July 22^nd, 2007

“Significance of Guru Purnima”

(Part 2)

 OM…OM…OM…

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Dear Friends,

Guru PURNIMA

This morning we are going to study the role of the guru in our lives. This is the second part of this talk. Last week we also dealt with the importance of Guru Purnima and the role of the guru in the spiritual path. This morning we will continue in the same tone and breath, on the same topic, and see how best we can learn.

unity

My friends, it is the guru who teaches us the principle of oneness, unity. I would like to draw your attention to one important point. Unity is not merely coming together; unity is not merely agreeing on an issue; unity does not mean people of the same ideology come together. 

This unity I am referring to this morning is something beyond, something more than the ordinary understanding. Our understanding of unity is at the physical level, our understanding of unity is at the psychological level, but I would like to take you to the para-psychological level of unity. Parapsychology or mystical aspects of unity, what do I mean by that?

Unity, from the spiritual point of view, is the awareness of one organic entity, the experience of organic oneness. To be a little clearer, when I respond, when I react to all that is around me, there is unity. There is happiness in one corner of the world, if I am also happy here. Yes, this is unity. There is tragedy in one part of the world, like the plane crash in some part of Brazil, where two hundred people died. When anything tragic happens, you feel badly about it, you feel very sorry about it, and you are totally disturbed. Something happened at a far-off place, to those about whom you have no idea. You have no idea about those people at all. But when there is suffering in one corner of the world, you also suffer. Likewise, when there is happiness in one corner of the world, you are also quite happy. This is what we call ‘unity’; this is what I call ‘receptivity’; this is what I call ‘reaction’. Only then can we say that we are united. This is spiritual unity.

When a big tree is cut off with an axe, you feel the pain. When an animal bleeds heavily, you feel the pain. When the street dog cries in agony, you feel badly. When birds fly across the sky, ah, you feel like jumping in joy, you feel like flying on your own (though that is not physically possible, as things stand now). You are happy with stars, you are happy with birds, you are happy with rivers and flowers. It does not matter whether it is a lily flower or big marigold; it doesn’t matter.

So, reacting to every situation of every single life, whether it is a plant, a bird, an ant, an animal, a flower, or a mountain, reacting positively and sharing is what is called unity. This sort of unity we will understand from being in the company of the Divine Master. So Guru Purnima calls for this feeling of oneness with the entire universe.

unity is oneness

Take, for example, unity, universe, and university. Universe, unity, the root syllable uni- is common in all. We should be able to experience the unique oneness that is unity. At the spiritual level, at the spiritual realm, that is what is meant by unity. When you enjoy the cool breeze, well, you are lost where you are. When you see the clouds passing by, you forget all else. At this moment I recall what had happened to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa happened to watch birds flying across the sky. When he saw birds moving in a group, he lost his consciousness; he became one.

So, unity is not a point of agreeing, is not a point of agreement, and is not a point of living together. By unity, I mean, there is no second. The one-without-a-second is real unity, only-one without-a-second, yes, uni-, unity. This we experience from the Divine presence of our Master. We find many people, many gurus who always live alone, who always want to be left to themselves. They want to keep away from the maddening crowd. They want to spend life in a hermitage, in the forest or on a mountain top, because that gives them an experience of the excitement of oneness with Nature.

Therefore, my friends, Guru Purnima conveys this important point of experiencing oneness with the reality, oneness with Nature. You are one with Nature, you are one with God. In fact there is no second at all. One-without-a-second is the real interpretation of the word unity. Where the individual merges in the cosmic entity, where the individual is one with the universal—this should be the sadhana, as we get into the celebration of Guru Purnima. 

The opposite situation is this: If you consider yourselves divided, you are divided: “I am divided on geographical, linguistic considerations.” There are plants, there are animals; after all, there are children, and there are elderly people. But if we get divided, we end up in madness. So division is madness, unity is the reality. Division is the way of the world; unity is the path of a seeker. So let us get united spiritually, so that we experience the Divine within. In spirit we are one. That is the message to keep in mind during this Guru Purnima season.

spirituality is THE path of knowing

The next situation is this. (These points have got to be repeated a number of times because we have not yet gotten used to that kind of life we read, hear and talk about spiritually.) Unless we live up to our thoughts, live up to the teachings, live up to the scriptures, we cannot say we know.

