Date: 22 September 1997

THE DISTINCTION OF DEVOTION
---------------------------

Embodiments of Love!

Devotion is the most effective way to reach divinity. God's name will free you from the life cycle of birth and death, and all diseases during your life time. In ancient Bharat devotion was practised and propagated by the Bharatiyas.

In fact, their strong faith, spirit of sacrifice and spiritual outlook protected the country, not weaponry or political acumen. These three ensured their safety and security. By propagating the same, they contributed to the safety and security of the world. The culture of Bharat is deep rooted and powerful. Repeated foreign invasions and introduction of alien cultures did not succeed in destroying it. Instead, it assimilated what is good in them and grew strong. This kind of integration and fraternity is the hallmark of Indian culture. The clear sign of spirituality is to cherish our country and its culture.

Culture is not some set of isolated spiritual practices. It is what is being followed in day to day life. It can be defined as a way of life, a series of conventions considered appropriate to human behaviour. The culture of Bharat is so nicely conceived that it does not hurt the sentiments of others but provides a basis for a life of peace and security. It is unfortunate that it is defined and propagated in different ways through out the world, without adequate emphasis of its inherent truth and distinction.

Principles of fraternity, equality and spirit of accommodation are native to the culture of Bharat. These are neither understood nor practised today. More than the country, more than the community, self-interest dominates the Indian mind today. We have gained freedom from foreign rule. But we are manoeuvered and manipulated by our selfishness. The day we develop spiritual outlook and act according to its dictates we will be truly free.

Restlessness is prevalent everywhere in the country. The basic reason for it is our ignorance. We have no fear of sin, nor love of God. In the process we have lost the essential human quality. Human values are on the decline and revolutions burst forth.

Instead of fear of sin, we revel in sins and as a consequence fear God. The spirit of sacrifice is conspicuous by its absence.

To redeem the situation, there is an urgent need to implant and imprint Godly feelings and the spirit of sacrifice. Indian epics abound in innumerable heroes, who serve as role models for our guidance. The character and role of Karna in the Mahabharata rouses veneration for his spirit of sacrifice, and pathos for his own ruination through bad company.

It was the fourteenth day of the Mahabharata war. Karna fell in the battle of Janap. There was great jubilation in the Pandava camp over this crucial victory. Arjuna was shocked to find Krishna sad. When he asked Krishna, the reason for his sadness, Krishna explained to him that Bharat had lost that day one of her greatest sons, Karna. He was a man of great valour and courage. But in his spirit of sacrifice there was none his equal.

He was an upholder of the Vedic ideal. The Vedas maintain that a man can realise the highest happiness, not by property, association or rule, but only by sacrifice. In the opinion of Krishna, Karna excelled all in his spirit of sacrifice. As Karna still lingered, Krishna decided to prove his contention to the unbelieving Arjuna, through direct experience. The supreme director of drama of human existence, assumed the form of a brahmin and disguised Arjuna into another.

Both proceeded to the place in the battlefield, where Karna lay dying. Krishna called out the name of Karna and explained to his enquiry, that he was a poor brahmin who was conducting his daughter's marriage. He was desperately in need of some gold for the mangla sutra of his daughter. Having learnt that Karna, the most charitable to be in the battlefield he had come to him.

God is everything and the question of his assuming the form of a brahmin should not be too much read into. There is no question of caste or community. Society categorises people on the basis of their quality. The brahmins serve society through their scholarship in the sacred texts and they propagate the underlying truth in them. The kshatriyas or the rulers safeguard the country and the vysyas provide through their business, the commodities the society needs. The Bhagavad Gita also maintains that the caste categories are based only on quality. There is no caste as such. There are only two categories of people. Those who do meritorious activities, the good and those who do wrong, the wicked.

Karna said, the scholar should have spared himself the trouble of marching through the corpses, and gone to his wife to collect the gold he needed. The Lord explained to him, that he needed only a small quantity of gold, and did not like the idea of travelling to Hastinapura at a great distance.

