Examine, Experience

Discourse of Sathya Sai Baba, Gokhale Hall, Madras, 25 March 1958
Published by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust
Web posted at Feb 7, 2001

I have come to comfort your life, not to describe Mine! So I did not like Raamanatha Reddy and Kasthuri speaking about Me and the incidents of My life! Your lives are more important for Me, for My purpose is to see that you live more happily and with greater contentment. All beings have to do Karma (sanctified activity); it is a universal inescapable obligation. Some feel that only Punya and Paapa - meritorious and sinful or virtuous and vicious deeds - are entitled to be called Karma. But your very breathing is Karma. There are certain Karmas the fruits of which you cannot give up! There are physical, mental and spiritual Karmas and doing each one of these for the good of the Self is called dedication.

Mention was made of Puttaparthi and you were advised to go there and draw inspiration from the Bhajans there. Please do not incur the expense; for wherever you are, whenever you call on Me, your room can become Prashaanthi Nilayam, your village can be made Puttaparthi. I am ever alert to respond, ever ready to listen and reply.

I want you to be active, fully engaged. For, if you have no activities, time will hang heavily on your hands. Do not waste a single moment of the allotted span of life, for time is the body of God. He is known as Kaalaswaruupa (of the form of time). It is a crime to misuse time or to waste it in idleness. So too, the physical and mental talents given to you by the Lord as capital for the business of living should not be frittered away.

Social Service must be done gladly and reverentially

Like the force of gravitation which drags everything down, the Thamoshakthi (the pull of sloth) will drag you relentlessly down; so you must be ever on the watch, be ever active. Like the brass vessel which has to be scrubbed to a nice shine, the mind of man has also to be scrubbed my means of Saadhana (spiritual discipline), that is to say, activity like Japam or Dhyaana. Karma which is natural and automatic like breathing becomes Vikarma (an impious act) when it is done consciously, with a definite result in view.

A Hindhu and his British friend once happened to come to the bank of the Godhaavari. The Hindhu said, "I will bath in this sacred water." He recited the name "Hari" as he plunged in and came out refreshed in mind as well as body. He felt great happiness that he got the rare chance of a bath in the holy river. The Britisher laughed and said, "This is mere H2O: how can you get unspeakable joy by dipping into it? It is all superstition." But the Hindhu replied, "Leave me to my superstition; you can stick to your superstition." The cynic got only physical cleanliness but the believer got mental purity also.

When you prostrate before elders, the mind too must be humble; it is not the body alone that should bend. Now, there are many social workers in Madras who visit hospitals and do service to the patients there. Most of the work they do is mechanical, like fanning the patients, writing letters for them and singing Bhajans, without paying heed to the actual requirements of the patients. Many do this work because it is the current mode of social service. But it must be Karma, done with the full co-operation of the mind, gladly, intelligently, reverentially. The patient should not feel disgusted at fussiness of the social worker; he should be looking forward to the arrival of the person, of some one who is very near and dear. If you do not like that type of work, you need not engage yourselves in it. Do not burden you mind by the unpleasantness of the task. Work done mechanically is like the flame of an oil-less wick; the oil is mental enthusiasm; pour it, and the lamp will burn clear and long.

Karma should not be done anticipating any Result

In fact Karma becomes Yoga when it is done without any attachment; a Sanyaasi (monk) should not even remember whatever he does, he should not do any Karma anticipating any result. That is the Nishkaama (desireless action) ideal at its highest. The best Karma is that which is done at the call of duty; because it has to be done, not because it is advantageous to do it. The Sanyaasi should have no anger, anxiety envy or greed; but your experience must be telling you that Sanyaasis who are free from these are very rare today.

Do not even cast your glance at a Sanyaasi who is so false to his vow that he craves for name and fame or indulges in calumny or competition. Do not be led away by such persons into disbelieving the Shaasthras and the Vedhas. He who is firmly fixed in the faith that this world is a mirage of the mind, he alone is the Swaami; the other are mere Raamaswaamys or Krishnaswaamys entitled to have the epithet Swaami at the end of the name not at the beginning.