People say, “I know I know.” What do you know? You do not know that you don’t know! (Laughter) I was talking to students two days back. The one who knows he knows, is a wise man—follow him. The one who knows that he knows not, teach him. The one who knows not that he knows not, is a fool--shun him. Therefore, learning the scriptures, learning the scriptures by heart, quoting the scriptures profusely, is the job of a computer, not of a spiritual seeker. (Laughter)  

Spirituality is not a matter of memory. There are machines that can memorise much better. Spirituality is not for memory; it is not for repetition. Spirituality has to be lived. Spirituality has to be experienced. It is in this area that we find people leading a life of divergence. It is not the life of convergence; it is the life of divergence. Convergence means living up to the scriptures and living up to the teaching; divergence is in a different direction. Therefore, we do not find solace, comfort, and happiness, even in ashrams, because our life is one of divergence and not of convergence. We have to learn to live up to the scripture. Then only can we say, “I know.” Till then, we should be plain enough to say, “I do not know.” We are in the process of knowing, friends. This is a very important point.

Knowing is superior to knowledge. Some people say, “I know.” That is knowledge. Some people say in physics, “I know.”  “How do you know?”  “I have a PhD, M.Sc.” Okay, that is knowledge. Bioscience?  “Yes, I know.”  “Why?”  “I have a Master’s degree.”  Okay, that is knowledge.

Spirituality is not knowledge; spirituality is not knowledge! If you reduce the level of spirituality to knowledge, it is an allergy, and allergy is not knowledge. Spirituality is the path of knowing. It is not the state of to have known. That which is known is knowledge. That which is in the process of knowing is the path of a seeker.

Yes, I am knowing means I am open. I am knowing things means I am still innocent. I am knowing means I am still fresh. I am knowing means I am still a child, fresh and open. When once he says, “I know,” he has closed his doors. All his knowledge is an experience of another man. When I say, “I am knowing, I am knowing,” it is my experience. When you say, “I know,” you know it is somebody else’s experience, not yours.

So, in the process of knowing, you are in the first person. In the process of to have known knowledge, it is the third person, second-hand, a carbon copy, Xerox, cut and paste business. Earlier it was not like that. People used to study a lot, read a lot, and do some research. But today, cut and paste—PhD next day. “I will get some information from Google, cut and paste.” Google information, double the information, PhD! (Laughter) I am not making fun of people. Okay, let us do like that, but spirituality is not like that. Spirituality is not given to that ‘cut and paste’ process.

I am using computer language. Sorry, I don’t know anything about it. God has protected me from that field. We find people spending hours and hours and hours in front of the computer. I am afraid they must be pressing the mouse in their sleep also! Even children go on watching video games and all that. Earlier, parents had to buy so many toys for the children. Today it is not necessary. Give him one computer and it will keep him busy till the end of his life! (Laughter) Friends, I am not against modernity; I am not against the latest developments, no. Let us be modern, yes. But at the same time, spirituality is something different. It wants you to know. It never wants you to say, “I know.” Why? In knowing, you are fresh. In knowing, you experiment.  In knowing, you experience. In knowing, you are important. On the other hand, when you say, “I know, I read, I heard,” it is second-hand information.  It is already gone; it is past knowledge.

Spirituality wants you to know for yourself; whereas, in the world you can know from somebody else. What Archimedes said, what Pascal said, what Galileo said, what Newton said, if you know well, you will get one hundred percent in physics. But in spirituality, you know, but still you will get a zero. You get a zero, though you know. Why? Because you have not experienced, because you are not practicing. Therefore, Guru Purnima wants us to continue in the process of knowing, not in the process of gathering second-hand knowledge. I think, to the best of my ability, I make myself clear.

