therefore, Rama came in human form to demonstrate how to behave, how to be truthful, how to conduct oneself, how to be righteous, and how to be peaceful, balanced and blissful in life. It was an open demonstration.
Because we are peculiar people, when times are favourable, we don’t feel like looking at anybody’s face; we are on top of the world. However, when things are not favourable, when anything negative happens in our life, we want to disturb the whole world and make it an international issue! Laughter) Your headache is a global problem! Your family issue is a cross-border issue! All because we cannot take negativity; we cannot accept that appears against our wishes.
When things are positive, we are boastful and proud; we are egoistic. If anyone says that we are so close to Swami, we don’t keep quiet. We immediately start saying, “I have been coming here for thirty years. I have been doing so much sadhana, worshipping Bhagavan, and doing Nagarsankirtan.”
You come with so many unnecessary details in your resume, which I never asked for! (Laughter) You want to take all the credit. Do you see the point, my friends? You want to take all the credit, yet never want to own to the discredit.
If any fellow asks, “Why have you failed in the examination?” the answer comes, “Sir, the teacher did not teach me properly.” Oh.
“Why did you fail?”
“There are many others who failed.”
“Why did you fail?”
“The exam had certain questions that were not on the syllabus.”
One does not want to own up to the responsibility. One does not want to acknowledge and accept the discredit that he didn’t want to learn properly. He puts the whole blame on the teachers, the parents, the neighbours or friends, the paper setters and examiners. In short, the whole world is responsible (for his mistakes!). Therefore, the human weakness is to own the credit and to throw the blame on somebody else for the discredit. This is uniform, in the UK, the US and everywhere. This is the same situation with everybody.
Sri Ramachandra’s balanced state of mind
On the other hand, take Sri Ramachandra, the ideal man: When He was to become the king, when He was about to be coronated the next morning, the smile on His face was very much the same when He was told to go into the forest instead — the same smile, the same composure, the same balanced state of mind.
Just imagine our situation: (Laughter) Swami calls you for an interview. Along with the group, you go. How do you go? You watch on both sides to see whether people have come to know you are going there or not. People should know that you have been called! They should know how devoted you are, what a PhD you have in devotion, what a noble price you have in spirituality!
And sometimes it so happens that Swami suddenly asks some to go back. “Not you -- you go.” You should watch their faces. They don’t see anybody in front of them. On the return ticket, they don’t look at anyone. After all, there is no investment; it’s only confusion. Swami called someone else, but you mistook it and thought that you were also called. Therefore you went. There is nothing to feel badly about. A person who takes it seriously, as a matter of prestige, as a matter that has affected his ego, how can he think of Rama?
The one who was to become a king has to go to the forest . . . two extremes, yet the same smile on His face. Therefore my friends, the one thing you have to cultivate from the life of Rama, as a devotee of Rama, is not merely the act of worshiping Him. It’s not only going to the temple and singing a few songs on Rama’s glory, or eating as much prasadam as possible. (Laughter) No.
A balanced state of mind is the principle of Rama -- a balanced state of mind in both times of pain and pleasure, in challenging and testing times as well as times of fun and frolic. The balanced state of mind which He demonstrated and maintained is be the Rama Principle that we should follow and emulate. Then only I can call myself a devotee of Rama.
A devotee of Rama should emulate Rama
Otherwise not. You want to have some fun at home; therefore you celebrate Sri Rama Navami. You want to have new clothes stitched for you, so you want to celebrate Sri Rama Navami. You want to have panakam, sweet jaggery syrup and water mixed nicely -- nice to drink. Any number of bottles you can consume. And so you celebrate Sri Rama Navami.
With green gram they make special prasadam -- special Sri Rama Navami prasadam. Very tasty. They mix it with some mango also, and some lime and pepper . . . very nice. But that is not all there is to Sri Rama Navami. You are eating, that’s all. You can eat the same stuff the next day or any other day. This is only a mark of celebration, fun, festivity, and gaiety. But the real celebration lies in the observance in our life of the principles of Sri Ramachandra, for which He stood throughout His career.
