“Questions to Swami”
January 4, 2009
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We have a few remaining ideas relating to the New Year, which I will share with you this morning. Last week we exchanged some views about the event of the New Year, and this morning we will try to complete the discussion of the few items which are left.
Next week on Sunday is the college Sports and Cultural Meet, so we will not be meeting next Sunday, January 11. We will meet on January 18, God willing, after the grand celebration of the Sankranthi festival. Therefore, in advance I convey my Sankranthi greetings to all of you, as we will not be meeting next week.
This morning I would like to make a presentation in light of a few of the statements made by Bhagavan in His New Year’s discourse. On that day He made certain points very clear to us. So I would like to share these with you.
One point He made very clear is that God has no name and no form. He added that the name is given to Him, and the form is attributed to Him. The name and form of God are attributed or given. Truly speaking, God is nameless and formless. This was the first statement of Bhagavan Baba on New Year’s Day. Hope you have gotten the point. Our questions about this will be many. We can come to these leisurely, by and by.
The second point He mentioned was that it is a mistake to think that God is outside of us. It is wrong to think that God is present only in a temple, a mosque, a synagogue, or a church. There is no point in travelling to a pilgrimage centre as God is everywhere. So, the second point that He made very, very clear is that God is everywhere.
The third point: God is not the giver of any boons, nor the bestower of any rewards or punishment. He said that He will not bestow, confer, or grant any reward or boon, nor would He punish you. He is not a policeman who punishes you. He clearly made this point.
My friends, from this point in His discourse, as I was listening that evening and translating what He was saying, believe me or not, I was shocked. It was a revelation to me in particular, and a sudden shock to know where we stand as a nation, and how distanced are we from the reality.
I am also anxious to share with you some interesting points, which you would not otherwise come to know on your own. Why? On the 31st of December, the last day in the calendar year 2008, Bhagavan gave a discourse exclusively for the alumni of Sri Sathya Sai University in the Poornachandra Auditorium, with the shutters closed and entry denied to everyone else.
There would have been no opportunity for all of us to know what transpired there; so maybe it was God’s will that I could ‘infiltrate’ that gathering, (Laughter) like those who jump the borders of countries. I was of some use to Swami, in trying to translate. In so doing, I can naturally transmit and pass on what I have heard. It’s natural with me; the fault was to have allowed me there! That is the biggest mistake. Swami allowed me to be present, and therefore, “Anil-Kumar Broadcasting Corporation” (“ABC”) will do its job! I can’t help it. (Perhaps a journalist may have some limits, but not this humble self in front of you!) (Laughter)
The contents of the talk that morning were also repeated in the evening. Therefore, the other sections I will also try to cover. Towards the end of the session, Swami invited boys to ask questions. “You come forward with some questions, and I will answer you peacefully, immediately,” He said. So the boys were very encouraged and started asking questions. Seeing Swami’s willingness, they asked more and more questions, but the time was up. He had already spent two hours with them. Two hours with Bhagavan nowadays is not an easy thing to get. To have a glimpse of Bhagavan nowadays itself is a rare opportunity!
To see Him passing by in His car itself is a blessing. Under these circumstances, to be in the Divine company for two hours is not an easy thing to experience. He was so kind to have spoken to them. But the questions were limited to eight or nine, because of the constraint of time. Someone gave some signal from behind . . . “Better stop now” . . . and the boys were respectful enough that they stopped at that time. But Bhagavan was willing to continue. In the first part of my lecture, I will share with you some of the questions that the boys asked. (Oh! It doesn’t matter, but I don’t think I brought the paper with the questions. Anyway, the VCR will record it.) (Laughter)
The first question was this: “Bhagavan, being a Sai student, what is expected of me?” I will repeat the question, which means this: “Swami, I am student of Your university. What do You expect from Your students?”
Very lucky enough, Swami was quite straight. The questions may be two sentences or three sentences long, but Swami’s answers were single sentence answers. Straightforwardly He said, “What I expect of you is to act according to what I say. You should act according to what I say, what I convey. Act according to My teachings.” In other words, act according to His teachings, act according to His message, live up to His message and follow His instructions. That is what is expected of you and of Sai students. That is the simplest answer.
