"What Next?"

September 2^nd, 2007

OM...OM...OM...

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan, 

Dear Friends,

We have been discussing certain topics for the last couple of weeks. One Sunday we dealt with the topic "No More". Later, on another Sunday, we also discussed the topic "How Long". This morning our topic is "What Next". From these talks, we have understood that all the things we possess are either futile or useless. We have also analysed at length how all our acquisitions and possessions never confer peace of mind, nor do they grant us peace. Therefore, we concluded, "No More"! Later we discussed how long it would take to realise and achieve what we want.

So now let us have a few thoughts on the topic, "What Next". What next? How shall I proceed now? We all come to this field of spirituality, which has devotion as its foundation. Devotion is the foundation. My friends, there is a misnomer or a misunderstanding that the path of wisdom, or jnana yoga, is superior. But I can tell you this: Without devotion, mere enquiry comes down to the level of scientific investigation.

Devotion Is the Foundation for Wisdom and Action

Enquiry, vicharana, or the path of wisdom, whatever we call it, it all comes down to the level of scientific investigation, scientific observation, scientific inference and scientific experience. That's all! So, even the path of enquiry or wisdom requires devotion. If we proceed along the path of enquiry with devotion, we will have humility, we will have softness, and we will have tenderness. We will have a responsive, receptive mind, which will enable us to turn inward. So, my friends, devotion is the basic necessity for wisdom or jnana.

Similarly, devotion is also very necessary for karma or action. For karma yoga, or the path of action, bhakthi or devotion is equally necessary. If I simply do action or karma, it becomes mechanical. Karma becomes mechanical; the action becomes mechanical. The path of action becomes routine, monotonous, boring, repetitive, disgusting, vexing, and stressful without devotion. 

Therefore, mere action without devotion either takes you to frustration or ego, whereas action based on devotion will elevate you. Otherwise, mere action without devotion leads to a mechanical, programmed life. Therefore my friends, for karma yoga, the path of action, bhakthi or devotion is necessary.

So, to rephrase it, devotion is the foundation either for jnana yoga, the path of wisdom, or karma yoga, the path of action. If devotion is at the centre, you can have action on one side and wisdom on the other side.

We Are Shaken By Lack of Devotion

Therefore, it is not concentration on one path to the exclusion of the other. Devotion is the foundation; that is what we have to understand. What next? The first answer is to grow more and more in devotion.

When our devotion gets lost, decreases or goes on the decline, we lose our spirits. We lose our spirits! We become depressed also. So naturally we will not be as happy as before. We will not be able to face all the bumps and jumps in life. We will not have equanimity. We will not have equality.

Devotion: so devotion is very, very necessary. The more devoted you are, the more action- oriented you can be. The more devoted you are, the more wisdom and enquiry you can have or undertake. Therefore, devotion is the undercurrent for both action and wisdom.

Sometimes I work and work and feel so badly that no one acknowledges me or recognises my contributions. I work and work and feel so sorry for myself, thinking that others are trying to dominate me. I work and work, feeling worried because it has become endless work. The reward for my work is more work. What to do? I also feel frustrated because I work and work, yet find people who don't work prospering. Those who don't work may be progressing and advancing.?

Therefore, my friends, mere work is stressful. Mere work is competitive. Either it makes others feel jealous of you (when you are doing well) or you feel jealous of others (when you feel others are doing better than you). Either you will be jealous of others or others will be jealous of you, if you take only action or karma as the basis or as the criteria. Therefore, devotion is required.

So, what next? The answer is devotion. Let us strengthen it more and more. The stronger it is, stronger and stronger day-by-day, the less likely it is that anything will shake us.  We are shaken not because of some position or appointment that has been denied to us. We are not shaken when some responsibilities are taken away from our hands. We do not mind that we are no longer in charge of any specific position. We are shaken when we are lacking in devotion.

If you ask somebody, "Why are you frustrated?" he might say, "Sir, I was in charge of the darshan queue there. I have been maintaining queues regularly. Then one day somebody said, 'You are no longer to be in charge. I will be the person in charge of this queue.' Therefore, I am frustrated."