Sri Rama is humble
When people praised Him saying, “You are God,” He said, “Why do you say that? I am human.” How humble He was. There was a shower of flowers, a rain of flowers from heaven on Sri Rama on the day of the coronation. Everybody extolled Him, everybody praised Him. Then Sri Rama said, “Why do you say I am God? I am not. I am just a human being, the son of Dasaratha.”
Imagine ourselves in this position. If anyone says you are a great man, what do you say? “Why did you take such a long time to know this? (Laughter) I am not great all of a sudden. I have been great since my birth. You have come to know only now.” (Like Indian railways that always run late or delayed.) Why? We want it immediately. We don’t say, “No, after all I am nothing.” Nobody would say that. So here is Sri Ramachandra, who stands for humility, who declares that He is human, though He is totally Divine. That humility has to be cultivated by all of us. That is the true celebration of Rama Navami.
It is the day of humility, not humiliation. Humiliation and humility are different. Humility is to be cultivated. You can be humiliated by anybody. (I don’t need to explain about humiliation, because we are often put to it. We get used to it.) So observance of humility is the true celebration of Sri Rama Navami.
Lord Rama loves all
Usually we love people who are related to us: our kith and kin, our blood relations, and our family. A little more love and we love our community; a little more, our province. The topmost is our country, but nothing more. So our love is narrow; our love is limited. But look at Ramachandra. He loved a bird by the name of Jatayu, He loved monkeys, and He loved a squirrel. Even demons too. Vibhishana was a demon. Jatayu was a bird. Hanuman was a monkey. He loved everybody. That is what we call an organic entity. Life is an organic entity. Life is one family.
The family does not only include you, your wife and children alone, no. Your family includes the human race, the animal kingdom and plant kingdom, the galaxy of stars, the mountains, rivers, seas and trees. That is all one family. Vasudaika Kutumbakam. That is what you call an organic entity. This we find in the life of Ramachandra. An organic entity -- we belong to one family. So He could really love.
There is Divinity in trees. The Bhagavad Gita also says clearly (chapter 15, 1st sloka): Urdhva Mula Manushyakam. It means, “There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and its branches down and whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas.”
Asvatta, meaning ‘that which will not remain the same till tomorrow’, is the body, and the tree under which Sita sat is Ashoka. Shoka means ‘sadness’. Ashoka means ‘no sadness’. Sita sat under the tree where there is no sadness. So if I worship Sita, I should not be sad.
When some people sing, they cry. I say that you can cry without singing. Please . . . you are both audio and video! Do I want to see the video of a crying face and the audio of a fumbled voice? How can I appreciate the singing then? So, Sita symbolises total ashoka, where there is no sadness at all.
The meaning of Rama is attraction, bliss. Ramathiti Rama Ha. Attraction, bliss. So in Rama’s presence, I may go on crying, but how then can I call myself Rama’s devotee? I should go to a psychiatrist, not Rama’s temple, because Rama means happiness, Rama means bliss.
Therefore my friends, what we should learn from Rama is to treat the whole universe as one family. Because of communication, because of science and technology, there is nothing on the whole globe today which is labelled ‘Far East’ or ‘West’ nowadays. No. It has become a global village. So our relationships should be as one family. We are all one family. Vasudaika Kutumbakam. That is Rama’s concept. As a devotee of Rama, I should have this universal, cosmic view of life, rather than a narrow vision. That is what I can tell you. That is the true expression of love towards Rama.
Rama stands for Gratitude
Rama stands for the noble quality of gratitude. Gratitude today is what is lacking. No one feels grateful to anybody. So long as you oblige, they will say you are fine. The day you don’t oblige, they will turn against you. A friend in the morning will become your enemy towards evening. A friend in the evening turns to an enemy the next morning. It is because relationships have come down to the level of business. Friendship has come down to the level of bargaining. Therefore, we no longer have any idea of what gratitude is.
