October 28th, 2007
“Questions and Answers”
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Does anyone have any questions? If you have any, you are welcome to ask them before I begin the topic of the day. Yes, would you please come here? Good beginning, I appreciate your initiative, yes.
We have seen Baba make two coins. Did you put them away or have you seen them? Where are they now?
I can understand what you are asking. On that day, during the Vijaya Dashami discourse, Swami mentioned Shirdi Sai’s last moments. Shirdi Sai left His mortal body on Vijaya Dashami day. While describing Shirdi Sai’s history, Bhagavan mentioned an episode in His life. It was Lakshmi Bai to whom Shirdi Sai gave coins.
Swami waved His hand, and materialised two gold coins. They were the size of a rupee coin, and they were shiny, very shiny and brilliant. Bhagavan mentioned that the year was marked on one coin. I noticed the year was 1889. The coin bore the mark of King George on one side, and some British signs were on the other side of the very shiny coin. When He materialised them, He gave them to me and told me to keep the coins. “Keep the coins, not eat the coins. (Laughter) Keep them with you,” He said. Knowing a little English, I could understand what He really meant.
During the course of the talk, Bhagavan said that Lakshmi Bai, having received the coins from Bhagavan, refused to give those coins to anyone – her children, friends, or relatives. Many people wanted them and yet she refused. Why? As Swami said, the coins were given to her by Baba and were to be given back to Baba by her. “They are not for you. You have to return them.”
I could understand it. Swami gave the talk, and then He sat on the chair, and I silently passed the two coins to Him. He said that the two coins represent two important values: Truth or Sathya, and Righteousness or Dharma. These two values are represented in the form of these two coins. That’s what Baba said.
Yes, any questions please? Yes, any more questions? Please come here, so that all can hear.
Regarding karma, Swami is the Director and the Producer, and we are the actors. So the things that we do, I’m confused, are they due to past deeds that we’ve done or has He written the script? Where are the created things? Where does it all come into play?”
My friends, here the theory of non–dualism, known also as Advaitha, will come to our rescue. We can interpret and explain it in terms of Advaitha, as an answer to your genuine question. A part of your question asks, “Are we acting, are we doing, are we suffering, as a result of past karma?” That is one part of your question. “When God is the Director, what is to be done?” is the second part of your question. Am I right? Very good.
Let us analyse these two parts. God is the Director. There is no doubt about it. The problem is that we think we are the directors. That is the problem. How do I say that? We feel that we are the directors because of ego. So then the question is: what is the harm if you think that you are the director? When you are doing things, when you are overacting, what is the harm? If you feel that you are the director, why not? The answer is: if you feel that you are the director, you should own the responsibility. Your action may be successful or may end up a failure. If I am the director, I should own the responsibility for the success or failure.
The third point: the success or failure of our actions, leading to suffering, pleasure, or pain, or whatever it may be, is all ‘of the mind’. Am I clear? It is of the mind. Thoughts of the mind are translated into action or karma. Karma or action is nothing but the end result of thought.
Our thoughts are translated into karma or action. Without thought, there is no action. If we act without thought, our action is silly, ridiculous, and we may act insanely. First, there is thought, and then comes the action. Thoughts form actions and lead to the results, good or bad. Therefore, my suffering of pain or pleasure is only coming from the mind.
GROW BEYOND THE MIND
Next point: our attempt is to grow beyond the mind, to grow above the mind. The greatest tragedy is happening because we identify ourselves with the mind. We are spoiled in both cases: success makes us egoistic, while failure makes us depressed or frustrated. In both cases we are spoiled.
Some of our friends, who feel very proud and are close to Swami say, “Swami gave me this chain.” Who asked you to advertise all that? Why? So his closeness made him proud. The gift of grace that he received from Bhagavan has become an article of publicity and vanity. Therefore, he is spoiled. A person who has not received anything feels, “Swami never looked at me; Swami never gave me anything.” He, too, is spoiled that way.
Both the fellows are spoiled, the fellows that have received and the fellows that have not received. Both of them are spoiled because ego is acting there. Mind is acting there. But if you feel it is His grace that He gave you an item, you will never publicise it. You will never indulge in propaganda. You will never be egoistic. If you really understand that He knows when to talk, that He really knows when to give, you’ll never be depressed. You’ll never be frustrated. So to grow above these dual experiences of pride, prejudice, frustration, and depression, you must grow beyond the mind.