“this too shall pass”

Third point: Guru Purnima also wants us to bear in mind another important point. What is this? How can I say I have benefited by the proximity to God? How can I say I very much profited by being here? How do you say that you are enjoying God’s presence or that being in the guru’s presence is not lip service?

Many people say, “How are you?” “Very fine!”  32 Colgate Dental Cream advertisement! (Laughter) We know they are not fine.  They are not fine. Not that I want every one of us to cry, and say “No, No.” Let us be happy.

What I really want to say is that a man who is exposed to the guru should have a balanced state of mind.  What do I mean by balanced state of mind? Equanimity, tranquility. What do I mean by that? Any situation shall not stay for long. Everything has to come to a close at one point of time or other.

We are dancing, okay, tonight we all dance, good. But that has to end sometime. I cannot go on dancing throughout the day. “Yes, I relish food.”  Good, but you cannot go on eating twenty-four hours. “I like music.” Good, you cannot go on listening. “No,” you say? “Please stop it, let me enjoy silence.” You enjoy silence also. Why do you enjoy silence? Because of noise, you enjoy silence.

Why do you enjoy nighttime? Because of hard work that you do during the day, you enjoy sleep at night. Why do you like the daytime? It is the time when you work and earn your daily bread. That way, day and night helps you. The night gives you rest; the day gives you work. So night and day have been beneficent, having sources of benefit, sources of profit and advantage. Nobody can say, “Oh God, I want only nighttime.” Nocturnal animals should pray like that. Nobody can say, “I want only daytime,” because you get tired. You want to sleep sometimes, so switch off the light. “Let me sleep peacefully.”

Therefore, what I want to bring to your attention is this: a firm conviction that this too will pass, this too will pass. It may be a moment of joy, or it may be a moment of grief. It may be a moment of jubilation, or it may be a moment of humiliation. It may be a moment of music, or it may be a moment of misery. It may be a moment of smiles, or a moment of tears.  Every moment we have to bear in mind that quotation, “This too will pass. This too will pass.” 

Swami gives an example of Dharmaraja from the Mahabharata. Well, all those people were feeling so sad: “We, the Pandavas, five of us lead a virtuous life, led life righteously. How is it that we have to spend our lives in exile? It would be quite unbearable for a prince to live in a forest. It will be unthinkable for a prince to lie down on the floor. It is unthinkable for a prince to partake of leaves and tubers available in the forest, leaving all his banquet and his sumptuous, delicious meal. It is not an easy thing.”

When they were feeling so sorry, Lord Krishna gave a mantra. He wrote it on a leaf and rolled it, and told Dharmaraja, “Keep this mantra with you. Don’t open and read it until such time when you find the difficulties unbearable. At that moment, if you feel, ‘Oh God, I cannot bear it any longer! Oh, Swami, no, no! Put a stop to this suffering! I cannot bear it any longer,’ well, at that point of saturation, at that unbearable moment, you just open the leaf and see the mantra, and you will be free from the problem,” said Krishna.

Dharmaraja obeyed like a devotee and kept that mantra in his pocket. They were to spend one year incognito (agnathavasa), incognito meaning without being identified, without being noticed. Without being recognised, they had to spend one year. At that time, they were feeling very sorry. It is very difficult to lead a life of non- recognition, because you want recognition. We want recognition. “I may be nothing, but let me be recognised for that--being nothing.” (Laughter)

One gentleman was contesting for elections. I said, “For what?” “Sir, President of the Unemployed Union.” (Laughter)  Unemployed, he wants to be the president of that union, very good! So recognition is important, and to lead a life of not being recognised is not a small thing.

At that time, Dharmaraja recollected what Krishna told him, and read the mantra. What is that mantra? “This too will pass.” (Laughter)  “This too will pass,” meaning what? You are crying, feeling miserable and fatigued, but the mantra says, “This too will pass.” Therefore, my friends, Guru Purnima wants us to keep in mind, consciously, every moment, the wonderful mantra, “This too will pass.” Nothing is going to stay permanently. Nothing is eternal in this world, good or bad.