Here is Ramachandra, who stands for gratitude. He was very grateful to Sugriva. He was very grateful to Hanuman. He was very grateful to the little squirrel. He was very grateful to Vibishana. Gratitude is Rama; Rama is gratitude. If gratitude is to take a human form, it is Ramachandra Himself.
So as a Rama devotee, we should cultivate this act of gratitude, this quality of gratitude. Gratitude is Divine. The holy Bible says any sin is pardonable, but ingratitude is not pardonable. Why should we be ungrateful, after all? Why? God has given us a bright sunny day. God has given us enough to eat. God has given us enough sleep. God has given us enough to enjoy. Where is the need to be ungrateful to Him? We should thank Him.
Life is a process of Thanksgiving
Life is a process of thanksgiving. In thanksgiving, we thank Him for every second, for every fraction of our life, for the food, for the sleep, for life, for circulation, for relationships. We should thank Him for everything. Only if something reverses can we understand what it was and how grateful we were to have it.
“Why should I be thankful for my breath?” you ask. When you don’t breathe, you will understand! (Laughter) “Why should I be thankful for my blood circulation?” Then don’t thank Him. When something is wrong, you will find yourself admitted to the hospital! “Why should I thank Him for this day?” Please don’t thank Him. We will find your photo in the newspaper under the obituary column!
So, life is a process of thanksgiving to God. Life is a process expressing gratitude. That is the principle behind Rama. Swami feels extremely happy if we have this gratitude.
Once, it so happened that Swami was carrying vibuthi packets in His hand. An elderly man came and said, “Swami, let me carry it for You.” Swami looked at him and said, “Good boy. You are a good boy. Thanks.”
Then He said thanks to a buffalo when He visited the Archly Hills near Madanapali. “Thank you, buffalo” He said. Why? The buffalo carried pots and pots of water to the mountaintop for Swami. There He thanked a dog also. And yet, we don’t want to thank God . . . see that.
My friends, as Baba’s devotees, we should understand the message of Baba, the significance of Baba, and try to emulate Him -- try to practice His ways in our lives -- if we are to be called devotees of Bhagavan.
Rama stands for strong determination
Strong determination is the quality of Ramachandra. He said that He will get it done. “I will see that Vali is killed and Sugriva is coronated.” It was done. “I will kill Ravana.” It was done. “Sita shall be saved.” Done! When He said something, it was done. He had a strong determination.
“There will be a university here.” Done! “There will be Super-Speciality Hospital here.” Done! “I will give drinking water to Chennai.” Yes, it’s done. It’s not a political platform speech. “I will give water to the Chennai people,” said Baba. At the cost of 30 crores, He supplied water. Done! “I will start a university, totally free-of-charge.” Done!
That strong determination is a Divine quality that Rama also had, doing positive things. It was not to finish off a fellow; not to ruin another fellow. It was a strong determination to follow the path of dharma. Be determined to accomplish what we really want to, realise what we want to, to see that our dreams come true -- that is strong determination.
“Why can’t I love You, Swami? Why can’t I serve You? Why can’t I live up to Your message? Why can’t I improve my quality of life? Why?” You must have a strong determination to do it. That is a Divine quality we can learn.
Ability to accomplish is the quality of Rama
Samarthaha means ‘ability, capacity’. That is the quality that we require. Rama has all the ability to accomplish whatever He wants. Swami has all the capacity to achieve whatever He wants.
Bhagavan Baba, being here in Puttaparthi, has the ability to make Japanese devotees recite the Vedas. He didn’t go there. He didn’t send any Vedic teachers to Japan, giving them some airline tickets. Yet we recently saw three hundred Japanese coming here and reciting the Vedas. Is it possible? They had perfect intonation, exact diction, precise pronunciation — Vedas like any priestly class among Indians.
