Prof. Anil Kumar’s Talk in Cleveland, Ohio
May 16, 2009
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of our most Beloved Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
ALL BELONG TO SWAMI
I thank Swami for giving me the longest period of vacation I have ever had during my forty-six years of service! (Applause) I have been here in the U.S. from March first, unbelievable! I still doubt that I am here. Anyway, thank You, Swami. I am grateful to Him for giving me a number of opportunities to interact with devotees, and with youth in particular.
Swami has been giving importance to youth and their role in the organisation and in society. Therefore, I have taken the clue from what Bhagavan has been doing in recent years. On that basis, I have started organising youth workshops, from Milwaukee to Dallas, Atlanta, and Seattle. It really has been a grand success all the way through. In fact, I never thought it would be possible to be here in Cleveland, but this is the way Baba works. I am so happy, very happy to be here. (Applause)
I have known Rahul Garuda for the last twenty-five years, and I have also known Dr. Sundar Iyer since the year 1989. We know each other very well. There are so many familiar faces here. I am not new to you; you are not new to me. We are one family, one Sai family! (Applause) Wherever I go, believe me or not, I don’t feel myself to be a stranger. At any point of time, I am not a stranger because we are all the devotees of Bhagavan, so we are brothers and sisters. Bhagavan is our Guardian, our Godfather.
How can you be a foreigner? How can I be a foreigner? Once at the time of an international conference, I made an announcement, saying that all foreigners should meet in one auditorium, while Indian delegates should meet at another place.
Immediately Baba said, “There are no foreigners here! All belong to Swami, all belong to Swami.” (Applause) No foreigners! The feeling of one family all over the world is due to Sai. We may or may not know other languages, yet we become so near, closer and closer, because of the Sai path of love and fraternity.
I remember another occasion when I was talking with Swami. When I said, “Bhagavan, things have happened elsewhere; but in our place things are different.”
Baba said, “Repeat what you are saying.”
I said, “In our place things are different.”
Baba corrected me. “No, no. You speak for yourself when you say ‘our place’ and ‘their place’. All places are Mine. Never use the words our and their,” said Bhagavan. (Applause)
This is the feeling of vasudaiva kutumbakam, which means ‘one universal family’. That’s what Bhagavan is. He does not differentiate anyone from others; He does not criticise anyone. He doesn’t like anyone to be considered greater than other people. Swami wants unity. ‘Unity’, ‘universe’, and ‘university’ have a common etymology. Etymologically, all three words have the same root. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to foster feelings of unity, as we all belong to one family wherever we are.
GOD’S WORK IS THE BEST SADHANA
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is recognised all over the world; we don’t have to introduce Him today. It is said by a famous author, “Name the country, and you will find its representative in Prashanthi Nilayam. Name the profession, and you will find a representation of it there! Today people of all age groups, all religions, all countries, and all ethnic groups, assemble at only one place, Prashanthi Nilayam! Prashanthi Nilayam is above and beyond any narrow religious or sectarian feelings, due to the oneness of Divinity. Unity is Divinity. Divinity is unity, which we have to understand and practise in our lives.”
What does Bhagavan say? In one conversation, a gentleman said, “Bhagavan, I don’t do any practices like japa. I don’t observe anything like yoga, which I don’t know. What shall I do? I don’t religiously read the scriptures everyday. I don’t worship every day. What path would You suggest to me?”
Bhagavan never disowns such people. He answered the man this way. “What path was shown to Hanuman? What path was given to the Pandavas? How could they get liberation? By following the path laid down by God Himself. Doing God’s work is the only sadhana that one has to do! There is nothing beyond that.”
Hanuman followed Rama’s command, whatever Rama wanted him to do. Selflessly, he did what was expected of him. He did it with all of his love, whole-heartedly, devotedly. That is enough sadhana, or spiritual practice.
Recently, former students of Sri Sathya Sai University, around six hundred alumni, assembled at Prashanthi Nilayam. During the question hour, one student got up and said, “Bhagavan, what shall we do to make You happy?”
Maybe that boy expected a long answer. Baba answered with one sentence, “Do what I say, that is enough.”
If we do what He says, if we participate in His spiritual movement, being a promoter and contributor to the fulfilment of His sacred mission, there is nothing beyond that. This is the wonderful opportunity given to all of us. Spirituality gets a different meaning and connotation altogether, after coming to Swami. We may consider different practices as the spiritual path, but after having come to Swami, we understand the depth of it. Here is a simple example:
Aadi Aasthini Veedi Adavi Keguta Kaadhu
Manasunandhu Thucha Vanchalu Viduthe Thyaga Magunu
Adiye Yoga Magunu Sathya Maina Maata Ee Sai Maata
Aadi Aasthini Veedi Adavi Keguta Kaadhu.
Yoga does not mean running away from family.
Yoga does not mean leaving your responsibility.
Spirituality does not mean spending the time in a forest, in seclusion, in solitude, in aloneness.
That is not yoga; that is not spirituality.
Manasunandhu Thucha vanchalu viduthe Thyaga Magunu
To give up evil thoughts, manoeuvring, manipulation, conniving, and evil-mindedness is yoga.
That is thyaga, according to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
THE BRAHMO FAITH
I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but I want to share with you a reference to my history. I belong to Brahma Samaj, founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. I belong to a reformer’s family. Both of my grandparents were Brahmo missionaries. They spent their lives in austerity and utter simplicity. They were even treated as outcasts by their own parents, because the Brahmo Samaj movement brought a sort of social revolution to society in those days.
