December 16th, 2007
“Christmas 2007 ”
Part 2
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
This morning’s topic is related to Christmas. We have one more Sunday left before Christmas celebrations. The occasion demands contemplation of and meditation on the celebration of Christmas. Sai devotees take it as an occasion of celebration. The Christmas message has so many parallels with the Sai message. Last Sunday we dealt with the same topic, and this is the second talk in the series.
THE KING OF KINGS
Let me begin on this note: Jesus was born into a poor family. Why? Should He have chosen a rich family for his birth? Why was he born into a poor family, a very poor family? Having been born into a poor family, Jesus became the King of Kings later. Here are two points: first, He was born into a poor family to be accessible to everyone, so that anyone could approach Him—so, for accessibility. If He were born into a rich family or into a royal family, He would not be available to the common man. Jesus wanted to be with common people. Jesus was always found in the company of the poor, the needy, and the downtrodden. Had He chosen some royal family for His birth, this Christian mission would not have been successful.
The second point: having been born into a poor family, He rose to the position of the King of Kings. The King of Kings does not mean a geographical kingdom; the King of Kings does not have anything to do with royalty. The King of Kings does not mean power, position, and wealth. Jesus becomes the King of what? He is the King of one’s own heart. Jesus is the King of the soul; Jesus is the King of the spirit. Jesus is the Lord of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is within you. So the kingdom of heaven, which is within me, is under the domain of Jesus, the Lord. The King of Kings, we have to understand, is the King of the kingdom of heaven, which is within us.
In other words, this kingship is a stage of attainment for any spiritual aspirant or spiritual seeker. For example, Adi Shankara is called Maharaj (great king). Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was also known as Maharaj. Almost all saints are Maharajas, or great kings. They don’t have any property, they wear only ochre robes, and they don’t stay at any particular place. They stay in a forest, a hermitage, or in a hut—very simple living. But people call them Maharajas, king of kings, or great kings. Their kingship has nothing to do with property, nor with any acquisitions or worldly positions. Their kingship belongs to the realm of the human heart; their kingship belongs to the kingdom of heaven, which is within you. Having had an ordinary birth, by continuous sadhana (spiritual practice) they are able to attain the position of kingship.
So Jesus is the Lord, Jesus is Divine, and He has placed before us the ascent of man to the state of the Divine. He has become Divine Himself, which is a possibility for any sincere seeker, for any sincere aspirant. So that is the second way we have to look at it.
JESUS IS BORN IN EVERY MOMENT
When Jesus is born, the news comes to four types of people. We have such people among us right now. The birth of Jesus Christ is not merely an historical fact; it is also a spiritual happening. I don’t put it in the past tense, because the birth of Jesus Christ is present continuously. Jesus is born in every moment of life, so Christmas should be celebrated in every moment of our lives.
The knowledge of Jesus’ birth comes to four sets of people. Let us take Jesus as an Avatar. Yes, He is an Avatar, because the Divine has come down in a human form--the descent of God for the ascent of man. The ascent of man is possible when God chooses to descend to earth. His descent is for our ascent; let us understand this clearly. So Jesus is an Avatar. This Avatar incarnation of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, is not correctly understood by three sets of people, while one set of people is able to enjoy, celebrate, and be in His company.
THE FIRST CATEGORY—THOSE WHO DENY GOD
All such things are happening even now. When we say Bhagavan Baba is an Avatar, we come across some people who are ready to fight with us. When we say Baba is God, there are others who will attack us, criticise, or condemn us. They don’t leave us until we say, “Please leave me alone.” Some people don’t leave in spite of our repeated pleas! So there are some people who attack when we say Baba is God. Some people distance themselves and disown us when we say Baba is God. This is the first category of people—they may be new to us, but history knows them well. Every Avatar has this first set of people who deny the Avatar, disown Him. They go to the extent of killing Him also.
We hear of Kamsa, who repeatedly attempted to kill Krishna. Kamsa was Krishna’s maternal uncle, but he did not realise that Krishna was God. He could not understand that Krishna was an Avatar, and he wanted to finish Him off. So Kamsa is a prime example of that category of people who deny God, criticise God, or are ready to attack God and finish Him off. In the process, they themselves are finished. This is the first category. Even in the case of the Rama Avatar, we have Ravana, the opposition leader, who attacked Rama. So history knows such people; this is not the first time.