He didn’t tell them a two-, three-, four-, or five-point formula, or a nine-point formula. There was no point for Him to repeat Himself, because they were all former students. They spent a considerable period of time in Sai institutions: they had studied in the Institute for three years. So, what more to tell them? But it is necessary to tell them that they should act according to what they have heard from Bhagavan. That was the response to the first question.
The second question was asked by a boy who seemed to be quite intelligent, as per his own estimate. We are all sailing in the same boat, and I am no exception. Swami speaks of this “I”. “I am so and so.” Everyone uses this single letter “I” for all purposes of communication and identification. For identification I say, “I am so and so”. But spiritually speaking, this “I” is the same in everyone. Everyone says “I”. So this ‘I’, although individually used, is common to everyone. “I”, in one sense, is universal. It is the individual and also universal at the same time. Physically speaking, from the worldly point of view, this “I” is individual. But from the spiritual dimension, “I” is universal. This universal concept of “I” might have gone to the boy’s head; therefore he asked this question of Swami:
“Swami, I am present everywhere. How am I to know the Truth, which is also present everywhere? Truth is everywhere. The principle of Truth is all-pervasive, and I am everywhere.”
Ha! Swami answered, “Oh, you are everywhere? No, no, you are in front of Me now; you are not everywhere. (Laughter) You are not everywhere, you are here only.”
All laughed and clapped. But the boy, who was quite grown-up, a quite intelligent post-graduate, seemed to have become nervous at that moment. Swami, the compassionate Bhagavan, watched his nervousness and immediately said, “When you say “I” from the position of sathya, or Truth, you are present everywhere. But when you use this “I” from the point of view of your physical identity, you are here in front of Me. From the spiritual dimension of Truth, you are all present everywhere.” Then the boy was happy.
Swami explained that this “I-ness” is Truth. This “I”, what you call aham, is the Truth or Brahman. I am Brahman. I am God. Truth is God, God is Truth, that is what it is. Bhagavan explained it nicely. Then everyone seemed to have been satisfied.
Third question: Swami, how to attain Truth? That evening Bhagavan also told the boys a poem, often repeated:
Sathyama Unandudi Sarvamam Bhusitha Che
Sarvam Nadhanahe Sarvam Shristhi
Sathya Mahime Lani Thareleni Kanu Konavu (2)
Sutha Sathavam Athi Sudareyya
Sutha Sathvam Atheya
Sutha Sathvam Adheya Sudareyya.
This is a poem composed by Bhagavan, and it is quoted frequently. The poem states that out of Truth, the whole creation has come into existence. The sustenance of creation is also because of Truth, and the annihilation or withdrawal of creation happens as it merges into Truth finally. So creation comes out of Truth, creation is maintained because of Truth, and finally creation merges back into Truth. That is the meaning of the poem. Having heard this in Bhagavan’s discourse, the boy might have been tempted to ask his question, how to attain Truth?
Swami’s answer is this: Truth is not attained; Truth is not achieved; Truth is not to be obtained; Truth is not to be gotten. It is not manufactured, and it is not sold in any market or any mall. It is not an object; it is not a commodity. Truth is your Self. The true Self is Truth. All that makes you speak, all that makes you hear, all that makes you think, is the Truth. You are the Truth. God is Truth. “Truth is God; live in Truth,” says Bhagavan.
Now Swami came to the question the boy asked: how to attain That? Bhagavan said, “To know you are Truth, to be that point of Truth, follow the path of Truth.” That is the only answer. Follow the path of Truth in order to be Truth. Be Truth, as you are Truth. You are Truth. When you follow the path of Truth, you can certainly realise your own Truth. That is the answer Bhagavan has given.
Then one boy asked this question: “Swami, sometimes I am angry, sometimes I am jealous, sometimes I am this and that.” Jealousy, envy, pride--there is a long list. People say that there are six vices, but that is the old regulation. Modern society requires a complete revision of the old list—at least sixty, I think, must be a complete list! (Laughter) Sixty! How do we get rid of anger, envy, pride, avarice, possessiveness, attachment, lust, greed, hatred, and what else? There is a very long list. How to get rid of these is the question asked by another student.
These questions are relevant and applicable to all of us. I thought of sharing Bhagavan’s answer with you, though I never planned it that way. What was Bhagavan’s answer to the boy’s question? First, these are not your qualities, you know. Anger is not your quality. Ego is not your quality. Vengeance and pride are not your qualities; they are the qualities of an animal.