We do not believe in idolatry, we do not accept the theory of incarnation, and we never consider that only one religion takes you to the destination. We believe in congregational worship, and the fellowship of faith. We believe in God without a beginning or an end, without a form.
I am not going to speak on the essentials of Brahmo Samaj Gita, as this is not the occasion nor the platform. From that background, I came to Swami. Many of my Brahmo friends asked me, “Anil Kumar, being the grandson of two Brahmo missionaries, how is it that you run after a man, a God-man? What happened to you? What a fall it is!”
Then I tell them, “It is not like that. I pity you. I continue to be a Brahmo even today, a better Brahmo, with better understanding, with wider knowledge and a greater approach, with more depth and a profound understanding of the Brahmo mission and Brahmo philosophy.” (Applause)
From that background and experience, I see that Bhagavan and His interpretations are in absolute agreement and consonance with the crux of the Brahmo faith. For example, Swami speaks of the unity of religion, which is the basic, fundamental principle of the Brahmo mission: unity of religions:
Vasthra Bedhamulu Veru Dhaaramokkate
Srungaramulu Veru Bangaram Okkate . . .
Jewels may be many, but gold is one.
Yarn and thread may be different, but cloth is one.
Cows may be different, but milk is one.
Paths may be many, but the goal is one.
Stars are many, but the sky is one.
Nations are many, but the Earth is one.
That is the unity, the Divinity, and the message of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. (Applause)
THE UNITY OF SPIRITUALITY
Therefore, my friends, what has impressed me? From my own point of view, coming from a different background altogether, it is the concept of the unity of religions, and the harmony and fellowship of faith, without emphasis on a particular religion.
People of all religions gather in Prashanthi Nilayam because they understand the underlying spirituality beyond outer, external religion. You may belong to a particular religion, but spiritually we are one. Religions are different, but spirituality is one and the same. Flowers are different, but the string that connects them, the thread that ties up all these flowers making it a garland, is one. The undercurrent of spirituality is one, while the outer flowers that seem to be different are the religions.
Ekam Sath Vipra, Bahudha Vadanthi.
Truth is one.
Truth has been propounded and explained in different ways by sages, saints, seers, and exponents of different religions, belonging to different periods of time in human history. Therefore my friends, the unity principle is what we have to understand, imbibe, and live up to in our lives. That is the message of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He does not overemphasise any particular religious path or any particular religious procedure.
By this I mean, let us follow the law of the land. Let us mix with all people, as we are not separate. Wherever you are, be one with them. Don’t organise. Let us not organise ourselves into separate groups. That is treacherous; that is utter betrayal to the Sai principle altogether. We should flow into the mainstream: we are one with everyone, not separate. This is one thing that has impressed me a lot.
TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY
The second aspect that I love in Bhagavan is that He treats everyone alike. He will not consider anyone superior to any other person. He does not give special treatment to anyone, nor does He consider Himself apart from you. This we do not find anywhere else.
A little knowledge, a little calibre, a mushroom height of excellence, a grass blade of recognition, is enough for a person, dull-headed or big-headed! But here is Bhagavan, with all His popularity in the materialistic world, with all His name and fame that He enjoys today, all over the world. Yet He comes simply, and is very available to everyone. This kind of simplicity is the sign of spirituality.
When you consider yourself separate from someone else, you deserve a cage in a zoo, not a part in a community. (Applause) Therefore, the ability to move with everyone, the capacity to be with everyone and to consider everyone equal, is the hallmark of a spiritual man.
It is only a material person who divides. “I have more than you financially; I am more than you by virtue of my qualifications; I am more than you by virtue of my strength; I am more than you because of my achievements and accomplishments.” These are all the measures of a material yardstick.
But in spirituality, “All are one, my dear son, so be alike to everyone!” That kind of uniformity, that kind of harmony, that sort of oneness, is the feature of a spiritually awakened, enlightened person!
BHAGAVAN COMMUNICATES WITH SIMPLICITY
Here is Bhagavan Baba, who mixes with everyone, even the class four employees, who are unlettered, illiterate, rugged, rustic, cut off from the maddening crowds, leading a simple life, and who do not know anything about what is happening in the rest of the world. He mixes with them easily within no time. He has the ability to communicate with anyone in any group!
Unfortunately, ordinary people consider themselves extra-ordinary for nothing. Some say that they have people of a particular standard who listen to them. What is that standard? How can you say there is a certain standard? What are the parameters? To say that you give to a chosen few . . . “I want a select group” . . . is not spirituality at all, by any standard.
The best example is Baba. He meets villagers—innocent people who have no knowledge of scriptures whatsoever—and He communicates to them in such a beautiful way. I remember very well when about two thousand devotees from different villages in one district assembled in Prashanthi Nilayam. People doubted whether Swami would talk to them or not.
But Bhagavan, who is beyond all knowledge, scholarship or wealth, simply went to them, sat on His chair, smiled, and enquired, “Oh, good! What are you doing? Oh, good. What are you doing? Wonderful! Hey, eat less. Better that you do some more exercise. Oh, very good! You seem to be a lazy fellow! Your tummy has gone out so much. You seem to be a question mark fellow (body shaped like a question mark). Do some exercise.”
He was talking to everyone, all the villagers. That is the feature of an Avatar. The characteristic of a Divine incarnation is the ability to communicate the most complex things in the simplest way possible; whereas man is capable of amplifying and exaggerating, making simple things complicated. Simple-made-complicated is man, while complicated-made-simple is Baba, that’s what I would say. (Applause) That makes Him great, because He makes Himself understood to everyone.