No! The work you have done for so long, and the work denied to you now, is not the reason for your frustration. The reason for your frustration is your lack of devotion. Because, if there is devotion, whether you have the post or not, you will be full of joy and satisfaction.

One gentleman asked me, "Mr. Anil Kumar, I sustained a fracture and had an operation. After my return, people refused to take me back to my regular job." 

I said, "Please give them a tea party. Give them a party. Give them a treat!"  If you are discharged, you can take a better position, a higher channel. The world is so wide, with so many opportunities. You could think, 'God has discharged me from this so that I can go to another position, a better channel.' Why don't you think like that? So, I had to console that grand old man, who is feeling that heaven-on-hand is denied to him, just when he was about to land there in paradise!

Therefore, my friends, no matter what you feel, whether ego, pride, frustration, disappointment, depression or hatred, know there is nothing wrong with your action or karma. Nothing is wrong with your wisdom or jnana. Something is merely wrong with the intensity of your devotion. What next? Let us grow more and more in devotion.

"Alright sir, I have increased my devotion. I am devoted now. But what is the use? What is it that I am going to gain? Any new position? At least will I be a convener of a Sai centre, or a district president or state president? What will be my spiritual prospects in the organisation?" (Thank God there is no scale of pay in the organisation. If there were such a scale of pay, there would have been much more hatred and much more competition. Thank God for that!)

 With Devotion, Restlessness Will Lessen

After becoming more devoted, what next? What happens as your devotion increases? You will not be as restless as before. With devotion, restlessness, the depths and intensity of restlessness or ashanti, will be less and less. That is the first advantage of devotion.

We are restless all the time. Anything will make us restless. If you ask anybody, they will say, "I can't sit here; I am restless." If anyone asks me, "What is your name?" I am restless! I think my name is known everywhere, as if I am Manmohan Singh (the current Prime Minister of India). (Even his name is not known in some villages!) It is because you and I feel very important, so our egos are affected. Therefore, we get upset.

This constant state of being upset will go once you grow in devotion. Why? You think of Him. You contemplate on Him. You pray to Him, so you are not bothered by who is insulting you, who is humiliating you, or who is praising you. You are not at all bothered. You are diverted on God. Your mind is God-ward. So no one and nothing can shake you. It means if we are shaken, if we are tossed, if we are reactive to praise and blame, we should not blame others. Here is where the blame lies: It simply means that we don't have sufficient devotion.

What next?  So first develop devotion, which will make the depths of our restlessness less and less. Finally, it will totally go altogether. Why? Because my mind rests at the feet of God, therefore I can't be restless. I am restless only when I depend on my mind. Once the mind rests at the Feet of God, you can't be restless any more.

What next? Secondly, your frustration will go with increased devotion. You ask anybody, "How long must I be here? How long should I stay here? How long should I work like this? How many days, weeks, years? What's the meaning of all this? I am very much vexed with everything. Life seems tasteless. I feel that life has lost its charm." This is called vexation. One gets vexed or frustrated. But because of devotion, you will no longer be vexed. No one will be vexed and no one will be frustrated if he is strong in devotion!

Why? Our attitude changes: Things happen according to His will. "He decides what I should do. He decides where I should do it. He decides my destiny. He decides my way of life. Why should I feel frustrated? Why? Let Him feel frustrated for not giving me a proper position. Let Him feel frustrated for not recognising me till now, because all credit and discredit go to Him."

Credit and discredit (debit) are noted in the passbook of the bank. So, my passbook is at the Feet of God. So, let Him enter credit and discredit, I am not bothered. Therefore, what next? There will no longer be frustration. You are free! When you are not frustrated, you are not restless. Because of strong devotion, what do you get? You get God's immense grace.  You attract daiva or God anugraha, His mercy or grace.

Some people say, "Swami is not looking at me." Some people say, "I think I don't have God's grace these days." It is something like "God's Grace" should appear on the first page of the newspaper! Or grace should be like a bullion market or share market or weather report! It's not so. To receive God's grace, two things are necessary. I should not be restless and I should not be frustrated. These two steps will be a preparation to experience God's grace.

To ask the question, "When do I get His grace?" is foolish. Some people say, "Mr. Anil Kumar, would you tell me when Baba will shower His grace on me?"

