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A Talk Given by Mrs. Kamaraju and

Questions and Answers by Prof. Anil Kumar

“Extra Satsang Given by Mrs. Kamaraju and Prof. Anil Kumar
to the Spanish Group”

March 17, 2011

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Sai Ram to all of you!

MRS. KAMARAJU ADDRESSES THE SPANISH GROUP

So this is the Spanish group! We are meeting for the first time. My husband will be here shortly; meanwhile I wanted to engage you with a story. That is why I came.

Today I want to share with you the story of three jewels. The whole universe is under the control of the Lord. The Lord is under the control of Truth, and Truth is under the control or in the hands of noble people. These noble people are the personification of love. They are messengers of peace, who live for goals and ideals. What makes them so great is that they sacrifice their lives for the whole universe! It is their mothers who are responsible for their greatness. Gandhiji was one of those great people.

You must have heard the name of Mahatma Gandhi, who brought freedom to India. His mother was a great and noble soul, and she lived for her tradition and culture. She was a noble and pious lady, who was always fasting or performing some form of worship. One of her daily rituals was that she would eat in the evening, only after listening to the song of the cuckoo bird.

One day the koyal (cuckoo) didn’t sing its song. It was getting late, so Gandhi decided to do some manipulation. He went to the backyard, and started imitating the cuckoo’s song. His mother heard the song and ate her food.

After some time, she realised what had happened and became angry. She scolded her son saying, “Why did you do this? You are a bad boy! You spoke a lie! It is not good. You shouldn’t do that. It is my bad karma that I have a son like you!” Gandhiji felt bad because he made his mother so unhappy. He promised her that he would never tell a lie again as long as he lived, and he kept his word!

MOTHERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GREATNESS OF THEIR SONS

Mothers like Gandhi’s were very particular that their children were brought up in a traditional way. When a son goes wrong, it is the duty of the mother to correct him.

Aryamba, the mother of Adi Shankara, was also a great lady. She too brought up her son in such a way that he became famous. Swami has mentioned in one of His poems that sons become great only because of their parents. The mother’s role is very powerful. Because of Kausalya’s greatness, Rama became very famous; because of Putlibai, Gandhi became famous, and because of Jijabai, Shivaji became an emperor! The credit for their greatness goes to their mothers.

Once there lived a mother and son near Calcutta. The mother used to advise her son daily, “Boy, you don’t need to go for higher studies. There is no need to acquire many degrees. You should serve society, so study what will be useful for society. They were poor, but even so she did not ask her son to go and acquire money. She insisted on service only.

So after finishing his education, this boy started working and earned some money. In those days, people used to go to fairs; the ladies would wear new saris and put on all their ornaments and then go to the fair. The boy saw his mother going to the fair wearing an old sari.

He went to his mother and asked, “Mother, please, I want to buy you something. I have some money now, so I will buy a new sari for you.”

She said, “No, no, no! Don’t waste money like that. I don’t want any new saris. I want you to bring name and fame to society. That is my wish.”

After some time, he came to his mother again and asked, “What do you want? Please tell me. I want to buy something to give to you. I have some money now.”

Then she said, “I have become old. I don’t want any saris and I don’t want any jewels. When the time comes, I will tell you what I want.”

After still more time passed, this boy asked his mother again, “What do you want? Please ask me for whatever you want.”

Then she said, “Our village is so small. We don’t have any schools. Our children are going to other villages for studies. In the hot summer and rainy season they are suffering a lot. Please build a small school for them. And we don’t have any hospital in the village either. For emergencies, people have to go to other villages. They are suffering. Please build a hospital for them. That is my second wish.”

As wished by his mother, he built a school and a hospital. Two of her desires were satisfied. Then he asked his mother, “What is your third desire?”

“My third desire is that you should not feel proud of anything. Don’t be egoistic. Serve society selflessly. That is my third desire.” Mothers were so great in those days!

Above all, you must satisfy your mother. That is why the first place is given to the mother: Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava. (“Mother is God, father is God, teacher is God.”) You can’t see God, nor can you understand His plans. So God is beyond comprehension, but you can see your mother! You can see God in your mother. You can understand her, and you can enjoy her love. So, mothers play a key role in child development. All of us should respect our parents.

THE RIGHT EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN

Nowadays parents do not correct their children. Even though the children are going on the wrong path, parents do not correct them. They insist that their children should go for higher studies. In what way do these studies help them? Now the educational system has become such that information is just dumped into the minds of the students. The burden on the students has increased: so much of a syllabus to cover, so many books, so many subjects! To what extent the students understand what they study, nobody knows!