DIVINE COMMUNION
Ask anyone. “Sir, I am here in Prashanthi Nilayam for the fifteenth time.”
“What do you understand?”
“You don’t understand what I understand,” that is the answer.
“Why do you come repeatedly?”
The answer is, “You do it. Then you will understand.”
Every time we find something new, something bright, something radiant, something vibrant, something fresh, that is a sign of the Divinity of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Every time you feel like visiting Him, you draw inspiration from Him.
Books are books, after all; letters are letters, after all; words are words, after all. Life is different from that. Scriptures lift, but the spiritual path demands faith. Love in action is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. (Applause) I want to draw your attention to that statement this morning. You get some inspiration by just watching Him.
THE NEED FOR SILENCE
It is also said, “Why is Bhagavan not talking these days? How is it that He does not talk to everyone? Why?”
The answer is this: He has spoken enough. Nothing has gone into our ears. There are more than one hundred volumes of His words, but not even a few of those values to which He often refers have been put into practise. Therefore, He will be silent.
At another time He said, “When you can understand My silence, I don’t have to talk.”
Silence is eloquence. Silence is eloquence, so He does not have to talk. If you expect Bhagavan to talk, how can you expect crores and crores of people, a large number of people from all over the world, to transform themselves, those who are ardent devotees of Bhagavan today?
He doesn’t have to talk to anyone. A mortal has to talk; but an immortal principle doesn’t need to talk. He can commune; this is a kind of connection from within. It is not verbal, it is not vocal. It is not put into words. It is something that makes you energised. It is a call from within, an inner voice.
Someone asked Baba, “Swami, so-and-so speaks of the inner voice. How is it that I don’t have any inner voice? Why?”
Baba said, “Stop your outer noise. There is outer noise. Stop that, so you can listen to the inner voice.”
That’s the reason why He says, “It is only in the depth of silence that the voice of God is heard.” In the depth of silence, between a word and a word, between a sentence and a sentence, there is silence. The moment of silence is the spiritual experience.
The spiritual experience is the word-less word, the letter-less letter. It is not communicated verbally, and cannot be put into expression. Therefore, my friends, what does Baba mean by spirituality?
Many people ask, “Did He give you any mantra? Did you have any upadesha?”
“Nothing.” Aadesha, a command, is His upadesha or spiritual teaching.
Therefore, living up to His teachings, proceeding on the same path, is what is expected of us today. His kind of utter simplicity and down-to-earth ability to communicate with everyone is what has attracted me very much.
CONCERN FOR OTHERS
The third point I like in Sathya Sai Baba is His concern for everyone. Everyone considers himself close to Baba. Talk to any person: he will not give you time to talk about your experience because he goes on speaking about his own experience! “I have been with Swami for twenty years, thirty years!” As if some service register is maintained! (Laughter) Those who speak of many long years of association with Swami don’t want and don’t have the patience to listen to others’ experiences. That is the worst tragedy that can happen.
We should be eager to hear about others’ experiences. We should be eager to know others’ ways of approaching Swami, how they come closer and closer to Swami. That kind of eagerness, that kind of inquisitiveness to know others, is much more important. By talking with people, we will understand how small we are, how negligible we are, and how we are just a decimal point!
There are many people who don’t have enough food to eat; but they are here in Prashanthi Nilayam. There are many, many people who cannot afford a square meal; but they spend all their time performing the service activities of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. That is spirituality.
Spirituality is not a letter or platform. It is not an exhibition of talents. It is not a music or dance programme. No, no, no! It is the one of experience. It is the one of common living. It is the one of an ordinary man. That is what we find in Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
There was one scholar, a vice chancellor, who wrote more than hundred books. Someone introduced him to Swami, saying, “Swami, he is a vice chancellor. He has written about one hundred books.”
Baba said, “He may have written one hundred books, but he has not put into practice even one sentence. Not even one sentence has been put into practice!”
Bhagavan Baba’s emphasis is on practise and experience, not preaching, reading, or scholarship. The emphasis is on the experience of practicing the principles and the essentials of His teachings. That is what I have understood from Bhagavan Baba: His concern and love for everyone.
While He was talking to someone, suddenly He pointed out, “That man is thirsty. Why don’t you give him some water? That elderly person is standing. Why don’t you put out a chair for him? Why don’t you give some room for others to sit? How is it that the same old staff sits in the front row every darshan? Why not some new people? Why not those devotees who are here for the first time?”
It is most unfortunate that some consider that first row is the first row in heaven. It is not so. There is nothing like the first row or the last row. We should not be lost. It is better to be last, than to be lost. (Applause)
Some also consider that the place where they sit belongs to them because, when I go and see about something, someone will come and say, “This is my place.” I don’t know when he purchased that particular place? How can you say ‘my place’ and ‘your place’? It is not like that!
He wants to interact with fresh faces, more and more new faces. This kind of concern for everyone is really great. That is seen in Bhagavan Baba.
SWAMI KNOWS ALL, THOUGH HE FEIGNS IGNORANCE
Above all, just watch Him as He talks to people—children of the primary school, university students, professors, scholars, doctors. He behaves as if He does not know anything. That is the wonder of wonders. Then we become confused, and are under the total illusion or delusion, called maya.
I know a doctor who conducted the first heart transplant in India, and won the highest national honour─the Bharat Ratna. He was the first one who did heart transplant. He happened to visit Baba in Kodaikanal.
Swami asked him, “Why is there heart disease?”
He, being an expert and an international man, gave a forty-five minute lecture on heart diseases, with explanations about arteries and veins. He spoke so long that those listening also had a heart attack! (Laughter) Swami patiently listened to him, looking at him deeply, staring straight at him, without any deviation or diversion of attention, in rapt attention.