I only tell him, "Let us wait, both of us together. You are not sure, and I too am not sure when you will get it. I do not even know for myself!"

We Already Have God's Grace

My friends, at least our group ( I mean, our satsang group of aspirants, thinkers, intellectuals, enquirers), at least let us be sure that we have God's grace already. Be sure that we have God's grace already. We may simply have not realised it.

Suppose I say to someone, "I lost my back." They would say, "What back? You must have lost your front!" (Laughter) Can you lose your back? No. Similarly, can you be denied God's grace? Certainly not!

Somebody might say, "Sunlight is not falling on me." Oh, I see! Something's wrong with your eyesight then. So, sunlight has to fall on you. If there is rain, it should rain on you also. When there is wind, you will also feel its touch.

Likewise, God's grace is universal, not individual. The only thing is that one person feels it, while another does not feel it. One does not feel it when he is highly restless or highly frustrated. Then, he won't feel God's grace. Be peaceful, be hopeful, be promising, be happy; then you will know God's grace. His grace is there already.

If God's grace comes and goes, it is not God's grace. It is the boss's grace. Your boss at the office is graceful, so long as you oblige him. He will be disgraceful when you go on casual leave. God is not like that -- graceful one moment and graceless the next. He is not like that at all. His is constant grace. The only thing is that we should know how to feel and experience it.

Then what happens? What next? Peace abides in us; peace settles into our lives. That is prashanti. We may have reached Prashanti Nilayam, but we are still in ashanti! Ashanti is restlessness, while prashanti is abiding in permanent supreme spiritual peace. Immortal peace is prashanti. Divine peace, that is prashanti. Ordinary shanti is only physical and worldly. I want a cup of coffee. If I have it, I will have shanti or temporary peace. But I will need another cup after two hours!

Prashanti is not like that. You will have prashanti permanently, be permanently established in peace. It is not that you would want to establish and then de-establish, stabilise and then de-stabilise. It is not like a government that could be de-stabilised. That peace is already there within you.

Therefore, what next? Experience that peace. Having extricated yourself from the cobweb of restlessness, having removed the blanket of frustration, having started to feel God's grace, what next? I experience the peace now, which is already there within. If we are the embodiments of peace, then naturally we will start experiencing peace.

Then you may ask, "Why can't I gain peace by some other method?" A simple example Baba gives is this: When I am hungry, even if you get me a beautiful dress, my hunger can't be satiated. Even if you bring me a costly Parisian perfume, my hunger will not be satiated. Hunger can't be satiated by shoes, dress or perfume. Hunger is appeased only by partaking food. Only food, no other way!

 To Earn Peace, There Is No Way But Devotion

Similarly, to earn peace, there is no other way other than devotion. Even an atheist of the top order will have to find his peace in devotion, at least in the later stages of life. I can give thousands of examples of those who were all strong atheists, but they were all so restless. During the latter half of their lives, they turned at last to devotion.

Somebody talked about a big international atheist conference, a conference of non-believers of God. Non-believers: "We don't believe!" The president of the international atheist conference got up and said at the end, "By God's grace, our conference was successful!" (Laughter) "By God's grace, our atheist conference has been a grand success!" 

So, what next? I still feel something wanting in me. I still feel something that I should get rid of. In spite of being here, in spite of doing bhajans, in spite of spiritual reading, I still feel that I am not free from certain weaknesses. I have certain weaknesses that I am not able to get rid of. What is the way?

Here is a simple example. Suppose someone says, "You have put on weight." When someone says this to you, you may feel highly insulted. If someone says, "You are a corrupt man" you won't mind. If he says, "You are a mad fellow" you also don't mind. Even if he says, "You are a poor fellow" you won't mind. But if he says, "You seem to have put on some weight" you are insulted! It should not happen, because you want to be slim and trim till your last breath.

 Weaknesses Come From THE Senses and THE Mind

Therefore, we have certain weaknesses, concerning our body, our senses and our thought process. Weaknesses belong to the mind and the senses. There is no other weakness beyond that, whether you are in Antarctica, America, India, or wherever you may be. There are only two centres of weakness: the senses and the mind. There is nothing beyond that. 