The dog goes on barking because of ego. It is the ego that is expressed in the form of anger, because the dog thinks that the street belongs to him. (Laughter) “You have no business entering my domain. This street is mine. (Laughter) How dare you come?” This kind of possessiveness, ego, and anger are the qualities of a dog, not of man.
Revengefulness, vindictiveness are not the qualities of man; they are the qualities of a snake. If you try to do some harm to a snake, you have to pay for it at some time or the other. It will be haunting you, waiting for an opportunity to have its own claim on you, so vindictive is a snake. So vengeance and revengefulness are the qualities of a snake, not that of a human being.
Cunningness, cleverness, manipulation, manoeuvring, and managing are all the special qualities of this age. But according to Swami, they are not human qualities. They are the qualities of a cunning fox. The fox is known for those qualities.
Therefore, evil qualities that we have are not human qualities. What Bhagavan advises is a simple formula. Whenever a quality like that appears in our mind, which is often, the first and only thing that we have to do is say, as Bhagavan said in the evening discourse, “I am not an animal. I am a human being.” I am man, not an animal. I am man, not animal. I am man, I am not animal. Repeat it again and again, so that these bad qualities will run away from you.
You will never be victimised by those animal thoughts, you will never submit, you will never become a slave to those animal thoughts, if you repeat that you are not an animal. Therefore, we have to remind ourselves that each one of us is a human being, not an animal.
In connection to something I mentioned earlier, Bhagavan said that to say, “I am man,” is not a complete truth. No. Say first, “If I am not an animal, then I am a human being.” The second half makes it fully true. To say, “I am a human being” is not the full truth. It is only half-truthful. We should also say, “I am not an animal”. So in order to get rid of animal qualities, one has to remind himself that he is not an animal. That is the answer to the question asked by the boy.
Then another student asked a very pertinent question: “Bhagavan, we have no time to do any service because we are very busy with our own jobs, particularly with the corporate life.”
Life also has become sufficiently corporate enough. No time to stand and stare, no time to eat and drink, no time to care and share. Run, run, run—so much pressure, anxiety, struggle, stress, and strain! These are the order of the day. The one who cannot get along with the stress, strain, competition, tension, struggle, and strife will be a drop-out, will be a failure, and will be sure to be unsuccessful. “Under these circumstances, Bhagavan, You say that we should do some seva. How can we do it? We don’t even have time to eat. We don’t have time to spend with our family, so how can we do seva?”
This is a very genuine question. Our good Bhagavan knows our day-to-day life. He knows completely how our day-to-day problems are, how our day is designed. He knows it, though He said smilingly, “Look here, do seva to the extent possible.”
Swami asked, “Do you watch TV?”
The boy replied, “Swami, now and then.”
Swami said, “Yes, during that time do seva; don’t watch TV. (Laughter) Do you go away for a weekend and holidays?”
The boy replied, “Yes, Swami.”
Then Swami said, “Aha, that day go and do some service activity.” (Laughter)
Swami said, “Do you entertain guests sometimes, a cocktail party or that kind of party, some sort of socialisation?”
The boy said, “Rarely, Swami.”
Swami said, “Make use of that time for a service activity.” He made him commit.
Finally that boy was in a rut. Then Bhagavan said it this way: “Look here, when you have no time, treat your own job as service.” (Applause) Treat your own job, your own duty and actions as service; because duty is God, and work is worship. Work is worship, duty is God. This is my interpretation.
Today, unfortunately, I find some people are interested in doing service elsewhere, while doing disservice to their profession. They perform leisurely, incompetently, or inefficiently in their own field of work; but Sunday service they do readily.
No, no, no, no! Bhagavan says consider your own job as service. Do it diligently, sincerely, and with determination, dedicating your work as an offering to God. Underline this: As an offering to God, work becomes worship. It gets transformed into sadhana.
I add this point, my friends, because I am trying to elaborate further--not limiting myself to what actually transpired--for our comprehensive betterment, for a total understanding and elaboration along those lines. You must have heard of Kabir. Kabir was a weaver, the greatest mystic of our time.
When the time allows, we should think of Kabir also. Unfortunately, God has given us only one Sunday per week. How nice if we had three Sundays every week (Laughter), so I would be able to tell you all I really want to discuss. Even the Sunday satsang we have once a week may be cancelled because of some meeting or music program. What to do? Are you feeling badly that those Sundays get cancelled for reasons beyond our control? At least let us make the best use of the Sundays that the Lord has given us!