Likewise, during the times of Jesus Christ, we have another prime example of such critics or atheists—the category of people who deny, reject, or have hatred towards God. It is very unfortunate. If someone says, “I don’t like sweets,” what should we say? “There is something wrong with his tongue!” If I give you a laddoo (type of sweet dessert), and you say it is bitter, I would tell you, “Please get your tongue checked. Something is wrong.”
Hatred towards the Avatar is because of jealousy, competitive spirit, ego, or foolishness, or because of reliance on physical strength. People rely on their physical strength: “Come on, I can fight.” Nobody is ready to fight with you, please fight with your own self! Those who rely on the mind are egoistic, while those who depend on their physical body are muscular. Naturally, they deny God. They don’t accept God.
It was King Herod
who denied God, after hearing of the birth of Jesus Christ. Someone said,
“Oh, King Herod, the King of Kings is born.” Herod himself was a king: “When I
am the King here, how can there be another king? I’ve got thousands of years to
live.
If there is another king, what will happen to me?” So King Herod’s position was
shaken and he felt threatened. Therefore, constant reliance on our position will
always make us feel shocked and shaken to our core.
King Herod had no hatred towards Jesus Christ; he had attachment to his own position. “If Christ is the King of Kings, what will happen to my kingdom?” An example: I am the convenor and you are trying for that position. (Laughter) I am in charge of the veranda. What will happen to my position if you are trying for that position? So instead of saying that Herod had hatred towards Jesus, let us put it this way—Herod had too much attachment to his position. For those of us who are attached to our position, naturally God is second priority. Our position is first priority! Herod was shaken and threatened, because his position was under great threat when the King of Kings was born. What did Herod do? Being the King, he sent orders: “Let all newborn babies be killed.”—with one ordinance, finished! But he did not know that infant Jesus could escape. Jesus’ parents took Him to some other place, so Herod could not find Him.
A similar thing happened to Krishna. When He was born, Kamsa sent a message to all his messengers: “Go finish him off.” But Krishna, like Jesus, could escape, because Krishna and Jesus have come with the purpose to change, reform and transform the likes of Kamsa and Herod. So Krishna could escape from Kamsa, and Jesus could escape from Herod, because He was taken away by His own parents. Therefore, the first category is Herod’s category: those who deny God, question, or criticise Him, because they feel insecure or threatened.
THE SECOND CATEGORY—RITUALISTIC WORSHIPPERS
There is a second category of people who have come to know of the birth of Jesus Christ. It was announced that Christ was born and there were priests, worshipping God in temples. They were busy with temple rituals, temple activities and worship. They represent the second category of people, meaning too much orthodoxy, too much tradition. Too much ritualism will make you unaware of the Avatar. Simple example: why is Baba not accepted by everyone? Why don’t people understand that Baba is God? Why? Even scholars and priests—temple priests—do not experience Him. Why? They are not reluctant, they are not against Baba, and they are not negatively disposed. They are just busy. Priests are always busy, busy, and busy. I am not criticising, since I am not inclined to that. I am just describing what I have seen.
I have been to some famous temples. When devotees go to the temple, what do they do? They join both their hands, close their eyes, and pray silently, and thank God for all the money, wealth and blessings they have, while the priest looks to the devotees for the coins they offer him. While devotees look at God, priests look at the devotees. (Laughter) That is the tragedy. The priest stays in the temple—can he not look at God? No, he looks at the devotees: “How many people have come to the temple? How many have given me money?” That is the paradox, the irony of life.
If you ask the priest, “Do you know God?”
“Yes.” He can tell you thousand slokas.
If you ask him, “Is this statue God?” he will reply “Why not?” He will tell you a thousand stories.
“Then why don’t you pray to Him? Why do you look at the devotees for coins which they give you?”
There is no time to think of God. They offer prayers mechanically, and go on chanting mantras—like a computer or a tape recorder—but they don’t understand the depth of it.
So the priestly class represents orthodox, traditional, and ritualistic people. Ritualism or orthodoxy will make you unaware of the Avatar. That is why some people don’t immediately recognise the Avatar. This is the second category of people who do not notice, do not bother, or are indifferent to our God. That is what happened in Jesus’ time also.