Swami finally said, “Oh, is that so? Atla na? Oh ho! In My opinion, there are only three reasons for a heart attack: hurry, worry and curry.”
We are in a hurry for everything. We want spicy curry, and we worry. We are always in a hurry, forgetting Sri Hari. That is what is responsible for a heart attack, according to Him, stated in just three sentences. (Applause)
I also remember another occasion, when an international builder, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Company, International, won a contract award. The top director of L&T, at the time of construction of the present South Indian canteen, showed Swami the building plans. Swami was listening, saying, “Aha’s” and “Oh, ho’s” as if He had no idea at all. That man started explaining the plans. That is human vanity, what to do?
Swami ultimately said, “Na uddeshamulu bangaru itla chesthe sari pothundhi.” “My opinion is, if you do it this way (Swami suggested His own plan), that is the best solution.”
The engineer was very surprised, astonished, speechless, and dumbfounded because Swami’s suggestion was the best solution ever. His suggestion was the best—something that no engineer could have conceived of.
That is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. But He behaves in an ordinary manner, as if He does not know. That should never give us the feeling that He does not know. We may ask a question, “Why should He look like that? When He knows everything, why should He ask?”
The reason He acts like that is to come close to you, to establish communication to you, to give you a chance to talk, to give you an occasion to open your mouth. To give you support and a pat on the back, He pretends as if He does not know. But the time you think He does not know, He will make you know that He already knows, before you say anything. (Laughter)
SWAMI ATTENDS TO ALL NEEDS
Therefore, we find two aspects of Bhagavan: the personal and the impersonal. When He comes close to you, He is very personal. When He reveals His Divinity, He is impersonal. At the same time, a kind of feeling or an immediate grasp of the situation comes to you about what He wants. Is He in dire need of something? He will immediately say, “No!”
One simple example: in Brindavan, long ago in the 1960’s, sat a young man, a very rich man with a long elastic, plastic face, whom we had never met. He had what we call a Shakespearean face; anyway, a long face or, to quote Baba, a “castor oil face”! (Laughter)
Swami went around the devotees, and then sent word for Ram Brahman (the caretaker at Brindavan in those days) and said, “Why is this man so gloomy? Why does he look so miserable? What’s wrong with him? Go and find out.”
Ram Brahman went to the man, found out the reason, came back to Swami, and said, “Swami, he needs two lakhs rupees now, two lakhs of rupees immediately. Though he is a rich man, it happens to be a bank holiday, so he doesn’t have any money right now; but he needs it. That is why he is miserable.”
Swami smiled, and called the man inside. You know that Swami’s footrest is something like a pillow. Swami picked it up, and then split it. It is the biscuit that breaks; it is the cloth that tears. Normally, the cloth will never tear; but when Swami did it, the whole pillow broke, and two lakhs of rupees were inside!
Then He said, “Don’t worry, I am here. I will take care of you.”
That man went. When there is something that you need, what Bhagavan gives you is not a discourse, which you don’t really need when you are on your death-bed. When you are hungry, He doesn’t give you a discourse. He gives you what is needed at that moment of time.
Swami GIVES WHAT YOU NEED
A simple example: the college boys do not go away for vacation. They want to spend their time in the company of Bhagavan Baba. One year, during the Deepavali festival, all the students came out and stayed with Him.
Suddenly He took all of them along, calling one boy and saying, “Here are a bunch of letters. Pick up any letter you want to, open it, and that which is in the envelope goes to you.”
That boy was happy. Baba further said, “Even if it is a serpent!”
“Amma! Swami, I don’t want that.” (Laughter)
Then Baba laughed and said, “Do I send serpents to you? Don’t worry, don’t worry. Pick up any envelope.”
He picked one envelope, opened it, and found a five hundred rupee note.
Swami said, “You take it.”
That boy was a bioscience student, now working in Mysore. I know him very well. Swami said, “You take this.” Then Baba laughed and said, “You wrote a letter to your father to send you five hundred rupees. Since you don’t have enough money, you are not eating your breakfast. I know that. Therefore, I gave you five hundred rupees. Had you asked your father for two thousand rupees, I would have given you two thousand. What to do? (Laughter) You asked for only five-hundred. That’s not My mistake.” That’s what Baba said. (Applause)
Therefore, He attends to your needs and gives you what you need then and there.
FROM SUICIDE TO SAI-SIDE
I happily recall an incident that took place in the Warangal District of Andhra Pradesh, where a gentleman was totally frustrated.
My friends, before I go into the details, let me tell you, as our good friend Sunder Iyer knows fully well, I have all the addresses with me of those who can verify what I say. No one can question me. These stories are not cooked up or hearsay; they are direct, firsthand information. I am a student of science, but I have not lost my senses yet! (Laughter)
The man had lost his wife, and he had two children. Out of frustration, he wanted to commit suicide. In India, we have wells that are twenty-five or thirty-five metres deep, with some kind of enclosure, such as a parapet wall, around every well. People draw water by hanging a pulley, in the old style. The gentleman found that convenient, stood there on the parapet wall, and was ready to jump into the well.
He was ready to jump, but then what happened? On that day a bhajan was going on elsewhere. Suddenly out of Baba’s picture, a slip of paper fell down. “Stop the bhajans. Go to the well, where a man is dying. Go there.”
