This section of the blog presents a message of Bhagawan Baba every week. Mostly, it is the form of a question that is answered by Bhagawan, giving us the correct understanding and interpretation of a concept or a term or a practice. So watch out every week for a special message from Bhagawan Baba that could serve as our driving force throughout the week. Wish you a happy week!!
We must first of all destroy our bad qualities. There is no use undertaking meditation or other such practices for this. Many undertake meditation, but do you know what type of meditation it is? It is decorative and ostentatious. They meditate for taking pictures. All actions done by the (physical) body are unreal and not real. Whatever you do with the mind and with love becomes real. Therefore,
18 June 1996
20 April to 26 April 2015
13 April to 19 April 2015
06 April to 12 April 2015
30 March to 05 April 2015
At Sathya Sai Institute, not even one naya paisa is being collected from you. Teaching is free, Library is free, Laboratory is free, Education is free, Games is free, Medicines are free. Everything is free. For having made you experience such an environment, for having taught you so many lessons, for having preached you so much wisdom, and for having done so much; what gratitude do you have in you? You do not need to give Swami anything. If you exhibit (manifest) the good qualities that you have learnt here, that is enough.
At times, your mother will go to the market. You too go with her. Carry the items purchased by your mother. How happy your mother will be! She will feel, “Oh, how much my son is serving me”. This is the happiness you must give to your mother who has nurtured you for nine months in her womb. Even while seeing your mother carrying all the items, if you sit on a chair and ask, “Oh, mother, when did you come?” she will think, “Oh, what a worse child has been born from my womb”. Therefore never give pain to your mother. Help your mother. Serve your mother.
23 March to 29 March 2015
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| There is no atonement for the sin of ingratitude |
16 March to 22 March 2015
The king enjoys the pleasures in the privacy of the inner rooms of his palace. The dog enjoys the same pleasure in the market. Is this true happiness? Saint Tyagaraja put forth a very fundamental question to his mind, “O mind, tell me truly, what gives real happiness; this wealth or the proximity to the Lord?” Happiness does not lie in merely getting academic degrees. Earning lot of wealth does not give happiness. Getting into positions of authority does not give us happiness. We need to earn the Grace of Iswara, the Lord. That gives true happiness.
09 March to 15 March 2015
Never forget God. Do not trust the world. Do not fear death. You need to understand these three things.
02 March to 08 March 2015
The atomic power is present everywhere. Scientists refer to this entity as the atom, as a minute particle. However, the atom too can be split further into smaller particles that have a form. There is nothing in this world, which does not have a form. Everything assumes some form. Now take for example the state of Karnataka. What form does this state of Karnataka have? If you look at the map, you will find a form or a shape for the state of Karnataka too. Similarly, what form does Andhra have? Andhra too has a form on the map. What is it that does not have a form? If we cross the border of a state, one is considered to have transgressed the boundaries of the state. How exactly can we define the boundary of a state? If we think in this manner, we will realize that every material in this world has got a form.
23 February to 01 March 2015
Some people in this Kali Yuga, approached Ramakrishna Pramahamsa. They asked him, “Swami, have you seen God?” He replied, “Yes, I have seen”. They asked, “In what way have you seen God? In what form have you seen God?” Ramakrishna replied, “I have seen God just the way I see you and you see me”. They queried, “How is this possible?” He replied, “Yes, it is possible. The kind of worship and yearning that one needs to see God is not there in you. O People, you crave for property, wealth, conveniences and comforts. You work so hard for your wife and children (family). You shed tears for the smallest to the biggest issues. You cry day and night for earning money. But, have you ever cried like this for God?
16 February to 22 February 2015
Today with respect to God, the atheists, the Cārvākas (one of the heterodox schools of Hinduism, that rejects supernaturalism, emphasizes materialism and philosophical scepticism; holding empiricism, perception and conditional inference as the proper source of knowledge) and the scientists, based on their deliberations, came up with the idea of direct proof or empirical evidence. It must be possible to see with the eyes, touch with the hands and taste with the tongue. Only then one could believe in the existence of something. How can one believe in a power that cannot be seen, cannot be grasped by the hand and cannot be tasted? Scientists consider people who still hold such beliefs as foolish people. Truly speaking, in this matter, if the scientist claims that direct proof or empirical evidence is the only way to believe in the existence of something, then there is no greater fool than him. How can we say this?
Similarly, for this creation that can be seen, there is an invisible Divine energy that is the basis. Basing on that Truth (energy) only, we are able to perceive the world. A few more examples: We have fragrance. We have love. Love has no form. Fragrance too has no form. But we do experience them. Can we say they do not exist? These cannot be seen by the eyes, cannot be grasped by the hand and cannot be tasted by the tongue. How then do we have belief in them? This means, for that which is not seen, there is something which is seen and forms the basis. Love has no form but the mother who loves has a form. Fragrance has no form but the flower that gives the fragrance has a form. In the same way bliss has no form but God who bestows bliss has a form. What is that form? This form is incomprehensible, hidden and can take any shape.