How to get rid of these weaknesses? I am not happy about them. I am not proud of them. I want to get rid of them, but I am not able to. What next? The solution is again devotion. Devotion is the only path to get rid of our weaknesses, pitfalls or mistakes. There is no other way. By mere effort, we will not be able to give up our bad habits. It is not possible. Mere effort is not enough. Mere wiring will not give you light; there has to be a power supply. Mere cement will not do; you also need some gravel to make concrete.

Strong Determination Is Not Enough 

Similarly, if you are determined to give up your bad habits, it is not enough that you have strong determination. No, it is not enough. I think you get my point. A simple example: When people say that you put on weight, what do you do? "All right, let me start dieting from today! Let me not eat every night."

So I make the decision not to eat every night; I want to be slim again! In the afternoon, by two o'clock, I feel hungry. Right from two o'clock, I feel hungry! I start eating something, because that night I am going to fast. I continue to feel hungry. Again at four o'clock I eat, because that night I am going to fast. (Laughter) At six o'clock, I will be hungry again, so I eat something because tonight I am going to fast. Then finally I feel I am eating anyhow, so tonight I will eat as usual. (Laughter) As a result, what happens? That day when I want to fast, I eat more than ever before! Yes, that happens to us.

When a fellow wants to be awake -- most of the students know this -- he will say to himself, "Let me read throughout the night." That fellow will feel sleepy right from eight o'clock! (Laughter) After examinations, he can sleep at 8, but he will never go to sleep then.  Until examinations, he feels sleepy from eight o'clock onwards. That is the tragedy of life, the paradox of life. That is the melody of life.

Therefore, my friends, let's be sure of it: We can never give up our bad habits and we can never correct our mistakes by mere determination. Another example: Let me be determined not to smoke. Good. After one hour, I say to myself, "This can come into effect from tomorrow." But that tomorrow will never come! That is true in most of our cases.

Or, let us meditate. "This is my birthday, so let me meditate from this day on." But most people will feel, "My birthday is a day of celebration; it is not for meditation! Let me think of doing it tomorrow."  In the meantime, before ever starting meditation, your next birthday arrives! (Laughter)

That's what happens, my friends. It is true for all of us. No one is exempt from this. If anyone says, "No, I could implement it the moment I decided to do it" then they are hypocrite #1! We are humans; let us understand this. We are basically humans. But with God's support, we will be able to achieve anything.

So, strong determination alone will not help you give up your bad habits or rectify your mistakes, unless you have devotion and full faith in God. That is guaranteed. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa emphatically made the same point: "Without God's grace, you can't be a full man." Only with God's grace can you give up your mistakes, sins, or anything like that. That's one point to be borne in mind.

Life Is Not Partial 

What next? Whichever religion we belong to, we know thoroughly well that we experience good or bad, pleasure or pain, as per God's will. "I have good experiences now." Good! Then, "I have bad experiences now." Good! So, good and bad experiences happen naturally.

You might hear someone say, "Always I have good experiences." That man does not know what goodness is! Another might say, "I have only bad experiences in life."  He is a pessimist, a person who has given up.

Good and bad go together. Life is total, not partial. "I want broad daylight." Good! But that will be followed by a dark night. "I like the dark night because I can enjoy dancing every night. I can go to the casino, and enjoy drinking and dancing." OK, but come six o'clock in the morning, daylight starts! So, you can't avoid broad daylight, even if you don't like it. You can't avoid dark night, even if you prefer bright daylight. It is because day and night together make a full day.

So life is total, not partial. But we do not realise this. When I say I want happiness, unhappiness also follows. When I love, hatred also will be there. Whom do you hate? If you analyse it in depth, you will know that you hate the ones whom you love the most. You can only hate a person whom you love most. So naturally, love and hate are intertwined. They go together. It is only a question of time. Personal relationships that are focused and projected in the form of either love or hatred are both the same.

Similarly, happiness and unhappiness are the same. One does not exist without the other. One is the top side, while the other is the reverse side. I can't separate the two. Both are present at the same time. On the paper, some letters are written. I can't separate those letters from the paper. So letters are on the paper, but the paper and letters can't be separated. Similarly, happiness and unhappiness can't be separated.