The people stopped bhajans, and they went to the well. By the time they reached there, they found the man ready to jump. Somehow, the suicide was prevented. Later he served as the District President of Sathya Sai Organisations. That is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. (Applause) From suicide to Sai-side, a life is saved. (Applause)
SAI TRANSFORMATION
I also remember another incident that happened in a village six kilometres from my native place. As these places are not known to you, I am not telling you the names; but you are quite free to visit me and obtain the minute details, if you wish to. I went to that village six kilometres from our town. It is a place of communists—well built fellows, and if you go on speaking, they will finish you off! (Laughter)
It happened to be the anniversary of the Sathya Sai centre, so I went there. In the villages, the residents will have a meeting after dinner. People put carpets on the streets so they can sit, listen, go into Samadhi, or sleep, if they don’t like your talk. Quite comfortably they sit there, and listen to the talk.
While I was talking, one gentleman got up. He was wearing only a banian. He was a typical agriculturist, Andhra type, wearing a dhoti. You could see his calf muscles. He could handle six boys of today. He was a pucca, well built villager, maybe a goat or sheep herdsman.
That man stood up and said, “What nonsense are you speaking? Stop it!” he said. “What nonsense you are speaking! Have you come here for spreading propaganda or for publicity? Why are you here?”
Then I said, after first doing namaskar, “Sir, I have four children, so please don’t attack me like that! Believe me, today I have come here to talk to our family members at the Sathya Sai centre because this happens to be that centre’s anniversary. I have come to talk to our family members. If you like this, you are quite welcome to be here. Otherwise, thank you.”
That is what I said. What happened then? Somehow I was safe and secure that night, because of the good luck of Sai family members. In certain places, if anything is done, things cannot be challenged in the courts; and in some places, people can be finished off! But somehow I was able to return home.
After two days, I received a photograph. We still have that photograph. All of the Sai centre people had taken photographs at the end of the anniversary celebration. Swami’s chair was at the centre of the photograph, and a few people stood by one side, while a few others stood towards the other side, standing where they wished. The photograph sent to me had Swami sitting in the chair. They wrote, “Sir, Swami is sitting in the chair, and the fellow who challenged you is standing behind His chair!”
He became an ardent devotee of Baba, and constructed a temple in that village! That kind of transformation only Baba can bring about. No one else can bring about that kind of transformation: a new life, a total transformation, a new attitude altogether—no one else but Baba can bring that about!
A SPIRITUAL PERSON IS SIMPLE
In Prashanthi Nilayam, we find some of the top people─directors, top−most scientists, scholars─ moving around very simply, very ordinarily. It is very difficult to estimate them and what they are, because to be ordinary, to be simple, is the quality of a religious man, a spiritual man.
Meditation or yoga, either of the two or both, will make you understand that you are no one in this world. As long as you feel that you are someone, that you are a separate entity, you have a long way to go. When you lose your identity, when you forget your own entity and identity, then you are moving towards the culmination of your journey, towards the fulfilment of yoga or meditation, whatever your meditation may be.
A drop of water is separate. A drop is a drop, after all; but once you put a drop back into the sea, it becomes part of the sea. Then you cannot say, “Where is my drop? Where is your drop?” When a drop is in the ocean, the drop is the ocean, and the ocean is the drop. Then you do not have any kind of limitation of name or form.
Losing identity is the quality of a spiritual man. Self-effacement, self-denial, no clamouring or craving for recognition and reputation, are the qualities of a spiritual man. Recognition, reputation, and publicity are the materialistic goals of life, whereas the spiritual goal is to lose one’s identity. It is most unfortunate that in the name of spirituality, we want to retain our identity. We want to grow in our own path, feeling that we are great and superior to others.
SPIRITUALITY IS IN THE HEART
At this moment, I will share with you what Baba once said. A queen was feeling badly that her husband, the king, was not as religious as herself. Naturally, women often think that they are more religious than men. I don’t want to fight with them, because I may have to meet them after this. (Laughter) They are free to have their own view.
So the queen started feeling that her husband, the king, was not as devoted as she was. She was very worried. But what happened one day? When she was in the king’s room in the royal palace, she heard him getting up from his bed repeating, “Ram, Ram!”
“Oh, this fellow can repeat the word Rama?” She was thrilled, “Oh, my husband can repeat God’s name!” Immediately she ordered the preparation of a big banquet, a gala music programme, and a great celebration all over the kingdom.
The king came out of his room and asked, “What are all these paraphernalia? What is all this going on?”
Then the queen said, “My Lord, Your Majesty! In the early hours of the morning I was so happy to hear from your lips the natural, glorified name of Rama. Therefore, I am celebrating.”
Then the king replied, “I am so sorry, dear. My spirituality is within the recesses of my heart alone. My spirituality is not to be kept on the streets. It is not for publicity, nor is it an exhibition or treat. I am silent, and I keep it within me. I am so sorry you could hear that.”
Spirituality is that which is within your heart. It is not placed on the street; it is not an exhibition treat. It is not a claim, nor an achievement or attainment. It is what you are. Religion is what you are—not what you will be!
DON’T DO
I am reminded of Ramana Maharshi. A devotee asked him, “Swami, what shall I do for liberation?”
Ramana Maharshi answered, “Don’t do.”
“What shall I do?”
“Don’t do.”
The devotee thought something was wrong with Ramana Maharshi. Then he came out and others explained. Doing anything is an action. Action is born out of thoughts. Thought arises out of the mind. Waves of thought emerge from the mind. These thoughts translate into action, yielding varied results ultimately. But God is beyond the mind. So all the thoughts you have, all the actions you do, are limited to the body and the mind. You are not the mind and you are not the body; so what is to be done? Don’t do! Don’t do!