THE THIRD CATEGORY—T HE INTUITIVE AND WISE
When Jesus was born, it came to the notice of a few wise men. The Bible says there were three, but maybe there were more—let’s not be concerned about the number. The wise men knew of the birth of Jesus Christ. They came from different places to worship him. Guided by the star, they went o to the place of Jesus’ birth to see the Babe of Bethlehem.
Who is a wise man? It is not enough if I think I am a wise man. If anyone says I am wise, it is enough proof to say it is otherwise. (Laughter) No wise man would ever say, “I am wise,” no. Therefore, my friends, the Bible explains who is a wise man. The Bible clearly says, (paraphrased from the book of) James 3:13, “A wise man is one who leads a good life by deeds done in humility, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom.”
WISDOM VERSUS KNOWLEDGE
Like any law of science or any mathematics theorem, the Bible clearly explains that a wise man is one who leads a life of humility, who leads a good life, whose deeds are born of wisdom. These three points are very clear.
But then, who am I? How about my degrees? This is naturally a challenging question, my friends. What will happen to me? How do you say that I am not a man of wisdom? I want to bring to your notice one important point: this is wisdom as defined in the Bible; all the rest is knowledge.
“I have so much information--it is knowledge.”
“Keep quiet.”
“I have very little information, or no information, but there is a transformation in me”—that is wisdom.
“I remember things; I’ve got a computer brain.”—that is knowledge.
“I may not remember anything, but I’ll put into practice at least one thing.”—that is wisdom.
“I can think well, I can plan well, I can manage well, I can manipulate well.”—knowledge.
“I can discriminate, I can judge. I don’t know, but my intuition tells me I am correct.”—that is wisdom.
Wisdom is intuitive, knowledge is just scholarship. Therefore, ‘three wise men’ refers to those who are intuitive. When I say wise men, you may ask me, “How many degrees do they have? Are they PhD’s (Doctor of Philosophy)? Or DLit’s (Doctor of Letters)? Are they from Oxford or Cambridge?” They are fellows of knowledge. These wise men could know intuitively from within—they could feel in their heart, not think with their mind.
When you start thinking with your mind, you excel at covering your ignorance. Ignorance is covered by knowledge, do you know that? You talk to any knowledgeable man, a PhD or a D. Litt, and you tell him, “Sir…” He’ll say, “I know”. He doesn’t know—we know that. (Laughter) He will never say, “I don’t know,” because his knowledge will help him cover his ignorance, whereas wisdom will dispel ignorance.
So a wise man is one who is free from ignorance; a scholar is one who can conveniently cover his ignorance. Therefore, the wise men who knew the birth of Jesus Christ intuitively from within went to see him. What did they do? They gave him costly presents.
THE MECHANICAL CENTRE
My friends, there is one important point here: there are two centres in our personality. One centre is the mechanical centre; the other centre is the magnetic centre. I want your attention, please everyone—there are two centres in our personality. You may not be aware of their presence, which is ignorance. “I don’t feel it?”—ignorance.
What is the mechanical centre, and what is the magnetic centre, within every one of us? I hear everything that you tell me, I read everything that I come across, I read books, I listen to all kinds of things that are said to me—all this pertains to the mechanical centre. All this will go to the head—the mechanical centre will add information. It is all ‘stuff’, more garbage, unnecessary stuff. So that is all in the mechanical centre.
Suppose you keep talking to me, I cannot say, “Please stop it.” I cannot tell you, “Please leave me,” and you are not prepared to leave me. What can I do? I will mechanically hear whatever nonsense you speak. Most of us do that—we mechanically hear many people. It is not meaningful listening, is it? It is not attentive listening; it is mechanical, helpless hearing. It is not listening. Listening is attentive, hearing is helplessness.
You may have heard villagers play gramophones at a very high volume. You cannot ask them to stop, because they are local villagers—they will see that you are sent out of the village. I can’t stop them, I can’t close my ears, and so what do I do about the loud noise? I mechanically hear the loud noise. So the mechanical centre is one of helplessness, mechanically things go in—that’s all. Whatever you say, I reply, “Yes, yes.” That is the reason for confusion. We mechanically allow everything, that’s why we are confused.