Here is one more example: What is the form (shape) of air? What is the form (shape) of water? We see the water and also the air. We experience them. But they do not have any form. When will air get a form? When it is filled in a football or a balloon it assumes the form (shape) of a football or a balloon. Water too assumes the form (shape) of the vessel in which it is filled. In the same way, God who cannot be seen assumes a form based upon the feelings of the devotee. The feelings of the devotee give a form to God. This is called Bhavaroopa(form based on feelings). Dhyana(meditation) is required to understand this form based on feelings. Whatever feelings the devotee entertains, God assumes a form accordingly. If we entertain bad feelings the form will be bad and if we entertain good feelings the form will be good. Therefore, all forms of God are based upon the feelings. It is impossible to state that God is like this or like that. That is why it is said:
20 May 1995
09 February to 15 February 2015
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| Life is a game, play it… |
Many children play football. How long does the football get kicked around? Members from both the teams keep kicking the ball. The ball cannot escape the kicks of the players. How long can it not escape? So long as there is air in the ball, it will receive kicks from players of both the teams. Once the air is lost (ball is deflated), the ball is taken into the hands.
02 February to 08 February 2015
We must continuously engage ourselves in sacred actions. In the world many consider meritorious acts as providing conveniences to others or helping others or engaging in charity and righteous acts. But Sage Vyasa did not consider these as meritorious acts. He stated, “Paropakaaraaya Punyaaya”, and people assumed the meaning to be “service to others is merit”.
26 January to 01 February 2015
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| Each Avatar played the role appropriate to that time |
Among the principle of the Avatars, the easiest path, the sweetest path, the most wonderful experiences are found mainly in the Krishna Avatar alone. But that does not mean that the other Avatars were any less. Every Avatar’s life is appropriate to that time. Here is a small example: Some two people started a fight in the bazaar (market). Seeing the brawl, a policeman arrived at the scene. But the fight became serious. So, the Superintendent of Police (SP) arrived there. However, the fight became all the more serious and it came to a point where each one was trying to kill the other. To handle the situation, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) came over there. To start with the policeman comes there, subsequently the SP comes there and thereafter the IGP comes to the scene; why all this? As the lack of peace increases in its proportion a person with a higher designation needs to come over there.
14 August 1990
19 January to 25 January 2015
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| True peace is within… |
To think that one can attain God through Dhyaanam (meditation), Japam (chanting the Divine name) or Tapam (penance) is merely an illusion. All these may give only temporary peace for that moment. To get eternal peace or eternal joy, we need to develop Divine feelings within us. But for this you need an appropriate environment too. Only in a Divine environment and sacred surroundings you can get such feelings. Elsewhere, you cannot get such opportunities. That is why in ancient times, sages went to the forest, sat in an isolated silent place and developed a Divine environment around them. This is because they thought that in the village (or town or city) their vision and their hearing would become unsacred. It is this weakness that led them to go to the forest.
12 January to 18 January 2015
Science, science, science – this is modern education. The study of science is essential, but how should it be? Today, science is taking us in the wrong direction. It starts from a point and stops at a point (Swami draws the outline of a “C” in the air). This “C” stands for science. Like the letter “C”, science starts at one point but ends at another point. It is not a full circle. But spiritual education is like a full circle. It ends at the point where it starts.
Many of you know this story. In the Ramayana, Kaikeyi was a great queen. She was the daughter of the King of Kashmir. She had great titles and was an expert in all forms of knowledge. She was indeed the queen. A maid servant came to assist her. Her name was Mandhara. She was a servant. But Kaikeyi made Mandhara her master. Finally, the queen became the servant of Mandhara. What happened at the end? Because Kaikeyi became a servant to her own servant, her life was ruined. She lost her position. She became the victim of the anger of her son. She sent the sacred Rama to the forest. She made the noble Sita cry. This was her pathetic plight at the end. She too got ruined along with the others. Therefore, a servant should be kept only as a servant and a master should be kept only as a master.
05 January to 11 January 2015
I keep telling many of My students, the spelling of watch is W A T C H. First of all students must be taught about this W A T C H.
29 December 2014 to 04 January 2015
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| Grace of the Lord is the greatest wealth… |
22 December to 28 December 2014
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| Man’s existence is bound by actions… |
Human beings are born in action. They grow and finally die in action. Action is verily Divine. Actions are responsible for pleasure and pain. Action expresses itself in three different ways. The thinking process is one form of action. Expressing one’s thoughts in words is another form of action. Translating the expression of words into action is the third form of action. Thoughts represent the mind, words the mouth and action the hand. Therefore, human life is a combination of the principle of the body (action), the mouth (word) and the mind (thought). These three are responsible for all the joys and sorrows of human beings. Humans have no existence without these three (thought, word and deed).
15 December to 21 December 2014
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| Castes are meant only for operational convenience |
Every being born in this world has a mix of Tamo (sloth, dull, inactive), Rajo (action, restlessness, passion) and Satva (pious, pure, balance) Gunas (attributes). All their actions are based on their Gunas. It is on this basis that the Gunakarma Vibhagais done (original sloka from the Bhagavad Gita given at the end of the discourse excerpt), i.e. beings are categorized based on the Gunas and activities. When man is born, he is ignorant. When he dies, he dies (or rather should die) as a Jnaani (a wise one). Similarly, when a man is born, he is always born as a Shudra, meaning he is ignorant. But being born as a Shudra, he must die as a Brahmin. It is on this basis that the four Varnas came into existence. Based on these three qualities, three categories of people have been identified. The first category of people consists of those who are foolish. The second category of people consists of those who get angry and agitated. The third category of people consists of those who are totally selfless, having given up everything and full of purity.
guna-karma-vibhagasah
tasya kartaram api mam
viddhy akartaram avyayam