Perhaps this is His will; perhaps this is His design. Let me do it to the best of my ability, because I feel so happy sharing whatever little I know. All of us cannot build temples; all cannot give fabulous amounts of money; all cannot do physical work. I think God has given me this job, to share whatever little I know with my brothers and sisters. This is my sadhana, this is my worship, and this is my meditation. When I sit in the name of meditation, thoughts enter my head with greater speed than before, because I am alone, undisturbed. At least while talking, while articulating and arranging my thoughts in a sequential manner, all is Divine and concentrated. I am focused. This is my meditation.
I can understand what Bhagavan said earlier, that we should be careful with our time, and that time, which we have at our disposal, may be used for service activities. Feeling that our very duty itself is God, offer it to Him. That is what Bhagavan said.
Yes, sorry, I left that thought about Kabir. Let me complete it now. (Perhaps my age is showing, right? (Laughter) It’s natural, naturally.)
Kabir was a weaver, and the greatest mystic of our time. (We will talk of Kabir sometime, when the opportunity comes.) Someone said to Kabir, “Oh Master, Divine Master, we have learnt much at your feet. We have gathered pearls of wisdom at your feet. Oh Master, why do you lead a life of poverty? Should you weave and lead the life of a weaver? You make some clothes as a weaver, take them to the market, sell them and earn some money. You carry on your life with a meagre amount of earnings. Why, Master? We will give you money. Don’t do that job any more. We are here. We have learnt many things from you.”
You know what Kabir said? “Stop it! Don’t talk like that. Weaving is a means of livelihood, as You see Me doing it. You think I am leading the life of a weaver for maintaining my family, but you are wrong. Weaving is my meditation. Weaving is worship. Making clothes and selling them in the market is my sadhana. When people wear my weavings, I think God is wearing the clothes that I made for them. When I sell them in the market, I say ‘Ram, Ram, Ram Rahim, Ram Rahim.’ I praise God when I weave. Yes, it is my sadhana.” That is what Kabir has said.
You must have also heard of Santh Tukkaram. He was also a man of poverty. Though a great mystic of our time, He never gave up His own job. Some old saints and some of the mystics happen to have been weavers, potters, or goldsmiths, living very simple, ordinary lives. But they were all extraordinary. They were all extraordinary: they looked poor, but they were so rich in spirit.
Therefore, my friends, as per Bhagavan’s message, let us do our own jobs, which could be anything, in His name with His form. Then the job becomes meditation, becomes religion, and becomes a spiritual pursuit or sadhana, as Bhagavan puts it.
Then came the next question from another student, “Swami.”
Swami said, “Ah, yes?”
The boy said, “I am staying in a different country. There are no Indian families around and both of us are quite busy, because we go to work every day, and have children. How should we bring up our children? My plan is to pass on the culture and tradition of this land to my children, but how can I do that when I am living in a faraway place?” How to bring up his children, that was his question.
The student was my ex-student and was very close to me, so I knew him. Unfortunately, I asked a question. Standing by Swami’s side, sometimes I take risks! (Laughter) You can say half-yearly risks or annual risks, but they are really costly risks, (Laughter) because I have to risk my life. Yes, it is not ordinary thing, but somehow He was helping me get out of the risky situation. So at my own risk--Swami was sitting there and the boy was there--I asked, “Where are you staying now?” It was an unwanted question. (Laughter)
“Where are you staying?” I was quite enthusiastic, because I wanted to see my student in flying colours.
The boy answered, “Until recently, I stayed in America. Now I am back in India.”
Swami said, “Oh, you returned from America! Very good, congratulations! (Laughter) Better you stay in your own country and serve your own people. Each one has to serve his own country. Being an American, you serve there in that land of America. Being an Indian, you serve here in this country. So you have done a very good thing by returning. Serve your people; serve the society where you were born and brought up.”
Further, Bhagavan added that it is necessary for children to receive parental care and attention. Nothing can substitute for it. A mother cannot be substituted. Nor can a father ever be substituted for by another person. Parental care has no substitutions.
Bhagavan went on to say that if you teach everyone all over the city, all over the town, who is going to teach your children? If you are going out to do everything outside the home, who will attend to your domestic duties? If you want to bring up everyone outside, who will bring up your own children? If you just leave them under the care of an aaya, a paid servant-maid at home, what will happen in the future?