Doing is a process within the framework of the mind. Baba’s teaching is to grow beyond the mind. Whenever He says you are not the mind, whenever He refers to our mind as monkey mind, we laugh and forget it. But it is something more.
EXPERIENCE IS INEXPRESSIBLE
You are not the mind. How do you know that you are not the mind? In deep sleep, the mind is passive; the mind is withdrawn. You don’t know what is happening around you. The next morning you get up, that’s all. Therefore, where expression fails, experience settles. Experience settles where expression fails.
All expression is the product of the mind. All expression is narrative or descriptive. All expression is just limited to vocabulary, to words. But experience cannot be put into words.
A simple example: Baba described a boy saying, “I love my mother.”
“Very good! How much do you love her?”
“Sweet.”
“How sweet?”
“Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Something like an electric train whistle going ‘Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet’.”
Tell me, how much do you love your mother? How much do you love your children? Can you describe that? You cannot describe that love! But onstage you can say, “I love you all,” a political platform! Love cannot be expressed. Expressions are from the mind, while experience is from the heart.
EXPERIENCE IS FROM THE HEART, NOT HEAD
The heart and head are different. Our heads are full of material, full of information, full of knowledge. The brain has become a DVD or a CD, or a computer or a memory stick, or an iPod. But that does not seep into the heart. If all that is in the head does not percolate into the heart, then you cannot say that you have had an experience. Experience comes out of the heart; expression comes out of the head.
Bhagavan tells you to experience from the heart centre, not from the head centre.
Andhakaramella Hatha Maru Nechooda,
Vasudhalo Deepambu Vatsavalana.
Here is the meaning: suppose there is a power failure, and the whole area is dark. Suppose someone jumped around saying, “Light, light, light, light!” Do you get light? By saying the words “Light, light, light,” do you get light? No! To dispel the darkness, you should light the candle or lamp, not simply repeat the word ‘light’. No, no! Repetition of words won’t help.
Roga Peeditha Pali Rogalu Povuna,
Aushadha Mahimambu Vinayanthe.
Then, when a patient is suffering from a serious affliction or disease, someone may come and say, “Look here, man. I have got a medical prescription. The bottle is beautiful, the packaging is very nice. The pharmacology is this.”
“You just stop it! If it is going to cure me, give it to me; otherwise, get out. Don’t disturb me.”
To a patient, the cure is important, not the efficacy, pharmacological, pathological, or physiological details of the medicine; these are not required. That we should also understand.
Akonna Vaani Aakali Theeruna,
Panchabakshya Paramannam Vinna.
Here the meaning is: a hungry man has had no food for the last four days, so we make him sit. “Here is the menu card. At present, there are ten sweets and ten hot stuff, pulihora, available.”
He will say, “Get out, or let me kill you!” He wants food immediately, not just your menu card.
Pedharikamu Povuna Vitha Mahima Vinayantha.
A poor man, a beggar, may be at your doorstep.
You cannot say, “I will teach you some economics. I will teach you some accountancy.”
He will say, “Sir, that’s all. Give me some money, or allow me to go next door.”
Acharanaleni Vidhyalu Avaniyandu Ninda Nerchina Phalamemi Gundusunna.
Knowledge which is not put into practise, and information which does not help at the moment,
Is merely zero, useless, that’s all.
So, the heart centre should function from experience, not from the level of the mind.
INTERCONNECTIVITY
Further, you should experience the state of interconnectivity. “I am connected to everyone” is the quality of a seeker, an aspirant, or a spiritual practitioner. When you practise a spiritual path, you will understand that you are interconnected. You never feel that you are separate. No, no! We are always interconnected.
A simple example: a calf fell into the river, and was struggling hard to get out. One yogi jumped into the river and saved the life of the calf. A modern boy—a college student looking at the scene—thought of the yogi as a good-for-nothing fellow. He called the yogi and said, “What are you doing? Why did you save the life of a calf? You are running out of time. Don’t you have an office? What about your work?”
The yogi said, “When the calf is struggling for life, I feel the pain. When the beggar is struggling for life, I feel the pain. When the patient is struggling for life, I feel the pain.”
This interconnectivity is the quality of a spiritual man. The yogi doesn’t consider himself apart from anyone. He doesn’t live in isolation; he doesn’t live in solitude. He is in the society, but beyond the society.
There are two classes of people: one materialist and the other spiritualist. Materialists are those who are always moving towards indulgence. Spiritualists are those who are always after avoidance. Materialists say, “I want.” Spiritualists say, “I don’t want.” But to both of them, want is common.
A simple example: “I want money,” says a materialist man. “I don’t want money,” says a spiritual man. Whether you want it or don’t want it, money is the common point. Therefore, avoidance or indulgence, both are wrong, both are wrong.
TRANSCENDENCE IS TRUE SPIRITUALITY
There are some people who think that to be a bachelor or a celibate in life is an excellent path of spirituality. But I tell them, by not getting married, you have saved the life of one woman. (Laughter) I know for certain you are a sadist; therefore, it is better that you remain a bachelor. I do not know whether you will attain liberation or not; but at least that lady will attain liberation by not getting married to you! (Laughter)
People think that celibacy is saintliness. People think that celibacy is a qualification to be a seeker. Poor fellows! Celibacy and spirituality have nothing to do with each other. Why? All saptha rishis or seven sages were happily married with children. I don’t think a celibate, a brahmachari, can be more saintly than any of the saptha rishis!