That is why Swami says that one should study that which is imperishable. Everything in this world is perishable. Continued studying gives you the talent and power to argue well with others. But that is not the aim of education. You should understand who you are; you should know yourself. That is the purpose of education. Instead, today students continue on with higher studies, without understanding the purpose. That is what Swami has said in one of His discourses.

So, all students should study with the goal of being useful to society. They should do some service to society and help society. But instead, people are becoming more self-centred today. They are using their position for selfish purposes. They should not do that. That is why Swami has started His Education in Human Values (EHV) program. We should add and inculcate human values in our education. So, make your children go to Balvikas. Let them learn through EHV, so that they become good citizens, good students, and good servants of society. They will become good devotees also if they attend Balvikas or EHV.

It is so good to see you and talk to you. Thank you for this opportunity that you have given to me. I hope we shall meet again. Thank you Swami for giving me this opportunity, and I thank each one of you.

PROF. ANIL KUMAR ADDRESSES THE SPANISH GROUP

Buenos dias! Gracias to all of you for being here this morning. Those of you who are under the hot sun, please come closer. First of all, let me thank this young man who has been running after me morning and evening, asking me to speak to you until I said ‘yes’. The whole group should thank him.

I would like to know what you want to hear from me regarding Swami. Swami is like a diamond with so many facets, so many aspects. What would you like to hear from me about Swami? So, please let me know what you really want, what you are interested in. If I keep talking about what I know and if you are not interested in that topic, it is a waste of time. There are many people who go on talking about what they know. Well, I am not like that: I want to know what you want to know!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Is there a method? Swami is repeating the same message for 60 years. Is there a method which we can apply to understand what He wants from us?

See, the method relates to our understanding. The method is applicable to the path we adopt. The method should be according to our psychology, our temperament. The method suggested should be convenient to you for practical purposes. Those with an Indian background may follow one method, while those with a Western background may have another method to adopt.

There is a difference between the Eastern mind and the Western mind: the Eastern mind tends to be more accepting, whereas the Western mind is more questioning and leans more towards scientific reasoning. Therefore the method depends upon your background, your religion, your convenience, practical application and psychological understanding.

Baba’s discourses are meant for both. Baba’s message can be looked at from both angles. We can have an Eastern approach to His message as well as a Western approach to His message. Therefore when you say ‘method’, let me know exactly what you mean.

Human beings do not understand the purpose of Swami. It is clear, yet still we close ourselves up and can’t understand or do exactly what Swami says.

You see, there are two points here. From my side, I should have a deep desire to know. From God’s side, there should be grace. So, human effort and God’s grace are like two wires, positive and negative, through which the flow of electricity, which is spiritual knowledge, takes place. So for spiritual knowledge, for spiritual experience, first we need to put in our effort with interest. Then it will have God’s grace also coupled with it. That makes it possible for spiritual experience and spiritual knowledge. Am I clear?

What is the importance of darshan?

The importance of darshan is a very good topic for discussion. I am glad that you have asked that question. I will try to give the information I have, based on experience. Since I have been here for quite some time, many come to see me and they share their experiences with me. So, what I am going to speak about regarding darshan is based on my own personal experience and the experiences of those devotees who come and visit me.

First of all, what is darshan? Before darshan, what is it that you have? What happens during darshan? What is the experience without darshan? And what is the experience after having darshan?

Take, for example, electricity, which is spread all over. This electricity, when in the bulb, gives you light. The same electricity, spread all over, enters the loud speaker and amplifies the sound. Therefore, when Divinity, which is similarly spread everywhere, appears in front of you with a name and form—that is called darshan. Am I clear? So darshan is an appearance, with a name and a form, of Divinity, which is actually spread all over.

Just because I am getting light through a bulb here does not mean that all the electricity all over the universe is here in this bulb. No! This bulb helps me to experience the electricity which is all over. Similarly, darshan will help you to experience the Divinity which is spread all over. Am I clear?

Now, the electricity in the bulb is of the same quality as the electricity all around. But within the bulb it is limited, while the electricity all over is unlimited. Electricity has many potentialities: it gives light, cools the water in the refrigerator, heats the heater, or amplifies sound through a loud speaker. Electricity has many potentialities. In a bulb, it expresses in the way of light.

Similarly, Divinity with all its potentialities, when expressed with a name and a form appearing in front of us, is called darshan. Am I clear? Please let me know if I need to explain further.