As part of the talk this morning, I will be covering one or two more points on this topic. One should grow beyond the mind. All religions, all gurus, all books, say only one thing: one has to grow beyond the mind. That is the essence of all philosophies, of all religions. Our attempt to grow beyond the mind is sadhana, or spiritual practice. Having the awareness of being beyond the mind is jnana, or wisdom, and living in that constant integrated awareness of growing above the mind is tapas, or penance.
All the worship – nagarsankeerthan (devotional singing while walking), abhishekam (washing ritual items) – all of the rituals that we do are sacred actions. We do them to spend time usefully and to be away from diverted, perverted wrong actions. So all our spiritual activities help us make time sacred, and help us spend time usefully. But real spirituality is to grow above the mind, to feel that God is the Director and, with Him as the Director, understand there is nothing to feel egoistic about, and no reason to feel depressed, either. I think I am clear.
One more question is to come from that side. Please come, sir. Is the wire long enough? We will try to reach you. How far will you go to ask this question?
Two questions: one relating to the dream, why does it happen? The second question is about maya or illusion. We are surrounded by illusion. What is its purpose?
The questions are two, but the answer is one. Why and how? Who is dreaming? How does dreaming happen? Why dream at all? What is a dream? Why do we dream? Some people are very happy to dream throughout their lives (Laughter) – dreamland – because they are quite comfortable there. Psychologists say that dreams are due to unfulfilled tasks and incomplete desires here and now. Incomplete programs here and now find their fulfilment, find their fruition, and find their completion in a dream.
Therefore, a dream is a reflection of a day. This is the first point. Both the day experience and the dream (night) experience are of the mind only. That is why Baba says that this is a daydream and that is a night dream. Therefore, Bhagavan says, “Life is a dream, realise it!” “Life is a dream, realise it,” means know that this is a daydream, and understand that dream is a night dream. Both are dreams only. A dream is nothing but a game of the mind.
Third point: I cannot dismiss, or deny totally, the dreams relating to Baba. When Baba appears in your dream, I cannot say it is imagination or your creation. I cannot say it is all mental and psychological. I am not that foolish yet, because Baba said, “I appear in a dream when I wish, when I will it.” Baba appears in your dreams when He wills it, but not otherwise. It is only when He decides, not otherwise.
There are thousands of cases, even lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of experiences, where people received direction in their dreams from Bhagavan. People received solutions to their problems from Bhagavan in their dreams. So dreams relating to Bhagavan are a separate category, a separate area, which does not come under the dominion of our discussion.
Let us keep that topic aside, because it is above or beyond us, because it is in His hands. He says, “I appear when I want.” How can I discuss when He wants or why He wants something? How can I say that? But I can talk about all the rest of the things which psychologists say are related to the mind, an ordinary dream. A few months back, I said, “Baba appearing in a dream may well be called a vision, not a dream.” The word ‘vision’ seems to be more apt than the word ‘dream’. The word ‘dream’ is mundane, so let us say ‘vision’. That’s the explanation of the dream aspect.
Then the other question was about illusion. Illusions also are of the mind. It is the mind that entertains illusion; it is the mind that deludes. It is the mind that gets deluded; it is the mind that gets drowned in illusion.
Why? The answer is that the mind is extrovert. Mind is outward. Mind is external. External, outward, extroverted, the mind is always deluded. So the reason for delusion is an outward-turned mind. But once the mind is inward, there is no chance to be deluded. There is no scope for illusion. So a mind which is outward is deluded. If it is made to turn inward, so as not to be deluded, it is meditation.
Meditation is turning the mind inwards. Meditation means not to be deluded. Meditation means a thoughtless state, a ‘no mind’ state. The reason for illusion is again the mind – the external, the outward mind. Then why should the mind happen? How to grow above it? Illusion is the vesture. Maya, or illusion, is the dress of God Himself.
Somebody told Swami, “This illusion, delusion, is really ruining me, Swami. It is putting me into difficulty. What shall I do?”
Baba said, “Show me where it is, I will kill it. (Laughter) Show me where illusion is, we will kill it jointly. (Laughter) Where is it?”
If you have an item, and you don’t want it, you can throw it out. Or if you want it, you can keep it. Where is illusion, where is it? The illusion is within you. The illusion is created by you. Illusion is of your mind. So you have to determine how to come out of illusion.
Why illusion happens is part of your question. It happens because life is a drama. As Shakespeare puts it, our whole life is a drama. We are all actors here, but we forget that we are actors. We think we are the role that we play. We think that the role we have taken upon ourselves is real. Suppose I play the role of a king. I forget that it is only a role and drama, and start moving on the road as if I actually were a king. What is the right place for me? A mental hospital! (Laughter) That is illusion.