If anyone says anything that is not acceptable to you, you don’t get away from there. We want to be in good favour with everyone. If anyone argues, “How can you say Baba is God?”, and he makes so many points, we just think mechanically. We can answer, “I know He is God. Please leave me. Go your own way. Thank you, all the best.” If he doesn’t leave me, I will offer a cup of coffee also. (Laughter) We don’t do that, because we are used to this mechanical life. Our life is mechanical. Our life is not discriminatory, our life is not judgmental—it simply welcomes.
We welcome everything into our stomach, so obesity is a problem. We watch television in the morning, and everyone speaks about how to be slim and trim—every Swamiji speaks of that, why? Obesity is a global problem, because the mouth has become an entrance. “Welcome. Ice cream?” “Yes, ten cups.” “Coffee?” “Yes, ten cups.” Come on; fill up with garbage, that’s all. (Laughter) Mechanical!
Some people go on eating mechanically. If you ask them what they are eating, they cannot reply because the mouth is busy twenty-four hours. That’s why I wonder when everyone says ‘breakfast’, were they ever fasting? No. (Laughter) You are eating continuously—if you fast for some time, you can break the fast and call it breakfast. There is no break, non-stop flight to New York! (Laughter) Mechanical life! Or we find two people talking for hours and hours. What do they talk about? We do not know, the speaker himself doesn’t know. What does the listener hear? Well, I do not know; he is just standing there out of curtesy, etiquette, decency, or manners. “But what happened?”
“He told me lots of things.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Lots of things. Let us meet again tomorrow.” (Laughter)
This is a mechanical problem—the mechanical centre goes on accepting what is heard, goes on consuming what is received. So this mechanical centre deals with the head, with information.
THE MAGNETIC CENTRE
But there is another centre called the magnetic centre. The magnetic centre is the heart. That which is precious, valuable, or spiritual will get in this centre. That which is ever-lasting, eternal, immortal, Divine will be recorded. All that is most precious and valuable will get into magnetic centre, which is the heart. So the head is the mechanical centre, while the heart is the magnetic centre.
Therefore, three wise men went to see the birth of Jesus Christ, meaning they went with functioning magnetic centres. Those who have a functioning mechanical centre, like temple priests, will go on chanting in the temple. The wise people knew of the birth of Jesus Christ because they could feel it in their heart, in their magnetic centre.
My friends, here I would like to draw your attention to another important feature that happens over thousands of years as the law of nature. Students of biology know this pretty well: in the beginning there was matter, and then we had the plant world, then the animal world, and finally the human world. The Veda explains this evolution process clearly. It is in the Veda chants that you hear, day in and day out here. The sound, wind, water, earth, plants, animals, humans—all the details, step by step, are explained in the Veda. Now, can you say “I have become a man in the course of evolution”? Can you say that? Evolution is not because of your effort, it has nothing to do with your skills or talent. Evolution has taken place automatically as the law of nature—you have no contribution. You cannot say, “Mr. Anil Kumar, you don’t know how hard I struggled as an animal to become a man.” (Laughter) I will say to you, “You are still an animal, you do not know.”
UNCONSCIOUS EVOLUTION
So animal becomes man in the course of evolution with no effort. It happens as the law of nature. This is what is called unconscious evolution. Unconscious evolution happens on its own without your will, without your effort, without your knowing, without your comprehension, and without your action. It takes place in spite of you. This is unconscious evolution: it takes place from age to age, from mineral matter to the plant world, to animal world and the human race.
Having been born a human being, having reached the climax of this unconscious evolution, having been at its zenith on the top of evolution, what is our job now? All human beings are on the top of this evolutionary process. Being at the top doesn’t mean we have to climb the mountain there and stand by the side of Hanuman. That top is different. I mean on the top of evolution—mineral, matter, plants, animal and man—through the process of unconscious evolution.
Now what are we to do? Will things happen automatically? No, my dear friends, hereafter understand—having reached the top as a human being, now it is time for your effort. “No, no, I won’t make any effort.” Then you will repeat birth, death, birth, death.
Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam
Punarapi Janani Jatarae Sayanam
Punarapi Janani Jatarae Sayanam
So birth and death is a cycle that goes on and on. Like some people who don’t read for their exams and end up having to repeat them, so too, our lives will be like punarapi jananam, that is, repetitive, because we allow mechanical routine to happen.
CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION
No, my friends, here comes the role of the spiritual, here comes the role of the Avatar. Baba repeatedly tells us we have to be aware of the Divinity within. Yesterday, Baba was talking. It was really a very pleasant surprise; none of us expected a discourse! Swami said we should have courage to say, “I am God.” Can we say that? When we say that, do we really mean it? When we say it but doubt it, do we live it? No. Therefore, we have to make a conscious effort to declare that I am God. This is called conscious evolution. So far, unconscious evolution has taken place. Now having reached this stage of human life, conscious evolution should take place. Conscious evolution calls for effort, sadhana, and a disciplined life. Conscious evolution calls for expansion, love, and sacrifice. Then you evolve into the Divine.
Therefore, my friends, there are two steps here: one is unconscious evolution, the other is conscious evolution. Now our job is to pass through conscious evolution so that we realise that humans are Divine and we experience the Divinity within—this is conscious evolution or inner revolution. So when the wise men went to where Jesus was born, they understand the birth of Jesus Christ; this is conscious evolution. I go to Prashanti Nilayam, I go for darshan, I see Bhagavan, I read the scripture, I chant His name—this is all conscious evolution to feel the Divinity within.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GIFTS FROM THE WISE MEN
And then what did the wise men do? They gave Him costly presents: gold, incense and myrrh. Three gifts were given: first, gold. Gold represents that which is most valuable. All over the world in the bullion market, people care for gold very much. The price is increasing and people want it, because it is very valuable. So the wise men have offered gold to the infant Christ. What is most valuable? Life is most valuable. Nothing is more valuable than life.
Suppose I tell you, “I will give you one lakh of rupees, are you going to die now?”
You would say, “I don’t want one lakh. I want to live.”
“No, no, I will give you two lakhs, please!”
“What nonsense! Get out!”
So nothing is more valuable than life. When these wise men offered gold, it meant they were offering their lives to the lotus feet of the infant Christ. Am I clear?
The second gift offered to Jesus Christ by the wise men was incense. If we light an incense stick, there is a wonderful fragrance, a beautiful aroma—a wonderful, beautiful smell all over the room. So what is the meaning of the incense offered to Christ by these wise men? Once you offer your life, your life becomes fragrant, your life becomes aromatic, and it spreads, just as incense spreads everywhere. So your life is going to spread. Your life is no longer limited to your body; your life is going to be a joy and a blessing to many. Your life will be an example to many. People will crave your company. That is the significance of incense.
The third gift the wise men offered happens to be myrrh. What is myrrh? It represents resurrection, meaning Christ died on the cross. He rose on the third day. Myrrh represents resurrection.
INNER SIGNIFICANCE OF SUPRABHATHAM
So, my friends, let’s not go by the story value alone. We have to understand the inner significance, that is, the mode of worship. Baba explains the inner significance of everything that we do, from yagna to the night prayer that you have to say before you retire. He gives you the meaning of all that you are supposed to do from the moment you get up from your bed.
All spiritual activities have inner significance. Why do we sing the Suprabhatham (morning chant)? Suprabhatham actually means ‘waking up’. Does God ever sleep? If God sleeps, what will happen to us? He doesn’t sleep. Watch Bhagavan. Those who are with Him will agree with me when I say He never sleeps. He simply tosses on the bed; He never sleeps, just tosses this way and that way. So those who sleep in His room have to be very careful.
Once while we were in Bombay, Swami said, “Come on, come to my room and sleep.”
I know it is a Divine risk. (Laughter) I immediately said, “Swami, I snore and I don’t want to disturb You.”
He said, “Yes, you snore, I know. Please go.” (Laughter)
So my snoring has helped me (Laughter)—it is very difficult for us to be awake and alert because He never sleeps. You do not know when He may need your services, so you should always be alert. So snoring has become a natural blessing to me.
When we sing the Suprabhatham, whom are we going to wake up? Who is sleeping? God never sleeps. Then whom are you waking up? My friends, the spirit within me, or the consciousness within me, is inactive—it needs to be awakened. If I am in deep sleep, the consciousness has to be awakened. Consciousness must come in order to experience, so you are awakening. That awareness is Suprabhatham. Being aware of consciousness is Suprabhatham, or waking up.
There are some people who claim, “I sing the Suprabhatham excellently.”
I say, “Please go on singing. Please do it. Please record it. I wish you success.”
The singing and hymns are only mechanical; the depth, the significance is becoming aware of one’s own Divinity—that’s what the Suprabhatham is. The worship of every deity, the chanting of every mantra, has a significance that has to be understood, or else it becomes only a mechanical center, as I told you.
PROOF OF DIVINITY IN DIVINE ACTION
Therefore, my friends, Jesus’ life is associated with so many details of this type, and every minute detail has significance behind it. In the Gospel according to John 3:2, Nicodemus tells all the members of the council that Jesus is a teacher, that Jesus performs miracles, and that He is God. All of us may be blind, but there are some with vision who can see Him. Nicodemus tells of Jesus’ actions, which were signs of Divinity that all the others could not know.
During Baba’s childhood, many people thought that He was a madman, and many people ignored Him. One time an officer, a great devotee of Shirdi Bhagavan, came to Puttaparthi. When Baba started claiming that He is Shirdi reincarnate, the officer was called to Bhagavan, who was a young boy at that time.
Immediately Baba said, “You have been worshipping Me, but you have not recognised Me,” meaning, you have been worshipping me as Shirdi Baba and you have not recognised me as the reincarnation of Shirdi.
Therefore, we may worship, but we may not know whom we worship. We may meditate, but we may not know whom we meditate upon, because we are lost in the process itself. Therefore, Nicodemus says all the miracles that Jesus has performed are proof of His Divinity, proof that Jesus is Divine.
If anyone asks, “Is Baba God?” we can say, “All that He does, only God can do.” All that He does, all that He has accomplished as of now, only God can do—no human can ever do that. Even if we were gifted with a life span of five hundred years, we would not be able to do a fraction of what He has done. Therefore all His actions are the proof of His Divinity, just as Nicodemus said, all that Jesus did is enough proof of His Divinity.
NO BIRTH, NO DEATH
Again in the Gospel of John 3:3, it is clearly said, unless you are born again, you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. That is, you cannot get into the kingdom of God unless you are born again. We are already bored with one birth, why should we be born again? Why? How does it help us? What does being born again mean?
Someone asked, “Oh Lord, I am already ninety years old! What do you mean by being born again? Do you want me to die now, commit suicide, and try for the next life?” No, no, no. In Sanskrit there is a word, dwija, meaning twice-born. So even in this life we are to be born again. What does it mean to be born again? We are born as a human. As Baba was asking us yesterday, what is birth? The appearance of the body is birth; the disappearance of the body is death, while You remain birthless and deathless.
You are birthless and deathless; your body has a birth, therefore the body has a death. Yesterday He said this so beautifully! Because of my immediate responsibility to translate, I had to do it; otherwise, every sentence makes me get lost, as I contemplate that statement. Sometimes that happens, and I have to be corrected, admonished, and set back on track. (Laughter) What to do? The Divine statements are so precious!
When He says there is no birth and no death, what does He mean? There is a burial ground: if there is no death, how can there be a burial ground? Chithravathi Road takes you straight there! If there is no death, what is the job to do? If there is no birth, what is the job of the gynecologist in the maternity ward of the hospital?
“I AM I”
So there is birth, my dear, there is death—but to what? Not to you, to your body. This is the second life. I am born again, meaning to know that I am not the body, to know that I am not the mind, to know that I am not the intellect, that “I am what I am.” As Baba says, “I am I.” I am no longer a man with a name. Yesterday Baba said, “You say Rama, Krishna, Christ, and Allah: these are the names given to God, but God has no names. He is nameless, beyond all names.”
Therefore my friends, our names are given to us, but we are not born with a name. So I am not the name that is given to me by my parents; I am not the profession that I do; I am not the country where I stay. I am not my age either. I am not even the gender, because the real ‘I’ is neither man nor woman. When one is in a deep sleep, can one say, “I am in a deep sleep?” If he does, then there must be something wrong with him; he is not sleeping at all, he is imagining. Can a woman in deep sleep say, “Don’t disturb me?” She is pretending to sleep. In deep sleep you are beyond gender. You are not the gender, you are not the nationality, you are not the profession, and you are not the name. Then what are you? ‘I am I.’
So that state of ‘I am I’ is the rebirth or conscious evolution. All that has happened until now is unconscious evolution, until we reach the state of manhood, and become part of the human race. Thereafter comes conscious evolution, which will finally make us say, “I am I.”
Therefore, my friends, when it is clearly said that the descent of God is for the ascent of man, when the Holy Bible says that you should be born again, it means you have been living as a body or an ego, you have been living as an expert or a specialist. You should be born again, so that you can say, “I am eternal. I am I.”
I AM ZERO, GOD IS THE HERO
You might say, “What do I get by all this? I can read some books, practice, earn a little more.” What do we get by all this? What do I get by conscious evolution? Unconscious evolution made me a rich man.”
What is it? I get it. Yesterday Baba said…..I am quoting from the latest, because we don’t want outdated, outmoded fashion, no, no, no. We want the latest…that is why I am talking about what Baba said yesterday. What did He say? Yesterday Baba said, “One zero has no value. If you put number one by its side, it is ten. Put another zero, ten becomes one hundred, another zero makes one thousand. Any number of zeros has a value, provided there is a number one there.” Without number one, you may put any number of zeros—the result will still be zero. For example, a hundred zeros will remain zero, thank you. So that number one is the hero, and you and I are zeros. To know that He is the hero is rebirth. Unless you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. In other words, “I am a zero, He is the hero” is the second birth or second life—it is the resurrection.
In the Gospel according to Matthew 16:26, it is clearly said, what if you gained the whole world without awareness? If you don’t have this awareness, this knowledge that ‘I am I’, what use is it if you own the whole world? It’s nothing—give it up! Without awareness, the whole world is worthless, that’s what Matthew’s Gospel says. Therefore, with this awareness and experience, all the rest that we have in life has value, or else it looses value.
That is the reason why Swami says, that in order to get the knowledge to be successful in this world, we need the knowledge to be successful in life after death—that is awareness. In this life, strive for knowledge beyond life, Brahma vidya– the awareness of the Self—that’s what Bhagavan says. Therefore we should always strive hard. Life is valuable only if we have this awareness of the self. This is the point.
“I AM SEARCHING FOR A DEVOTEE”
In earlier days, when Swami used to talk frequently to everyone and there was a huge crowd, Swami would come out of his interview room, saying: “Korikaluval awa, korikaluval awa,” meaning all those with desires have assembled here. The big gatherings comprised devotees who had desires, petitions, memorandums, requests, prayers, or submissions—“Swami, my promotion,” “Swami, first child is to be born,” “Swami, eye problem,” “joint problem”—all problematic items that God will hear! That’s what Swami says, “Korikaluval awa,” meaning their desires brought them here.
He was totally vexed with this group, this group full of desires. He said in one of the poems in Telugu, “There are crores (hundreds of thousands) and crores of people, but I don’t find a single, sincere devotee. I am in search of a sincere devotee,” said Baba.
I don’t know why He is searching—all of the ashram buildings are full, and the accommodation office says no accommodation is available. The chanting people say, “We can’t take any more people, please come on time.” (Laughter) But He is searching for a devotee! Then who are we? All badges are distributed, all lines are full, all the halls are full, but still He says, “I am in search of a devotee!”
It means we can call ourselves devotees if we are really free of desire. It is desire that makes us devoted to the desire, and not devoted to God. That is, I am a devotee devoted to desire, but I am not devoted to God. That’s why Baba has said, “Hundreds and hundreds of crores of people are there, but I am waiting for one genuine, sincere devotee.” This is not only a problem for Baba—no, no, no—it was not only Baba’s problem. It was a problem for Christ also. All Avatar incarnations have problems with devotees.
In Romans 3:11, it is clearly said that there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away. They have together become worthless—a package deal, all have become worthless. If I speak on my own you may think I am arrogant or egoistic or speaking some nonsense. But no, this is Biblical—standard, scriptural, sanctioned.