Look at these two stages of life—the life of a householder with family (grihastha), and the life of a celibate (sanyasi) or renunciant (brahmachari). The different stages in relation to your family have nothing to do with spirituality. Spirituality is not avoidance; neither is it indulgence. Rather, it is transcendence. Please understand this. (Applause) Transcendence is spirituality, not avoidance or indulgence. Here we are mistaken if we believe otherwise. So, let us not be carried away by certain things.
Once someone said, “Swami, Brahmachari kaleka pothunname, emi cheyyamantaru? How can a fellow like me, with ready-made children and all that, be a devotee in the company of celibates, who consider me inferior to themselves? Swami, I cannot be a celibate at this level with grandchildren!”
Then Swami said, “Samsaramante emayya? What is samsara?”
My friends, please listen to this. What is family? Family does not mean only wife and children. Thought is samsara. Therefore, show me a person without thoughts!
MEDITATION IS THE THOUGHTLESS STATE
Thoughtlessness (being thought-free) is the end goal of a meditative mind. Some people say, “While I sit for meditation, I see so many pictures.” That is not meditating; that is dreaming. If you say that the appearance of pictures is the goal of meditation, then people who dream of many film stars would be the best meditators! So, your thoughts, pictures, and imagination have nothing to do with meditation.
What is meditation? Meditation is the thoughtless state, thoughtlessness. No thoughts come whatsoever. When there is no thought, you are not there. What does this mean? I, with my name and form, with my body, height, and weight, do not exist. I-ness is lost. That is the reason Baba says that spirituality is a journey from “I to We”.
Once you become “We”, the ‘I’−ness (‘I’ identity) is gone. When you say ‘I’, you have yet to start your journey. We have to travel from the point of “I” to “We”. “We” means, there is no one else other than He, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. (Applause) This kind of awareness in the spiritual sense is possible after being exposed to Sai literature and Sai teachings.
MEDITATION IS THE THOUGHTLESS STATE
Though I said the following on another occasion, I don’t mind repeating myself once again! Many Christian pastors and Christian bishops are surprised when listening to Bhagavan’s interpretations of the Holy Bible. When Swami explains the Bible and certain passages from the Holy Scripture, the Bible is not simply the Bible; it is “The Bible, the Book”!
When Swami starts explaining some passages of the Bible to some of the missionaries, pastors, and bishops, they are astonished and surprised. Peter Thick published three books, two of which are Christianity and Baba and A Catholic Priest Comes to Sai Baba. And the outcome of it is this: at the basic level, we are one and the same. After all, one wave may be big, while another wave may be small; but both are part of the same ocean.
In the good old days, my grandmother wore a waist belt. I don’t think any women today wear a waist belt of gold─vardhan─full of gold, something like a policeman’s belt. Of course, modern girls cannot bear the weight. A waist belt made of gold is quite big and heavy. An earring is so small and light; a finger ring is also very small and light, though it is also made of gold.
Therefore, to go deep, beyond name and form, is the goal of a realised soul. It is the purpose of a meditative mind, and is the one that takes you to the endless, formless experience of Divinity that is yoga. Yoga is not a mere spiritual exercise.
Unfortunately, we find advertisements in big cities like Bangalore and Madras stating, “Yoga in twenty days, two hundred rupees. Yoga in thirty days, five hundred rupees—‘crash yoga’ and ‘crack yoga’. (Laughter) I don’t understand ‘crash yoga’ and ‘crack yoga’. (Laughter) Do you mean to say that sages and saints, who could not afford twenty-five rupees or two hundred fifty rupees, were fools to spend hundreds of years in the forest? (Laughter)
Yoga is not a purchasable commodity. Yoga is not an object. Yoga is not anything to be imported or exported. Yoga is not to be taught. Yoga is not for demonstration. Yoga is not physical exercise. Then what is yoga? Please understand: there is a beautiful explanation given by Baba. We think what we do is yoga, but it is not. It is viyoga or separation. Yoga means ‘combination’ or ‘union’, while viyoga means ‘separation’.
TRUE YOGA
What is true yoga? Swami, while walking in the midst of an assembly of scholars, asked one of them, “What is yoga?”
The scholar replied, “Swami, yogam samasthamuchyathe: equality is yoga.”
“You are wrong, sit down. What is yoga?”
“Swami, yogam karma sukowshalam: discharging one’s duty to the best of one’s ability is yoga.”
“Completely wrong, sit down.”
All the scholars were very successful in giving the wrong answers. Finally, He looked at an elementary school teacher and said, “Sharma, neevu cheppu choosthanu. You tell me what yoga is.”
He was not a scholar like the others. The others were great scholars, avadhanis. This was an elementary school teacher. Swami asked, “What is yoga?”
He said, “Swami, we should have Your darshan and be in front of you. This is yoga, nothing else!” (Applause)
Yoga is deservedness. Yoga is the good fortune that makes you able to be near Him, that makes you able to be close to Him, that makes you contemplate, concentrate, and spend all your time in constant integrated awareness. Constant integrated awareness is real yoga. Choiceless awareness is yoga. The life of choice, the life of preference, is not yoga. Yoga is choiceless awareness, where you have no choice whatsoever.
SWAMI IS YOUR HOME
These are the concepts given by Bhagavan Baba. No one else can tell them in such a simple way. But how does He say? If He speaks as a scholar, if He speaks standing on a high pedestal, we are not ready to hear Him. So, He comes close to you. He will make you experience Him. He will convince you of His Divinity, and then He talks to you. Please understand this.
That’s the reason why all speakers don’t have a following, and why all gurus don’t have a following. Their speeches are only academic or textual, for commercial use, or to pass out as propaganda.