In the night it is dark, and throughout the night we sleep. With the sunrise, the darkness disappears and we begin to see everyone, we begin to see every object. In the broad daylight you can see, while in the darkness you don’t see. What happens in darshan is that you are able to see Divinity in front of you. So, the first use or advantage of the darshan is that we are able to see Divinity with a name and a form in front of us. Secondly, just as the sunlight dispels the darkness of the night, the light of darshan dispels the darkness of ignorance.

Third point: When you take a matchstick and strike it on a matchbox, there is light. Similarly, darshan will light up your wisdom, your inner awakening, your inner awareness. That which is inside is lit up in darshan. In darshan there is nothing that is put inside you. It is your inner wisdom that is lit up or ignited.

Point four: Suppose I was to see my son again after a period of 10 years: what would happen? Tears would start rolling, because I have waited to see him for many years. Similarly, we wait for some years to see Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, whom we love intimately. When we finally see Him in darshan, the fountain of joy is expressed and released by way of tears in our eyes.

Point five: When we have family problems, financial problems or professional problems, darshan gives us the experience of support. Why? We are often frustrated, depressed, or discouraged because of many problems. All of us have problems. Nobody can say, “I have no problems.” Impossible! Everyone has a problem. When we see Baba in darshan, we experience an intimate love, and our problems surface. We generally don’t share our problems with everyone. We share our problems only with someone who is very intimate with us, very well known to us, or very close to us. We don’t share our problems with everybody on the street! Similarly, darshan is an occasion to express our problems. How do we express them? Through our thoughts and our prayers: so when we look at Him, our feelings and vibrations will reach Him.

Next point: With darshan, you get your problems solved. By the time you come out of darshan, your face will be joyful. People go for darshan with a serious face, but after darshan they keep on smiling. Why? Because their problems are getting solved already! After darshan you feel unburdened, you feel relieved, you feel light.

Next point: In darshan you feel a strong support in the form of Swami in front of you. ‘Here is the One who will stand by me,’ you feel. Here is my life’s Saviour, the One who is my backbone. Here is the One who is my very breath! That nearness and dearness to Swami you feel in darshan.

And the next point: In darshan, you draw energy from Swami because of His vibrations. He sends energy and you feel energised! Darshan has so many advantages: it will help you to do sadhana and it will make you think about Him. Thinking about Him is called meditation. Meditation is nothing but total thought on God, in God.

While in darshan you are encouraged to sing loudly. That joyful singing of the glory of God during darshan is called ‘devotion’. Then you want to know more about Him, you want to read about Him—and that is called jnana or ‘knowledge'. Also, by darshan you will be encouraged to do good deeds, share your fortune with others, serve others who are less fortunate, and develop a spirit of sacrifice.

You may have seen a petromax light: gas is pumped into it. Similarly, in darshan all the goodness is pumped into our hearts. It is something like what occurs in a gas station, where we stop to fill the car tyres with air. Similarly, His grace will fill the tyres of our hearts. A car has four tyres, and our heart has four chambers. In darshan, these four chambers are filled with joy and satisfaction. So, there are many, many advantages to darshan.

How can we overcome maya, when we see Swami who is Lord Vishnu sitting on a wheel chair?

There is a rumour that there is going to be a ‘cleansing’ process, where whomever is not attached to that Almighty Divine figure that is Baba, will be gone (meaning that he/she is not going to follow the teaching of Baba and is going to leave). So, this cleansing has to do with the illusion of seeing Baba in a wheelchair, and not being able to see the greatness of Lord Vishnu in that little body. We want to see him standing as in the past. So, how can we get rid of this maya, and know that this person in the wheelchair is Lord Vishnu?

The moment reality is known, that is the moment truth is known. The moment light starts getting in, the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of maya will get out. So what should we do? We should try to experience Him. How do we experience Him? Read about Him, do bhajans, join in satsangs, participate in service activities. These are all the ways of experiencing Him. With these experiences, the light will remove the darkness of maya. Am I clear?

There is a rumour that deep cleaning is happening, and that some people will fall way from Swami because of no devotion.

This is not happening for the first time. We find many, many new people coming in, and some old ones disappearing. Why? Why are some of those old devotees not seen here anymore? Why do some stop coming? Why do some people shift their loyalties? Why do they lose devotion? They were very active at one time, very regular at one time, and we find them missing later. Why?