“Then what should I do?” Don’t do (Laughter), don’t do. “Sir, what is my role?” You have no role. “So what am I supposed to do now?” Just watch. Just hear me helplessly! (Laughter) We can also watch various situations in our lives, watch what is happening, that’s all. When you get identified with that, then comes the pleasure or pain. “I see that things are perfect and very nice, going in a positive way; I just observed.” Good. But if I think: “This positivity is because of me, and, oh, good things are happening because of me,” that is tragedy. Just watch. Anything negative happening, everything ending up in failure, blame, or pain, we should also watch. Why? This too will pass. “No, sir, this won’t pass.” Come on, try! When I identify myself with pleasure or pain, reactions, bumps, jumps, tears—all such things come. But the guru’s teachings, the Divine Master’s teachings, are not to get perturbed, not to get disturbed, not to get identified with any situation, because that too will pass. It means my role here is only as a witness, that’s all.

i am only a witness

I cannot say that the sunrise or sunlight is because of me. You know that. I asked the sun last night, “Be there by 6:30 in the morning, understand?” (Laughter) You cannot take credit for the sunrise. On a bright moonlit night you cannot say, “The moon is my uncle, so I asked him to shine brightly.” (Laughter) No, you enjoy the moonlight, you enjoy the daytime. You cannot say, “I asked this rose flower to be beautiful; therefore it is beautiful.” No, no, it is beautiful in spite of you! (Laughter) Just as you witness, just as you enjoy a flower, just as you enjoy moonlight, just as you watch the sunrise, let us also witness all the happenings in our own lives.

“In my life, this has happened.” All right. “In my life right now, this is happening.” Okay. So, be a watcher, watch as a watcher. Be a witness to your own life, just as you go to a film, or cinema, or a movie. The cinema is going on, but you just watch, that is all.

“No, sir, I don’t watch.”

“What do you do?”

“I also cry.”

“Why?”

“The heroine is crying.”

Therefore he is also crying, very good! She is simply crying, pretending. Actually she is not crying because the rate is fixed--crying for one hour, so much money! (Laughter) So why should you cry? You don’t get any money for it! (Laughter) And you purchased the ticket also, so you lost money. He gets money for crying; I cry and still lose money. Let me also get some money, why not?

So my friends, just as you see a cinema, remember that what all is happening is just a projection. With a projector, you are watching a film. Our lives are redeemed, our lives are liberated, our lives are paradisical (if I may use that phrase), our life turns heavenly if we can just watch the situations of our own life as we watch a movie. This is the science of a spiritual seeker. How do you say that?

Gurus go beyond body level

Many people came to Ramana Maharshi: “Swami, you were operated on. We see you now and think, ‘How painful it is!’” And Ramana Maharshi said, “Does my body look so, really? Is it painful?” That is what Ramana Maharshi asked. The people, upon seeing him, started crying. But he started joking about his own body: “See, these cuts are so beautiful. I never thought they could be so beautiful. Like precious gems, how my flesh is shining, you see. How beautiful it is!”  So he was just witnessing his body, while other people were crying about it.

Then Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was on his death bed and not able to drink a drop of water, when people advised him, “Swami, please take rest. Because of throat cancer, you are not able to eat, you are not able to drink, so please take rest.” He said, “When all of you are eating, when all of you are drinking water, do I need to eat separately? Do I need to drink water separately? When you all take, that is enough.”

“Bhagavan Baba, You are too tired. Swami, why don’t You take rest? We saw You moving a number of times. We saw You going around, making repeated rounds for devotees. Swami, please take rest.”

Swami will turn serious, and with a stern look, He says, “Rest? I don’t want it. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.”

“Swami, You are tired.”

“No, no.”

“You are tired.”

“I am never tired!” (Laughter) Oh I see!

Some people ask Him, “Swami, how are You now?”

 He says, “I am always fine. How are you, first?”

 “Swami, is there any pain there?”

“You may have pain. I never had pain, no pain at all.”

I see. How is He able to say that? He is able to say that because He has gone beyond the body level. So a sadguru, a Divine Master, will always tell us to witness what is happening in our lifetime right in front of us, without being identified with the situations.

Suppose a function is a great success. If we go to the convener or Sai center president and say, “Sir, the function went on well--congratulations!” he will not say, “It’s Swami’s grace.”

Instead he will announce, “You know what kind of planning we did? You know how many meetings we had? You know (Laughter) the number of people involved? You know that.?!”

“Okay, enough! I have known enough. It is my mistake to have asked that question (Laughter), nothing wrong with you!”

Therefore, the moment we regard what is happening and think, “I am not bothered, I am not concerned; things are just happening like that; I am only the witness,” that is the real quality of a spiritual seeker or an aspirant.

life is a dream, REALIsE it!

The next point: Since many have gathered here for Guru Purnima and the international conference, we have hearing many funny stories. Somebody will come and say, “I had a beautiful dream last night.” Somebody will say, “Last night Swami appeared in my dream and wanted me to meet you.” Somebody will come and say, “Swami appeared in my dream and took me to heaven.”

There is a very big man, a very important person (VIP), who always speaks about dreams. “Swami has taken me to heaven, and Swami (in the dream) taught me the whole Bhagavad-Gita. Then Swami has taken me to Kailasa,” and we simply hear and smile.

But boys are boys, you know. One student came and said, “Sir, I have a comment.” I am very free with boys. I said, “What is your comment?” He said, “Sir, Swami has taken this VIP to heaven. It would have been very nice had He dropped him there! Why did He bring him back?” (Laughter) He could have dropped him there, because we are having such a difficult time with him now. Had he left him there in heaven, it would have been very convenient! We don’t envy him, nor would we like to copy him either, because we are not prepared to go to heaven now. It is still a long way to go, still some time.”

“Life is a dream, realize it,” says Baba. It is not my interpretation. As I always say, I don’t speak on my own nor interpret. Life is a dream, realise it! What does it mean? The dream I had last night is not here now. In last night’s dream, I was there in a Rolls Royce car, or a seven-star hotel. Wow, last night! Last night, I was a very important man, sitting on an important chair. Now, in waking state, I am pushed by a seva dal, out! That is all (Laughter), 50th row only! What is true? What is true?

The truth of your being very important in the dream is as true as your being unimportant now. Your being on the chair last night in the dream is as true as being pushed out by the seva dal volunteers this morning. Why? Because, that is a night dream and this is a daydream. This is a daydream; that is a night dream. (Laughter) So when the night dream commences, there will be no daydream. Yes, when the daydream is in full swing, there is no night dream. Some people can dream in the day also, because they have special powers of getting into samadhi while at work, in the classroom, or on the platform. Some can sleep in standing posture because of advanced technology. Some can sleep with their eyes open also (Laughter), some extra powers you know!

So my friends, what I want to impress upon you is that what you dreamt last night is gone. What you experience now is gone, because both these situations are dreams only. Some people will have some dreams in the night brought forward from the morning account. Suppose that in the day you are tortured, so in the dream also you continue to be tortured, because it is the extension counter. (Laughter)

No, no, my friends, it shouldn’t be like that. Let us understand life is a dream, realise it, means that, that is as true as this. This is as true as that. Both are gone. With the coming of one, the other disappears. With the loss of one, the other exists. As the day begins, the night is gone. As the night starts, the day is gone. It is something like that. It is the earth that moves; the sun remains there in the center. When the earth is towards the sun, it is day. When the earth reverses, it is night. Am I right? But the sun is there in the center, that’s all. He remains where he is.

Similarly, dreams come and go, but you, the dreamer, are there all through. You are the dreamer, but not the dream. Dreams are many; dreamer is one. Suppose I say, “I met Anil Kumar last night in the dream. I am this Anil Kumar now whom you see.” I am sure none of you will be here next time, because you have come here to listen to what Swami said, not anything from a mad man! How can I be different in the night dream? The very same man, the one who dreamt last night, is the one who is dreaming now, the same.