Prakrithi (nature) is Puraathana - a very ancient entity. The Jeevi too is Puraathana, having had many previous entries and exits. But now it has come in with a new dress; it is Nuuthana (modern), come like a pilgrim to a holy place for going the rounds. The Jeevi must have a guide who will show the sacred spots and help fulfil the pilgrimage. The guide is the Lord Himself: the guide books are Vedhas, the Upanishaths and the Shaasthras. The essence of the Scriptures lies in this one rule: repeat the name of the Lord, keeping His glory always before the mind.

Earn the Right to approach God without Fear

The Lord is as the Kalpatharu (the divine wish-fulfilling tree) that gives whatever is asked. But you have to go near the tree and wish for the thing you want. The atheist is the person who keeps far away from the tree; the theist is the one who has come near; that is the difference. The tree does not make any distinction; it grants boons to all. The Lord will not punish or take revenge if you do not recognise Him or revere Him. He has no special type of worship which alone can please him.

If you have the ear, you can hear 'Om' announcing the Lord's presence in every sound. All the five elements produce this sound, 'Om.' The bell in the temple is intended to convey the Om as the symbol of the omnipresent God. When the bell sounds Om, the Godhead within you will awaken and you will be aware of His presence. That is the meaning of the bell which is rung in front of the inner shrine in the temple.

Earn the right to approach the Lord without fear and the right to ask for your heritage. You must become so free that praise will not emanate from you when you approach the Lord. Praise is a sign of distance and fear. You must have heard the Kaalidhaasa story. He said that he would get liberation "as soon as I go," that is to say, as soon as the ego disappears, for then he shines in his native splendour, as Brahman (as the indestructible aathma). The 'I' when crossed out becomes the symbol of cross; so what is crucified is the ego, remember. Then, the divine nature manifests itself unhampered.

Do Saadhana in an Atmosphere of Joy

The ego is most easily destroyed by Bhakthi, by dwelling on the magnificence of the Lord and by rendering service to others as children of the Lord. You can call on the Lord by any name, for all names are His; select the name and form that appeals to you most. That is why Sahasranaamas are composed for the various forms of God; you have the freedom and the right to select any one of the thousand. The Guru will give you the name and form suited to your temperament and Samskaaras (meritorious acts). If the Guru commands you under a threat and orders you to adopt a line of Saadhana declaring "This is my Aajna (command)," then you can tell him that the main thing is your satisfaction, not his. You have to do the Saadhana in an atmosphere of joy and contentment.

The Guru should not force the disciple to grow with a bent in the direction that he prefers; the disciple has the right to develop on his own lines, according to his Samskaaras and bent of mind. The old relationship of Guru and Sishyas has today become topsy-turvy; rich and influential Sishyas now rule the Guru and dictate how he should behave; and the Gurus also, keen on accumulating fame and wealth, stoop to the tactics recommended by the Sishyas and thus lower their status. So, examine the Guru and his credentials, his ideals and practice before accepting him.

Even in My case, do not be attracted simply by stories of what I "create" by a wave of the hand. Do not jump to conclusions with closed eyes; watch, study and weigh. Never yield to any one unless you feel the inner satisfaction that you are on the right path. Above all, do not talk ill of great men and sages. That is a sign of gross egoism and the childish impertinence born of that conceit.

My suggestion to you today is this: just as you attend to the needs of the body, feeding it three times a day, in order to keep it in good running condition, so too, spend some time regularly everyday to keep your inner consciousness also in good trim. Spend one hour in the morning, another at night and a third in the early hours of dawn, the Brahmamuhurtha as it is called, for Japam and meditation on the Lord. You will find great peace descending on you and great new sources of strength welling up within you as you progress in this Saadhana. After some time, the mind will dwell on the name, whatever you are and wherever you are engaged in; and then, peace and joy will be your inseparable companions.