You Can Prefer, BUT You Can't Choose

This vision of life, this approach to life, this understanding of life is possible with devotion only. A devoted man will prefer, but will never choose. My friends, please remember this particular phrase that I like the most. I am sure that you will also like it: Life should be a matter of preference, never a matter of choice. Life is choiceless.

If you choose love, there will be hatred also. If you choose light, there will be darkness also. If you choose happiness, there will be unhappiness also. So, how can you choose? So, life is choiceless. But you can prefer. "I prefer light." Good! "I prefer happiness." Good! "I prefer good dress." Good! "I prefer coffee." Good!

You can prefer, but you can't choose. What do I mean? I am not crazy, my friends. In preference, there is the option of adjustment. "I prefer coffee, but if it is not there, it doesn't matter. You can give me tea instead." Or, "I prefer a suit, but it doesn't matter. I can also wear a shirt and trousers instead." Or, "I prefer a cushioned mattress, but it doesn't matter. I can just have a pillow and blanket."

So, with preference, there is the possibility of adjustment. In preference, there is understanding. Preference is unconditional. Preference is a matter of your adjusting to the situation. On the other hand, if you begin to choose, you become rigid. "I want coffee." "Sir, we don't drink coffee." "Go to hell, nothing less than coffee!" "What shall we do?"

When you choose, you will be failing. When you prefer, you will be successful. Preference is success, while choice is a failure. God does what He wants. He will do what He wills. Oh, good! What He wills, He will do.

If you say, "Swami, You should give me darshan tomorrow morning", you choose. He does not. Then He does not come and you lose. (Laughter) At least we should learn not to choose! Preference is better: "I prefer Swami's morning darshan. If He doesn't come, I will see Him in the evening. If He looks at me, that is good. If He doesn't look at me, it doesn't matter. I am going to be here for a few more days." That is preference. But, "He should look at me!" That is choice. (Laughter) "He has not looked at me, so let me go! I am leaving this place!" So, choice will put you into a very embarrassing, inconvenient situation. You will be put in a position from which you can't come out.

Therefore, life is choiceless. To have the understanding of our choicelessness is called 'choiceless awareness'. Choiceless awareness means understanding that life is choiceless. Sai devotees will understand that 100% because He makes sure you are choiceless!

You can never choose with Swami! "Swami, I will be here till two o'clock. You'd better give darshan because I must go after that." For sure He will come only at 4:30! (Laughter) "Bhagavan, since You have come at 4:30 yesterday, let me relax and come around four o'clock this evening." Then He will be there by 2:30! (Laughter) There is no other better place to learn this. There is no higher guru than Baba to teach this choicelessness. If we don't learn choicelessness here, we have no choice but to die! (Laughter)

 Life Is Choiceless Awareness

Therefore, life is choiceless awareness. It means that I have no choice. "Oh God, come on, do what You want." But as a human being, I have preferences. In preferring, I can also adjust. If what I preferred is denied, I can still go on. If what I pray for is denied, that is devotion. Devotion will prepare you to develop this spirit of choiceless awareness, which is very important.

What next? "Yes sir, I am highly devoted, but yet how is it that I am not as happy as I want to be? When you say that devotion confers happiness, well, I don't get it. Why? I am highly devoted. You can't find another man as devoted as I." 

There used to be an important man, a state president, who was speaking in front of Swami in Kodaikanal. He spoke thrice like this. Swami tolerated him for three times. The fourth time He corrected him. What the man said was, "Bhagavan, there is a great devotee like me." Swami looked at him. That gentleman did not understand! (Laughter) He thought Swami was appreciating him.

At the next meeting, he said, "Swami, there is a great devotee from my native place, an ardent devotee like me." (Laughter) He said it like that. The fourth time, Swami said, "Why do you say 'like me'? Say that he is better than you. Why do you say 'like me'? The other man is better than you!"

Devotion Is Like A Leaky Pot 

Therefore, my friends, though we are devoted, we don't have that fulfillment. We don't have that sense of gratification. Swami Sivananda gives a beautiful example. "I have a glass and I go on filling this glass with water. But it is never full. Why? Why? A whole pot full of water is being poured here, but this glass is never full!  Why? There are some leaks or some holes here. Therefore, this glass is never full." Likewise, we think that we have enough devotion; but we are like the leaky pot. That's what Swami Sivananda said.