So, dreams are many--daydreams, night dreams, horrible dreams, terrible dreams, wonderful dreams. Some people had a wonderful dream last night. Please go on dreaming like that, please. So, the dreamer is more important than the dream. The dreamer is constant, while the dream is transient. The dreamer is the reality, while the dream is false. The dreamer is the Divine, the dream is but a theme. The dreamer is a constant, the dream is changing. Am I clear, please? Therefore, this Guru Purnima should help us know the real dreamer, and not be carried away by scenes of duality, not be carried away by dreams of the night or dreams of the day, because the dreamer is eternal.

 “So, sir, what should I do?” To know the dreamer, you do not need dreams. No, you need visions. So, let us have visions, not dreams. Let us be careful in our usage. You can say I had a vision, but never say I had a dream. Because dreams are psychological reactions; dreams are unfulfilled desires; dreams are incomplete tasks. But visions are Divine.

I am not dismissing what you dream about Baba. I am not denying what you dream about Swami. The dreams you have with Swami are not really dreams; they are visions. Whereas all that you dream, like being President of America, is just a passing dream. All that you dream, like owning Birla Palace, is but a dream. However, Swami being near you--talking to you, consoling you, cajoling you, advising you, directing you--is not a dream. It is a vision. So, spiritual phenomena are visions, while physical, mental phenomena are dreams. Therefore, let this Guru Purnima help us have visions, which are totally Divine and spiritual.

Spirituality is for “being”

I have another point to share with you. We are always enamored with doing something. I do this. I do that. Some people say, “You know what I do?”

“Oh, sir, what?”

“I get up at 3 o’clock.”

“Oh! Good.”

“I go to the temple.”

“Fine.”

“I do that. I do this. I do that.”

“Very good!”

What I feel is: if you say you get up at 4 o’clock, I would say, why not 3 o’clock or don’t sleep at all!? Very fine. Is sleeplessness a sadhana, or is sleeplessness a disease? For your information, sleep is good. Ask doctors. No doctor advises you to be sleepless. If you are sleepless, there is something wrong with you. Sleep, but not throughout the day, because we want to do something and advertise, that is the pity!

 “I write some small poems, you know, ones I have written.” 

“Are you John Milton?  Why such publicity?”

“I want you to know that I am a writer also.”

“Is that so?”

Please save the world from you! The point is that announced doings are all actions--actions for publicity, which are full of ego and full of propaganda. They are society-oriented. They are for recognition.

My friends, let us not live for doing and announcing our activities. Let us live for our being. Being is more important than doing. So, spirituality wants me to concentrate on my being and not on my doing. Why? When once I know my being, I can feel the center of the universe. The center of this universe is very much the same as my own being. My own being is very much the same as your being.

There may be many numbers of circles, but all these circles will have the same center. So that center is like the being, while all the circles are like the doings. Doings are many, many different areas, different peripheries, or different dimensions, but the center is one and the same being.

Therefore my friends, let this Guru Purnima help us meditate upon our being and not think of our doings, because the more doings or actions there are, the further you are from the center. And the bigger the circle, the farther you are away from its center. So, the smaller the circle, the nearer you are to the center; while the bigger the circle, the further you are from the center. So, doings take you away from the center, because being is the reality. Let us limit the periphery of our human activity, our doings, so that we will be closer to our being, which is universal.  I wanted to share that with you this morning.

knowing our value

The other thing I want to draw your attention to is this: May this Guru Purnima help us know the value of our lives. We know the value of everything, but unfortunately we do not know our own value, meaning the value of our life. I know the value of this watch--two hundred to three hundred rupees. I know the value of this glass--five to ten rupees. But what is your value?  You cannot say that. 

What is the value of life? You cannot say. We do not think of the value of life; we only think of the value of objects. But we do not think of the value of the subject. Objectivity is cheap; subjectivity is precious. When you think of the subject, it is precious, worth knowing; but if you go by the object, it is worthless.

However precious the stone is, even it may be a diamond, it is still only a stone. However precious it is, it is still just a stone. Similarly, objects, however costly they are, are just material, lifeless. Just because I have a diamond ring, I cannot say my ring can speak. No, no, you speak to yourself. Diamond rings will not speak.