Today Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has the maximum number of followers, who are cosmopolitan, international, and intercontinental. (Applause) Why? He has convinced us of His Divinity. He has passed through the crucible/test of time and trouble. He has endured a lot of criticism, mud-slinging, character assassination, and all the nonsense that could be said. He passed through all that and emerged successfully from the test of time. He proved His Divinity—that He knows everything and can be present everywhere. Because He speaks from the pedestal of Divinity, He touches our hearts. Swami goes to that state and then communicates it to you. You feel Him there with you at home.
YOU OWE YOUR LIFE TO SWAMI
I can give you one example. A medical camp was about to start, but the seva dal convener who was the service co-ordinator, was found sleeping at home. He was supposed to get up at five o’ clock; but because he had worked till midnight, he was still fast asleep. He had to catch the first bus at five in the morning. How is it that only during that time we get a good sleep!? So the poor man was still sleeping. I’ll give his address and his name, Vijay Kumar. He works in the stores in Prashanthi Nilayam.
At 4:30 am, Swami sat in His car: “Vijay Kumar, get up! You are the service coordinator. If you sleep like that, what will happen to the medical camp? Get up!”
Vijay Kumar narrated this experience with tears rolling down his cheeks. “Sir, I am the co-ordinator, but He coordinates. He coordinates, while I am the coordinator. I am the organiser, while He organises. He does it, yet gives us the credit!” (Applause)
He does everything, yet gives us the credit. Those who claim some kind of credit are living in oceanic ignorance, Himalayan innocence; no one can help them. If you are worth the salt, if you are worth of anything in this world, particularly Sai devotees, it is because of Sathya Sai Baba, only, only, only. Please remember that. (Applause)
Don’t you owe your knowledge, don’t you owe your training, don’t you owe your existence, don’t you owe your name and education, to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba? Because of His inspiration only, you are what you are today, or you would be nothing and nobody, I can tell you.
SHARING THE MESSAGE OF GOD IS ENERGISING
Whenever people rush to me and ask me to visit their centres, when people come every day to my residence and ask me to come visit them, it’s a nuisance to our neighbours.
People ask me for our apartment number, and I tell them, “It is that apartment from which you hear a loud voice; that apartment in front of which there are fifteen pairs of slippers. If footwear is there, it is my apartment.”
People come and ask us to say something about Swami. Why aren’t they tired? Why I am not exhausted? Even this morning, while driving to this place, some people asked me, “Mr. Anil Kumar, are you not exhausted because of the number of meetings you have addressed?”
I told them in all modesty, “This is my life. At seventy years old, I am moving around like this. It is my life; this is what I like.” If I am asked to stay at home for one full day, it is the worst punishment that I could ever imagine, because I feel like talking like this, and sharing Swami’s views like this.
His spiritual teachings are very important. Why? My friends, you may conduct medical camps or seasonal activities; you may organise study circles or weekly activities; you may feed the poor as a monthly activity. But if you expose a person to the teachings of God, to the message of God, and help him experience it, it will be the highest service. Please understand: the highest service is to expose a person to Divinity, to take a person closer to God. It is the highest form of service that we can ever imagine. Therefore, I am never tired.
THE LOOK OF MOKSHA─LIBERATION
Once in Brindavan, Swami asked, in the midst of everyone, “Anil Kumar, what you want?”
I said, “Swami, why should I ask for anything? I am in front of God, who gives to me without my asking. Why should I ask for anything?”
Then He said, “Ask something.”
“I don’t know Swami.” Then I said, “Moksha or liberation, I don’t want it.”
He asked, “Why?”
I told Him, “Give me twenty-four hours, then I will come back.”
Again Swami asked, “Do you want moksha, liberation?”
I said, “Swami, I don’t want it.”
He asked, “Why?”
No one has ever told me how moksha appears, how liberation looks. If moksha is very beautiful, handsome like a film star, very good, let me go. If moksha is a sweet, let me eat it. No one told me how moksha is, or how it tastes. If it is tall or short, ugly or beautiful, no one has told me. Why should I ask for that about which I do not know?
“Since you are forcing me to ask, if ever I am given a chance, give me a chance to go around all over the world to speak about the glory of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and the message of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, by organising camps and spreading the message of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. By talking to devotees, I know how exciting it is! By organising camps, I know how thrilling it is. By moving as a brother, I experience the bond of love. That’s all I want, Swami.”
EXPERIENCE BABA AND HIS MESSAGE
Therefore my friends, we experience Baba when we find the taste of life. We find the mission of life in the Divine Self of Baba. When we experience Baba, we find the meaning to our life; we find the purpose of our life. After all, the whole world is not worth more than Bhagavan Baba being with you in the altar of your heart. You realise over the passage of time, thousands and thousands of people have had the craving to have His darshan. Bhagavan has chosen all of us to be near Him, to come to know Him, and to experience Him in this life.
Within a short time, the Cleveland organisation was able to arrange this beautiful meeting with ideal devotees. I am excited to meet all of you, and I pray to Bhagavan Baba, from the bottom of my heart, to bless each and every one of you, and help each one of us grow in spiritual awareness. With His blessings may we reach that state of thoughtlessness, that state of constant integrated awareness, that understanding of choiceless awareness, that experience of brotherhood, that state of being a non-entity, that state of self-denial, that state of ordinariness, that sort of availability to everyone, the simplicity and feeling of closeness with everyone, which He has shown to all of us. Let Bhagavan be with you forever and ever!
© Copyright Prof. Anil Kumar Kamaraju - Puttaparthi All rights reserved.