A disciple felt very much ashamed. "A leaky pot!  No, I am perfect, Swami. I am perfect."

Then Sivananda asked this question, "Do you feel happy when others are saying something bad -- some gossip, some rumor, some useless talk? Are you happy?"

This man was very honest, "Swami, I feel very happy."

"That is the first leak," said Sivananda. "That is the first hole -- to feel happy and be more inquisitive and curious while listening to all gossip. So, nonsense is the first leak. It is the first hole which will never let this cup of human life be filled."

Therefore, the water (meaning devotion) always leaks out. It drains out, and doesn't stay in the glass due to this leakage, this weakness of listening to gossip and rumour. That's what Swami Sivananda has said. He added as well that this man was also intelligent.

"Oh Swami, am I the only man with holes? Is only my pot leaking, while all other pots are full?"

Then Swami Sivananda laughed and said, "The man who speaks gossip, the man who indulges in vain talk, the man who generates rumour is as bad as you." The speaker and listener both are bad. The one who speaks the rumour, who spreads the rumor, who generates the rumour, who spreads scandals and the one who listens, both fellows are like leaky pots, says Swami Sivananda.

Nothing is wrong with the water. The water is perfect. It is Bisleri water or Perrier distilled water! So why is there no water there in the cup? It is full of holes. What can I do? The cup of human life is bright, good and clean and this water of devotion is perfect. But there is leaking because of a lack of control over ourselves. It is full of leaks due to listening to what is bad. That's what Swami Sivananda said.

The Proof Of Devotion Is Fearlessness AND LACK OF ANGER 

Then somebody said, "Swami, OK. I am sure there are no leaks or holes now. My cup of life is full to the brim. The cup of life is full to the brim, with the nectar of ambrosia or elixir of devotion. It is full of devotion!"

Then Swami Sivananda laughed and said, "OK. Do you have any fears at any time?"

Then so many fears came out. "Swami, I am afraid and I fear because of the income tax officers. I have so much money."

"Oh!  Do you have any sense of fear?"

"Of course, I fear my wife!"

"Oh, I see."

"Swami, I fear my boss will not give me a promotion."

"So, when you have fear, how can you say your pot is full?" Then Swami Sivananda added, "Are you angry at any time?"

"Yes, Swami, when people don't listen to me, I am full of anger."

Then Swami Sivananda said, "When there is anger in you, when there is fear in you, you can't say you have enough devotion. The proof of devotion is fearlessness. If you are fearful, you are devotion-less. If you are fearless, you are full of devotion. If you are full of anger, there is no devotion. All the while, if you maintain your poise, equanimity and balance, then yes, that is devotion." That's how Swami Sivananda explained it.

 Self-Audit Will Help Us

Therefore, my friends, we should always be careful in examining and assessing ourselves. This is what is called 'self-audit'. We are good auditors when it comes to others. I can tell you how good you are, but I do not know how horrible I am! I can tell you how bad you are, but I do not know how much worse I am than you! Therefore, self-audit from time to time will help us.

What next? This is a very important point, my friends. (When I feel excited with all those points, I write them down and wait for the next Sunday to share them with you. Who wants these things? Those who are in a hurry to go to the temple want their desires to be fulfilled. Those who are in a hurry to occupy the front rows are in a hurry to pass on a flower or a letter. Who wants the gospel of Sai? Who wants these sacred teachings of Baba? I am so lucky that God has given you to me, my friends, to share this truth of Sai.)

Sai Is Not Philosophy 

Let me tell you this: It is wrong to say "the philosophy of Sai". Some people say, "I know a lot of Sai philosophy." They are wrong. Some say, "The Sai philosophy of education . . ." Wrong again! Or, "The Sai philosophy of Divinity . . ." No, wrong! Sai is not a religion. Sai is not a philosophy. Please understand that.

Once we asked Swami about 'Swami philosophy'. Baba said, "Full loss is philosophy!" Oh. Full loss is philosophy? I thought it was full, not a loss! Why did Baba say, "Full loss is philosophy?" Why? 

My friends, let me explain my view. Philosophy is nothing but the gimmicks of the mind. The mind goes on interpreting, the mind goes on imagining, and the mind goes on explaining things. Explanation, imagination, hallucination -- that is all philosophy is. Baba is not philosophic; He doesn't advocate any philosophy. Why? Baba's teachings are not imaginations. Sai teachings are not hallucinations. They're not gimmicks of the mind.

Then, what else is philosophy? Philosophy is contradictory. You have one philosophy, I have another philosophy. "This is my philosophy!" If you ask any believer, he says, "My philosophy is that God exists." If you ask an atheist, he says, "My philosophy is that God does not exist." So, "God is" is one philosophy, while "God is not" is another philosophy.

Someone says, "This morning I had very good darshan". That is his philosophy. Someone else says, "Yesterday I had an even better darshan". That is the other's philosophy.

So, philosophy never agrees. Philosophers will never agree. If they agree, they are not philosophers. The philosophy of philosophy is disagreement! They will never agree. If you say, "This Guru Purnima was fantastic," someone else will say, "Forty years ago, Swami used to come to us every day . . . that was really beautiful!" That is his philosophy. So, philosophy is contradictory and argumentative. Sai teachings are not like that. Sai teachings do not contain any philosophy.

Some time ago, one gentleman said, "Please ask questions at the end of every talk."

Suddenly I said, "When we are speaking about Swami, what is there to ask questions about?" God is Truth and Truth is God. "God is false, so false is God . . . is that a question you want to ask?"

Certain Divine utterances are not given for discussion or questioning. They are given for acceptance. If I say, "Go straight, there is the bhajan hall" and someone questions, "Why not go this other way?" Alright, go. Please go! 

If I say, "Don't put your hand in the fire," do you say, "How will I know what it feels like unless I try it?"

"OK. You want to know, try it! You will get burned!" Likewise, certain Divine teachings are not open to argumentation.

Philosophy is full of bombastic, high-sounding words. They want to give their subject some make-up. It is all just cosmetics! Those who are ugly put on extra make-up. Those who are really beautiful or handsome need just a touch. But those who are ugly, like most of the film actors without make-up, need a lot.  You don't want to look at them for a lifetime! Yes.

In days past, I saw some of them. I don't know about the recent ones. (Laughter) I have not seen any actors or movies for the last twenty years. Not one movie. In the days when I did see actors in person, I used to wonder, "Can he be the same fellow whom I so appreciated in the movie? Because this one isn't half as good-looking as the one I saw on the screen." (Laughter)

Therefore, extra make-up and extra decoration, why? Basically, the item is ugly. Therefore, philosophy has the decoration of language. It is bejeweled and over-decorated with bombastic words, words that the philosopher himself does fully comprehend.

But Baba's teachings are not like that. Baba's teachings are conveyed to us in the simplest words possible. You can't find a simpler wording than the words He uses. There are no simpler words than the ones He speaks. He uses simple, simple words!

So, His teaching cannot be called philosophy. Philosophy explains things in a zigzag, round-about manner. The philosopher goes on confusing you, because he wants to take you to his own mythical conclusion. In some of the temples, talks given there by scholars will dissuade you from ever visiting a temple again because they are so confusing. So confusing!

 Baba's Teachings Are Simple

Baba's teachings are straight-shooting. Not only is the language simple, His message is also straight.  Therefore, Sai's teachings do not equate to zigzag philosophy. They equate to Truth, pure and simple.

Truth: Sathya. Sathya Sai Baba is His Name. Sai is the Embodiment of Truth. His teachings are simple and straightforward. He uses simple words, explaining in a straight, non-argumentative way. There is no room for discussion. It is all open, and goes straight to the heart.

We should understand that the value of Sai teachings, what we receive from Him, is Truth. What next? With Sai's teachings, which are pure Truth, nothing but Truth, we are capable of correcting our mistakes and our faults. That is yoga. Yoga is not physical exercise alone. Yoga is not breathing exercise alone. Yoga is getting rid of evil qualities in oneself.

May God bless you. Thank you very much.               

                                               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