Therefore, my friends, this Christmas should help us be true devotees, so that Baba will say that you are a devotee. But we are so intolerant, we can’t wait until He says so. If I say that I am a devotee of Baba, then I become questionable in the sight of others. It is for Baba to say, “You are a devotee.” It is not for me to say, “I am a devotee.” If all of us say we are devotees, then why should He be in search of a devotee? It means none of us are true devotees from His point of view. Therefore, He is searching tirelessly at the age of eighty-two. This was a problem for Christ also. So what did Jesus Christ mean? Strive to be a true devotee, above the realms of desires, that is what He said.
THE SPIRITUAL PATH, THE NARROW WAY
Naturally, there are many people who get vexed with all this. Why all this getting up early in the morning, and going for darshan, which is uncertain, sitting there for hours and hours, hours and hours? Why all this, and evening time concluding about 7? Someone was telling me, “I don’t know about liberation, but I know one thing—joint pain!” (Laughter)
The Holy Bible clearly tells us: my dear fellow, look here, there are two roads. One is eighty feet or one hundred feet wide, very wide, like highways in Los Angeles or Chicago with six to eight vehicle lanes. You can go straight. But there is also another road, like the ones in London, Oxford or Cambridge, particularly Oxford, where the lanes are very narrow. I wonder if a lorry can go there? They want to preserve the ancient historical architecture. It is something really marvellous to preserve ancient history, hats off to them. The buildings are retained as they have been through history—buildings where Indira Gandhi studied, for example, or where Jawaharlal Nehru or Sir Isaac Newton studied. Buildings are retained as they were, classrooms also, but the roads are very narrow. Therefore, there are two roads: one is a broad way, a highway, and the other a narrow road, so difficult to pass through.
The Holy Bible says many prefer to go through the broad way, the highway. Many people don’t want to pass through the narrow way. This narrow way is the spiritual path, a difficult path, a tough path. The narrow way is a challenging testing. The broad highway is comfortable; many people go that way. But we have chosen this narrow way. If anyone says, “I am tired,” you can ask him, “Who asked you to sit here? You have chosen to be here; you wanted to be here. It is your desire, your merits, and His grace that have brought you here. There is no reason to complain.” If anyone complains, it is due to ignorance, because you are brought here by Baba, you have chosen to be here and you prayed to be here. You have been praying and praying to be here. Having come here, if you complain, “I am tired,” then who can help you?
My friends, let us understand that we are treading along the narrow path, which is tough, testing, and challenging, but worth it. Diamonds are sold in a shop located on the tenth floor, while fish is available on the ground floor. Would you like to buy fish because they are available on the ground floor? No, it is worth going to the tenth floor to buy diamonds. The lift may not be functioning, but diamonds are more valuable. Therefore, my friends, the narrow path, though tough, is worth it.
It is clearly said in Matthew 7:13: “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” Many accidents occur on the broad way. On the narrow way there are no accidents. Because nobody goes there, there is no traffic—you can go conveniently. Orthopaedic surgeons will not have any practice on the narrow way because there are no accidents there. On the broad ways, hospitals are busy with accidents and incidents. (Laughter) Therefore the spiritual path is safe, but yes, it is challenging, according to the Gospel, book of Matthew, which I wanted to share with you.
A PEACEFUL LIFE IS A BLISSFUL LIFE
How do we know that we are travelling through this life successfully? Suppose we are on the narrow path, how can we tell it is the correct path, the right path?
You can tell from facial expressions. Look at the faces of people, particularly of the rich and of those in power. Their faces are never happy, they never smile. They have forgotten to smile as their bank balance is increasing. Political leaders never laugh, and even if they laugh it is plastic, artificial, synthetic laughter. So as Swami was telling us yesterday, a peaceful life, a blissful life, is more important than a rich life, a luxurious life, an extravagant life, a life of power and position. So for those of us who are travelling along the narrow path—though troublesome, cumbersome, and inconvenient—it is worth it, because we are going to be blissful!
My friends, we will be meeting again next week to share more thoughts from the Holy Bible, coinciding with the celebration of Holy Christmas. Thank you very much for your presence and attention. (Applause)
Jai Bolo Bhagawan Sai Babaji! JAI!
Jai Bolo Bhagawan Sai Babaji! JAI!
Jai Bolo Bhagawan Sai Babaji! JAI!
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