How is it possible? Ability. He can do it. Did you know that some devotees from California are reciting the Vedas? How is it possible? And in countries like Russia and China, we find His devotees also. How is it possible? Samartaha — the capacity, the ability. We should have that kind of quality which Rama had.
To realise true Divinity is this ability. True ability is to experience the Divinity within us. That is the true achievement in life -- to know that I am not simply born of flesh, marrow and blood. I am something more. I am not simply human; I am something more — Divine. That is the ability that one should have. That should be the thing one should accomplish in life. That should be the target and the goal of life.
One should conquer Anger
And we should also be able to conquer anger. The one who conquered anger is Jitakrodha. Jita means ‘to conquer’. Krodha means ‘anger’. Rama had no anger. Even when He was fighting the lord of the demons, He had the opportunity to kill him immediately. But He told Ravana, “Look here, you are very tired. You have been fighting since the morning, so you are exhausted. We will meet tomorrow and fight again.” He gave him enough time to relax, to regain, and to make a comeback in his moods. An angry man would never be like that. He would see that his enemy was weak and finish him off. He is disarmed, close of chapter. That is the normal, usual reaction.
But Rama's reaction was not like that. When Vibishana came and surrendered to Him, He said, “It doesn’t matter. You are forgiven. I will give you refuge.” He never doubted his credentials. He never doubted his loyalty. A man of anger will never be like that. Rama conquered anger.
When a boy comes and cries, falling at the Feet of Baba, He will never say, “Get out!” and kick him out. “Parva nahi. It is all right.” Past is past; forget the past.” All your sins are forgiven by one stroke. That’s all. (How nice it would be if our loans were also cleared like that!) (Laughter)
Forgive US our trespasses, as we forgive those WHO trespass against us
All things, with just with one stroke, are forgiven. That is His noble quality. As in our “Lord’s Prayer” in the holy Bible, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We want God to forgive us, but I don’t forgive those who act against me. We want God to forget all that we have done till now, and give us a clean chit. But I don’t forget those people who have done something against me. I will be revengeful, retaliatory, and rebellious. But I want God to be all forgiving. How is it possible?
Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lord forgives me as I forgive those who act against me. Just as I want You to ignore my lapses and mistakes and pitfalls, let me also ignore these things in others. That’s a Divine quality that we have got to cultivate.
That’s what Swami’s life is. When R.K. Karanjiya, the Blitz magazine editor, came and cried in front of Him, He said, “Don’t worry, you are a seeker after Truth. You have written nonsense in the newspaper. Well, now you have known the Truth. You are genuine in your doubt. You are genuine in your awareness. You were quite truthful when you doubted Me. You are quite truthful when you accept Me now.” That is Bhagavan. That is also Sri Ramachandra’s life.
So we should have that. Giving and forgiving is God’s quality. Getting and forgetting is a dirty human quality. Getting and forgetting is what we do. He gives and forgives; that’s what He does. So, as devotees of Sri Ramachandra, we should have this quality.
There is no jealousy (anasuya) in Rama. He never felt jealous of His brothers. He never felt jealous of other kings. He never felt jealous of Lanka, which was affluent, with all plenty and prosperity. He was so simple. Absence of jealousy is a noble quality. That quality we have to cultivate, as followers and worshippers of Rama.
Rama is Atma Rama
My friends, I can go on and on like this. Swami is really deeply touched when we mention the story of Lord Rama. When we mention any episodes of the Ramayana, He is deeply touched. I can tell you, my friends, Rama is not just a king in history. Rama is not merely the son of Dasaratha, and Rama is not merely the life partner of Sita. No. Rama is your Self, Atma. Your soul, your Self, your consciousness is Rama. Therefore, He is Atma Rama.
Rama has the name Atma Rama, because your soul, your consciousness is Divine. If I say Rama is there in Bhadrachalam, well He is Patabhi Rama, he is Bhadrachala Rama. But He is your Atma Rama, your consciousness. Let us be aware of it.