Such is the way of God. He puts devotees to severe test depending on the circumstances and time. By merely summoning sugarcane, you don't get jaggery or sugar. It has to be crushed and processed. Similarly body of man is subjected to severe tests to extract the juice of divinity within. With little knowledge of the mysterious ways of the divine, people feel bad about the tests imposed by God.

Karna's response to the situation was very positive. He said, there is gold covering around my teeth, kindly take it. Krishna expressed his unwillingness to cause pain to Karna. Karna soon picked up a stone and broke his teeth and held out the blood-stained gold, which the brahmin hesitated to accept. Karna struck with his arrow the earth whence shot up a fountain. He cleaned the gold and offered it to Krishna in diguise. Krishna looked at Arjuna, silently enquiring if there was anyone else capable of such a calibre of sacrifice.

Karna was a great devotee with extraordinary capabilities of physical and intellectual strength. But he was ruined by bad company of Duryodana. You may have any number of capabilities; but everything would be useless without the strength of God.

But nothing would deter his merit as the greatest son of sacrifice. So Krishna revealed himself and said, "I am pleased with your sincerity and devotion and I grant you the boon of merger in me." Karna was delighted at the prospect of leaving his body, watching the glorious form of the Lord. So, by cherishing and practising sacrifice always Karna was redeemed. When our feelings and actions are sacred, the results are bound to be sacred.

Through sacrifice we can accomplish everything; it is the surest way to experience God. The Ramayana is full of instances of such sacrifice. Lakshmana sacrificed his family, wealth and kingdom at the altar of his service to Rama. He had no individual likes and dislikes. The great Indian epics, puranas and histories yield the crown of honour to sacrifice as the greatest human value. In the absence of sacrifice, sincerity and surrender sound artificial.

It is not the extent or magnitude of a sacrifice that carries weight, but the whole-hearted feeling with which the sacrifice is practised. Purity of heart should inform every human action. Charity is the true ornament of the hand, not the jewelled bracelets of gold. Truth, not the necklace is the decoration for the neck or throat. Ears are best bejewelled by listening to the sacred texts.

No child is born out of its mother's womb with a necklace of gold, pearls or diamonds. The only chain that circles around a child's neck is the consequence of his actions of his previous birth. The creator sends the child to the world without any modification of the good and bad of his previous life. To get oneself relieved of this chain of karma, wholehearted devotion to God is the surest method. You may worship in any form you like. But you must do it with wholeheartedness, with the harmony of thought, word and deed. Sathya Sai Organisations teach EHV -- Education in Human Values. But Bhagavan speaks of three H's -- Heart, Head and Hand.
Embodiments of Love! Modern man has lost his sense of discrimination and discretion. He builds a big mansion, but assigns a small corner as his pooja room or place of worship. His bedroom, drawing room and dining hall are spacious. This is due to the absence of proper discrimination. He should exercise fundamental discrimination. God is present everywhere. All places, all forms and all names are his. He is not confined to your 3 inch picture frame in the tiny room. Bhakta Meera declared her own heart as the temple of God. He is manifest in the smallest atom and the biggest of the big. He is present everywhere, in the microcosm as well as macrocosm. So it is the height of human folly to confine Him to a limited space.

Bharata and Lakshmana loved their brother intensely. But there was this difference. Lakshmana thought that his body was gifted to serve Rama. But other beings are no different from God and so service to them is service to God. But Bharata looked upon himself as part of Rama. He considered himself no different from Rama. Because of this total identity he resembled Rama. So, spiritual disciplines speak of two forms of worship -- one with attributes and the other without. In the initial stages of devotion, it is good to begin with the external forms. Gradually we may turn inward and worship the formless.

Mysterious is God's creation. The eye is half an inch in size. The range and magnitude of its perception are infinite. Stars at great distances and the gigantic Himalayan mountains are within its ken. Purandaradasa sings, "Eyes are useless, if they do not behold the beautiful form of God." Surdas expressed similar sentiments when he said, "I am blind, but I have no regrets. People who have eyes, see not the form of God."