We do not understand that life is a drama. Considering our role as the reality, and acting or responding accordingly, is the reason for illusion or mistaken identity. This mistaken identity is a part of the drama. How to get out of it? The only way to get out of it is by God’s grace.
“I think I have crossed the way. I am not so deluded.” You are saying that you are not deluded, but you have become the other name of delusion. A man, who is never deluded, will never say, “I am free from delusion.” Certainly he will not, because this ‘I–ness’ is again a delusion. “I am not…” When you say ‘I’, you are still in delusion; the ‘I-ness’ is present. Therefore, a man who has come out of delusion will never make any claim, because he doesn’t exist. This is possible only by the grace of God.
Baba has given us a nice example. It seems a rich man had a dog, a pet dog. One day a beggar stood at the gate of the rich man’s residence, and started crying, “Sir, I want food! I want food!” Instead of being served food, the beggar was attacked by the dog. The poor beggar had no choice: either he could allow himself to be bitten by the dog, or he could run away and be chased by the dog. There was no way out. Then the beggar said, “Sir, please don’t bother to serve me food, just call back your dog.” The owner came, and said to the dog, “Come on, come on, come on!” The dog retreated.
The dog retreats by the command of the owner, not by your command, because the dog is his pet, not your pet. Similarly, illusion is a dog, a pet of God, the owner, the master, and we are the beggars. (Laughter) So we should say, “Oh, Master! Please call back your pet dog, maya, or illusion,” so that He will call him back and we are safe. But we don’t do that. We run and the dog chases us. We want to fight. Illusion will attack us nicely. (Laughter)
I remember very well one of my visits long ago to my friend’s house in the United States. My friend started introducing both of his sons, and finally he said, “Caesar, Caesar!” I thought Caesar was the third son. But Caesar was the name of his dog. The dog was my size (Laughter), and it started coming close to me. I was really shivering. No break dance needed to be taught – shivering, a shake dance! (Laughter)
Then this man said, “Caesar is very friendly (Laughter), and Caesar got his diploma from Columbia University. (Laughter) Caesar won so many prizes. Why don’t you say hello?”
‘Help! Why this hello? Please let me to go from this place. (Laughter) How should I handle this situation?’ I thought to myself. Still I maintained some stiffness, because I didn’t want to look cowardly in front of him. So I was trying to be bold, though I was not.
Caesar came very close and started climbing on me (Laughter) as if I was Mount Everest and the dog was Sherpa Tenzing. “Woah! Woah!” I shouted! Then the man understood my nervousness and took the dog away. Until he took the dog away, it refused to leave me, not because of love, but because of suspicion.
Similarly, the dog is maya, illusion, and under the control of the master. We have to shout for help. That is namasmarana. That is prayer. Then illusion will be withdrawn.
VISHWAROOPA
Thank you for your nice questions. Somebody wanted to ask…Sir, you want to ask a question? Let us see if the microphone line is long enough. Please come. Let’s see you.
Can you describe what happened when Swami went to the airport? What was the meaning of the announcement you made about Vishwaroopa?
Oh the question, which I wanted to avoid, could not be avoided totally! I cannot run away from you, you see. The illusion is chasing me. (Laughter)
Let me be very, very honest about this. I have no additional information, no more than what you have. I was only an announcer there. I was just asked to announce, and that’s what I did. I have no other extra information, more than what you have. If you ask this microphone what it said, it will say, “I only amplified what the speaker said.” It has not said anything. My job was that. So what was announced cannot be interpreted by me. I think I am safe now. (Laughter)
And the second point: to my analysis, to my understanding, Vishwaroopa is a cosmic form. One of my friends gave his comment, which was also telecast. That man said, “All of you have seen Baba on television, and on that day they have shown camera shots of the convocation, birthday, Shivarathri, and all previous shots. All of you have seen Him all over the world. That is Vishwaroopa.”
Why do you worry about this? Someone said that all the people ran to the airport to see Him. All of you could see Him. Some of the fellows, who had not had a chance to see Him closely, got to see Him closely. Some of the people got padnamaskar (worshipping the Feet of the Guru) also. ”It is enough of Vishwaroopa,” some others said. So I have no special comment about it, other than what has been said.
SELF WILL VERSUS THE WILL OF GOD
Yes, any other question? Please come.