Sita represents Awareness
Sita is not merely His wife, His consort, no. Sita represents awareness. Sita represents experiential knowledge. Sita represents wisdom, spiritual knowledge. The individual soul, Rama, with awareness, makes a beautiful combination of Sita-Rama. Sita-Rama is the combination of the individual soul, with full awareness of its Divinity.
When Rama is separated from Divinity, from the experience of Divinity, He cries because of separation. When Rama is separated from Sita, Rama goes on crying. Why? It is not because of the loss of wife or separation from the wife. No. She is no wife at all. Sita is spiritual knowledge, spiritual awareness, and Rama is the individual consciousness. Rama is the individual soul. When individual consciousness is in full awareness, that is the beautiful combination of Sita and Rama. Now I think I am clear.
Lanka represents Liberation, Bridge is Sadhana
So where is Lanka? It is not Ceylon or Sri Lanka. This Lanka symbolises a place of liberation, moksha. Lanka is liberation, and Rama had to cross the ocean. That ocean is life. He could cross the ocean on a bridge. That bridge is namasmarana. That bridge is sadhana.
So, let us do some sadhana, which is the bridge to cross this ocean of life, to reach Lanka, which is liberation, moksha. So then Sita, awareness and spiritual knowledge, could be obtained by the individual self Rama. Only then Sita and Rama will be back again in a happy reunion.
In this process, we need somebody to encourage us. We need some support. That support is Sugriva, who represents all encouragement and additional support. If you want to do something, your wife should not say, “Better you do it next year.” If you want to do something, your son should not say, “Daddy, not now.” We want Sugriva, who says “Come on, do it now.” That is Sugriva’s support.
Youthfulness like Hanuman
Then we need Anjaneya, Hanuman, for enthusiasm and leadership, dynamism and youthfulness. Some are young, but they are not youthful. Some are twenty-three years old with castor-oil faces! How can you call them ‘youth’? It is an insult to the word ‘youth’. Youth means dynamism, leadership, enthusiasm, courage, challenge, and preparedness to meet the challenges in life. That’s what youth is.
So, Rama had Anjaneya, youth by His side; the support of Sugriva by His side; and the spirit of surrender with Vibishana there. He could cross this ocean of life with the help of the bridge of sadhana or namasmarana, and He could reach Lanka, the place of moksha, and could have a happy reunion with Sita, awareness of life.
That is the beauty of Baba’s interpretation; that is the beauty of Baba’s explanation. That is the beauty of Baba’s discourse. That is the beauty of the depth of His knowledge. That is the beauty that makes everyone draw towards Him.
Divine attraction -- LOVE
When Rama was going to the forest, all people followed Him until He said, “Please stop. No more.” When He was returning, all the people were following Him. He said, “Please stop.” When Baba goes to Kodaikanal, people follow Him. When He goes to Bombay, people follow Him. When He goes to the Gokulam, they run on the street -- men, women, old and young alike, all smiling. Why? Divine attraction!
No one runs after you! (Laughter) If anyone runs after you, it’s something to be careful of, something to be cautious about. Better inform some policemen beforehand. But people run after Him. Why? Because of Divine attraction! We should cultivate that attraction.
How can He attract everybody? Because of His Love. Why don’t you attract anybody? Absence of Love. That is the simple formula. When you love everybody, you can attract anybody. When you love nobody, no one comes close to you.
Worship means to Cultivate Divine Qualities
Therefore, my friends, archana (worship) means the cultivation of Divine qualities. Why should you praise God? “Oh God, You are great!” Whether you accept it or not, He is great. “Oh God, You are powerful.” You don’t need to give Him any conduct certificate or anything like that.
Why do we praise Him? We appreciate God. We extol Him. We praise Him. Why? So that we may be able to cultivate those Divine qualities. We pray to God, so that we may be godly. We follow religion, so that we may be religious.
With this note, I take leave of you. May God bless you. Thank you very much. (Applause)
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