Those that have ears, spend all their time listening to gossip and vain talks. The two ears acting in unison must concentrate on the melody of God's music. Disregarding the disciplining of the senses, modern men undertake meditation as mental discipline. Without control of the senses there can be no real concentration of the mind.

You should control your looks. Whereas your tongue has limited functions of taste and speech, looks move about everywhere in the world. See no evil, see what is good. Hear no evil, hear what is good. Speak no evil, speak what is good. Think no evil, think what is good. Do no evil, do what is good. And this is the way to God.

This kind of control over the senses is absolutely necessary. They should be set on the righteous path. After the killing of Ravana, Rama wanted Sita to be brought. Hanuman, Sugreeva and Vibheeshana used for this noble task the same pushpaka vimana that Ravana used for abducting Sita. Hanuman was so overcome by grief about the sufferings of Sita during the previous ten months, that he sought her permission to burn the demons who had harassed her. Sita explained to him that he was wrong in thinking in those lines. Those demons acted on the command of their ruler, Ravana. They were not to blame. Their own nature and temperament were also like that. She illustrated the diversified nature of temperaments through a fable.

Pursued by a tiger, a hunter climbed a tree. The tiger sat under the tree waiting for him to get down. To his great fright the man identified a bear seated above him amidst the branches of the tree. So, he could neither move up nor down and remained where he was in great fright about what was likely to happen next. The tiger pleaded with the bear to just push the man gently so that it could appease its appetite. The bear refused to oblige the tiger. It said, "The hunter is my guest. I should extend hospitality and protect him." The tiger remained quiet and the bear started sleeping. Now, the tiger told the hunter, "I came in pursuit of you, with great hunger. You have escaped. Now push the sleeping bear down. I will eat him."

Unthoughtful of the kindness of the bear, the hunter pushed it down. Fortunately it caught hold of a branch while falling and climbed back to its original position. The tiger now tried to provoke the bear to push the hunter down by drawing attention to the hunter's ingratitude for all the cordiality of the bear. But the bear stuck to its nature and refused to harm its guest.
In the modern world there is neither sacrifice nor gratitude. People are under the sway of different weaknesses like envy. The Sanskrit word for envy is Asuya. If a man is free of it he will be Anasuya. That is why in the ancient times Anasuya could give birth to Trinity. We should never be jealous of other people's advancement. Never try to harm them or put obstacles in their way. We should be happy at their progress. We should have such broad-mindedness.

Even in modern times we worship, chant mantras and undertake rituals. When these activities are done wholeheartedly, God will be pleased and grant us bliss. The efforts to win Krishna all for herself by Sathyabhama has a message. God could not be balanced by all the wealth she placed on the other scale. God can be won only through devotion. Wealth, position, intelligence or any other merit is of no avail. Rukmini stood for such devotion. A Tulsi leaf offered with devotion tilted the scale in her favour. A leaf, flower, fruit or even just some water offered with depth of devotion becomes a potent force.

They symbolise certain dimensions of the human personality. The leaf symbolises the body, the flower and the fruit the human heart. Water stands for the tears of joy that a devotee sheds in his ecstatic surrender. So, ritualistic practices are full of inner meaning and they should be undertaken for their real import.

Embodiments of Love! Attachment to body is Brama or illusion. Attachment to family, wealth, position, etc., are its variable dimensions. So long as these Bramas (illusions) are there, Brahma (the divine) cannot be understood or realised. To have God you have to give up illusions. Man's life, it is said, is beset with twelve worries -- birth, life on earth, family life, death, childhood, old age, living, failure, actions, difficulties, happiness and misery. By thinking of God, and surrendering to Him wholeheartedly, you will be freed of all worries and anxieties. All names and forms of God and all methods are effective, if you take to them wholeheartedly.

Bhagavan has often illustrated the concept of wholehearted devotion through an episode in the Ramayana. Vibheeshana considered himself a great devotee of Sri Rama. From the moment he awoke, he kept chanting the name of Rama. Hanuman was thrilled at finding someone in the enemy camp chanting Rama's name. He assumed the stature of a small monkey and entered the palace of Vibheeshana. There ensued a conversation between the two. Asked as to who he was, Hanuman introduced himself humbly as the servant of Rama He had come to Lanka as an emissary from Rama.

Vibheeshana felt jealous of the privileged position of Hanuman, who he thought was no more than a small monkey. He shared his distress with him and said, "Though I have been chanting the glory of Rama, I never had the privilege of having his darshan even once." Hanuman brought to his attention the inadequacy of Vibheeshana's devotion. He said, "You just repeat Rama's name. But have you ever taken up any activity to please him? Have you taken up His mission? Sita has been here for ten months in captivity. Did you initiate any effort to free her?"

Thus it is made clear that mere chanting of the name of the Lord will not take a devotee in the path of his spiritual advancement. He should participate in this mission. The Lord's name is a positive current. His service or service to society is a negative current. These two should be put together to make the flow useful. So along with namasmarana, we should participate in service activities.

By repeating the name of potato chapathi a hundred times, it will not satiate your appetite. Collect it from the plate with the help of your hand and put it in your mouth and then swallow it. That is to say, chant the name of the Lord with your tongue, work with your hands and fill your heart with divine feelings. Then your heart will become pure.

Embodiments of Love!

Worship of the divine sandals, padhukas, is a sacred activity. It will yield sacred results. It is one of the nine sacred activities recommended by our tradition -- listening, singing, chanting, propitiating at the holy feet, service, salutation, worship, friendship and surrender. When any of them is undertaken in true spirit, you will achieve your goal. Keep the Atma as the central point. That which is related to Atma is Adyatmikam (spirituality). Every external form of devotion is only a prelude to this.

Subramanya Chettiar of Madurai has been conducting this padhuka festival for several years now. At this advanced age, to undertake such responsibility is no easy task. His service to others will definitely aid him in his spirituality. But he is now too old to carry on this burden and so he would better concentrate on his own individual prayers and meditations.

Today we had the golden chariot festival. Swami does not like such things. All that Swami expects from you is your pure love. Love is God, live in love. Why bring heavy chariots, thrones, etc and burden Swami with them. Swami doesn't expect anything of the sort.

God is everything and so what is there for you to offer? Desist from offering jewels, thrones, chariots and such others to God. Instead spend the money on service activities wherever you are.

Swami has three things as his sankalpa. Since very ancient times, these three are given freely and easily to everyone -- water, education and medical care. Education is concerned with the cultivation of the head and medical care with the heart. Bhagavan has established institutions where education is provided free of cost from the first standard to the Ph.D level. No fees of any kind -- admission, laboratory, library, examination etc. -- is charged. So is the case with medical services in His hospitals. In the outside world even to admit their children to first standard parents pay donations of 50 or 60 thousand rupees. Bhagavan considers everyone his own children and so expects nothing from anyone. What he gives and what he accepts is governed by pure love. It is a connection of heart to heart, love to love.
Whatever Subramanya Chettiar may feel, Swami makes clear to the world that He is ready to dispose of the chariot and use the proceeds to arrange water supply to some more villages. Bhagavan originally agreed to the Rathotsav -- chariot festival -- more to gladden the heart of his devotee. Chettiar has been cherishing it as his life's mission.

Bhagavan ascended the chariot only to please and bless such a devotee. Otherwise Swami has no thought for such things. Nor should you have such desires. The relation that exists between a devotee and deity is an inner current or communication of love. Pay all attention to develop this love. Do selfless service to society. Hold fast to the three cardinal principles -- love of God, fear of sin and morality of society. March along the sacred spiritual paths with wholehearted surrender to the Divine.