If everything is directed by God, do we have to put in our effort or not?
This question is answered in the Bhagavad Gita itself. Arjuna asked this question, “Should I put in my effort or not, if everything is decided by you?” It is the same question. What Krishna said was:
Prakrithi jai gunaihi
To do action is natural
To act is natural, automatic, spontaneous, and instantaneous. How? Blood circulation is also action; the heartbeat is also action. The thought process is action. Eating because of having an appetite is action. You sleep because of exhaustion, which is also action. So action is natural.
“Karman bandhini manushya Loke.
Human society is bound by karma,”
says Bhagavan.
Human society is bound by karma or action. So, we are born for action, we are born to act.
“Karma mana puthu janthuhu
Karma mune poorthi chendi
Karmame stahnam karmame kaaranamo
Nagumike suka dukkamulo,”
says Baba, which means it is action that leads to results. The results are the foundation for the next life. Actions are the foundation for the next life. So karma – action, and janma – birth, are mutually related, one after another. Therefore, to come out of the cycle of birth and death, one should know that one is not the body, one is not the mind. Know that one is the eternal spirit, then one can come out of the cycle of birth and rebirth.
Therefore, when everything is decided by God, what should we do? What should be our attitude now? The Bhagavad Gita clearly says when we sincerely believe that God is the Director, that God is the Doer, when we sincerely believe it to our core, we surrender. We surrender to the will of God. We accept the will of God unconditionally. I don’t say, “Baba, You are God, provided...” I don’t say that. “Baba, You are God, if You do this...” That is all conditional. But if you believe that He is God, that God is the Doer, God is the Director, we unconditionally surrender. We accept His will.
But the action, the doing, is quite natural to us. Simple example: ‘I eat’ is action, digestion is His grace. ‘I read’ is action, memory is His grace. ‘I breathe in’ is action, to breathe out is His grace. If I don’t breathe out, the problem ends there. So breathing in is the action, breathing out is His grace. Eating is action, digestion is His grace. Actions are natural, and His grace is responsible for them to be fruitful or successful. We have to learn to surrender to Him totally, unconditionally, so that we will not be affected by the consequences of our actions.
UNITY IN SPIRIT
Yes sir, please come.
This relates to Swami’s speech, “Very soon the whole world will become one, shedding differences of nation, religion, caste,” et cetera. What would you say is meant by very soon? A year, two years, what?
Sir, where are you from?
Guyana, South America.
Thank you, sir. Now I understand that I should not only be an effective translator, but I should also be accountable to what is translated, and I should be responsible for all that I do. Anyway, this question helps me think more, this helps me to think deeply. It is a good question.
Sir, I will tell you one point. “Nations will be united.” What does it mean? Does it mean that there will be no more America, no more Australia, no more Japan, and no more India? We are all humans of one nation, one society. Do we mean that concept by the word ‘unity’?
What does Baba mean by ‘all nations are united’? Does He mean geographical? Please understand me, it is not geographical. We will continue to be Indians, Americans, Japanese, and French. Geographically, we continue to be what we are. But when Baba said, “Very soon you will be united,” what did He mean? He meant that you will be united in spirit. It is not what we call literal; it is figurative.
A simple example:
Karman bandhini manushya.
Human society is bound by karma.
There are so many sweets – gulab jamun, basanthi, laddu, halwa – so many sweets. They exist separately; but what is it that unites them? It is sugar that unites them. We don’t eat sugar directly; no, we eat sweets.
You may ask, “Sir, these are all made up of sugar, so why don’t we eat sugar directly?” You don’t eat sugar directly. For functional purposes, worldly purposes, for usage, it appears to be in diversity in all these various sweets. But in reality, it is unity, only sugar. So ‘we will be united’ means we will be united in spirit, in consciousness, in awareness, in Divinity. In that way, we all are united.
THE DIVINE CALENDAR
Baba said, “Very soon…” ‘How soon?’ is your question. This ‘how soon’, or ‘very soon’, is the Divine calendar. The Divine calendar we cannot explain. But I will tell you about my experience. In the year 1979, Baba wanted me to come here. I was interviewed; Baba Himself said that I fared very well at the interview. But I did not get any appointment order. I went on waiting – no order – and so I continued in the same job. But Baba’s promise came into reality in the year 1989, after ten years. How soon? Ten years. (Laughter)
If you ask the Director of the Super Speciality Hospital, Doctor Safaya, he will tell you that fifteen years back Swami told him, “I will take you.” How long ago? Fifteen years. So this is the Divine calendar, which we cannot calculate in terms of days, months, and years.
But we can take it this way. How soon? Very soon. How soon? As soon as possible. How soon? At the time when it is good for us. How soon? When everything in the family is settled. How soon? When we are fit enough to settle here. So how soon? As soon as I am ready, as soon as I am equipped, when I am physically, mentally, and psychologically ready to settle here.
You may say, “I am ready now.” You may be ready, but if you come here the next day, you may run away, because you are not mentally ready. One may think, “I shall be ready very soon.” But many people run away. Many people wanted to be here very soon. They left equally soon. So if you think that this is the time, it may not stand in due course. But the calendar is in His hands. When He decides that it is the time for you to come, yes, there is the possibility of your staying here. That’s what my answer is. Thank you, sir.
CREATION AND DESTRUCTION
Any more questions, please? Yes, sir.
A pot is made with mud. Ornaments are made from gold. The mud itself and the gold itself – Baba is saying that the world itself is made by God. If this world itself is God, then why is there utapatti (generation)? Why are there defects?
What he asked about was why there should be three phases: Utapatti – generation, vruddhi –organisation, and then destruction. G–O–D: God – Generator, Organiser, Destroyer. That is what God is: Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara. Three portfolios are with Him. He gave other portfolios to us, such as eating and sleeping. The first three portfolios He kept for Himself. In this ministry of God, of Baba, some portfolios are given to us, such as, eating, sleeping, fighting and talking. But the three portfolios relating to birth, growth and death are with Him. Why should it happen so?
The Bhagavad Gita answers this question. In this game, in this cycle of life, a person works out his own karma. As the person works out his own karma, he comes to the stage when he withdraws and is then reborn again. So when the karmic effects are exhausted, worked out totally, the person is withdrawn (leaves his body) and then later is reborn (with a new body). This is the first point.
Point number two is about the so–called mud, which is used to make a pot, and the pot, which wears out. The pot is broken because of continuous usage. The more and more you use it, the sooner it breaks, due to wear and tear, like a car tyre or a shirt. All those things get destroyed because of usage.
Similarly, the body, which is physical and made up of the five elements, is lost because of its long stay and constant usage. Naturally it decays, so it is lost one day. But the body goes back to the source. We say, “The fellow died.” Some people say, “He is gone.” Where has he gone? He has not gone anywhere. He is here only; we see him in the form of a new body now.
After death, what happens? All this body, the total composition, goes back to its source. Whatever is in this body, including the blood, goes back to its source. The water and air in the body is distributed with the air outside. The muscle, made up of earth, goes back to the earth. So the body, which is made up of the five elements, will go back to the five elements when its life is withdrawn. There is no question of being totally gone; it has come out of the source and it has gone back to the source. Again, it will come back. Similarly, out of gold you make a ring. Out of the same gold, you can make an earring – same thing, same gold. Similarly, out of the same clay, different pottery, different pots can be made. Am I clear? Thank you.
BELL RINGING
Yes, sir, please.
What is the significance of bell ringing for spiritual purposes?
To my mind, it is simple. The mind, which is wavering, has to be concentrated. Once the mind is concentrated, one-pointed, and well concentrated, the purpose of ringing the bell is over. We don’t ring the bell for God; we ring the bell for ourselves.
SWAMI IN THE MOON
Four days back Baba informed us that he would be in the moon. What about this?
This sister has a photo of Swami in the moon and asks me to comment. If you have to pity anyone, you have to pity me. (Laughter) Why? It is she who has seen the moon. It is the moon where Swami is seen, and where am I in this? Tell me. About this I shall make one comment. Brothers and sisters, we are very thrilled seeing Swami in the moon, but the actual Swami is moving in our midst. Why look at the moon unnecessarily?
I saw many people looking at the moon. I was going to give a talk to the devotees of one of the districts that night. About three thousand to five thousand of them came to Prashanti Nilayam. I was going to give a talk, but no one was there. All of them were on the streets. (Laughter) Now, if you say that you have seen Baba on the moon, the other fellow is worried. If I say I have not seen Baba on the moon, people may think that I have no devotion.
So yes, I have seen Baba on the moon. The other man asks, “Have you seen Baba on the moon?” He thinks that it is a matter of prestige. “I have been coming here for the past twenty years, and it is I who saw Him first, and you have seen later.” So it has been a prestige problem.
But I can tell you one thing. All over the world, people have been seeing Swami everywhere. Why only in the moon? Everywhere. There are people who see Baba in other people. Yes, this occurrence is described in a number of books. There are many incidents where devotees have felt Baba’s presence in the nurse attending on them.
There are hundreds of instances where patients have seen Baba in the doctor. There is an incident when a doctor was operating, and could know and experience that the hands performing the operation were not his. The hands were someone else’s hands. Until the operation was over, the doctor did not feel his hands were his own.
Therefore, experiences are in the stars, everywhere. People have seen Swami in swans, in pets and other animals, in human beings, everywhere, all the time. Why only today in the moon? Not necessary. But I don’t say no, I don’t discourage you. I am happy that at least we could see Swami in the moon today.
SWAMI APPEARS EVERYWHERE
I will give you another experience. We had a function in Prashanti Nilayam; it is the Kalasa function, where so many people carry containers on their heads. The container, kalasa, contains water from all sacred rivers, such as the Krishna, the Godavari, and other rivers. They bring the water here. I have been watching the function, as we don’t have to carry water on the head; the water is in our eyes also.
So they were all carrying these containers in the Kalasa function. Very close to Swami a lingam was kept, a crystal lingam of this size (indicates the size by gesture). Swami started moving in the auditorium, giving darshan and talking to people. Suddenly, I found on the dais one person staring at the lingam like that (shows how he is looking). A man on the other side also started looking at the lingam. And all those on the dais started looking at the lingam, while Swami was there before them.
Then a fever went up. All of them formed a queue. They were all going and looking at the lingam, everyone. Then I could not control myself and I, too, joined them. (Laughter) What did we see? There in the lingam we saw Swami. Yes, I saw that. All of the people on the dais went on looking at Swami in the crystal lingam; we all saw Him.
Then Swami started coming closer to the dais. Immediately we sat down, because we couldn’t take the risk of standing when Swami was approaching. Then Baba said that He would give a discourse that evening, and I announced it.
The person, who had brought the lingam, came to me. He is from my native place. He said, “Anil Kumar, in the evening you should say openly that we have seen Swami in that crystal lingam.”
I said, “Let us see if the opportunity comes.”
“No, no, you must talk about it,” he said. He is a violent devotee (Laughter), who can manhandle fellow devotees. Because I don’t have my own security, I said I would do it. Moreover, he belongs to my own native place, so what am I to do? And Swami knows all this game. He wanted me to speak.
During the speech, that devotee was watching me to see if I would mention looking at the lingam or not. (Laughter) “If you don’t mention it, we will meet outside.” (Laughter) So he sat there in the first row of the district presidents. What was I to do? I said, “Bhagavan, we were very happy to see You in the crystal lingam. Not only me, but all those on the dais, all of the district presidents, saw You. We are extremely happy about this.” I said this in my usual style of tempo and vigour.
Then Swami started His speech. Ah ha, what did He say? He explained everything. At one stage He said, “Anil Kumar is standing by my side. He is seeing Me, but he wants to see Me in the lingam, not here.” What could I do? (Laughter) What was I to do with that fellow, when he was by my side watching me? And Swami said in the speech that Anil Kumar wants to see Swami in the lingam, and that I am happier watching Him in the lingam!
My friends, Swami is everywhere, within us, in the moon, in the sun or in the stars, everywhere:
Anoraniyan mahatho mahiyan…
From microcosm to macrocosm…
The moon symbolises the mind:
Chandrama manaso jathaha.
The moon is the presiding deity of the mind.
When you see Baba in the moon, it means you see Him mentally, within. That’s how I took it.
GOOD AND BAD EXIST TOGETHER
Sai Ram. Yes, please come, please come. Where are you from?
Australia. We find many good things, and many bad things, as well. What shall we do? When we go out into the world, we see good and bad. What shall we do? What is our role, our action, reaction, to such things?
Thank you for bringing up that question. I’ll give you an instance. Let us define what is bad and what is good first. What is good in the morning may be bad in the evening. What is good in summer may be bad in winter. A simple example: a woollen shawl or woollen suit is very good in winter, but in summer, awful. So though good in the winter, the same thing is bad in summer: ice cream in December – bad, but in May, welcomed. A cool drink is welcomed in the summer -- two cups please, at least.
So what is good, what is bad? Good and bad depend upon the time and the situation. Absolute goodness is not there. Nothing is totally bad. Nothing is completely good. The good and bad follow each other. There is nothing bad. When nothing is bad, then there is no meaning for the word ‘good’. Without Ravana, Rama would not have become so great. Without Satan, Christ would not have become so great. Satan made Him great. Ravana made Rama great. So what we call ‘bad’ need not necessarily be bad.