Baba tells us that the child will cry when the servant maid dies, but will never cry if the mother dies, because the child never met the mother before. The mother becomes a foreigner, a stranger. The mother and father are unknown when the child is brought up by a servant-maid. So the child will cry in the absence of the servant-maid, but not in the absence of the mother.
Further, Swami brought to light a very important point, particularly to the youngsters of this generation. Make a note of this point! Bringing up children at home is also income. Taking care of your children at home is also a full-time job. Spending time with your children is sufficient salary. Otherwise, with all the money that you amass, with all the amounts in your bank accounts, if the children are spoilt or have gone totally out of control, what are you going to do with your money? What are you going to do with the money when your children are spoilt later in life? Therefore, taking care of children now, bringing them up yourself, is the correct direction. It is a job, it is income, it is a salary, and it is a profession sufficient unto itself. That is what Bhagavan said.
It is a very good point, because we calculate life in terms of money. How much salary do you receive? How many rupees do you get? But when we work outside, we do not know to what extent the child is spoiled. How is the child growing up? In whose company does the child spend time? What words does the child pick up in his neighbourhood? What thoughts does the child entertain in the company of other children? In what way is the child growing up? You do not know!
Therefore, taking care of our children is also very important, as Baba said. Make our earnings meaningful, and make all the money deposited purposeful and useful. That is what Baba said. It is a very, very good thing for all the younger generations to know and realise.
The next question asked by another student: “Swami, how to come close to You? How to be near You?”
Oh! Then Swami said, “If you cannot come close to Me, take Me close to you.” (Applause) Everybody laughed and clapped as you are doing now.
Swami explained the statement a little further. What did He say? “‘Take Me’ means install Me in your heart. Feel Me in your heart. Experience Me in your heart. Then you don’t have to come to Me. You won’t have to ask a question like this, ‘How to be near You?’ I am always with you. I am always in you. I am always above you, below you, around you, behind you.” So “take Me with you” is what Baba said.
To claim to be close to Baba physically is no closeness at all. A personal note here, my friends, as some people delude me like that. They come and say, “Mr. Anil Kumar, how lucky you are, very close to Bhagavan.”
I do not know whether to laugh or cry. (Laughter) I do not know how to react, because as Swami comes in His car, His driver is very close to Him. As Swami starts moving in the wheelchair, security people are close to Him. As He starts picking up letters from devotees, that devotee who hands over the letter is very close to Him. When He sits there on the dais and listens to bhajans, the singers are very close to Him. The boys who play on instruments are very, very close to Him. The pujari, the proheet who gives aarthi, is very close to Him. At the residence hall dining table, the one who serves food is very close to Him, and others who sit along with Him are very close to Him. Now tell me, who is close to Him and who is not close to Him?
If anyone says to me, “You are very close to Him,” I pity myself and question myself also. Have I given that impression? Have I unconsciously, unknowingly given the person the impression that I am close to Him? Did I ever tell the person that I am close to Him? Did I behave in such a way that indicated that I am close to Him, that made the person feel so?
I openly tell my friends that it is foolish to think that one is close to Him, because all are close to Him. (Applause) All are close to Him! It is only for functional purposes on a physical level that some may appear to be close. The mike is close to me now. (Laughter) So Anil Kumar also has a translator. (Laughter) The pujari may be close while giving aarthi, but he won’t give aarthi all twenty-four hours, will he? (Laughter) I do not hold onto the mike like this throughout the day. Each one is close to Him for a functional reason--that is all.
The reality is that all are close to Him. None can be distant from Him. None can be away from Him. Why? As Bhagavan mentioned in His talk, if I tell anyone that I am in search of Anil Kumar, what would he say? “I met you one hour ago when you were quite fine. Did something happen to you? (Laughter) Something happened?”
I cannot search for myself. Will I search for myself? No! Similarly, when God is in you and yet you search for God outside yourself, where is God? Where is God? “Oh, I see something is wrong. At 10 o’clock a psychiatrist will be available. Please consult him.” (Laughter) Therefore, as God is in you and with you always, if you are in search of Him, you are greatly mistaken.