This is a very good question. We have to think very seriously about it. There are certain genuine reasons also, and it is good to investigate the reasons for such happenings. I can understand your question. Well, here is an example: I have one thousand rupees in the bank and I withdraw money, one hundred rupees at a time. After ten months I go to the bank again for money. The bank manager will tell me, “There is no balance in your account.”

As long as there is a balance in my account, I can continue to withdraw money. When the balance is nil, I cannot get any more money. Similarly all the good that you have done in the past, all the grace that you have earned in the past and all the good you are doing now, is the bank balance. When that is exhausted, when the bank account is nil, we have to get out of the bank! So some people drop out, some people discontinue, and some people stop coming. Why? Their bank account is nil. In the divine bank, in the account of God’s grace, his balance is nil, so he stops coming.

Second: We have some desires in life, and we are very much attached to those desires. If the desire is not fulfilled, we are disappointed. We link God with the fulfilment of our desires. As long as your desires are fulfilled, you are a great devotee. If there is any speed breaker to put a halt to the fulfilment of your desires, and if your desires are not fulfilled, you are disappointed. Then you start thinking, ‘Where shall I go next? There is no use in coming here. My desires are not being fulfilled. So, let me see where I can go next.’ Poor fellow does not know that when you have no bank account, no one can help you, either here or in Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Paraguay or Uruguay! Nobody can help you. There should be some account, some balance. Similarly, our desires to which we are so much attached, when not fulfilled, are the cause for our breaking up with Swami.

Third: When your faith is not strong, someone may come and tell you, “If you go there (meaning somewhere else), there is 100% guarantee that your desire will be fulfilled!” So you think, “Let me try there.” We forget the fact that though there may be several taps, the same water flows out of all of the taps. There is no yellow water, red water or black water here. We think that if we go to that tap, we can get good water. But the water is the same: whatever God decides, we get! We get whatever He wills, not always what we want! So this kind of temptation or promise by others will divert our attention. So these are the causes. Our body attachment—our attachment to our desires—is a strong reason to drop out from the spiritual path.

I would like to know about the end of time.

Time has no end, because it has no beginning. That which has a beginning will have an end. Since time has no beginning, it has no end. It is continuous. It is eternal.

Talking about Japan, we have been hearing that there is a dramatic and strong process of transformation there. We want to know if Swami has said anything in this regard, and what is our action in this regard?

First, we should feel very sorry for the people of Japan. Secondly, we should pray for them. Thirdly, we should extend all kinds of support to them, cash or kind. Fourthly, we have to accept that there are certain things that happen which are beyond our control. Earthquake, floods, fire hazards—these are natural calamities and they are not in our hands. There is a Divine plan behind it.

Here is a simple example: I may be given medicine for a fever I am suffering from, so the treatment is individual. But suppose there is an epidemic such as cholera or plague: then all may be given a vaccination. So we may be treated individually or collectively. We don’t know what kind of treatment we are going to go through. We have to learn to accept things, and know that they are for our own good.

I really understand how tough it is for the Japanese. Last year I was in Tokyo and also visited other places like Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka, which are all beautiful cities. The Japanese are very sincere devotees.

It is not possible for the human mind to know the reason for everything. All physical things can be explained. All things related to the five elements can be explained. What are the five elements? They are earth, fire, water, air and space. Anything to do with these five elements can be explained. But the Creator of the five elements, and how He manipulates the five elements, is beyond the human mind.

Do I know why I was born? How can I answer the question of why I should die? Do I know when I am going to die? Can anybody say when one is going to be born? So these are all things beyond the human mind, because they are not limited to the physical, worldly, five elements of experimentation. So the events in Japan are part of a Divine plan of action. As fellow human beings, we cry and shed tears for them. We pray for them and try to do whatever we can in the rescue operation.

From time to time, I have doubts. One doubt I have is that ‘all is perfect’.

Let me answer. All is perfect from one approach. And yet, all is imperfect from another approach. If I wear red-coloured glasses, everything looks red. If I wear white-coloured glasses, everything is white and bright. As is the colour of the glasses, so is the colour of all the objects around that you see. Similarly, if you are perfect, everything looks perfect. If I am imperfect, everything looks imperfect.

To Jesus Christ or to God, everything is perfect because they have no body identification and no psychological desires. They wear the glasses of love, so everything is perfect. As a human being, I don’t wear the glasses of love. I wear the glasses of the world---glasses of competition, glasses of ego, and glasses of jealousy—so everything is imperfect. That is the answer for your first question.