A simple example: an orange fruit has skin or rind around it, with sweet fruit inside. The skin around the fruit is bitter, so we throw it out. We eat the sweet fruit inside. Now, can you have only good, without bad? Bad (bitter) skin protects good (sweet) fruit inside. What do I do? Remove the bad, take the good; that’s what we have to do. Remove it, because good and bad are together. I cannot swallow oranges like elephants, or Sai Geetha (Swami’s pet elephant), do. (Laughter) I cannot do it. I should carefully remove the skin. I should carefully remove the skin and eat the sweet fruit contained inside.
The coconut is so hard on the outside. The outer hard shell is bad (hard and inedible), while the coconut water is very good. Good and bad are together. So can I swallow the whole coconut fruit? If I do it in the market, I can put on a show and collect money also! (Laughter) It is not possible. It is the hard shell that protects the sweet water inside. What is my job? My job is to remove the bad, in order to taste the good. That is what is called discrimination. One has to exercise one’s sense of discrimination to remove all that pertains to the bad, and accept what is good.
THE SAI ORGANISATION IS BABA’S JOB
The one question that every newcomer who comes to Puttaparthi asks is who will continue the good work that is being done by Swami later. How will Prashanti Nilayam be managed?
That is the experience of age, you see. Good, sir. Could all of you follow the question? Those who have not followed, raise your hands so that we can repeat and explain the question. This gentleman has asked a question, “Who will look after Swami’s work later? Who will look after the Trust and Mandir later? Who will carry on His mission later?” That is the question. Am I right?
My answer is this. It is His job, so why should we worry? (Laughter and Applause) It is His job. My father has given me this pen. Does it matter who takes care of it? What do you say? Similarly, since Baba has started this mission, since Baba has started the institutions, since Baba is the Founder and President of the Trust, it is His job to look after it. It is all His, so let us not get worried about it.
Then what is our job? Our job is to do His seva. What is His seva? He has got His hospitals, educational institutions, Mandir, and Trust. When we perform service by participating in His mission, we do our job. Who will do it later is His job; how this will continue is His job. My job is to live in the present and do His seva, the seva given to me. Am I clear? Thank you, sir.
THE INTELLECT IS THE FILTER
Question? Ah, the young man. Are you from Manipur?
Arunachala. How can you keep the ocean of the heart pure? It is full of impurities. How can you churn the heart to remove impurity, and keep it clean like the Kalasa water?
That really is a genuine question by a young boy. We really compliment him. He has recognised the need to keep it pure at least. Many people are happy with impurity, so I am happy you asked that question. Arunachala . . . yes . . . Ramana Maharshi’s place. You have got all his karuna, compassion with you. That is why you have asked this question.
My friends, here is water, Puttaparthi water or Anantapur district water. It is full of fluorides. To get rid of the fluorides, what should you do? You should put some crystals and tamarind in it. When you put some crystals (spatika) and tamarind in the water container, all the impurities will diminish so that the water becomes pure. Am I clear? This is what Baba said. To make the water pure, you don’t need to spend a lot of money. No, no, no! Collect a pot full of water, put some crystal and tamarind in it, and all the impurities will diminish. Am I clear?
Alright, those who have had the experience of filtered coffee will understand. Once filtered, you get the decoction without the powder. The powder is filtered out. Similarly, we should filter out all that is bad to get pure water. How to filter? It is the job of the intellect to act as the filter.
God has given us the intellect or buddhi. The intellect or buddhi is the filter that filters out everything bad, and preserves that which is good for you. So what is that filter paper? The filter paper is the intellect or buddhi.
Buddhi graathi atheendriyan.
The intellect is above the senses.
The buddhi or intellect is above the senses, above the mind. It is able to divide, judge, and discriminate. Therefore, it filters out the bad so that you can accept the good. That’s one way. Another way is that if you are really convinced something is bad, you will drop it automatically, all by yourself.
A simple example: I have got a wire and I am playing with it in the night, enjoying it. I am awake, not able to sleep, coming out at night like a mad cat playing. Someone with a torch comes by. “Hey! It is not a wire or a rope! It is a serpent, you understand!” What do I do then? I immediately drop the supposed wire. The wire, with which I had been playing until then with love, I now drop down on the ground, running away as I know how dangerous it is. This is an example given by Baba. Therefore, once we know that some thing or some action is really bad and will harm us, we will give it up immediately.
OUR RECIPE, GOD’S CREATION
One final question, please. Yes, sir. Where are you from?
Germany.
You are from Germany, good, the land of intelligence, fine.
Why all this good, bad? Why this game? God can grant peace and happiness, God can grant bliss, God can grant happiness. Why all this confusion? The concept of God’s will and karma is very good, but there is cancer...
That is a very good question, because we are very bored with these things. Baba gave this answer, my friends. The greatest miracle of Sai Baba is this: He has answered all questions for all nations, for all times, for all categories, for all age groups and all professions. That is the miracle of Sai Baba, because these questions are very, very efficiently dealt with by Him. But you have to want to look into Sai literature. What did He say? Pleasure, pain, good, bad, confusion -- these are not created by God. They are not created by Him.
Baba gave this example. A husband bought vegetables, some chilli powder, salt, and many other provisions at the market. He brought them home – the vegetables, salt and pepper. He didn’t know the recipe, but he asked his wife to prepare a nice curry for them, a good curry or nice dhal (lentils), you know about dhal?
So the wife started cooking. After she served the food, all in the family said, “Chi, this is rotten, not good.”
The poor lady asked why, and they said, “You added too much salt.”
Then she cooked again, and the husband said, “Throw it out.”
“Why?” she asked.
“You added too much chilli powder,” said the husband.
Whose fault was it? Was it the mistake of the husband? He brought home the chilli powder, salt, pepper and fresh vegetables. Why wasn’t the curry tasty? Why was the chutney horrible? Why? In mixing the combination, in the cooking process, something went wrong. Therefore, God’s creation is beautiful. In this combination, we made it horrible and terrible. (Laughter) We make it horrible and terrible because of wrong combinations.
God’s creation is pure, fresh and perfect. We add more salt, or worry, we add more chilli powder of competition, and we add more pepper, jealousy. How can the curry be tasty? For the safety of life, we won’t touch it. Therefore, it is not God who is making it horrible; it is our own permutations and combinations born out of our preferences, choices, our own weaknesses or mistakes.
THE DRAMA OF LIFE
Then to answer your second question about karma . . . that’s what you asked, right? Karma: as I said, for every action there is a reaction. You say, “Why is all this happening? Let me understand.”
In a drama, there are romantic scenes, there are tragic scenes, there are scenes of drama, and there are scenes of music. These are in a drama; it has got all kinds of scenes. In some scenes, we find a dance. Naturally, we put in some dance steps. We enjoy some dramas with music. In some films, the heroine goes on crying; we also join her in chorus. (Laughter) Of course, she receives money for crying, while we pay money to cry. That is the only difference. Both of us cry. It’s all a drama. Therefore, all things happen. The laughter, the smiles, the ecstasy, the melancholy, the tragedy-- life is a drama. Then why should it happen? Why?
A child, while playing at the seashore or along a riverbed, will collect the sand. All children do it, in every country. They make a hut out of the sand, then go and jump in. After five minutes, they will kick apart the hut saying, “Oh it is gone, it is gone,” and they go on laughing. It is the same to them. While making the sand hut, they laugh; while kicking down the hut, they laugh again. That is what is called child’s play. Child’s play, God’s play: play is of the child, play is of God.
Therefore, the whole drama of life is God’s play. When we understand it is Divine play, we are not disturbed. But we take the playing seriously, and make His play a game. We make His play a game. A game is serious. Have you seen a game of cricket? People watch with so much tension and pressure, how can that be play? It’s a game you watch seriously. You find people throwing bottles into the cricket court, and players shouting the most vulgar words at each other. A game can be serious, while play is fun and frolic. So the whole of creation is God’s play; it is a Divine drama. We are a part of it. We need to understand that life is God’s play.
“Life is a game, play it,” says Baba. Life is a game, serious no doubt. But see it as play. Take it as His play of fun and frolic, as His drama. Then you will enjoy it.
Thank you very much. You made the day. I really appreciate your questions. I am extremely happy. Please continue to ask those questions. I am more benefited by your questions than all of you are benefited. It helps me recall what Baba has said in the past. It helps me analyse things. It helps me go into depth. It helps me memorise, and it helps me strengthen all that I know. I am very, very grateful to all of you.
May God bless you! (Applause)
Anil Kumar concluded with the bhajan, “Hari Hari Om, Shankara Om.”
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