Now tell me, when God is with us and in us, is it not a mistake, a falsehood, and an illusion--something fundamentally wrong--when we brand people who are physically close to Swami? Is it not a shame on the part of any person to think that he is not close to Swami? Poor people! We have to pray for them: “Father, since they know not what they do, forgive them. They know not what they think, so forgive them. They know not what they say, so forgive them. Oh Father, You’re compassionate.” Because of our ignorance, we are like that.
Students asked Swami these questions. He answered like that nicely, one after another, emphasising the spiritual content as the basis, as the undercurrent. I think I must have covered about seven or eight questions, totally eight or nine. I think I covered all the questions. Those questions will be of immense importance to every one of us, as seekers and aspirants walking along the spiritual path. I have ten more minutes. I shall try to wind up briefly regarding all the remaining points which could not be covered last week, with your permission.
My friends, this New Year will help us know exactly what enlightenment is. People think that enlightenment is a paradigm. People dream of enlightenment as heaven. People think that enlightenment is a state of achievement. Let us be enlightened about enlightenment. Let us get ourselves enlightened about enlightenment. What is enlightenment, what you call Samadhi, satori, or nirvana? What is enlightenment?
The simple answer, my friends, is that we are all enlightened already. We are the personification, the embodiment of enlightenment. It is not futuristic. Enlightenment is not going to happen in the year 2010. Enlightenment is not going to happen towards the end of the year 2009, nor is it going to dawn all of a sudden next Sunday. No, no, my friends! You are enlightenment. Enlighten yourself! The Self is already enlightened.
“But what happens when I ‘find’ enlightenment? What am I to do?” I repeat it again, “What am I to do?”
The answer is, “Don’t do.” Don’t do, because it is very difficult to keep quiet. I shared this with my department friends before all of you assembled. The most difficult thing is not to do anything. At least you will be moving your fingers, at least you will be dreaming, at least you will be using your imagination, at least you will be moving your feet for no reason, or at least you will be looking into the empty air, here or there. (Laughter) The most difficult thing is not to do anything. It is very difficult to be silent, more so in my case, since a teacher can never be silent. A teacher can never be silent. To remain silent is difficult.
What is enlightenment? Silence in solitude, that feeling of aloneness or thoughtlessness, emptiness, a ‘no mind’ state (not the ‘never mind’ state), empty mind, thought-free or thought-less-ness--what is there? Nothing . . . beingness: this supreme state of silence is enlightenment.
The other day Bhagavan was saying that the ocean may be still, the sea may be still and quiet; but there will still be a turbulence of waves near the shore. The waves will be dashing and clashing against each other as they touch the shore, creating a disturbance. There is agitation. There is conflict and contradiction; but deep in the ocean, there is silence. It is serene, calm, quiet.
That is the true natural state of mind--quiet, calm, silent, serene, spiritual--diving deep into fathomless depths. That is enlightenment. So enlightenment is a state which is free from thought--a thoughtless beingness. In this year 2009, may Bhagavan help us awaken to that thoughtless being, that “no mind” awareness, satori or natural samadhi, or enlightenment. This is our birthright; this is our true nature.
After a deep sleep without any dirty, horrible dream, after a very good sleep, when we awaken, we are joyful and full of smiles--bright, radiant, energetic, and dynamic--because we had a very good sleep. Sleep is an unconscious state of enlightenment; if we experience that enlightenment right now, it becomes conscious enlightenment. Enlightenment during deep sleep is unconscious enlightenment. Enlightenment right now is conscious enlightenment, which is nothing but thoughtlessness or emptiness. This is the end or purpose of meditation.
Next, we are the disciples and we have our Divine Master. “Master,” people always say, “Oh Master, oh Divine Master!”
Who is the Master? Who is the disciple? First, my friends, are we disciples? No! We are only disciples in the morning; in the evening, we don’t follow that we have someone to follow! (Laughter) Following is also optional; following is also preferential; following is also an option. A student should become a follower, but that is not the be-all and end of all. A follower should become a disciple.
A follower should become a disciple; that is the first thing. Who is a disciple? Disciple means, no option--nothing doing, you have to do it. Those who are working here in the stores, the studios, the hospital, the trust, or the canteen--to your surprise--do you know that they have no holiday? Do you know they have no Sunday? Do you know that they have no festival days when they can relax? Do you know they don’t go home? They don’t go back to their native places, unless there is some emergency or pressing work there. Do you know that all of them are retired people, many of them just working on an honorary basis? Why? That is the quality of a disciple.