Some people say, “You know, my Ray Ban eyeglasses are costly.” Oh! But my question is, “After all, you only see through the glasses. With my glasses, I too can still see. Yours are very costly. You also see. You do not close your eyes and your glasses do not show anything different from what is in front of you. With my glasses, I see you. With your glasses also, you see a person. But your glasses will not help you see a person in the bus stand, can they?”

“No sir, these are my costly glasses, so I can see a man near the bus station, railway station or airport.” There must be something wrong with you! Let us keep you away from us, at a respectable distance, lest we are put to harm. (Laughter) So the point is that glasses, whether costly or cheap, are useful only to see.

Slippers . . . footwear . . . somebody was asking, “You know the price of this?”

“What, sir?”

“Three thousand five hundred.”

Then I said, “Such costly things cannot be footwear! Please keep them on your head like Padukas; they are Padukas at three thousand, five hundred! Please don’t wear--keep them on your head!” They are very costly footwear. So footwear, however costly it is, will have to serve as footwear only; it cannot be used as a crown, impossible.

So in conclusion, my friends, however costly objects are, they are only material. Objects can never be greater than the subject. A simple example: if I am not here, whatever I have is immaterial. Alexander the Great, the moment he died, his empire did not die. The empire was there, but this fellow was on the other planet. So objects will be like that, but the subject is more important.

Therefore, let this Guru Purnima help us concentrate on the subject much more than the object, more on the dreamer rather than on the dreams. Also let this occasion help us know the value of our lives. We have been valuing everybody, but we have to value ourselves. How valuable our life is!

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, NOT JUDGMENT

Let this Guru Purnima help us to stop judging others, because we are very anxious to judge everybody. When we look at a person, he seems to be short. Why are you affected if he is short? (Laughter) “Well, I think he is very tall.” So what? You are not as tall as him. “He is very fair in complexion.” So what? “He is average in his complexion.” Then what? “He is a little dark.” So what? This kind of judgment--this so-and-so and so-and-so is good . . .  bad . . .  dark . . . fair--is very unfair.

The moment we stop judging others, we start our spiritual journey. The spiritual journey starts when judgment stops. As long as you judge, you are worldly. As long as you judge, you are physical. As long as you judge, you are only objective. But when you do not judge, you are traveling towards God, you are traveling towards the subject, and you are traveling towards that oneness, unity. You are traveling towards the center of your dream, of your life, of the reality of truth. You are getting away from falsity--all that is false.

Therefore, judging others is ugly. Judging others is really ridiculous, because how do you judge a person? A person is quite good. You do not know how he was ten years ago; you do not know how he was yesterday; you cannot say what he is going to be tomorrow. You see him only today, right in front of you and say, “He is the most excellent man I ever met.” or “What a horrible man!” You are to judge like that?

You cannot judge, my friends, you cannot say so-and-so is good, so-and-so is bad. No,no,no! That is all a reflection of your inner being. It is all only a reflection of the inner being. So let us not judge anybody, because everyone is precious.

Let us enjoy the presence of Bhagavan, which is more important than communication. We have to reach that stage. Earlier, communication played a major role: Swami talking to everybody, Swami giving interviews to as many people as possible, and so on. Things were at the level of communication then. But today we see Him within, beyond communication. So let us receive the Divine vibrations, the Divine vibrations in the Divine Presence itself.

May God help everybody grow in the spiritual path. Let us march on, on and on in the spiritual direction, along the spiritual way. May Bhagavan bless you, and may Bhagavan be with you forever and ever.

I know this hall is engaged for a different purpose--an appointment has been given to our brothers. So let them not underestimate me; I don’t want to lose their friendship either. So sir, you welcome us to go, and we welcome you to come in! Thank you. Sai Ram.

            OM…OM…OM…

 Asato Maa Sad Gamaya

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya

Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Jai Bolo Bhagawan Shri Satya Sai Babaji ki Jai!

Jai Bolo Bhagawan Shri Satya Sai Babaji ki Jai!

Jai Bolo Bhagawan Shri Satya Sai Babaji ki Jai!

       GOD BLESS YOU!