If we are not the body and not the mind, how come we still feel separation? Also we think there is a deep cleaning, but some people are elected and others are not.

As long as I think that I am the body, as long as I think that I am the mind, all things apply and happen accordingly. Theoretically, I know that I am not the body, but practically speaking I think I am the body. So I want tango dance for the body and then cheese, hamburgers and milk shakes. I know that I am not the body, but still I want Coke, Sprite and milk shakes. Therefore my friends, theoretically we know, but we have no practical experience. These doubts will continue until we get that experience. That’s it.

This question is about grace. If you get the grace of God, when you have full grace, then will surrender happen?

Here is a simple example: there is light outside, but inside the house it is very dark. What should I do? “I want light, I want light, I want light!” I say. A lady comes and says, “Mr. Anil Kumar, there is plenty of light outside, but the doors of your house are closed. Open the doors, and the light is already there! It will get into your house.”

Therefore grace is already there. We simply have to recognise its presence. Without grace, we would not be present here. Without His grace, it would not have been possible for you to come all the way from Argentina to Prashanthi Nilayam. So never ever doubt grace. If anyone doubts, if anyone closes their eyes and asks, “Is there light now, is there light?” what would you say? “Open your eyes and you will see the light!”

Similarly, God’s grace is ever present. We have to open our eyes and open our heart, and His grace is experienced by way of love. Here is a simple example: You are Spanish, but I don’t know Spanish. You are from Argentina and I am from India. But I love you and you love me. Why? How? Because of God, because of Baba! This Love is God, God is Love. So, if you want to know God’s grace, you will only know through this Divine feeling of love. You love your parents, you love your family, you love your job—that is God, and that is all grace. Do you understand?

Can you tell us some stories about Swami related to service?

I tell you, you can only experience Him through service. All that is read in books must be experimented in the laboratory of life. Similarly, all that you know about God is known by experience in service. So service is an opportunity to experience God. Without service, all you know about God is only bookish knowledge, bookish information.

When you go to a hotel or to a restaurant, they may give you a menu offering only chicken, pork, beef, or steak. But I am a vegetarian! While on my way to the USA, I was on a KLM flight. There was a four to five hour wait at Seoul for the next flight. So the airlines gave us hotel accommodation, and the hotel had a restaurant attached. The airport authorities took us in their van, and gave us some coupons for the meals. I had never been to Seoul before. It was a very beautiful hotel, very neat, and those who served us were also very beautiful.

Then one lady came up to me and asked, “What do you want?”

“What is there to eat?” I asked.

She said, “Look at the board.” On the board was written: steak, chicken, pork, even horse’s meat!

I said, “I am a vegetarian, so I don’t eat that stuff.”

She said, “That’s all we have, so what shall we do?”

I asked, “Don’t you have some juice?”

“Yes, we have juice.”

“Don’t you have some bread and cheese?”

That lady looked at me. I must have looked like a fool to her. ‘There is chicken available and this fellow is asking for juice! He must be mentally ill!’ But she was a good lady. She brought me some biscuits, bread and juice. Similarly, in life we have to seek some kind of happiness. It is up to you to choose. You cannot say that nothing is available, so let me have beef!

Therefore, service is an opportunity which you have to seek, which you have to work for, which you have to plan for. You cannot go to a non-vegetarian military hotel where they serve chicken, and ask for idli (rice dumpling) and sambar (lentil soup)!

Do you know what idli and sambar are? Go to the South Indian canteen and they will serve you barrels full of sambar. Let the idli take a holy dip in the Ganges of sambar, and then start eating. You will be transported to the moon right away because that is very spicy stuff, and you fellows usually eat a very bland diet! If you start eating sambar and idli together, an aircraft won’t be necessary. You will fly straight to Buenos Aires! (Laughter)

So you have to find out where the food that suits your taste is available. Here, there is a South Indian canteen. If you go there and eat, there may be some Parliamentary meeting in your stomach! There is a North Indian canteen with so many sweets and other stuff. Then there is a Western canteen, where the food that you need may be available! So it is for you to find out where the food that you like is available. If I go to the Western canteen and ask for sambar, they might say, “This is not the place for sambar, get out of here!”

Similarly, you have to find for yourself an opportunity to serve, a place to serve, and a method to serve, where you will experience God. Am I clear?

So thank you very much. I thank you very much for your kind invitation. I love you. I love you. Sai Ram.

OM…OM…OM…

Asato Maa Sad Gamaya

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya

Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya

Om Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavantu

Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavantu

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti