Sahaja and A-Sahaja

Discourse of Sathya Sai Baba, Shrishailam, 6 December 1963
Published by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust
Web posted at Jan 13, 2001

Sathya, Dharma, Shaanthi and Prema (truth, virtue, peace and love) are the four pillars of Sanaathana Dharma, the four faces of the Ancient Teaching. Of course, these words are on the lips of everyone, but, what they mean is something quite shallow and ineffective. To describe an incident just as you saw it happen, is 'truth'; to give water to the thirsty and food to the hungry is 'Dharma'; to suffer calamity in silence is 'Shaanthi' and to nourish wife and children is 'Prema' - that is the general interpretation!

But, this all wrong. Truth is something that is not modified by time or space or characteristic. It must be the same forever, unaffected and unchanged. Then alone is it truth. It should not be proved false by some subsequent event or knowledge. Dharma is a body of principles that are fundamental to social stability and individual progress. There are various branches of Dharma - Karthavya dharma, Varna dharma, Aashrama dharma (obligatory duty, duties pertaining to status and stages of life), etc., but, the aim of all is to help man, stage by stage, towards liberation from grief and from the chain of birth and death.

See how grand the conception of each is; compare this with the common meaning that has been so far given. Then, take the quantity of Shaanthi. It denotes the capacity to bear success and failure, joy and misery, defeat and victory, with perfect equanimity. And, Prema is the quality of Sarvasamaanatha (equality of every one), of not only Ahimsa (non-violence) but the conscious acceptance of the duty of love, because every being is a spark of divinity, as much of a spark as you yourself.

All lies in the Inspiration behind the Act

The first step in spiritual training is to curb the Icchaa shakthi (power of desires), which prompts the senses to pursue objects. If the Icchaa (wish) is for God it is good; if for objective pleasure, it harms the individual. If a house is set on fire, it is incendiarism; if Hanumaan sets fire to Lanka, it is justifiable retribution and a good lesson. If a dacoit cuts off your hand, it is Himsa (injury); if the doctor amputates it, he saves your life and so, it is Ahimsa (non-injury). Vishaya vaasana (attachment to sense objects) makes an act low, Bhagavath vaasana (attachment to God) makes it sacrosanct. Daksha yajna (ritual sacrifice) was converted into a battle, because Parameshwara was not present; the Kurukshethra battle was transformed into a Yajna, because Parameshwara was present there. Arjuna dedicated himself at the Lord's Feet; Daksha scorned the Lord. That was the difference, and that is the explanation. It all lies in the Bhaava (the motive), the inspiration behind the act and the word.

Bhakthi (devotion) is not like lime pickle, to be used only when you have fever; it is man's daily substance, the vitamin he must needs have for physical and mental health. The contemplation of God is the main rice dish; the rest are side dishes, appetisers, fillers. Take the tablets, the Naamasmarana (constant thought of the Lord) tablets, and all the experience of your daily life, the good and the bad, will be digested nicely. You don't eat paddy, do you? You have the sense to remove the husk and then boil the rice before you eat it. So also, why do you take in nature as it is? Remove the allurement it has to the senses, make it just an expression of the divine will and then assimilate it.

Do Naamasmarana with full Faith and pure Heart

You forget your nature in the complex tangle of artificiality; you miss the Sahaja (natural) when you are caught in the net of A-sahaja (artificial). The natural is Prema, Shaanthi, Sathya, Aanandha. The artificial is hate, falsehood, war, grief and greed. You must discover the spring of your own truth; you cannot play truant for long; after many a birth, even if their number is a hundred, you have to reach the source from where you strayed. Your mind is steady when it is engaged in other activities; but, when it is focussed on God, it begins to waver. It does not like to stop its vagaries, which it will have to do, once God enters your heart. Tame it by Naamasmarana. That is the message which I have come to announce. Have the Naamam (God's name) on your tongue, the Ruupa (divine form) in your eye, the Mahima (divine glory) in your heart - then thunderbolts will pass you quietly by.

Do Naamasmarana in some set manner, with full faith and pure heart. When the country is endangered, it is as bad as when the body is endangered. The name will give you courage to save the mother. If all of you strengthen your moral quantities, and develop faith in God and Sanaathana Dharma (eternal religion), calamity can never visit this land. Let all Aasthikas (believers in God) proclaim the value of meditation on God. I shall bless that endeavour; I know that will save you and save the country. That is why I am blessing you on this note of joy.