The quality of a disciple is to have no personal agenda. “I am eligible for three days casual leave every week, you know that. I am eligible for casual leave, I am eligible for vacation, and I am eligible for promotion.” If I say it’s time that I get promoted to the next stage, that is as a follower.
But a disciple has no option, no preference and does not question why. Not to reason why, but to do and die. Not to question why, not to reason why, this is a disciple. All my brothers working in different units here are disciples. What a sacrifice they have made! Unless you know them intimately, you cannot imagine. So as a disciple, there are no choices and preferences.
Where does it end up? Where does it take me? As a student, it will take me to a job later when I forget my subjects. As a follower, it will take me to a place not to follow hereafter, because I did not get anything by following. As a disciple, what you get and what you do not get is out of the question.
Suppose none of us are here in this room, but the lights are on. The light bulb will not ask, “When the hall is empty, why should I burn? The light cannot say that. It won’t think like that; it has to do its job. That is its duty because it is a disciple. A disciple is unmindful of notice, recognition, reward, boon, or his name announced on the title sheet. They don’t expect even a smile from Swami. Do you know that they don’t sit in the darshan hall for any meeting? They don’t sit there to witness any cultural programme, do you know that? They have their own duties, given to them as a disciple. A disciple has no option, no choice, no preference, and no expectations. Service itself is enough bliss; service itself is enough happiness. That is a true disciple.
Where does it take him? Look here--here is a circle. The circle has a centre and there is the periphery. Everyone has a centre; everyone has a periphery also. This is the periphery: I am not a master of math, thank God, as of now. We have got our own limits, right? So the centre is the master, and the periphery is the disciple.
The disciple periphery thinks of the centre as the master, yet becomes the centre himself. The disciple becomes the master himself. The periphery becomes the centre itself. Periphery means status, knowledge, dignity, respectability, and eagerness—all becoming. The centre is your beingness. So the periphery is becoming, is an achievement, while the centre or being is your reality, your own Self.
Therefore, my friends, the disciple, which is the periphery, looks at the centre and becomes the centre itself. There is no distinction between a master and a disciple at that state. The disciple and the master are one and the same. The disciple will start looking at things from the master’s point of view, as long as it remains there.
Once you look at the master, you are the master yourself. That is what Baba means when He says, “I am God and you are also God.” You are also God! Let us realise the master-disciple relationship: disciple is becoming, master is being. Master is the very being, disciples become That. So let us become disciples from the state of student; from follower to disciple. After that, we become a master.
Next, I am a devotee. I am devoted to God--devotee and God. A devotee continues to be a devotee as long as that connection of devotion is there. If I attend bhajans and service activities regularly, then I continue to be a devotee. When I stop attending, I have nothing to do and I am a stranger to all the bhajans. Then what happens? The connection is cut off! But there is a connection that cannot be cut off. What is it? When Baba says you are God, in this case you are devotee, am I right? But He says you are God, so let us travel to the point of experiencing God within ourselves--ourselves as God.
Another point is this: I was very, very foolish about forty years ago. I went to one area to attend a wedding. I got out at one address and called the auto fellow and said, “Hey, there is a marriage at a nearby place. I have come here to attend the wedding. How much you charge to take me there?”
That fellow said about twenty rupees or so. Being clever I said, “No way. I will give you ten.” I thought I would bargain. “Okay sir,” he said. So he took me and dropped me at the wedding location. I attended the wedding. When I came out after the wedding, I realised I was there all along! (Laughter) That fellow took me for a ride and dropped me at the same place--that is all! (Laughter) I was exactly at that point, but unnecessarily called the auto fellow, who cleverly took me for a ride, dropping me back there. (Laughter) There only!
Like that, my friends, we seek God. We are seekers, seeking God. But once you understand that you are God, you are free from striving further. Therefore, you don’t need to seek anything. You are God. That is the aim and objective of 2009. All the duality disappears, and we understand that we have come back home. We have not gone anywhere. We are back home to our own being, to our own spiritual heart, our own Divine Master.
May Bhagavan bless you! Thank you very much for being here this fine morning. I would like to be excused for taking the extra time I have taken. I wanted to finish this subject we started last week. Thank you! Sai Ram.
OM…OM…OM…
Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya
Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavantu
Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavantu
Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai!
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai!
Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai!